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Rose had been very busy these past few days. However, her work at the grief center wasn't the cause. Everyone who knew her, knew that Rose couldn't say no when someone asked for her help, and lately, everyone seemed to want her help. That also meant, that she didn't have much time to spend with her girlfriend.
Dorothy was surprised to wake up on a Sunday morning and feel Rose's side of the bed empty and cold. She looked at the clock and saw that it was only 8 o’ clock. She put on her robe and walked to the kitchen, where she found Rose pouring sauce into jars.
“Good morning, Dorothy,” greeted Rose.
“Give me one good reason why you're not in bed with me.”
“Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie, but Sophia needed my help with a new idea she had. She's going to sell her own sauce.”
“Couldn't this wait a few hours?”
“Sophia said that it was urgent.”
“Where is she?”
“She said that she was going to find someone who could help her with her business.”
“Wait till she gets back and then you'll see what's going to happen.”
“Oh, Dorothy, don't be angry at her. Sophia is old, she wants something to occupy herself with.”
“She can knit. She doesn't have to involve you in her schemes, especially when it takes you away from our time together.”
“Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you.”
“You better. How soon does this jar thing end?”
“Oh, well, I'll probably need a couple of hours.”
“Okay, maybe we can cuddle a bit after lunch. Maybe take a siesta.”
“Oh. Well…”
“What?”
“I have to go shopping with Blanche, she said that she needs someone with her. And then, I have to go over to Renee's house. She asked to see me.”
“So, we can't even spend our Sunday together?!”
“It's only for this Sunday.”
Dorothy was too frustrated to say anything, so she just walked out of the kitchen.
Unfortunately, Rose was very busy during the next few days. Their neighbor, Renee, had asked Rose to make some desserts for her daughter's engagement party. But that wasn't the only favor. Another neighbor needed something, Sophia needed a favor, even a couple of people Rose knew from her volunteer work had asked for her help.
She kept apologizing to Dorothy, as she seemed more and more angry by the lack of time spent together. Rose was very stressed, worried and trying to make sure everyone was happy. Even her sleep schedule had changed, as she went late to bed and got up early. She'd started sleeping separately from Dorothy, because she didn't want to wake her up. In addition to that, she tried to avoid Dorothy's questions. She knew that Dorothy had every right to be upset, but she hated the idea of disappointing all these people. Once, she even felt a little bit dizzy, as she was getting ready to leave, but was able to recover fast enough, so that by the time Dorothy walked in, she was already feeling better. Thankfully, Dorothy hadn't noticed.
Dorothy herself was very angry and she had been missing Rose a lot. Whenever she complained, Rose would say that that would be the last favor. Dorothy was tired of this situation. She also noticed how little rest Rose got and kept trying to tell her to rest, to sleep more, but Rose kept insisting she was fine. She was surprisingly stubborn.
It quickly became more and more obvious to Dorothy how exhausted Rose had been getting.
One morning, Dorothy walked into the kitchen and found Rose standing behind the kitchen island, writing something on a notepad. Blanche and Sophia were not home.
“Another favor?” Dorothy asked in a sour tone.
Rose exhaled. “Yes. I have to buy a few things.”
“Rose, this has gotten out of hand.”
“Dorothy, I said I will stop.”
“You've said it many times and you still haven't done it!”
“What do you expect me to do? People need my help!”
“No, Rose. They're using you! They're taking advantage of your unwillingness to say no!”
“That's not true!”
“It is! I mean, where are they going to find another idiot to agree to do all their favors?!”
Rose was taken aback. She frowned.
“They need my help.”
“And I need my girlfriend! We haven't even kissed properly in days! When was the last time we cuddled? Are all these people more important to you?!”
“No, Dorothy. You know how important you are to me.”
“Do I? Because you haven't been showing me that.”
“I… I have to help these people. I will stop soon.”
“Will you? Not only are you not spending time with me, but you are also neglecting yourself! I know that you have been exerting yourself, Rose. What if something happens to you? You have to take care of yourself. You already seem very exhausted!”
“I'm fine!”
“Stop lying!”
“I said I'm-” Rose stopped abruptly. She was about to turn away, when she suddenly felt dizzy from the movement. She supported herself by placing her hands on the kitchen island.
“Rose?” Dorothy asked, immediately alarmed.
Rose was looking down, waiting for the dizziness to go away.
“It's nothing. I'm only a little bit dizzy…”
Upon hearing that, Dorothy approached her and wrapped her arms around Rose's middle, supporting her, right at the time when her knees gave out.
“Rose!”
Rose was still conscious but she couldn't hear anything other than the ringing in her ears and she felt a weird sensation inside her body. Long fingers turned her face towards Dorothy, who seemed to be saying something. Her vision had started to black out, but not before seeing Dorothy's panicked expression. She closed her eyes shut, as she could no longer see anything and she barely registered that she was being lifted. The ringing wouldn't stop and she could feel her heart's erratic beating.
Dorothy carried Rose quickly to her bedroom. She put her on the bed, then went back to the kitchen and got a glass of water.
She sat next to Rose's body, feeling her pulse.
“Rose?”
“Mm,” Rose said weakly, while her eyes were still closed.
Dorothy was relieved that she was still semiconscious. However, she could still hear her shallow breathing, and that didn’t allow her panic to rest aside.
She dipped her fingers into the glass and then dabbed some water on Rose's face. Then, she took a magazine and used it as a fan. After a minute, Rose opened her eyes.
“What- what happened?” She asked in a weak voice.
“You almost fainted.”
“Oh. I remember… All I could hear was this awful piercing noise in my ears.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Better than a minute ago.”
“Rose, you scared me.”
“I'm sorry, Dorothy. Once this favor is done, I'll definitely stop.”
“What?”
“Once thi-”
“I heard that, Rose! Do you honestly think that I'll let you exert yourself after what just happened to you?!”
“But, Dorothy-”
“There's no ‘but’, Rose! You almost fainted, today! Your body is telling you that it needs rest! That means no more favors! And you'll also take some days off work.”
“What?! Dorothy, I can't-”
“Rose! If you think that I'll let you go out there and then have to worry about you fainting somewhere, you're wrong! You are under mandatory rest! And I will hear no complaints!”
Rose knew better than to argue. She hadn't seen this side of Dorothy many times, but she knew better than to poke the bear.
Dorothy called the grief center and everyone who was expecting a favor from Rose and informed them that she was sick.
She also told Blanche and Sophia, who seemed to feel a bit guilty. They made sure to check up on Rose whenever Dorothy couldn't, to ensure that she was resting. Both Blanche and Sophia were worried about Rose, when they heard of what had happened.
Dorothy made her best to be near Rose as much as possible for the next week. They spent most of it in bed or on the couch. Dorothy had found ways to make sure Rose wouldn't get up and try to do some kind of chore.
They used a lot of their time in bed to cuddle. She held Rose very close and would only let her get up for food - the main meals only, the rest she ate in bed - or to use the bathroom. The first few days, she seemed very worried about Rose fainting again and she stood close to her whenever she would walk, her eyes constantly on her, ready to support her before she fell.
One evening, Dorothy brought the plates from the kitchen table to the sink, along with Blanche, where Sophia was washing them. When Dorothy turned around, Rose was nowhere to be seen.
“Where's Rose?”
“Maybe she went to the bathroom,” said Blanche.
Dorothy walked fast out of the kitchen and found Rose in the hallway.
“Hold it.”
Rose turned toward her. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Why didn't you wait for me to walk with you?”
“I feel much better now. I can walk on my own to the bathroom. You don't need to worry.”
“I can't control it. I just… worry.”
“I'm fine, silly.”
“Alright.”
Rose kept smiling, blinking. “Won't you go back to the kitchen?”
“Oh, no. I'll stay here and wait for you to come out of the bathroom. I think that that's a lot of progress for a day.”
“It's better than nothing.”
Rose had to admit that she liked being on the receiving end of Dorothy's attention. She liked seeing how much Dorothy cared for her. But, Dorothy was a bit too overprotective.
One evening, the phone rang while they were all having dinner in the kitchen. Rose went to get up, but Dorothy placed a hand on her shoulder and stood up to pick up the phone.
“Hello?”
“…”
“Yes.”
“…”
“She's busy right now. Is this something important?”
“…”
“She can't.”
“…”
“Because she's sick! Because she has been doing all these stupid favors for idiots like you!”
“…”
“If you call again, I'll make sure to break every-” she suddenly looked at Rose, seeing the shocked expression on her face. Even Blanche and Sophia were looking at her with raised eyebrows.
She turned around and spoke in a low voice.
“Bone in your body. Got it?” She hang up the phone.
She turned around, trying to seem nonchalant about the whole incident. Blanche and Sophia glanced at each other, aware of the shift in the atmosphere.
Rose didn't know how to feel. She felt awfully embarrassed for the way Dorothy had talked to whoever had been on the other side of the line. However, she also understood why Dorothy had acted the way she had. She would have also been terrified if what had happened to her, were to happen to Dorothy. When she got in a relationship with her, she knew that she gets overprotective with the people she loves, and that that gets even more intense because of her anger issues.
She didn't comment on what had happened.
When they got back to their room, Dorothy decided to speak about it.
“Rose, back in the kitchen, what I said… you have to understand that-”
“It's fine, Dorothy.”
“It is?”
“Yes. Though, I don't agree with your methods, I can understand. I am sorry for worrying you. I am sorry for neglecting you. I know I can't say no when someone asks for my help.”
“Hey,” Dorothy said as she gathered Rose in her arms. “There’s no reason to start crying. No crying. I was upset, but this is something that we will work on. When someone asks for help and you don't want to say no, tell them that you already have plans with me.”
“Oh. How come I never thought about this? But, what will I say the plan is?”
“You don't have to say what. You can vaguely mention that we have plans… or, you can say that your girlfriend is hungry.”
“For what?”
“For you.”
“What do you- Dorothy! I can't say that!”
“I can. I can tell them that I can't wait to take off your clothes, kiss you senseless-”
“Do you want me to faint again?”
Dorothy chuckled. “I’m kidding. Just tell them we have plans. You don’t owe anyone a detailed program of your free time. Alright?”
“Okie dokie. From now on, I’ll be using that excuse.”
“Good. Oh, just so you know, it won’t just be an excuse for a while. You need to make it up to me for all that lost time.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Rose said with a smile.
A couple of evenings later, they were alone in the house and they were sitting on the couch, when Rose got up.
“Where are you going?”
“To wash the dishes.”
“Rose.”
“What? I'm just going to wash the dishes.”
“We agreed no chores.”
“But, Dorothy, I have to do something.”
“Fine. But first, I need a favor.”
“Alright. What is it?”
Dorothy lied down on the couch.
“I need you to lie on top of me so that we can cuddle for five minutes.”
“That's not a favor.”
“Of course it is. I need cuddles. Am I not worth this favor?”
“Oh, of course you are, sweetheart,” Rose said as her heart melted.
She lied on top of Dorothy, resting her head on Dorothy's shoulder. Dorothy wrapped her arms around her waist and they continued watching TV.
Ten minutes later, Rose tried to get up, but Dorothy's arms held her in place.
“Dorothy?”
“Yes?”
“I have to get up.”
“No, you don't.”
“But you said only five minutes.”
“Well, I lied.”
“Dorothy-”
“I want to spend more time with you. We agreed that you rest for a week. The week isn't over. I need you, Rosie.”
She tilted her head and kissed her, while Rose kissed her back tenderly.
“Alright,” said Rose, trying to play it cool, even though it was obvious that kissing Dorothy was much more important than any chore.
She laid back down on Dorothy's shoulder and stayed there, until they fell asleep.