JOHN AND ROSE
Chapter Fourteen
June 15, 1927
Rose leaned against John, their arms wrapped
around each other, as the horse-drawn carriage took them toward the hotel where
they would spend the night before setting out for their honeymoon. They had
allowed their kids to stay at home alone, under the stipulation that there be
no parties, no alcohol, and no members of the opposite sex visiting without the
supervision of either their fellow siblings or the housekeeper. The three
adolescents had grumbled, mostly about not being allowed to hold parties
without supervision, but had agreed to stay out of trouble in exchange for having
the house to themselves.
Rose smiled at her new husband as he leaned
forward to kiss her once more. Since the moment they’d kissed during the
wedding ceremony, they had hardly been able to keep away from each other. The
guests had been amused by the way that they stopped every few minutes for
another kiss, Mary had sighed over the romance of it all, and Christopher had
made faces, exchanging his earlier maturity for the embarrassment of a
teenager. He had offered to kiss Mary when she sighed over how romantic it was,
to which she had responded by patting him on the head and telling him he was
too young for her. At fourteen, Christopher was still shorter than Mary, and
her response did nothing for his ego.
Both John and Rose had been startled at how
many people had come to the wedding and reception. There had been some two
hundred guests–fewer than had been invited when Rose had been engaged to Cal,
but far more than she had ever expected to be at her wedding. John had been no
less stunned. He had been married twice before, and both weddings had been
small compared to this–just family members and a few friends when he had
married Jane, and even fewer when he had married Miriam. But then, the social
status of himself and his new bride was much different from what it had been
then.
Not surprisingly, all of Cedar Rapids’ upper
crust had been there, in spite of the scandal of John’s marrying an actress.
Cedar Rapids was too small a town, and John too important, for them to snub.
And when it had been known that members of high society from other cities would
be there, it had been too much of a social coup for them to pass up. The
presence of Elizabeth Anders, from New York, had been remarked upon, as had the
presence of Ruth DeWitt Bukater, in spite of the fact that she was no longer
really a member of high society. Ruth had never forgotten her high society
manners, and no one there could tell just from looking at her that she hadn’t
truly been a member of high society in more than fifteen years.
Of course, it hadn’t been a social climbing
event, at least not for the guests of honor. John had no intention of becoming
one of the staid, self-satisfied members of the upper class, and had invited
friends from all over town, as well as from New York, to the wedding. Rose,
too, had invited her friends from California, paying no attention to the fact
that some people in Cedar Rapids were shocked and scandalized by the sudden
appearance of so many Hollywood people in their little city. Not surprisingly,
the event had provided plenty of gossip, and had been written about in all of
the local papers. Such weddings didn’t happen every day.
Rose sighed contentedly, leaning back against
the seat as the carriage rumbled along. They could have taken a car, but they
had decided to ride in a carriage from the church to the reception, and from
the reception to the hotel, just because it was fun and romantic. They had not
aimed to satisfy anyone but themselves, in spite of what society might dictate.
But then, if they had aimed to satisfy the more critical townspeople, they
would never have come together in the first place. Hollywood movie stars didn’t
marry Midwestern business executives. It just wasn’t done. But it hadn’t
stopped them.
There had been a time, not long before, when Rose
had wondered if she would ever marry. Most women her age had long since married
and started families. A part of her had wanted that for herself, but she had
had no intention of marrying simply for stability and to bear children. She had
seen enough of unhappy marriages, and had come close enough to an unhappy
marriage herself, to shy away from anything that didn’t feel right. She was an
independent woman, with a successful career of her own, so she had no need of a
husband to support her financially. And she had a child, even if he had been
conceived out of wedlock. Only she, John, and Ruth knew the truth about
Christopher’s birth, and none would ever speak of it. As far as anyone else was
concerned, she and Christopher’s father had been married for a very short time
before her husband had died in a tragic accident. No one needed to know the
truth.
Rose had always thought that if she did
marry, it would be a small, private ceremony with just a few friends and family
members present, rather than the huge wedding she and John had been a part of.
But this time, it had seemed right. In stark contrast to the high society
wedding she would have had with Cal, this wedding had included people from all
walks of life, reflecting the backgrounds of the bride and groom. Had it been
any other man that she had married, she would have felt uncomfortable with the
fuss, but with John, it had felt right. In truth, though, she didn’t think she
would have been happy marrying another man, no matter what kind of wedding it was.
The right man had been there all along, but it had taken them both years to see
that.
John looked at Rose as she leaned against
him, snuggling close. It was hard for him to believe that he was married again,
after all these years. Mary and Nadia had occasionally tried to play
matchmaker, but none of the relationships had quite worked out. He had begun to
assume that, after Miriam, there weren’t any other women in the world that he
would want to be his wife. He had asked Rose to marry him long ago, when the
children were young, but the time hadn’t been right for either of them, not
really. Had they married then, it would have been out of duty, and for the sake
of the children, not out of love for each other. There had been affection, yes,
and friendship, but it wasn’t strong enough to base a marriage on, not for two
people from such different backgrounds and with such different dreams.
It was for the best that they had separated
for eleven years. Each had had a different dream to pursue, and Rose, just as much
as John, had needed to make her way in the world before settling into marriage,
her dreams no less important than his, for all that society often deemed women
inferior. Now that both had found what they were searching for, and had
established their places in the world, they were ready for marriage and raising
a family, already present with their three teenage children.
John and Rose leaned forward a little as the
carriage pulled to a stop in front of the hotel. John got out first, reaching
out a hand to help Rose from the carriage. Rose, unaccustomed now to the long
dress and layers of fabric, was grateful for his help, taking his hand
gracefully and stepping down from the carriage.
John paid the driver and took their overnight
bags from the top of the carriage, offering Rose his arm as they walked into
the hotel. She took it, smiling up at him joyfully. This had been one of the
happiest days of her life.
After they had registered and started up the
stairs, Rose frowned for a moment. "Do you think the kids will be okay by
themselves? I hate the thought of them being alone if anything happens."
"They’re together," John reminded
her. "They aren’t quite alone. And the housekeeper is going to check in on
them every so often. Besides, we’ll only be gone for a month, not forever. And
Mary is older now than you were when you set out on your own. She’s grown up a
lot over the past year, and so has Nadia. Christopher–well..."
"He’d better stay out of trouble!"
Rose told him. "He won’t like the consequences if he doesn’t."
"I’m sure they’ll be fine. They’ve all
got good heads on their shoulders–"
"–even if they don’t always use
them," Rose finished, laughing. "Well, if they get into any trouble
tonight, we’re easy enough to find, and..."
"And they’ll really not like the
consequences if we’re disturbed tonight," John said, laughing with her.
Rose smiled. "No, they won’t." She
paused, thinking of something. "Where are we going on our honeymoon, by
the way? You said that you were arranging everything, and that I’d like it, but
you didn’t tell me much else."
"Well..." He smiled at her.
"You mentioned once last summer that you’d always wanted to go on safari
in Africa, but had never had a chance. So, I arranged for us to take a cruise
to Africa, and spend some time there on safari. We’ll be in the southern
hemisphere, where it’s almost winter, so it’s a good time of year to go–not too
hot, but warm enough that most things won’t be hibernating."
"Really?" Rose’s eyes lit up.
"That’s where we’re going?" She threw her arms around him and kissed
him soundly. "I’ve never been anywhere but the United States and Europe,
plus some brief times in Canada and Mexico for filming."
"I knew you’d like it."
"Like it? I love it! What a great
surprise. Thank you!"
John laughed at Rose’s childlike enthusiasm.
"Anything for you, Mrs. Calvert."
Their lips met again. After a few moments,
Rose pulled away and looked at him. "I love you, John. I didn’t think I’d
ever marry–but I was just waiting for the right man. You were there all along,
but it took me so long to realize it..."
"I love you, too, Rose. I’m almost glad
that Mary ran off last summer–if she hadn’t, we wouldn’t be here now.
Although," he added, "I hope she doesn’t do anything that foolish
again. Once was enough."
"More than enough," Rose agreed.
"I would have preferred we got back together under more pleasant
circumstances. But I guess that’s what fate had to offer."
"Whatever it was, Mary’s safe and sound
now–and a little wiser–and we’re together."
"Yes, we are. For a lifetime."
"And hopefully a long one at that."
He pulled her close, kissing her more deeply
this time, as Rose reached out and turned off the lamp.