# Garden Of Rosa Chapter 11

Garden of Rosa
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Chapter 11
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A few weeks pass since Rosa and I shared the night at my shitty Skin Row apartment. Apparently, Rosa caught hell from her mom the next morning, and it wasn’t until her dad stepped in with a reminder of what they were doing as high-schoolers that her mom finally cooled down.
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This morning, Principal Spears made an announcement that prom tickets were going on sale, to the excited response of the student body. Truth be told, I was already thinking about asking Rosa. I always thought Prom was pretty lame back at my old school, but not that I was with her…
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“Oh, si, si An-on! I would love to go to prom with you! ¡Aww, eres tan dulce!” Rosa nearly knocked me over when I told her, slamming into my body like a cannonball as she hugged me in the middle of the hallway between classes. In between a hail of kisses and Spanish jubilations, I could make out that Rosa wanted to celebrate me asking her by coming to dinner that night. It was going to be a big family get together, everyone coming over to celebrate something with good food well into the night.
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“Sure, Rosa, I’d love too.” The thought of facing her mom again makes me a little nervous. But then again, maybe those are just the butterflies in my stomach from seeing Rosa so happy.
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“¡Perfecta! Mama is making her famous tlayudas, you’ll love them Anon!” With another squeal of happiness Rosa embraces me once more, burying her face in my chest to muffle her cries. With one final departing kiss, Rosa headed off to class, looking back to wave at me, a grin splitting her face from ear-to-ear.
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The rest of the day passed in a blur. I hardly paid attention to my classes, my thoughts focused instead on that image of Rosa looking so happy. I never noticed that when she smiled like that, her hands pressed against her face and her eyes screwed tight with joy, her mouth formed a perfect heart shape against her snout. That was a smile worth protecting, for sure.
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I managed to find the least wrinkled outfit I could for tonight’s dinner. Rosa agreed to pick me up at my apartment, the logic being that hopefully we wouldn’t be there long enough for anyone to try and jack her car. Knowing her, she’d probably just give them a taste of her dreaded chancla. A text from her lets me know she’s waiting outside, interrupting the browsing of my favorite Ukrainian salad-baking image blog. I figured I needed some calming down today, and shit-posting was just the way to do it.
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Rosa greets me with a kiss as I slide into the passenger side of her car. “¡Ay, hola An-on! You excited for tonight?” I can tell she’s excited for me to meet her whole family this time.
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“Yeah… A little nervous meeting everyone, ya’know?”
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“Ay, mi amor don’t be silly, they will love you! Besides, Papi has already calmed Mama down, she does not hate you anymore.”
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I’m not sure that was supposed to be a joke.
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We make small talk as she speeds out of town, past the suburbs and into the surrounding greenbelt that marks her family’s farm. I can feel the butterflies in my stomach starting to turn into fully-fledge birds as we pull down the gravel drive of her house. Nearly every light is on inside, and loud up-beat Latin pop is pulsating into the night. There’s several more cars in the open-air garage than before, and Rosa has to part a little bit aways from the house. Taking my hand when we get out, Rosa pulls me along excitedly, her infectious laughter helping to settle my nerves.
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The inside of the house is packed with people. The familiar coloring of Rosa’s family is evident on several of the ankylosaurus inside, but there are also a few others, presumably friends of the family or distant cousins. Rosa keeps a tight hold of my hand as she shows me off to everyone, unable to keep from beaming when she introduces me as her ‘novio’. I find I’m beaming just as much as she is, too.
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Everyone in Rosa’s extended family greets me with a friendly nod or a shake of the hand, clearly not too surprised that their little Rosa is dating a human. I assume her parents probably got the word out when I first came over. The only ones who seemed a little wary of me were Rosa’s brothers: Each of them were huge guys, muscles gained from working in the family fields on full display in tank-tops and baggy shorts. Some even had tattoos on their scales, crosses and depictions of Raptor Jesus rubbing shoulder-to-shoulder to half-naked dinos and skulls and who knows what else.
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Eventually, I’m whisked through the whirlwind of distant relations until I find myself deposited at the dining table, where Rosa’s dad is entertaining some friends with a raucous story. “I need to go help Mama with the cooking, An-on. It will just be un momento, I promise.” Rosa gives me another peck on the cheek before disappearing into the kitchen. Catching my eye, Rosa’s dad politely excuses himself, greeting me with another firm handshake.
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“An-on, glad you could make it! I see you’ve meet el familia.” Rosa’s dad smiles at a passing relative, gladly accepting the beer offered to him. He practically rips open the bottle with his palm, no doubt not feeling a thing.
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“Y-yeah, everyone’s been great.” I have to raise my voice over the din of the party. The butterflies in my stomach are back, now; the sight of Rosa’s dad seemingly increasing their intensity.
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“Ayy, they’re all good people. Say, An-on, come out to the deck with me, we can talk, de hombre a hombre.” The pat on my back nearly pitches me forwards as Rosa’s dad leads me past the guests, winding another room of the house until we reach the back door.
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Rosa’s dad takes me outside, onto a large wooden deck complete with a handsome wooden railing. A few lounge chairs are positioned next to a large grill, presumably used for their vegetarian grilling, as sad as that sounds to me. Mercifully, the deck is free from any other relatives or party guests, leaving the two of us alone. The noise of the party is muffled slightly as Rosa’s dad slides the glass door shut. Leaning against the railing of the reck, adjusting his ever-present trucker hat as he stares out into the distance. Their home has a majestic view of the rolling hills that surround Volcaldera, the peace and beauty of the countryside on full display. I join him at the railing, the two of us staring at sunset.
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“Ahh, nothing greater than God’s work, eh An-on?” Rosa’s dad takes a swig of his beer, his eyes studying the label as he fidgets with the bottle. I nod along, content to remain silent for the moment. This seems like the beginning of a lecture, with the way he’s acting. “An-on, you and Rosa have been together for what, a few months now?”
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Ah, there it is. Maybe being out here alone isn’t such a good idea.
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“Yessir, sounds about right. Seems like a lot longer, to be honest.” I drum my hands awkwardly on the wooden railing, wishing I also had a beer to fidget with.
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“Do you…” Rosa’s dad clears his throat before starting again. “Do you think about your future together? A good young man like yourself, together with my daughter. I’ve never seen Rosa look so happy, An-on, and you should be proud of that.”
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“Uh, thank you, sir.” I was expecting an upbraiding for Rosa’s overnight visit, no matter what Rosa had said to the contrary. Father’s didn’t like their daughters spending the night at their boyfriends, especially when Raptor Jesus was supposed to be the only man for her.
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Rosa’s dad takes another long pull at his beer before continuing. “But happiness, it’s not something that’s always going to be there, si? You have to work at it, work together at making it last.” Another swig of the bottle. I realize this may not be his first beer tonight. “When my wife got sick…” His voice cracks a bit, forcing him to pause before continuing. I’ve never seen him so emotional before. Yep, definitely not his first beer. “I thought I couldn’t get through it. But she wouldn’t let me, you know? I wanted so much to curl up and cry. She, she just looked me in the eyes and said ‘Guillermo, we can do this.’” He let his words hang in the air for a moment, the sounds of the party drifting through the sliding door. Sighing, Rosa’s dad scratched his head for moment. “Rosa is like her mother, she cares about people. But sometimes, she don’t know when to focus on herself! But you, An-on, you make her happy, make her shine!” His hands grasp the air, as if he was trying to hold onto his last sober thoughts. Bahhh, I guess what I’m trying to say, An-on, is-“
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“Sir, I want to marry Rosa.”
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Those words had been building up inside me for a while now, those butterflies. The more and more I listened to Rosa’s dad ramble on, the more I knew that I wanted to admit it, wanted to speak those thoughts that I was afraid of. I had to say it, say I wanted to marry Rosa, because if I didn’t the desire to say it was going to make me explode.
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Rosa’s dad just stared at me, his red eyes wide with shock. I felt like a balloon; all the air inside of me, all the feelings I had towards Rosa were finally coming out, and no one could stop it. I realized my hands were shaking, realized that I probably sounded like some dumb kid to him. I didn’t even know what I was saying, really. Hell, I don’t even know how much a ring would cost!
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“I want to marry your daughter,” I repeated, starting Rosa’s dad straight in the eye. Forcing the words out helped elevate the pressure I could feel building deep inside. “I know I’m young, and I don’t have a lot of money, or a job, or, or anything like that. But I love her, sir. God, I love her so much that the idea of not being with her hurts inside. We’ll make it work, I just know it.” I expected Rosa’s dad to say something by now, anything. His protracted silence did not seem like a good sign. “And like you said, you were married when you were not much ol-“
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My words are cut off at once. Rosa’s dad has collected me into a bone-crushing hug, a look of pure joy creasing his face. His words come out in a flood of barely understandable Spanish, but given that he’s not actively trying to strangle me right now, I assume they’re words of encouragement. The massive ankylosaur finally lets me go, grinning down at me as he claps me on the shoulder with a massive, callused hand.
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“An-on, you magnificent little chico! Aw, you two are going to be so happy together!” I knew Rosa’s dad liked to wear his emotions on his sleeve, but I’m a little uncomfortable with this level of expression from a man who could fold me in half like a chair. “Besides, once you two are married, you can start making me some nietas and nietos, si?” Laughing, he pounds me on the back again, throwing his arm around me as he steers me back into the house. I make a mental note to ask Rosa what ‘nietas’ and ‘nietos’ are, but a part of me already knows. As Rosa’s dad invertedly strangles me, I manage to croak out one final thought before we rejoin the party.
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“Just keep it a secret from Rosa, okay?”