//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: Grudging Approval // Story: Rosa // by awf //------------------------------// For once Rosa was happy that Mrs. Boone had come home, because it broke the uncomfortable tension in the house. She couldn't make herself go upstairs to face Benjamin, so the mare was still in the laundry room when the car drove up to the house. When she heard Lillian talking, Rosa almost came out to greet them, but then she glanced at her nightgown and thought better of it. It would be best not to shove it in Mrs. Boone's face. Rosa listened to the lady's footsteps as she went from the front door to the kitchen, pausing to talk briefly with her husband. She was probably going to make dinner and Rosa used the opportunity while the Mrs. was washing her hands to slip past the door. It was basically evening, so she probably didn't have to worry about her nightgown, but it was better to avoid these problems if she could. Mr. Boone was watching his movie again, so Rosa just went upstairs to find the girl. Lillian was in her room, surrounded by bags and boxes. She heard Rosa come in and turned around, already smiling. "Hey Rosa! Do you like my new dress?" She was wearing a long dress with a pale green bodice, a very frilly skirt, and no sleeves. It looked nice and airy, perfect for summer. Silk, Rosa guessed with her inexpert eye. "It's beautiful," she praised truthfully. Rosa wondered if she could get something similar, except made for a pony. A dress like that would make working on those flowers a great deal more comfortable than the stuffy, black, maid's uniform, especially with summer right around the corner. It also wouldn't show grass stains as much, if the dress itself was also green. "I have a new hat too!" Lillian proclaimed and picked up another box to show her pony friend. It was a wide-brimmed, yellow thing which almost looked like it was woven from straw. Rosa leaned in to smell it, but all she could detect was a chemical mix of plastic and glue. If it really was made from dried grass, it had been treated with something, probably to make it more sturdy and lasting. There was also a band of red cloth around it with a bow in the front. As she was inspecting the thing, Lillian just slipped it on the mare. Rosa had to lean her head uncomfortably far back to see her friend, because the brim covered most of her vision. "Hey!" she said in mock annoyance. Lillian was already giggling, but Rosa just reached up and adjusted it so she could see better. Then she examined herself in the mirror on the front of Lillian's wardrobe. "Actually, I kinda like it." The girl inspected her with a critical eye, then nodded. "Uh-huh! You look pretty. You can borrow it if you like!" she graciously offered. Rosa returned her smile. "Thank you! Maybe when I'm working in the garden, you know? So I don't get heatstroke."It could come in very handy in summer. She really should get Mr. Boone to buy her both a dress and a hat like that, especially if Mrs. Boone would let the mare help with her flowers more often. For the moment, though, Rosa removed the hat and dropped it back in the box. "So! Get ready for bed. Is your homework done?" Lillian just nodded wordlessly. "Good. Then I'll just go shower real quick and if you like we can read the book for a bit!" Before Rosa could leave, Lillian gave her a hug around the withers, then started undressing. Rosa closed the door on the way out to give her privacy. As she was passing Benjamin's closed door she paused to think. She really shouldn't be putting this off, because it would just get harder and harder. Rosa reached a decision and, taking a deep breath, she knocked. There was nothing for a while, then a faint, subdued "Yeah?" Encouraged, Rosa reared up so she could reach the handle and open the door. "Hi..." The boy was sitting on his bed, glaring at her. "What do you want?" Rosa was hoping he would mention something about his homework or tutoring, but no such luck. "I was, um, w-wondering if you... needed something?" It was lame and the boy probably sensed that, but it was the best she could come up with. "No!" Rosa took a step closer to bring herself within arm's reach. She wished he would just pet her and feel how soft and warm her fur was! Rosa was sure he would like her then! "I don't want us to fight, Benjamin," she said softly. "I'm here to help." He didn't respond, but at least it wasn't a flat refusal. "Look - what are you learning in Maths class right now?" Still no answer. Rosa stepped forward and slid her head under his fingers. His hand jerked away, but at least he spoke again: "Fractions." "Good. I'm good with that." A more direct approach was needed. After all, she was five years older than him. She really should show her age a bit more, servant or not. "Tomorrow after school, I'll come here and we'll do it together, okay?" Benjamin just kept staring at her. Rosa kept his gaze for a few more seconds, then walked out as calmly and as nonchalantly as she could, even thought she couldn't keep her tail from swishing in annoyance. He probably didn't know pony body language, so it was fine. She made her way to the bathroom and slipped out of the nightgown. That part was easy, but then it was time to face her arch-nemesis again. The panties. At least the shower would be nice and warm, and then she could put off another struggle with the wretched underwear until morning. Oh, and she shouldn't forget to fetch her uniform from the drier so it would be ready for next morning. It should be done by the time Rosa was ready for bed. After the shower Rosa gave her mane a very quick brushing. There was no point in putting in serious effort, really. It would just get tangled up while she slept, so she would have to deal with it the next morning either way. After the brush, it was just a short job to clean her teeth, before... Just as she was finishing with that, there came a knock on the door. "Mmmpmh!" Rosa tried to yell out through a mouthful of foam. She quickly spat it out. "Just a minute!" She twisted around to throw the nightgown over herself, then nearly fell from the stool. The clopping of her hooves probably sounded like tap dancing for a moment there. Rosa hurriedly pulled the dress on and straightened it out as best she could. "Okay, you can come in!" The door opened to admit the boy. "I need to use the bathroom," he said. She was essentially done, although this was the second evening he had interrupted her right in the middle of brushing. Rosa wondered if that was going to be a common thing between them two. At least this time she was fully dressed and the boy didn't end up embarrassed. "Thank you for knocking! Sure, go ahead. I'm done." She walked out and the door shut behind her. Too late she remembered the panties lying in the corner. Ah well, Rosa thought, hopefully Benjamin wouldn't mind those and she could always get them later. She had more in her room anyway. Putting the strange little human out of her mind, Rosa went instead to Lillian's room, where the girl was already sitting on her bed. She lifted up the book and smiled when the mare entered. Rosa went to her and tugged on her blanket. "Come on, under the covers. I don't want you to get cold," she told the child. Lillian obediently slipped under the blanket, then held it up for her friend to join her. "Rosa," she asked quietly, "is Benjamin in trouble?" Rosa froze, but then slid closer so she could nuzzle the girl. Her arm went around the pony automatically. "Um, what makes you say that?" Lillian shrugged, then absentmindedly patted her on the nose. "I heard Mom and Dad talking about it..." It would only be fair to tell her the truth, but it would also be a good idea to edit it a little bit. There was no need to worry the sweet child. "Well, he is having some problems with Math." Lillian nodded sagely. "He doesn't like Math. He told me." "Yes, and I offered to help, but he said no," Rosa explained. "Why did he say no?" That was a difficult one and Rosa had to think for a moment before replying: "I guess he didn't like the idea of learning something from a pony." "That's silly!" She smiled back at Lillian. "Yes, it is. But don't worry, I explained there's nothing wrong with accepting a bit of help, even if it is from a pony." The hug around her barrel tightened for a moment. "That's good," Lillian commented, but then apparently put the whole thing out of her mind. She pulled the book closer until it was in reach of Rosa's hooves. "Okay, so where were we? Let's see here..." Rosa fell silent when she heard footsteps approaching and looked up just in time to see Mr. Boone poke his head into the room. "Oh, you're reading," he stated the obvious. Despite the fact that she had done nothing wrong, Rosa's ears automatically flattened. "Um, yes. Just for a bit before bed, Mr. Boone," she explained. "Good. That's good." The man disappeared from view and walked over to Benjamin's room. The boy wasn't in, so Mr. Boone just sighed and went back to the master bedroom. That was probably a good thing - Rosa didn't want Lillian to listen to another argument between the two. She also guessed that this meant Mr. Boone condoned her cuddling Lillian in her bed and reading with her. That was also good to know. For a moment Rosa wondered why Mrs. Boone never seemed to check on her daughter, but it was not really any of her business so the mare shrugged a little to herself and bent down to the book again. "Just one chapter, okay?" she told the girl. Lillian didn't seem disappointed. "Okay." That was probably because she would sneak over to Rosa's room anyway. She really hoped they never got caught... Morning was nothing special. Rosa woke up the most comfortable she'd ever been in her life, then regretfully bundled Lillian off to her own bed before going about her starting-the-day routine. As she was leaving the bathroom she remembered the forgotten panties and went back to fetch them. They were gone. A frantic search later left Rosa sitting in the middle of the room and nervously biting on her hoof as she thought. Could Mr. or Mrs. Boone have taken them? Rosa knew the wife used to do laundry before she came, maybe she had just seen them and took them downstairs to the hamper? Not so much because she was being kind perhaps, but because she was annoyed at Rosa's negligence? Maybe it was simply out of habit. Could she have thought they were Lillian's? The hole for Rosa's tail wasn't really obvious if one didn't look closely. The most important question, though: was Rosa about to get yelled at? Maybe it had been Mr. Boone, who didn't want his children exposed to 'smut', as he had put it? Did he know Benjamin had used the bathroom after Rosa? The mare might be getting another lecture about propriety that day. Well, there was nothing to be done about that for the moment. It took an effort of will to calm herself down, after which Rosa went back to her room and struggled into her troublesome underwear and the freshly washed and dried uniform. Then she fetched Lillian and took her to breakfast. No one said anything about her mistake, so Rosa convinced herself that one of the grownups had indeed cleaned up after her, but they didn't know, or weren't annoyed enough to mention it, or simply didn't care all that much. Despite that, it shouldn't ever happen again. Rosa silently told herself to be more diligent in the future. She was lost in her thoughts when suddenly the lady of the house spoke to her: "Rosa." Her head jerked up her ears automatically lowered as Rosa tried not to squeak in alarm. "Y-Yes?" She swallowed a nervous lump and awaited her tongue-lashing. "I've been to see the flowerbeds yesterday," Mrs. Boone said. "You left a pile of weeds right out in the open." That was right! She had completely forgotten about those once Lillian had come home. Rosa blurted out: "I'm s-sorry. I didn't know w-where to take those and then I forgot. Sorry!" The lady stared at her for a while, then went on. "Take it out front to the biodegradables bin." "Um... is there a basket or something I can use?" More silent scrutiny before the Mrs. spoke again: "There's a wheelbarrow, but you won't be able to use it. It's built for a human." Rosa waited in case there was any other advice, but none seemed forthcoming. "I'll- I'll figure it out. T-Thanks for telling me, Mrs. Boone." The woman was already focusing on her newspaper again and seemed to be ignoring her. Maybe Rosa could get an old plastic bag or something to get the weeds out, but even if not, she would clean them up. She'd take them mouthful by mouthful if she had to! There was just one more thing she wanted to know. "Um, Mrs. Boone? Did I weed the flowers properly?" she asked. The lady looked up, then shrugged. "I suppose. It's not absolutely terrible." "Then - may I help you with the other flowerbeds, too?" "Sure," she replied, not even looking at Rosa anymore. It was a bit insulting and ungrateful, but the mare was trying to make a good impression so she let it slide. It helped when she caught a tiny, approving nod from the husband. The rest of the breakfast passed in relative silence. Once it was done, Mr. Boone instructed Rosa to have the children down for school in five minutes, so she took Lillian up to get her backpack. On the way she pushed her hand against Rosa's nose and opened her palm. It was a piece of toast, which she gratefully accepted and swallowed in a single bite. "Thank you, sweetheart!" It reminded Rosa that she was hungry. There were a few more pieces of toast which didn't get eaten and she was looking forward to having them when everyone was gone. Maybe they wouldn't be enough, but she could just pour some cereal if that was the case. Rosa waited patiently for Lillian to give her a hug, before helping her with her shoes and taking her backpack. "You have a good day at school, okay? I'll see you later!" she told her. "Yes, Rosa! You too!" She saw the girl to the front door, waited for a few more head pats and then waved her goodbye. There were no special instructions from Mr. Boone for the day. Rosa decided to clean up the mess in the garden first and then do the dishes from breakfast. After that she would weed a few more flowerbeds. It turned out she was actually looking forward to that. There was something about working with plants that was just so fulfilling. Almost like working with children. She headed out into the garden and inspected the pile of leaves and plants in the grass. It was a bigger pile than she had thought and taking it by mouthfuls would be impractical. Rosa also couldn't just pile it up on her back without messing up the uniform again. Sighing, she went back to the house and rummaged around the open pool. There was a plastic bucket which smelled strongly of chlorine. It would do. It didn't have a proper handle, but she could balance it easily on her back, after making sure the bottom was clean, of course. Rosa managed to pile up all the plant refuse in and then she took it out front. Luckily, the bins were labeled by drawings. One of them had a banana peel, some leaves and a circle made of arrows which usually meant recycling but this time probably stood for compost. It was a bit tall for her, so Rosa left the bucket in front of it and went to fetch the stool she used to do dishes. Keeping her balance while standing on her hind legs and holding the bucket in her teeth was tricky, but Rosa managed it for long enough to lift the lid and dump the weeds inside. Then it took her two more trips to return the items back to their proper places and she was done. There, a job well done meant she had earned breakfast, so Rosa went to check out the leftover toast and butter in the kitchen. She decided to sweep up later in the day, in case she tracked any dirt or stones in the house, which meant that she had a mostly free morning after the dishes. A thought occurred and Rosa walked over to the couch. The TV. She was really curious about it. She could go and see what kind of movies the humans had on it. Well, movie. Singular. Rosa didn't want to lose too much time to the thing. It had always been heavily discouraged, even forbidden, at the School, but she was out in the world now, without all the teachers and guards and Instructors looking over her shoulder. Surely she was allowed to watch a little! Dishes first, though! Rosa couldn't afford to let her standards slide and become a lazy, useless nag. She was still excited about the movie, though, and she started humming happily as she headed back to the kitchen.