FROM NOW UNTIL ETERNITY
Chapter Ten
It was a beautiful, sunny day. A
day too beautiful for a funeral. Jack took one more look in the mirror,
noticing how the sad gleam in his eyes had returned. The last time the gleam
was there was five years ago when his parents had died.
"Jack?" Lily and Paul
stood in the doorway. Tears were shining in their blue eyes.
"When’s Nana waking
up?" Lily asked.
His heart broke at the question.
He went to the children and hugged them tightly. "She’s not going to wake
up, sweetie. Remember what I told you? Nana was so sleepy that when she fell
asleep, she wasn’t able to wake up."
"Well, then, who will take
care of us?" Paul frowned.
"I will, sweetie. I’ll take
care of you." Jack wiped away the little boy’s tears. "I promise.
I’ll take care of you and I won’t leave you."
"Neither will I." Chloe
stood in the doorway. She sighed in relief to see both Jack and the twins
dressed in their Sunday best. The past couple of days had been nerve-wracking
for her. The twins had refused to do anything she told them, plus Jack had been
difficult, as well. He had stayed on the phone, ignoring the fact that she
needed help. Finally, he had gotten off the phone and made the twins behave.
She was grateful that today wasn’t going to be more of the same. "I assume
that you three are ready."
"We’re on our way out."
Jack nodded.
As soon as Chloe was gone, Lily
turned to Jack. "Are you sure we should behave for her?"
"Yes. Like I said, if Nana
was awake, she’d be upset to see us being mean to our sister. And we wouldn’t
want Nana to be mad at us, would we?"
The twins shook their heads;
their eyes were wide with innocence.
"I didn’t think so. So as
long as Chloe’s around, you do what she says and behave. Now, let’s go. We
don’t want to be late." He took the children’s hands and led them outside.
*****
Jack and Chloe flanked the door
as the mourners arrived. They ranged from Mae’s friends to Jack’s.
"Hey." Moira stopped to
fiercely hug her friend. "We’re all going to miss her."
"Thank you for coming."
Jack pulled away, forcing a smile. "She would have appreciated your being
here."
Moira simply smiled. "Keep
your chin up, kid."
Rose was next. Jack immediately
pulled her into a hug. They hadn’t seen each other since the night they had
made love. Rose’s mother had kept her busy. Plus, she was afraid that he was
mad at her. After all, she had taken advantage of his grief.
"Thank you for being here,
Rose. You don’t know how much this means to me." Jack tightened his hold
on her, afraid that she’d disappear if he let go. He had so much to apologize
for, but he knew this wasn’t the time or the place.
"I wouldn’t miss being here.
I meant what I said the other day. I want to be here for you."
"Rose, your seat is right
over…" Chloe began, but Jack interrupted.
"She’s sitting with us.
Rose, wait here. I’ll show you where we’re sitting." Jack held her hand
tightly. Neither of them noticed Chloe’s worried frown.
*****
The crowd was now surrounding
Mae’s casket. Rose held Jack’s trembling hand as the preacher read the service.
She closed her eyes against her own grief. She needed to be strong for Jack. He
needed her right now.
Finally, the speech was over.
Slowly, they began to lower the coffin into the ground. Unable to watch, Jack
let go of Rose’s hand and ran into the church. Rose and Moira were right behind
him. They found Jack on the church’s front steps, sobbing into his hands.
"Jack." Rose sat next
to him and rubbed his back.
"Are you okay?" Moira
asked, hoping that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. She had never been good with
grieving people, unfortunately. She never knew what to say.
Luckily, it wasn’t Moira that
Jack looked to for comfort. "She’s gone, Rosie. She’s really gone,"
Jack sobbed, falling over into Rose’s arms. "It didn’t hit me until
now…when I saw her casket being lowered into the ground!"
"She’s always going to be
with you, Jack." Moira bit her lip.
"That’s right. Mae will
never truly leave you."
"I need to get out of
here." Jack sniffed, pulling out of Rose’s arms. "I just can’t be
here any longer. I’m not doing the twins any good by staying."
"Where will you go?"
Moira frowned.
"You can come to my
apartment for a while. Mother’s gone for the day. There’ll be nothing but peace
and quiet there." Rose’s eyes lit up at the idea.
"Rose…I don’t know…I don’t
want to intrude."
"It won’t be
intruding," Rose reassured him. "Come on, Jack. Let me take care of
you."
"I would take her up on that
if I were you." Moira snorted. She wasn’t a big fan of Rose, but she could
tell that the redhead cared a great deal for Jack.
"It won’t be any
trouble?"
"None at all." Rose
smiled.
Jack sighed. There was no one
he’d trust more than Rose. She had seen him at one of his lowest points
already, and she was closer to him than anybody. "Okay. Moira, will you
tell Chloe where I went?"
"Sure." Moira nodded,
watching the couple leave hand-in-hand.
*****
The apartment was dark and empty
when they arrived. Rose immediately went around the area, turning on the
lights. When she got back to the living room, she found Jack sitting on the
couch, once again sobbing into his hands.
She immediately went to him and
pulled him into a warm embrace, wanting to take his pain away. "Shh, Jack.
Everything is going to be all right. You’ll see," she crooned, rubbing his
back gently, just like her father used to do for her whenever she was upset. It
had made her feel loved and safe.
"I miss her so much, Rose!
Why did she have to die?"
"I don’t know, Jack. I don’t
know. But just think, she’s not in pain anymore. She’s not sad…and she wouldn’t
want you to be sad either, Jack. She’d want you to be happy and to take care of
yourself and your little brother and sister. She’d want you to get to know
Chloe better. She’d want you to have a good life."
"That seems so
impossible."
"I know. Right now it does,
but Jack…trust me. You’ll be happy again. I know you will."
"Ever since she died, the
only time I’ve truly been happy was when we…well…" Jack blushed,
remembering that night of passion.
Rose also blushed at the memory.
It had been her first time, and was something she’d never forget. She just
wished that it had happened under better circumstances.
"Rose…I’d like to apologize.
Our first time should have been more special."
"It was special, Jack. I’ve
never been close to anyone like that before. I’m glad you were my first."
"I feel like I’ve taken
advantage of you, Rose. I feel like I used losing my grandmother as an excuse
to get you into bed. I am so…"
"Jack, wait a minute. You’re
not guilty of anything. I’m the one who initiated everything. When you tried to
stop…I wouldn’t let you. So if anyone’s at fault here, it’s me."
Jack sighed, exasperated by the
situation. "Rose, you did nothing wrong. It was what I wanted."
"Well, I wanted it,
too."
"Okay. That night was
something we both wanted. Neither of us are guilty of any wrongdoing."
Jack smiled for the first time in days. "The only time I feel remotely
happy is when I’m with you." He pushed a red curl out of her eyes, ready
to lean in for a kiss, when Rose gave a startled gasp, her eyes wide with
alarm.
"What?" Jack pulled
back in concern. "I didn’t hurt you, did I?"
"Jack…I wasn’t on the
pill…and you didn’t use a condom."
"So?" Jack stared at
her blankly, not yet getting what she was saying.
"Jack…I won’t know for a
couple more days, but still…Jack, I could be pregnant," Rose gasped,
getting to her feet and pacing the floor. "Oh, God, what if I am? What am
I going to do? My mother is going to kill me!" Hot tears filled her eyes
at the thought of being thrown out in the street with a crying baby.
"Shh, Rose. Don’t cry. We
don’t even know if you’re pregnant or not." Jack got to his feet and
grabbed her shoulders to stop her from pacing. "Listen, this is what we’ll
do. We’ll wait for your period. If it doesn’t come, then I’ll buy the test, and
then we’ll know for sure. But no matter what, Rose, I promise I’ll never stop
loving you and will always be here for you."
"You love me?"
"Of course. That night
wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t." He smiled again.
Rose laughed, happy again.
"I love you, too, Jack. I love you, too."
They stood in the middle of
Rose’s living room in each other’s arms, knowing that no matter what happened
next, they’d get through it together.