A LIFE SO CHANGED
Chapter Six
Jack and Fabrizio, carrying everything they
own in the world in the kit bags on their shoulders, sprint toward the pier.
They tear through milling crowds next to the terminal.
"We’re riding in high style now. We’re a
couple of regular swells. Practically goddamn rich now," said Jack.
Shouts go up behind them as they jostle
slow-moving gentlemen. They dodge piles of luggage, and weave through groups of
people.
They burst out onto the pier. They run
through the horses, but scared the daylights out of them, almost hitting them.
"You pazzo," said Fabrizio.
"Maybe, but I got the tickets. Come on.
I thought you were fast."
They finally reach the bottom of the ramp
just as Sixth Officer Moody detaches it at the top. It starts to swing down
from the gangway doors.
"Wait, wait, wait! We’re passengers!
We’re passengers!" said Jack, flushed and panting, he waves the tickets.
"Have you been through the inspection
queue?" asked Moody.
"Of course! Anyway we don’t have
lice," Jack lies cheerfully.
"Right. Come aboard." Not really
believing them.
Jack and Fabrizio comes aboard. Moody glances
at the tickets, then passes Jack and Fabrizio through to Rowe. Rowe looks at
the names on the tickets to enter them in the passenger list.
"Gundersen. And... " said Rowe,
reading Fabrizio’s. "Gundersen."
He hands the tickets back, eyeing Fabrizio's
Mediterranean looks suspiciously.
"Come on, Sven," said Jack,
grabbing Fabrizio’s arm.
They whoop with victory as they run down the
white-painted corridor...grinning from ear to ear.
"We are the luckiest sons of the bitches
in the world, you know that?" asked Jack.
The mooring lines, as big around as a man's
arm, are dropped into the water. A cheer goes up on the pier as seven tugs pull
the Titanic away from the quay.
Jack and Fabrizio burst through a door onto
the aft well deck. They run across the deck and up the steel stairs to the poop
deck. They get to the rail and Jack starts to yell and wave to the crowd on the
dock.
"You know somebody?" asked
Fabrizio.
"Of course not. That's not the
point." To the crowd. "Good-bye! Good-bye! I'll miss you!"
Grinning, Fabrizio joins in, adding his voice
to the swell of voices, feeling the exhilaration of the moment. "Good-bye!
I will never forget you!"
Right at twelve the propellers start up, and
the ship is being pulled out from the help of tugboats. The crowd of cheering
well-wishers waves heartily as a black wall of metal moves past them.
Impossibly tiny figures wave back from the
ship’s rails. Titanic gathers speed. In a long shot the prow of Titanic behind
the lead tug, which is dwarfed.
The bow wave spreads before the mighty plow
of the liner’s hull as it moves down the River Test toward the English Channel.
*****
Jack and Fabrizio walk down a narrow corridor
with doors lining both sides like a college dorm. Total confusion as people
argue over luggage in several languages, or wander in confusion in the
labyrinth. They pass emigrants studying the signs over the doors, and looking
up the words in phrase books.
"360...360...oh, right here...here it
is," said Jack, as he looked at a door.
They entered their room. It is a modest
cubicle, painted enamel white, with four bunk beds. Exposed pipes overhead. The
other two guys are already there. Olaus and Bjorn Gundersen.
"Hey, how you doing?" asked Jack to
the guys. "Nice to meet ya."
Jack shake hands with them. "I’m Jack
Dawson. Nice to meet ya. How you doing?"
Jack turns to face Fabrizio, who was already
on top of the bunk bed. "Hey, who says you get the top bunk, huh?"
"Where’s Sven?" asked Bjorn to
Olaus. Olaus shook his head no.
*****
By contrast, the so-called "Millionaire
Suite" is in the Empire style, and comprises two bedrooms (B-52) a large
sitting room. In addition there is a private fifty foot promenade deck outside.
Cal is out on the covered deck, which has
potted trees and vines on trellises. The steward is showing him the promenade.
"This is their private promenade deck,
sir. Would you be requiring anything else, sir?"
Cal dismisses him with a wave, and looks out
the window.
In the sitting room, Rose and Lea are
talking. There are paintings on the wall. There is a Monet of water lilies, a
Degas of dancers, and a few abstract works. They are all unknown works.
"Rose, do you want to hear something
scary?"
Rose turns around from the paintings and
smiles. "Okay."
"I had a dream last night, and that the
ship sank before we got there."
"Oh, Lea! Don’t worry, they said it’s
unsinkable."
Rose thought to herself, Yeah, right, this
ship unsinkable? All ships sink, no matter what.
Cal came towards the sitting room door and
leaned on it, watching his daughter and her friend talking. He interrupted
them. "Good night! I can’t believe you two wore those enormous hats."
Rose turns to him, with a face, and back to
Lea. "The difference between in Dad’s taste in clothes and ours is that we
have some." Rose turns back to Cal. "Besides, it went with the suit
you gave me."
Cal ignored her, and looked at the paintings.
"Look at those paintings. They look cheap."
"They’re fascinating. Like being in a
dream or something...there’s truth, but no logic," said Rose, as she looks
at the paintings.
"What’s the artist’s name again?"
asked Lea.
"Something Picasso," said Rose.
"Something Picasso? He won’t amount a
thing, trust me," said Cal.
Rose and Lea went in their room. A porter
wheels Cal’s private safe. It's the same safe from the present. It’s being
wheeled into the room on a hand truck. Cal is in charge of the church’s money.
"Put that in the boys’ room." The
porter did.
The boys and girls have chaperon. Cal is with
the boys, and Bonnie Walker, the preacher’s daughter, is with the girls. The
preacher’s name is Pastor James Walker.
Cal went in the girls’ room, and comes up
behind Rose and puts his arms around her waist, while the other girls were
unpacking. "Come on, at least try to smile for me. We are going to Bahamas,
and soul win these people, and learn what’s it like to be a missionary."
Rose turns to him and smiled. "That’s
better."
Cal kisses her forehead, and walked away from
the girls’ room. Rose statement changed from a smile to a frown, when he left.
She felt like crying. Yes, Dad, we are going Bahamas. You’re happy, everybody’s
happy, but me.