A FAMILY AFFAIR
Chapter Eight
Thomas made his way back to his
stateroom to inform his family of the Titanic’s impending doom. As he walked
the corridor that would take him back to his room, he looked around at this
magnificent ship that would be at the bottom of the ocean in a few short hours.
He simply could not believe that the Titanic was doomed to this fate. How could
he have let this happen? There was no time to ponder that thought now. The most
important thing Thomas was focused on doing was getting his family off the
Titanic before she foundered.
*****
Back in Thomas’ stateroom, his
family was anxiously waiting for him to return. Mrs. Greer and Mrs. Cecile
brought the family some tea while they waited. By this time, Archie had joined
the family in Thomas’ stateroom. He told the family the reaction he had to the
shudder.
"The shudder sounded like
something was bloody ripping the side out of the ship," Archie reported.
"What do you think it could
be, Archie?" Elizabeth asked as she sipped her tea.
"Keep in mind that I am not
as wise as your father, but it sounded like we might have thrown a propeller
blade. That sometimes happens with these ships. It happened to the Olympic
about a year ago. Most likely if we indeed threw a propeller blade, we will be
towed the rest of the way to New York by several other ships," Archie
replied.
"How disappointing that
would be for Thomas," Mrs. Andrews added.
"Indeed," Archie
stated.
"Andrews do not deal with
disappointments very easily," Mr. Andrews said.
Archie chuckled at Mr. Andrews’
comment. He knew all too well that Thomas hated disappointments of any kind.
Just then, Thomas came back from his inspection. The family turned to him,
waiting to learn what Thomas had discovered on his inspection.
"Archie, could I see you in
the hallway, please?" Thomas asked, his face void of any expression.
"Daddy, is everything all
right?" Elizabeth asked.
"It will be, Elba. It will
be," Thomas replied as he ushered Archie out of his stateroom. Once in the
hallway and with the door closed, Thomas could speak openly to his friend.
"So, what did you
find?" Archie asked. He listened as Thomas explained that the Titanic had
about another hour and a half to live. Archie could not believe his ears.
"You’re absolutely sure we
cannot find some way to save her?" Archie questioned. Thomas shook his head
sadly. He had just sentenced the Titanic and her passengers to certain death.
"Archie, can you feel her?
She is already beginning to list," Thomas replied. Archie noticed that the
uneven pattern of the floor had taken a small dip forward. He knew then that
Thomas was not exaggerating the danger.
"What can we do?"
Archie questioned.
"One thing for sure is that
we need to get my family to safety. I cannot bear if anything happens to
them," Thomas said, thinking of Elba especially. He remembered the vow he
made to himself when he first learned of the Titanic’s fate. There was no way
that he would break the promise he had made. However, Thomas knew that telling
his family would not be the hardest thing he would have to face that night.
When the time came to bid them all good-bye, he wasn’t sure he’d have the
courage to do it. Thomas pulled out his pocket watch for the hundredth time
that night. The clock read 12:20. It had been almost a full hour since the
Titanic had struck the iceberg. There was not much time left to act. Tucking
the watch back into his pocket, he looked at his friend. "Archie, we don’t
have much time left," Thomas said as he turned and headed back into the
stateroom.
"Thomas, what in the world
is going on?" Helen asked demandingly. The rest of the family was also
curious as to why Thomas had suddenly become so secretive. He went to the
closet, acting like he hadn’t heard Helen’s question. Thomas grabbed Helen and
Elizabeth’s coats from their hangers and draped them over another chair. He returned
to the closet to look for the lifebelts that were kept in each stateroom. When
he found them, he pulled them out and also set them on the chair with the
coats.
"Daddy, what are those
for?" Elizabeth asked her father.
"I don’t have that much time
to explain, but the situation is quite grim. The Titanic is going to founder in
another hour and a half," Thomas said as he fastened a lifebelt to
himself. He needed to set a good example for those reluctant passengers.
"What do you mean, she’s
going to founder?” John questioned.
"We struck an iceberg and it
caused the steel to open up to the sea. Water is pouring in by the thousands of
gallons.”
"But the Titanic is
unsinkable. There is no possible way this ship could possibly sink," James
stated.
"Harland and Wolff never
deemed her unsinkable. It was those damned fools who believed that humans had
finally conquered science and technology who called her the unsinkable Titanic.
The Titanic is a ship made of steel, just like the others, which means she can
also sink like any other ship," Thomas stated.
"What do we need to
do?" Eliza asked calmly, as if nothing was wrong.
"You all need to go back to
your rooms and put on as many layers of clothing as you can fit under your
coat. Once your coat is on, fasten a lifebelt to yourselves. You can find them
in one of the closets in your staterooms. After that is done, come back here
and I’ll take all of you topside and help you into a lifeboat," Thomas
said. The family obeyed Thomas’ orders and hurried back to their staterooms to
carry them out. When the rest of the family was gone, Thomas instructed Helen
and Elizabeth to do the same. Mrs. Greer assisted them both when it came time
put the lifebelts on. A short time later, the rest of the family returned. Each
one of them looked like they were going on a trip to the Arctic. The only one
who was not bundled up was Thomas.
"Daddy, aren’t you going to
bundle up like the rest of us?" Elizabeth asked her father.
"Don’t worry, Elba. Daddy
will be just fine," Thomas said. Suddenly, Archie came through the door.
He was also bundled up with his lifebelt securely fastened.
"I was just in my cabin,
putting on my lifebelt, and I heard the Titanic groan under the weight of the
water already in her. It was quite a ghastly sound," Archie informed them.
Thomas pulled out his pocket watch again. He saw that there was not much time
left before the Titanic sank to a point where the lifeboats would not be able
to be lowered.
"We have to get to the boat
deck immediately," Thomas told his family. He hurried all of them out of
the stateroom and locked the door behind him. With that, Thomas led his family
to the boat deck.
*****
While the inside was rather calm
and collected, the boat deck was much different. There were women crying as
they bid their husbands a final farewell before climbing into a lifeboat. As
Thomas led his family towards the remaining lifeboats, Elizabeth stopped dead
in her tracks to see a father bidding his daughter farewell. She was begging
him to climb into the boat with her and her mother. She could see Second
Officer Lightoller trying to hurry the good-bye along. She watched as
Lightoller took the child from her father’s arms and tossed her into the lifeboat.
Elizabeth saw Lightoller order the men away from the boat as it was prepared to
be lowered into the sea. She could see the young girl crying as she tried
desperately to reach for her father a final time. Elizabeth held her tears back
as the father yelled to his daughter and his wife that he loved them both. As
Elizabeth watched the lifeboat disappear from view, she heard her father
calling out to her. She turned in the direction of her father’s voice and saw
him coming towards her.
"Elba, Mr. Murdoch is waiting
for you on the other side. He told me that he would not lower it until I found
you," Thomas said.
"Daddy..." Elizabeth
began.
"We have to go now!"
Thomas interrupted as he grabbed hold of her arm and led her to the waiting
lifeboat.
"Elizabeth, come into the
boat at once!" her mother exclaimed as she and her father made their way
to Mr. Murdoch. Her family was already in the lifeboat; ready to be lowered off
the sinking ship. Turning from his family for a brief moment, he walked over to
the bridge. He looked down and saw the Titanic’s bow being consumed by the sea.
He knew the Titanic was losing her battle with the sea. In that instant, he
knew that the Titanic was going to kill him. He had no desire to fight it.
"Mr. Andrews, they’re
waiting for you!" a voice called to him. As Thomas turned from the sinking
bow, he was met by Chief Officer Henry Wilde. "It’s time," Mr. Wilde
told Thomas.
"Yes. I know," Thomas
said as he walked past the officer, going to join his family for the final
time.
"Thomas, get in!" John
called as he approached the boat. Thomas looked at his brother and the rest of
his beloved family.
"Daddy, you have to get
in!" Elizabeth called to her father.
"Thomas, there is nothing
more that you can do here. It’s too late," Archie said as he approached
his mentor. Thomas looked at him, then at Murdoch and Wilde, then finally at
his family.
"Archie, I need to make one
last request of you, my dear friend," Thomas started.
"You know I’ll do anything
for you, Tom. What do you ask of me this time?" Archie asked. Holding back
the tears collecting in his eyes, he looked at his friend.
"I need you to promise me
that you will look after my family for me, since after tonight I will no longer
be able," Thomas said. Archie was speechless.
"Have you lost what’s left
of your mind?" Archie asked him. Thomas simply smiled at his friend.
Elizabeth looked at her father, and she knew exactly what was happening. Her
father had decided to remain aboard the Titanic until the very end.
"Daddy, you can’t be
serious?" Elizabeth asked her father as she climbed out of the boat and
back onto the deck. Thomas pulled her aside, where he could talk to her
semi-privately.
"Elba, I have never ordered
you to obey me, but this is the one time you must," Thomas said. Tears
glistened in her eyes. Her father gently brushed them away.
"Daddy, I cannot leave you
like this," Elizabeth said as she let the tears escape from her eyes.
Thomas struggled to hold the tears back that had already formed in his own
eyes.
"Elba, you mean the world to
me. You’ve been a special part of my life since the day you were born. If you
stayed here with me, I could not bear to think of what would happen to
you," Thomas said. Elizabeth tried her very best not to break down in
front of her father, for she knew that if she did, he would have no will left
to make it off the ship alive. She grabbed her father and held him as tightly
as she could. All of her strength flooded into her arms as she bid the man she
loved more than life itself a final and unwanted good-bye. He returned her
gripping hug with one of his own. But her father’s embrace was much stronger
and tighter than her own. As she rested her head on his shoulder, she could
hear the soft sounds of his weeping against her ears. They held onto each other
for what seemed to be an eternity.
"Thomas, please," Mr.
Murdoch said. Thomas let go of his daughter as he led her to the lifeboat and
helped her in. He looked at his family for the final time.
"Please forgive me, but this
is the only way," Thomas stated. He looked at Helen and gave her one last
kiss. "I will always love you, my beloved," Thomas said as he placed
another kiss on her lips.
"As will I, Thomas. As will
I," Helen replied. He reached out to the rest of his family. Everyone was
trying to hold back their tears.
"Please do not cry for me.
Everything will be all right. I promise," Thomas said reassuringly.
"We have to go now,"
Mr. Murdoch said. Thomas knew that Murdoch was right. He could feel the Titanic
sinking lower into the water. There was not much time left. He backed away from
the lifeboat as he kept his gaze locked on his family.
"Take them down,"
Thomas told Murdoch. Mr. Murdoch looked at Thomas and nodded.
"Take them down," Mr.
Murdoch said, repeating the order that Thomas had given him. Thomas watched as
the lifeboat was lowered into the water under Murdoch’s direction. He peered
over the side of the railing to see his family clinging to each other for
support. His gaze wandered to Helen and Elba, who were staring at him, tears
flowing from their eyes.
"I love you, Daddy,"
Elizabeth said as she watched her father disappear from sight. She saw her
father mouth back his reply. Suddenly, there was a slight jerk as the lifeboat
hit the water, which led Elizabeth’s gaze astray. As the lifeboat began to row
away from the dying vessel, Elizabeth looked back up at the ship and saw that
her father had disappeared. She looked at her mother, whose arms were already
outstretched for her. Collapsing into her mother’s arms, Elizabeth wept as she
never had before.