FROM NOW UNTIL ETERNITY
Chapter Twenty-Eight
It was a bright and sunny day at
the high school. Everyone was mostly in a good mood. It was a short day, thanks
to the scheduled pep rally. It was the playoffs, and everyone wanted to express
their school spirit. Rose sat on the lowest level, right behind the
cheerleaders. She tried to join in the festivities…to cheer Cal to victory. But
her heart wasn’t in it. She couldn’t stop thinking about Jack. Jack and his
eyes. His golden blonde hair…his warm arms wrapped around her, holding her
close. His voice confessing his love. Her heart ached miserably for what she
had been forced to give up. But she tried. It was getting harder and harder to
keep up the happy face, the cheerful façade. Soon, her unhappiness was going to
become apparent.
"Well, look who it is."
A familiar voice spoke up from behind her. "The future Mrs. Hockley.
Enjoying yourself?"
Rose turned to face a frowning
Moira. She sighed tiredly. She should have known that this was coming. Moira,
after all, was Jack’s best friend. She’d probably defend him to the death.
"Hello, Moira." Rose
forced a smile, not wanting this confrontation. Not wanting to be seen as the
bad guy. Just wanting to be left alone with her thoughts, with her memories of
what could have been if Irene Devereau had never come to town.
"I’m fine, but don’t pretend
to care how Jack’s doing. All that fake concern doesn’t work on me." The
other girl glared. "You really did a number on him. Hopefully, he’s found
himself a nice South Carolina girl to mend the heart you broke."
Rose’s eyes widened in surprise
at Moira’s words. Words that meant only one thing. Jack was gone. Most likely,
she’d never see him again. "So…he’s gone?"
Moira nodded, her eyes void of
any sympathy for her friend’s ex-girlfriend. "South Carolina. Not that you
care."
Rose looked at Moira, unshed
tears in her eyes. If only Moira knew the real reason Rose had broken up with
Jack. Maybe then she wouldn’t stare at Rose with such hatred. "H-he didn’t
even say good-bye." Rose held back her tears. Crying now wouldn’t change anything.
It was best not to start at all. Not to let Moira see that there was anything
false about Rose’s feelings towards Jack or Cal.
"Can you blame him? Oh,
don’t tell me that you thought he’d want to see you. Not after what you did to
him."
"What do you want, Moira?
There’s other places to sit. Why are you sitting here?"
"I just wanted to tell you
to leave Jack alone from now on. You’re not friends, so there’s no reason for
you to call or write to him."
Rose looked away from the other
girl, not wanting her to see her tears and guess at the truth. Moira was right.
Jack’s leaving was for the best. Now he didn’t have to worry about seeing her
with Cal. Now they both could start anew.
"Don’t worry. I have no
intention of contacting Jack. You’re right. We’re not friends, so there’s no
need to contact him at all."
"Good." Moira snorted,
getting to her feet, having said all she wanted to say. She was ready to return
to her friends. "You know…I was beginning to like you, Rose. I was
starting to think that you were different from the snobs you hung out with. But
I was wrong. You’re even worse."
"Is there a problem?"
Leanne approached the bleachers, thinking that her friend might need some
backup.
"No. No problem at
all." Moira left. Leanne looked closely at her friend and frowned when she
saw Rose’s tears.
"Rose? What’s wrong?"
Rose looked at her friend and
shook her head, not able to explain. All she could do was get to her feet and
leave the stadium. School spirit was not in her that day. Only the deepening
misery over losing Jack.
*****
The wharf was anything but
deserted when Rose arrived. People came and went, ignoring the girl crying on
one of the benches. The bench Rose was sitting on wasn’t just any bench. It was
their bench. The bench she had spent so many times on with Jack. Just sitting
with him, talking with him, or sometimes they would just hold each other. They
had laughed together and made plans for the future on that bench.
*****
Rose rubbed her hands, trying to
keep warm as she waited for Jack to arrive. They had agreed to meet at the
wharf and discuss colleges that they were to visit in a month. She glanced at
her watch, noticing that he was five minutes late. She sighed once again,
wondering what was keeping him.
"Rose!" She looked up
to see him racing towards her, brochures clenched tightly in his hands. She
stood to meet him and was pulled into a warm embrace. "I’m sorry I’m late,
but Mr. Andrews was insistent about giving me the lowdown on these schools.
Were you waiting for long?"
Rose shrugged, a secretive smile
on her lips. Jack was so cute when he was concerned about her. She loved how he
would fuss over her and make sure she was okay. No, she hadn’t been waiting for
too long. But to feel Jack pull her close and rub her arms and hands was worth the
little white lie. She loved being close to him.
"Here, let me rub your
hands. Warm them up some." Jack took her bare hands in his gloved ones. He
looked at her with a playful yet stern gleam in his eyes. "Where are your
gloves?" He spoke through clenched teeth.
"I forgot them." Rose
giggled, taking the brochure and something that looked like an application out
of his hands. She frowned, confused. "What’s this for?" She held the
application up.
"The Institute of Performing
Arts in New York City. I thought that it’d be fun for both of us to apply. They
have both art and acting," Jack explained excitedly.
Rose looked at him in surprise.
She was shocked that he’d remember her aspirations to become an actress.
"You remembered."
"Of course I did." He
gently touched her face, enjoying the enthusiasm that lit her eyes. "I
remember everything you tell me. Now, come. Let’s fill these out
together." He sat on the bench and pulled her down beside him.
"Okay. First thing to sign.
My name…Rose Wilma Jean DeWitt-Bukater…what?" She looked at a snickering
Jack, not able to imagine what he could find so funny.
"Wilma Jean." Jack
laughed. "I never knew that your middle name was Wilma Jean."
"Well, it is, and that information
remains on this application and goes no further than the admissions office and
the two of us." Rose playfully glared at her laughing boyfriend.
"Sure thing, Wilma
Jean."
"Keep it up, Leonard."
All laughter stopped…all except
for Rose’s at the horrified look in Jack’s eyes. "How?"
"Mae. Remember that day I
came over to study and she called you by your full name? I was never going to
bring it up, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Now, do you swear
that the name Wilma Jean will never pass your lips in polite company?"
"I swear, and I will never
say it in rude company, either. Scouts honor." Jack made the Boy Scout
salute.
"I love you." Rose
sighed, leaning in for a kiss. Her playful mood faded into a pleasant calm as
she leaned even closer to Jack, drowning in his warm presence. With no one else
had she ever felt so safe and well taken care of.
"I plan to love you forever.
You know that, don’t you?" Jack pulled her close, kissing her tenderly, as
if savoring the moment.
Rose only smiled, closing her
eyes, daydreaming of a happy future with Jack. "Yes. I plan the same. I
don’t even think that it’s possible for me to love anyone else."
Sitting on the bench, Jack and
Rose were secure in their love and believed in their future as a couple. Neither
of them were aware of the changes that their relationship would go through in a
few short months.
*****
Rose wiped a tear away as she
came out of the memory. She and Jack had been so naive then. They had thought
that nothing could tear them apart. But they had been wrong. Irene had done
what they had thought impossible. They had never seen it coming.
"Rose." Leanne slowly
approached the bench where Rose sat crying softly for her lost relationship.
She frowned, hating to see Rose in pain, knowing that there was nothing she
could do for her. At first, Leanne hadn’t cared for Rose’s relationship with
Jack Dawson. He hadn’t been part of the rich and popular crowd. But then she
had witnessed the relationship between them and had been astounded by how Jack
had taken care of Rose. At the things they had done for one another. She had
actually been shocked that Rose had dumped Jack for Cal Hockley. Someone that
she detested.
"Oh, hi." Rose forced a
smile, trying to keep up the façade. "What are you doing here? I thought
you were cheering at the pep rally."
"Worrying about you. You
see, I’ve made a promise to be a better friend, so that’s what I’m doing.
There’s enough cheerleaders at the rally, believe me. I won’t be missed."
Leanne chuckled, taking the empty space beside Rose. "This is about Jack.
Isn’t it?"
"We used to come here a lot.
We’d just sit and talk. Sometimes, we’d hold each other." Rose sighed, her
eyes not leaving the ground. "We loved each other so much."
"Well, then, why did you
break up with him, and for Cal? I thought that you hated Cal."
"Jack’s grandmother…well,
you’ve heard of Irene Devereau, haven’t you?" Rose bit her lip, resisting
a new onslaught of tears. Crying wasn’t helping at all. She had to stop
somehow. It wasn’t going to fix things. It wasn’t going to make Irene disappear
and give her Jack back.
"Irene Devereau? You mean
the owner of that girls’ school in South Carolina?" Leanne’s eyes widened
in wonderment. She had no idea that Jack was related to the owner of one of the
most prestigious high schools in the country.
Rose nodded. "She thought
that Jack and I were too young to have such a serious relationship. So she
threatened me. She told me that she’d make my mother lose her job if I didn’t
break it off."
"So you did…"
"What else could I do,
Leanne? You know that jobs are short. I had no choice." Rose was on the
defensive. She felt bad enough. She didn’t need Leanne to make it worse.
"I had to protect my mother’s job. It’s our only chance for
survival."
Leanne nodded, understanding Rose’s
sacrifice and why she was now so miserable. This was destroying her friend from
the inside out. Rose was going to have to let Jack go, or it’d destroy any
chance she might have of happiness. "Rose…I’m sorry. I didn’t like the
relationship you had with Jack, but I saw how much you two loved each other.
But, Rose, this is killing you, holding onto something that’s gone for good.
It’ll eat you up from the inside out. Let him go, Rose. For your own mental
health. Let Jack go and make things work with Cal. I know that he’s not the one
you want, but he does seem to care about you. It’s the best for everyone
involved."
Looking up at the cloudless sky,
Rose knew that Leanne was right. She had to let the idea of herself and Jack go
if she was ever to be happy again. Closing her eyes against the pain she felt
in her heart at the moment, she made another painful decision.
"You’re right. I have to let
him go." Rose sighed, looking at her friend. "I have to let Jack go.
Make it work with Cal…somehow."
"That’s a girl." Leanne
smiled, giving Rose’s shoulder a supportive squeeze. "You can do it.
Starting now, and I’m going to help you. When is your next date with Cal?"
"Tonight. He’s taking me to
some fancy restaurant." Rose sighed, staring at her hands, trying not to
wish that it was Jack she was going out with instead.
"Oh, good! I’ll help you
pick out a dress." Leanne clapped her hands in excitement. "Besides,
I’m dying to see the penthouse Mr. Hockley bought for you and your mother.
Father says it’s in the best neighborhood."
"That it is." Rose got
to her feet, a new determination filling her. There was to be no more moping
over events that she couldn’t change. From now on, she was going to at least
pretend to be happy. "Come on. I’ll give you the grand tour."
"Spiffy." Leanne smiled
with excitement, determined to help her friend get over Jack Dawson and fall in
love with Caledon Hockley.