A FAMILY AFFAIR
Chapter Six
Thomas walked back to the table
and took his place beside Helen. Elizabeth was close behind. She also sat back
down and was given a you’re in trouble look by her mother.
"Is everything all
right?" Helen asked.
"Everything is fine. Mr.
Ismay was complimenting me on the Titanic’s performance thus far," Thomas
replied. Elizabeth looked at her father as he lied about the conversation he
had had with Ismay. She was really upset that he had just stood there and took
that abuse from that stuffy rich man. Elizabeth knew that if she were in her
father’s place, she would have told Mr. Ismay a thing or two. The family
finished their lunches and decided to take a stroll on the deck. Archie walked
with Thomas, discussing the next phase of inspections they would have to do.
Helen walked on her husband’s arm. Thomas’ mother and father were busy taking
in the sights. His brothers and sister were close behind, engaged in their own
conversation. Elizabeth clumsily walked behind the entourage. Her father acted
like nothing had happened, acted like he had forgotten about Mr. Ismay’s words.
She yearned to tell the family about the incident at lunch, but she told
herself that she wouldn’t do anything to upset her father. Unable to concentrate
on anything but Mr. Ismay’s crude words, she ducked in the First Class entrance
and headed back to the stateroom. As the family continued their stroll, Eliza
looked back and saw that Elizabeth had disappeared.
"Thomas, Elizabeth is
gone!" she called to her brother. Thomas turned from his conversation and
saw that his daughter was nowhere in sight.
"Thomas, where could she
have gone?" Helen asked her husband.
"I’ll go and see if I can
find her, Tom," Archie said, pulling away from the group. He hurried away
to begin his search.
"Why would she have taken
off like that without telling us where she was going?" James questioned.
Thomas believed he knew why Elizabeth had left. He turned away from the group
and looked out to the open sea. He knew that he was going to have to tell his
family the truth about the conversation that he had lied about. Thomas was well
aware of how the family was going to react. They despised Ismay in more ways
than he cared to think about. Thomas’ mother walked over to her son and put her
hand on his shoulder.
"You know why Elizabeth ran
off, don’t you?" Mrs. Andrews asked her son. His mother knew him too well.
There was nothing he could hide from her.
"Remember when I told
everyone that the conversation I had with Mr. Ismay was just one of
compliments? Well, I lied about what was said. It wasn’t a pleasant
conversation, to say the least," Thomas replied.
"What exactly did he say to
you?" John inquired.
"The things Mr. Ismay said
are not worth repeating," Thomas said.
"Of course they bear
repeating!" John exclaimed.
"What did he say to
you?" William asked, joining in his eldest brother’s curiosity. Thomas
knew that he could no longer hide the truth from his family. He leaned against
the railing, looking out once again towards the sea, his back towards them.
"Mr. Ismay believes I am
unqualified for my position as overseer of the Titanic," Thomas began.
"That lousy son of a
bitch!" John exclaimed.
"Why would he say such a
thing to you?" Helen asked.
"I believe it’s
jealousy," Thomas replied.
"Jealousy!" everyone
exclaimed in unison. Thomas turned and looked at his family, who had become
dumbfounded by his reply.
"What do you mean by
that?" his father asked. Before Thomas could reply to his father’s
question, Archie returned.
"Thomas, I found
Elizabeth," Archie announced.
"Where is she?" Thomas
asked.
"She’s back in your
stateroom. When I ran into Mrs. Greer in the hallway and asked her if she had
seen Elizabeth, she told me that she had been in your room, laying out your
dinner clothes, when Elizabeth came into the room, her face streaked with
tears. She told me that when she asked Elizabeth what was wrong, Elizabeth’s
only reply to her question was that her father was a coward for not defending
his honor in front of Mr. Ismay," Archie reported.
"How could she say something
like that about her own father?" James asked.
"She’s right, you know. I
should have defended my values instead of running away from the situation with
my tail tucked between my legs," Thomas said. He turned away from the group
and leaned against the railing yet again. Once again, he had made his precious
Elba cry. What kind of father was he for making his daughter cry yet again? he
thought. It was quite obvious that his little girl was growing up, becoming
more independent and having a will of her own.
"I have to go talk to
her," Thomas said as he hurried past his family and Archie. Once inside
the ship, he walked down the corridor and through the First Class lounge, and
finally he arrived at the stateroom. Thomas drew the key from his pocket and
proceeded to open the door. Mrs. Greer was busy doing some mending on one of
Elizabeth’s dresses. She looked up at Thomas.
"She’s still in her room,
Mr. Andrews," Mrs. Greer told him. Thomas looked at her and nodded. He
went to the door that separated the master bedroom from the smaller room that
was Elizabeth’s. He could hear the soft sounds of her weeping. Taking a deep
breath, he reached for the doorknob and slowly opened the door.
"Elba, it’s me," Thomas
announced as he stepped into her room.
"What do you want?"
Elizabeth asked.
"I think we need to talk
about what happened today," Thomas began.
"We sure do need to talk
about it, Daddy," Elizabeth said as she unburied her head from the covers
and looked at her father. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying.
"Elba, let me
explain..." Thomas began.
"Daddy, there is nothing you
need to explain to me. How could you stand there and let Mr. Ismay talk to you
in such a manner? He was so wrong to compare you to Uncle Pierre. There is no
way that you two could ever be the same, even if you tried. I just couldn’t
believe that you stood there and listened to those disregards without saying a
word to him," Elizabeth said. Thomas walked over to the bed and sat down.
"What could I say to him,
Elba? Saying anything would not have taken back those words. I simply would
have been lowering myself to his level if I answered to them," Thomas
replied.
"I know if I had been you
and Mr. Ismay spoke to me like that, I couldn’t have kept quiet like you did.
You didn’t even look like you were hurt by what he said," Elizabeth stated.
"I was hurt by them in many
ways," Thomas said. Elizabeth looked at her father. She could see his
expression had changed dramatically. He looked like he wanted to cry, which was
something she had never seen him do.
"I had no idea that you were
hurting inside. How come you didn’t tell us, Daddy?" Elizabeth asked.
"What? That I was hurt and
upset?" Thomas questioned. Elizabeth nodded.
"You see, Elba, if I had
told you that something as tiny as a few words could hurt me, then everyone
would have thought me to be weak. I have always been strong for all of you, and
for me to have stopped would have been too much for my loved ones to
bear," Thomas answered. He got off of the bed and made his way over to the
window in Elizabeth’s room. He looked out to the vastness of the sea. The
setting sun set Thomas’ face aglow. With her father’s handsome face caught in
the setting sunlight, she could see the shimmer of a tear quietly making its
way down his cheek. She had been wrong in her assumption that her father had
not been hurt by those words. Elizabeth walked over to the window. She put her
head and her hands on her daddy’s shoulder, pulling him in a half-embrace.
"Daddy, you do not always
have to be strong all the time. We all love you for who you are, not for someone
you are trying so desperately to be. It’s all right to be weak at times. After
all, we are only human," Elizabeth said. Thomas pulled from her embrace
and turned to face her.
"Thank you, my precious
little girl," Thomas said as he grabbed her and pulled her into a tight
embrace. Elizabeth held her father for dear life. She could never imagine what
she would do without her father by her side.
That was one lesson fate had
every intention of teaching her.