TITANIC: AFTERMATH
Chapter Six
INT. HIGH SOCIETY PARTY - NIGHT
THREE YOUNG LADIES buzz furtively at a party,
their eyes afire with the delight of juicy gossip. The tragedy of Rose's death
is overshadowed for them by what they consider to be her unforgivable behavior.
LADY 1
I hear his fiancée left him for a steerage boy!
Scandalous!
LADY 2
Yes! Mr. Carter saw him forgo an opportunity
to board a lifeboat to look for her, the poor fool. She was with HIM, of
course.
LADY 3
Mrs. Appleton says Hockley seated her in a
lifeboat...but the sly little vixen leapt out to be with her new catch, and
then went down with the ship! How incredibly foolish!
LADY 1
Yes, and she certainly should have secured
Hockley first before embarking on a new conquest...especially given her
situation. Why, I've heard that her mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater, is actually
penniless!
LADY 2
Shh!
Cal walks by. He catches this bit about Ruth,
but pretends not to hear. When Cal is at a safe distance, Lady 1 leans in and
gives the others a knowing look.
LADY 1
Her house is up for sale!
LADY 3
Really! It's no small wonder she wasn't
invited here tonight.
Lady 1 eyes Cal slyly.
LADY 1
Mmm...well, Hockley's certainly better off
without them...but how can he show his face here? How dreadfully embarrassing!
She pops an hors d'oeuvre in her mouth, and
decides it would be too risky socially to pursue Cal herself.
Cal stands with a group of men across the
room, pretending to listen to their conversation.
CAL (VO)
There was no one there I could turn to. My
friendships were all shallow acquaintances. How could they possibly understand?
They were not on Titanic.
Cal glances around the room.
CAL (VO)
Most of the survivors from the Philadelphia
set were not present that evening, except there was young Jack Thayer...
JACK THAYER (17) and RICHARD NORRIS WILLIAMS
(21) shake hands with a group of men.
CAL (VO)
...but I feared him, wondering what he might
ask...or what he might have witnessed of my behavior that night. He had
survived honorably atop the overturned collapsible with Gracie and Lightoller.
There was also another boy with him who seemed familiar.
Cal casts his eyes shamefully downward.
CAL (VO)
But then, why should I have the comfort of
human companionship? I should not be standing here at all. I belonged at the
bottom of the ocean. There was nothing for me here in this world of light and
civilized humanity. I had my own world now, the one I created for myself with
my cowardice. I was alone in that world, existing in a glass bubble, unable to
touch others, unable to be touched. Everything around me seemed at an infinite
distance.
MAN
Not too talkative tonight, Hockley?
Cal's companions are concerned about him. The
attempt to welcome Cal into the conversation fails.
CAL
Excuse me. I have not been well.
Cal turns to leave. He can't wait to burst
out of there.
INT. HIGH SOCIETY PARTY - NEAR FRONT DOOR -
NIGHT
Cal hurriedly thanks the party's host and
hostess. He prepares to disappear out the door, but Jack Thayer and Williams
approach him from behind.
JACK THAYER
Oh, sir...I was hoping to have a chance to
speak with you tonight.
CAL
Um, yes...I haven't been well, Jack.
Jack Thayer and Williams take Cal aside. Jack
Thayer speaks in a low voice, and his dark, sensitive eyes probe Cal's soul.
JACK THAYER
Not feeling much like a party? Yes, I
understand, Mr. Hockley. We both do.
Williams steps forward to meet Cal.
JACK THAYER
This is my friend Dick Williams, a Harvard
man, starting this fall. He was in your lifeboat.
Cal is rendered dumb with panic.
WILLIAMS
Pleased to meet you properly this time, sir.
That water was blasted cold, wasn't it?
The solid, athletic Williams reaches out his
hand. Cal gives a little nod and shakes his hand.
The boys struggle to be jovial, while working
through their grief. Cal's head swims.
JACK THAYER
I'll say...once I noticed it anyway. I was
too busy watching the ship go down.
WILLIAMS
When I came up to the surface, I was shocked
to find myself face to face with a bulldog! But that cold still hit me like an
iceberg! You looked pretty miserable too, sir.
CAL
Yes.
WILLIAMS
I don't understand all those ladies
complaining about having to row. That's nothing compared to what we went
through.
Cal casts his eyes downward self-consciously.
CAL (VO)
They thought I had climbed into the boat from
the water, too! This is how my honor had been spared! Of course!
The boys mistake Cal's expression for
sensitivity. Cal looks back up at them. Jack Thayer sees Cal is unable to be
jovial.
JACK THAYER
I'm deeply sorry to hear about your fiancée.
It must be very difficult.
CAL
I was grieved to hear of your father's death,
Jack. He was quite a hero, giving up his place in a boat for your mother's
maid.
JACK THAYER
Thank you, sir. Dick lost his father, too.
CAL
(sincerely) Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry! You are
both very brave young gentlemen.
CAL (VO)
The lie I was living became more unbearable
with each passing moment.
Cal excuses himself, and leaves.
JACK THAYER
Not a word about his own pain.
WILLIAMS
He's a fine man, that Mr. Hockley. I hear he
offered to take in the Titanic's orphans.
JACK THAYER
And he's donated scads of money to
collections for steerage passengers.
INT. LIZZY'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - PRESENT DAY
Lizzy and Brock sit close together, amidst a
pile of books.
LIZZY
But wouldn't Jack Thayer have been
sympathetic toward Cal?
Lizzy finds a passage in "The Sinking of
the SS Titanic" by John B. Thayer, and points it out to Brock.
BROCK
That's right, Lizzy. He's the one who told
Ismay he had every right to get in a boat. Tell me...how was Rose faring at
this point? I imagine she doing better than Cal.
Lizzy's mind drifts back fondly to her memory
of Rose.
LIZZY
Rose began getting out some, too, then, and
she tried to enjoy life as much as she could. She knew Jack would want it that
way, that he would want her to pursue her dreams. She tried to make each day
count.
INT. GREENWICH VILLAGE BAR - NIGHT - AUGUST,
1912
Rose sits in a booth, drinking beer with her
bohemian friends. Two gay actors, FABIAN and ARIEL, sit across from each other,
and Rose sits next to a straight guy, RICKY. A female actress, DELIA, sits
across from Rose.
LIZZY (VO)
So, she took minor roles in some lesser-known
theatrical productions in New York. But she felt half of her was still back on
the Titanic with Jack.
Rose's mind has wandered off, drawn away by
the tentacles of melancholy.
LIZZY (VO)
She knew she had made all the right decisions
the night of the sinking. She stayed behind with her man just like Ida Strauss,
but you know, she still felt guilty. She always wondered if Jack would have
lived if she had just gotten on that lifeboat, like he had told her to.
FABIAN
And that director! He keeps losing his place
in the script.
ARIEL
Oh, everyone knows you're just jealous of his
new flame!
DELIA
All right. You're making me sick.
Ricky's dog, TROTSKY, jumps up, hoping for a
scrap of food.
RICKY
Down, boy. Come on, Rose. It's closing night.
You can do better than that.
Ricky nods to Rose's beer. Rose downs a huge
swig, and tries to perk up some. Unlike Cal, she stays at her party. Rose
reluctantly allows Ricky to put his arm around her. He's cool and he's
handsome, but he's not Jack. Behind them, Fabian and Ariel descend into a mock
brawl. Delia fights to keep from being shoved off the bench or hit by a stray fist.
Ricky calmly ignores all of this.
RICKY
Cheer up, love. They'll cast you in a real
role next time, but just don't get too friendly with the director for my sake,
eh?
Rose gives him a friendly shove. They take to
a brawl of their own.
Soon, all five of them jovially duke it out
with each other. They can't help being actors even on their time off. The guys
getting out of control knock Rose and Delia onto the floor. Beer spills all
over them. They both rise, giggling.
Delia makes a mock attack on Rose. Rose
screams in surprise, as she is ripped away from her lingering sadness, and
thrust into the throes of farcical mayhem.
The two girls pretend to rip at each other's
hair and clothing.
DELIA
(theatrically) He's mine, I tell you!
ROSE
Not if I can help it, you floozy!
The guys stop brawling and cheer the girls
on. Ricky adopts a smug pose, looking as debonair as possible as the girls
fight for him.
A BARKEEPER wearily intercedes.
BARKEEPER
All right. That's enough! And get that mutt
out of here, too.
RICKY
Come on, Trotsky.
They exit. Trotsky trots on out after his
master.
EXT. GREENWICH VILLAGE BAR - NIGHT
The drunken assembly lingers outside. At
Delia's suggestion, the girls lean on each other's shoulders, and begin
performing the can-can, singing as they dance. Rose is reluctant at first, but
joins in the merriment, and is soon laughing and smiling.
Rose's joy is momentarily soured as she
remembers the TITANIC'S BAND PLAYING ORPHEUS and the NOISE ON DECK during the
sinking.
LIZZY (VO)
It was Jack's spirit that kept her going.
Through his spirit, she found her own.
Rose is soon distracted from this sad
remembrance. Fabian and Ariel join in the dance and Rose finds a much-needed
release, as she and Delia reel with laughter.
Ricky coaxes the women's legs higher, and
holds out his hat for passers-by. Trotsky joins in, standing up on his two hind
legs.
A passing drunk tosses a coin approvingly
into Ricky's hat.
LIZZY (VO)
Yet, things were never quite the same without
the magic of Jack's love.
INT. CAL'S BEDROOM - 1811 WALNUT STREET - DAY
- SEPTEMBER, 1912
Cal sits at his desk, reading his morning
newspaper. He sees a headline: "Orphanage burns. Children at
Warehouse."
CAL (VO)
One day, I found a remedy for a few of the
problems in my life. My sense of guilt badly needed assuaging...and the
servants needed something to do so that they would not always be meddling in my
affairs. Perhaps I would soon have some peace.
INT. PARLOR - DAY
Cal talks on the telephone.
CAL
Yes, I said I could take them all. I'll hear
nothing more of children sleeping in warehouses, is that clear? And, please be
discreet. I don't want the press getting wind of this!
INT. CAL'S BEDROOM - DAY
Cal lies in a quagmire of listless
despondency upon his bed. A KNOCK at the door commands him to emerge from his
languid stupor.
CAL
(annoyed) What is it?
SHEILA
The children are here, sir. You'd better come
outside.
CAL
Oh, very well.
EXT. 1811 WALNUT STREET - DAY
The sidewalk is in chaos. A dozen children
have collected by the railing, and more are unloaded from a delivery truck
Wannamakers has loaned out for the occasion. The children gape at the plush
neighborhood and the Hockley mansion in awe.
Cal emerges from the front door, dumbfounded.
As he steps outside, he is enveloped by total bedlam. It's like the Carpathia
all over again.
Cal approaches Mrs. Bingham, who is
attempting to ameliorate the concerns of an elderly neighbor, MRS. HARRISON.
CAL
Mrs. Bingham! How many children ARE there?
MRS. BINGHAM
I've done a quick head count, and it looks
like seventeen, sir.
CAL
Seventeen! Why, that's an impossible number!
MRS. BINGHAM
You didn't know how many there would be, sir?
CAL
(muttering, embarrassed) Well, no. I thought
there would just be a handful.
A girl (8) leans toward a boy (6).
GIRL
He doesn't want us. He's going to send us
back.
A distraught Max approaches Cal.
MAX
Even if we double 'em up, we only have enough
beds upstairs for ten of 'em, sir. Some of 'em will have to go back.
Cal hesitates, as he recognizes the situation
to be like that on the Titanic, with lifeboats for just about half. A hush
falls on the busy gathering, as all eyes turn to Cal. All probe his expression,
awaiting word from the Master. Cal writhes under the strain, then settles on
the only option he finds acceptable.
CAL
Max, you say there are not enough beds. Could
we fit them in if we were to acquire extra beds?
MAX
I suppose we could cram 'em all in, if we use
some of the extra rooms, sir.
Mrs. Harrison finds this whole scheme to be
pretty odd, but is diplomatic.
MRS. HARRISON
I have two extra beds at my house, and I'm
sure other neighbors could donate supplies, too. The ladies do love a project!
CAL
Well, it's decided then. We'll do everything
we can to accommodate all of the children.
MRS. HARRISON
And for how long might the children be
staying, Mr. Hockley?
CAL
Eh...for as long as is required, I imagine,
Mrs. Harrison.
The children begin talking happily amongst
themselves. Curious people have begun to gather. Cal hurriedly ushers everyone
inside.
CAL (VO)
There was no keeping the word getting around
about this one. It seemed all of Philadelphia and its environs were consumed
with intrusive curiosity. In fact, as a result, I was soon to be descended upon
by the insufferable Margaret Brown.