Rebecca woke up to someone pounding on her door. She ignored it and rolled back over. As she started to slip back under, she heard her door open and voices.
"Is she really still sleeping?" She heard Rosalina ask. She put an arm over her face. She wasn't ready for what she was sure was coming.
"She can't still be asleep," Joni answered. Sighing again, she pushed herself up on her bed. She knew they wouldn't let her sleep so she would just bite the bullet and get up. "Becs," Joni called up the stairs. "Are you decent?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Hang on. I'm coming down," she answered, her best friend. Joni had just gotten back last week from her month-long honeymoon. After everything that had happened with Vincent, Joni had allowed Rebecca to take Tobin as her date to the wedding. She told her she understood that it was too soon to try and move on since it was only two weeks after he had left her standing at her door. "Why are you two here so early?"
"Why are you so grumpy?" Joni shot back at her.
"Her date must have gone bad," Rosalina said as she gave Rebecca a pitying look. Rebecca glared at her friends and walked to the kitchen to make herself coffee.
"Another one?" Joni whined. "That's number four in a week. Maybe you should take a break. Focus on the clinic." Joni was worried about Rebecca she had decided to open a free clinic for low-income families which was great, but she had also decided to throw herself into the dating scene at the same time. Trying to get over someone you love couldn't be easy and she felt for her best friend but, she was pretty sure that it was just making her more depressed.
Joni also knew exactly what was going on with Rebecca's dates. Rebecca had figured it out and told her all about it after the second date ran out of the restaurant without saying anything to her and she saw the big burly man that followed him out. It had been one of Vincent's men. She was sure that the man had said something to him and probably the one before that that had gone to get them drinks in the bar before she saw him running for the front door two minutes later.
"You're probably right," Rebecca shrugged as she walked to the couch with her coffee and sitting down. She knew that the best idea was probably to give up trying to date at least until Vincent got bored being a weird stalker and moved on. Plus, she should really focus on getting the clinic going. There was still a lot to do.
"Anyway, we are here because Ros, decided to knock on my door early, on the one day I have the shop closed," Joni glared at Rosalina. "Saying she has something big to tell us." Joni swept her arm out in front of her, "you have the floor, my dear Rosalina."
"Why thank you, Queen pain in my ass," Rosalina rolled her eyes. Rebecca laughed and shook her head. "Okay, so my news is that," she paused and looked between her friends. Taking a breath, she continued, "Dom asked me to marry him," she announced. Her voice rising with every word until she was squealing.
"Oh my God!" Both Rebecca and Joni shouted and jumped up from their seats. Rebecca spit her coffee out her, but she didn't care as she still hugged her best friend. Domenico and Rosalina had been dating while she stayed with him for protection. Everyone knew that they liked each other, but no one knew how much until after Rebecca had gone home. It was obvious to Rebecca that her friend was happier than she had seen her in a long time and she found out why when she showed up for Joni's wedding with Domenico as her date. Rebecca had sucked it up and given them her blessing. She would never deny her friends' happiness just because she was heartbroken.
"I want you both to help with everything. Rebecca, you are my maid of honor and Joni my matron of honor," Rosalina stated instead of asking. Rosalina didn't have girlfriends besides the two of them and she only had one girl cousin that her mother would insist on her asking to be a bridesmaid. Both women nodded their heads. Neither expected anything less.
"Do you have a date yet?" Joni asks when they have all calmed down a little.
"Dom says as soon as possible." Rosalina sang. She was so excited. She never thought this would happen in all her life. "We are having the engagement party in two weeks. We wanted to do it sooner but, Dom wants to wait for Teo and other members of the family from Italy to be able to be here you know?" She said not thinking about what she was saying.
Rebecca tried not to make it noticeable but Joni heard her intake of breath. "It will be okay," she whispered in her ear. "You don't have to talk to him. I will be a buffer, okay?" she reassured her. Nodding Rebecca forced herself to regain normal breathing and smiled at Rosalina as she rambled on about her ideas for the wedding.
