Chapter 4 FOURTH CHAPTER

Sitting down at the wooden dining table, Rosemary held her head in one hand with a phone in the other hand while she waited for the call she was placing to go through. Once it connected, she placed it on her ear with a tired sigh, " Hello". " Howdy Rosie" came the voice of her friend Annabelle. " Why is it so loud in there Annie, have you gone out?" Rosemary asked at the loud buzz in the background of the call.

" Yes, I and a couple of our friends are at Jackie's bar to just hang out since you said you'll be busy today" Annabelle said loudly to combat the noise in the background. " Well that's even better" Rosemary thought to herself. Out loud she said " Yes I was preoccupied but I'm done now, I'll be there in a short while, save me a seat."

" Ladies, Rosemary is coming" she heard Annabelle say happily to the others and Annabelle replied her " sure thing, we'll be waiting for you, drive carefully". The call ended and Rosemary dropped the phone to think about what had kept her preoccupied the entire day.

The day had started quite well, she woke up early, helped clean up, ate breakfast her mum made and got ready to go out in her trusty truck that had been handed down from her father to her. Her first destination had was Mr McGregor's farm where she had met with Mr McGregor and told him of her purpose to his farm. " Well my dear, my farm might be big but my farmhands don't eat here and so I don't have any need of a cook, I'm sorry for that." " It's okay sir" she replied " I should be on my way then." " No don't go yet, have a glass of milk before you go, I know you have a long way to go." This brought a smile to Rosemary's face. " You have always been a cheerful young lady, I hope this works out in your favour" he completed. She took his offer and later got in her truck and headed off to the next destination. Getting to the George's ranch and the Smith ranch, the story was still the same and so she headed to the next destination which she felt uncomfortable about. Mr Charlie's ranch was one of the biggest ranches in the county but he had always given her the creeps. Ever since she started growing into her womanly curves, he had a habit of leering at her whenever she passed by him in town. Despite the fact that he had four children that had been her seniors in high school, he looked at her like he had an interest in her although he had never approached her before, so she decided to try his farm.

Praying that her truck doesn't break down, she stopped at Mr Charlie's ranch and stepped down. He was standing at the entrance to his barn and sighted her when she got down. He then motioned her to approach him. Moving through the hay and strong smell of soil with the sun beating down on her, she moved towards his direction.

" Good morning Mr Charlie" " Morning Pretty Rosemary" he grinned at her with tobacco stained teeth that were missing in several places. " Uh, Mr Charlie, I'm wondering if you are in need of a cook or cleaner, I'm in need of a job and I'm good at the things I have mentioned" she rushed out with an uncomfortable feeling in her chest. His smile seemed to grow wider if that was possible. " Well what have we here, I am in dire need of a cook and cleaner around here, why don't you come into the house let us discuss your hours and pay" he said while motioning towards the main house. She followed him while keeping some distance between them. He led her to the house and when he opened the door, the smell of tobacco and alcohol smacked into her senses and she had to hold her breath slightly. Sitting down on the armchair in the living room, he sat opposite her with his smile still on his face.

" You see, my wife cooks for my workers and she doesn't really need help but I want you to be in my house" when he said this Rosemary's brows furrowed and she tried to speak but he raised a hand to signal her to wait.

" You can clean up after she's done or you help her in the kitchen or you clean my room, you know" he laughed " anything to make you stay here".

At this he left his seat and moved to the armchair he was seated on. She shifted and he shifted after her at which she jumped up. " I have lost interest in the work, Mr Charlie, please I think it's time to take my leave." He stood up after her and moved smoothly to the entrance where he blocked it with his fat portuding stomach. " Now, now , why are you so squeamish? I'm not going to hurt you, much" he said as his smile left his face. Rosemary felt her face go pale as he continued " You see, you have always been a very beautiful young lady and I've had an eye on you since you were 16, that is 7 years ago but unfortunately for me, you have never looked at me the same way"

" Please get out of my way, I need to go" Rosemary felt her voice quiver as she spoke. He lunged immediately for her and she felt a scream tear from her throat as she dogded him and made for the door. Bursting out, she ran straight to her car with tears streaming down her face. Getting in her car, she sped out of his ranch while tears filled her eyes and only slowed down when she remembered that it was winter and she didn't want to die in an accident. All thoughts of job searching abandoned, she made for home and got home to sit on the dining table and cry softly. She wanted to go out with her friends and hang out with them in order to forget about the ordeals of the day.

Putting on her jacket and scarf, she went outside and locked the door to the house. Getting in her truck, she navigated the road to Jackie's bar.

On getting there, she saw the trucks packed out front, it was too cold for bikes and very few could be found. The noise could be heard from outside. Jackie's bar was one of the most popular hangout spots in town, it was constructed with old bricks that were painted brown, with a simple metal signboard that read " Jackie's bar". The paint was peeling, the roof looked old and the smell of alcohol permeated the air. Bikes and trucks were parked in front of the double windows for easy monitoring by owners and the air was generally welcoming and jovial. Pushing open the door, Rosemary was grateful for the heat generated by the bodies inside as it warmed her up better than her truck heater could. Searching through the small crowd, she spotted quite a few people she knew, from Jackie the owner who was manning the bar to people playing darts and snooker in the back till she finally sighted her friends at the table closest to the back window.

" Howdy Rosie" rang through the air as her friends stood up to hug her. Annabelle, Sarah and Faith all worked at the school with her. They had been friends in high school till they had left for college and rekindled their friendships during breaks and later when they started working together. " Hi ladies" Rosemary said with a smile as she felt her good mood come back at the sight of her friends. "You're looking great, Rosie" Faith commented as Rosie smiled and said her thanks. Ordering her drink, they settled down to talk about everything and nothing in general.

" I broke up with Samuel" Sarah said morosely at which her friends all burst into laughter. "What's funny" she said looking offended. " Uhm, Sarah, y'all have broken up about 4 times this month alone" Annabelle laughed out " permit us to laugh". " Well what happened this time around?" came from Rosemary. " I have been suspecting his movement with Mary-Ann and so I confronted him about it and he got all defensive and walked out on me, when he called, he refused to talk about it and so I broke up with him over the phone" she explained. This got raised brows around the table. " Well what did he say when you broke up"Faith asked. " Nothing, absolutely nothing" she replied dejectedly.

" Well, why don't you two talk about it later when tempers have cooled down and seize breaking up at the drop of a hat" Annabelle commented. Sarah started giggling because she knew it was true that they broke up a lot.

" I have something to tell you ladies" Rosemary started. All of her friends looked at her expectantly. " I was almost accosted by Mr Charlie today" at which all her friends gasped and Annabelle covered her mouth with her hand. She explained all that had happened to them and her search for a job which had put her in such a position. " Oh my God, Rosie are you okay? Should I call your mum, or my mum" Faith came and sat down next to her. " No, I'll tell my mum later tonight but I'll be okay" she calmed them down. Her friends still looked angry and it was scary to think about what he would have done if she had been unable to escape.

"I think you have to put an end to that job search" Sarah commented at which the three of them nodded. " Well what am I going to do to earn money then?" she asked. " We might contribute money and give to you till you can think of something better" Annabelle suggested " or till school opens so you can apply to the community middle school which we know is where you want to teach and it pays way better than what we get paid currently". " Don't be ridiculous Annie, our family situations are not really different and your family is just getting by, how will you get money to contribute for me?" Rosemary countered " besides, I don't want to live off of the grace of others, I'll feel better about knowing I'm working for my money."

" So,what do you plan to do now?" Faith asked. " I'm going to the Mcjunkin's farm tomorrow, that's my last option." she replied. Sarah started snickering and all their faces turned to her. " Did I say something funny?" Rosemary asked. " No" Sarah replied now chuckling " it's just that how will you work for a literal beast?". " How dare you speak about someone like that?" Rosemary fumed. "Sarah shut it" and " What the hell" were the replies she got from Annabelle and Faith respectively. " What, it's not like I'm lying. He is scarred, isolates from everyone and is barely seen outside" she countered. " That gives you no right to talk about him like that, he is human and from what I've heard he is very pleasing to the eyes, even after the incident" Faith replied. " Moreover" Rosemary pitched in " his refusal to associate fully with others is none of your business and doesn't give you any right to call him a beast, now shush." Sarah kept mum on the issue but didn't look sorry at all.

" So guys, as I was saying, I'm going to his ranch tomorrow. I don't care about the nasty comments from a few people, I have heard about how nice and respectfully he treats his workers and he is among the richest ranchers in the area so I hope and pray he will hire me." Rosemary concluded. " I wish you luck Rosie" Annabelle answered and Faith concurred. Sarah said nothing and no one cared about her comment on the issue anyway. Rosemary took a sip of her drink as the conversation around her resumed and she thought about how strangely nervous she felt about the next day.