Rose DeWitt Bukater (never_let_go) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-09-30 12:47:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, rose dewitt bukater, wendy darling |
Who: Rose DeWitt Bukater and Wendy Darling
What: Meeting for tea and chatting, getting chased by Cal's goons
When: Today.
Where: Starts at a café
Warnings/Ratings: Mediumish. Stalking,, minor violence.
Status: Complete
Rose had put it off for some time, but she had finally called Cal to set up a time to get together for dinner and to discuss their wedding (or, at least, to discuss how Rose was absolutely not going to marry Cal). Cal had been surprisingly cordial on the phone, talking about how much he and her mother had been worried about her, and hoping that she’d come home to be his wife soon, that he couldn’t wait to marry her, that he could give her anything she could possibly want. It hadn’t been an awful conversation, but it had left Rose feeling uncomfortable and almost a little guilty. Perhaps she had been overreacting to Cal showing up out of the blue.
He’d said nothing of Jack, which Rose had been incredibly relieved about. If he knew about the other man, she suspected he would have not been nearly as kind over the phone with her. Still, she needed to talk to someone about it, and talking with Jack didn’t seem right somehow. So she had called Wendy up, and had arranged to meet with her at a small café she had heard good reviews about but had never actually gone to. She’d been trying hard to switch up her routine as often as possible to make it less likely for Cal to track her down before she was ready.
She spied the other woman when she walked in, and smiled, walking over to the table. “Wendy, hello! Thank you for coming.”
For Wendy, it was essentially an afternoon tea so she was dressed for one - a pretty frock in the shade of blueberry that was cool and refreshing, mint-coloured modest heels, and a creamy cardigan to cover her arms. They weren’t quite at autumn weather yet, but she liked to pretend they were - it made her feel nice and cosy. At the café she was waiting for Rose, and when she saw the redhead approaching she broke into a brilliant smile. “Hello, Rose!” Wendy wiggled her fingers in a wave, standing to greet her - since it was polite, and manners were important. “Oh, it was no trouble. I’m so glad you asked me. I know things must be stressful for you lately.”
She smoothed her skirt, tucking herself back into her seat, and finally plucked a menu to study since she’d wanted to wait until Rose arrived to order something. Truth be told, she was also relieved to see Rose was well, and felt better keeping her company - Jack would advocate for the buddy system too, and even if Wendy didn’t look like much she packed a punch. “How’s everything going?”
“Things are… stressful,” Rose said, echoing Wendy’s words back at her as she took a seat. Stressful seemed like one of the better descriptions for how things were going. Rose had been careful to keep to very public areas, and to make sure that she wasn’t alone any time she was somewhere a little more secluded. “But I suppose they could always be worse. I could be trapped on a boat fated to sink with Cal, after all.”
Well, that was one way to put it! Wendy offered a sympathetic smile, reaching over to pat Rose’s hand reassuringly. Jack hadn’t told her about his death yet (and was waiting until the fresh wave of doom for Rose drew closer?), so Miss Darling of course would not say anything. It wasn’t her place. But she was certain that both she and Jack were curious about Rose’s fate after the Ship of Dreams went down into icy waters.
“Things could always be worse,” she agreed. “Here, you’ve got support and friends who aren’t going to let Cal be a bully. Why on earth would he think you’d even want to marry him.” It made Wendy shudder, but to perk them both up - when the waitress came by - she ordered two ooey, gooey cinnamon rolls. And a pot of pumpkin chai tea for herself, because ‘tis the season, may as well give in to the craze.
A pumpkin spice chai tea sounded delicious, so Rose ordered the same for herself. “My family came into some debt a few years ago, and Cal’s family has money. We spoke today, and he was telling me how he could give me everything I could ask for if I would only give myself to him.” A look of disgust crossed her features as she repeated the words. Hearing it on the phone had made her uncomfortable, but he had said it in such a earnest way that she hadn’t realized exactly how unsettling the words were.
The disgust was most certainly mirrored on Wendy’s end. She looked put out and horrified, all on Rose’s behalf. “Give yourself to him? It’s like he thinks you’re a piece of property or something,” she huffed. “Well - “ She waved a hand as if to dismiss that silly idea, and to dismiss Cal entirely. Such pompous and antiquated ways of chauvinistic thinking would not fly here in the twenty-first century. He ought to catch up with the times.
“You’ve got Jack now, and he’s a good man. Worried about you, of course, but that’s only because he cares so much. What’s the plan, exactly? Can I do anything?” Wendy wanted to help, naturally. She wasn’t one for excessive violence (or worse), but they didn’t have to let it escalate that far to inform Cal he wasn’t welcome here.
"He's such a pompous pig," Rose sniffed, the disdain obvious. He wasn't much different from the dreams, but then, when you got everything you wanted like Cal did there wasn't much reason for growth.
"I do think Jack may be a little overly apprehensive," Rose said. "We spoke on the phone, and Carl's concern did seem genuine. I suppose leaving without a word would make anyone worry. I've agreed to meet him for dinner to discuss the matter, and hopefully that will be that and he'll simply leave." There was a knot of unease in Rose's stomach that told her it might not be so simple, but she knew she was likely just being paranoid, she chose to ignore it.
Wendy’s own alarm bells went off too. She liked to see the best in everyone, and believe in that dash of hope when everything seemed to turn sour, but even she didn’t believe Cal was genuine - she might not know him, but based on what she heard? He was a slithering snake in the grass, and those were the ones you had to watch out for.
“I don’t know, Rose,” she frowned a bit, as their tea and afternoon gooey treats were brought by. These were the type of cinnamon rolls you needed to eat with a fork - they looked delicious. “He could just try to be luring you into a trap? I wouldn’t trust him. At all.” She picked up her tea and sipped on it, the warmth coursing through the network of veins within her, and she worried, like she was apt to do, but she also would hold on to the notion that ultimately things would work out.
“I’ll have Jack with me,” Rose assured the other woman as she poured herself some of the tea. “I mean, not with me,” that would only infuriate Cal, “but he’ll be there keeping an eye on things to make sure nothing goes wrong.” She took a sip of her tea and smiled a little. “This is really good. I wish they had pumpkin spice all year instead of just for the fall.”
Having Jack there was a relief. He would be someone to trust to ensure that things didn’t get out of hand, so that managed to ease Wendy’s anxiety a little. “And he wouldn’t recognise Jack, right?” she asked. Cal hadn’t dreamed, that she was aware of, so he didn’t know his role in the Titanic fiasco - it was probably better that way; he was enough of a douchebag in this life. “I’m still worried for you - I wish I could do more. At the very least, you kissing him off will be in a public place and if things escalate then hopefully the situation can be diffused before it gets worse.” She would also hope for that. Wendy would also kick the ever-loving crap out of anyone who hurt her friends.
When Rose mentioned the tea, she smiled. “It is good, isn’t it? I’ve always found the pumpkin craze to be strange - it’s certainly not like that in the UK, or if it is it’s a more recent thing since trends seem to cross the ocean - but there are some benefits.”
“I hope not,” Rose said, frowning. It was a worry she had. “I’m fairly certain he’s been watching me, though I don’t know for how long or how much he’s seen. He didn’t mention him on the phone though.” Which Rose really hoped meant that he hadn’t seen him. “You needn’t worry. It will be a public, expensive place. Cal wouldn’t risk anything that would have his peers gossiping about him.”
Rose took another sip of her tea, and was ready to talk more about just how delightful pumpkin spice was when she was fairly sure that she saw Cal’s creepy bodyguard lurking around a corner, and she reached out to touch Wendy’s arm, trying not to glance again in Lovejoy’s direction. She didn’t stop to scrutinize him to make sure he was the same guy, instead pretending she hadn’t seen him and trying very hard to keep her eyes off of him. “I think we should leave,” she said quietly, and was trying to decide if he was close enough to overhear their conversation. With all the other chatter around them, it was unlikely. “Don’t look now, but I think Cal’s shadow is watching us.”
What. Wendy took in the words, she heard them, and they registered - but they left her blood boiling. Cal’s shadow was here, in the cafe? Really? So he had eyes and ears out and about everywhere, following Rose, watching her every move - that sinking feeling in her stomach seemed to plummet even further. “Let’s go, then,” she said, rummaging in her handbag to find money to leave on the table. Oh, and she didn’t even get to finish her cinnamon roll! The bastard, damn him for ruining her afternoon tea date.
“Quickly, yet quietly. He’ll probably follow but perhaps we can lose him - if he gets any closer, he’s going to regret it.” And not just because she had pepper spray in her purse and knew a few self-defence tricks taught to her by Buffy - but those were two very good reasons. The fellow didn’t look very bright, probably thought that they were just two helpless women.
Then she stood calmly, after dabbing at her mouth with her napkin.
Rose stood when Wendy did, cinnamon bun and tea forgotten, and though there was a touch of fear when she thought about the fact that Cal had had someone tailing her, she was mostly infuriated that she couldn’t even go out for afternoon tea with a friend without worrying about all of this. She had known Cal was possessive and quick to anger, but she had no idea that he would go to these lengths. This is what came of getting everything you could ever want handed to you on a silver platter.
Rose stood when Wendy did, and quickly yet calmly left the café and not entirely sure what to do if Lovejoy was going to follow them. He wasn’t a stupid man, but he shared Cal’s belief that women were simply there to be decorations on the arms of their husbands. While she’d been taking some self-defense lessons from Rose, if Lovejoy tried to restrain her she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to fight him off. Once she got outside, she cast a quick glance through the café window to see if Lovejoy was following, and seeing that she was, she reached for Wendy’s hand to run.
Their steps picked up, Wendy all light on her feet as she clenched Rose’s hand like a lifeline - she wasn’t planning to let go, to get lost in crowds separately, but perhaps together they could blend into one and it would be enough to lose the man following them. She happened to glance over her shoulder as well, seeing him, and he wasn’t far behind - oh god, really.
But only idiots went for dark alleyways and unlit parking lots or something, when being tailed, so she began to weave in between people on the street, still holding onto Rose - she led the way, Wendy did, heading for a grocery store she knew to be just up the way. Disappearing into a public place was the goal; no way was she going to her car, with Lovejoy close behind. He’d see the licence plate and what kind it was, and that would just be bad news. No, they would lose him first, and then head back home.
“Is he still following?” she asked Rose, in a hushed voice. Or if this came to blows, she’d make a scene and not regret it - she was an adorable British nanny sort, and Lovejoy was a stocky ugly man. If she screamed, it’d be obvious who was hurting whom.
Rose’s first thought had been to hide in an empty alley, but once Wendy pulled her into the crowd she realized that it was a much better plan. Her red hair tended to stand out, and she wished that she had a hat or something to cover it up, but she was also shorter than a lot of people and was hoping they’d be swallowed by the crowd.
At Wendy’s question, she turned and craned her neck to peer through the crowd. “I don’t think I see him,” Rose said, and then burst into giggles. “I can’t believe he’s following me. What a creep.”
“Worst creep,” Wendy had to laugh too, and she finally let her grip on Rose’s hand relax a little - people were coming in and out of the stores, walking by, going to their cars, so she felt a bit better about the situation. If they’d lost him, then she’d just wait around for a little while until they could be absolutely certain before leaving the safety of a public place.
Oh, but that plan was foiled when she turned around and saw Lovejoy right there - and judging by the look in his eye, he was irritated that he’d had to give chase after such quick-like-a-bunny ladies. He’d managed to keep up though, good on him, and while he couldn’t make an outright scene in the crowd, Wendy didn’t trust him to not have a concealed weapon or something to use to force them into a more desolate area. She just wouldn’t give him the chance.
Out came the small red-capped canister, and the burning, blinding pepper spray went right into his eyes. “FIRE!” she screamed, because she’d actually read that, statistically, you had a better chance of obtaining assistance with that rather than simply yelling the word help. What an awful world we lived in!
Rose’s laughter was cut short when Cal’s undertaker of a bodyguard appeared seemingly out of no where. He was honestly one of the creepiest, quietest men she had ever met, and he’d popped up silently in rooms when she hadn’t realized he was around frequently in Philadelphia. She had never really understood why Cal had kept him around, though she was beginning to realize that it was because they were both equally ghoulish, Cal just managed to hide it better.
Lovejoy let out a cry when he was sprayed in the face, but that didn’t stop him from reaching out and grabbing Rose’s arm. The second his slimy fingers closed over her wrist, she stomped on his foot with her flats, and then kneed him in the groin, adrenaline coursing through her body. His grip loosened, and Rose wrenched herself free.
Wendy’s cry had certainly brought attention to them, and while most people were getting out of the way of the altercation, it seemed like a couple of good samaritans were coming to intervene on behalf of the two girls.
“I think we should run,” she said, reaching for Wendy again.
Knee to the groin was always a surefire way to get any scuzzy slimeball to let go - or to render them incapable of having children, but in Lovejoy’s case, he probably didn’t need to be reproducing at all. Wendy most certainly agreed with Rose’s assessment, however. “Yes, we should,” she got out hastily, and just to rub salt in the wound (because she was feeling vindictive, okay) she ‘accidentally’ kicked Lovejoy in the face while he was down - and maybe she wasn’t wearing five-inch stilettos today, but her kitten heels still could pack a wallop. She hoped she broke his ugly nose.
In the commotion, it could just be written off as an accident anyway. By that time, they were also gone.
“Let’s just hope that he hasn’t got any backup,” she huffed, once they were further away from the scene. “Goodness, never a dull moment here. I think we should stick together though. I can give you a ride back, if you’d like?”
As Rose ran away, she turned around briefly to give Lovejoy a mocking little wave of her fingers as she got away. He probably couldn’t see her, the man had just gotten pepper sprayed, but it still felt right, and looking back it seemed like they’d actually managed to get away. Lovejoy was obviously in no condition to follow them, and there was a couple of beefy looking men standing between them just in case. She couldn’t help but smile, the adrenaline still high and a little exhilarating. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand the gravity of the situation. Being stalked was more than a little scary, though to her Cal was still just a man with an incredible temper. He might slap her, but he didn’t pose any real danger.
“I think I would very much like a ride, thank you” she said, a little out of breath. “You know, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to do that.” Not the running away from Lovejoy, but taking him down a peg or two had been satisfying.
“A bit exhilarating and empowering, isn’t it?” Wendy chuckled, hand to her chest to calm her fluttering heartbeat. She fished for her keys, in her handbag, and was quite relieved when her little purple Miata came into view. After all that, she felt as if she needed a glass of wine and a bubble bath to wind down in.
Maybe she’d steal more of James’s bath bombs again, like she tended to do.
Unlocking the doors, she gratefully plopped into the driver’s seat. “Alright, as fun as that was...let’s go home.”