AFTER STARTING ANEW
Chapter Eighteen
June 6, 1922
Excerpt from Ruth’s Journal
"Today was yet another red letter day for
our family. It seems that there have been so many. A few sad ones, but most of
them happy. In the last ten years we have suffered through the tragedy of
Titanic and the horrors of the World War. And our entire family has been
affected by those two events, more than other people. But there have been some
extremely wonderful and special days as well. The births of Molly and Edy,
Frank and Cora have brought much joy into our lives. My marriage to Arthur was
an occasion that I shall never forget. The unbounded joy in my heart that day
was beyond my wildest expectations. And of course the event that started it all
was the marriage of Rose and Jack. I remember my feelings that day. And while I
find it unpleasant to look back at the way I was, it is a good lesson to learn
from one’s past. Their whirlwind courtship and marriage brought forth all these
wonders and miracles and for that I shall be ever grateful.
Today our entire family gathered to watch
Jack graduate from the University of Denver. The first person in our family to
hold a degree and I suspect, with his inquisitive children and the changing
times, not the last.
Just after breakfast this morning, Jack left
ahead of us, so that he could put on his cap and gown and find his place in the
procession. Arthur and I arrived and helped Rose finish getting the children
ready. They were most excited at the prospect of picking out their father in
the long line of graduates. Each one was convinced that they would be the first
to find him.
The twins, now nine, were dressed alike in
white organdy dresses. Frank enjoyed tormenting them by constantly pulling on
the long streamers of their straw hats. How Rose has survived all of this I
will never know. She told me that she only gets angry when they are bodily
hurting each other. To quote her, she said, "Honestly Mother, If I was
going to worry about each tiny little quarrel they had, I would never get a
thing done." And I suppose she is right. Frank wore his Sunday best suit
and after a half-hour of being dressed he was ready to pull the whole thing
off. Only some secret between him and Arthur kept him put together for most of
the day. And Cora, who is only four, submitted meekly to the starched cotton
print dress that Rose had selected for her.
Rose herself was breathtaking. I have not
seen her look so chic in a long time. When she came down the stairs in her
black and blue silk dress with chiffon sleeves, she looked almost as if she
were floating on a cloud. And I think she was. A cloud of happiness. Just
before we left, she donned a lovely black straw picture hat and a rope of
pearls. Those were Jack’s gift to her for their tenth anniversary last month.
He wanted to show her in some way not only his gratitude for sticking with him
through these difficult years of school, but also as a token of his love. She
is lucky to have a man like him. Well, almost as lucky as I am.
We finally got everyone into the automobile
and started out for the auditorium where the graduation was to be held. The
children fidgeted only a little during the ten-minute ride, just long enough
for several bows and shoes to be untied. Rose and I got everyone put back
together again and with Arthur firmly holding Frank’s hand, we climbed the
stairs to the great hall. At the doorway, we were handed printed programs that
listed the names of the speakers and the graduates. I had to laugh as Rose gave
strict instructions to the children that these programs were to be saved and
not to be used as fans or worse, paper airplanes.
Since we were early we got excellent seats
near the front. This would enable the children to see Jack as he walked across
the stage. Before long the huge room was filled with men in light summer suits
and woman in flowing pastel colored dresses. Here and there you could catch the
scent of cologne and fresh flowers. It was a gala, happy mood. Everyone there
was celebrating the long and hard work of their graduate. All the faces were
filled with pride and expectation of the ceremony to come.
Finally the orchestra appeared and the soft
strains of "Pomp and Circumstance" filtered through the air. From all
the doors, at the sides and back of the auditorium, came the graduates, the
tassels on their caps, dangling on the right side. We got a quick glimpse of
Jack as he found his seat across the room from us. On the stage, members of the
faculty, resplendent in their academic robes, took their places. With the silk
hoods and cords around their necks, each signifying the various degrees, they
looked like a paintbox full of color amidst a sea of black.
The ceremony followed the usual pattern for
such things. The singing of the national anthem, an invocation, a welcome
speech and then two addresses. One by the president of the school and one by a
representative of the graduating class. I glanced over at the twins and Frank
and saw that they were occupied by finding their father’s name in the program
and counting the number of graduates. Cora sat leaning sleepily against Rose.
Arthur smiled down at me with as much pride on his face as if he had been Jack’s
own flesh and blood.
We watched the entire graduating class rise
and listen to the announcement proclaiming their degrees. There was a roar of
applause as they moved their tassels from the right side to the left of their
mortarboard caps. What a thrilling moment that was.
Rose whispered to the children that they
would soon see their father on the stage and I could see their eyes light up
with excitement. Even Cora was awake and started looking up ahead of her. The
orchestra began playing softly another march, the name of which escapes me. The
head of the various departments took their places at some tables on the stage.
Each table was piled high with leather folders that contained the coveted
diplomas. Since "D" is fairly close to the beginning of the alphabet,
we knew that we did not have to wait long to see Jack on the stage.
Suddenly, it was time. We heard Jack’s name
called and he carefully stepped on to the stage. He walked lightly across the
front of the platform and took the diploma in his left hand and shook hands
with the faculty member presenting his folder with his right. I glanced over at
Rose and saw her biting her lips and then wipe a tear from each eye. Then
without warning, voices erupted from the crowd. I turned to my right and saw
Molly, Edy and Frank standing, waving their programs and yelling
"Daddy." Jack looked down at them and waved, neither surprised or
embarrassed by their outburst. I saw Rose cover her face and shake her head.
The rest of the audience thought the little chorus was so cute, that they all
broke into applause. I have the feeling that while Jack was not the only
married man graduating today, he was for sure the only one who was the father
of four children.
Just as he was about to step back down into
the seats, I saw him make a curious gesture. He held up his diploma in front of
him with two hands and lifted his eyes skyward. With a smile on his face, I saw
him nod his head in a gesture of affirmation. When I asked him about this
later, he told me that was his own way of telling his parents of his great
accomplishment. Somehow, he said, he knew that they were watching. I did not
press the issue any further as I could see he was having difficulty talking
about this. But I know this was a dream that they had for their son and I know
how much it meant to him to attain this goal in their memory and for himself as
well.
Finally the long ceremony was over and the
sounds of the "Triumphal March from Aida" blasted through the hall.
With relief and exhilaration on their faces, the graduates quickly marched out,
eager to meet their families. As the ceremony came to its official end, the
once orderly room was filled with chaotic and joyful mayhem. I glanced back at
Rose as we squeezed out of our row. She had the twins and Cora in front of her.
Arthur was waiting in the aisle and asked where Frank was. We looked behind
Rose, under the seats and everywhere else nearby. In seconds and before we had
even realized he was gone, the child had disappeared into the crowd. Rose
became fearful that he would get lost once he was out side of the building. But
there was no way to search for him in the sea of people. Arthur offered to stay
near our seats and wait there in case he was nearby. I took Cora’s hand and the
twins stayed near Rose. We asked them if they knew where their brother had
gone. When they answered with an almost gleeful nod of their heads we were
convinced that they were all involved in some sort of mischief. Since it was
obvious that the twins knew something but were not saying, we ceased some of
our worrying.
Once we were out of the auditorium, the crowd
had thinned a bit. We had told Jack that we would wait at the foot of the
stairs leading up to the building. While we waited for him to come, we watched
the other families pose for pictures. I know Rose had given Arthur her camera
to carry for her so we hoped that the mystery of Frank would soon be solved and
we could all be together for some photographs.
Rose gasped as the twins and Cora broke lose
from us and ran off down the sidewalk. We looked over in the distance and saw
that they were running towards Jack. He was heading in our direction, a huge
smile on his face. As he broke through the crowd, we could see that he wore
only his suit now. In his left hand he carried his diploma and he seemed to be
dragging something along with him with the other hand.
He waved to us to get our attention. And we
heard him shout something about Frank. Rose sighed and told me that she just
did not know what she was going to do with that child and wondered out loud how
Jack’s mother had the patience to deal with a child like that. Jack had told
her that Frank was just like him, from appearance to his personality. He
finally reached us and when he did, he drew Frank out from behind him.
Apparently he had convinced the twins that he could hide in his father’s robes
during the recession and not have anyone know. Since it was such a special day,
the boy got off with some mock stern looks from his parents and a good laugh
from all of us.
Arthur arrived shortly, greatly relieved that
Frank was back with the family. He handed the camera to Rose and with a great
deal of hilarity we posed for pictures that would soon make their way into one
of Rose’s albums. There was Jack with Arthur and myself, one of Jack and me alone,
another of Jack and the children. Arthur took two more pictures. A lovely shot
of the six of them and then Jack and Rose together.
We all admired Jack’s diploma with its
beautiful old style printing and the scrawled signatures of the university officials.
Rose held the handsome leather folder in her hands and if she read the document
once, she must have read it twenty times. She more than anyone knew the hours
of intense work that was now represented with this piece of parchment.
Jack reminded us that there were refreshments
for the graduates and their families in the lounge of the main building on the
campus. The children cheered when they heard that cookies and punch were
awaiting them. They started to walk ahead of us, eager to be the first ones to
the food. Even quiet little Cora followed her boisterous brother and sisters.
Arthur and I walked to catch up with them, assuming that Rose and Jack were
right behind us. When we reached the door where we were to enter we all
stopped. Even the children had the sense to wait for us there. We turned around
and found that Rose and Jack were nowhere to be seen. At first we thought that
they must have found some friends or faculty members that they were conversing
with. But the whole lawn behind us was now deserted. We decided that no matter
what, we should wait for them.
In the distance there was a large oak tree
and every few seconds a piece of light colored fabric fluttered out from behind
the tree. It was then that I realized where Rose and Jack were. They were
having a private moment of celebration. I bit my lip not wanting to call the
children’s attention to where their parents might be. And anyway, they were
otherwise occupied drawing a hopscotch pattern on the sidewalk with a small
rock that they had found. Arthur, their wonderful step grandpapa, was happily
watching them and giving advice.
I took a hanky out of my purse and blotted my
warm face. As I was replacing it in my bag, I saw movement out of the corner of
my eye. When I looked up I saw Rose and Jack walking towards us. In one hand,
Jack held is diploma. His other was firmly gripping Rose. They had eyes only
for each other. Without any concern that others might be watching, Rose laid
her head against Jack’s shoulder and closed her eyes. I could see his mouth
moving, talking softly to her. I saw the gentle smiles on both of their faces.
I pretended to look down, but I could not tear myself away from watching them
entirely. What a handsome couple they make. Jack is now thirty and while his
blond hair is more under control than it once was, a few stray strands
continually seem to be in his face. There are lines around his eyes and in his
forehead, not only from the hard work of these school years, but from the
horrors of war. When he smiles though, he still reminds me of the boy I very
reluctantly met ten years ago. I have seen those blue eyes of his grow dim in
sadness and shimmer brightly in pride. His laughter can fill a room with warmth
and contentment. With his confidence he enables those of us who are afraid to
have no fear. He is a man, who with determination has already come further than
many people his age. Rose has given birth now to four children. Her figure
looks much the same as it did when she was a girl of seventeen. Although the
experiences of motherhood do tend to rearrange our proportions a bit. But in
Rose that has not been at all detrimental. She still walks with grace and moves
with elegance. Her hair is still the coppery red that it was as a child and her
emerald eyes are still full of fun and mischief. But in her face too are the
shadows of the past. The traumatic experience on the Titanic and the emotional
turmoil she experienced during the war have taken their toll even on her. I
heard the shouts of "Daddy, Mama," again and watched as the children
raced back toward their parents. I am sure they did not notice the kiss their
parents were just finishing. Just in time Jack crouched down and caught an
armful of his children. With laughter all around and love in their faces, Jack
and Rose joined hands with their offspring, smiled at each other and started
walking this way. Such a charming picture. I wonder…if I describe that scene to
Jack, perhaps one day he can draw that for me. Arthur asked me what I was
thinking about at that moment. Suddenly, my heart was too full for me to speak.
I just sighed and smiled. I think he knew the answer to his question.