IN THE ARMS OF A STRANGER
Chapter Twenty-One
Five Days Later
Susan and Cal were in the parlor.
Cal was reading that afternoon’s paper, and Susan was rocking baby Rebecca to
sleep. She couldn’t help but look at Cal and wonder when it’d be their baby
she’d be rocking to sleep.
"We’re back!" Jack and
Rose announced, coming into the room, their bags in their hands.
"Jack, Rose!" Cal
grinned, getting to his feet. "When did you two get back?"
"Oh, about fifteen minutes
ago. Where’s my baby?" Rose immediately looked around the room and spotted
Susan and Rebecca. "Oh, there she is." She immediately went to them
and took her baby. "Hello, Becky. Did you miss Mommy as much as she missed
you?"
Cal looked at Jack with a strange
expression on his face. Jack just shrugged. "This trip was her first time
being separated from Becky. She missed her like crazy."
"So, what all did you two do
in Los Angeles?" Susan asked curiously.
"Well, we went to see Daddy,
and everything Mother had told me was a lie. Turns out she kicked him out and
wouldn’t allow him to see me. So he moved to Los Angeles and started a new
family. I have two brothers and a sister."
"How interesting."
Susan smiled. "So, how did all of you get along, and did your father like
Jack?"
"Oh, we got along great, and
he loved Jack. Just like he was his own son." Rose grinned. "Then we
went to the pier in Santa Monica and Jack taught me how to ride like a man and
we rode on the roller coaster. Then I met a couple of Jack’s friends. Big Mabel
was the most interesting." Rose giggled.
"Big Mabel?" Cal asked.
"The bearded lady."
Rose giggled again.
"She was no one,
really." Jack dismissed the subject. "Anyway, tell me what’s been
going on in Chippewa Falls."
"Oh, the same old things.
Brianna is still chasing after every eligible bachelor in town, and Mother is
still accepting guests in the boarding house. Oh! That does remind me! We have
two new guests, Jack, and they were looking for both you and Rose," Susan
said.
"Really? Who can they be?
Are they still here?" Jack asked. He was curious. There were only four
people who knew him and Rose, and they were Fabrizio and Kate and those two men
from Southampton.
"They went out an hour ago.
I forgot their names, but one was Italian and the other was Irish. Quite a mismatched
couple, if I say so myself." Susan shook her head.
"Jack!" a familiar
voice called out. Jack’s eyes lit up when he turned to see Fabrizio standing in
the room.
"Fabri?" Jack asked in
disbelief.
"It’s about time you
returned. Imagine inviting me and my wife to Wisconsin and not even being in
town." Fabri crossed his arms.
"Wh-when did you get
in?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Two days ago. We went to
your house, no one home. This nice girl comes, tells us you’re gone, offers a
place to stay until you return."
"Susan, this is Fabrizio di
Rossi. My very best friend in the world. We traveled the world together before
I met Rose." Jack grinned. "Fabri, this is Susan. One of my best
friends since childhood."
"We met." Susan smiled.
"And of course you met Susan’s
fiancé, Caledon Hockley." Jack nodded to Cal. Jack went to Rose and took
their baby into his arms. "And here’s one other person I’d like you to
meet. Fabri…meet your goddaughter, Rebecca…Becky for short." Jack held the
gurgling baby out to his friend. "Here, take her. From your last letter,
you’re gonna need a lot of practice."
"She looks like you,
Jack." Fabrizio nodded, taking the baby, who laughed and gurgled in his
arms.
"Yeah, but she has Rose’s
smile, and even some of her mannerisms." Jack grinned, always the proud
father. "So, where’s Kate?"
"Coming. She’s so big now.
Slow walker." Fabrizio smiled.
"I’ll go out to meet
her." Rose excitedly ran outside to meet the first real friend she had
made since meeting Jack.
"So, you two are staying
here?" Jack asked.
"Yes. It’s quite nice. A lot
nicer than that flat in Southampton." Fabri smiled at the memories, and so
did Jack. That flat was where he and Rose had gotten to know one another, the
place where they had fallen in love.
"I plan to revisit that place
someday, Fabri. Holds a lot of memories." Jack grinned.
"Let’s leave them
alone." Cal leaned down to Susan, touching her back to escort her into the
kitchen.
"Fabri…why don’t you and
Kate stay with us? I can’t see letting my best friend and his wife pay for a
room when they can stay at our house for free. Besides, we have plenty of room,
and Rose would enjoy Kate’s company," Jack suggested.
"I don’t know, Jack…you know
how I feel about charity."
"Charity? Fabri, we’re
friends. This is not charity in the least. This is giving my best pal a place
to stay ‘til he can afford his own place. Besides, with Kate so far along, that
little room isn’t going to be big enough for a family, where my house is big
enough."
"Let me talk to Kate. See
what she says." Fabri sighed, just as Kate and Rose entered.
"Jack, Kate and I were just
talking. She and Fabri should move in with us!" Rose announced.
"They’re our best friends, plus, with a baby on the way, there’s not going
to be enough room for three people. What do you say?"
"I was just telling Fabri
here the same thing." Jack grinned.
"Fabri, I want to stay with
Jack and Rose. Plus, our baby will have a playmate. How about it?" Kate
pleaded with her husband.
"Okay, then. We’ll stay with
Jack and Rose." Fabrizio relented. "Let’s get our things."
"Wait. We can’t go to the
house now. As you already saw, it’s a ways from town. It’s best if we all sleep
here. Then we can be on our way tomorrow," Jack replied.
"Okay." Fabrizio
nodded. "Let’s go upstairs, Kate. Time for bed."
"Yes, Fabri. Night, Jack and
Rose. We’ll see you in the morning." Kate followed her husband up the
stairs.
"It’s so great to have them
here." Rose grinned. "They bring back a lot of good memories. Like
meeting you." Rose hugged Jack tightly. "And marrying you."
Jack laughed. She really did love
him. He found it amazing that someone like Rose loved him so much. "Seeing
Fabri again sure does bring back memories. Oh, Rose, there were so many
adventures we had together. We’re going to have to tell you and Kate about
them. They were amazing."
"I’m sure they were,
Jack." Rose laughed, already heading upstairs. "I’m sure they
were."