WHAT DO THE STARS SAY?
Chapter Seven
Months passed. Rose and Rick had
not decided when to get married. Ruth was beginning to get impatient. She
didn’t want Rose to change her mind. Rick decided to talk to Rose about the
date.
"Rose, I know you should
decide, but I was thinking that maybe we could get married in three months. It
would be perfect. It is the only time I can get a break from my job. What do
you think?" he asked.
Rose didn’t care anymore. She was
lying on a couch. She didn’t look very happy. Rick didn’t know what to do to
make her happy. He had tried everything to make her cheer up, but no matter
what he did, Rose couldn’t forget about Jack.
"Sure. We’ll get married in
three months," she said, but didn’t sound excited.
Rick gave her a weak smile and
walked away. Rose put her head down and closed her eyes. Was this the life she
wanted? She felt like she had no choice. She was falling, dying slowly. She
only wished someone would rescue her from this hell, but who?
*****
Jack lived in a small apartment.
He worked helping a mechanic. Little by little, he learned everything about
cars. He didn’t get paid much, but it was enough to survive. He worked six days
a week and never really got a chance to rest. He started to walk better, so he
stopped using the cane, but he still walked with some difficulty. He lived in a
bad neighborhood. Drugs and violence were always present. He tried his best to
avoid them.
One night, as he was returning to
his apartment, he saw a woman walking like she was drunk. She was crying and
fell. Jack ran to her and helped her up. He saw that it was Myra, his brother’s
girlfriend and Rose’s friend. She fainted, so he took her to his apartment. A
few minutes later, she woke up. She was on his couch. When she saw that she was
in someone else’s apartment, she quickly got up. She looked around and saw no
one. Then she saw a man coming towards her. She started to yell.
"Don’t come any closer! I
don’t know why you brought me here, but I’m getting out," she said, and
started to walk to the door. She felt the man grab her hand.
"Wait. You can’t go out like
this, and I’m not going to hurt you," he said.
She recognized his voice. But how
could it be? He was dead.
"It’s me, Myra. It’s me.
Jack."
She looked at him in shock.
"I really need to stop drinking. I’m seeing things. This is a dream,
right?" Myra asked.
"No, Myra, this is not a
dream, and I’m not dead. It was all a huge mistake."
She leaned against the door.
"Come on. Sit down. Drink
this coffee. It will do you good," he said, and took her to the couch.
She sat down, looking at him like
he was a ghost. She had a scared look on her face. She took the coffee cup from
his hands. "My God. It’s really you, Jack! I can recognize those blue eyes
a mile away," she said, smiling. "What has happened to you? You are
not the same scrawny little boy. You’re…well, not the same, and I see you can
finally grow facial hair," she said, laughing. Jack smiled, touching his
face.
"People change with time.
The world can change a person in an instant," he said.
"Everybody thought you were
dead. We really thought this because they had sent a letter saying Peter had
died, but they never sent one for you. Why was that?"
"I didn’t sign some papers
when I should have."
"Well, aren’t you bright?
You made Rose the saddest thing I have ever seen," she said.
"Have you seen her?" he
asked.
"No. I have not seen her in
years. Last time I saw her, she was leaving with Rick to God only knows
where," she said, and took another sip of her coffee.
"You have changed, too,
Myra. You aren’t the same. What happened?" Jack asked.
"A bad life happened. Ever
since your brother died, my life has gone down the drain. I have been trying to
follow my dream and become a singer, but nobody will give me a chance. I loved
your brother so much, and I never told him."
"I think he already knew
that. He talked about you all the time. He really loved you. I wish I could
have been as brave as him and told the one I love that I loved her
earlier," he said sadly.
"Rose? Yeah, we all noticed
that you loved her as more than a friend. We all thought you two were perfect
for each other. It almost made us want to throw up, it was that cheesy!"
she said, laughing. He laughed with her. "Every time she would break up
with a boyfriend, I would think she was looking in the wrong places for the
perfect guy. I thought she was wasting her time with her stupid little
boyfriends when all she had to do was turn around and she would find it…the
perfect love. We all saw this; I wonder why she was the only one who didn’t see
it."
Jack looked at her and turned
around. He was thinking the same thing. Why hadn’t she ever seen it? He knew he
wasn’t the greatest man ever, but if she had only opened her heart and given
him a chance…
"Well, Jack, it’s been great
to see you again. I’m happy you are doing fine and are alive. How come you
haven’t gone back to the Army? I thought you would have to go back after a
certain time," she said.
"Well, they found out about
my disability. I don’t know what they are talking about, because I can walk
pretty well. They decided they didn’t need me anymore and they let me go. They
didn’t pay me what they said they would because I didn’t last very long. I
don’t really care. I’m just happy I don’t have to go back to that place, but I
still have nightmares all the time," Jack said.
"Well, I hope you move on
and forget about that place, even though I think it might be hard. I have to
go. I have to find a place to stay," she said, getting up.
"You could stay here. I
mean, it’s not a pretty place, but a roof over your head is better than
nothing."
"No, thanks, Jack. I bet you
would be a great roommate, but I don’t want people talking about you. I’m no
good," she said, and opened the door, ready to leave.
"Wait, Myra." Jack
stopped her. "I have something for you." He went to his closet and
pulled out a box. He opened it and took out a necklace. "Peter bought you
this in a small village in Vietnam; he thought you would like it. I promised I
would give it to you when he died."
"It’s the necklace he wrote
about in his last letter!" she exclaimed, crying. "Thank you, Jack. I
really think you are the nicest guy ever! Look for her, Jack. Look for Rose.
You really did have something special. Look for her while you still can,
because life can be cruel and not give you a second chance. Or should I say
third? Look for her, and when you find her, don’t let her go. You have another
chance to tell her you love her," she said, crying, then left.
Jack knew what she had said was
right. He walked to his window and looked at the stars, something he had not
done in years. "I wish I could see you one more time, Rose. I really
do."
*****
Rose was looking out her window
when Rick came into her room. "Looking at the stars again? They are not
going to tell you anything, Rose," he said.
"They might not, but I’ll
keep looking at them just in case. I love looking at them. They are so
beautiful. Now I know why Jack looked at them all the time," she said.
Rick looked at her with angry
eyes, but she didn’t notice. He realized she didn’t care how he felt when she
talked about Jack, so he left the room.
Rose kept looking at the stars.
"I wonder where you are, Jack. Are you looking at me? Can you hear me? If
you can, I miss you. I miss you so much. I can’t wait until God decides to
close my eyes forever, too, so we can take a walk like we always did. And you
can finally tell me what the stars say," she said, and smiled, a tear
coming from her right eye. She quickly wiped it away and watched the rain begin
to fall.