AFTER TITANIC
Chapter Three
Rose woke up to a pair of blue eyes staring
down at her. "Jack," she whispered happily.
"Hello, sleepyhead. It’s time to get
up." Jack smiled.
"What time is it?"
"Noon. For someone who didn’t want to go
to bed last night, you sure did sleep the day away." He bent down and
kissed her forehead.
Rose sat up and stretched happily. She was
the happiest that she’d been since they’d been rescued. Both herself and her
beloved Jack were alive, warm and safe. Nothing would ever come between them
again.
"The nurse said it was okay if we wanted
to go outside and walk along the side of the ship if we wanted. She said the
exercise will do us good." Jack smiled, taking her hand. Now, instead of
being cool, his hand was nice and warm, and the color in his cheeks had
returned.
"That awful nurse." Rose winced,
remembering how the woman had forced her to leave Jack’s side the night before.
"Come on, Rose. She’s not awful at all.
She was just doing her job last night. And besides, I wanted you to go to bed
also. You don’t think I’m awful, do you?"
"Oh, Jack, of course not. You’re the
love of my life. How could I ever think you were awful? I just didn’t want to
let you out my sight even once, not after all we’ve been through." Rose
threw herself into his arms once she was upon her feet, holding on for dear
life, as if she let go, he’d disappear.
"I felt the same way…I still do. That’s
why I have to ask you something, once we’re outside and alone." Jack was
now very serious, pushing away from Rose in order to stare into her eyes.
"What, Jack?" Rose asked, now
curious. She had a feeling that she was going to like this question. "What
do you want to ask me?"
"First let’s walk. I kind of want to see
the ship." Jack pulled her to the door and out into the sunshine.
"Nice day. Even nicer than the first day
the Titanic…" Jack stopped, remembering where he was and under what
circumstances.
"It’s okay, Jack. I remember it, too.
It’s something that won’t be easy to forget, but we will get over it.
Someday…the pain of our losses will fade." Rose smiled, trying to cheer
him as well as herself. "We still have each other, anyway."
"Yes, we do." Jack nodded in
agreement. "And we always will."
"Oh, Jack!" Rose stopped dead in
her tracks as she spotted Cal moving through the crowd. What in the world was
he doing down there in steerage? Looking for me, of course. Rose sighed
to herself. Even now, he refused to let her go. "What are we going to
do?" She looked at Jack with urgency in her eyes.
"In here." Jack pulled her into
what looked to be a small office. "He won’t find us in here."
Rose held her breath as she watched her
ex-fiancé move among the crowd, searching every face he came up on. Oh, how she
hated him, hated him for every thing he did to her and Jack. She’d never be
able to forgive him. Not as long as she lived. Finally giving up, he slumped
his shoulders in defeat and headed back up to first class.
"That was close." Jack breathed a
sigh of relief, leading Rose out of the office. "If he found us…I don’t
know what would’ve happened."
"He would’ve tried to force me to marry
him. But I’d run away again, Jack. I swear I would. I would rather die than
become Caledon Hockley’s wife." Rose hugged herself against the suddenly
chilled air.
"Don’t say that, Rose. Killing yourself
is never the answer. Do I have to remind you of how we met?" Jack’s face was
serious as he gripped Rose’s shoulders. He never wanted her to be that unhappy
again. He was going to make sure that the rest of her days were filled with
sunshine and love.
"No, Jack, you don’t have to remind me.
Besides, that’s not an option anymore, now that I’m finally free of Cal and
free to be with you." Rose laughed at the solemness in his usually joyful
face. "I’m fine."
Jack couldn’t resist. He laughed at his own
seriousness. The question he had to ask her was laying to heavily on his mind.
It was best that he asked her now, before their whole day was ruined.
"Rose…" Jack was suddenly nervous. Stop
it, Jack, he thought to himself. She loves you. There’s no reason in the
world for her to say no.
"Yes, Jack?" Rose asked, her eyes
lighting up in concern, noticing how nervous Jack was growing. Whatever it was
that he wanted to tell her must be very important to get this nervous about.
Jack took in his surroundings. Finally, he
found a perfect spot against a railing. It was the perfect place to propose.
"Come over here, Rose." He took her hand and led her to the rail.
"Jack…what is this all about?"
"Rose, I love you. More than I've loved
any other girl in my life. You are so special to me. I knew you were something
special when I saw you on Titanic that day. Do you remember?" Jack asked.
His voice was hopeful. Please let her remember.
"Yes, Jack. I remember." Rose
thought back to that day when she had gotten irritated by Bruce Ismay and had
gone out on the ship deck and looked across the ocean. That was when she first
noticed the blond man with the intense blue eyes. "That was the day when I
knew I couldn’t marry Cal."
"That was the day I knew I had found my
soulmate. And when I took you to that steerage party and you revealed your true
spirit…that was when I knew that I loved you. I don’t know if I said it on the
ship, but I’ve loved you ever since that night."
"Oh, Jack…" Rose whispered, her
heart swelling up in her chest. She knew what was coming, and she immediately
knew the answer. "I..."
"No, let me finish." Jack placed
two fingers over her lips to silence her. "That was what was behind that
talk in the gymnasium, and that night in the car…when we…well, that was when I
absolutely knew for sure, beyond a doubt, that you were my soulmate, and that
leaves only one thing for me to do." Jack took a deep breath. "Miss
Rose DeWitt Bukater…will you do me the honor…of becoming my wife?"
There. He had said it. Now was the moment of
truth. Rose’s answer.
"Oh, Jack…that was so beautiful. I love
you, too. And, yes. I will become your wife. As soon as possible," Rose
cried, tears of joy streaming down her face. This was a dream come true, to go
from one unhappy engagement to a joyous one. Smiling, she pulled Jack into a
passionate kiss. She loved him so much…much more than she could ever describe.
Thank goodness he had survived and didn’t die in those freezing waters. She was
sure that despite her promise, she wouldn’t have been able to go on without her
soulmate.
"Come on, Rose. Let’s get back inside.
It’s starting to get cold out here, and the last thing we need is to catch
cold. Then that nurse really won’t let us back outside." Jack laughed,
leading Rose back into the infirmary.