She was flying. She felt it. She felt the wind against her face. She heard the water hitting the sides of the ship. She felt his warm, strong hands holding hers. She felt his warm, protective body against hers. She opened her eyes and gazed out at the horizon, where the sun and the water met, where the sky was shades of orange, gold, pink, and purple.
"I'm flying," she heard herself whisper. She heard his voice.
"Come Josephine in my flying machine. Going up she goes, up she goes," he sang softly into her ear. She laughed. They looked out at the water together, and he lowered her arms. She looked at him, he looked at her, and they kissed. Their kiss was full of love and passion, a kiss she'd never had before. The ship changed, changed to a kind of greenish color. The beautiful horizon suddenly changed to dark, murky waters. The couple on the bow of the ship became transparent, then nothing.
*****
Rose woke up in her bed alone. She looked around her room. It was dark, and she heard rain on the windowpane, pounding away. The curtains were drawn shut.
"Jack," she whispered. "Jack?"
"Yeah, Rose?" whispered Jack from somewhere in the room. He wasn't next to her.
"Jack, where are you?" Rose asked.
"On the floor," Jack replied.
Rose moved over to the edge of the bed and peeked at Jack lying on the floor. "What are you doing down there?" Rose whispered.
"I was afraid your father would come in and check on us. So, while you were asleep, I crept onto the floor," Jack whispered back.
Rose slid off the bed and lay down on the floor with him. She took his face in her hands. "Don't be afraid of my father, Jack. If he gets upset, I'll protect you," she whispered.
"You promise?" Jack whispered back.
"Do you trust me?"
"I trust you."
"Then just relax." Rose wrapped her arms around Jack's neck and kissed his face. "Just like the article said, Jack, you're very romantic."
"Well, I hope so," Jack whispered to her. "I heard you wake suddenly. Did you have a bad dream?"
"Not a bad dream," Rose whispered. "Just a sad old memory."
"About what?" Jack whispered.
Rose lay down on the floor, her head on the pillow. Jack threw the blanket over her and lay down with her.
"Come Josephine, in my flying machine. Going up she goes, up she goes," she sang softly to him. "Take me to the stars, Jack."
*****
They were sweating underneath all the blankets that were on top of them. Jack grabbed his shirt from nearby and wiped his face on it. He leaned back over on Rose and kissed her a few times. They looked at each other, breathing heavily. Jack lay his head down on Rose's bare shoulder and Rose kissed the top of it.