ALL THE WAY
Chapter Five

Early August, 1920

Rose lazily leaned her head back against the lawn chair she was sitting in and closed her eyes. The smell and sounds of summer in Santa Monica washed over her like a wave on the beach. The smell of salt water, sand, and a late out-door lunch made her smile and the sounds of the not-so-distant pier, people on the beach, and waves crashing filled her ears. It was a typical hot and dry Sunday in California and Rose was glad for the break to sit outside.

Jack had taken Michael and Jillian to the pier, promising them they could do whatever they wanted. Rose had raised her eyebrows to that. Whatever they wanted? Knowing Michael, he wouldn't care how big or how fast the roller coaster was; he could want to ride it all day. And Jillian would stop at every ice cream parlor, candy shop, or hot dog stand around, wanting every type of junk-food she could get her hands on.

Now it was just Rose and nine-month-old Luke, who at the moment was asleep on her lap. Everyone, except Jack, Michael, and Jillian, who seemed to have endless energy these days, seemed to be taking the day off to relax and enjoy summer. Even Addy, who usually had as much, or more, energy as the rest of her family, was asleep on the grass, in the shade of a giant tree in the corner of Jack and Rose's yard.

Luke sighed softly just then and Rose opened her eyes back up to look at him. He was just waking up, slowly coming out of his dreamland. Rose carefully lifted him up and placed him against her shoulder. Once she saw that he was awake, she smiled at him. Luke, who never seemed to be in a bad mood, smiled back at his mother.

Rose kissed his forehead. "Did we have a good nap, Luke?"

Luke gave no definite response, just started blabbing in his baby talk. Rose laughed to herself and slowly got up, carrying Luke with her. She called to Addy, who got up, stretched, yawned, and then came over slowly.

Rose made her way into the house, closing the door behind her to keep what cool air there was inside. She gently set Luke down, watching as he held onto the table-leg and pulled himself to his feet. He started walking around with the table's help before seeing something that caught his attention. Luke quickly dropped to the floor and expertly crawled toward Jillian's rag doll that was lying on the ground.

Rose smiled and made her way over to the kitchen counter. She sighed when she saw that someone had left the orange juice out on the counter after breakfast. Rose quickly moved to put it away and as she closed the icebox door, she had to smile at the art-gallery that had formed there. Jillian's pictures of animals were very well done for a four-year-old. And Rose had to smile at Michael's signature at the bottom of his drawings of the family.

It was hard to believe that Michael would be starting kindergarten in just a month. Rose just couldn't comprehend that she would not have him around all day, that he would be starting his school life. It seemed that Rose had just finished school herself. She and Jack were both a little worried about what may happen. Michael was known to be a little rebellious and often played tricks on his family. He was very smart, but Rose just didn't know how he would handle being in a educational environment. Of course, all Michael could talk about was how he and his friend from down the street, Cory, were "big kids now" and were going to school.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the telephone rang. Rose glanced at Luke as she ran over and answered it. "Hello? Dawson Residence."

"Mrs. Dawson?"

"Yes, this is she," Rose answered, still keeping an eye on Luke.

"Mrs. Dawson, this is Miss Jennings down at the theater. We were wondering if you might be able to come in tomorrow morning and teach a workshop. We were going to have someone else do it, but she got sick. And all the other stand-in's are on vacation."

Rose bit her lip and tried to think of what Jack had going on tomorrow. Maybe he could take the day off. "How long would it be, Miss Jennings?" Rose inquired.

"Just from eight to five, Ma'am. With a hour break for lunch."

"I see, and what exactly would I be doing?"

"Teaching the basics of acting, helping the students with skits, that sort of thing," Miss Jennings answered.

Rose thought for a moment before coming to a decision. "All right, I will come in. But please have someone on backup, if I should not be able to make it."

"Sure thing, Mrs. Dawson. Thank you very much. We'll see you at eight," Miss Jennings said before hanging up.

Rose hung up the phone and sighed. The last thing she wanted to do was go into work tomorrow--especially if it was going to be hot. She bent down and picked Luke up. He had crawled over while she had been on the phone. "You're gonna stay with Daddy all day," he said to him, as if he could understand. Luke just laughed and tried to pull Rose's hair in response to her question.

*****

The next morning, Jack and Rose's alarm clock went off at 6:00 AM...a very early 6 AM for Rose. She groaned and tried to ignore the ringing. But it didn't stop and finally she sat up yelling, "All right! I'm getting up!" as she did so.

Jack came out of the bathroom and stood in the doorway. He wore only a towel around his middle and was combing his wet hair. Jack had to smile at Rose; she looked so adorable in her mad-tired state.

"Good morning, Sunshine," he teased.

Rose pulled herself out of bed and put on her bathrobe. She walked unsteadily over to Jack and leaned against him. "Why are you up this early?" she asked. He wasn't going into work today so that he could watch the children.

Jack kissed the top of her head and shrugged. "Force of habit," he said.

Rose looked up and smiled. "I think you got up early to make me breakfast," she hinted.

Jack pretended to remember something. "That’s the reason...I had forgotten."

Rose laughed and kissed him on the nose. "Might want to get dressed first...what would the neighbors think? You, cooking in a towel! Or, nothing at all?"

All of a sudden, Rose grabbed the side of the towel and pulled it away from Jack's body. She started laughing and jumped out of reach of him. Jack dropped his comb and started chasing after Rose, who started running. She was laughing and shrieking and Jack was doing the same. Rose went into the small sitting room in their bedroom and Jack chased her around the couch. He chased her back into their bedroom and around into the bathroom. After making it back into the bedroom again, Jack finally caught Rose. He held her from behind and they fell onto the bed, both of them laughing so hard that they could barely see.

"I think you should give me back my towel, Rose," he whispered, kissing the side of her neck.

Rose turned over so that Jack was lying on top of her and looked into his smiling eyes. "I think I'll keep it," she whispered gently.

Jack shook his head. "Fine, I'll just go get another one," he said as he started to climb off of her.

"Oh no you will not," Rose said, pulling his head back down and kissing him generously on his mouth.

A half-hour later Jack and Rose got up and showered--together, since Jack now needed another one--and then got ready for the day. Rose dressed in her most comfortable dress and shoes, for she knew it would be a long day and she did not want to be in suffocating attire. And Jack was thankful for the chance to wear his leisure clothes rather then his work clothes. They went downstairs and ate a big breakfast, enjoying the fact that all the children were still asleep. And not long after that Rose left for the theater, kissing Jack good-bye before she did so.

Jack made his way into the kitchen and started to read the morning paper. He knew it was just a matter of time, ten minutes at most, before Luke woke up. And Jack was right, eight minutes later there was crying from upstairs. He didn't want Luke to wake up Michael and Jillian, so Jack quickly set down the paper and ran up the his youngest child's room.

Entering the bedroom, he started singing the song that had becomes Luke's favorite. Last Christmas, Rose had started singing it too him and it always calmed his tears. And now, even in August, it always got Luke to stop crying.

Do you hear what I hear?
Do you hear what I hear?
A Lukester, a Lukester
Crying in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light.

As always, Luke calmed down and started smiling as Jack came into the room. He reached down and picked Luke up, checking his diaper as he did so. After making the important decision that his son needed to be changed, Jack did just that. He got a fresh diaper on him and put some fresh clothes on. Luke laughed throughout the whole thing, happy that his dad was here.

As they were leaving the room, Jack noticed Jillian coming out of his bedroom. She closed the door and looked around, as to make sure no one had seen her.

"Jillian?" Jack asked, coming toward her.

Jillian jumped and spun around, a look of shock on her face. "Hi, Daddy," she mumbled, looking at the floor.

Jack stood over her and looked down. "What were you doing in our room, Jillian?" he asked as he set Luke on the floor to crawl around, keeping one eye on him and one eye on his daughter.

"Nothing, Daddy," Jillian promised.

Jack found that hard to believe, especially since his daughter smelled like Rose for some reason. He bent down and leaned closer to his daughter, confirming that Rose's perfume was coming strongly from Jillian. "Sweetheart, did you get into Mommy's perfume?"

Jillian nodded and looking down. "Yeah," she mumbled. "I wanted to smell good, Daddy. Mommy always smells good."

Jack bit his lip in effort to stop laughter and stood up. "I agree Jill, Mommy does smell good. But honey, she doesn’t use so much. Now why don't we get you into a bath and change your clothes, and then I can help you put a little on?"

Jillian nodded and let Jack take her hand. He picked up Luke with the other arm and carried both of them into the bathroom. After bathing her, Jack got her dressed in play clothes and, as promised, let her put a little perfume on. During all this, Michael woke up and started complaining that he was hungry. So Jack got them all downstairs and made pancakes for all of them, feeding Luke his favorite, leftover noodles from the night before.

Just as everyone was finishing up, there came a knock from the front door. Jack told everyone to stay put and quickly sprinted to the door. He pulled it open and looked over the boy standing there.

"I have a package for a Mr. Jack Dawson," the boy said, almost automatically.

"I am he," Jack said and held out his hand for the package.

The boy handed it over and then tipped his hat. "Have a good day, Mr. Dawson."

Jack closed the door and looked at the object in his hands. It really wasn't a package, more like a big envelope. "Hmm? Wonder what this could be," Jack wondered out loud as he made his way back into kitchen. There was no return address, just his own name and address.

"What's that, Daddy?" Michael asked.

Jack looked up and noticed Michael standing under him, trying to get a glimpse of what his father held. "I am not sure, Mike," Jack confessed. "Why don't you and Jillian go play for a few minutes while I open it up?" Michael nodded and he and Jillian ran off. Jack checked on Luke, who was still engrossed in his noodles, and then quickly opened the top of the big envelope. He reached inside and pulled out a stack of what felt like photographs. On top of the stack was a letter that read:

Dear Jackie,

I found these photographs and remembered that you wanted copies. They turned out pretty good, considering what that poor camera went though, no? Stay in touch, my friend.

From Antonio

Jack blinked in surprise. He had completely forgotten about Antonio and his camera.

When he was first over in France for the war, he had met a man who was originally from Italy. He had just been made a full citizen of the United States when the war broke out. He was drafted. Jack and Antonio had begun talking and during the conversation, Jack couldn't help notice that his new friend looked a lot like Fabrizio. He had sounded like him, too. These facts led Jack to ask if Antonio was related to a Fabrizio di Rossi. The man had gasped in surprised and nodded yes. Fabrizio had been his cousin and no one had known what had happened to him. The last they knew, he was trying to find some way to America. Jack regretfully told Antonio what had happened to his cousin, his own heart heavy from missing his friend. Antonio had been sad as to what had happened, but he was grateful to finally know what had happened.

After their conversation, Antonio had brought out a camera and suggested they take come pictures so that his aunt, Fabrizio's mother, would know about her son's friend. Jack agreed, as long as Antonio send him copies when he got them developed. Antonio had nodded and then asked for Jack's address. They took some pictures, promised to write, and then went their separate ways. Jack hadn't seen or talked to him since then. In fact, he had sort of forgotten about his friend. Now, wondering as to how the pictures turned out, he began looking through them.

The first one Jack came to was of him pointing at something and Antonio laughing. In the background was a busy life of the pier they had been on. The next one had the same background, only this time Jack had his arm draped over Antonio shoulders. Both of them were grinning stupidly. The next photo was of Jack pointing behind him and then the next one made him laugh. He was saluting whoever was taking the picture and Antonio had his arm out. That was the last of the pictures. The rest must have not turned out, he mused.

Jack shook his head. Antonio could have been Fabrizio's twin, especially in these pictures. He even had that stupid little hat like the one Fabri always wore. Inwardly, Jack laughed. Rose was gonna love these. He couldn't wait for her to come home so he could show them to her.

*****

"Geez, Jack. Are you sure this isn't Fabrizio's long lost twin?"

Jack smiled brightly at Rose. There was a look of complete shock on her beautiful face. "Positive. But it is amazing how much they look alike, isn't it?"

Rose just nodded. She flipped to the next picture and started laughing. "This is great!" she exclaimed as she held up the one of Jack saluting.

Jack laughed along with her. "I know. Isn’t that funny?"

Rose grinned and nodded her head, making some of her hair fall out of her loosely done up bun. "Oh dear," she sighed. She handed the pictures back over the Jack and took the rest of her hair out. "I knew it was just a matter of time before that came out anyway," she mumbled.

Jack smiled and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. "I like you better with your hair out anyway," he whispered gently in her ear.

"I know you do," Rose whispered back as she pulled away and smiled back at him. "I missed you today," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I missed you, too," he said sincerely, pulling her closer. "And I am thinking about giving you a medal for chasing those kids all around every day."

Rose laughed richly and kissed Jack on the nose. "I better go start dinner," she said after a minute. She began to pull away, but Jack stopped her.

"So tell me, when do they usually go down for bed?" he asked. "You're the expert."

"Oh, you are just going to have to wait Mr. Dawson. They still have two, maybe three hours before they start getting tired." Rose looked up at him with a knowing look in her eyes. "But you know, after that we will have...hmm...eleven hours or so before they wake up again."

"I guess I will just have to hold out until then, huh?" Jack asked, brushing his lips against Rose's forehead.

"Yes," Rose mumbled. "But the children are in the other room. I don't see why you can't kiss me now."

Jack took advantage of this opportunity to kiss Rose softly on the mouth. "How was that?" he asked after they were finished.

"Good," Rose complemented. "But I think you can do better than that." And with that note she pulled his head back down and kissed him harder than before, not caring if any of their children were in sight.

Chapter Six
Stories