AFTER TITANIC
Chapter Forty-Eight

Jake Matthews stood at the door of the huge Dawson mansion and looked up at its structure. This must be where the angel he ran into the day before lived...the angel that had left her handbag sitting on the bench when he had gone back to pick up his lucky pencil he had left.

"Jake, what are you doing?" he asked himself. "You should have just left the handbag at the police station and left it at that. Who knows what the people of the house was going to think of a homeless, struggling writer returning the purse of a first class girl? They'll probably think you stole it."

Taking a deep breath, he rang the bell. It was the girl's companion that opened the door. Her beauty was breathtaking, but she wasn't the one that he was hoping to see.

"Oh, it's you." The girl smiled, surprise shining in her green eyes.

"Your friend left this in the park the other day." Jake held out the handbag.

"Why don't you come in? I'll get Kathy."

"Oh, that's not necessary. I just stopped by to give her the handbag she left." Jake smiled back.

"I'll go get Kath." Rose smiled, already heading up the stairs. Two minutes later, Rose returned with Kathy at her side.

"It's you." Kathy was astonished. She had never expected to see the handsome stranger who had helped her yesterday again.

"You left your handbag on the bench yesterday." Jake held the bag out to her.

"Thank you." Kathy smiled, accepting the purse. "I never expected to see you again."

"Sorry to disappoint you." Jake looked down at the fancy carpet.

"That's not what I meant."

"Really?"

"I wanted to see you again...but I didn't know how I'd be able to, since I don't know where you live or anything."

"Oh."

"Jake, why don't you stay for dinner?" Rose asked. "It's the least we could do, since you made the trip over here to return that bag. In fact, you can borrow one of Jack's suits. He won't mind."

"Uh...that won't be necessary." Jake shook his head, backing up for the door, but Rose grabbed his arm before he could get away.

"Oh, sure it is. Come on up. We'll fit you in a suit before you can say tuxedo." Rose giggled, pulling Jake up the stairs to the room she shared with Jack.

"I'll be back." Rose disappeared into the walk-in closet.

Jake walked around the room, eyeing everything. He spotted a picture and picked it up to see a picture of Rose sitting on top of a horse with both legs on each side. A man with shaggy blond hair sat behind her. He must be her husband. Then he caught sight of a portfolio sitting on the bed. Picking it up, he saw tons of magnificent drawings, all of them of Rose or the children he saw her with yesterday. There was one of Rose on top of the horse by herself. Looking at the cover, he read the inscription addressed to a man named Jack. It sounded like she loved him an awful lot.

"Here you go. Try this on." Rose held out the suit.

"Your husband is quite an artist." Jake made conversation.

"You saw his portfolio?"

"Yeah. He seems to capture the very essence of things," Jake called back in.

"I know. I think it was his art that captured my attention when we first met." Rose smiled, remembering the look on Jack's face when she told him he had talent and he said he saw her.

"I like writing myself. You can say I'm a self-proclaimed poet. I'm hoping to make it big someday." Jake came out with the suit on. It fitted him perfectly. Kathy was going to be pleased.

"You look great." Rose nodded with approval. "Almost better than my husband looks in that suit."

"Rose, Jack's back." Kathy appeared in the doorway. She stopped in mid-stride when she saw Jake. "You look great."

Jake just smiled at the compliment.

"I better go down and greet my husband. I'll leave you two alone." Rose bounded down the stairs to see Jack and James deep in conversation. Cameron was sitting in the big leather chair, reading the newspaper.

"Hello, Jack." Rose ran up to her husband and leaned closer so only he could hear her. "Kathy has company. I let him borrow one of your suits. I hope you don't mind."

"Is it that Jake fellow? Those two are still trying to figure out who he is, if you can believe that."

Rose just nodded. "You don't think they'll be rude, do you?"

"James won't, but I don't know about Cameron. He really wants Kathy to marry that Humphrey guy. He even invited him to dinner tonight."

"Tonight? Oh, no." Rose buried her head in Jack's shoulder.

"What do you mean, oh, no?" Jack asked. "What's wrong?"

"I invited Jake to stay for dinner tonight. I thought it'd give them a chance to get to know one another," Rose explained. "Oh, Jack, what are we going to do?"

"We're going to do nothing. We'll just let Kathy know about Mitchell coming to dinner and let her deal with it on her own. We're staying out of it this time, Rose."

Rose simply nodded, and laid her head on Jack's shoulder when there was a knock at the door.

"That must be Mitchell." Cameron grinned, getting up to answer the door just as Kathy came down with Jake.

"Is that Jake?" Jack looked at the stairs.

Rose just nodded and squeezed her husband's hand. "Come on. I want you to meet him." Rose pulled him to the stairs. "Jake, hi. This is my husband, Jack."

"Nice to meet you, too. Kathy here told me a lot about you and Rose." Jake smiled. "I also saw your drawings. You have an exceptional talent."

"Kathy, Mitchell is here." Cameron came to the stairs with Mitchell by his side, when he saw Jake. "Who's this?"

"That's the guy I was telling you about, Cam. That's Jake."

Mitchell glared at the man. "But he's dressed a lot better than he was yesterday."

"Oh, really? And what are you doing here, Jake, and dressed in my cousin's suit?" Cameron smirked.

"I came to see Kathy." Jake squirmed under Cameron's glare.

"And that's not my suit." Jack turned to Cameron.

"Funny, I could have sworn that's the suit Grandfather brought you last July." Cameron crossed his arms and turned back to Jake. "How long are you going to be here?"

"He's staying for dinner, which I think is ready. It's six o'clock already." Rose took Jack's hand and pulled him down the stairs.

"Just as long as it's clear that Katherine's sitting between Mitchell and myself." Cameron glared at Jake. If this stranger thought he was going to be a candidate to court his cousin, he had another think coming.

Dinner was quite an event. Jake sat between Rose and James and couldn't keep his eyes off Katherine.

"He's as bad as you were on Titanic." Rose giggled to Jack.

"Shh." Jack smiled at his wife. "Don't make him nervous."

"Did you two say Titanic?" Mitchell asked. "You two met on the Titanic, didn't you?"

"Yes. It was love at first sight." Jack smiled. "For me, anyway."

"Tell us about it." James smiled, settling back in his seat. "I’m sure it's quite a story."

Jack looked at Rose, concern in his eyes. He wasn't sure if she wanted to go through it again or not.

"It's okay, Jack. I've made my peace with it." Rose nodded.

"Well...at the time I wasn't rich like I am now. I lived on the streets with my best friend, Fabrizio. We won our third class ticket on Titanic in a game of poker, and Rose here was a first class passenger engaged to this jerk. I saved her from jumping off the back of the ship, and we fell in love after that. Then the third night we knew each other, the ship sank and we ended up in the freezing water. I made Rose promise to go on with her life, because we had no way of knowing what was to happen next. But a lifeboat did return, and we got married, right there on Carpathia," Jack finished.

"Wow. Rose, you must really have loved Jack in order to leave the rich life behind. I mean, you probably didn't know he was from a rich family." Jake turned to Rose. "I mean...that's a magnificent story."

"You should hear the longer version." Kathy smiled. "You'd be in tears if you knew the real lengths they went through to be together. And now, here they are, married with three beautiful children. I mean...Rose went back through that ship for Jack when he was framed for stealing a necklace and freed him with an ax. Then, she jumped off a lifeboat to be with him."

"Really?" Jake's voice was full of awe. He had no idea that the beautiful society girl sitting next to him had so much courage and heart as to go through all that for the man she loved...a man that she had only known for three days. "That's truly amazing. Whatever happened to your fiancé, though?"

"Living a life of regret." Rose shrugged. "He even had the nerve to name his first born son after Jack."

"You're one of the bravest women I know, Rose." Kathy nodded. "I don't know if I'd be able to do all that for someone I hardly knew."

"Well, Kathy, when it's true love...it's easy. Besides, Jack had it worse. He stayed in those freezing waters just so I could be safe. He would've died if the lifeboat hadn't come back when it did." Rose squeezed Jack's hand at the thought of not having him with her today.

"I always believed that true love conquers all things...including death." Jake nodded.

"Where are you from, Mr. Matthews? We don't know a thing about you, except you were seen in the park wearing ragged clothing." Cameron changed the subject. He didn't want to hear any more about that ship that had disgraced the upper class.

"Well...I'm from Mississippi, but I came up here to Boston for a change of scenery." Jake grinned. "But right now I'm staying at Mercy Shelter, and after that, I'm on God's good humor."

"So you're homeless." Mitchell glared.

"If that's what you want to call it." Jake shrugged.

"And you let your cousin be courted by this vagrant?" Mitchell turned to Cameron.

"He has no say in who courts me, Mr. Humphrey. That's my decision." Kathy turned on Mitchell.

"Of course not. This is the first I've even heard of this fellow," Cameron denied, ignoring Kathy's statement. Then he turned to Jake, his voice condescending. "And you find that sort of rootless existence appealing?"

Jake thought on the question before he answered. "Yes, I do. I have all I need right here with me. I got a pen in my pocket, a couple of blank sheets of paper, and air in my lungs. What else can I ask for? Money only makes it complicated and ties you down to one spot. You miss out a lot on life that way."

Rose stared at Jake in shock. Those were almost Jack's words at the first class dinner. "That sounds familiar."

Jack just smiled at the memory. At the time he had the same philosophy. But he now knew that Jake was wrong about one thing. There was one more thing he needed in his life to be complete...true love. And Jack had found that in Rose, even if it meant settling down.

"So, Mr. Matthews. My cousin's wife here tells me you're an artist." James changed the subject.

"Well, actually, no. I'm a poet. I like writing stories, poems, sonnets...you name it...I write it." Jake grinned.

"Funny. Mrs. Dawson, you said he wanted to draw your pictures...that's why he was talking with Katherine." Mitchell turned to Rose.

"I suggest you drop the subject." Jack glared at Mitchell. "And if you don't mind, I suggest you take that tone out of your voice when addressing my wife."

"Jack, it's okay." Rose placed a restraining hand on Jack's arm. "I just wanted Cameron to stop yelling at Kathy. That's why I said that."

"Just watch yourself when talking to Rose, Mr. Humphrey." Jack glared openly at the other man.

"I have to agree with my cousin here, Mitchell. Watch your tone with the ladies in this house." Cameron nodded.

"Well, Katherine...how would you like to take a little walk around the grounds? Show me how you rich folk live." Jake went ahead and asked.

"I..." Katherine began.

"Absolutely not!" Cameron stood from his chair. "Not without a chaperone, and I refuse to do it!"

"Rose and I will go." Jack spoke up, noticing the look in Katherine's eyes when she looked at Jake. He had seen that look once before, and it was in Rose's eyes, directed towards him, at that infamous first class dinner aboard Titanic. At that time, he had only Molly in his corner. But Jake was going to have two...maybe even three, if he could count on James.

"Oh, Jack, will you?" Katherine glanced at her cousin with hope in her eyes.

"Sure. We were going to take a walk after dinner anyway." Jack shrugged, standing up and pulling Rose's chair out so she could stand.

Katherine smiled gratefully at her cousin. She knew Jack would understand. That was why he was her favorite cousin.

"Well, let us be off." Jake grinned, holding out his arm for Kathy.

"Don't be out too late." James grabbed Jack's arm. "I hope you know what you're doing. Cameron's already staring daggers at you."

"I'm not scared of him. I've seen worse." Jack shrugged. "I'll see you later."

The three men watch the two couples leave, only two of them were steaming mad.

*****

Jake and Kathy were walking behind Jack and Rose as they walked around the grounds of the Dawson mansion. Jake couldn't believe his good luck. Here he was with one of the most beautiful women in Boston, walking along the grounds of one of the richest families in Boston.

"Your cousin Jack is nice. I've never met a swell like him before." Jake smiled down at Kathy as he tried to make conversation.

"A swell?" Katherine laughed. "Jack's a lot of things, but believe me, a swell is not one of them. You see, Jack's father was the outcast of the family for falling in love and marrying a maid. They moved to Chippewa Falls and only wrote once to say they had a son...Jack. He came to Santa Monica to stay with me and my mother for awhile after his parents died in a fire, and then took off for the horizon. It's been just recently he decided to come back into the family fold. I think it was mainly because of Rose and the twins. If it wasn't for them, he'd still be out there somewhere, doing who knows what. But let me tell you one thing. For someone who's had such a hard life, he's the most optimistic person I've ever met. It could be raining, but he'd always find the silver lining on a cloudy day."

"It sounds like you love him a lot." Jake smiled.

"I do. He's my favorite cousin. Every time I think of how close I came to losing him on Titanic...I just shiver. I'm so glad he's here with us now."

"They're both brave people for going through all that for each other, especially Rose. She was giving up everything for a poor steerage passenger she didn't even know. A lot of women wouldn't do that...especially society women."

"I would." Kathy stopped and turned to Jake. "If I loved someone as much as Rose loves Jack...I'd move heaven and Earth for them. I'd give up my most precious possessions for them, if that's what it took."

"Oh, really?" Jake asked, unconvinced.

"Really."

"Hey, you guys!" Jack ran up to them, dragging Rose behind him.

"Yes, Jack?" Kathy turned to her cousin.

"Let's blow this place. I know this nice joint just outside town. It'll be fun." Jack grinned.

"What joint is this?" Jake asked, wondering if he'd know what Jack was talking about.

"It's called the Cat’s Cradle. It plays a lot of ragtime music, and this new style known as Rhythm and Blues." Jack smiled.

"You mean the colored joint?" Jake asked.

Jack simply nodded. "How about it?"

"Jack, I don't know. If Cameron finds out...there'll be big trouble." Katherine looked back at the big mansion, as if expecting her oldest cousin to come roaring out right then.

"Oh, come on, Kat. You're not afraid of Cameron, are you? Besides, there's no way he'd find out. You know how he is." Jack laughed off her apprehension. "Come on. Rose's already agreed."

"Okay. Fine. We'll go to the Cat's Cradle," Kathy relented, pushing back the bad feeling that had risen up in her throat.

Chapter Forty-Nine
Stories