AFTER TITANIC
Chapter Thirty-One
Five Days Later
They had finally arrived in Santa Monica. It
was a bright, sunny day, and the sun was high in the sky. The small group
disembarked the train and took in their surroundings.
"Oh, Jack, it's so big," Rose
breathed, looking around.
"How are we going to find our way
around?" Eliza questioned.
"You two are forgetting that I lived
here for a while. I know my way around and I'll make sure that you will
to." Jack squeezed Rose's shoulder. "Now, come on. We'll stop by my
cousin's first, make sure that the beach house is still around."
"And if it isn't?" Rose asked,
trying to keep the fear out of her voice and remind herself to have faith in
Jack. He always made things work out. He had gotten her through Titanic, hadn't
he?
"We'll think of something else,"
Jack answered. "Don't worry, Rose. We'll be all right. Now, come. Let's go
see my cousin before it gets dark."
They walked for two blocks until they came
upon a nicely built Victorian house. The house was even nicer than the house
Rose had lived in back in Philadelphia...Jack's cousin must be even richer than
the Hockleys.
"Jack...are you sure she'll remember
you?" Rose asked nervously.
"Positive. She wouldn't forget the guy
that saved her life." Jack smiled down at Rose, confidence shining in his
eyes.
Jack rang the bell and waited for the door to
open. It was a kindly old woman who answered the door. "Yes, dears? May I
help you?"
"Yes. I'm looking for a Katherine
Dawson. Does she still live here?" Jack asked.
"Of course she does. May I ask who's
calling?"
"Tell her it's her cousin Jack."
Jack smiled and placed an arm around Rose, who was holding the twins. "And
family."
"Yes, sir. Why don't all of you come in?
There's a chill in the air and it won’t do any good for those babies to catch
cold." The woman beckoned for them to follow her into the house.
"Wait here." She left them in the sitting room.
Five minutes later, a beautiful woman with
light blond hair and blue eyes came down the stairs and into the sitting room.
She stopped when she saw Jack. Her eyes were wide with shock and happiness.
"Why, isn't it Jack Dawson? The
wandering cousin." The girl smiled and shook her head. "You couldn't
stay long enough to say good-bye to your cousin, could you?"
"Well, you know me, Kathy. I have to go
the moment the road calls me." Jack smiled, walking up to his cousin.
"And where was it the road called you
to?"
"Well, that's a long story, but I can
tell you it was a journey of a lifetime." Jack laughed. "But aren't
you going to give your cousin a hug? It's been two years since we saw each
other last."
"Well, I guess I can give you that
much." Kathy laughed, hugging her cousin. This was when she noticed Rose,
the twins, Maxwell, and Eliza. "And who are these people?"
Jack smiled brightly, walking over to his
wife and children. "Kathy, let me introduce my family. This is Rose, and
these two are our twins, Molly Cora Dawson and Tommy Fabrizio Dawson. And this
is Maxwell and Eliza, two friends of the family."
"Twins! You have twins? Oh, Jack, that's
wonderful!" Kathy exclaimed happily. "And may I be the first of the
Dawson family to welcome you to the family." She turned to Rose, giving
her a gentle hug since she was holding the babies. "Oh, Jack, they look so
much like you."
"Yeah. The poor kids." Jack smiled.
"So, I guess your days of wandering the
earth are over. You can't possibly lug the babies around everywhere, can
you?"
"No, I can't, Kathy. I have settled
down. I'm a family man now. Besides, if I didn't settle down, someone might
come along and steal Rose away, and I can't have that." Jack put an arm
around Rose's shoulder and pulled her closer. "She's my life."
"I can see that." Kathy smiled.
"Well, come and sit down, all of you. Tell me where have you been."
"Europe, and back to Chippewa Falls. I
thought it'd be a good idea to bring Rose and the kids here. That way the
children can grow up in the sun," Jack explained.
"Europe? How did you manage that?"
Kathy asked. "I mean, you left here without any money at all, except for
what you made with those drawings of yours, and that wasn't enough to get a
ticket on a ship."
"I worked my way there," Jack
explained. "Then I won a ticket to get back to America, and that's how I
met Rose here. She was from first class and I was in third. What a pair we
made." Jack left out the part that they were on Titanic. Neither he nor
Rose wanted to go into it.
"You were always a master at poker. I
always thought it'd get you into trouble some day. But it looks as if I was
wrong." Kathy smiled. "I'm glad you weren't on that one ship though.
Titanic. Those poor people."
Jack and Rose just looked at each other
guiltily, but didn't say anything. Titanic was behind them. It was time to move
on with their lives.
"So, Kathy, that beach house grandfather
gave me...is it still available?" Jack asked nervously.
"I don't know, Jack. You'll have to ask
the owner. Which will be hard to do since he hasn't been seen nor heard from in
two years. But you may have a stroke of luck today. Word has it that he's
returned," Kathy teased. "Of course it's still available, silly. I
even kept it up for you. The key's under the mat outside."
"Thanks, Kathy." Jack walked over
and gave her a hug. "This really does mean a lot to us."
"But keep in touch, Jack. And if you do
decide to pick up and leave again...please come and say good-bye before you
go."
"Sure thing." Jack smiled, helping
Rose to her feet. "Stop by sometime. We'll be glad to have you."
"I'll do that." Kathy happily
smiled. "And don't be a stranger yourself. Come visit me and bring the
twins."
*****
Sure enough, the key was right where Kathy
said it was. "Ready to enter our new home?" Jack turned to Rose. She
just smiled and nodded, still looking out at the ocean. She hadn't seen the
ocean since the night she got off the Carpathia. It was magnificent. She was
glad they'd be raising the twins by it every day.
"Let's get inside, Jack. It's getting a
little nippy out here." Eliza rubbed her shoulders.
The house was gorgeous on the inside. It had
three bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room, and a small dining room
all on one floor. It was perfect.
"Oh, Jack, I love it!" Rose
exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with happiness.
"I knew you would. And come here, look
out this window." Jack walked to the opposite side of the house and opened
the curtains. Rose gasped when she saw a roller coaster on the horizon. It was
the infamous pier...the one place she and Jack had dreamed of going to
together.
"Oh, Jack. It's beautiful." Rose
gasped. "Can we go there?"
"Sure. Right after we get settled and
everything." Jack nodded. "I was thinking that we can get the master
bedroom, the twins will sleep in the room across from ours, and Eliza and
Maxwell can have the room next to the twins. What do you say?"
"I like it. Is that okay with you
guys?" Rose turned to Eliza and Maxwell.
"That'll be fine." Eliza nodded.
*****
Later that night, when almost everyone had
gone to bed, Rose sat at the window, looking out at the pier, remembering the
conversation that she and Jack had had about it. It was one of her fondest
memories.
"So, my love, what's on your mind?"
Jack came up behind her and took her in his arms.
"When are we going to go there, Jack? To
the pier?"
"Soon, Rose. I promise," was Jack's
answer as he kissed the top of her head. "Just wait a little while longer
'til we get settled. Then I'll take you to the pier and we'll do everything
we've talked about."
"Teach me to ride like a man." Rose
began to giggle.
"Chew tobacco like a man." Jack
laughed along.
"And spit like a man." Rose burst
out laughing. "But wait, I've already mastered that one. Just ask Cal.
He'll tell you."
"Well, then, I'm going to give you a
diploma for that one. But it's in the bedroom."
"Of course." Rose smiled, already
knowing what Jack really meant. "I must say, Mr. Dawson, it's about
time."
That night, Rose and Jack returned to the
stars and remained there 'til both had fallen asleep.