AFTER TITANIC
Chapter Thirty-Four
One Week Later
It was the day of the wedding. Rose was
nervously pacing the floor of the room she was sharing with Eliza. She knew it
was absurd to be nervous about renewing her vows with Jack. They already were
married, so there was nothing that could go wrong. Really, it was Eliza she was
worried for. What if Lee and Mrs. Hathaway had found out about the wedding?
They'd never let it go off.
"Rose, please stop pacing. You're making
me nervous." Eliza giggled. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be
fine. In just a couple of minutes, Maxwell and I will be husband and wife.
We're going to be twice as happy as you and Jack."
"I hope you're right, Eliza. I want
nothing more than for the two of you to have what Jack and I share."
"Room for two more in here?" Molly
poked her head through the door.
"Sure, Molly. Come on in." Rose
smiled.
"Oh, Rose, you look absolutely
gorgeous," Ruth exclaimed, tears coming to her eyes as she saw her
daughter in the fancy wedding dress they had bought just a week ago. This was
what she had always dreamed for her daughter. A big, lavish wedding to the man
she loved, even though last year she was willing to marry Rose off to a man she
despised. "Jack is going to be pleased when you walk down that
aisle."
"Oh, Ruth, you know Jack would think
Rose was beautiful if she had nothing to wear but rags. He loves her so much.
The same goes for Maxwell and you, Eliza." Molly laughed.
"Thank you, Molly," Eliza said, her
voice a little melancholy.
"Why, Eliza, what's wrong?" Molly
asked, concerned. "This is your wedding day, girl. You should be happy,
not in tears."
"Oh, Molly, it's just the fact that my
mother isn't here. I always thought she'd be here to support me on my wedding
day. But she's not. In fact, she despises Maxwell. She'd never support my
marriage to him."
"Give it time, darling. She'll come
around. Believe me when I say this, because I never thought I'd see Ruth there
be happy to see Rose marrying Jack Dawson. So miracles do happen." Molly
hugged Eliza. "But if it's your mother you miss, I'll agree to stand in
for her. How's that?"
"Thank you, Molly." Eliza hugged
the older woman. "This means a lot to me."
"I know, darling, I know." Molly
hugged Eliza even closer. "And don't worry about your mother. Just give
her time. She'll come around."
"The music is starting," Ruth
announced. "We better take our seats and you two better get walking down
that aisle. Your grooms are waiting."
*****
Jack stared out at the guests packed into the
fancy hall of the Netherlands Plaza. He couldn't believe how many people had
actually showed up to this wedding. About five hundred in all, and Jack didn't
even know most of them. He hoped this didn't bother Rose. He knew how she felt
about big, fancy weddings, but this was how his grandfather wanted it, and
since the old man was dying...Jack couldn't say no. But all their friends were
there, and that's what he wanted. He even spotted his two best friends from
Chippewa Falls sitting in the middle row, giving him the thumbs up sign. And he
could almost see his friends from Titanic way in the back, and his parents also,
silently standing up, waiting to see him and Rose renew their vows. But, of
course, that was his imagination. They were there, but Jack couldn't see
them...not really.
"Nervous, Jack?" Maxwell asked.
"Nah. Not at all. I've done this all
before." Jack smiled. "But how about you? This is your first
time."
"Not nervous at all. Just frightened to
death." Maxwell laughed. "But I'll be fine."
"Here they come," Jack whispered,
as the wedding march started.
Jack's breath was taken away as Rose came
down the aisle. She was dazzling. Her eyes shone with happiness and love. He
knew at that moment that there was no other woman for him but her.
Rose stared straight ahead at Jack. The last
time he looked that handsome was when he met her at the bottom of the grand
staircase on Titanic. But he was more handsome to her now because she knew for
sure that his heart belonged to her and always would.
"Hello, Rose." Jack smiled as she
reached him, remembering that that was the first thing he said to her last year
when they were first married.
"Hi, Jack." Rose smiled back at
him.
"Dearly beloved," the preacher
began. In five minutes, Eliza and Maxwell were husband and wife, and Jack and
Rose had reconfirmed their love and devotion to one another. All four of them
were extremely happy, until all the commotion started with Lee Conway and Marge
Hathaway barging into the room.
"She's mine, Calvert." Lee wobbly
pointed a gun in their direction. "You can't have her!"
"Lee, put down that gun!" Molly
demanded, standing up. "Marge, get control of him!"
"Shut up, Molly. This is no concern of yours!"
Marge shouted.
"Who are these people, and what are they
doing here?" Emmanuel stood up.
"Jack." Rose grabbed Jack's arm,
frightened, as she noticed her mother holding the twins. What if something
happened and they got hurt?
"It'll be okay." Jack squeezed
Rose's hand.
"Get away from her, Calvert!" Lee
once again demanded.
"It's too late, Lee. We're married. She
doesn't belong to you anymore," Maxwell replied. "I suggest you put
the gun down and go back to Chippewa Falls. You weren't invited to this event."
"Well, there's only one thing to do,
then." Lee glared up at the altar, still clutching the gun. "If I
can't have her...well, then, you can't, either."
Before anyone could make another move, a shot
rang out and pandemonium broke out.
"Jack!" Rose called as she realized
that he was not holding her hand anymore. Where was he? Why did he let go of
her hand? She was about to go find him when her foot bumped against something
heavy. She looked down to see her beloved unconscious, blood soaking his white
shirt.
"Jack!" Rose screamed in horror,
immediately dropping down to her knees, bringing all the commotion to a stop.
"Oh, no. Jack!"
"Rose!" Ruth ran to her daughter's
side and placed a supportive arm around her.
"Mama! It's Jack! He's...he's..."
"He's going to be fine," Ruth
replied, in her sternest voice. "He's going to be fine, Rose. He wouldn't
leave you and the children. He wouldn't."
Rose could only look at her mother and then
back down at Jack and burst into tears again. Why was this happening to them,
and why was it happening now? They were so happy. They had a whole life of
happiness ahead of them. Now all that happiness was replaced with uncertainty.
"The ambulance is on its way."
Molly came running up to them. "Don't worry, Rosie. He'll be fine."
"Where did that blasted Conway go?"
Ruth growled.
"No one knows. He and Marge have both
disappeared." Molly sighed. "And that poor old man...he's as pale as
a ghost."
"That's Jack's grandfather." Rose
sniffed as she looked up to see Katherine gripping her grandfather's arms.
"He was so happy that Jack had returned. In fact, this wedding was more
for him than for us. He wanted to see his grandson get married...before he
died. I should go to him. Jack would want that." But Rose didn't make a
move to leave Jack's side. She couldn't. As long as she had Jack's hand in
hers, there was hope that he'd make it.
"I'll go to him." Molly attempted a
smile. "Don't worry, Rose. Everything will be fine."
As soon as Molly left her side, Rose fainted
into her mother's arms, and didn't awake until morning.
*****
Jack woke up in his tiny cabin aboard
Titanic. What was he doing there? Where was Rose?
"Don't worry, boyo. She's safe."
Tommy Ryan appeared in front of him, along with Fabrizio. "She's not here
with the rest of us."
"But I am." Jack sat up. "What
does this mean? Am I..."
"Dead? No, Jack. You're not dead. Not
yet, anyway." Tommy laughed. "But you will be here with us for a
while. We all thought it was the best place for you. Better than the dark
place, anyway."
"But how about Rose?"
"She's safe, like I said. She wasn't
hurt. You can bring her here when she's asleep, though. Let her know you're all
right. But only when she's asleep," Fabrizio said. "Actually, since
you're not officially dead, we'll have to bring her here for you. But you still
get to talk to her."
"Poor Rose." Jack sighed. "She
must be going through hell right now. How about my grandfather?"
"In shock. But we can bring him here,
too, if you want. Even though I'd think that'd make your parents a tad bit
uncomfortable." Tommy smiled.
"My parents?"
"Hello, son." Jonathan and Emma
Dawson appeared in the doorway. "We've missed you."
"Pa! Ma!" Jack's eyes lit up as he
ran to his parents and embraced them. "I have so much to tell you!"
"Well, let's go out on deck, and you can
tell us there." Emma Dawson lovingly smiled at her son and led him out of
the room.
"Think he'll be okay?" Fabrizio
asked, staring after his friend.
"Of course. We just have to keep
reminding him where he really belongs, though. We can't let him forget."
Fabrizio nodded in agreement and both left
the room.
*****
Rose awakened in her room, a damp cloth
draped over her forehead. What a nightmare she had had. It was their wedding
day and Jack had gotten shot. Then she glanced at the chair, where her dress,
stained with Jack's blood, was draped, and realized that it wasn't a dream.
Jack was indeed shot and lying in a hospital room right now. She had to get
there. She had to be with him so he'd know how much she loved him and needed
him. She got up and headed downstairs, to find her mother reading to the twins
the favorite book that Jack read to them every night.
"Mother?" Rose asked.
"I see you're awake. You've been out
since yesterday afternoon. I was beginning to worry."
"Jack..."
"His condition hasn't changed. He's
still unconscious. But the doctors did remove the bullet. It had just missed
his heart, which is good if you ask me. The doctor said he was a fighter and
has a good chance of surviving this. That should make you pleased."
Rose nodded. "Where's Molly?"
"At the hospital, of course, keeping
tabs on the news. Eliza and Maxwell are still asleep and Jack's grandfather is
okay. In fact, he called last night to check up on you."
"So Molly was the only one there with
Jack?" Rose asked.
"No. A couple of other people were
there, too. Friends of his, of course," Ruth explained. Then she took a
look at her daughter's red eyes. Eyes that were red from crying. "My poor
Rose. You were so happy...so carefree."
This made Rose want to cry even more, but she
didn't. She had to be strong this time around. She had to be strong for Jack.
"I'll be all right, Mother. I just need
to get dressed, get a bite to eat, and get over to the hospital to relieve
Molly. It should be me by Jack's side. Not her. He's my responsibility."
Rose forced a smile.
"Rose...we're here for you. Remember
that," Ruth replied.
"Yes, Mother." Rose nodded.
"I'll remember." With that said, Rose turned and went upstairs and
changed into a white blouse and gray skirt. Drab colors, but that's how she
felt. Drab. Without Jack, her world had changed from a world of vibrant colors
to a dull gray.