LOVE DOESN'T ASK WHY
Chapter Eleven

When Rose woke up, she heard Mark sneezing and blowing his nose. This confused her for a moment, but when she rolled over, he was standing near the porthole blowing his nose.

"Mark, darling, what’s wrong?" Rose asked, getting up and going over to him.

"I think I caught something," Mark said, blowing his nose.

"Oh, you poor thing," Rose said, feeling his forehead. He was burning up. She sighed, and said, "I’m calling the doctor." She went over to the phone and called the doctor. "Uh-huh…all right…thank you. Bye." She hung up the phone. "That was the doctor. He should be here in five minutes." Mark just nodded his head, sneezing again. "I hope it’s not serious. I wouldn’t want you to miss the first island. I heard that we should be there by lunchtime," she said, massaging his back. She heard a knock on the door and went over to answer it. "Hello. I’m Rose Madison," she said, shaking the doctor’s hand.

"Are you the patient?" the doctor asked.

"Uh…no. My husband is the patient. He is over here," Rose said, pointing to Mark, who was coughing.

"Hello. I’m Dr. Ismay, and you are?" the doctor asked, putting on his stethoscope.

"Mark…Mark Madison." He sneezed.

"Oh, bless you, Mark. Now, let's hear those lungs of yours and see what you've got," the doctor said, lifting Mark’s flannel shirt. The doctor examined him and made his diagnosis. "It seems that your husband has a mild case of influenza. It is contagious, so I suggest that he stay in for a couple of days. Give him this as needed." The doctor handed Rose some cough syrup, and then handed Mark some cough drops. "These are for you." The doctor chuckled.

"Thanks, doc. Thanks," Mark said, chuckling.

"Thank you, Dr. Ismay," Rose said, shaking his hand.

"Thank you," Dr. Ismay replied, stepping out the door.

"Rose, I’m so sorry you have to go to the island by yourself," Mark said.

"Yes, I am, too. Well, I’m going to go and get ready," Rose said, looking through her suitcase. When Rose was dressed, she said good-bye to Mark and headed out.

Rose saw that Jack had just left his room, too.

"Good morning, Rose," Jack said.

"Good morning, Jack," Rose replied.

"Where is Mark?" Jack asked curiously.

"Well, he has the flu," Rose said, sighing.

"Oh, Rose, I’m so sorry," Jack said.

"Yes, well, I guess I’ll have to go to the island by myself," Rose said.

"Not exactly. Remember, my wife has the chicken pox. Well, what I’m trying to say is that I’ll go to the island with you," Jack said.

"Sounds like a good idea," Rose said, smiling.

"Good," Jack said, smiling.

Rose blushed. As they the reception area, the captain asked for them to step outside. When they got outside, they stopped and looked at the water.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the anniversary of day that the first Titanic went down to her grave. Today, we will have a memorial service for those who perished here," the captain said.

Giving each of them a wreath, they said a prayer to themselves, and on the count of three, they threw the wreaths overboard into the ocean. Jack looked at Rose, who was crying. The only thing he did was take her hand. She looked up at him, and she smiled.

"It’s all right," Jack whispered.

Rose blushed and slowly stopped crying.

*****

It was early afternoon. Everyone was waiting patiently until they got to the first island. Rose and Jack were with their spouses, telling them how it had gone this morning. Mark was telling Rose about how wonderful the stocks were, and Maria was telling Jack how wonderful the stocks were. It seemed boring to both Jack and Rose. Then they heard cheering and saw confetti. At that moment, everyone knew that they had reached the Bahamas.

"Well, are you going to the island, or aren’t you?" Mark asked.

"Well, of course," Rose said.

"Then go. I’m not stopping you," Mark said, chuckling.

"Don’t forget to take your medicine," Rose said.

"I won’t," Mark said.

Rose stepped out of the room. She started up to the boat deck, where she would take a boat to the island.

As she walked along the corridor, she heard, "Hey, Rose! Wait up!" She could tell that it was Jack. Rose was happy to hear his voice, so she didn’t have to look for him.

"Oh, good. There you are," Rose said, smiling.

"Are you ready to go to the island?" Jack asked.

"Ready as I’ll ever be," Rose said.

"All right, then. Let’s go," Jack said.

As they reached the boat deck, they found an officer.

"Excuse me, sir. Where do we go to get to the island?" Jack asked.

"Over there." The officer pointed to a line. Jack and Rose went over there and the were able to get into the boat.

The island was getting bigger as they came closer to it. They reached the shore, and Jack helped Rose out of the boat. He picked her up, and she started screaming like the creature from the black lagoon.

"Jack, what are you doing? Put me down!" Rose said, laughing. To everyone else who was watching, it looked magical. He was holding her like Snow White.

Jack laughed as he ran with her along the beach. Rose laughed, and he put her down. "Didn’t want to you to get your feet wet," he said, chuckling.

Rose splashed Jack, and said, "Good excuse. I don’t mind getting my feet wet. I hope you didn’t mind getting your feet wet." She chuckled.

Jack splashed Rose, and said, "Not at all!"

Rose started to laugh and ran from Jack.

"Hey, where are you going? You can run, but you can’t hide!" Jack said.

Rose turned around to catch her breath, and said, "We'll see about that. Here I go!" She laughed and ran off into the trees.

Rose heard Jack coming closer, and she couldn’t help but laugh. She tried to hold it in, but it didn’t work. Jack heard Rose burst out laughing, and he was on her trail. Rose started running again, but stopped. She had to surrender.

"I surrender. You win, Jack," Rose said.

"See, I told you," Jack said, breathing heavily. "Come on. Let's get out of here before we get lost."

"Shh!" Rose said. She heard music coming from the other side of the grove. "Do you hear that?" Rose asked, whispering.

Jack listened, and said, "Yeah, I do. Come on. Let's go check it out."

"What?" Rose asked.

"Come on. It can’t be that bad," Jack said.

"But—" Rose began.

Jack grabbed Rose’s hand, and said, "Don’t worry. Nothing is going to happen. Come on."

Rose's heart started to pound as they came closer to the noise. And the fact that she was a married woman who was holding hands with a married man made her even more nervous.

"Jack, I’m getting scared," Rose said, whispering.

Jack turned around. "Rose, listen. I promise that nothing will happen to you. Now, do you trust me?" he asked.

Rose nodded her head, and said, "Yes, I trust you."

Jack smiled and kept on walking with his hand still holding hers. He stopped and turned around, putting his hand out, whispering, "Stay here."

Rose was really getting nervous now. Jack let go of her hand. He exited the grove, and then came back.

"Come on," Jack said, grabbing her hand.

As Jack and Rose went through the trees, they were surprised to see all the people at an outdoor bar with a Jamaican band playing. Jack could hear Rose sigh as they saw people sipping their beer and margaritas.

Jack smiled at Rose, and said, "Come on. Let’s have a drink."

Rose smiled, and said, "All right, but just a small one." They sat down at the bar and a waitress came up.

"What may I get you two?" the waitress asked, placing napkins beside them with pretzels on the side.

"I will take a glass of white wine," Rose said.

"And how about you, sir?" the waitress asked.

"A martini. Shaken, not stirred," Jack replied.

Rose laughed with Jack, and the waitress stepped away to make their drinks.

"I take it you like James Bond?" Rose asked, eating a pretzel.

"No, I just like his drinks. It was my twenty-first birthday, and my dad got me a martini which was shaken, not stirred, and I've loved them ever since," Jack replied.

Rose laughed at his remark as the waitress came back with the drinks.

"All right, here is the glass of white wine and the martini, shaken, not stirred." The waitress set the drinks down and stepped away.

After they had finished their drinks, Jack and Rose decided to take a walk along the beach.

"Are you happy?" Jack asked Rose.

"What?" Rose asked.

"Are you happy?" Jack repeated.

"Well, what do you mean?" Rose asked.

"Are you happy with your life, who you're with?" Jack asked.

"Why shouldn’t I be? I mean, I’m on one of the grandest ships of all. I’m on a beautiful beach. Sure, I’m happy," Rose replied, looking at the horizon.

"You didn’t answer the question. I mean, are you happy with who you are married to?" Jack asked.

Rose let out a sigh, and said, "Why, of course I am. I mean, I have a husband who…who is a stockbroker. We have a lovely home, and...well, of course I’m happy."

"It doesn’t really sound like it," Jack said, chuckling.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Rose asked, slightly angry.

"Rose, I’m not blind. I saw what happened at the bridal store the first time I met you," Jack said, chuckling.

"Listen, I can’t help it if he loves reading the paper," Rose replied sarcastically.

"Yes, but you practically had to yell his name out to get him to look at your dress," Jack replied.

Rose let out a sigh. "Well, what about you? Are you happy with who you are married to?" Rose asked.

"Do you love him?" Jack asked Rose, changing the subject.

"Don’t change the subject," Rose replied.

"I’ll answer your question as soon as you answer mine," Jack replied.

Rose looked at Jack, and replied, "Yes, with all my heart and soul. Now, answer mine."

Jack nodded his head, and said, "Ditto."

It was later, when Jack and Rose were back on the ship, that he saw her leaning on the rail, crying. He came closer to where she was and put his hand on her back. She turned around in shock and looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Jack asked.

"When I went back to my room, Mark was there. His bags were packed, and he said that he didn’t love me anymore. He said that there was another girl onboard who had caught his attention." Rose cried even harder.

"Well, there are plenty of more fish in the sea, Rose," Jack said reassuringly.

"How do you know? You still have your wife," Rose said.

Jack shook his head, and said, "As a matter of fact, I don’t." He sighed.

Rose turned around, and said, "Oh, Jack. I’m so sorry."

Jack shook his head, and said, "Don’t be. At least it is over and done with."

"What was your wife's excuse?" Rose asked, looking over the rail.

"You might find this crazy, but she thought you and I were having an affair. Amazing. You and me?" Jack asked, chuckling.

"Yeah. It does sound pretty crazy, doesn’t it?" Rose asked, chuckling.

"Not really," Jack said.

Rose turned around with a confused look on her face.

Jack continued. "Well, what I meant was that I could see you and me as a couple," he said, laughing.

Rose let out a slight laugh, and said, "Yes, it sounds logical. But let's be real, Jack. This is not a movie. If you're expecting me to come and cry on your chest, and then you carry me to your cabin so we can make love, then just forget it." She ran off.

"Rose! Rose, wait!" Jack yelled, but she didn’t even turn around.

Rose went back to her cabin, lay down on her bed, and cried. Jack, on the other hand, stayed on deck and looked over the railing.

"Stupid idea anyway," Jack said to himself. "Stupid, stupid idea." Jack took his wedding ring off and threw it out into the ocean. "Stupid, stupid idea!" Jack yelled out.

Chapter Twelve
Stories