ALL THE WAY
Chapter Six
October, 1921
It was back to school time in Santa Monica
and everyone was excited for the year. The Dawsons were happy to have two of
their children in school, Michael in first grade and Jillian in kindergarten.
They were at the same school and were most excited about this fact. Luke, who
was almost two years old, was growing and developing every day. Already being
the charmer of the Dawson kids, he worked his way into the heart of everyone he
met. Jack was becoming an even better known artist. Not just in California
either. A few of his drawings had recently sold in Italy--much to Jack's shock
and delight. And Rose was happy teaching drama twice a week and she felt pretty
complete.
Although something had been on Rose's mind
lately. She was thinking about maybe, possibly, having another baby. If that is
what she and Jack agreed, the baby would be just about three years younger then
Luke. And Luke was about three years younger then Jillian. Perfect age
separation, Rose thought. And this would also be the first Dawson child
planned. While Michael had been on their minds, the pregnancy was sure a shock.
And God knew Jillian wasn't planned at all. And even Luke wasn't entirely
expected. All of the children were very much wanted, just never planned out.
These thoughts were on Rose's mind as she
absentmindedly cleaned the living room one Friday afternoon. Michael and
Jillian were at school and Luke was playing in the kitchen. A quick glance at
the clock told Rose that she had about fifteen minutes before she had to go and
walk Mike and Jillian home. So she swiftly finished up the room, thinking that
it was almost useless--it would be a mess again by that night--and then set out
to get ready.
The walk to the elementary school wasn't far,
but Rose didn't like the idea of her five- and six-year-old children walking
home from school alone. They had to pass by a few shops and the high school,
making Rose a bit nervous. So every day, on his way to work, Jack would walk
them to school and then Rose would walk them back in the afternoon. Meaghan and
Grace Foster went to the same school, and so did Matthew Langston. But Meaghan
was older, so she and Grace were allowed to walk home without an adult. And
Matthew's mother, Jennifer, worked at the school, so he always hung around until
she got off work at four.
After Rose got Luke and herself ready for the
crisp October walk, they set out--a few minutes early so to enjoy the day. As
Rose walked, holding Luke's hand while he stumbled along, she pointed out
various things that she thought he might enjoy. He mostly liked the people
working in their yards, raking up what little leaves they had here in Santa
Monica. And he laughed whenever he saw a child or dog jump into the small pile.
As she approached Michael and Jillian's
school, Rose noticed that she was right on time. She quickly raced over to
where she always met the children and smiled when she saw Jillian had beat her.
"Mommy!" Jillian called as soon as
she saw Rose.
Rose waved at her daughter as she came
closer. "Hello, darling," she said excitedly, before bending down to
give Jillian a gentle kiss.
"Hello, Mommy," Jillian answered, a
big smile on her face. "Look!" she exclaimed, holding up a piece of
white paper.
Rose checked on Luke, who was busy picking
grass, and then gently took the drawing from her daughter. She studied it for a
moment, looking at the child's painting. "This is wonderful,
sweetheart," Rose complimented after a minute.
"See?" Jillian said, pulling down a
corner of the paper. "That's you," she said, pointing toward a red
person. "And there is Daddy. And Mike. And Lukester! Oh, and that's Addy.
We are by the ocean...see?"
Rose nodded her head, smiling at Jillian.
"This is beautiful, Jillian," she said, handing the picture back.
"We'll have to put it on the icebox." After that, Rose quickly
thought of something, and checked Jillian's maroon dress over. There was no
paint that she could see.
"Speaking of Michael, Jillian, where is
he? Do you know?"
Jillian shrugged her small shoulders. "I
don’t know," she mumbled, in a tone that really meant she did.
Rose was about to question the girl when
Michael came running toward them. "Hey there, Michael Andrew!" she
said as he ran to give her a leg-hug.
"Hello, Mom," he said after pulling
away. He looked up at her and smiled.
Rose's heart melted in that moment. While
Michael had been missing only one of his front two top teeth this morning, he
was now missing two. And he looked adorable. Rose put her hands on Michael's
head and pulled him closer.
"Let me see you, Mike," she said
excitedly. "Why, you are missing another tooth!"
Michael giggled before nodding his head.
Jillian shouted, "Surprise! See, Mommy,
this is why I couldn't tell you where he was!"
Michael grinned and started to explain.
"I lost it at recess, Mom. Jillian and me were playing tag with some other
kids. She knocked me down, well not hard; I sort of tipped, too. But I fell and
it knocked the tooth out. It was loose anyway, Mom. It just popped out. Didn't
hurt at all! You should have seen it! There was a lot of blood! I wasn't
scared, though. I had to get it from my teacher, which is why I was late."
Michael reached into his pocked and pulled
out an envelope. "See, Mom?" he said proudly, handing it to his
mother.
Rose peeked inside and saw her son's little
baby tooth, somewhat covered in dried blood. "That’s wonderful, darling. I
am sure Daddy will be excited!" Rose said, smiling at him. She handed the
envelope back to him and then reached over to take Luke's hand.
"Can we go see him now?" Jillian
asked as they started to walk home.
"Who?"
"Daddy. I wanna show him my drawing. And
Mike can show him his tooth."
Rose shook her head. "Not today. Sorry,
you two. Daddy had some stuff he was working on," she said regretfully.
She, too, would have loved to see Jack.
There was a groan from Jillian and Michael as
they looked up at Rose.
"Don't worry, you'll see him in a few
hours," she promised. She took Jillian's free hand and then smiled down at
all of them. "Now, who wants to go home and have some cookies? And some
milk? You can tell me more about school."
This time, Rose was rewarded with a cheer as
Michael and Jillian, who broke free, started running ahead. Rose was about to
tell them to slow down, but instead she picked up Luke and stared running after
them.
Later That Night
Jack sat on the couch, smiling at Rose. She
was sitting in his lap, her head softly resting on his shoulder. At the moment,
she was busy playing with their joined hands. He was exhausted from the week
and was happy to be at home. Michael's having lost a tooth was certainly big
news. And Jillian's drawing had been proudly put out on display. Thankfully,
everyone but Rose and himself was now asleep.
Jack could tell Rose wanted to talk to him
about something. But she was beating around the bush, not saying what she
needed to. Hoping to pry some words out of her, Jack pulled Rose closer and
rested his head on top of hers.
"What's on your mind?" he asked,
trying to sound innocent.
Rose pulled her head away and looked up at
Jack. "I've been thinking..." She stared, stopping after that.
"About what?" Jack asked, pressing
for details.
Rose took a deep breath and looked down for a
moment. Then she breathlessly looked back up at Jack and looked directly into
his eyes. "About having another baby," she finally blurted out.
Jack's eyes open wide in response.
"Rose...are you...?" He trailed off.
Rose smiled and shook her head. "No,
Jack, I'm not pregnant. I've just been thinking. Four children really are a
good number. And its not like we'd be hurting anything. We have enough room,
money, everything. And well, now would be the time to try." She looked
down, afraid as to what Jack might say.
It was very quiet for a few minutes and then
Jack suddenly started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Rose asked,
somewhat confused as to what he was laughing about.
"I am just thinking about what the kids
would say if they ever found out about this," Jack said, grinning.
Rose broke into a bright smile. "So does
this mean yes?" she asked hopefully.
Jack nodded excitedly. "Yes, Rose, I
think its a wonderful idea."
Rose sighed happily and snuggled closer to
Jack. "I love you, darling," she whispered.
"I love you, too," Jack said,
kissing the side of her head. As he was doing this, and idea was forming in his
head. "Hey Rose, tomorrow is Saturday. Why don't we hand the kids off to
Brittany, if she wants them, and then take the weekend for ourselves. Work on
that baby," he suggested, patting her stomach.
Rose smiled happily. "Whatever you want,
Jack," she said gently. She closed her eyes and let Jack hold her. He was
thinking about plans for the next evening. And how wonderful it would be.