The Story of Rosemary Buttons: Her early years

By Gregory J. McKenzie

This is the early years in a story about a most remarkable female. Peacemaker at birth she goes on to bind an extended family in times of enormous upheaval. There are many problems for Rosie to overcome. Her birth mother dies when she is two so this infant is raised by her grandmothers. Her two brother fight continually with Rosie often having to seperate them. Once Rosie goes to school she is targeted by trolls. Then she has to watch her best friend attempt suicide. \\\but everything works out when Rosie gets a new mother. Then she can focus on her academic future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tablo Publishing
• Release date: Jun 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781925819403

Book preview

Family

Rosemary Buttons was not yet one when her mother got sick. Mr. Buttons was in a desperate position. He had to work to pay the rent but now there were two boys under the age of ten and one baby girl to look after. Desperate he called on his mother and his mother-in-law. They both arrived determined to take charge. But two strong minded women rarely give ground in such a demarcation dispute. They began to negotiate terms with excessive politeness. Mr. Buttons knew that this was a bad sign but was powerless to change anything. First Grandma Rose, who was Mr. Buttons mother, said,

    Well Mary, I imagine you will be wanting to get back to your husband now that you see I have everything under control?

    Mr. Buttons knew that tone of voice as one his mother employed when she would brook no argument. Holding his breath he awaited the response from his mother-in-law. She came back in the tone of voice that implied butter would not melt in her mouth. Her words were carefully chosen and meticulously aimed at cutting the ground from under her rival's feet. She said in a sickly sweet way.

        "Rose I would not think of abandoning my grandchildren in this hour of need. You have so many responsibilities already, it was brave of you to come here to offer your services. But I won't hear of you wearing yourself out, when I am so strong and able to cope with this disaster. None of us are getting any younger are we now?'

    Suddenly Mr. Buttons felt the urge to yell,

                                                                              INCOMING!

but restrained himself just in time to hear his mother fire back this overly polite rejoinder,

      Well of course I am much younger than you, so can do more than one thing at a time. No we simply cannot impose on you a minute longer. I am sure my husband and I can manage OUR grandchildren well enough to let OUR son keep working at his job.

    You could almost see the steam rise out of his mother-in-law's ears, thought Mr. Buttons. Much as he was enjoying this 'tennis match'  of  polite civility he knew that he had to intervene. They had both forgotten about his hospital visits. So he said in a forthright tone of voice,

    Now listen you two, I need both of you to help. Its not just babysitting my kids whilst I am at work. I have to visit Mrs. Buttons ..not you Mum but my the other Mrs. Buttons...in hospital twice a day. Once early in the morning before I go to work and then after work in the evenings. That means someone has to get the boys up and dressed for school then take them to their school bus stop. At the same time Rosemary has to be bathed and given her breakfast. Unless you are twins neither of you can be in two places at the same time. In the evening there is the boys bath time. That will be tough enough but then its dinner for the boys and Rosemary. Again no one person can do that alone....Yes Mum, but you know that Dad goes to sleep at five in the afternoon. No it will take the both of you to cover all that, even before we get to the lunches every day, the house cleaning and the nappy changes. Then there are the bottles to prepare for Rosemary. Plus the grocery shopping. Be sensible you need to work together to do all that without killing yourselves.

    Knowing that he had probably said too much Mr. Buttons stopped talking and waited for the explosions.

    Just then Rosemary cried in a heart piercing way. Suddenly the two women in the room remembered that their granddaughter was alone and not likely to see her Mum for a long period of time. That cry destroyed their stubborn defenses. Suddenly they saw the need to help despite their pride.

    His mother was the first to break the awkard silence. In a reluctantly compliant tone of voice she said,

        Well if you put it that way, I suppose I could be persuaded to share the burden until your wife is better.

    Not to be outdone in the common sense stakes, his mother-in-law quickly chipped in with,

        Certainly I will be there to do my share. My daughter needs time in hospital and I will not let her down. We can take shifts to get all those chores done in proper order.

    His mother was not going to be shown up as ungenerous, so she said in a matter of fact tone of voice,

        Excellent suggestion Mary. I will take the morning shift if that is okay with you and your husband.

    Never before had Mr. Buttons heard his mother-in-law sound so  reasonable than when she replied in a calm tone of voice,

        Exceptionally good of you Rose. I will be back at just after midday to begin my shift.

    Not wanting to disturb this rare moment of family harmony in any way Mr. Buttons slipped out of the room to give Rosemary a big kiss. He was in no doubt that it was her plaintive crying that had broken the hard hearts of those two proud women.  

Endings

 Eventually Mrs. Buttons recovered from her illness. Back home with her boys who would not stop hugging their Mum and her baby, she was happy. But when her husband told her how BOTH her mother AND her mother-in-law worked together to keep her family going...well she was flabbergasted. Her mum was not the easiest woman to get along with. Even though Mrs. Buttons loved her deeply, she knew this from past experiences. Like the time her mum had told off the postman for not delivering her mail on time, or that time she marched into the local butcher shop to tell off the butcher about what she called 'fake steak'.

        That her mother-in-law also co-operated so peacefully totally astounded Mrs. Buttons. Not a great fan of her husband's mother, Mrs. Buttons now had to reassess that opinion.  Still the important thing was that her family did not suffer from her absence in hospital. Mrs. Buttons got on with her busy life tHankful that she had that support behind her.

        Unfortunately her health had been compromised by her long stay in hospital. The decline was gradual but it was constant. Mr. Buttons began to notice that his wife was often tired at the end of the day. Two boisterous boys and a baby who was becoming a toddler may have explained this if if was not for the young age of his wife. A poem came to his mind that he had learnt as a schoolboy. It began to run in his mind every time he heard his wife have a coughing fit. That poem was unsourced having been written too long ago to recall its authorship. It went like this

                        As the beauty of a rose

                        Begins to fade

                        The decline is slow

                        Until death ruins its pose.

This poem sent a chill up Mr. Buttons' spine because his wife had been named after her mother.    

When Rosemary was not that much older, her mother was rushed to hospital. This time she did not return. Her sons were inconsolable. Rosemary somehow knew that her father needed her to hug him and give him a kiss as often as possible. Mr. Buttons could not feel anything but somehow his little daughter could get through to that deep pain in his heart and soothe his suffering.  As time got a move along, Mr. Buttons moved out of his denial phase into his angry period. He could no longer go into any church. Neither could not he even pray in private. His only lifeline was an infant daughter that could clam his mind and gladden his heart.  

    Rosemary's brothers fought each other more often and sometimes violently. Rosemary would often step in between them, holding up her little arms to separate them at the worst point of their fights. Sometimes she had to suffer their blows but she would not back away. Eventally her brothers respected her courageous attempts to end these fights. From that time they rarely ever fought in front of their little sister. 

Coping

It seemed to take forever for Rosemary to get out of her childhood stage. She went off to school at the local Catholic Primary, then did all the things a young schoolgirl would do with her classmates. Soon those classmates appreciated what a gem this girl they all nicknamed 'Ro' was.  She always seemed to calm down any tense situation. Her teaches also noticed this about little Rosemary. She became a much cherished 'Bin monitor' before reaching the high status of 'Hall monitor' in her final year at primary school. In all that time she did not report one student to the Principal for any infringement of school rules. But the bins under her watch were never messy and the hall she watched over was quiet. 

        At home Rosemary continued to step between her brothers when their fights go too serious. She seemed to be able to calm any family dispute. Her father found peace in just being with his daughter. A strong bond developed between them that would stand the test of time. Rosemary was happy on her twelfth birthday. Her whole extended family turned up to Rosemary's birthday party in the park. The family called her Rose's daughter until she was too old to deserve that appellation.

        High school is nothing like primary school. For a start Rosemary had to travel a fair distance to get to this new school. It was not just down the street and around the corner like her former school. Then she had to say goodbye to school friends she had spent the last seven years getting to know. Now it was new school with new friends that swamped her daily life. Those who remember their high school days will know that the comfort zone can shift quickly. Rosemary went from a group that cared greatly for her  safety and peace of mind to a less friendly environment. It did not help that Rosemary was such a pretty teenager. Girls of that young age find it hard to make friends if there is any jealousy about the way they all look. 

    Through all these trials, Rosemary remained outwardly calm. Some mistook this for meekness and even low intelligence. Rosemary was fierce in her defense of her family and as intelligent as the brightest girl in her class.  Some perceptive teachers noticed that when Rosemary entered a classroom it was like a calming breeze had blown across the room. Yet not all teachers appreciated this about Rosemary. Some class mates positively hated her for not being as aggro as they were and for not being a stirrer. With social media such a part of any teenager's life the inevitable happened. Trolls are a plague on any social media and they are insidious. Rosemary was to suffer like a lot of teenagers of her age.

Yet her high school experience started with a lot of promise for the future education of this remarkably calm young girl. In Year Seven there was Grandparents Day for Rosemary to show off her strong family ties. Both Grandmother Rose and Grandmother Mary turned up dragging their husbands along to be gawked at by twelve and thirteen year old girls. Rosemary's teacher saw the family resemblances in all their faces. Her Form mistress was pleased to see that this student, whom she knew had no mother, had such support from her grandparents. From their experience they knew that family support was vital for teenage girls, particularly in their early years.

    Even Year Eight posed no real problems at school for Rosemary. She picked up classmates easily. There were sleep overs at her house, where her brothers were teased ruthlessly by Rosemary's friends. Then there were parties at their houses, where Rosemary experienced the tyranny of older sisters as well as the annoying pranks of younger siblings. All in all ,Rosemary enjoyed her first two years at her all girls high school. The literacy and numeracy results from her country's nationwide exams were not startling but neither were they disappointing.

    It was not until Year Nine that real problems arose at schoool for Rosemary.  

Trolls

    At the beginning there seemed to be no difference between Year Nine and Year Eight. In Year Eight all of Rosemary's friends had agreed on one point. Boys were disgusting. All their birthday parties were girl only affairs. Even brothers were NOT invited. Yet Rosemary noticed that all her classmates adored their fathers. This was a relief to Rosemary because her father was the most important person in her life. 

    The changes began after Easter. Rosemary had gone to the Royal Easter Show with her Very Best Friend. They had a marvelous time! Swearing eternal friendship when they thought they were going to die on the Cyclone ride, the two girls squealed their delight

Rosemary got home to find her brothers fighting once again. They were surprised when Rosemary simply smiled at them before going to her room. Rosemary got her diary out of its secret hiding spot and using one of her many coloured pens she recorded:

                                                                            BEST DAY EVER!

Then she went to see if her brothers had succeeded in killing themselves.

    When Rosemary went back to school after Easter, she noticed a coolness in her best friend's attitude to her panter. They used to huddle up close at lunchtime to share whispered nothings. Now her BFF would insist on sitting apart from Rosemary. Ever willing to accommodate her friend's moods, Rosemary put up with this new regime. But then it got worse. Suddenly her BFF was making excuses about sitting near her at all during the lunch break. At first these excuses seemed reasonable and unavoidable. Then they became cursory. Finally Rosemary got the message that her BFF wanted a break from their friendship pact. That night, when she finally realized that her VBF was snubbing her, Rosemary went home to cry herself to sleep.

    Things just got worse between Rosemary and this now ex-BFF. Rosemary