ALL THE WAY
Chapter Thirty
A Few Days Later…
Rose told that story just as she had
rehearsed it in her mind on the flight to the Keldysh. Between talking with
Jack and her mother over the years, she had built up a rather good,
comprehensive account of their journey. All of what she said was true, except
for the part where she watched Jack slip underneath the waves. Using her acting
skills she had perfected so many years ago, she managed to convince everyone
that Jack had died on that night so many years ago. It was not hard. She just
used her emotions that she still felt whenever she thought of her husband lying
six feet under, back in Santa Monica. From there on out, she mixed in truth
with fiction and eventually got everyone in the room thinking she had been
forced to make it on her own.
Lizzy was, understandably, shocked to the
core at her grandmother's tale. However, she was even more surprised to listen
to Rose claim Jack had died. It made no sense to her. Her grandmother and
grandfather had lived a full, rich, loving life together after the Titanic.
They had moved on. So why not include him in the final story? She even made
crap up about marrying some guy named Calvert, stealing Lizzy's other
grandfather's name for effect. The suckers believed every word.
Her mind a jumble of thoughts, Lizzy wheeled
Rose back to her stateroom that last night. Once Rose had gotten changed and
was ready for bed, she sat across from her in a chair and gave her a long, hard
look.
"Why did you lie to them?" she
finally asked, her voice hardly above a whisper.
Rose was quiet for a moment. She felt
extremely tired and overrun. The last couple of days had taken everything out
of her. "Some things are better left unsaid," she finally answered.
What she and Jack had done after Titanic had nothing to do with the
necklace--or making Brock and his crew realize that it was just a piece of
jewelry. Furthermore, her little bit about getting a second chance made him think,
she had noticed. It was all very well the way she had handled it.
"But, Nana…what you and Papa had was
amazing. You two had everything. You lived out what we all dream of
living."
Rose got up unsteadily from her seat on the
bed and crossed over to where Lizzy was. "That's not what Brock needed to
hear," she whispered, laying a soft hand on her granddaughter’s shoulder.
"If he figures out of the rest later, so be it. But for now, this is
enough." She patted Lizzy's shoulder a couple of times and then started
toward the door. "I'm going out for a bit of fresh air."
"Do you want me to come?" Lizzy
asked softly.
"No, I'll be all right," Rose
replied tiredly. Lizzy acknowledged her and then said something about going to
find Brock. Rose nodded, and then, without Lizzy noticing, she reached into the
pocket of one of the open suitcases and quickly retrieved the necklace. Then
she slipped out the door without so much as a second glance from her
granddaughter.
The Keldysh was quiet as she made her way
down the hall and then out onto the deck. No longer afraid of ships, she was
rather enjoying herself despite the emptiness that plagued her heart. Her only
wish was that Jack was there. However, even then, he almost would have ruined
it for everyone. It was better that they only knew part of the story.
Her feet felt cool as they pressed against
the steel deck. All at once, the stern rail loomed in front of her. Her mind
was transported back to another night, when she had not approached the rail so
defiantly. Then, the rail was to be part of her escape; just a quick hop over
it and she would be gone. Now it was to be part of her freedom, to forgive
herself.
The past nine years she had been blaming
herself for Jack's death. She had pleaded night after night to let him come
back, and if God would only do that one thing, she would give herself up in his
place. She felt like she'd failed her husband; that she hadn't held up her part
of the you jump, I jump agreement. Jack had jumped alone, with no one to meet
him at the bottom.
Out here, in the middle of the ocean, she
felt so close to him, like he was all around her. Rose hoped that returning
this damned necklace would make her feel better. She was giving something back
to Jack, instead of just praying to him every night.
With strength she had forgotten she had, Rose
pulled herself up onto the rail and peered over the edge.
"Hello, Jack," she whispered in her
head.
With trembling fingers, she opened up her
balled fist and stared at the diamond one last time. It had become such a
symbol for what they had been through; a rock amongst the flames. She
remembered the moment she had found it, standing on that boat deck staring up
at the Statue of Liberty. Jack had come back from grabbing a spare umbrella to
find her staring at it in amazement. They'd always kept it around, to remind
them.
"Ah!" her exuberant comment was
comical as she threw the Heart of the Ocean into the water, watching as it sank
lower and lower in a circle. It finally disappeared in the depths of the ocean,
leaving the rest of the world behind. But for how long?
A soft breeze picked up just then and Rose
closed her eyes, a soft smile forming on her lips. It was then that she knew
Jack was there. He was communicating with her the best way he knew how, outside
of her dreams.
Rose opened her eyes back up and stared up at
the night sky. "All the way, Jack," she whispered to him. "You
jump, I jump--all the way."
*****
Lizzy watched with sad eyes as the rest of
her family threw handfuls of dirt, covering the casket that enclosed her
grandmother. It had almost been expected that she would pass away when the
story was told. But even so, she missed her grandmother terribly.
A clap of thunder sounded and lighting
flashed in the darkening sky. The unpredicted storm was announcing itself to
the funeral attendants, most of whom started shrieking and ran for cover. Lizzy
was oblivious to the rain that began to pour, however, as she continued to
stare at the grave.
"Good-bye, Nana," she whispered
softly, waving sadly. She usually wasn't one to cry, but she could feel a lump
rising in her throat. They were both gone now.
"Hey."
Lizzy turned her head in the direction of the
soft voice next to her. "Hi," she mumbled back, trying to wipe the
tears from her eyes. She didn't want him to see her cry.
"You all right?" Brock asked
gently, placing a timid hand on the small of her back.
Lizzy nodded. "I will be. It’s just
hard." She smiled at him. "Thank you for coming."
Brock shrugged; he'd felt sorry for Rose. The
poor woman had flown halfway around the world to tell a story, just to get a
point across, and then had died. It wasn't right. He'd given up the pathetic
search for the necklace and felt he owed it to Rose to at least be at her
funeral. Plus, he was rather interested in Lizzy. She was so nice, pretty; he
couldn't imagine why she was still single.
"No problem," he said softly.
"You want me to walk you to your car?"
Lizzy nodded slowly. "Just a
minute," she said. Turning around, she waved one last time at the mound of
dirt that covered her grandmother’s casket. She was going to miss that lady.
Then, with another sad smile, she gave a soft salute to her grandfather’s
headstone, resting next to her grandmother.
"Take care of her, Papa," she
whispered.
Brock let Lizzy have her moment and when she
was done, he softy grasped her hand. "It's raining," he reminded her.
Lizzy looked up as the rain started to pour.
Was it? She was pretty much unaware. "Oh," she whispered.
"Okay."
With sadness, she turned and let Brock lead
her away. She'd miss those two. They'd always been able to make her smile.
Without Jack it had been weird, but without both of them it was going to be
downright strange. She had no doubt they were watching right now, probably
wrapped up in each other’s arms or something of the sort. At least they were
together again. A soft smile graced her face. Yeah, she thought. At
least that.
A soft breeze blew through the rain just
then, lifting Lizzy's hair. She could almost hear the faded notes of her
grandparents’ signature song whistling through the leaves as they walked…
But if you let me love you
It’s for sure I'm gonna love you
All the way…
The End.