FROM NOW UNTIL ETERNITY
Chapter Eight
Two weeks had passed since the
night at the Quarry. Since then, Rose and Jack had been inseparable. Rose
barely talked to Leanne, even though she had apologized for her behavior. Rose
had no need for fair weather friends, and that was what Leanne was.
Jack and Rose were now in a movie
theater in line to see Star Wars, Episode 2. They had bought tickets the
week before and now felt the tingling excitement that the others felt at the
moment.
"Can you believe it’s
finally here?" Rose was full of anticipation. She wasn’t actually a Star
Wars fanatic, but she had loved the trilogy since she was a kid and had
read everything having to do with the prequels.
Jack laughed at her excitement.
Of course, he liked Star Wars, but he was not ready to assume that Episode
2 would be better than Episode 1. He was holding his judgment for
later.
"Calm down, Rose." He
squeezed her hand. "We haven’t even seen the movie yet."
"But we all know it’s going
to be good. It’s Star Wars." A man in front of them snorted.
Both Jack and Rose held back
laughter. Jack’s smile faded as he glanced further down the line. Rose followed
his gaze and noticed a blonde girl with a guy in jeans and a leather jacket
laughing.
"Jack?" Rose asked.
"What’s wrong?"
He tore his attention away from
the couple and back to Rose. Guilt appeared in his eyes. "I thought I saw
someone I knew. I guess I was wrong."
Rose just shrugged and followed
the line into the theater, her mind on what was bothering Jack. But as they sat
down and watched the movie, any worries she had vanished. She was taken into a
much more exciting world for the next two hours.
*****
After the movie ended, Jack and
Rose were heading for a pizza parlor not too far away when they bumped into the
couple from the line.
"Oh, we’re…Jackie?" The
blonde girl’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"Chloe?" Jack stared at
the girl in disbelief of his own. He knew it was she, just by the way she moved
her head.
"Jackie!" The girl
wrapped her arms around Jack tightly. "Oh, Jackie, I can’t believe it’s
you!"
Rose frowned, wondering who the
obviously older woman was to Jack. They seemed to know each other quite well.
It was the girl’s date that asked the question.
"Hey, Chloe, who’s the
kid?" the man gruffly asked.
"Oh, Kegg, this is my little
brother, Jack. I haven’t seen him in like, eight years. Jack, this is Kegg,
Carter’s best friend. We’re up here in Chicago on business. What are you doing
here? Are Mom and Dad around?"
The smile on Jack’s face faded as
he took Rose’s hand. "You’ve been gone for a long time, Chloe. You don’t
even know that we have a little brother and sister, do you?"
"What? When?" Chloe
looked at her brother in disbelief.
"A couple of years after you
left. We were all hoping you’d come back to meet them, but you never did. And
then a couple of years later…you know…what do you care?" Jack sighed,
beginning to walk away. "You left and didn’t care enough to let any of us
know you were all right."
"Jack, wait!" Chloe
called.
"I have to get Rose
home!" Jack waved as he led Rose to his car.
"Jack! How can I get in
touch with you?" Chloe called, but it was too late. Jack was gone.
*****
Jack and Rose stopped at a
restaurant not far from Rose’s apartment, since Rose wasn’t due back for
another hour.
"So…I didn’t know you had
another sister," Rose carefully said, knowing that it was a sensitive
subject.
"Yeah. Chloe’s twenty-three.
She ran away with this guy named Carter when she was fifteen. As you may have
guessed, she never returned. Not when Lily was born, and not when our parents
died."
"Oh, Jack…"
"I’m so angry at her…it was
best that I walked away."
Rose took his hand over the
table. "It seemed like she wanted to talk."
Jack shrugged. "Grandma’s
number is in the phonebook. If she really wants to talk, she can look me
up."
"Jack…give her a chance to
explain. I mean…Lily and Paul deserve to meet their big sister. No matter how
mad you may be."
Jack sighed, staring at the
table. "You’re right. They do. It’s just that…I don’t want them to love
her and then have Chloe desert them like she deserted me."
"Oh, Jack," Rose got up
and hugged him tightly as she saw the hurt in his eyes. "With you there, I
believe Lily will be fine."
"I hope you’re right, Rose.
I hope you’re right."