A LOVE FOR ETERNITY
Chapter Three
Unforgettable
The rain was pouring down on Jack
and Rose while they were standing at the railing, awaiting their arrival in New
York, the end of the journey that had changed their lives forever. A journey
that had almost taken their lives.
"Jack," Rose said
suddenly. "Could I have a moment alone, please?"
"Of course, my
darling," Jack answered, and kissed her cheek.
"Thanks." With that,
Rose went away and stood near the railing, her hands in the pockets of Cal's
coat, which she had been wearing since the sinking.
She looked at the Statue of Liberty.
She had never imagined this moment to be like this. The statue really was a
sign of liberty for her. At the beginning of this journey, she had been in
chains, had even wanted to kill herself, but with Jack's help, she was freer
than ever.
She had never thought that she
could be so happy again. She would marry the man she truly loved.
Oh, Daddy, she thought. This is what you always
wanted for me, right? I'm thankful that you were always by my side.
Rose's thoughts were interrupted
by an officer. "Can I take your name please, love?"
She looked at him.
"Dawson," she said automatically, feeling that it was right.
"Rose Dawson."
The officer wrote her name down.
"Thank you," he said, and went away.
Suddenly, Rose felt something
hard and cold deep in the pocket. She pulled it out and looked at it in
surprise. It was the Heart of the Ocean.
"Oh, my God," she said
to herself.
Rose turned around, looking for
Jack. He was standing few yards away, talking to the officer. Rose went over to
him, and the officer left them.
"Jack, look what I've
found."
Jack gasped when he saw the
beautiful diamond, which held an even more beautiful memory.
"How did it..."
"I think Cal put it in here.
He probably thought that I would survive, and then he wouldn't lose it. Well,
he was right. I survived. And I wouldn't wonder, if..." At this, she stuck
her hand into the other pocket and pulled out a bundle of money. "I would
find some money."
"Wow. That's...I don’t know
what to say," Jack said, amazed. "Now, something different. The officer
asked me whether you were my wife, because you gave your name as Dawson."
"Yes. I took your name. It's
part of my...our...new life–together," Rose said, smiling at him.
"Well, you honor me like no
other person in the whole world," Jack said, kissing her cheek.
"What did you tell
him?" Rose asked.
"Well, I said that you were
my wife. Was this right?" Jack looked at Rose.
"Hmm. Let me think. I guess
it's all right," she said jokingly.
At that moment, the Carpathia
reached the dock, and they had to leave the ship–together, like Rose had said.
Lights flashed around them. News
reporters shouted questions. People, about ten thousand of them, were waiting
for the ship to arrive. Some were already reunited with their loved ones.
Others were crying, for they had lost someone dear.
As Jack and Rose stepped off the
ship, they were bombarded with questions, and the reporters took photos of
them.
"We have to get out of
here," Jack whispered into Rose's ear, and she nodded.
Jack took her arm and tried to lead
her out of the crowd, which wasn't easy. People were everywhere.
Half an hour later, they were
finally alone on an empty street.
"What do we do now?"
Rose asked, frightened, for she had never been in such a situation.
"First, we could go to the
train station and buy the tickets to Chippewa Falls. There, we could ask for a
hotel and spend the night there. All right?" Jack asked, calmly. Rose was
surprised; he never seemed to be nervous.
"All right," she only
answered. She was cold and wet, but with Jack by her side, she knew that they'd
make it through everything, like they had already done.
The walk to the train station
seemed like an eternity to Rose. She was tired, wet, and cold, but Jack led her
through the streets, and finally they arrived.
Jack walked up to the counter and
asked the man behind it, "When does the next train to Eau Claire
leave?"
The man took out a book, opened
it, and flipped through the pages.
"You’re lucky," he
said, after a while. "The next train leaves in forty minutes."
"All right. We need two
tickets."
"Well, that will be ten
dollars."
Jack took out the money. He had
kept the money, and Rose the diamond, and the man gave him the tickets.
Rose and Jack sat down on a
bench.
"I'm so tired," Rose
said after a few minutes.
"Only a few more minutes.
Then you can sleep the whole night," Jack said softly.
When Rose was almost asleep, the
train finally arrived. They got onto it and looked for their seats. When they
found them they settled down. Rose laid her head against Jack's shoulder for
more comfort. It worked–like always. She was so tired that she thought she
could sleep a whole day.
"Good night, Jack. I love
you," she whispered, as the train started off.
"Good night, my Rose. I love
you, too," Jack said, kissing her cheek, but she had already fallen
asleep.
He looked out the window. He
hadn't told Rose that he was worried. Worried about how he could support her.
He had always been on his own. This was new for him, but with Rose by his side,
he was almost sure that he would handle it. Maybe he could open an art gallery
and sell his pictures. But they were all at the bottom of the Atlantic now.
He looked down at Rose. She was
so beautiful, her red hair spread across his shoulder. He was lucky that she
was with him. Where would he be without her? Perhaps he would be with the
Titanic. He tried not to think about it.
His thoughts went back to his
parents. They would have liked Rose. He was sure about this. Well, everybody
would like Rose. She was so smart, beautiful, and had the most fiery spirit a
person could have.
Thinking of his and Rose's life
together, he finally fell asleep.