AFTER TITANIC
Chapter Nineteen
After church that day, Rose came
home to an empty, peaceful apartment. She wanted to see James, but she knew he
was working. She noticed a small pile of dishes in the sink and went to wash them
when she spotted some fruit and vegetables on the counter and bit into a
carrot. Then she stopped suddenly and took a deep breath. "Oh, my
God!" she said to herself and gripped her stomach. "Abby!" She
turned and rushed out of her flat and into Meg’s.
"What is it, Rose?" Meg
stood up from her sewing and went to her. "Is something wrong?"
"Is Abby here?" she
panted.
Meg nodded. "Abby, your
mother’s here!" She and Elin came out of Elin’s room.
"Ma?" The girl ran to
Rose’s side. "What is it?"
"I need to talk to
you," Rose whispered. "I need you."
Abby turned around, said good-bye
to Elin and Meg, and went back home with her mother.
"I think I might be
pregnant!" Rose blurted out as soon as they were alone.
Abby’s jaw dropped and she let
out a cry of half-laughter, half-disbelief until she realized her mother was
serious. "You mean you…"
"Yes."
"You and James…"
"Yes, yes."
"Wow." Abby sat down
unsteadily on the couch. "Okay," she said maturely. "Well, how
far along would you be?"
Rose bit her lip and thought.
"Um…ten or eleven hours."
"I don’t understand. Why do
you think…I mean, it’s too soon."
"I ate a carrot."
"Uh-oh."
"The last time I had any
desire for vegetables was when I was pregnant with you." It was true.
Sure, she ate her fruits and veggies, but she didn’t like it too much.
"I know," Abby said.
"But it’s not a sure thing. What else?"
"I saw these kids at church
today and I just wanted to hold them! Oh, God, what if I’m pregnant! What do I
do?" She was panicking a bit and Abby tried her best to calm her down.
"Would it really be so
bad?" she asked.
"Uh…yeah," she said
flatly.
"Mom, you love James,
right?"
Rose nodded. "Yeah,"
she admitted. "I do."
"So?"
Rose shrugged. "I don’t
know! It’s just…it’s not the right time! All right? With work and…I don’t know!"
Abby raised her eyebrows and
sighed. "Wait and see, Ma. Wait and see."
Wait and see. Too much of Rose’s
life was wait and see. For once, she would like to control the events in her
life. But she was a woman, and that just wasn’t possible. Her heart was
pounding constantly. She didn’t want to get pregnant now. Not like this,
anyway. Sure, she wanted another baby, but this time she wanted it done right.
She wanted plenty of money and room and she wanted to be married.
The next day, however, during classes,
she felt a familiar wetness between her legs and excused herself from class to
go check. Dark spotting was in her underclothes and she ran quickly to the
older girls’ English class.
"Excuse me, Miss Heart, but
I need my daughter for a moment," she said, peeking through the door.
"Abby, you’re excused,"
Miss Heart said, and all the girls watched as Abby stood and left the room.
Rose took her to a corner and
made sure no one was nearby. "I just thought you should know that I’m not
pregnant. False alarm."
Abby nodded. "Glad that’s
over," she said. "But would it really have been so horrible?"
"No, I guess not," Rose
said upon reflection.
"So someday…?"
"Someday."
That night, Rose went up to
James’ apartment after he walked his daughter, Margaret, down to be watched by
Abby.
"So…" he said.
"So."
"The other night," he
began nervously. "Mistake?" He took her to the couch and sat her
down.
Rose’s heart almost skipped a
beat. "Is that what you think?" she snapped.
He grimaced, knowing he’d said
the wrong thing. "Is that what you think?"
She stood up angrily. "Well,
apparently that’s what you think, so poof! Didn’t happen! See you around."
She ran to the door, but he ran after her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and
turned her toward him.
"Rose." He smiled.
"Don’t you even think about going out that door." And he brought her
lips to his. She responded with lips eager as his.
*****
James stirred. "Are you
awake?" he asked from half-under his blanket.
"Yes," Rose said,
instantly alert. She was going to offer to leave, but then he emerged head
first from the confusion of bedding and his face was smiling.
"Good morning," he said
to her. "Are you…well?"
She found she was beaming back at
him, reflecting his joy. "I’m very well."
"Happy?"
She nodded. "Very
happy."
"Then come to me," he
said, opening his arms, and she slid down the sheets and into the warm,
musky-scented embrace, his strong thighs pressing against her, his arms
cradling her shoulders, his face burrowing into her neck. "I love
you," he whispered.
"I love you, too," she
said.
"Then marry me."