A Dissection of the Heart

Getting Ready

Speciale stirred slightly in the morning light, pulling the thin, warm body closer to his chest. He was shocked awake for a moment, peeking open his eyes to collect his bearings. Golden curls. An exposed shoulder. Sheer curtains drawn around the bed. It all came back slowly, the drinking, the talking, and finally going to sleep next to Rosalind in her bed. He could feel her chest expand as she pulled in a big breath, stretching her limbs under the covers. “Good morning,” she chuckled lowly.

Speciale did nothing, a little shocked to hear her lilting voice. “I know you’re awake dumba.ss.” He chuckled as she turned in his arms to face him. “I guess we should start getting ready for the party tonight,” she scowled at the thought of who they were hosting tonight. Speciale hugged her ever closer, calming her temper. “Alright let’s get this over with,” he said as he rolled out of the soft bed. Rosalind sighed, following soon after.

“Bathroom’s through there if you need to freshen up sweetie,” she said, pointing to the door Speciale remembered guessing at last night. She went to the closet, a large walk in dressing room more like, and looked around for a moment as she stretched her arms above her head. She put on some underwear and a matching bra, deciding that she should dress down to cook and that she’d have a chance to change later. She grabbed a pair of denim shorts and a plain white tee shirt and hurriedly dressed herself.

She walked back into her room, noticing Speciale must have taken her offer to freshen up. She could hear the shower running in the other room as she walked towards the vanity in the corner to redo her makeup. By the time she was finishing up putting the final touches to her look he re emerged from the bathroom. She looked at him through the reflection of the mirror in front of her. She could see steam trailing out the door behind him as he flashed her his signature lop sided smile, a towel wrapped low on his waist. “Like what ya see?” He asked with a wink. Rosalind scoffed at him, giggling out, “Get dressed! We have a ton to do today, or did you forget?”

“Killjoy…” Speciale mumbled out with a smirk. “Heard that!” She shot back with a playful glare. He put his hands up in surrender as he picked up his discarded clothes. She could hear his towel drop behind her as she set back to work on her makeup, her false lashes suddenly requiring all of her concentration as the rustling of fabric indicated Speciale was dressing behind her. “Aight, what’s first on the list, Andi?” He asked, coming up behind her and meeting her blue eyes in the mirror. She smiled at him, “I need you to go to the meat market and get quite a few things for tonight. I’ll send you with a list.” Speciale frowned, not hiding his disappointment, “Ya aren’t coming along?” 

Rosalind spun smoothly on her stool to meet him head on, grabbing his face between her hands. “Aww does someone miss me already?” He rolled his eyes at her teasing but couldn’t hide the blush that crept across his cheeks. She couldn’t help but laugh seeing his frown. “I have to get things started here, you’ll be fine on your own for thirty minutes Special.” She gave his nose a gentle kiss before standing to fetch a pen and paper pad out of the drawer of her nightstand. Speciale watched as she neatly scrolled a list of meats she would need for dinner, tearing the page out of the pad when she was finished. “Here you go, now hurry so you can get back and help me set up the back yard!” She smiled brightly as she handed him the list, not waiting for a reply as she left him there to go tend to her own tasks.

By the time he returned with all the meats, Rosalind had already done a number on her back yard. The spacious area was filled with wooden picnic tables, a set of long tables sat at the front where Rosalind was currently wrestling down a white tablecloth onto the leg. Farther back, a series of smokers and grills were already started. Speciale whistled at the sight. “Why do you have all this?” Rosalind jumped at his voice, banging her head on the underside of the table she was attempting to tie the tablecloth to. They both broke out into a fit of laughter. “Well, I am supposed to be retired, you know. I had planned on spending it partying my wealth away.” 

Speciale just nodded, staring at the large patio and yard. There was a pergola over the patio, it was large enough to cover all the tables easily, he noticed. “Well, don’t just stand there,” Rosalind laughed, seeing his distant expression, “Come over here and help me!” Speciale shook himself out of his thoughts and joined her over at the long tables with a smile. He made quick work of tying the cloth down to the legs and was soon finished. “Show off,” Rosalind said, shaking her head at him. “I need you to hang the lights in that bin on the pergola as well, think you can manage without me?” “Oh whatever will I do?” He joked back with a smirk. Rolling her eyes, she made her way back to his car to unload the meat and start cooking.