Chapter 5: Feel Bad Inc.

Rosemary is confronted by her mother over the life choices she's made since moving out.

While her husband and sisters talked things out downstairs, Rosemary sat in a rocking chair up in the master suite, gently rocking her new pride and joy in her arms as she looked down at her affectionately. Primrose wasn't the fussiest baby around; she pretty much only cried whenever she needed sustenance or a diaper change, or if she was roused mid-nap; not to mention cases where anything scared her. But the former two needs had already been satisfied for the moment. And it was because of which that she fell asleep in almost no time flat. Rosemary often had a tendency to fall asleep with her in the process, but not this time. Gently standing up and placing her daughter into the bassinet, she tiptoed backwards out of the room and quietly shut the door.

She had to say, it felt great to be able to start over and have another chance at motherhood, and with a guy she actually wanted to be with no less, but Rosemary was still on the fence as to whether she wanted to be pregnant again. She was a person who was always looking for something to keep herself busy; whenever she was not doing chores, she paced during phone calls, rearranged furniture on a whim, and even when sitting down, she always had to be reading a book or knitting something. Why, she even had a collection of stress balls that she kept in plain sight on top of her nightstand. And so long as she had a baby developing inside her, it limited her options and often made her stir-crazy.

Rosemary was so jumpy in fact, that it took everything within her to not scream aloud at the sight of her mother having snuck up behind her, looking just as stern as she'd been since making her way up to Kicksburg. Under any other circumstances, Lorraine would be ecstatic for her daughter and at the idea of finally becoming a grandma, but she just had to start a family with the guy she suspected was up to no good. Connecting both of their families via childbirth while completely disregarding every last word of input and advice she'd given her over the years. Even Rosemary's insistence that their love was genuine couldn't make her mom budge.

"Oh, uh, hey Mom," Rosemary spoke awkwardly.

"You just think you're so cute, don't you?" Lorraine stood akimbo, deepening her glare.

"What are you insinuating?" Rosemary continued.

"You've spent your entire adulthood spiting your own folks at every turn and abandoning the very values you were raised on! Yet you have the audacity to frolic around like you're some sort of victim?!" Lorraine explained.

"Shhh, Mom, keep it down. You'll wake her," Rosemary shushed, leading her mother down the hall until they were right by the staircase.

"And look at you, acting like you care so much about your little girl. Wasn't too long ago when you callously took the life of your other child," Lorraine continued. "You think being there for this one is gonna make up for it? That's just rich!"

"Mom, I was raped. And besides, I didn't go through with the abortion, anyway," Rosemary replied with folded arms, annoyed at how no one would let her move on from her past.

"And yet that baby girl still wound up dead." Lorraine smirked a little.

"Well how was I supposed to know my best friend was a murderous mafia kingpin?!" Rosemary snapped. "For all I knew, she was just gonna give her to someone who couldn't have children of her own!"

"That's the thing with those city folks, darling. They're always full of s**t." Lorraine softened her tone a bit, placing a hand on her scowling daughter's shoulder. "Maybe if you'd just gone to the local community college and settled down with a farm-boy instead, then maybe your life would be better for it and I wouldn't be chewing you out like this... and not to mention we could expand our family business by collaborating with whoever you married."

"It's hilarious how you keep deluding yourself by claiming you're better than the money-grubbing urban elites you hate so much, yet you go around spewing crap like that." Rosemary sneered. "Now I ain't saying you're a gold-digger, but if money was really all you cared about, then you would've wanted me to marry Junior!"

"And what about you?" Lorraine inquired further.

"I started a relationship with him because I loved him. The fact that he comes from a rich family means nothing to me." Rosemary rolled her eyes. "Why is that so hard to understand?"

"Why was it so hard for you to just stick to your values?" Lorraine kept pushing.

"Because, Mom, I wanted to branch out for once in my life! You mean to tell me you didn't want your own children to be their own people and try new things?" Rosemary responded.

"That may have been what I wanted at first, but after seeing what became of your sisters, no thanks." Lorraine shook her head. "Sent 'em off for a measly four years of college over in Silicon Valley, and the next thing I knew, they'd morphed into a couple of hippies."

"And you haven't gotten on their case about that, because..." Rosemary's voice intentionally trailed off as she raised an eyebrow.

"Because at least when they got home, they helped run the farm and at least somewhat reconnected with their roots. You, meanwhile, have not," Lorraine finished.

"Still doesn't explain why you ultimately let me go to St. John's for college," Rosemary answered.

"Remember when your grandma passed, and her will gave you enough money for four years of college tuition?" Lorraine explained. "If it weren't for that, I would've never let you leave Alabama."

"Gee, it's good to know you're such a closed-minded, change-hating killjoy," Rosemary grumbled. "Seriously Mom, I have not been corrupted."

As her daughter spoke, Lorraine briefly envisioned her at no more than six years old, complete with a voice that was a couple of decibels higher.

"A lot of the things I did when I was younger are things I still do now, but if I hadn't broadened my horizons and tried new experiences, I probably wouldn't be as happy as I am today. I probably would've never met the perfect guy for me, and I certainly wouldn't have the wonderful daughter that you choose to keep shunning just because of who her father is," Rosemary continued.

"You can keep telling yourself that 24/7, but we all know the truth. You might think you're some innocent free-spirit, but you're still nothing more than a treasonous snake who couldn't care less about the very family and lifestyle you were born into. And you're lucky we had no other options after that blizzard hit," Lorraine groaned as she turned to walk away. "The sooner we get away from these no-count rich folks, the sooner I'll be happy."

Rosemary extended an arm after her mother as she quietly stormed off, but said nothing as her vision became blurred with tears, a few of them forming rivulets down her face. No matter how biting Lorraine's words were, she refused to show weakness in front of her. She refused to give her mother the satisfaction of knowing she had gotten through to her. Yet she was also a woman of great moxie; she refused to give up on her mission, not just to patch up all the gaping holes in their relationship, but also to ensure an ideal family life for her newborn.

Silently crying, she headed down the hallway, tuning out the audible conversation between the two sets of twins downstairs and stopping at a window that overlooked the backyard she loved so much. Few if any of the crops growing back there were ready to harvest, let alone eat at this point, and a good chunk of it was covered in snow, albeit nowhere near as much as her parents' farm down south. She desperately wished the dreary, gloomy weather could warm up once more so she could head out back, spending hours outdoors and venting all those negative emotions into doing something productive. Like buffing up her garden for instance, constantly trying to one-up her previous efforts each time and pick higher quality produce to show for it.

Wait a minute... that's it! Rosemary suddenly had an epiphany, her swollen eyes gaping. I-I think I might finally know how to get through to her!

---

Eventually, nighttime fell on Kicksburg and everyone within both the Simmons and Sterling families decided it was time to hit the sack. By the time midnight rolled around, every last one of them had all fallen asleep, that is except for Primrose, who had woken up and started to bawl, much to the annoyance of her parents.

"I'll get her," Rosemary said sleepily as she sat up in bed.

"I believe it was your turn last time," Junior responded, rubbing his crusty eyes.

"I know," Rosemary stated matter-of-factly, walking over to the crib.

"Ugh, I get that you're obsessed with manual labor, but last I checked, she's my kid too," Junior continued. "Seriously, ever since she was born, and especially after your family showed up, you've barely let me participate in the parenting process. You even hog diaper-duty of all things. Diaper-duty!"

"Well look, it just so happens that I'm really stressed out right now, and you know how I get when I'm stressed," Rosemary explained, placing her freshly-changed baby back in the crib. She didn't just work hard, but she worked fast as well.

"Yes, but... really, I already feel terrible for missing her birth-" Junior started.

"And that wasn't your fault. You can blame the warmongers overseas for that." Rosemary cut him off from within the bathroom, washing her hands.

"I know, but think about what it was like for me: I didn't even know I was gonna be a dad for almost a year, and then I suddenly come home to see my wife with a week-old baby in her arms, telling me the condom broke. I already missed the first week of my daughter's life, and I don't want to miss any more of it, even if it means changing a few diapers each day. So it really hurts to see you barring me from my own fatherly duties," Junior concluded his rant.

No surprise he was still stinging at the way he'd found out about his fatherhood. He loved his daughter dearly, and she'd quickly grown to love him in return, but he wished he could've experienced the revelation a bit more organically. Growing up, he'd been told numerous times about what his own father had gone through when he'd first found out about his upcoming children. Mark had been away for a business trip, receiving an abrupt call from Katrina right after finishing a meeting. The executives nearby were quick to notice the shellshocked look on his face as he subconsciously replayed his wife's words over and over again. Despite his desire to keep the moment private, he reluctantly let the news slip and was instantly surrounded by applause and congratulations, telling him what a great father he would surely be.

Junior wished he could have had that same experience, or least a similar one, but the world just had to get him wrapped up within the folds of its drama. A small part of him wanted to intentionally conceive another kid right then and there, just so he could be there from the point of conception. Then again, he was already a father. Getting publicly congratulated on the second go-around just wouldn't be the same. Plus, no way would his wife be down for baby number two right now.

"Okay, point taken," Rosemary sighed in resignation.

"And if you say stress is the reasoning behind all this, then what are you so stressed about?" Junior continued.

"What do you think?" Rosemary climbed back into bed, shutting her eyes but keeping her ears open.

"If you're talking about the thing with your folks, then you're overreacting. Yeah, your mom may be as stubborn as a grass-stain, but things are starting to look up elsewhere," Junior described. "Even ignoring the dogs, Justine and I were able to get friendly with Kendra and Kendall, plus my dad says he's planning to talk things out with yours."

"I suppose that's good to hear." Rosemary sighed.

"Don't worry, we're gonna get through this. Not just for Primrose's sake, but for everyone's sake." Junior rubbed his wife's back with a comforting hand. "Plus, we already have a plan in mind for how we're gonna get through to that other guy."

"You mean Zeke?" Rosemary sat up once more. "What to you plan to do with him?"

"You'll just have to wait and see in a day or two," Junior smirked. "But uh, random question time. If and when we try for another kid, are you okay with keeping your necklace on while we do it?"