Rose lay her head on Jack's lap and fell asleep.
Molly and Ruth had gotten Cora a new doll.
Cora was playing and Jack was reading the newspaper.
It only took a day to get to Chippewa Falls from New York.
Rose slept most of the way, and Jack either read or played with Cora.
Sometimes he would just sit and hold Rose while she slept.
Finally the speaker sounded, and a crewman said, "Next stop, Chippewa falls, Wisconsin. Stopping there in thirty minutes."
Jack could barely contain himself, he was so excited. "Rose--wake up. We will be home in thirty minutes!" Jack said, excitedly.
"What? Already?"
"Yep--I will wake Cora and get her ready," Jack said.
"All right, dear."
"Cora, get up. We will be home in thirty minutes."
"We are almost home?"
"Yeah--get ready."
"Okay," Cora said.
Thirty-five minutes later they were off the train.
Rose was so nervous. She was actually going to meet Jack's parents.
I hope they approve of me. Oh, I am so nervous, she thought.
"Rose, why are you so tense?" Jack wondered.
"I am fine...just a little nervous."
"Rose, they will love you! I am sure of it. Well, the house is walking distance from here. My dad works in the barn at the house a lot, but I am sure my mother will be at their new house."
"Okay...I can't wait to meet them."
"Oh, my dad's name is Brian, and my mom's name is Elizabeth," he said.
"Okay."
Within ten minutes they were at the doorstep.
It was a beautiful white house with dark green window frames.
There were willow trees surrounding it, and there was also a garden behind the house.
"Let's put our stuff in the house and go see if my dad is in the barn," Jack said.
Rose had butterflies in her stomach.
When they reached the barn, they saw a blond-haired man that was about Jack's height. He was working on something. Rose couldn't tell what.
Jack saw his dad's back stiffen and he turned around.
"Jack? Is it really you?" his father asked.
"Yes, Dad, it's me." Jack saw the tears welling up in his dad's eyes.
Jack too had his eyes full of tears.
His dad came up to him and hugged him. It was then he focused on Rose.
"And who do we have here?" he asked.
"Oh, yes. Dad, this is Rose. We are gonna get married. And this here is Cora. Rose and I sort of adopted her. But we will tell you the whole story when Mom is around."
"Well, nice to meet you, Rose, and you, too, Cora," Brian said as he took Rose's hand and shook it.
"Well, Jack, you have grown up quite a bit."
"Yeah, well..."
"Let's go get your mom. We built an extra house on the property, where she and I could live without remembering, ya know..."
"All right," he said.
They walked to the house and Brian walked in saying, "Liz, I've got a surprise for ya!"
"I will be right there, dear," Jack's mother called.
"Jack, you call her," his dad whispered.
"Mom, I also have a surprise for ya!" Jack said.
It was then his mother exited the kitchen and looked at Jack, shocked.
"Jack? Where...where have you been? Is...is it really...you?" she asked, crying.
"Yeah, it's me, Mom. And I have brought two amazing people here for you and dad to meet. Mom, this is Rose. We are getting married. And this is Cora. Rose and I sort of adopted her."
"Oh, my! You have certainly grown up! Nice to meet you, Rose. Welcome to the family."
"Thank you, Mrs. Dawson."
"Oh, honey, don't call me Mrs. Dawson. Call me Elizabeth. Liz for short."
"All right, Elizabeth."
"Yes, and don't call me Mr. Dawson. It sounds too stiff. I am Brian," Jack's dad said.
"Well, Cora, how old are you?" Liz asked.
"Five years old."
"Well, I have some toys upstairs. Wanna go play?"
Twenty-Five Minutes Later
"Dinner is ready!" Liz called.
While they ate, Brian said, "Well, I would like to know where my son has been for the last five years."
"Oh, yes. Well, when I left, I started working odd jobs. Then. I moved to Paris and met a man named Fabrizio..." Jack went on and told them about his drawings, and then he went on to the most important part.
"Well, I was on the third class deck of the Titanic drawing a picture of Cora and her father. And then, it was like an angel. Rose came out onto the first class deck. I couldn't help but stare. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." Rose blushed at that remark. "And she is even more beautiful when she blushes," he said, looking at her, which made her blush even more. "Well, anyway, she was engaged to Philadelphia steel tycoon Caledon Hockley. He wasn't the nicest man I have ever met, and he treated her like a possession. That night, I was on the deck, looking at the stars, when she ran by me crying. I wondered why she felt like that when she was one of the richest people on the ship, and to be so sad at such a young age was pretty bad. So she climbed over the rail. I came behind her and told her not to do it. I tried every way possible to convince her it was not the right way out. Hey, Dad, remember that ice fishing trip on Lake Wissota? Well, I told her about that, and it still would not convince her," Jack said. Then, Rose started talking.
"Well, he told me how cold it was. Then, I started think maybe I shouldn't. And then he said, I am too involved now. If you jump, I will jump in right after you. I of course told him that he was crazy, and he said, With all due respect, Miss, I am not the one hanging off the back of a ship here. And that's when I decided not to jump. I grabbed his hand, and turned to face him. We exchanged names, and I stepped up on the rail, and then my dress tore, and I slipped. Jack held onto my hand. I put all my trust into him. And then, when I got back up, we fell down. Then some officers thought he was raping me because my dress tore, and we were on the ground. Well, Cal came and started to beat up on Jack, and I made up a lie to get Jack off the hook. I felt so bad that I had gotten him into this. So Cal repaid Jack by letting him come to dinner the next night. I was so happy. All I could do was think about Jack. I dreamt about him that night. It was like love at first sight. I didn't love Cal. I never did. I didn't even like him. Jack is the only man I have loved, or will ever love again. He has saved me in more ways than one. And I admire him for that."
They went on and on with every detail, every thought, everything, even the car.
Their love was so amazing that they had no reason to hide it.
Jack's parents were in tears by the time they were done telling the story.
"Oh, Jack. I can't believe you went on the Titanic!" his mom said.
"Well, I am glad I was," he said, looking at Rose.
He kissed Rose passionately.
"Mom, Dad--Rose and I are getting married soon, and we are gonna go to Santa Monica for the honeymoon. We will be gone for about a month. And Cora is gonna stay with Rose's mother, Ruth," Jack said.
"All right, dear. That's fine," Liz said.
Brian looked at his watch, and said, "Whoa. It's ten o'clock. You two are probably tired."
"Yeah, I am. Are you, Rose?"
"Yes, kind of."
"Well, let's go, then. Thanks Mom, Dad for dinner and for listening."
"Good night, Elizabeth and Brian."
"Good night," they said in unison.
Then Jack, Rose, and Cora headed over to the house.
Cora got Jack's old room and fell right to sleep.
Jack and Rose got his parents' room.
"Well, Rose, what do you think?"
"It's wonderful! I absolutely love your parents. You look like your mother, but you have your father's sense of humor."
"Yeah, well...they are great parents," Jack said, before embracing her.
"I love you, Jack."
"I love you, too, Rose, more than you could imagine."
She kissed him passionately. He returned the kiss with more passion.
"Jack, take me back to the stars."
So they spent their night in the stars.