IN THE ARMS OF A STRANGER
Chapter Thirteen
Rose nervously wrung her hands as
she and Susan waited in the doctor's waiting room. Rose took deep breaths,
trying to keep herself calm.
"The nurse said you're
next." Susan returned to the couch that she and Rose were sitting on.
"Great." Rose forced a
smile.
Susan looked over at Rose and
smiled to herself. She honestly hadn't expected to like Rose very much when she
had first arrived in Chippewa Falls, but Susan had to admit that she liked Rose
a lot. She was a swell, but she had a lot of fire and spirit, and she and
Jack...there was something special about them both when they were together. It
was like they were one big, natural force that no one could part.
"Mrs. Rose Dawson!" The
nurse appeared in the doorway leading to the doctor's office.
"Here we go." Rose
sighed, getting to her feet.
One Hour Later
"Well, Mrs. Dawson."
The young Dr. Calvert looked up from his chart. "I went over your symptoms
and came to only one conclusion. You're pregnant. Congratulations to both you
and your husband."
Rose screamed with delight and
hugged both the doctor and Susan. "This is wonderful! Jack's going to be
so happy when I tell him tonight!"
"Thank you, doctor."
Susan grinned happily. "Come on, Rose. Let's go back to your house and
prepare to surprise Jack."
"Wait a minute. Let's go to
the country store first. I know just how I want to tell him." Rose grinned
happily.
*****
The country store was almost
empty except for Mrs. Nancy and Brianna, who just glared openly at Rose as she
and Susan picked out the needed items for the night.
"Is this all for you?"
Mrs. Nancy asked as they brought the items to the counter.
"Yes, it is, Mrs.
Nancy." Susan grinned.
"It looks like someone has a
romantic night planned." The elderly lady grinned. "I'm guessing the
young Mrs. Dawson wants to surprise her husband tonight."
Rose just smiled happily. She was
on cloud nine. Not even Brianna's glare could bring her down.
"I'm glad to see you're
feeling better, Rose. I'm sorry about the quilting bee," Mrs. Nancy
apologized.
"That's all right, Mrs.
Nancy. It wasn't your fault. Besides, I was a bit emotional that day, so it was
all for the best." Rose shrugged.
"That'll be five
ninety-nine." Brianna pursed her lips. Rose just handed her the money,
picked up the bags, and left.
"Where to next, Rose?"
Susan asked.
"Is there a florist in this
town?"
"No. But we're allowed to
pick flowers out in the flower bed in the local park. Lots of beautiful flowers
there." Susan grinned.
One hour later, the women arrived
back at the Dawson house, their arms full of groceries and flowers. To Rose's
relief, Jack wasn't at home. He had probably gone to check on his portrait for
that gallery showing. Hopefully he'd be gone for a while. "Rose, I'll cook
and get everything set up. You go upstairs and get ready. There's no telling
when Jack will get home," Susan directed. "And get some rest. That
baby needs it."
Rose just smiled at her friend
and sprinted upstairs. The first thing she did was draw some bath water and let
the water soothe her. Once she was done with that, she went to her room and
searched for an outfit for that night. There weren't many nice dresses for her
to wear, but she knew she had bought at least one when they were in New York.
Two minutes later, she spotted it. It was an expensive dress, really the first
dress she had picked out before sense had gotten hold of her. Her upper class
taste was about to go on the rampage. But she had decided to keep the gorgeous
purple silk dress with the white, lacy shawl, and she was glad she had. It
would be perfect for tonight.
One hour later, after pulling her
hair up into a bun with a few curls framing her face, Rose headed downstairs,
where Susan had just gotten through setting the table.
"Oh, Susan. This is
gorgeous." Rose gasped.
"I prepared all of Jack's
favorites." Susan grinned. "He's not going to know what hit him when
he returns."
"Do you think he'll be happy
about the baby, Susan?" Rose asked, suddenly nervous. What if he didn't
want it? What would she do then?
"Oh, Rose, don't worry.
He'll want this baby more than you do." Susan grinned, giving her a hug.
"Well, I’d better get out of here before he gets back. I'll see you both
tomorrow."
"Good-bye, Susan, and thank
you." Rose waved as Susan disappeared down the darkening path, just as
Jack came up, portfolio in hand. He didn't look too happy. Hopefully, this baby
would be the thing to cheer him up.
She ran to the parlor and took a
seat at the end of the couch, where she'd be facing the door. Looking down, she
noticed that the plates were already fixed and the dessert was cooling on the
window ledge. She sat there waiting for ten minutes, growing concerned. Jack
should be there by now.
Getting up, she opened the front
door to see Jack sitting on the front porch, staring off into space. She
couldn't tell what he was feeling. His face was blank.
"Jack? Darling...what's
wrong? Why are you sitting out here by yourself?" Rose asked, coming to
sit beside him, not worrying about getting her dress dirty. Her chief concern
was Jack.
"Today's the anniversary of
my sister's death. I didn't realize it until I got to the gallery and everyone
was talking about what a shame it was." Jack sighed.
"Sister? You never told me
you had a sister before...neither did Susan."
"Yeah, I had a twin sister.
Her name was Hannah. She had blonde hair and blue eyes like mine. She died of
influenza when we were thirteen years old. The doctors tried everything they
could, but nothing would save her."
"You two must have been
close." Tears escaped Rose's eyes, knowing that Jack must be in such pain
right now.
"We were inseparable."
Jack smiled wistfully. "I really do miss her, Rose. She would've loved you
if she had lived. I know she would have."
"I'm so sorry, Jack. I
didn't know. Susan didn't mention anything when we went out today."
"She probably forgot,
too." Jack shrugged and pulled away from Rose.
"Do you want to come in now?
I have dinner all ready." Rose pulled him up to his feet. "We're
having your favorite tonight. Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. Banana
pudding for dessert. Susan told me."
"You're all dressed
up." Jack finally noticed. "Are you going somewhere?"
"No. But tonight is going to
be very special. I have a surprise for you, Jack. Maybe it'll cheer you up. But
before we have the surprise, let's go in and eat. Susan worked hard on this
dinner."
"So whatever this surprise
is, I take it that Susan has something to do with it?"
Rose giggled. "Only with the
dinner, Jack. Only with the dinner. Let's go in."
*****
Jack's eyes widened in surprise
when he saw the table set. Susan had set out the good china, and there were lit
candles and freshly picked flowers in the center of the table. He spotted the
banana pudding on the window ledge. "What's all this about, Rose?"
"Just sit down." Rose
gently pushed him into his seat.
"Rose, what's going
on?" Jack asked curiously. She was definitely up to something.
"It's a surprise,
Jack." Rose smiled nervously, taking his hand across the table. "I
hope it'll make you happy."
Jack smiled at his wife. She was
so sincere, and he could see the love shining in her eyes. He had never thought
anyone would love him like Rose did. He was so happy he had found her.
A half hour later, they'd just
finished dessert, and Rose was clearing the plates when Jack grabbed her wrist.
He couldn't take the suspense anymore. He wanted to know what the surprise was.
"What's going on, Rose? I can't take the suspense anymore."
"Jack…" Rose tried to
pull away, just to be pulled into his lap, where he held her tightly so she
couldn't get away.
"Tell me, Rose."
Rose sighed in defeat. She was
planning to tell him upstairs, but since he was being so insistent, she had no
choice. She touched his face lightly and looked into his blue eyes. Those
eyes...she hoped their child would have those eyes. "I hope our baby has
your eyes, Jack. They're so beautiful."
"Stop trying to change the
subject, Rose." Jack didn't get the hint. "Tell me about the
surprise."
"And your blond hair, with
my curls, of course," Rose went on.
"Rose..."
"And chubby little cheeks,
and your personality. So carefree...maybe we'll have a girl. She'd be a daddy's
girl, of course, and we could take her to the park, and..."
"Rose."
"What?" Rose stopped
and looked at Jack innocently.
"What's the surprise?"
Rose giggled. "Jack Dawson.
I thought you'd gotten it by now. I've already told you."
"Rose, all you've been
talking about is how you wanted our children to have my eyes, and..."
Suddenly, it hit Jack. All Rose was talking about was what their baby would
look like. "Rose...are we having a baby?"
Rose bit her lip and nodded, her
eyes searching his for his reaction.
"That's my surprise?"
Rose nodded again. "Are you
happy, Jack?"
Jack smiled brightly and hugged
his wife. "Happy? Of course I'm happy! I'm going to be a daddy! So, when
did you find out?"
"Today. I suspected that may
have been the reason for my getting so emotional at the quilting bee, but I
wanted to surprise you, so Susan and I went to the doctor and had it confirmed.
This time next year, we're going to be parents!"
Jack stood up and twirled Rose
around the room. "Rose, you've just given me the best news I could have
ever gotten."
Rose laughed. "I'm so happy
I could make you so happy again, Jack."
"Rose, you always make me
happy." Jack set his wife down and kissed her. "Finding you was the
best thing that's ever happened to me."
"Me, too, Jack. I don't even
want to think about where I'd be right now if I'd never met you."
"Let's go up and write Fabri
and Kate about this good news." Jack pulled Rose up the stairs, both on
cloud nine.