AN ADVENTURE TO REMEMBER AND A MEMORY TO FORGET
Chapter Thirty
Victoria
My walk with Harry let us both
get acquainted with each other. I told him about my family, my past, and
everything else that I thought he needed to know before I set sail on the
Titanic. Harry was in the middle of talking when I saw a family playing in a nearby
park. My attention went from Harry to the family. Evidently, he noticed.
"And after that, I decided
to go into the circus. My brother and I made a wonderful acrobatic act. I’d
throw him up and he’d do flips before catching onto the high rise bar, and then
our uncle, who bore a striking resemblance to the bearded lady, caught him
before he lit us all on fire and we jumped through hoops."
"Hmm…sounds…wait? Did you
say your uncle set you on fire?"
"So, you were paying
attention to me."
I looked at Harry. "I’m
sorry. I was not paying attention. I was watching those children over
there."
Harry’s eyes shifted towards the
two girls playing on the swings. About the time he got a good look at them,
their mother came to them and evidently scolded them for getting their dresses
dirty. She yanked them both by the hand and made them sit down at the table
they were eating at and then got onto the older one for not sitting up
straight. The little girl’s back went stiff and her hands were placed rigidly
in her lap. The mother and the other lady looked on approvingly and went on
about their meaningless chatter.
"I know how both of them
feel. I remember when Mother used to get onto me for not sitting up straight or
looking like a young lady should. I was more interested in playing outside with
my neighbors than learning etiquette and how to properly hold a conversation
with a male suitor."
Harry wrinkled his nose.
"You know how to be a lady? I had no idea."
I playfully pushed him, and we
started back walking towards the hotel. "I mean it, Harry. I mean, look at
those children. They should be out making mud pies and playing rough. Instead,
those two girls are going to grow up just like I did. They are going to be
bound by a society which isn’t right." I thought about Rose. "Rose
had the sense to leave everything behind for a better life. Yes, she might not
have the riches or the life she once had, but look at Jack and what he does for
her."
"Could you leave your family
behind if you were her?"
I stopped walking for a minute while
I looked at Harry. "I’m not sure. I’m really not. I wouldn’t want that
life if I were her. Rose’s mother didn’t care about her daughter’s happiness.
Mrs. DeWitt Bukater only cared about what she wanted. All she wanted was to see
her daughter marry some rich man and produce heirs so she could die a rich old
hag. She didn’t give a damn about Rose or her happiness. I don’t think my
father is like that."
Harry looked at me, and we
started slowly walking again. "You’re lucky. I’ve seen young girls, as
young as fourteen or fifteen, in Rose’s situation. Thrust into a world they
don’t want with a man they dislike or have no feelings for just to keep the
family name going. It makes me ill, too."
"And I hate wearing this
corset. Not only does it bind my physical appearance, it binds my mental and
spiritual appearance as well. I want a life where I don’t have to wear
one." I tried to scratch at it. "It is my own personal prison, and
here I am dying to break out of it." I started to struggle at it harder
when Harry grabbed me and held me tightly. A tear escaped from the corner of my
eye as his grip got tighter.
"Remember on the Titanic
when I told you that you have the power to be who you want?" I nodded.
"Good. You’d better remember that. If that is the last thing you remember,
never, ever forget it. It’s the truth, whether you want to believe it or not.
You have the power to dictate your own life. Not your father, not your sister,
nor anyone can tell you who to become or what to do. When we get married, you
don’t have to wear that if you don’t want to. Our children don’t have to be
raised like those two girls in the park. We can raise our children any way we
feel fit. No society rules, no corsets, and no overbearing parents. We will be
equals in marriage. I won’t tell you what to do and will respect any and all
decisions you make." Harry put his fingertips under my chin and lifted my
head so our eyes met. "I promise you that." He gave me a gentle kiss
on my lips.
"I know you will. I’m going
to miss my old life in parts, but in the same aspect, I am going to welcome a
change. I’m going to love going to the market to pick up meat for dinner, even
though I don’t know how to cook it. I’m going to love washing my own clothes,
though I don’t know how to do that, either." I stopped to think. "I
do know how to draw my own bath, though."
Harry looked at me and laughed.
"We can hire someone. It’s no big thing. Even we had a housekeeper when I
was little. She helped my mother around the house."
I wrinkled my brow. "I
really wanted to do this all on my own. But given my limited knowledge of
housework, I may need someone to show me the way for a bit."
"I mean, after all, I don’t
need to go to work with pink shirts and eat burned dinners. If we had someone
to teach you, I wouldn’t have to worry about it." I playfully huffed at
Harry, then folded my arms and started to walk off. He easily caught me and
wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "You know, I’m just joking."
I stuck my tongue out at him.
"I know. And I know you know I am joking as well. I’d never burn your
meals. I’d just make you cook."
Harry and I talked some more
until we got back to the hotel. He started to open the door, but a doorman beat
him to it. I walked inside, closely followed by Harry. We saw Rose and Jack in
the lobby, talking in front of the fireplace. I walked over to them.
Rose spoke up excitedly.
"We’re getting married day after tomorrow. Your father arranged
everything."
I was shocked. "So soon!
Congratulations to both of you. I guess now we both need to go shopping for
something to wear."
Rose nodded. "I need to find
a wedding dress. Please go with me tomorrow so I can have an honest opinion.
All Jack will do is sit and yawn."
Jack looked up. "No, I
wouldn’t just yawn. I’d complain, too."
Rose rolled her eyes. "See
what I mean? So, will you go with me?"
I looked at Harry. "I’d love
to. I need to get some ideas as well. You’re not the only one with a wedding
coming up."
"Any idea when you two are
going to have your wedding?"
I looked at Jack when he finished
speaking, then at Harry. "We really haven’t talked about it much. I know
with the congressional inquests coming up, he’s got his mind elsewhere."
Harry nodded. "But it is
something we need to talk about. I’d like it to be sooner, such as a time
before I die."
"As you wish." I rolled
my eyes. "Are you free in a few years?"
Harry got what I was trying to
say. "I don’t know." He pretended to open a book and thumb through
imaginary pages. "I think I might be able to pencil you in for thirty
minutes sometime in November of 1913. Is this acceptable?" He made it look
like he had a pen in his hand, ready to write my name down in his imaginary
book.
"I don’t know. That is a
long way off. I’ll have to check my appointment book, but it’s in my
room."
Rose and Jack both laughed.
"You two are funny. But in all seriousness, Jack and I are getting married
day after tomorrow, so any time after that works well for us. Just as long as
it isn’t at the same time as our honeymoon."
I laughed to myself. "And
why not?"
Shannon walked up then. Jack knew
better than to say what he was thinking. "Because Rose and I will be
writing all those thank you notes to your father for helping us out."
Shannon walked to me. "What
are you doing?"
I held out my hand and she took
it. "Rose and Jack’s wedding is the day after tomorrow. Are you ready to
be their flower girl?"
Shannon nodded. "I’m still
not sure what a flower girl does, but I’m ready if someone will show me."
Rose motioned to Shannon. She
looked at me, and I nodded. Shannon let go of my hand, and Rose took her into
the empty reception room just to the left of the dining hall.
"Shannon, this is where
we’ll be with the minister and your father." Rose walked towards a huge
brick fireplace near the front of the room. "Jack and I will stand
here." She pointed to a place in the room. "Harry will be here, and your
sister will be here. Victoria, Harry, please help me a minute."
I looked at Harry, and he
shrugged his shoulders. "Coming." He took my hand and we walked to
where Rose was.
"Stand here." She
directed Harry to one side of the fireplace and me to the other. She motioned
for Jack to walk up and he stood next to Harry. She took Shannon to the back of
the room and disappeared outside the door for a moment. When she came in, she
had picked up a small basket, had shredded something, and was instructing Shannon
on what to do. "Step a few steps, sprinkle some of the petals on the
floor."
Shannon looked confused.
"But it’s paper."
"Yes, I know it is. But when
you do this for real, it’ll be flower petals."
"Oh. I see." Shannon
reached her hand inside the basket and sprinkled some of the paper on the
floor, then looked up at Rose.
"Your father will be walking
behind you. I’ll be with him. He’s going to walk me up to where Jack, Harry,
and your sister are. Sprinkle the paper, and when you get to where your sister
is, join her on that side."
Shannon nodded and slowly walked
to me, sprinkling the paper as she went. Rose nodded approvingly when Shannon
stood beside me as she got done. She walked towards us.
"There. That’s all you have
to do, and you did it so well."
Shannon beamed. "That’s it?
I can do that in my sleep." She happily bounced back down the aisle,
picking up the paper as she went along. "Can I do it again?"
I nodded. "Just don’t make
too big of a mess." I turned my attention to Rose as I watched my sister
practice again. "Did my father offer to give you away?"
"Oh, Victoria! I am so
sorry! I wasn’t even thinking. He offered and I accepted. I didn’t even think
that you might want to be the first."
I shook my head. "Oh, no,
nothing like that. I’m happy that he offered. I might get jealous if you were
hanging all over Harry."
She smiled. "So, you’re not
mad?"
"Oh, no. I was going to
speak to Father about that anyway, if he didn’t bring it up. You need someone
to give you away, don’t you?"
"Thank you. Thank you for
doing this for me. You, Harry, and your father…I owe so much to you. I’ll never
be able to repay it. All of it."
I reached in to hug Rose.
"No problem. And just think--tomorrow, we get to go shopping for your
wedding dress."
Rose smiled. "Thank you. I
mean it. For everything."