AFTER TITANIC
Chapter Twenty
It was midmorning, and Rose was sitting in
her favorite chair on the porch, breaking fresh green beans for dinner that
night. Jack was once again off to find a job, this time with no objection from
Rose. She sincerely doubted that she'd return to work for the Hathaways again.
Jack and Eliza were right. It was hard on the baby, and after yesterday's
scare, there was no way she'd do anything to risk losing the baby.
"Good morning, Rose." Eliza smiled,
coming up on the porch.
"Morning, Eliza. Come on up and take a
seat. I can use the company, now that Jack's off to find a job. I'm telling
you, he's so determined. I hate to see it happen, though. It'll take time away
from his drawing, and he loves it so. I'm surprised he won't try to do that for
a living, instead. His talent is exceptional. You should've seen the drawing he
did of me when we first met..." Rose blushed as she remembered posing nude
for Jack on Titanic. She couldn't remember any other time when her heart had
beaten so fast. She still wondered what Jack had thought of her doing that back
then. "His drawings are exquisite."
"He does have a gift, but he's right for
finding a steady job. Chippewa Falls isn't like New York and Los Angeles.
People here think there's more important things to buy than a couple of
drawings. I'm afraid Jack wouldn't make much at all if he tried to sell his
drawings here." Eliza began to help her friend break green beans.
"So, what brings you by so early, Eliza?
You usually aren't out until noon."
Eliza took a deep breath, not sure how to
explain herself. What would Rose say? What would she think of her? Would she
agree to keep this a secret? "Rose...I'm so confused. I think I'm
developing feelings for another man."
"What? Who is it? Do I know him? Does
Jack know him? Do your parents know?" Rose asked, ceasing to break the beans
to stare at her friend in amazement. "And what about Lee? I know you've
been putting off the wedding, but sooner or later you'll have to marry
him."
"I know. This couldn't come at a worse
time." Eliza sniffed. "Oh, Rose, what am I going to do?"
"First tell me who the lucky man
is." Rose went back to breaking beans, but her ears were open. She
couldn't wait for Eliza to tell her.
"Maxwell Calvert. Your new doctor."
Eliza stared at her hands miserably. "He walked me home yesterday morning
after checking up on you. We talked for a while and then we stopped and we
looked into each other's eyes. That's when we began to...connect...I never had
that feeling before in my life, not even with..."
"Jack?" Rose arched her eyebrows.
"Rose, how did you know?" Eliza asked,
amazed. "How long have you known?"
"When he returned, I saw the hope and
heartbreak in your eyes. I'm not stupid, Eliza. I knew that you two had shared
a close relationship that went beyond friendship in the past. Plus, before I
left Jack in New York, he had told me about a friend in Chippewa Falls he hoped
didn't hook up with a Lee Conway, so I figured that must have been you. I was
just wondering when you two would get to telling me."
"Oh, Rose. It wasn't that we were
keeping secrets from you. It was just that Jack was afraid that our past
relationship would get in the way of our friendship. He said that I was one of
the few girlfriends you had and that he didn't want to ruin that."
"Eliza, you both should have known that
I wouldn't have cared. I know what you two had is in the past, that Jack loves
me now. I'm secure in that. So you don't have to worry. We're still the best of
friends."
"I can't tell you how happy I am to hear
you say that. I thought you'd hate me for sure." Eliza smiled in pure relief.
"Besides, I've never seen a husband look at his wife with such total
adoration as Jack looks at you. I have to admit that at first it made me
jealous to know that he never even looked at me that way."
"Eliza...what you and Jack shared was
very special to him. It's a part of his past he will always carry with him, and
he does care about you deeply. I saw that when he watched you leave with your
mother the other day. So don't think he's forgotten about you...because he
hasn't. You'll always be with him. You never forget your first love."
"I know that's true. I never once
stopped thinking about him when he left town after the fire. Even when my
parents told me that I was going to marry Lee, I never stopped thinking about
him."
Rose smiled. She couldn't help but be envious
of Eliza and Jack's relationship. Their love must have been filled with
laughter and innocence. But she wouldn't trade in the love she shared with Jack
now for the entire world. She adored the passion and love he gave her every
day.
"Well, enough about the past. Tell me
what you did next, after you two...connected."
"I ran away, of course. I mean, Rose,
what kind of girl am I? I'm about to be married, and here I am having feelings
for another guy. What must you think of me? What would Mother and Lee think if
they ever found out? Oh, Rose, they'd hate it. They already hate Jack for the
past relationship we shared. Just think what they'll think of Maxwell. Mother
would abhor it!"
"My mother hated Jack, but we
managed." Rose laid a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.
"But you're a strong woman, Rose."
"So are you. You just haven't found your
inner strength yet. But once you do, you'll be able to tap into it any
time." Rose remembered when she had had to tap into her inner strength
relentlessly. The Titanic experience really had taught her something about
herself. "Eliza...did Jack ever tell you how we met?"
"No. He just told me that you were
engaged to a man you didn't love, named Caledon Hockley."
Rose took a deep breath. She fought back the
tears that threatened her each time she thought about the great ship that sank
under the dark ocean. She didn't really want to relive the horrible sinking,
but for her friend's sake, she must.
"We met on the Titanic. I was a first
class passenger, boarding along with my mother and fiancé, Cal. Jack had won a
third class ticket in a game of poker. Titanic was called the ship of
dreams...and it was. It really was..."
Two hours later, after Rose had finished,
Eliza was in tears. She couldn't believe how courageous Rose and Jack truly
were. The lengths they went through just to be together. She could just imagine
a scared Rose running down a flooding corridor with an ax, to free the man she
fell in love with after just knowing him for a day. And Jack...she could see
him insisting that Rose get on the floating debris, even though he knew that
staying in that cold water would mean certain death for him. If that lifeboat
hadn't come when it did...she would never have seen Jack again, and Rose...what
would have become of her? Would she still be the brave, caring woman she was
now?
"Oh, Rose...that was beautiful...and
horrible...and wonderful..." Eliza couldn't find the words to describe the
tale that Rose had just shared. "You two must really be in love in order
to go to such lengths and make such sacrifices to be together."
"Eliza...I told you about Titanic so you
can see that love can conquer anything. If a pampered upper class girl from
Philadelphia and a man off the streets can defeat a sinking ship and a gun crazy
fiancé...just think of what you and Maxwell can overcome."
"So you're saying that if it's Maxwell I
love, then it's Maxwell I should be with? No matter the consequences?"
Rose smiled and nodded. "Eliza...would
being with him make you happy? Or would you be happier with Lee?"
"Maxwell. He's all I've been thinking
about for the past twenty-four hours. But Mother..."
"Will probably hate him. But my mother
hated Jack at first, too, but she came about. Yours might, too. And if she
doesn't, it still wouldn't matter. This is your life, Eliza, not hers. You have
to make decisions for yourself...decisions you can live with."
"Rose...I don't know. I don't know if
I'm even strong enough."
"Eliza...Jack was my hero. He pulled me back
over and saved me from a miserable, loveless marriage. Let Maxwell do the same
for you. Let him pull you back over."
Rose was right. Even if it didn't work out
with Maxwell, she couldn't marry Lee. She just couldn't. But what was she going
to do? Should she tell Maxwell how she felt, or should she wait and see what he
did? Would she even see him again anytime soon? She had six more months until
her wedding. Then, after that, she didn't think she'd be able to hold it off
any longer. She had to figure out what to do, and she had to figure it out
fast.
"Rose! Look who I ran into in
town." Jack came up on the porch. Maxwell was right behind him. "You
don't mind if he joins us for dinner tonight, do you?"
Rose smiled and shook her head. "I don't
mind." That was when the idea popped into her head. Eliza and Maxwell
needed to talk. Why not talk here? It was a safe place where no one would
disturb them. "There's plenty of room for everyone. In fact, Jack, Eliza
was staying for dinner, too. It can be like a double date or something."
"Rose!" Eliza hissed at her friend,
but there was no anger in her voice. There was only relief.
Jack at first was confused, but he played
along. Maybe Rose saw something he doesn't. Maxwell was ecstatic. He'd wanted
to spend more time with Eliza since their conversation the night before. He
wanted to find out if she had felt the way he did.
"Sure. Why not." Jack shrugged,
lightly kissing his wife on the cheek.
"Well, I have other things I'll have to
attend to today. Will five o'clock be okay?" Maxwell asked, not taking his
eyes off Eliza, who was becoming more flustered by the minute.
"Well, we eat at six, but five would be
great." Rose grinned in satisfaction. Her plan to get Eliza and Maxwell
together was working.
"See you at five, then." Maxwell
waved as he headed off the porch.
"He is such a nice man." Rose
sighed, turning to Jack. "Don't you think so, honey?"
"I wouldn't be letting him bring my baby
into the world if I didn't," Jack answered, turning to the house.
"Well, I'll be up in my studio if anyone needs me."
"Jack!" Rose called, wanting to
know how the job search went, but it was too late. Jack was gone. "I
wonder how the job search went."
"By the look of things, it didn't go too
well." Eliza looked towards the door that Jack had disappeared into.
"Did he say he was going to his studio?
He doesn't have a studio."
"Yes, he does, Rose. There's a ladder in
your closet that leads up to the attic. Jack used to use it as his
studio." Eliza giggled. "If you want, I'll continue to break beans
while you go up and talk to him. I have a feeling he needs to talk to someone
right now."
"You wouldn't mind?"
"After boring you with my problems? Of
course not. Go. Go to him." Eliza waved her friend away. "Cheer him
up."
"I'll be back," Rose assured her
friend, before disappearing into the house. Sure enough, Rose found him in the
studio, sitting down on an old stool, his head in his hands.
"Jack?" Rose walked up to him and
placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jack...are you okay?"
"Rose?"
"Darling, what happened? What's
wrong?"
Jack looked up at her, and back down to the
ground. "The only job out there is the one at Conway's factory. Rose...I
don't know if I could do it...I don't know if I can work for him. I don't even
know if he'd hire me."
"Why wouldn't he hire you?"
Jack was silent. He didn't want to reveal his
past with Eliza to Rose. He was so afraid the truth would hurt her.
"Jack? He...surely he can't hold your
past with Eliza against you, can he?"
Jack looked up in amazement. How did she find
out? Did Eliza break her promise? Was Rose angry with him? "How do you
know about that?"
"Oh, Jack, I guessed she was an old
girlfriend when she told me that she was marrying a Lee Conway." Rose
giggled. "I just happened to remember you talking about a friend getting
with a Lee Conway and I put two and two together. Then when you two saw each
other again in the dress shop...that just confirmed it."
"Oh, Rose, I'm sorry for not telling you
about Eliza. It's just that I..."
"Didn't want to ruin my friendship with
Eliza. I understand, and all's forgiven. But you didn't answer my question.
Does Mr. Conway hold your past with his fiancée against you?"
"You know the answer to that, Rose. Men
like Lee Conway always dwell on the past. No matter how long ago it was. In
fact, he still thinks I'm after her. Can you believe that?"
Rose again giggled. "Well, darling, you
haven't actually been yelling our marriage from the rooftops of Chippewa Falls.
Only a handful of people actually know that we're married. Most of the people
in this town still refer to me as Mrs. Hockley."
"I'll put it in the paper
tomorrow," Jack mumbled, slipping back into his mood. "What am I
going to do about a job?"
"You're going to Conway's mechanical
parts tomorrow and you're going to apply for the job, and you're going to get
it using the luck you used to win that ticket." Rose placed a firm hand on
his shoulder. "The luck you used to talk me back over that railing."
"Oh, come on, Rose. You wouldn't have
jumped. We both know it."
"No, Jack, I don't. All I know about
that night is that I desperately wanted to escape my life, and at the time I
saw no other way out than jumping off that ship. Little did I know that a
knight in shining armor was going to come to rescue me."
"Well...I'm glad my luck held out, then.
Because, Rose...you're my whole reason for living."
"Oh, Jack..." They stood there,
just looking into each other's eyes, lost in their own world. But that world
was suddenly disturbed by loud voices downstairs.
"Eliza." Rose paled, already
heading down the ladder, with Jack close behind.
They came downstairs to find Lee gripping
Eliza's arm, trying to drag her off the porch.
"Stop it, Lee!" she cried.
"You're hurting me!"
"Then you should listen to me instead of
being so hardheaded. Now come on!" Lee growled, gripping her arm even
harder.
"Jack, we have to do something."
Rose began to head for the door, just to be pulled back by Jack. She turned to
him, her eyes showing her confusion.
"I'll do something about it. You stay in
here. I don't want to take the risk of him hurting you and the baby," Jack
explained, heading downstairs. "Don't worry. I'll be right back...with
Eliza."
Rose nodded and followed him to the door.
"Be careful, Jack. He scares me...worse than Cal ever did."
"Don't worry, Rose. I'll be fine."
Jack gently touched her face before exiting the house, leaving her to look
outside to watch the scene.
"Let her go!" Jack demanded,
approaching the scene.
"Dawson, why am I not surprised to see
you here?" Lee growled, his eyes burning with hatred.
"Let her go right now, Lee," Jack
demanded in the same voice Rose remembered him using on Titanic when he
demanded for the steward to open the gate.
"I don't think so." Lee turned to
Jack, all the time gripping Eliza's arm harder. "Eliza belongs to me now.
She does what I tell her and she goes where I tell her. She's no business of
yours anymore."
"Lee...please," Eliza whimpered,
tears streaming from her eyes.
"She's a human being, Lee. She doesn't
belong to you. She belongs to herself, and she already said she didn't want to
go with you. So I suggest you leave now."
"Or what, Dawson? What would you do if I
didn't leave? Take off again? Never to be heard from for another five years?
That'll be just fine with me."
"I'll call the sheriff and have you
brought in for trespassing." Jack crossed his arms and glared at Lee.
"And I don't think you want that, Lee. I know how much your reputation
means to men like you, and I don't think you want a visit from Sheriff Watley
to soil it. Now do you?"
Rose had to laugh at Jack's cunning. He was
using his knowledge of what he learned of Cal against Lee. Hopefully, it would
work.
Lee slowly released his grip on Eliza, who
sighed in relief, but her shoulders remained tense, wondering what move her
fiancé would make next.
Lee slowly walked up to Jack, until they were
face to face. "This isn't over, Dawson. Eliza is my wife by practice...if
not yet by law, and I will be back for her later. So be expecting me."
After all that being said, Lee walked off the porch and disappeared down the
dirt path.
"Thank you, Jack." Eliza wiped away
a tear that had escaped from her eyes. "I don't know what I would have
done if you hadn't been here."
"Eliza!" Rose ran out of the house and
hugged her friend tightly. "I was so worried about you."
"I'm fine now, thanks to your husband
here. He knew just where to hit Lee. Where he was most vulnerable."
"Thanks to Cal. I guess he helped us out
after all." Jack laughed. "If only he knew."
Rose just smiled. She was just reminded of
why she fell so hard for Jack Dawson. It was that laugh. So light-hearted and
carefree. So unlike herself. So unlike the world she had come from.
"Shall we go inside and start
dinner?" Eliza turned to Rose, who was still gazing at her smiling husband
with complete and total adoration. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever
have that look in her eyes when she stared at her husband...whoever he might
be. Hopefully, she'd find the courage to break off the engagement with Lee and
explore the chance of romance with Maxwell Calvert. Maybe the dinner with
Maxwell would make everything clearer.