AN ADVENTURE TO REMEMBER AND A MEMORY TO FORGET
Chapter Thirty-Six
Harry
The four of us stayed up all
night, talking and just having fun. When the sun finally started to come up,
Lightoller and Moody went back to their room to get ready and left Jack and me
to do the same.
As I started to gather a towel
and a change of clothes to take a bath, I stopped to check my reflection in the
mirror of my bedroom. This is it. Your last few hours as a free man. I
patted my cheeks and ran my fingers through my hair. I spied the box on the
dresser that contained Tory’s ring. I picked it up and opened it, checking to
make sure her ring was still in there. It was, and once more I picked up the
small ring and placed it on my finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."
"And who are you talking
to?"
I turned around, startled, to
find Jack watching me. "Just practicing. We grooms don’t have that big of
a part to play in a wedding, as all we really do is just stand there, but I
want to make sure I get my part right." I put Tory’s ring back in the box
and snapped the velvet lid shut. "You taking a bath?"
Jack nodded. "I was fixing
to when I heard you marrying yourself in here. Just wanted to make sure you
didn’t object to yourself."
I had to laugh at that one.
"Just nerves. Are you not nervous at all?"
Jack threw his towel over his
shoulder as he leaned against the frame of my bedroom door. "Nah. I’ve
done far scarier stuff than this in my life. Getting married ought to be a
breeze compared to everything else I’ve been through."
I shrugged my shoulders. "I
only wish I were as calm as you are. This wedding thing is making me nervous.
I’m scared to eat breakfast for that very reason."
Jack laughed. "It’ll be
okay. You’re not getting cold feet, are you?"
"No! Never in a million
years could I change my mind. I’ve found the woman I’m supposed to be with
forever. It’s a wonderful feeling." I took my towel and headed towards the
bathroom. "If we don’t get ready, our brides-to-be are going to hang us
upside down by our toenails outside this very window!"
Victoria
"Madelyn! Madelyn!" I
had my hair up in curlers, trying to find my attendant. "Have you seen the
veil of my gown? I can’t find it!" I checked inside the coat closet and
the result was the same as the last three times I looked--it wasn’t in there. I
put my hand to my cheek and began to worry. "I can’t get married without a
veil, and we don’t have time to get another one from that bridal shop. We have
to find it!"
"Miss, calm down. I thought
I told you that your father has it. He wishes to do the honor once we are done
with your hair and makeup." Madelyn motioned for me to turn around and sit
on the bench in the powder room. "Please, let me finish with your makeup.
Then we’ll do something about your hair, and then comes the big moment of
putting on your wedding gown." I watched as Madelyn expertly applied a
light layer of blush and eye shadow across my cheeks and eyes. "Miss, you
are going to look wonderful. Your father will be so proud of you."
I blushed. "I hope so. I do
hope I’m not disappointing my father by marrying so quickly."
Madelyn motioned for me to lean
back with my eyes closed. I felt her warm touch as she applied mascara to my
eyelashes. "Your father only wishes to see both you and Miss Shannon
happy. Whether that be now with your wedding, or ten years from now with Miss
Shannon’s, as long as you are happy, your father will be, too."
I sighed. "I just hope I’m
doing the right thing. This is awfully sudden. Harry and I haven’t known each
other long at all. But I do love him, Madelyn. I do. My mother told me before
she died that if love is there, everything else is just a matter of working
around it. Love is all you really need, according to her." I thought about
how much I wanted my mother here, dressing me, instead of an attendant. I
started to dab a tear out of the corner of my eye, but Madelyn beat me to it.
"Madelyn, I’m so terribly sorry." She handed me a handkerchief, and I
leaned in towards the mirror and dabbed it, being extremely careful not to
smudge any makeup. "My mother has been gone now ten years, and it still
pains me to think about it."
"You never really get over
it. Grief can strike at the strangest of times, in the happiest of
situations."
"I just wish she was here.
She would have loved to meet Harry. He’d charm her to death, and she’d fall for
him instantly." I spied Rose in the doorway behind me. "Come in,
please."
Rose slowly walked into the room.
"You look wonderful so far, Victoria. Simply wonderful."
Madelyn smiled. "Thank you,
miss. When I am done with Miss Victoria, I will summon you. I believe Miss
Victoria’s father would like to put your veil on you, as well, when we’re
done."
Rose nodded. "That’s
fine." She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "I got this
earlier from a bellhop at the hotel. It seems that an Officer Lightoller has
offered to walk me down the aisle. He wishes to know if it’s all right with
your father and you. I know having to walk both you and me down the aisle is
going to take a moment, and I do wish that your father would share this moment
with you, as you are his first born daughter. If you think your father’s
feelings will not be hurt, I will send word back to him that I accept his
offer, since Harold is going to be busy."
I smiled at Rose. "No, I do
not think Father will mind at all. He’ll be in here momentarily when Madelyn
gets finished with us both."
Madelyn motioned for me to turn
around. She began to take the rags out of my hair. She brushed the back part of
my hair first and then began to gently comb through it. "Would you like to
wear your hair up or down?"
I studied my reflection in the
mirror. "Whatever you think will be best. I’ll leave that decision up to
you."
"I think you need to wear it
up, but that’s just me." Rose came over to the mirror with Madelyn and me.
"Remember that day in the dress shop? You had your hair up then, and the
veil looked wonderful with your hair up."
Madelyn nodded. "I was going
to say the same thing. Up it is." She walked to the bureau across the room
to gather the clips that matched the crystals in the veil. "These will
do." Rose stood back while Madelyn did her magic. When she got done a few
minutes later, she stood back. "Done, miss. What do you think?"
I turned around slowly to face
the mirror. My hair was in a bun that was still loose enough to show the curls
in my hair. The top part of the bun had a clip in it to support the veil.
"I love it. Madelyn, you did wonderfully."
She smiled. "Thank you,
miss." She motioned for Rose. "Your turn now." Since Rose’s hair
was already naturally curly, Madelyn just combed through it. After confirming
with Rose that she wanted her hair up as well, Madelyn put a similar style on
Rose as she had put on me. Rose turned around when Madelyn was done, and again,
Madelyn got rave reviews for her work with our hair and makeup.
Madelyn summoned Abigail to help
with our dresses. Shannon came in to watch.
"Tory! Look at my
sister!" Shannon walked in a circle around me, as if she was examining a
sculpture in a museum. "You look good. Harold is going to love it."
"That’s the idea, Shannie. I
know I wouldn’t want Harry to marry me, then decide he doesn’t love the way I
look on my wedding day, only to return me. I know you’re anxious to get rid of
me. Aren’t you?"
Shannon smiled slightly and
looked at the floor. "Sometimes. But I’m going to miss you. It’s not going
to be the same."
I bent over so I was eye level
with Shannon. "I’ll miss you, too. But you’re going to have to be there
for Father. I’ll still be in your life. You can’t get rid of me that
easily." I reached out for her, and she came into hug me as I tightened my
embrace around her. "I love you, Shannie."
She looked up at me. "I love
you, too, Tory."
Harry
Lightoller and Moody had come
back to our room. They both had rented tuxedoes from a shop down the street and
had come back to help Jack and me get ready.
"I ran into Mr. Metcalfe in
the lobby as I was coming up here. He told me Rose has accepted my proposal to
walk her down the aisle after your bride." Lightoller motioned for me to
turn to face him, and I did so as he straightened my collar and helped me with
my bowtie.
"Good. I was wondering how
all that was going to work out. At least we have a plan now." I felt my
face flush. "I need to sit down for a minute." I walked slowly over
to a chair beside the bed. "What is wrong with me?"
Lightoller squatted down to look
at me. "Nerves. I did the same thing when Sylvia and I married. I threw up
for a solid half hour before we exchanged vows. Sylvia assured me that she was
fine before our wedding, but her sister later told me she was in as bad a shape
as I was. In fact, she was even worse. It’s natural. But the minute you’re
standing at the altar and you see your bride-to-be marching towards you and she
can’t take her eyes off you, the feelings of doubt, fear, nervousness, and
anxiety disappear, and they’re soon replaced with a feeling of overwhelming
love. It’s a pretty powerful thing."
I looked up at my friend when he
finished speaking. "Do you regret it?"
"Not for an instant. Now,
come on. Let’s get you married!"
Jack was listening to
Lightoller’s story as Moody was helping him with his tuxedo. "So, getting
married really isn’t all that bad?"
Lightoller shook his head.
"Not at all. Just remember one thing."
Jack looked at me before he
spoke. "What’s that?"
Lightoller cleared his throat
before speaking. "Never go to bed angry. Always try to work it out, no
matter what it is. One of the other blokes I sailed with had a fight with his
wife one night. They went to bed angry, and he died of a stroke in his sleep.
She never got a chance to tell him she was sorry. Imagine the guilt she felt
after that."
Jack slowly nodded. "I
see."
Lightoller handed me the box with
Tory’s ring in it. "You’re going to be late. You know how women can be.
Both of you need to hurry up."
Victoria
Abigail and Madelyn had helped
Rose and me get into our wedding gowns. My father was on his way in with our
veils to help us with those. He stood in the doorway for a moment as Abigail
made last minute adjustments to my dress.
"Honey, you look wonderful."
I noticed a look of sadness in my father’s eyes as he spoke. "I just wish
your mother could have seen this. She would have been so proud." He walked
into where Rose and I were and gave me a gentle kiss on my forehead. "I
guess you’re ready for this now?" He held up my veil, and I nodded. He
took the clips off the veil and gently placed it on my head. After fastening
the clips into my hair, Father fluffed the toile of the veil and admired it.
"I have been dreading this day since you were born. Make sure he takes
care of you."
"He will, Father. Harry will
take good care of me."
Father nodded as he put Rose’s
veil on her. "I know how much stamina it took to break free of your mother
and your past life. I know every day you must think of your mother, even though
she made such horrible decisions for you. But she is your mother. I know you
don’t want her here, but she would love to be here. But rest assured, she is
none the wiser. She won’t be there."
Rose looked a little sad. "I
do wish she would have approved of Jack. I really do. But as you well know,
Jack doesn’t have money, nor does he come from a distinguished family with a
name that is recognizable a mile away. He’s just Jack."
Father nodded. "You make
sure he takes care of you, too. I’ve adopted the role of concerned parent here,
and I’m going to tell you the same thing I told my daughter--make sure Jack
Dawson takes care of you."
Rose looked at me and smiled.
"He will. I promise."
Father kissed Rose on her
forehead, too, and then sighed. "I guess we’d better get you ladies
married. I hear your grooms-to-be are already waiting."
Abigail and Madelyn followed
Shannon out the door as Father held the door to our suite open. We slowly
walked to the elevator that would take Rose and me to our weddings. I reached
out for her hand. "This is it."
She smiled at me. "This is
it."
As the attendants shut the door,
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. "This is it," I repeated one
more time before feeling the slight jar of the elevator car as it descended
down to the ballroom where Harry was waiting for me.