Rosalie slowly followed behind Jimmy once they had arrived home. It had been a few weeks since she had seen anybody, and now it felt that she was about to walk and meet a bunch of strangers. She was dragging her suitcase in the damp grass below, listening as it occasionally hit a rock or dipped into an indent in the ground. As long as her clothes remained safe and clean inside, she didn't care if the case got beat up.
She realized Jimmy had brought her to her trailer, her name painted in red letters on the siding, and the paint was new.
"We cleaned it up for you... In case you decided to come home, you know," Jimmy said. Rosalie nodded, and he followed her inside.
Everything was squeaky clean; fresh sheets, everything had been dusted, the carpet was swept, and it smelled clean. Rosalie set her things down and ran a hand along her bed, already remembering the feeling of waking up with a sore back.
"It looks nice, thank you," Rosalie said. Jimmy was standing with his hands in his pockets, nodding with a slight smile.
"Everybody is excited to see you, do you want to go now or do you want to rest?" Jimmy asked.
"I would like to rest for a little bit, it's been a rough afternoon, at least for me," Rosalie whispered. Jimmy nodded and said he would check on her in a few hours, before leaving and quietly closing the door behind him.
Rosalie sat down on the side of her bed and stared at the door, wishing that Dandy's room was still on the opposite side. She had grown accustomed to having him knock on her door after he was done taking a nap, or startling her out of her wits when he barged in when one of his imaginative ideas were so exciting that he had to tell someone. She laid back and placed her hands on her stomach, feeling the uncomfortable twist and pull of nausea creeping up on her.
Thanksgiving was less than two weeks away, she could do this.
And what about after? When you won't be able to see him again?
Rosalie sighed and grabbed the fluffiest pillow she had before setting it over her face and screaming.
-
Dandy was taking his pent up anger out on the small punching bag in his room, imagining it was the head of that Jimmy Darling.
The anger he had for his mother, however, was unmatched.
He spent years despising his mother; she was never there for him as a child, she had better things to do than care for the boy Gloria had brought into this world so selfishly when she married her second cousin and decided to procreate. His angry punches became violent as he hit the bag so hard that his arms began to ache.
"I HATE HER!" Dandy yelled as he gave one last punch, nearly losing his balance at the hard shove he gave. He stepped away from the corner and sat on the couch in the middle of the room, running a hand through his dark hair.
Gloria had heard the commotion from downstairs and lingered outside of his door, raising a hand to gently knock. Dandy perked his ears up at the sound, standing up in his underwear. "WHAT?" he called.
"Dandy, may I come in?" she asked from the other side.
"No!" he said, his eyes glancing towards the white tub
sitting just a few feet away. "I'm indecent," he said, walking over and turning on the knob for the hot water. Gloria stood quietly, listening to the water splashing around in the bottom of the tub and decided to believe him.
"I will come back later, we have to talk, Dandy!" she requested, before quietly walking away and back down the steps. Dandy figured that he might as well take a bath, plugging the tub before stepping inside. The water was almost too hot to handle, but he stayed seated, enjoying the pain as it numbed what he was feeling in his heart.
-
Rosalie managed to take a nap before she slipped on her shoes, peeking her head out from her trailer door to see there was nobody in sight. She stepped out into the grass and started making her way to the big top, hoping that if anything, Ma Petite would be waiting, or Eve, or Pepper. Except for Jimmy, those were the ones she was closest to, they were good company.
She walked inside to see a long table set where the audience is usually seated during the show. Eve was laying out plates while Pepper carefully placed pieces of silverware on the napkins, doing her best to make everything perfect with her shaky hands. It was just the three of them.
Eve glanced over at the sound of gentle footsteps and her red-stained lips curved into a relieved smile. She instantly dropped the last plate she was holding, wandering over with her arms, outstretched, "Rosalie, you're back!"
Rosalie smiled and wrapped her arms around Eve's much taller frame. Their embrace was tight and comforting, just like it had always been. They pulled away when Pepper started tugging on Eve's light coat, wanting in on the action. Rosalie gave her a hug, laughing a little when Pepper smiled the biggest she had ever seen.
"How does it feel to be back?" Eve asked, smiling as she crossed her arms over her chest. Pepper went back to the table, her nose almost touching the plain white tablecloth as she continued setting the table.
"It's a little weird, it feels like a lot has changed..." Rosalie whispered. Eve nodded and beckoned for her to follow. Rosalie watched as they finished setting the table, listening as Eve explained they had three new acts, Desiree, Dell, and Maggie, all who showed up not too long after she ran off.
"Desiree is a gem, but I can't say the same about that Dell, though," Eve said as they finished by putting a fresh bouquet of flowers at the center of the table. Rosalie smiled at their beautiful handiwork. "He seems like an angry man, and that Maggie, I don't know her well enough to have an opinion," Eve said, before asking Pepper to inform the others that they were finished.
When they were alone, Eve sat down next to Rosalie, "Jimmy said you were staying with the Mott family," she said slowly.
"I wasn't planning on it, Gloria Mott found me and offered me some money to keep her son company, and I accepted..." she frowned, "I just ended up staying longer than intended,"
"He's not the one who broke your nose?" Eve asked, before gesturing to the small bandage on her nose. Rosalie told her the same thing she described to the doctor, and Eve didn't seem to question it much after that.
"We were all worried about you when Jimmy got the call saying you wanted to come home, we all thought you'd be in worst condition than you are!" Eve laughed a little, "It seems that you have been well taken care of though."
Rosalie smiled and nodded, though there was something off in her eyes, Eve didn't elaborate. The sound of footsteps approached from behind, and suddenly, there were cheers and laughter as everybody filed in carrying pots and plates of food. Rosalie stood up as she saw Jimmy, Pepper, Suzi, Ethel, and the newcomers as they came in to assist.
There was a lot of hugging and laughter before they all settled down in the seats, Jimmy introducing her to the newbies, and her eyes widened slightly at the sight of Maggie, the girl who Dandy almost sawed in half on Halloween night. Her hair was pulled back today, and her eyes seemed to have darkened at the sight of Rosalie. They almost had a staredown before the arrival of Bette, Dot, and Elsa caused them to break eye contact.
Rosalie stood up, smiling at Bette, who looked excited to see her. Dot and Elsa, however, watched her with a hint of dislike. Rosalie never had the chance to speak to Dot as much as she had with Bette, so she had expected that kind of reaction.
Elsa was smoking a cigarette as she watched Rosalie. The chatter in the room had died down, everyone almost holding their breath in case Elsa decided to chew Rosalie out for what happened.
"You're back," was all Elsa said, surprisingly.
"I'm back," Rosalie replied.
"You enjoyed your little vacation, I presume?"
Rosalie swallowed and shifted nervously in her spot. Elsa always could make her uncomfortable; you didn't constantly know what was going on in her head.
"I wouldn't call it much of a vacation as much as I would call it running scared," she said, figuring that if she made a fool of herself, she would at least be telling the truth.
Elsa stubbed out her cigarette on a dirty ashtray sitting on an upside-down bucket before breathing out the smoke. "Very well, I'm glad you're safe, all of my freaks are very important to me," she said before ultimately dismissing her when she sat at the head of the table.
Rosalie accepted this as tough love before slowly sitting down next to Eve, giving her a gentle smile.
They had really splurged for this meal; roast chicken, fresh vegetables, even a few loaves of bread that were still warm and fresh, the best the freak show had seen in weeks. Everybody ate, laughing and passing around two bottles of cheap wine. Both Jimmy and Ethel declined, which meant more for the others.
As the night went on and Rosalie felt more comfortable than she did earlier, it was impossible to ignore the glaring looks she was getting from Maggie.