Jack was still upset about Rose's director firing her over a lie, but he was painting a family's portrait, which cleared his mind. It was October, a month or two after that article came out. He was at the very end of the painting when the store's owner came in.
"Jack, I need to speak with you," he said.
"One moment, Bill. Just let me finish up this painting," Jack replied. He added the final detail and set the brush down. He turned the easel around to face the family, who gazed in awe at the painting. "There you are! Just come back in an hour or two to pick it up!"
The little girl on the father's lap ran over to him. "Thank you, Mr. Dawson!" she said.
"Why, you're very welcome! Go with Mommy and Daddy now, okay?" he told her. The little girl nodded and ran over to her mother.
"You're very good with children," said the woman.
"Got one of my own coming soon," Jack replied.
The man handed him money, and a little extra as well. "For the little one," he said.
"Thank you very much, sir!" Jack told him. "Good day to you all."
"Good day, sir," said the woman as the family left.
Jack turned to face the owner again. "You wanted to talk to me?" he asked.
"Yes, Jack. You see, since that article came out a couple of months ago, we've been seeing less and less business every day, and I feel it's because you work here," said the owner.
Jack's smile vanished. "What are you saying?" asked Jack.
The owner was silent for a moment before speaking. "Jack, you're one of the best artists here, so it pains me to say…you're fired," he said.
Jack just looked at him, digesting what he had said. "I-I'm fired?" he asked.
"I'm so sorry, I know you need to support your wife and unborn child, but I have no choice," said the owner.
"No. I understand," said Jack, holding up his hands. "I'd better be off, then." He left the store, his eyes watching his feet the whole time.
He walked up to the door, unsure if he should go in or not to tell Rose the news. He decided to tell her, since she was his sweetheart and anything that was his business was hers, too. He walked in.
"Rose?" He didn't get a response, so he walked out into the garden. "Rose?" He didn't find her, so he went up to their room and found Rose sitting at the vanity. She turned around to face him, a worried expression on her face.
"Jack, what's wrong?" she asked him. Her stomach had grown a lot over the past couple of months. She was six months into the pregnancy, and already she'd had enough of it. But that wasn't on her mind at the moment.
"What? I just got home! Why do you assume that something's wrong?" asked Jack, laughing uncontrollably.
Rose crossed her arms over her bulging stomach. "You came home early from doing something you love to do," she replied sternly.
"Well, maybe I wanted to do something else I love to do," Jack told her.
"And what would that be?" Rose asked.
Jack walked over to her and kissed her. "Kissing the woman I love," he whispered, but Rose wasn't having it.
"Did you get fired, too, because of that article?" she asked.
Jack's smile dropped into a frown, and he sighed. "Yes, I did," he said. "Rose, I can't believe how badly Cal wants to ruin our lives!"
"I should've seen this coming," Rose said, walking back to the vanity and sitting down.
Jack walked over to her and knelt down next to her. "No. You couldn't have," he said. "No one but Cal could possibly see this coming, except maybe Lovejoy."
"You mean the Prizewinning Pair of Stupid Names?" Rose asked, laughing.
Jack managed a small smile, but he wasn't laughing, so Rose stopped. They were silent for a few minutes, Jack just staring off into space, the smile gone, and Rose leaning her head on his. She finally broke the silence.
"Marry me, Jack."
Jack looked up at her, so shocked that he was laughing. "Wh-what did you just say?" he asked.
"Marry me, Jack. I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Rose repeated.
Jack exchanged his giddy face for a shocked expression, his blue eyes just staring, wide as tennis balls. Rose leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, allowing her red lipstick to mark his mouth. She pulled back and looked at him, her forest green eyes looking deep into his piercing blue.
"I love you, Jack. I think we should raise this child as a family."
Jack continued to look at her, his eyes appearing to get wider and wider.