AN ADVENTURE TO REMEMBER AND A MEMORY TO FORGET
Chapter Thirty-Two
Harry
With Tory and Rose out shopping
for wedding items, Jack and I decided to go down the street to a local bar to
get to know one another. I ordered a pitcher of beer, sat down, and listened to
Jack’s amazing story.
"I’ve been on my own since I
was fifteen. My parents died in a fire, and since I had no brothers or sisters
or close kin, I just high-tailed it out of there. I haven’t looked back since.
That was quite some time ago."
I swallowed what I was drinking.
"Where’d you go?"
Jack took a sip of his beer and
continued. "Everywhere. Santa Monica. Paris. Here and there. All over. I
loved Santa Monica. I set up on the pier and did portraits for ten cents each.
I had a lot of happy customers. I even drew Rose on board the Titanic. I bet
the drawing went down with the ship." Jack stood up to reach into his
pocket. He pulled out a shiny dime. "I did get paid, though. Rose gave me
this when we were done."
I had to laugh at how Rose had
paid Jack to draw her. "Did she like the drawing?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah, she did.
That beast she called a fiancé hated it. He had me arrested because of
it."
I was astonished. I had seen the
handcuffs on Jack when I pulled him into the boat, but the thought to ask what
happened had slipped my mind when I pulled Rose as well as Tory into the boat.
"What did he say you did?"
"Cal had this exquisite
necklace he bought for Rose. It had this huge blue diamond in the middle and
all these other diamonds on the chain. Really neat-looking, if you ask
me." Jack stopped to take another drink. He paused a minute while he let
the cool liquid slide down his throat. "That’s good. Anyway, Rose
evidently put the drawing I did of her in the safe with a smart-aleck note
about how he could keep both the necklace and her in the safe. He got that
manservant of his to put the necklace in my pocket as Rose and I walked back to
the suite to tell them about the iceberg. Cal had one of the stewards grab me
when I walked in. They pulled the necklace out of my pocket. Rose was shocked.
Rose’s mother looked pleased. Cal had this smirk on his face, as if he were
trying to silently tell me that he had won. Too bad he lost. Rose realized I
didn’t take the necklace from her, and she and Victoria came to get me."
"Wow. I had no idea all of
this went on. What happened to the necklace?"
Jack shrugged. "I guess it
went down with the ship. Rose put it back in the box it came in and then put
the box back in the safe. We didn’t go back to the room together after they
arrested me. She was in there with Cal and her mother, but I doubt if anyone
thought to grab it. Serves Cal right, having to lose something so expensive
like that." Jack took another, longer drink. "This is really
good."
I smiled as I looked down at the
dark wood table we were sitting at. My fingers traced the grain of the wood. I
looked up at Jack. His gaze was fixed at something outside. "So, are you
ready to get married? Any second thoughts?"
Jack took a deep breath and let
it out slowly. "Not one. As long as Rose isn’t having second thoughts, I’m
not either. She and Victoria went shopping today, didn’t they?"
I slowly nodded my head as I
continued to trace the grain on the table. "Yes. They went out. Rose, I
know, was buying her dress. Shannon hinted around that Tory was going to get
hers, as well. Who knows what the two of them will find? I know Mr. Metcalfe
was going to buy us both tuxedos when the big day came. He was sending up a
tailor this morning to measure me. Did the tailor see you, too?"
Jack nodded. "He was the
most rude guy, too. He barked commands to me like Cal did to Rose. But he got
the job done and told me the suit would be altered and ready to go later on
today." He looked at me, then looked down at his nearly empty glass. After
pouring himself another beer, he started talking again. "Do you feel bad
at all for taking money and the hotel room from Mr. Metcalfe? I feel guilty for
doing so. As a man, I’m supposed to be providing for Rose. I think I’ve got
about ten bucks in my pocket and nothing to offer her. And here I am, having to
have her friend’s father buy my tuxedo so I can get married."
I looked up from the table and
looked straight into Jack’s eyes. "Sometimes, yes, I do. But as a man,
you’re also supposed to provide not only support, but also love and kindness.
You do that for Rose. I can see it. You saved her from a situation with that
bastard Hockley that would have surely put her in her grave at an early age.
Look at what you’ve done for her so far. Once you get married and get on your
feet with a job, then you can take matters into your own hands and support Rose
in whatever job you can find."
"Think they’ll hire me at
the White Star Line?"
I laughed as I took a sip of my
drink. "Perhaps. If you’re serious, I can see what I can do."
Jack slowly nodded. "I don’t
know what Rose would think. Heaven only knows what the two of them would dream
up while we’re both gone out sailing."
This time, it was my turn to
laugh even harder. "Can you imagine those two together for an extended
period of time? I know Tory said she couldn’t cook well, but I don’t know about
Rose. We’d probably come back to two charred, blackened shells of what remained
of what used to be our houses."
Jack smiled and looked down at
the table again. "I don’t think Rose is that bad. Plus, Victoria could
always hire a maid or something until she feels out the ropes."
I looked at the clock above the
bar. "We’d better get going back to the hotel. Our tuxedos are supposed to
be in. If they don’t fit, we’ve got to be there when the tailor drops them off."
Jack stood up and pushed his
chair back in. "Thanks, man."
"No problem. I’ve enjoyed
it."
I let Jack get back to his room,
and as I unlocked my door, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to see
Tory about to crash into me.
"Miss me?"
She reached up to kiss me as she
threw her arms around my shoulders. "As always. Did you and Rose find her
dress?" She nodded. She had a childish smile on her face. "Got
something you want to tell me?"
"I found mine, too."
I looked at her, confused.
"Your what?"
Tory rolled her eyes. "My
dress."
It hit me. "Oh. I see. Can I
see it?"
Tory playfully hit me as I opened
the door and escorted her in. "You know it’s bad luck to see the bride in
her dress before the wedding day."
I took one of her hands in mine
and leaned in close. "Tory, after all we’ve been through, I doubt if
anything else could happen."
She shrugged her shoulders.
"Still, I’d rather not tempt fate. What did you and Jack do?"
"Nothing, really. The tailor
showed up this morning and fitted me for my tux. Jack said he showed up at his
suite to fit him, as well." I turned around to scan the room. I pointed to
the tux, neatly hanging on a hook on the door. "And there it is."
Tory dropped my hand and walked
over to it. "Nice. I bet this will do." She looked at me. "Can I
ask you something?"
I walked to her. "Yes, Tory,
I’ll marry you." I kissed her cheek.
"I’m being serious. Rose
wants to have a double wedding. Tomorrow."
My jaw fell open.
"Tomorrow?" She nodded. "But it’s, you know, tomorrow."
She rolled her eyes again.
"Yes, Harry, I know it’s tomorrow. But she’s really pushing this."
"And what do you think? It’s
your wedding. You’re the bride."
She looked down at the
dark-colored carpet surrounding the entry area of my suite. "I don’t know.
I wanted to ask you. I told her I didn’t want to take any attention away from
her on her big day. But still…I do want to marry you, but I don’t know if it’s
right or not." She put her hand on her stomach for a moment.
"Are you all right?"
Tory looked up at me. "Yes.
Just a little pain. Nerves, I guess." She rubbed her stomach a bit.
"I’m fine."
"Before me comes you. If you
don’t feel good, please let me know. And I’m fine with whatever decision you
make. If you want to get married tomorrow, I’ll be right there with Jack. You
just let me know. I’m fine with whatever decision you make. It’s still early in
the afternoon. I’m sure that you will make the right decision." She nodded
slowly, then yawned. "Are you tired?"
Tory nodded. "A bit. Rose
and I had a big day that started early."
I motioned for Tory to follow me.
"Lie down with me for a minute. I promise I’ll behave." Tory followed
me into the bedroom and went to lie down on my bed. I watched her sleep and
wondered what her decision would be.