IN THE ARMS OF A STRANGER
Chapter Eight
Five Days Later
Rose stretched tiredly as she
stepped off the train that had brought her and Jack all the way to Chippewa
Falls, Wisconsin. It was a long train ride, but Jack's company made it go by
fast.
"So, this is Chippewa
Falls." Rose looked around the small town. "It's nice."
"It's small. Everyone here
knows everyone else. If you sneeze, they know about it." Jack stepped off
the train behind Rose. "Come on, Rose. Let's find a place to stay the
night. It's a long carriage ride to the house. It's best to take it during
daylight."
"How about there?" Rose
pointed to a nice-looking brick building.
"Mrs. Emma's bed and
breakfast. I haven't seen her in a long time. I used to be close friends with
her kids before I left."
"Let's go in, Jack. Maybe
she'll remember you." Rose pulled him to the building. Inside, the
building was warm and well-lit. A middle-aged woman was at the desk, her
attention buried in a flat book on the desk.
"Having trouble with those
books again, Mrs. Emma?" Jack asked.
The woman looked up, and her eyes
lit up with pure joy at the sight of Jack. "Why, Jack Dawson! Aren't you a
sight for sore eyes?" The woman came out from behind the desk. "Come
here and let me get a good look at you!"
"How are you, Mrs.
Emma?" Jack asked as the woman hugged him tightly.
"As busy as ever. My, Jack,
have you grown up from the last time I saw you. You've turned into a man. Susan
will be surprised when she lays eyes on you."
"Who's Susan?" Rose
asked curiously.
"And who's your little
friend here?" Mrs. Emma finally took notice of Rose.
"This is Rose Dawson."
Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "My wife."
"You're married? Why, Jack,
you have grown up. I can't believe it." Mrs. Emma laughed. "Poor
Susan will be disappointed when she hears of this."
"Susan's her daughter,
Rose," Jack explained. "We were friends right up until I left. How's
Susan doing now’a days anyway, Mrs. Emma?"
"Oh, she's fine. Busy in the
social scene, she is. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was trying to be
one of those society girls she hates so much." Mrs. Emma laughed, not
noticing the nervous expression on Rose's face. "Well, Jack, it's too late
for you to catch a ride down to your house, so why don't you and your new wife
stay here tonight? Free, of course. I'll give you the best room I have."
"We'd like that a lot, Mrs.
Emma. Thank you. It's the room on the left, right?"
"Right. But how did you know
that?" Mrs. Emma placed her hands on her hips.
Jack blushed and shrugged.
"A lucky guess."
The older woman just shook her
head. "I have to have a talk with Susan about boys up in the rooms."
"Ah…don't, Mrs. Emma. It was
five years ago, and you know me. Always the gentleman." Jack laughed.
"Mother! I can't believe
this! My favorite dress is ruined." A girl with dark brown hair and a
cross expression stomped into the house.
"Susan..." The woman
tried to stop her daughter’s tirade.
"Those damn swells. Who do
they think they are? They think that just because they have money they can just
splash mud on anybody," Susan continued.
"Susan, we have company. If
you stop throwing that tantrum of yours, you'll see who it is." Mrs. Emma
interrupted her daughter's stream of complaints.
Susan’s brown eyes grew round as
saucers as she looked up to see Jack.
"Hey there, half-pint."
Jack laughed.
"Jack Dawson. You've finally
returned home. Come here and give me a hug!" Susan ran and threw her arms
around Jack's neck. "Where have you been for the past five years?"
"Everywhere." Jack
smiled. "So, word has it that you've become a society girl."
"Yeah, right. Mother
exaggerates. I just help my friends out with their activities. You know,
weddings, parties, baby showers...that sort of thing. Besides, who'd want to be
one of those snotty society girls with their noses stuck in the air?"
Susan laughed. Then she noticed Rose and immediately knew that she was a
society girl, just by the way she held herself. She wondered what she was doing
with Jack. "And who is this?"
"Susan...I'd like you to
meet my wife, Rose Dawson." Jack introduced the women. "I'm hoping
you two will become good friends."
"Hello." Rose held out
her hand.
"Hello." Susan nodded,
accepting the handshake, still looking Rose up and down with suspicion.
"How long have you been married?"
"A couple of weeks. You can
say it was a whirlwind romance." Jack grinned, placing an arm around his
wife.
"I’ll bet it was."
Susan nodded.
"Well, I guess we’d better
head on up to our room now. It's been a long train ride, and we have to head
out to the house tomorrow morning."
"Maybe we can catch up on
old times before you leave," Susan suggested.
"That'd be nice." Jack
smiled, grabbing Rose's hand and leading her up the stairs. "Night, Susan,
Mrs. Emma. We'll see you in the morning."
"Night." Susan watched
them disappear up the stairs.
"So, what do you think of
the new Mrs. Dawson?" Mrs. Emma asked curiously, glancing at her daughter.
"She's definitely a
swell." Susan nodded. "How did she and Jack get together?"
"Don't know. He didn't go
into detail, but she seems nice enough, and she's quite beautiful."
"I just hope she's as nice
as she seems...for Jack's sake." Susan snorted. "We all know how
these society belles are. Nice one minute...uppity the next."
"Well, we shall see, won't
we? By the look of things, the Dawsons will be staying in town for quite a
while."
Susan nodded and turned to go
into the kitchen, her mind in a whirl. Her best friend had returned to Chippewa
Falls, and with a wife that Susan wasn't sure about. She'd just have to watch
Rose Dawson...wait and see if she really was as nice as she seemed.
*****
Jack and Rose cuddled close
together under the blanket, staring lovingly at each other. Rose found it hard
to believe that a month ago she was the unhappiest woman on earth. She was
engaged to a cold, arrogant man who didn't love her...who only thought of her
as a trophy...a piece of property to sport around to his friends. But now, a
month later, she was married to the most wonderful man alive. He was sweet,
sincere, and loving...but most importantly, he saw her as a person who deserved
not only love, but respect. He had never once spoken down to her like Cal had
done several times.
"What's my Rose thinking
about?" Jack asked, tucking a red curl behind her ear.
"How lucky I am to have
found you. Oh, Jack...you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. How
did I get so lucky to find you like I did?"
"It wasn't luck, Rose. It
was fate. I believe we were destined to be together." Jack smiled.
"And how do you figure
that?" Rose couldn't help but laugh.
"Well, look at it, Rose.
You're a high society princess who was engaged to another man, and let's face
it, I was a poor drifter. I didn't know where I was going to be from one day to
the next. Then we met...somehow we fell in love and got married...and now maybe
we'll start on a family." Jack kissed her forehead.
Rose sighed happily. A
family...with Jack. There was nothing she wanted more.
"That'd be great,
Jack." Then the meeting with Jack's friend crossed her mind.
"Jack...I don't think your friend Susan liked me very much. She seemed
sort of standoffish."
"Give her some time, Rose.
She's just not used to people she doesn't know. She'll warm up to ya."
Jack squeezed her shoulder.
"I hope you're right, Jack.
I just don't want to think about someone who means so much to you not liking
me."
"Well, Rose, you won't have
to worry about that, because the people of this town, Susan included, are going
to grow to love you just as I did." Jack smiled. "And just as
quickly."
Rose smiled at her husband before
leaning her head on his chest and drifting off to sleep.