HERE AND NOW
Chapter Five

That afternoon, Rose went in search of Mandy and found her friend making use of the ship’s outdoor swimming pool. Rose smiled at Mandy, who was chilling out on one of the sun loungers that was around the pool, lying there in her two piece bathing suit that was gaining her lots of positive attention from most of the nearby males. Her sunglasses were on as she sipped from her cocktail and lazily flipped through the celebrity gossip magazine she was reading. Rose frowned at the cover, a paparazzi shot of Jack heading on his way into an LA nightclub graced the page with the headline Jack and Posey Out On The Town; Exclusive Pics Inside. Poor thing. Rose could see why he hated the publicity; it seemed never ending.

Posey, on the other hand, seemed to eat it up like a cat did cream; every time she saw a picture or image of the blonde DeWitt-Bukater girl, Posey was smirking smugly, proud to be the paparazzi princess. Rose didn’t like that girl. She didn’t know why, because she hadn’t even met her properly. Maybe she was different in reality from how she was in the press, but Rose got bad vibes. Out of the DeWitt-Bukater twins, she much preferred Parker, who at least seemed genuine.

"Catching up on your literature?" Rose teased. Mandy wasn’t one who liked actual books. Gossip and fashion magazines were about the only things she read. Rose personally thought they were a bit of a waste of time herself, failing to see the appeal in knowing every detail about whichever celebrity was the media favorite that week.

"And what’ve you been doing?" asked Mandy, lifting her sunglasses off her eyes and resting them on her forehead as Rose knelt down by the lounger, being careful not to get any water that had splashed onto the deck onto her.

"I," announced Rose happily, "have been shopping. Guess who bought me a dress for dinner on Sunday?"

"I give up. Who?" asked Mandy, never a fan of guessing games.

"Molly Brown," said Rose.

"Never!" Mandy exclaimed in shock. While Mandy didn’t follow the news much, she knew who Molly Brown was, just because the woman was one of Rose’s idols.

"I know, it’s crazy, and I am going to pay her back in full once I get a job. But she’s really nice. I think she feels sorry for me, having been in similar situations herself before she came into money," explained Rose. "What have you been up to? Anything fun?"

"Actually, yeah, now you mention it. I’ve met someone." Mandy smiled. Mandy was never happier than when she was chasing men, or, better yet, when they were chasing her.

"That’s fast work, even for you! We’ve only been here a day…so, who is he?" Rose asked.

"His name’s Tommy Ryan, he’s twenty-five, and he’s the junior pool attendant. Irish guy…I love accents. He’s gorgeous as well, and funny," said Mandy.

"He sounds nice. Hope I get to meet him," said Rose.

"You will if you come clubbing tonight. Tommy’s showing me Club White Star," Mandy told her.

"Okay. Sounds like fun." Rose smiled. She didn’t get many nights out. That night at Stones had been a big exception, as it had been in celebration of winning her Titanic tickets. Otherwise, she went out much more rarely than she would like. "What are you wearing tonight?"

"You mean for the dinner? Oh, I’m not going," Mandy replied.

"Not going? But it’s a part of our prize. You have…"

"There’s nothing that said I have to go. I don’t know why you’d want to…up to three hours sitting with a load of stiffs. No ta. Nah, Tommy’s taking me to Club White Star instead. We’re gonna have some real fun."

Rose shouldn’t have been surprised at Mandy’s words. Mandy had never been into such fancy social situations. She was a casual girl with no airs and graces at all, and would be even more out of place than Rose at that dinner. Rose didn’t blame her for not wanting to go…she herself was still extremely nervous about it, despite the fact that Jack and Molly would be there. Not that Jack being there would be much help, since she was going to have to pretend not to know him as well as she did. Otherwise, there would be the risk of exposing his secret.

After staying on deck for a few hours, Rose made her way back to her room, where she planned to have a brief nap so she would be refreshed for dinner. As she walked down the corridor to her room, one of the other doors opened and she found herself bumping into Jack.

"Hi." He smiled, looking happy to see her, if not a bit guilty.

"Hi," replied Rose.

"Rose, I am so, so sorry about blowing you off like that last night. It’s just than when my father wants us to do something, we don’t really have a say in the matter…"

"I understand," Rose said. She didn’t, really. Jack was in his twenties, old enough to have a mind of his own. But she was being polite. "How was dinner, anyway?"

"Boring. Over two hours of hearing my father and Mr. Duff-Gordon exchanging compliments, each telling the other how brilliant he is while Posey and Lady Duff-Gordon talked non-stop about clothes and underwear…it was pretty sick. I would’ve much rather gone clubbing with you any day." Jack sighed.

"Well, maybe we’ll get a chance. Look, I need to go and start preparing for dinner…"

"Nervous?"

"Don’t tell me it’s that obvious."

"You’ll be fine. Watch what I do if you get stuck. I gotta go, too. See you tonight."

They exchanged good-byes, and Rose continued to her room, where she lay down on her bed, setting the alarm clock so that she wouldn’t oversleep.

*****

Rose stood in front of the mirror, wondering if she should really go through with this, as she studied herself. It had been a long, long time since she’d been to anything so formal. When her parents had been alive, they’d not been wealthy, but they’d been well-liked in the town they’d lived in, and had occasionally been invited to formal events. Even then, though, the few events Rose had attended had been nothing like the dinner she was to go to that evening.

To say she was nervous was an understatement. She really didn’t want to go, and if not for the dress Molly Brown had bought her, she wouldn’t. Before having the dress, she’d had an excuse not to go, but now she had been cornered and had no choice.

At 7:45, Rose left her room and headed for the dining room. Dinner began officially at eight, and Rose had always been a punctual person. Her biggest concern now was that she didn’t have a date, and she hoped she wasn’t the only one who would be walking into the room alone.

As Rose reached the dining room, she lingered in the doorway and watched everyone else go in. Her fears were confirmed as she saw that she was one of the few going in alone, and she suddenly felt very self-conscious, even though her outfit was perfect as she checked everyone else’s clothes. She felt like a nobody being on her own, though, and was really tempted to just go back to her room and forget the whole thing when she felt someone standing by her.

"Impressive, isn’t it?"

Rose didn’t recognize the voice at first, but when she turned her head she was surprised to see Thomas Andrews next to her. Thanks to being the man behind the building of the Titanic, Andrews had been all over the media the last few months, so Rose recognized him easily.

"It’s beautiful," she agreed, though it wasn’t the room itself that she had really been paying attention to. "You’re Thomas Andrews, aren’t you? I’m having dinner with you tonight at the captain’s table."

"Oh, really? Well, it’s very nice to meet you…you are…?" Andrews replied, and Rose found herself liking him already. Like Molly Brown, he seemed to come across as a warm and genuine person, and those types were rare on the ship.

"Rose Dawson…I’m the Capital Gold radio contest winner," Rose said. She had no shame in admitting that she was only here because she’d won her ticket.

"Oh, congratulations." Andrews smiled. "You know, I just loathe walking into these things alone. Would you do me the honor of letting me escort you?"

"I’d appreciate that. Thank you." She smiled as she took the arm he offered to her, happy that she’d been spared from walking in alone, too, and amazed at how normal Andrews seemed, liking him already.

As they made their way through the room, Rose saw several faces that she recognized through TV or the press. People like Benjamin Guggenheim and John Jacob Astor and his wife Madeleine, a girl who was so much younger than her husband it made Mr. Astor look like a cradle-snatcher. At least, that’s what Rose thought.

"It seems like every high society person in the world is here," said Rose to herself as she watched them all. "It feels like some sort of convention."

"It does, rather." Andrews laughed. They reached their table, and Rose stiffened a little. The DeWitt-Bukaters were all there, waiting to be seated. George, Ruth, Jack, Parker, and Posey all standing together like they were looked like a real force to be reckoned with, even though Rose knew and liked Jack and thought that Parker was okay. Rose suppressed a gulp, feeling like she was entering the lion’s den.

"Andrews," greeted George as they arrived, Andrews breaking away from Rose to greet his business associate.

"Evening," Andrews returned politely.

"Thomas," Ruth drawled, her voice fake and condescending. "Who is this young girl you’re with? No one for your dear wife to get upset about, I hope."

Although Ruth was making an obvious jab, Thomas chuckled. "This is Rose Dawson. She’s just a friend. I’m sure an attractive young girl like Rose wouldn’t have any interest in an old man like myself."

"Oh, I wouldn’t say that." Rose grinned jokily. Though, really, for an older man, Thomas Andrews was quite alluring. She loved his Irish accent, too. It sounded warm and friendly to her.

"So, Miss Dawson, would your family be one we’ve heard of?" asked Ruth as waiters began bringing the food.

"They wouldn’t be," replied Posey before Rose could. "Rose Dawson’s the winner of that radio contest thing. I remember hearing about it back at the hotel."

Rose inwardly scowled. It wasn’t that she had planned to hide that fact from the DeWitt-Bukaters, but the way Posey offered the information gave her the distinct impression that the other girl was trying to embarrass her.

"Well, congratulations, Rose," said Captain Smith "We’re honored to have you aboard our great ship on her maiden voyage. It must be quite an experience for you."

"It’s been wonderful," answered Rose politely. "The ship really does deserve all the attention. She’s magnificent."

It was a bit of a white lie on Rose’s part, since before she’d won her ticket she’d been sick of all the fuss the Titanic had been getting, but it seemed like the best thing to say.

The conversation quickly changed as Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon and George Bukater began talking business.

"What do you do for a living?" Rose was asked by George as everyone swapped stories about their careers and how they’d achieved their greatness.

"Well, I’ve just scored a Performing Arts degree after a three year course at the Kings College in London, and I’m going to try and put it to some kind of use. Hopefully," Rose answered.

"Oh, so you’re an actress. How charming. Posey’s been in a few movies…" said Ruth. "Just small cameos. She’s so busy she doesn’t really have time to play around."

Busy doing what? From what Rose knew, Posey’s main job seemed to be posing for pictures for the paparazzi.

"I might be getting a part in Johnny Depp’s next film, though. Remember, Mom? He’s going to be in that new movie about Cary Grant’s life. Johnny told me I’d be perfect for the part of Katherine Hepburn."

Rose had to try not to snort. She’d seen one of Posey’s little cameos, and acting was not one of her talents. The topic turned to fashion and society gossip between Ruth, Lucille Duff-Gordon, and Posey. Parker was about the only person who’d hardly said a word during the meal. She just sat there sulking and looking like she’d rather be anywhere else. Rose knew the feeling.

"So bored you could scream, right?"

Rose looked around in surprise at Molly’s voice. Molly just smiled and continued. "It’s always like this. Same old conversations, same old gossip…you’re lucky that you don’t need to go to these things a lot."

"I think I have to agree with you there," Rose said. She knew she would feel out of place, but she didn’t realize it would be so obvious that she wasn’t one of these people. She wished more than anything that she could just leave and go and join Mandy at Club White Star for some real fun, but she was too polite to leave in the middle of the meal, and the food, at least, was delicious. It was the conversation that was making her stomach turn, and she could swear that Posey DeWitt-Bukater kept giving her glares and smirks.

By nine o’clock, dinner was finished. Rose felt stuffed, but the meal had been lovely.

Rose glanced at Jack. He looked as bored as she felt, sitting there resting his head in his hand and looking like he was dozing off. An idea crept into her head, and Rose opened her little purse that she’d brought with her and pulled out a notepad and pen, scribbling something down. Then, she nudged Jack’s leg with her foot to catch his attention and slipped the piece of paper to him under the table.

"I’m so sorry. I’ve had a wonderful time, but I’m going to have to excuse myself," Rose apologized.

"Oh, you’re not feeling unwell, I hope?" asked Molly, somehow knowing what Rose was up to.

"Just a little headache. I should be all right after a lie down," Rose replied. "Thanks, everyone. I had a great time. It was very nice to meet you all."

Rose went to leave, turning to steal a look at Jack just before she went, smiling when she saw him reading her note. She just hoped he’d accept her invitation.

*****

After going back to her room to swap her evening dress for a pair of hipster trousers and a midriff baring, sleeveless glittery top, and literally letting her hair down so that it was loose and free, Rose found her way to Club White Star and instantly began to feel better.

The dinner had sucked, but she’d known that it would. Only the presence of Molly Brown sitting by her side had made Rose able to have stuck it out as long as she did. Jack had ignored her the whole time, but she’d known he would have to, so she hadn’t taken offense. Rose was just relieved to be away from all those stuffy, self-important jerks, Posey in particular. Rose hated that girl more than ever after eating with her, and she knew that Posey didn’t like her, either. Not that Rose cared, but the girl was a witch.

As Rose filled Mandy in on the events of the dinner, she turned when a familiar voice called her.

"Rose?"

It was Jack. He’d arrived by the bar and was holding up her note. "Thanks for the invitation."

"I figured you’d be wanting some real fun, too," Rose told him. "Jack, this is my friend, Mandy Phillips."

"Hi." Jack smiled at Mandy. "I’m sorry I couldn’t speak to you at dinner. But I thought you handled yourself great."

"Really? I hated every minute of it…" Rose admitted.

"Sorry about Posey being such a bitch to you. I don’t know what her problem is." Jack stunned Rose by the fact that he noticed his sister’s behavior, but that he was apologizing for it, too. She was grateful, though. At least someone else knew what Posey was like.

"I’ve encountered worse. Though not many," Rose replied. "Anyway, that’s over now. Thank God. Want to dance?"

"Yes!" said Jack, like it was a relief that he finally could.

Rose led Jack onto the dance floor, where she found Mandy partying the night away with a good-looking guy who she guessed had to be the Tommy Ryan Mandy had told her about.

"Hi. I’m Rose Dawson," Rose introduced herself.

"Tommy Ryan," Tommy replied, his strong Irish accent filling her ears.

"Let’s dance," Rose told Jack, who eagerly agreed.

The music pumped out at full volume, the alcohol flowed, and Jack and Rose partied until long into the small hours, both having the best time either had had in years.

Chapter Six
Stories