AFTER TITANIC
Chapter Fifty-Four
Rose was immersed in a dense fog. Nervously,
she kept walking. The farther she walked, the clearer it became, until she
found herself in a beautiful garden. Standing up ahead, on top of a hill, were
Stacey and her mother. Both stared grimly at her.
"Stacey? Mother? Where am I?" Rose
asked, confused.
"We're here to show you what'll happen
if you let that horrid old man raise that child." Ruth held her head up
high, then took Rose's hand. "Come, Rose. You must see this."
"No..." Rose tried to protest, but
it was useless. Ruth forced her up on the hill and forced her to stare out into
the horizon. Suddenly, like in a moving picture, Rose saw Lindsey. It was night
time and she was in bed, crying. She was desperately clutching the ring that
Jack had given her. It was clear that she missed Jack and Rose.
"What is it now?"
A grumpy voice explained. "She keeps
calling for a Jack."
"Those damn Dawsons again! I'll fix
this!"
That's when Albert Linningston stormed
through the door, his face twisted in rage. "Now, what is this all
about?"
"I want Daddy!" Lindsey cried.
"Your father's dead! Now, go to
sleep!" the old man declared, turning for the door.
"No, he's not! I saw him yesterday! He
gave me this to keep monsters away." Lindsey looked down at the ring.
Albert Linningston reached out and snatched
the ring away from his granddaughter's hand. "I'll be taking this
worthless piece of crap and having it mailed back to Boston. I will not have
such foolishness in my house!"
"No, it's mine!" Lindsey began to
wail. "It's mine!"
Rose stifled down a sob as she remembered how
she had sobbed like that when her mother had grabbed the cufflinks her father
had given her before his death.
"These pay for the funeral," her
mother had coldly replied.
"No! They’re mine!" Rose had cried.
"Sounds familiar, doesn't it,
Rose?" Ruth looked sadly at her daughter, who now had tears freely
streaming from her eyes.
"Why are you showing me this?" Rose
sobbed.
"Just watch," was the only answer
Ruth gave, turning back to the horizon.
This time the scene was changed. It was now
twelve years later and Lindsey was now the same age as Rose was when she had
boarded the Titanic with her mother and Cal. Lindsey had grown up to be a
beauty. She had beautiful light brown hair, pulled up into a French twist, and
gorgeous hazel eyes that gleamed with unhappiness. She was talking to a young
man, modestly dressed. They were outside her door.
"Lindsey, you can't do this. I don't
care what that old man says." The young man sighed, grabbing her
shoulders. "You marry for love...not for money."
"In this case it's money. Matt,
please...just let it go." Lindsey sobbed. "Vincent will take care of
me. That's why Grandfather chose him."
"I'll take care of you..."
"But not like Vincent."
"Lindsey, please don't..." the man
known as Matt pleaded, but was cut off by a soft kiss.
"Good-bye, Matt. Please don't call here
again." With that, Lindsey disappeared back into the mansion, leaving a
shattered Matt on the doorstep.
"Poor Lindsey." Rose's hand flew to
her mouth. "Why did she do that?"
"Because there was no one there to help
her follow her heart." Stacey sadly shook her head. "My poor Lindsey
will marry that awful Vincent Byron."
"Look, Rose." Ruth pointed again to
the horizon.
It was five years later, and a pregnant
Lindsey was huddled in a corner, terrified of her husband, who was ranting and
raving about her not wanting to go to a social function. A now ancient Albert
Linningston was in a wheelchair in the corner, but his eyes still shone with
the same meanness.
"Listen to your husband, Lindsey. He's
always right," the old man coldly replied. "Get off that floor and
get ready to go to that gala. It's too important for you to miss."
"No, Grandfather! No!" Lindsey
cried. "Vincent, please, I need rest. All this party going isn't good for
the baby. Don't you care about that?"
"The baby? All you ever think about is
that damn baby!" Vincent screams. "When are you ever going to think
about me? Now, get up, and let's go." The angry man bounded to his wife
and forced her to her feet.
"Vincent, please." Lindsey sobbed
once again, moving to the stairs.
"That's enough, I said." Vincent
sent a hard slap to her face, knocking her back and toppling her down the
stairs, where she laid in a still heap.
"Lindsey, no!" Rose screamed,
reaching out for the fallen girl, but the scene faded away until there was
nothing left but an empty sky. "No! Lindsey!"
"Calm down, Rose. Getting hysterical is
not going to help anything," Ruth sternly replied. "We showed you
this so you can come to a decision. We showed you what could happen to Lindsey
if Albert Linningston raised her. But what we didn't show you is what could
happen if you and Jack fought for her."
"What are you saying?"
"Rose...I left my daughter with you
because I knew you and Jack could teach her about life...what it meant to
really live and not take anything for granted." Stacey sighed. "What
we showed you...do you really want that to happen?"
"Of course not." Rose sniffed back
her tears.
"And you don't want her to grow up to be
a refined princess, obedient to what her elders say so much so that she misses
out on her only chance for true love?" Ruth asked.
"No, I don't."
"Well, then, you know what to do, Rose,
in order to stop this from happening. You know what to do," Stacy said,
beginning to drift away from Rose. "You know what to do."
"Wait, Stacy, don't leave...not
yet!" Rose reached out for her friend.
"Good-bye, my beautiful Rose. Take care
of my beautiful grandchildren!" Ruth followed Stacy.
"Mother, wait! Wait!" Rose cried
some more, but her cries went unanswered. She bolted awake in a cold sweat,
Molly asleep in her lap and Jack and Tommy right beside her. Her cries awoke
Jack.
"Rose?" he asked, sitting up.
"Jack, it's Lindsey...we have to get her
back, Jack! We have to!" Rose cried.
"Shh, Rose. Calm down. What
happened?" Jack asked, stroking her hair.
"It's Lindsey. If we let the man raise
her...she'll end up the way I almost did. Oh, Jack, we can't let that happen.
We have to fight for her!"
"Okay, Rose. If that's what you want.
I'll call the lawyer first thing in the morning." Jack nodded.
"Thank you, Jack." Rose wiped away
her tears and settled back down into bed, but not really going back to sleep.
For the rest of the night, her mind was on Lindsey and the hope that they could
get her back before it was too late.