A LOVE FOR ETERNITY
Chapter Thirteen

Up Where We Belong

They brought Jack’s suitcase to their house by the beach. Somehow, they didn’t want him to go to his hotel. There were still many things to be discussed, but now they lived only for the moment.

Ruth and Molly were glad to see Jack again, for they had both missed him, too. But they understood that Jack and Rose needed time to talk about everything, and so they let them be.

Santa Monica was still the same as the last time they had been there. The city didn’t show any signs that one and a half years had gone by since. There were still the same shops, the same people. The pier was also still the same. The roller coaster loomed over the people.

For lunch, they went to a nice restaurant. Although they didn’t talk much, they could say a lot with only their eyes. Another reason why they didn’t talk too much was because they didn’t want to start quarrelling again. All they wanted to do now was make peace with each other, start living again. But it proved to be more difficult than they thought at first.

It was now late afternoon, the crowd on the beach was thinning, and the shops on the pier were closed for the day. They sat on a bench on the pier, side by side, nervous and not even holding hands or looking at each other.

As always, when they visited the pier together the sunset was glorious. Did they attract that kind of sunset? Red and orange, pink, and high up in the sky, blue, with the first star blinking at them. The setting sun was reflected by the water, giving everything a golden glow. Around them, people were talking happily and laughing, no cares in their lives.

Make it count…

"Rose, I really want to apologize." It was the first time in hours either of them spoke. She looked up at the sound of his voice, her eyes piercing deeply into his soul.

"Over the last year, I had time to do a lot of thinking. I now know that I shouldn’t have gotten that angry. I guess I was just jealous. I was afraid of losing you. And when I saw you with James and realized that you had wanted it, I just lost it."

He now looked at her, too. Slowly, as if afraid to do so, his hand reached out to search for hers. When he found it, he squeezed it softly. She smiled up at him. This could be the moment they made up for everything.

"You know, it was my fault in the first place. I never should’ve kissed James, but I felt so alone. You were never there, and I needed someone to love. Someone who touched me," Rose said softly, and took his other hand.

"We’ve both made many mistakes in the past, and I know that most of them were mine. I’m really sorry. I don’t think I can live without you another day. When I met you, my life got new meaning. I started living for you. I was there to protect you from the rest of the world. I tried to give you shelter, and in return, you gave me your love, which is the most precious thing one can give. When you left, I felt as if my life had been shattered into pieces. There was no one to protect, no one to love anymore."

He paused to look at her. Tears were starting to fall down her face, and he gently wiped them away with his hand. She fought for words to express her feelings, and it took her a while to find them, but Jack didn’t interrupt her musings.

"For me, my life almost ended three times, before I met you and was engaged to Cal. Those were the second worst times of my life. Then again when I thought you were dead. You had saved my life, and I was afraid that you had given yours for mine. But by far the worst time I almost died was when I knew that I had lost you because of my actions. I betrayed you. I cheated on you. You gave me everything, and I broke your heart in return. It wasn’t fair. I wasn’t fair to you."

"You didn’t break my heart–but it was close. You showed me that I shouldn’t take your love for granted. Do you know what Tommy said to me when I first saw you standing two decks above me?"

She shook her head. He had never told her. Usually, they wouldn’t talk about people they had lost on the Titanic.

"He said, You’re as like to have angels fly out your arse as get next to the likes of her. Somehow, he was right. I think he just wanted to say that being loved by someone like you isn’t something that happens every day. I forgot that, and that’s why I was so shocked when I saw you kissing James."

"It just wasn’t right. I don’t know what I saw in him. All right, I admit he is rather good-looking, but I can’t imagine spending my life with someone like him. I want to spend my life with you. Not somebody. Only you."

She smiled her warm smile again. It was now time to forgive, time to forget every mistake they had made in the past.

"Rose, I apologize again. I was being unfair to you. You deserve a husband who honors you, respects you, isn’t as jealous as I am, and above all, you deserve a husband who loves you more than his own life. I fulfill three of those four points, but one is still missing. I’ll try to not forget that our love is special, but I won’t be so jealous again. Jealousy almost destroyed us, Rose. I won’t ever let that happen again."

"And I must apologize, too, for betraying you, above all with your friend. I, too, love you more than my own life, and I would give up everything for you, as I already did once. I would do it again without hesitating. I can’t help it if I like someone else, but before something like that ever happens again, I’ll talk to you. I know I can tell you anything. You’re my soulmate, and we are destined to spend our lives together."

They leaned closer to each other. She could feel his breath on her face. She knew his smell so well, better than anyone’s. His eyes looked deeply into hers. The setting sun cast its golden light on them, like it had done the first time they had kissed. But he didn’t kiss her now. He had something else to say first.

"Do you remember, what we wrote on the invitations to our wedding? To marry doesn’t mean to just look at each other, but to look together in the same direction. Can we do that again? Can we look in the same direction? I want us to look at the horizon and say once again that we’ll go there. We’re together again, and we can head for our new horizon, make our dreams come true, live life to the fullest. Make each day count."

She only nodded before her lips finally met his again after such a long time. At that moment, the world around them melted away into nothing. Only that couple existed. They were all that counted. The sun cast the last light onto the Santa Monica pier as they shared their passionate kiss that was so full of love, hope, and above all, forgiveness.

And as their kiss deepened, they knew that the other was there. They felt themselves being lifted up high into the sky. Lifted by love and happiness, carried by memories and feelings, flying towards the stars.

The End.

Stories