The Girls on Rose Hill Read Free Page A

Behind Granny's back, Mom would roll her eyes. Never to Granny's face, though. My meek mother wasn't that brave. Honestly, I wasn't sure what would cheer my mother up. Her friends from the Rosary Society had plastered her room with enough prayer cards and bloody pictures of the Sacred Heart to cause even the Pope lose his lunch. Her room was already full of flowers. Other than flowers and Jesus, my mother didn't have too many other interests. At least none that I knew of. Still, I had to try and do something to lift her spirits. God knows our stilted conversations hadn't cheered her up. After a half hour in each other's company, she'd stare out the window biting her lip and I'd have a migraine.
    I hit pay dirt when I found an old photo album with Margaret O'Connor Sullivan written in faded ink on the inside cover. Margaret died when I was a baby, but I knew how close my mother was to her aunt.
    "Find anything?" Veronica asked pleasantly, the shower having improved her mood.
    "Mostly old letters. But I did find this album." I flipped through the pages. "Look, here's a picture of my grandfather."
    "He was handsome."
    "Kitty always said that Tim Murphy from Monaghan was the most beautiful man she ever saw."
    Veronica pointed to a picture of Tim with his arms around a petite dark haired woman. "Hey, that's not Granny Kitty, is it?"
    "No, that's Auntie Margaret." I turned another page to find Tim and Margaret holding hands at Coney Island.
    Veronica idly twisted one of her damp curls around her finger as she lay sprawled across Kitty's bed. "She looks just like Nana. Those two look very chummy, don't they?"
    "Oh, didn't I tell you? He used to be engaged to Auntie Margaret."
    "Get out!" Veronica sat up. "You never told me that."
    "I didn't? Well, that's probably because Kitty didn't like to talk about it, and neither did my mother. I only found out from one of my cousins at a family wedding a few years ago."
    "So you've never seen these pictures?" Veronica asked.
    "Nope, and I'm surprised Kitty didn't burn them. She never had anything good to say about Margaret. Here's a picture of Kitty and Margaret on Kitty's wedding day."
    "Why is Margaret carrying a bouquet? Oh my God, she wasn't the bridesmaid, was she?"
    "Apparently."
    "This is better than a soap opera." Veronica jumped off the bed to get a better look. "How did Kitty wind up with Tim anyway?"
    "That was a bit of a scandal. Kitty used to work in a bar."
    "Granny Kitty worked in a bar? Miss 'tanks tops are not appropriate clothing for young ladies'? Miss 'red nail polish looks cheap'? I don't believe you."
    Veronica had only known my grandmother when she was ancient; gnarled with arthritis and, near the end, crippled by dementia. The thought of Granny Kitty serving drinks and flirting with brawny Irishman was obviously a bit shocking to my daughter. I ruffled Veronica's hair. "Before she became a practical nurse, Kitty was a bar maid. I believe she was very popular."
    "Well, look at her." Veronica pointed to the wedding picture. "Even in those awful clothes, she was pretty hot." The faded black and white photo couldn't hide Kitty's dazzling wide smile and luscious hour glass figure.
    Veronica held up a picture of Tim and Kitty kissing next to a Christmas tree. "Can you believe that these two people produced Nana? I know that sounds mean, and you know how much I love Nana, but come on. These two are smoking and Nana, well, she's just not."
    "Smoking or not, your grandmother's always been very good to you. And we're supposed to find some happy, uplifting pictures. Pictures of dead people, no matter how hot, are not what your grandmother needs right now. I can't believe you forgot to bring up my photo albums. I promised Molly we'd meet her at St. Francis by two, so let's just do the best we can. You go through those boxes by the window while I try another one of these drawers."
    "Okay," Veronica said with a dramatic sigh. She clearly wanted to hear more about her great