ANOTHER PROMISE KEPT
Chapter Two
I was so exhausted from the train
trip that I slept without dreaming of Jack the night I got to Molly’s house.
But as I got ready for breakfast, I feared I would be forced to think of him
again because of Molly’s family.
However, when I joined the Browns
in the dining room, I wasn’t received with questions. I guess Molly had had
something to do with it and I thanked her with my eyes, hoping she would get
it. Apparently, she did, for she gave me a smile and she continued to talk
about England and the rest of Europe. Never did she mentioned the Titanic or
anything about it.
However, J.J., her husband,
couldn’t resist the curiosity for long, and he asked me what my name was.
"J.J.!" Molly
exclaimed.
"I’m Rose Dawson, Mr. Brown.
But please, call me Rose."
Molly looked at me with a big
smile in her face. I smiled back at her.
"Okay, then. And call me
J.J. I don’t see the point in calling people by their last names. Why do our
parents name us, then?"
We all laughed at his comment,
and continued with breakfast until the man announced that he had to go to the
mine. Larry also had to leave, so I was left with the two ladies.
"You know what I was
thinking? You don’t own a decent dress, Rose. Why don’t we go shopping?"
Molly asked.
I blushed involuntarily. I felt
bad enough for staying with them, and I couldn’t let her pay for my clothes.
However, it was true that I didn’t have more than the couple of dresses that
Molly had brought with her from Europe for Helen. I ended up accepting, promising
myself that I would get a job and pay her back.
We had a lot of fun that day.
Molly treated me in the same way she treated Helen, and the young woman and I
behaved like sisters. I couldn’t help but think that my mother would’ve never
allowed me to run through the stores.
Don’t think about that woman, I told myself. Her daughter is dead,
isn’t she?
Yes. Rose DeWitt Bukater was
dead.
"So, tell me, Rose. Which
dress do you like the most? If I may, I think that white is not your color.
You’re too pale."
"I think you’re wrong,
Mother. I think she looks great in white. It really fits with her hair."
"Well, I like the yellow one
better, so I guess we’ll have to take them both."
"No, Molly. I couldn’t
possibly accept…"
"Nonsense. Besides, what are
you planning to wear? Two dresses? I don’t think so."
She was right, so I had to let
them buy me several dresses and a coat. We were out of the house for the whole
afternoon. By the time we came back, Larry and J.J. were already waiting for
us.
"I see you got mom to buy
you that dress you wanted, Helen."
"Shut up, Larry,"
replied my friend, and she went to her room. I followed her upstairs and walked
into my room. Big mistake.
Since the train journey, I hadn’t
had a moment alone to think, so when I sat on the bed and saw my reflection in
the mirror, all the events of the past few days came back to my mind, making me
feel sick.
Stop it, Rose, I warned myself. Don’t do that to
yourself.
I forced myself to do something
else, so I began to hang my new dresses in the closet. It was then that I
noticed another dress already hanging there. It was my old dress, the one I had
worn the night the Titanic sank. Molly had had it washed and put it there,
perhaps to remind me that it had happen. I smiled, wandering if I would ever feel
strong enough to wear it.
I couldn’t help but think that it
would stay there forever. I didn’t see myself as being strong enough to handle
it.
Soon, I heard the maid calling us
to dinner. I fixed my hair a little and went downstairs.