ADJUSTING
Chapter Three
A Surprise Return
March 18, 1913
Morning
A young man of twenty-four rushed in the
front doors of Margaret Brown’s mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue. "Mrs.
Brown, I’m back!" John Calvert yelled.
Molly rushed downstairs when she realized who
it was. "John! I didn’t think we’d ever see you again. My God. David,
Lynn, Rose…everyone come down here!" Molly wrapped her arms around John
and gave him a tight squeeze.
"I hope it’s all right, but…would I be
able to have my old room back? And perhaps work for you again? I missed working
here." He pleaded with his eyes. He did, indeed, miss this atmosphere.
"Of course, darlin’," Molly said
with a smile.
The whole group of people sleeping upstairs
rushed down the stairs at the sound of Molly’s yelling.
"Molly, what is it?" asked Rose.
"You nearly woke up the baby."
"Oh, I’m sorry, Rose. I wasn’t
thinking."
When they all finally saw who was standing
next to Molly, they all had to hug him to pieces. Save Rose, who just stood
back.
"How are you?"
"How long are you staying?"
"I’m terribly sorry about your
father."
"Whoa, whoa. Slow down." John
raised his hands as if being attacked. "I’ll tell you everything if you
just give me a chance."
The young, fiery-haired woman caught his eye
as she was on her way back up the stairs. She was obviously embarrassed about
her appearance. She was wearing her nightclothes still, and her curls were in
tangles, some strands falling in front of a face weary with sleep.
John couldn’t stop staring after her. She was
so beautiful. He wondered if she was involved with any man right now. Sure,
when he first met Rose his intentions were purely that of friendship, but
something inside of him told him this girl was different; his past would not matter
to her.
As he watched her walk up the stairs, down
the hallway, and out of sight, he realized that all eyes were on him. He turned
back around and blushed deeply.
Lynn walked up to him and said, "Ask her
to dinner. I think she’ll say yes this time." She smiled at him and he in
return smiled back. Lynn and John had had a short relationship a few years
back. But they were young and did not know much about love. Nothing came of
their relationship and they remained just good friends.
"So..." started John. "I guess
I have some explaining to do." They sat down in the living room and
chatted over coffee and pastries.
Rose did not come down for the rest of the
afternoon.
5:00 PM That Afternoon
There came a knock at Rose’s bedroom door.
She was laying with her back on the bed, staring at her ceiling. She did not
even hear the knock.
It came again, this time a bit louder...still
no answer.
"Rose," called John’s voice.
"Rose, are you in there?"
She finally realized that someone was at her
door. "Yes. Come in, John."
John opened the door and stepped into Rose’s
bedroom. Her eyes seemed so distant; so very far away. "Rose...are you all
right? You have not come out of your room the whole day. Is something
wrong?"
"No," she replied with a sigh.
"Just thinking. I do that sometimes. I’ll think of everything and nothing
at the same time. It just happens that way and it gets me depressed at
times."
The look in her eyes now changed to sadness.
She looked as if she was ready to cry.
"Is there anything you would like to
talk about?"
For the first time since he entered her
bedroom, she took her eyes off of the ceiling and looked into John’s eyes. They
were so caring and sincere. Something told Rose that she could trust him.
"No," she said softly. "No,
but thank you. I guess you were the first person to notice one of my moods.
Thank you for caring." She smiled sadly.
"I’ll always care," he replied. He
turned around to let Rose sort out her own thoughts in peace, but her voice
stopped him in his tracks.
"Wait. John?"
"Yes?" He turned back so he was
facing Rose.
"Don’t leave. Please, stay here with
me?"
"Of course."
"I just don’t want to be alone."
She patted her bed, gesturing for him to sit next to her. She sat up, too.
John sat next to her and they began to talk.
Rose started the conversation, "So, what brings you back here?"
"Many things, I suppose. It wasn’t the
same back there in Cedar Rapids. It was nice, yes, but somehow lacking what I
loved here." Rose noticed that sense of adventure in John’s eyes that she
had once known in Jack.
"You’re a traveler, are you not?"
The question shocked John, but yes, it was
true. "Yes. How did you know?" he asked in confusion.
"Just a gift, I guess." She smiled.
Both stayed there in Rose’s room late into
the night, with only a few breaks for Rose to feed Hope. On a couple of
occasions, John asked if he could hold the baby, and Rose couldn’t resist those
puppy dog green eyes of his. John didn’t ask about Hope’s father, though. He
knew better than that. He already knew that he had died almost a year ago, and
that was all that he needed to know.
The two young people got to know each other
that night--very well, in fact. They both just left out two things--their
pasts, and their secret feelings for the other.