A fridge and a rose
(by Gaby and Deyse)
"John? Are you home, sweetheart?" Roma asked when she came into the house. She and John were now married and he had moved to the house she owned by the beach in California. She had been called to a cast for a new film and was now looking forward to tell her husband how everything had gone.
"Yes, I’m right here in the TV room, honey..." the blond actor replied. Roma followed his voice, crossing the living room and walking along the corridor. At the end of it, there was a door and another room, which they used to but their big TV set and the DVD. John was comfortably sitting on the couch, with a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a can of soda in the other. On tv, there was an exciting football match going on.
Roma walked to meet her husband and let herself fall at his side. "Want some?" John offered popcorn, and Roma took a handful, waiting for him to ask about the interview. Yet, he seemed so concentrated on the game that she had to clear her throat to make him turn and see her. "Would you do me a favor, sweetie?" John asked to a very surprised Roma. "Would you please bring me another soda?" he asked, not missing the slightly mad expression on his wife’s face, but sure the surprise she’d find in the kitchen would make her up.
Sighing deeply and frowning a little upset, she took the empty can from his hand and stood up. Before she walked out of the room, the Irish actress placed one of her hands on her hips to take another look at her husband, who was deeply concentrated on the game on tv.
"Oh, sweetie, hurry up, you gotta see this game! It’s one of the most thrilling final games I’ve ever seen!"
Rolling her eyes, Roma left the living room and headed to the kitchen. When she got there, though, her eyes grew wide and she let the can fall from her hand with what she saw: a new refrigerator was placed near the kitchen door and it took the space of two refrigerators.
"Oh gosh, but what’s this???" she exclaimed, with a not all too pleased face.
"JOHN!" she immediately shouted, a brief second before she felt a pair of strong arms slipping around her waist.
"Isn’t it great, sweetie? It’s the newest model! And see? We have twice as much room as we had!"
"What was wrong with the old one?" Roma asked breaking the hold. "Why didn’t you tell me about this?"
"I-I thought I could surprise you, sweetie…" John tried timidly.
"Well, it depends on what kind of surprise you wanted to make!" the tone in her voice bore some resemblance to Tess’ one when the old angel wasn’t very pleased.
"You... You didn’t like it?" his voice was nearly disappearing and he didn’t know what to do nor where to put his face.
"It takes twice the space of the other one!"
"Well... but now... we have more space to put the soda and... and the icecream..."
Roma crossed her arms in front of her chest and shot him a very stern look, "We do not feed ourselves exclusively with soda and icecream, mister!!! And I really could use this extra space that it’s now been taken!"
After a moment of hesitation, the blond actor felt slightly bothered with the tone of her voice. Frowning a little, he too crossed his arms and stared at her just the same, "Oh really? and what would you construct in those vast 2 square meters that have been taken away, may I ask?"
"I-I don’t know! Many things!"
"Name one!" John was now clearly upset, and he crossed his arms over his chest, defying her.
"I wish you had consulted this with me, John! I live here too!" Roma knew she was losing control, yet she just felt her anger rise and rise.
"Oh, now it comes to this, huh? Yes, this is your house, Roma, but since we are sharing it, we’re sharing our lives, I really thought I could make it better for you!" he said in a very hurting tone.
"I never said this is just my house! Don’t put words in my mouth!"
"I’m not putting words in your mouth, I’m just trying to understand why you’re so mad! Can’t you just accept that I can have some opinion about the place where we live, huh?"
"I can provided that you’d care to ask my opinion first, which you didn’t do!"
"You know what? I spent some really good hours sitting there in the tv room just imaging how much you’d enjoy it, but now... now you really managed to spoil may day, Roma! I’ll go back to the game, it’s a lot more interesting there than it’s here! We’ll talk when you are willing to hear me, ok?" he said simply and left the room, not paying attention to her constant calling.
He was again sitting on the couch right in front of the TV when he heard her footsteps climbing up the stairs in a hurry. The next noise was the big slam of their bedroom.
Roma just ran to their room and let herself fall on the bed, her face buried on the pillow. She felt so hurt, the pain in her chest was so strong that crying was the only thing that could help her. What had happened to the happiness she was feeling when she had arrived about having gotten the main role in Steven Spielberg next movie?
John, for himself, felt as bad as she was and the game on tv was now forgotten, as he couldn’t seem to focus on anything else. That was the first time the couple had argued – the first time in over 10 years they had known each other. Not even when they were just friends had they disagreed on something like they did now. Sighing deeply, he grabbed the remote control and turned the tv off. Then, he stood up and started to pace from one side to another inside the room, running his fingers through his hair once in a while.
"Why was she so mad?! It’s not a big deal, it’s just a stupid fridge!" he mumbled, to the walls around him. And, a second later, he stopped walking and placed his hands on his hips, as if finally something he didn’t see before became clear to him now. "God... that’s it: it’s just a fridge!"
Shaking his head with disapproval, he quickly left the tv room.
Roma woke up about two hours later. Her neck hurt and she realized she had fallen asleep… She then remembered: she had argued with John and that made her feel sad again. "And it’s nothing but a stupid fridge," she thought. She moved to check on the hour and she saw she had barely one hour before the bus came to leave Reilly home. Julie was on vacation, so there was no one but her to prepare lunch. Sighing and with no willing to do it at all, she stood up and headed to the kitchen.
Climbing down the stairs, she realized John wasn’t home as the TV was now off. There was no noise around. The first thing she saw when she got into the kitchen was the stupid fridge, and her mouth curled in an ironic gesture. A fridge. That was what had made her and John had their first argument in all the time they had known each other. And that was what had made her forget about telling him she had gotten what may be the most important role in her life after the one of Monica, the angel.
Having no more choice, she walked and opened the door of the fridge. She then realized John had also taken care of putting everything in place. He had even made some shopping, as if to make it even more appealing. The Irish actress couldn’t help a little chuckle when she discovered a bowl full of strawberries and a bottle of champagne already cooling there. It was obvious John had a plan for the night… and as mad as she was with him, she couldn’t help but feel a nice shiver running all along her back.
"Argh, men!" she exclaimed out loud, "why are they so obvious when come to surprise a woman, huh?" She closed the door a little bit too hard after having taken the things she’d be using for lunch, and walked to the table… the image of the champagne bottle still in her mind.
***
John had left his car parked near the beach and walked along the shore for some time. He knew that marriage wasn’t like when they were just dating and didn’t have to face a daily routine, and that arguments like those would happen once in a while. In fact, now that things had chilled up a little, he could see how silly that situation was, and for a moment he even felt grateful that if they had to argue it was for something unimportant, rather than for a serious matter.
The blond actor loved that woman, he always had since the very first moment he saw her and now that they were married there wasn’t a single day he didn’t think of a new way to tell her how much he loved her. Like on that day, when he had even bought a bottle of champagne as part of the (rather disastrous) surprise.
He loathed the simple thought of making her upset and right at that very moment, all he wanted was to go back home and hold her tightly. Sighing deeply, he glanced at the ocean once more and started to walk back to the car.
On his way, John saw an old lady selling roses and, suddenly, a smile crossed his handsome face.
*
"Where’s uncle Johnnie?" Reilly asked as her mother placed a sandwich in front of her. "He said he would be waiting for me when I came back from school…"
Roma was suddenly lost for words as she didn’t know what to tell her little daughter. Her dark brown eyes made her way directly to the actress’ heart, the big love she knew both her daughter and her now husband shared washed her like a giant wave. "He… he had to go out, poppet… But he will come back soon…"
"Ok…" Reilly replied rather disappointedly. She placed the sandwich back on the plate and chewed a tiny bit unwillingly.
"Reilly?" Roma asked seeing the sudden change in the girl’s mood.
"I don’t like him being away," she replied sadly.
The Irish woman looked at her baby girl for a long second, just stroking her curly hair. Yes, she was mad at her husband, and just for a stupid fridge, but how she missed him right now. She wanted to see him holding Reilly and then she would hug him tightly, sensing his strong muscles so close to her body. "Neither do I, sweetie," she finally murmured. "But he’ll be back soon…"
*
One hour after Reilly had arrived from school, John returned to their home. Carrying a bunch of roses in his hands, he closed the car door and entered the house, noticing Reilly’s pink Barbie backpack (his present to her) on the sofa. Thinking that the little girl who he loved as a real daughter had arrived and probably had asked for him, the blond actor felt a wave of sadness inside his heart: he had promised her he would be waiting for her and imagined how disappointed she must have been not finding him. But he also frowned a little: the silence in the house was more than he had expected. Where were Roma and Reilly?
A bit worriedly, he looked in the dining room and in the kitchen and, not finding them, he climbed the stairs up to their bedroom. Once again, not a sign of his two beloved girls, until he had the idea of checking on Reilly’s bedroom.
The door had been left ajar and John opened it slowly, his eyes focusing on an image that would be etched in his heart forever: Roma was lying on Reilly’s bed, with the girl in her arms; both peacefully sleeping.
Overwhelmed with tenderness, he placed the flowers on a chair and came closer to the bed, gently stroking his wife’s hair; their previous argument sounded very silly now that he had those two precious and lovely ladies right before his eyes, now that he felt how much he loved them.
Roma stirred lightly when she felt John’s hands on her hair and a second later she was awake. "Johnnie…" she murmured when she recognized her husband. "Roma…" he replied, unable to think in a word to start apologizing for their previous argument.
"You…" Both said at the same time and then chuckled.
"I’m so sorry, baby…" John murmured leaning to touch her forehead with his.
"No, John… I’m the one who is sorry…" Roma argued, but a finger on her lips didn’t let her go on.
He quickly brushed a loving kiss on her cheek and whispered, "Shh... Let’s make a deal? Let’s forget about it, baby; you and this little angel here mean the world to me and nothing would spoil what we share. Nothing." Then a smile played on his lips as he added, "Not even a fridge, no matter how big it is!"
Instant tears appeared in her eyes "Oh John... You’re my world... my everything..."
Carefully not to wake Reilly, she sat down on the bed and they held each other tightly. The blond actor pulled away a few moments later and took the bunch of roses he had left on the small armchair and gave it to her, "For you..."
Enchanted with the beautiful flowers, Roma gazed deep into his green eyes and stroked his face, "I love you so much, you know?"
He took her hand and kissed it, "Well... Let’s say I suspected that..."
Happy to hear a little laugh, despite the few tears that were running down her cheeks, John pulled her closer to him and their lips finally met in a loving kiss, putting an end to that silly argument. They held each other again, in a warm embrace, and it was then that Reilly stirred in her bed and opened her little eyes, "Uncle Johnny..." she said, a smile already appearing on her sleepy face.
John kissed Roma’s temple and then turned to the little girl, "Hey sweetie!"
She moved to sit up and tilted her head, "Where were you?"
"Buying flowers to your mom."
"You’re always flirting!" she exclaimed, giggling at the couple, who couldn’t help looking at each other and smile. And the little girl remembered something else, "Oh and I love the new fridge!"
Once again, Roma and John exchanged another glance – a highly amused one. "Oh you do, huh?" he spoke, taking her tiny hand into his own.
"Yes! There’s a lot more space for the icecream and the pizza!"
Roma’s lips curved into an ironic smile and she playfully rolled her eyes. Chuckling, the blond actor stood up and looked at the little girl in a challenging way, "And I have to tell you a secret: there are lots of pots of icecream inside that fridge, all of them from different flavours, and the one who gets there first can pick a pot and the flavour!"
Reilly let out a loud squeal and she and her beloved uncle Johnny rushed out of the bedroom and downstairs, betting to see who would get there first. Inside the little girl’s bedroom, holding the bouquet of roses, the Irish actress shook her head and narrowed her eyes, "Humph! Like father, like daughter!"
*
"Are you two having anything for dinner?" Roma asked wanting to bother both her daughter and her husband as she walked into the TV room. Over the coffee table there still were empty pots of ice cream, a box of pizza and some cans of coke.
"Ugh… no!" John replied with the tone of a little boy that only matched Reilly’s. "Nah uh.."
"Ok then…" Roma said as she turned to leave the place, "but I don’t want complains about stomachaches in the night…"
It wasn’t long after when she went back to find Reilly sound asleep on her uncle’s knees. She went to take a seat by the girl’s feet and caressed her tiny arm. "No stomachache, huh?" she asked clearly amused.
"Nope…" he informed. "It was just one afternoon in a while…"
Roma rolled her eyes, knowing one of John’s specialties was to spoil Reilly. "You spoil her too much!" When he was about to argue, she added, "just as much as I spoil you…"
John opened his eyes in clear admiration. "You spoil me?!"
"Yes, I do!" she declared, "and now be a good dad and take your sleeping daughter to her room, ok?"
"Yes, ma’am…" John mumbled seeing his wife walking away. He had seen this mischievous spark in her eyes, yet he wasn’t sure the previous argument was at all forgotten, so he would better not try to push his luck.
Barely ten minutes later he came back to the TV room to find it empty. He had thought Roma would be waiting for him there as the TV was still on, but when he didn’t find her there, he just turned it off. He then walked to the kitchen but find it equally empty. Still he sat there for a little while, thinking his wife would come eventually.
But fifteen minutes later, he was still waiting there, tapping the table surface in a monotonous way. He sighed in frustration and climbed up the stairs to their bedroom.
"I thought I’d have to wait for you all the night, Mr. Dye…" Roma’s voice surprised him and took him out of his shock when he has first saw her. She was lying on their bed, propped on her elbow, her free hair falling over her shoulders, that were covered only by the tinny suspenders of her nightgown. On the bedside table, there were a vase with the roses he had given her, the bowl with strawberries he had bought and the bottle of champagne that had been on the fridge. Roma saw how her husband ran the length of her body with his avid eyes and she felt her body starting to burn. "Will you come to celebrate with me that I’ll be walking on the red carpet on my way to get an Oscar next year, of course hand in hand with my handsome husband or not?"
It was when it hit him. Her new movie! He had totally forgot that! How he didn’t want her to be upset if all she had been thinking about the last week was the role Spielberg had offered her and when she had come back home, he hadn’t remembered to ask her about it? "You-you got it?" he stuttered.
Roma chuckled and only nodded, his face telling her he had totally forgot about that. "Oh, sweetheart!" John ran to the bed and pulled her into a tight hold. "You did it!! Congratulations!!" He didn’t let her speak as he claimed her mouth in a deep kiss that left her limp in his arms. "You’ll be Hollywood next superstar!" he said in between kisses. "You’ll get an Oscar and all…"
Roma chuckled slightly fighting to still keep some conscience on her own as the way John was kissing her was making her crazy. "If I do, it will be thanks to you…" she pulled away a little to look into his eyes and caressed his cheek, "… because you made me grow, you gave me a life back…"
John kept silence after Roma’s words. How couldn’t she see that she was the biggest blessing he could have ever met, that his life wouldn’t be whole without her? He drank into her face, watching every detail as if he didn’t know them by heart now. "You gave me everything I wanted to have, Roma…" he said after a while kissing her cheek all up to her ear. "I love you so incredibly much…"
He didn’t let her reply. He claimed her mouth and circled her shoulders making her lay on her back. The world became for them nothing but each other’s body, each other’s kisses that were touching and bonding their very souls. The strawberries were forgotten and the champagne was getting warm…