JOHN AND ROSE
Chapter Thirteen
June 15, 1927
"Mom?" Christopher knocked on the
door. "Can I talk to you a minute?"
Rose turned from the mirror, where she was
putting on the finishing touches to her makeup. The wedding was only an hour
away, and she and Christopher would be going to the church together.
"Sure, Christopher," she called.
"Come on in."
He opened the door slowly, already dressed in
his tuxedo. Rose looked at him approvingly, slightly startled at how much he
resembled his father, with his blonde hair slicked back and his suit almost
exactly like the one Jack had worn on the Titanic fifteen years before.
"You look pretty," he told her.
Rose was dressed in her wedding gown, her red hair pulled up in a French twist
with a few ringlets framing her face. She only needed to put on her veil and
she would be ready.
"You look pretty nice yourself,"
she told him. Out of habit, she looked closer to be sure his face and ears were
clean, and then tried to retie his rather skewed bow tie, succeeding only in
making it worse. "Drat these things," she muttered, trying again to
get her son’s bow tie just right. She had never been good at such things.
"Mo-om," Christopher muttered,
making a face. "Why do you always have to fuss over me?"
"Because I’m your mother. That’s what
mothers do."
He gave her a wry look, sighing in relief as
she finally managed to tie the bow tie properly. As she turned back to the
mirror to put her veil on, he spoke to her in a serious voice.
"Mom, I have a question to ask
you."
Rose stopped, turning to face him. "What
is it?"
"Well...okay, you’re marrying Uncle John
today, right?"
Rose nodded. "Yes."
"And you’ll be changing your last name
to Calvert, won’t you?"
"That’s right."
"Well, do I have to change my last name
to Calvert, too?"
Rose looked at him in surprise. The idea had
never occurred to her. "Well, that’s up to you. You can if you want, or
not, as you see fit. I think you’re old enough to make that decision for
yourself."
He nodded. "Um...Mom...I asked
because...because I really want to keep my last name, Dawson. I mean, I never
knew my father, so that’s kind of all I have of him, you know?"
"It’s not quite all you have of him,
Christopher. You look very much like him, and act like him often, too."
"Yes, but...I’m his only child, aren’t
I?"
"I assume so." Rose honestly didn’t
know if Jack had had other children, but she doubted it. He hadn’t seemed to be
the sort who would have his fun with a girl and then abandon her. She doubted
he would have left her had death not forced him to.
"Then I’m the only one who can pass his
name on."
"And that’s why you want to keep the
name Dawson?"
"Sort of. But it’s like...like having
that name makes me closer to him. I never knew him, but I always wished I
could."
"I wish you could have, too." Rose
put a hand on her son’s shoulder. "He was a good man, Christopher. I don’t
have a picture of him–there was never a chance to take any pictures, because
there was no money for such things, and he died soon after we were married. But
I can’t forget what he looked like–you look so much like him. He was lively,
and full of spirit, always trying to make the most of every day."
"Like you do."
Rose smiled. "I wasn’t always this way.
I learned a lot from him, about how to live each day to the fullest, about what
was really important in life. And he gave me you. I’ve always been thankful for
that."
Christopher shifted, a bit embarrassed by her
words. "Thanks, Mom. Um...I was wondering...is anyone going to give you
away, like Grandma or someone?"
Rose shook her head. "No. No one is
giving me away. I’m not really a young girl, leaving her family and getting married."
"Someone should give you away."
Rose laughed. "I don’t think anyone
will."
"I could."
Rose looked at him in surprise, noticing,
almost for the first time, how mature he was getting. Not terribly mature yet–he
was only fourteen–but he was growing up. In a few years, he would be grown and
gone. The thought gave her a pang of sadness. What had happened to her baby?
Where had the years gone?
"I’d be honored," she told him,
giving him a hug. "Just so you remember that I’m still your mother,"
she added, a teasing look in her eyes.
"Yeah, I will," he mumbled.
"Thanks, Mom."
"You’re welcome, Christopher. I love
you, son."
*****
Half an hour later, they were at the church.
Mary and Nadia had picked them up in the used car their father had bought for
them the previous Christmas. Mary drove, since she now had her license, while
Nadia was still learning to drive.
Mary admired Rose when she stepped out of the
car. "Oh, Aunt Rose," she sighed, looking at the bride in her wedding
gown and veil. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you, Mary." She looked at
Mary and Nadia in their matching lavender bridesmaid dresses. They had chosen a
simple ruffle at the bottom of the skirts, trimmed with plenty of white lace.
The short sleeves and bodices were also trimmed with lace, though the dresses
concealed more than Rose had expected–probably thanks to Nadia’s input, since
she wasn’t as comfortable revealing her body as Mary was. Their hair hung down
their backs, held in place with lavender and white bows.
"You both look very nice," she told
the girls, getting smiles from both at the compliment.
The four of them walked into the church,
waiting in the back until it was time for the ceremony to begin. Rose caught an
occasional glimpse of John, pacing back and forth in front of the altar, as
nervous as though it were his first wedding, rather than his third.
She smiled, realizing that she was not at all
nervous. Maybe it was because she was used to being in front of crowds of
people, but then, John was, too, as he frequently had to speak at meetings.
Maybe it was because she was secure in her decision to marry him, and after all
this time, any worries she might have had were gone.
John caught a glimpse of Rose, watching him
from the back of the church, and stopped pacing, smiling back at her. Weddings
had never been one of his favorite activities–the crowds of people at such a
special moment made him nervous. But he had never denied his brides the
privilege of planning a wedding and carrying it out, no matter how sparse the
early weddings had been. This one was much more elaborate, as he and Rose were
both older and had far more money than when he had married Jane, and later,
Miriam.
He was almost startled when the music
started, seeing the guests turn to look at the bridesmaids starting down the
aisle. He watched his two daughters in their lavender gowns, each carrying a
small bouquet and walking beside each other.
As the girls reached the halfway point in the
aisle, the music changed, announcing the entrance of the bride. He looked
toward the back of the church, his nervousness vanishing, as he watched Rose
walk slowly down the aisle on the arm of her son. She was smiling, her
happiness evident in her face. He smiled back, waiting as she made her way to
the altar.
Mary and Nadia stepped to the side, watching
as Rose stepped up to the front of the church, coming to stand beside their
father. Christopher stepped to the other side, listening as the minister gave a
short sermon, and then began the vows that would bind the couple together.
Rose hardly heard the sermon, so intent was
she on John’s face. After so many years, she had finally found a man who loved
her, and that she loved in return, the man whom she would spend her life with.
As they repeated their vows, they had eyes only for each other, drawing a few
sighs from the bridesmaids and from some of the ladies in the church.
When the time came to exchange the rings,
Christopher pulled them from his jacket pocket, handing them to the couple. As
he handed Rose the ring she would place on John’s finger, he smiled, signaling
that he had finally accepted his mother’s marriage.
Rose nodded back, briefly, her own smile
letting her son know how proud she was of him to have accepted her marriage, so
much so that he had given them the rings with a smile, and had escorted her up
the aisle to her new husband.
As the minister pronounced them husband and
wife, and John and Rose leaned forward for their first kiss as a married
couple, Rose was smiling, knowing that this was one of the best choices she had
made in her life.