LIFE AFTER JACK
Chapter Thirteen
It had been about two weeks since
Jack and Rose had gotten Paula and Nicolette out of jail. Rose went to check
the mail and saw a letter addressed to her and Jack from Paris.
"Jack, we have a letter from
Paula and Nicolette!" Rose exclaimed.
"Well, read it," Jack
said.
"We are here in Paris, and
we have taken refuge in the Paris Opera House! Nicole and I are singing in the
opera to be able to stay for free. There are mysterious things happening. Most
say it is because of a phantom. We met a girl named Christine Daaé . She is a
wonderful singer and is really nice. Nicolette and I hope that you can come
visit us next year."
"Wow. It sounds like they
are having fun," Jack remarked.
"Jack, since we are on this
good news subject, I have some more good news to tell you." Just as Rose
said that, there was a big boom.
Jack and Rose grabbed Opal and
ran for the bathtub. They got in and covered their heads with their arms. Opal
started crying, and at that moment, she said the word dada. Rose and Jack could
not believe it. It was one of the happiest days of their lives and the most
horrifying. The roof collapsed and fell on top of the three of them. The
bombing soon stopped. Opal had quit crying.
Rose had a large wooden beam on
her leg and could not move. Jack was trying to get up to get Opal and see if
she was all right, but was finding it difficult to move. Finally, he got up and
went to help Rose up. He lifted the beam off of her and then quickly removed
the rubble from around Opal. Jack moved a large concrete block, and Rose
screamed.
"No!"
"She…she…she’s dead!"
Rose screamed, sobbing.
Jack held Rose tightly as he
stared at Opal, lying there crushed. He could not believe she had just said
dada, and now she was dead. He would have given anything for Opal to have said
mama, because he knew how much it hurt Rose. Jack and Rose stepped out of the
tub and walked out of the bathroom.
"Jack, she was so
young!" Rose exclaimed.
"I know, Rose. I know,"
Jack said, holding Rose.
"Jack, I hope our next baby
does not die," Rose said.
"Next baby?" Jack
asked.
"That is the good news I was
about to tell you a little while ago," Rose said.
"You mean we are having
another baby?" Jack asked.
"Yes," Rose said.
Jack and Rose walked into the
bathroom and took Opal out of the tub. They took her to the morgue and asked
what kind of service they could have for her. They told Jack and Rose that they
could have a one hour visitation and then bury her for five hundred francs.
Jack told them that that sounded fine.
*****
Jack and Rose went home and just
lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Jack asked Rose what she wanted to name
the baby. Rose said that if it was a girl, she wanted to name her Lucy. Rose
asked Jack what he wanted to name a boy. Jack told Rose that he liked the name
Kevin. So, that settled it. If it was a girl, her name would be Lucy. If it was
a boy, he would be named Kevin.
Rose and Jack lay on the bed
talking for a few more minutes, but finally Rose fell asleep. Jack got up,
walked into Opal’s room, sat down, and just cried for hours. He finally cried
himself to sleep.
*****
The next morning, Rose woke up
and saw that Jack was not in the bed. She quickly jumped up to find him. She
walked all throughout the apartment. She finally went into Opal’s room and saw
Jack asleep in the chair. She walked back into the kitchen and decided she
would fix him breakfast.
Rose knew how hard this must be
on Jack. Rose had had Opal around for two great years. Jack had only had the
pleasure of being around her for three months. Jack walked into the kitchen,
grabbed Rose from behind, and kissed her. He told her to go back to bed and
rest. He said he would finish cooking breakfast. Rose told Jack that she would
lay back down until he had breakfast finished. Jack told her he would come get her
when it was ready.
It took about fifteen minutes for
Jack to get breakfast finished. He walked in and told Rose it was ready. She
walked into the kitchen and could not believe her eyes. There was a rose on the
table beside her bacon, eggs, toast, and jelly. Rose and Jack sat down and ate.
Neither of them said anything the whole meal. They just stared into each
other’s eyes.
*****
Jack and Rose got ready and
headed to the church. They walked into the room where the casket was and just
stared at her. She looked so delicate and beautiful in her dress. The minister
walked in and told Jack and Rose that they needed to drive to the cemetery.
Rose and Jack drove to the
cemetery. There they watched as their baby girl was lowered into the ground.
Jack held Rose as she cried. They waited until the grave was filled back up,
and then they put some flowers on the freshly dug soil. They turned away and
walked towards the car. They drove around for a little while and then went
home. When they got home, they went to bed.