A LIFE SO CHANGED
Chapter Twenty-Two
At the stairwell rail on the bridge wing,
Fourth Officer Boxhall and Quartermaster Rowe light the first distress rocket.
It shoots into the sky and explodes with a thunderclap over the ship, sending
out white star burst, which light up the entire deck as they fall.
Ismay, the Managing Director of White Star
Line is cracking. Already at the breaking point from his immense guilt, the
rocket panics him. He starts shouting at the officers struggling with the falls
of Boat five. "There is no time to waste." He waves his arms.
"Lower away! Lower away!"
Fifth Officer Lowe, a baby-faced
twenty-eight, and the youngest officer, looks up from the tangled falls at the
madman. "Get out of the way, you fool!"
"Do you know who I am?"
Lowe, not having a clue nor caring, squares
up to Ismay. "You’re a passenger. And I’m a ship’s bloody officer. Now do
what you’re told!" He turns away to the crews. "Steady men! Stand by
the falls!"
Ismay numbly, and backing away. "Yes,
quite right. Sorry."
Second Officer Lightoller is loading the boat
nearest Cal, Rose, and the group. Boat six.
"Women and children only! Sorry sir, no
men yet," said Lightoller.
Another rocket bursts overhead, lighting the
crowd. Startled faces turn upward. Fear now in the eyes. One of the little
girls from their group smiles. Rose looks at it, with a concern look.
Daniel Marvin has his Biograph camera set up,
cranking away hoping to get an exposure off the rocket's light. He has Molly
posed in front of the scene at the boats.
"You're afraid, darling. Scared to death.
That’s it."
Either she suddenly learned to act or she is
petrified.
Rose watches the farewells taking place right
in front of her as they step closer to the boat. Husbands saying good-bye to
wives and children. Lovers and friends parted. But most of all, she watches
Peter and Amanda Foster fight.
"Please, Amanda, get into the
boat."
"No! We’ve been together for two years,
and where you go, I go. Don’t argue with me, Peter. You know it does no
good."
He looks at her with sadness and great love.
They embrace gently. Peter sees Rose watching them, and smiles. Rose smiles
back, then Peter and Amanda departed from the group, and went inside the ship.
Rose saw all this, and it brought a flashback of her and Jack that combines
them.
Jack: "You jump, I jump, remember?"
Rose smiles at their vows, in the gymnasium.
Nearby Molly is getting Ruth to board the
boat. All the women and children in the group are already in it, except for
Rose.
"Come on, Ruth. You heard the man. Into
the boat."
"Any room for a gentleman, gentlemen?"
asked Cal to a Seaman.
"Only women and children this time,
sir."
"Are the life boats be seated according
to class? I hope they’re not too crowded," said Ruth to Cal, who smiles.
Rose heard this, and can’t believe her
mother, fussing about room in the boat. "Oh, Mom. Shut up!" She grabs
Ruth’s shoulders. Ruth freezes, mouth open. "Don’t you understand? The
water is freezing and there aren’t enough boats, not enough by half!" Then
she looks at the group, and then at Ruth, and whispers. "Half the people
on this ship are going die."
"Not the better half," said Cal.
Rose lets go of Ruth and looks over at Cal.
It hit her like a thunderbolt. For she knew he meant Jack, he can not stand a
chance. Another rocket bursts overhead, bathing her face in white light.
"Come on, Ruth. Get into the boat. First
class seats are up here," said Molly, helping her get in.
"You know, it’s a pity I ripped that
drawing. It would look great on our wall," said Cal.
Rose stares at him, angrily. "You mean
old man." Cal just looks at her, and moves her forward to the boat.
"Come on, Rose. You’re next,
Darling," said Molly, handling her hand out to her.
"Come on," said Cal.
Rose just stood there.
"Come into the boat, Rose," said
Ruth, handling her hand to her.
Rose steps back, shaking her head, and
looking at Cal and Ruth.
"Rose! Get in the boat! Rose?" said
Ruth.
"Good-bye, ya’ll," said Rose. She
walks away through the crowd.
"Yeah. You go get him!" shouted
Lea. Then Jenna joined her, cheering Rose on.
Ruth, standing in the tipsy lifeboat, can do
nothing. "Rose! Rose, come back here!"
Cal catches up to Rose and grabs her,
roughly. "Where are you going? To him? To be a whore to that thief?"
"I'm already his whore!"
He clenches his jaw and loosed her, for he
could not believe his own daughter said that to him. How much he had raised her
to be Christian girl, and a proper woman. Also making a fool out of him,
because the teen boys just laughed when she said that. Everybody heard.
Thinking that he lets her go, she starts to leave, but Cal grabs her roughly
again.
"NO! NO! I said NO!" He squeezes
her arm viciously, and she beats her hands on his chest. Finally she hawks up
and spits in his face. Just the way Jack taught her. Stunned, he lets go and
she runs into the crowd.
"Lower away!" said Lightoller.
"NO! Wait! Rose! Rose!" shouted
Ruth.
"Stuff a sock in it, would ya, Ruth.
She'll be along with Jack," said Molly.
The boat lurches downward as the falls are
paid out.
Rose running through the clusters of people.
She looks back and furious Cal is coming after her. She runs breathlessly up to
two proper looking men. "That man tried to take advantage of me in the
crowd!"
Appalled, they turn to see Cal running toward
them. Rose runs on as the two men grab Cal, restraining him. She runs through
the First Class entrance.
Cal breaks free and runs after her. He
reaches the entrance, but runs into a knot of people coming out. He pushes
rudely through them, and runs in, and down to the landing, pushing past the
gentlemen and ladies who are filling up the stairs. He scans the A-deck foyer.
Rose is gone.
The hull of Titanic looms over Boat six like
a cliff. Its enormous mass is suddenly threatening to those in the tiny boat.
Quartermaster Hitchens, at the tiller, wants nothing but to get away from the
ship. Unfortunately his two seamen can't row. They flail like a duck with a
broken wing.
"Keep pulling...away from the ship.
Pull," said Hitchens.
"Ain't you boys ever rowed before? Here,
give me those oars. I'll show ya how it's done," said Molly. She climbs
over Ruth to get at the oars, stepping on her feet.
Around them the evacuation is in full swing,
with boats in the water, others being lowered.