cecilia-ahern-love-rosie

236 Cecelia AhernRuby:Rosie:Ruby:Rosie:leaf and clinging to me. She was expecting me to be the strong one.Imagine. Someone was relying on me. We met him in the coffeeshop in Jervis Street Shopping Center and I have to admit, as wewere approaching his table I felt sick. Sick with anger that the miserablelittle man who I was going to have to force myself to be niceto for the next hour and help to become a part of my daughter’s life,was the very same person who caused me so much heartache in thepast. I had to help him. It also felt odd that as weak as I felt bringingKatie into town on the bus that morning, as tired, nervous,angry, and disappointed as I was to be doing what I was doing, Irealize that these two people needed me to bring them together. Sofor the sake of Katie’s relationship with Brian, whatever feelings ofresentment I have for him need to be kept to myself.You’ve done a good thing Rosie. It must have been difficult, it willprobably be difficult for a long time watching them grow closer.I know. I have to bite my tongue to stop myself from telling Katiejust how much of a hero her father isn’t when she tells me aboutsome of the things he has done in his life.What was he like with her?He was even more nervous than Katie so it was up to me to get theconversation started between them. It was an odd situation but youknow, being the strongest out of the three really helped me to seethat the decision I made about not moving to Boston was the rightone. Katie needed me. They both needed me. He seemed genuinelyinterested in my life and in Katie’s. He wanted to know everythingabout her and I quite enjoyed sharing our stories from over theyears. At first I was telling each story with anger because he wasn’taround for any of them and then I realized I was bragging. It perkedme up in a strange sort of way and made me realize how lucky I’vebeen, as much as I moan and whinge about the responsibility ofmotherhood. It also helped me see the “specialness” of Katie andmy situation; we’re the only two to share all these memoriestogether. And what we choose to let other people know is com-