HERE AND NOW
Chapter Six

"It’s my life…it’s now or never!" Rose sang the words out of tune and at the top of her lungs. She was more than a little drunk as she and Jack made their way out of Club White Star and back to their rooms.

"It’s my life..." she repeated the line over and over, not remembering the rest of the song. Jack walked beside her, a little tipsy himself, but nowhere near as drunk as she was. He smiled and watched as Rose sang and danced her way along, bemused and enchanted.

"Come on, Jack! Sing along!" she demanded, grabbing Jack’s arm as she resumed her singing. "I ain’t gonna live forever…"

It was nearly three AM and Jack tried to hush her, worrying Rose’s loudness would draw attention to them.

Somehow, they had ended up on deck and were walking along, Jack enjoying the stillness of the night. As they reached a bench, Rose stopped walking. "You know, I’m feeling a little tired…" she said, giggling slightly.

"It is kind of late," agreed Jack. "You should get back and get some sleep. Though you’re gonna have one hell of a hangover when you wake up."

"I don’t care! I feel better than I have in years…" Rose laughed. Her eyes shifted to the sky then as something caught her eye. A shooting star. It had been a long time since she’d seen one of those. She grabbed Jack’s arm, tugged it hard again, and pointed excitedly at the sky. "Jack, look! Look!"

"I saw it," said Jack, following Rose’s gaze.

"Good. Now you can make a wish on it. Go on. Like the song…" Rose began to sing again. "When you wish upon a star! Come on, Jack! What would you wish for?"

Jack didn’t have to think about his answer. "A life. A real life. Of my own. One where I don’t have to rely on handouts from my father, one where I’m free from all the media crap. Just a normal life, doing everyday things, going to everyday places. I wanna achieve something. I wanna help other people. Somehow. I don’t know. You know?"

Rose smiled at him in understanding, looking more sober than she had in an hour. "I know. It’s not too late. You could still have that, if you just cut those apron strings…"

"You mean cut myself off from my folks? There’s no way I could make it without their help. I’m so used to…I’m not trained for anything. I have no skills…what would I do? No. It’s impossible."

"Anything’s possible," Rose disagreed. "And you made a wish on a shooting star. It has to be granted."

"I think you’ve had too much to drink and need to lie down," Jack said, his cynical side not letting him believe Rose’s words. She had no idea what it meant to be a DeWitt-Bukater. It meant there was no way out. Plain and simple. He’d never be free, and for the first time in hours, he felt unhappiness wash over him as he stared at the beautiful night sky. He sighed. "Come on, Rose. Let’s get you back."

They soon reached Rose’s room. Too soon for Jack’s liking. He’d had such a wonderful night, the best one of his life. He was genuinely sad that it was over. "Well, good night, I guess," he said as he and Rose lingered in the hall outside her door. "Take it easy. I’ll come by and see you later if I can."

"I’d like that," Rose told him. Then, before Jack knew what was happening, Rose had put her arms around his neck and was kissing him passionately. And, before Jack knew what was happening, he was kissing her back. Both became lost in each other, in the moment. If either had known that Posey was nearby and watching then with shock and disapproval, they might not have been so indiscreet.

*****

Rose groaned as she opened her eyes and looked at the clock on her bedside table. Already it was eleven AM, but she still felt so tired. Her head pounded and she felt sick. She knew she should have something to eat and drink, but she really didn’t want to get up. She’d also been having a lovely dream about Jack.

The kiss she’d shared with him in the hall had made her realize that she really did like him. A lot. An awful lot. Except now, with her head clear--sort of--she also realized that for someone like her to have any kind of relationship with someone like Jack rarely ever happened.

She felt bad about inviting him to the club. Who knew how many people had seen them together…people who would be suspicious as to what someone like Jack was doing with such an ordinary girl as her. People who might tell other people who might tell other people who might get the word to Jack’s family. But she’d had her reasons. Selfish ones they might have been, but also she’d wanted to give Jack a proper, normal, fun time, knowing that he never had the chance for such a thing.

And it had been fun. Not only had it likely been the most fun Jack had ever had, but Rose knew it was the most fun she’d ever had as well.

But what was she going to do about the kiss? That was bothering her, spoiling the aftermath of what had been the best night of her life. She did like Jack. She’d had other boyfriends before, not many but a few, but she’d not felt anything for them like what she was feeling for Jack. Her feelings for Jack were already intense, and she’d only known him for a few days. It seemed crazy to her, and yet, at the same time, like it was meant to happen.

Rose sighed. She couldn’t think so deeply right now. She got up, washed, dressed, and found an aspirin for her headache. Then she went off in search of food, and to look for Mandy, who hadn’t come back from the night before. Rose guessed her friend had probably gone off with Tommy. Her nickname at work had been Mandy the Man Eater for a reason, after all.

Rose wondered what Jack was up to as she made her way to the café for brunch. She wished she knew what he was feeling, and if she wasn’t just acting like a silly teenager, feeling more than she should. It had only been a kiss, and she’d been drunk at the time. Maybe Jack didn’t think anything of it. Though part of her, a rather large part of her, couldn’t hope praying that he did.

*****

Rose found Mandy in the same café that she’d headed to, her friend sitting alone at the table with a full continental breakfast and yet another one of her gossip magazines. Rose joined Mandy and ordered some food for herself, just some dry toast and orange juice, her stomach not up to much more after her drinking the night before.

"So, you got back to the room okay, then?" Mandy asked Rose. "Anything interesting happen on the way? Or once you got there?"

Rose knew Mandy meant Jack. Mandy wasn’t stupid, and Rose hadn’t hidden the fact that she and Jack had forged some kind of friendship last night in the club.

"Jack just helped me get back. It was all perfectly innocent," Rose replied. She didn’t mention the kiss. She knew Mandy would just go on and on about it, and Rose didn’t see why anyone else needed to know anyway, especially when nothing was likely to come of it.

"Oh, yeah?" Mandy raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. But she said nothing.

As Rose ate, she noticed that Captain Smith and Bruce Ismay, the owner of the White Star Line company, were sitting at the table next to hers, and she couldn’t help tuning into their conversation.

"…just think of the headlines," Ismay was saying, his voice low but excited at whatever he was talking about.

"It’s too much of a risk. There’s been warnings. There are a lot of icebergs around. To speed up the engines would probably be more trouble than it was worth. We’re fine as we are, and we’re perfectly on schedule," Smith replied as he sipped his tea.

"But what a shock it would be if we got into New York a few days early and surprised them all. It would make Titanic’s maiden voyage even more memorable. And it would mean you’d go out with a real bang. This is your last sailing, after all…don’t you want to be remembered?" Ismay went on.

"I’m gonna go by the pool. You coming?" Mandy asked, interrupting Rose’s concentration, making Rose miss whatever else was being said between Smith and Ismay.

"What? Oh, no. No, I’m still feeling crappy from last night. I think I’m going to go back to my room for a while. Relax for a bit," Rose lied. She wasn’t. She was going to try and find Jack and see if she could work out what he felt about last night.

"Suit yourself." Mandy shrugged.

Rose went off, wondering where Jack would be. On a ship as big as Titanic, finding a person might not be too easy.

*****

Rose searched all over, but she didn’t find Jack. She looked on deck, in the shops, the gym, the cafés, the sports hall, even the smoking room and library. He was nowhere. It was like he didn’t want to be found. Rose hoped he wasn’t avoiding her, that he didn’t regret kissing her back or that he was embarrassed. She’d hate to think they couldn’t still be at least friends. Although she wanted more, it was better to be friends than nothing at all. They only had a few days left on the ship, and she wanted to make the most of it.

But after an hour of looking, she was fed up and admitted defeat. If she was meant to find him, she would. Until then, there were still a lot of things on the ship that she hadn’t seen or taken advantage of yet. Like the fact that it had a movie theater on board that played old movies during the afternoons.

It was when Rose was making her way to the theater that she walked by George Bukater. She didn’t think anything of it until he touched her arm to get her attention, causing her to stop.

"Miss Dawson? George Bukater. We dined together last night," he said.

"I remember. Hello. Do you want something?" Rose was confused as to why he’d want to speak to her, but he obviously did.

Still having a hold on her arm, George escorted Rose away from the main bit of the hall and toward the wall so they were out of anyone else’s way.

"I don’t want it getting around that my son goes on wild nights of partying with some nobody," Mr. Bukater’s voice was low and almost dangerous as he spoke. "I don’t know how you got to be friends, but back off. Jack’s had enough problems with gold diggers."

Rose felt anger bubble violently and had to clench her fists. How dare he? Who did this bastard think he was? She forced herself to keep cool. "Mr. Bukater, you have the wrong idea…"

"I’m never wrong. I’ve seen your type before. Jack’s one of the world’s most eligible bachelors. It’s natural that this kind of thing happens. But that doesn’t mean I’ll stand for it. So keep away."

"Mr. Bukater, it isn’t about the money. Hell, I could care less about your family’s fortune. In fact, I hate it. It makes Jack miserable. Do you have any idea how unhappy your son is?" Rose knew she was crossing the line, but she was too angry to care.

"My son’s feelings aren’t your business. And whatever fantasies you have about anything else happening between you and him, stop dreaming. You're completely beneath us, including Jack. You’re nobody; you’ll always be a nobody. We don’t associate with nobodies, and we never will. Come near my son again, and I’ll slap you with a lawsuit for harassment. Understand?"

Mr. Bukater stared at Rose so vehemently that she actually felt frightened and let out a shaky sigh of relief when he walked away from her.

Rose’s heart pounded and her mind raced. She was shaken, but mostly angry. For Mr. Bukater to have found out about her friendship with Jack, someone must have discovered them and tipped him off. But who?

Chapter Seven
Stories