CHANGES
Chapter Ten
June 27, 2004
Rose sat cross-legged on the floor of her
bedroom, staring motionless at her reflection in the mirror. Did she look
different? Could anyone tell? How was she going to explain this to people? She
realized that while she didn't really look any different, she sure felt it.
Sighing, she got up. She had to be at Jack's in five minutes, or he was leaving
without her. They were heading up to their cabin just beyond the Canadian
border for a week, just the two of them, to celebrate their ten month
anniversary. Their families would be joining them on the third, so they could
spend the fourth of July together. Grabbing her bag, Rose flew downstairs.
"I'm leaving," she yelled.
"Rose, wait," Ruth said, coming
into the room.
Rose gave her an impatient look. "What?
I have to go."
Ruth stared at her sternly. "You two be
careful up there. And you KNOW what I'm talking about."
Too late for that, Rose thought, but smiled
at her mom. "We will."
Ruth kissed her daughter's head. "Good.
Go on, we'll see you Thursday."
"K. Bye, Mom."
*****
"Hey, sexy, got room for one more?"
Rose teased, coming up behind Jack, who was piling stuff into his car.
"Hmm, yeah I think I can squeeze you in
somewhere," Jack teased back, taking her bag.
Rose giggled and gave him a kiss. "I
would hope so. Otherwise, it's going to be a pretty lonely anniversary."
Jack grinned. "Yeah, I guess it would
be. You ready to go?" Rose nodded. "All right. Let's go tell my
parents we're leaving and we'll be off."
*****
Ten minutes later, they were on their way,
laughing and having a good time. It was a seven hour drive and they made the
most of it. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they pulled up in front of
the cabin their families shared. It was large, more like a mansion than a
summer home, with fourteen bedrooms in all. Just as Rose was about to step out
of the car, Jack came in and swept her up in his arms.
"Jack? Jack, no, Jack!" Rose
squealed, but was silenced when Jack firmly pressed his mouth to hers. As the
kiss deepened, the passion built so much, Jack had to lean up against the car.
Rose pulled away, gasping. "This is going to be quite a week," she
murmured seductively. Jack smiled wickedly before kissing her again.
*****
Eventually they forced themselves to behave
long enough to get their stuff inside, eat a quick dinner, and start a bonfire
out on the beach. The house was set on its own private lake, hiding them from
the rest of the world. Rose sighed as Jack wrapped his arms around her while
they watched the sunset over the water.
"You all right?" he whispered,
having heard her sigh.
Rose tilted her head back to look at him. He
was so handsome, but the worried look on his face bothered her. "Yes. No.
Yes...well..." she mumbled.
Jack turned her body towards him. "What
is it?"
Rose could've killed herself for bringing
this up now. She didn't want to ruin this week. But by the look on Jack's face,
he wasn't going to just drop it. Rose met his eyes. "There's something we
need to talk about."
"What about?"
"I went to the doctor's this
morning."
"And? You're okay, aren't you?"
Rose sighed. This wasn't the tactic she
wanted to use. "You remember back in February, that night I stayed at your
house because of Becky?"
Jack nodded, confusion written all over his
face.
"Do you remember what you said that
night?"
"Not really. All I remember is us making
love all night," he said, grinning mischievously.
Rose smiled faintly at the memory. "You
said that if I wanted, when I was ready, we could try to have another
baby."
Jack stared at her for a moment. "Are
you saying you want to try again?"
Rose shook her head. "It's too late for
that."
"What?"
"It's too late to try again, Jack. I'm
already pregnant."
Jack's face went white, his eyes wide.
"How? I know for sure we've used a condom every time."
Rose gave him a weary look. "Every time
except the night of April fifteenth."
Jack shook his head. "We used protection
that night."
"We tried to use protection that night.
The first condom broke, remember? And you didn't have any more, but we were too
drunk to be bothered with the possible consequences."
"You're sure that's when it
happened?"
"Yes. That's the approximate date the
doctor gave me."
"Shit..."
"Are you mad?"
Jack smiled at her. "No. Just shocked,
to say the least. And worried."
"Me, too."
Taking her into his arms, he kissed her.
"This changes a lot, though. You know that. We're going to have to
reconsider our plans for college."
Rose looked up at him sharply. "You're
still going to Harvard. Even if I can't, I'm not letting you give up on
that."
Jack sighed. "Let's not worry about that
now."
Rose nodded. "How are we going to tell
our parents? Something tells me they aren't going to be quite as sympathetic
this time around."
Jack chuckled. "Your dad is going to
kill me."
"I'm just as responsible for this as you
are."
"Maybe. But he already wants to hurt me
severely for spoiling his little girl's innocence."
"How do you know?"
"He's told me on numerous occasions. He
says the only reason he doesn't is because he knows how much you love me and he
doesn't want to hurt you."
Rose giggled. "That sounds like
him."
They sat in silence, thinking for a minute,
before Jack spoke up. "Rose, I think we should move in together."
Rose looked at him, surprised. "You
do?"
"Yes. If we're going to have a baby
together, I want to be there every step of the way. I know we only live down
the street from each other, but that's not enough. I want to be there every
second."
Rose considered it for a minute before
nodding. "Okay. Maybe we can start looking for a place when we get
home?"
"Sounds good to me. I'm...um...I'm going
to put Harvard off for a year."
"Jack, no..."
Jack held up his hand to silence her.
"Shh.. Listen to me, okay? I'm sure that I can set it up so I can go next
year. You probably can, too. I'll go to the University of Minnesota this year
and transfer out. That way I can be there during the pregnancy and we'll be
near our families in case anything happens. You're due in January, right?"
"Yes."
"See, it all works out. We'll stay here
for this year...and by the time it's time for us to go to Boston, the baby will
be old enough and we both can get our Harvard education."
Rose ran her fingers through his hair.
"Are you sure? I mean, you don't have to put Harvard on hold."
"I want to. You're more important to me
then going to Harvard."
Rose kissed his cheek. "You're so
sweet."
"I think we should be blunt about
it," Jack said suddenly.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"You asked how we were going to tell our
parents. I think we should just be straight out with it. We've got things
covered. Besides, they can't really do anything. We're adults, and our trust
funds have already been moved to our private accounts, so we'll be fine
financially."
Rose took in what he was saying. "You're
right. They can't order us around anymore. Especially if we're not living under
their roof."
"So, we're just going to tell them? No
beating around the bush?"
"Yes. This shall be one interesting
holiday."
"Yes. The fireworks in the sky aren't
going to be the only sparks flying this weekend. That's for sure."
July 3, 2004
Rose stood nervously on the front porch,
watching for her family's car. Her father called not too long ago to tell them
they had just pulled into town and they would be there in a few minutes. The
Dawsons had arrived that morning, almost catching the two of them in a
compromising position on the living room floor. Rose blushed at the memory.
"Hey, Rose, we're going to run into
town. You need anything?" Don Dawson, Jack's father, asked, coming up
behind her.
Rose shook her head. "No, I'm fine...on
second thought, could you get me some gum?"
Don chuckled, making him look more like
Jack's brother instead of his father. "All right. Any preference?"
"No, whatever is fine with me."
"Okay. Elaine! Jess! Come on," he
hollered, before climbing into his family's SUV.
As they drove out of sight, Rose sighed. She
and Jack planned on telling their families that night, after dinner, and she
found herself half hoping her dad's car broke down somewhere, stranding them.
"You okay, Rose? You look worried,"
Jack's sixteen-year-old sister, Jenna, asked, sitting down on the porch steps.
"What? Oh, no. Just waiting for my
family."
"Eric's coming, right?"
"As far as I know."
Jenna sighed. "I hope so. Everyone has
someone, except me. You and Jack have each other...Tiff, David, Becky, Chris,
Morgan and Candi, Cammie and Joey. Even Jess has some guy she met at the gas
station in town."
Rose had to smile at the reminder of how
difficult it had been to avoid Jack as a child. Everyone in their families had
always been so close, especially the oldest. Jessica and Rose's now long lost
older brother, Frankie. They had been inseparable. So much so, Jessica, in a
lot of ways, was more like an older sister then a neighbor. Everyone was
friends with their age mate in the other family. "I'm sure he'll be here.
Don't worry about it."
Jenna stood as the DeWitt-Bukater's van
pulled into the driveway. Rose felt her heart stop. Her parents were going to
be so disappointed in her. Pregnant for the second time in less then six
months, and barely out of high school at that. Her dreams of following in her
father's footsteps, of owning her own law practice, were postponed
indefinitely. It wasn't that she didn't want this baby, in no way did she
regret she and Jack's creating life, but she wished it hadn't happened so soon.
"Hey, princess," her father said,
kissing her head.
Rose managed to smile at him. "Hi,
Daddy. Do you need any help?"
"I don't, but go see if your mom needs a
hand with her suitcase."
Rose nodded and sauntered off towards her
mother.
*****
Jack gave Rose a small smile and squeezed her
hand, while they watched their mothers clear the dinner table. He wasn't sure
how they were going to react to the news of a baby. Hell, he wasn't even sure
how HE was reacting yet. He'd only turned eighteen in March, and suddenly he
was faced with the prospect of being a father. Although he wouldn't admit as
much to anyone, least of all Rose, he was scared beyond words. Nonetheless, it
was his, and he wasn't one to walk out on his responsibilities.
Rose leaned over. "Are you sure we
should do this now? They look so happy," she whispered.
"No time like the present. We're being
straightforward with it, remember?" he whispered back.
Rose sighed. "Right."
Jack cleared his throat. "Um, Mom, Dad,
Ruth, Joe...can we talk to you privately?" he asked, standing up,
practically pulling Rose up with him.
Don shot his son a worried look. "Of
course. Why don't we step outside?"
Jack nodded and they followed their parents
out to the back porch. Rose's eyes swept across the lake before glancing back
at her father, who was looking at them expectantly.
"Well, you dragged us out here. Are you
going to tell us what's going on, or are we going to have to guess?"
Elaine probed.
Jack took a deep breath, knowing he was the
one who had to break this to them. Rose was strong, but she'd crack under her
father's eye. "Well...Rose and I decided we're moving in together..."
he started.
Don coughed. "Well, it was bound to
happen."
Jack glanced at his dad and at Rose, whose
eyes were cast downward, and he could feel her hand shaking in his. "You
didn't let me finish, Dad."
"Oh, there's more? I'm sorry, keep
going."
Jack closed his eyes for a moment, and was
about to speak, when Rose's voice sounded out, clear and strong.