AFTER TITANIC
Chapter Seven
"So, I see you two lovebirds are up, and
by the look of things, you're ready for breakfast," Molly greeted Jack and
Rose as they exited their room. "Let me treat you two kids to a breakfast
fit for a king."
"Molly..." Jack began.
"Don't bother protesting, Jack. I refuse
to take no for a answer. Besides, it's the perfect place to give you two my
wedding gifts."
"Wedding gifts? Oh, Molly...you didn't
have to get us presents." Rose's eyes began to brim over with tears. Molly
was more of a mother to her than her own mother ever was. There was no way Rose
could ever repay her for that.
"Oh, pish-posh. Of course I did. You two
are very special to me, and I'd do anything to see things go a little easier for
you." Molly shrugged off Rose's attempts to refuse the present. "So,
enough chattering. Let's go down and eat."
After breakfast, Molly gave Jack and Rose
their presents. A five hundred dollar gift certificate to one of the
respectable department stores in New York, and an extra thousand dollars to get
started out on life.
"Molly...this is too much...I don't know
how I'll ever repay you," Jack stammered. A thousand dollars was the most
money Jack had ever had in his life.
"Don't worry about it, Jack. It's my
gift to you two. Besides, a thousand dollars don't last very long when you're a
couple of newlyweds just starting out." Molly smiled. It did her heart
good to help out a young, struggling couple, especially when that couple was
Jack and Rose.
"Well, at least let me take care of the
bill," Jack insisted, taking the bill that the waiter placed on the table.
"Now, Jack, I told you. This is my
treat. You will not pay the bill. Do I make myself clear?" Molly took the
bill back. "Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy yourself."
"Yes, ma'am." Jack sat back into
his seat. By the look Molly threw him, he knew it was no time to argue.
"So, what do you two kids have planned?
Are you going to be staying here in New York, or are you going to be doing some
more traveling?" Molly sipped her tea.
"We were thinking of returning to Jack's
hometown, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin." Rose smiled, excited at the prospect
of seeing where Jack grew up.
But Jack wasn't excited at all. In fact, he
dreaded returning to that little town. That little town where so much pain of
his past still lingered. "Like I said last night, Rose, it's an option. It
doesn't mean that we're actually going to move there." Jack stared down at
the table, not wanting the pain in his eyes to show.
"Well, I don't have a place in Chippewa
Falls, but I do have one in the next town over. Look me up sometime if you two
do go there." Molly smiled. "I'll be glad to have ya."
"Thanks, Molly." Both Jack and Rose
smiled.
"Well, Molly...if you don't mind, me and
Rose have some apartment shopping to do. We'll talk to you when we get back, I
guess." Jack got up from his seat, and helped Rose up from hers.
Once outside, Jack and Rose headed for
Central Park. Rose wanted some fresh air and time to take in the city before
doing any shopping at all. Sitting on the bench, Jack's mind returned to
Chippewa Falls...back to Eliza. He really did miss her. He couldn't help but
wonder what she was doing right now...if she married Lee Conway. He hoped she
hadn't. Even though he had found his soulmate in Rose, he still cared about
what happened to Eliza, and knew that Lee Conway was the wrong man for her.
"Jack?" Rose's voice interrupted
his thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"Why don't you want to return to
Chippewa Falls? I mean...it was your hometown...where you grew up. It sounds
like the perfect place to raise a family." Rose placed a tentative hand on
his cheek.
"Rose...it's just that....not all my
memories of Chippewa Falls are happy ones. I just have to find a way to deal
with them before I can return there. Besides, I don't think you'd like the
people there. In fact, there is one person who reminds me of Cal."
"Really?" Rose's interest was
peaked.
"Hmm."
"Was he mean to you, Jack?"
"He was mean to everyone, not just me. I
had a friend there, who he had an interest in when I left." Jack was now
talking to himself, mostly. "I hope to God that she didn't get with
him."
"She?"
Jack immediately snapped back to attention.
What was he doing? He had almost spilt the beans about Eliza and their
relationship. He had better change the subject fast before, Rose asked any more
questions.
"How do you feel about wishes?"
Jack suddenly asked, spotting a wishing well in the center of the park.
"Well...I'll tell you one thing...my
wish came true yesterday, so I believe in them. Why?"
"There's a wishing well right over
there. If we throw a penny in and make a wish, it'll come true." Jack
smiled, pulling her over to the well.
"But what will I wish for?" Rose
laughed as Jack handed her a penny he dug out of his pocket.
"Anything. Anything at all." Jack
smiled. The optimism in his voice had returned.
Tossing the penny into the cool water of the
well, Rose thought to herself, I want to go to Jack's hometown. I want to go
to Chippewa Falls.
"So, what did you wish for?" Jack
placed an arm around her shoulder.
"I can't tell you that. If I tell, it
won't come true." Rose laughed, playfully punching his arm.
"Okay, okay. I understand." Jack
laughed, but his eyes turned serious when he stopped laughing and took her
hands in his. "I love you, Rose Dawson. Now and forever."
"Oh, Jack." Rose's heart leaped in
her chest at the three words he just said. "I love you, too, now and
forever."
They embraced, and headed for the shopping
part of New York, where they put the gift certificate to good use. Then Jack
took some of the thousand dollars Molly had given them and treated Rose to a
night of dinner and dancing. That night, as they returned to the hotel, Molly
caught a glimpse of them returning to their room, and felt the warmth of
happiness in her heart.
*****
The next morning, Molly woke up with a knock
on the door.
"Coming! Coming! Keep your shirt
on!" she yelled. She opened the door to a nervous bellboy, who was holding
a letter out to her.
"For you, ma'am, from room A45," the
bellboy stammered. Obviously, he was a new kid, and she was his first guest.
"Thank you," Molly said, tipping
the boy after taking the letter. Now, why would Jack and Rose leave her a
letter like this and not come by themselves? She opened the letter and smiled
to herself as she read.
Dear Molly,
We'd like to thank you for your kindness
and hospitality for the past couple of days. You'll never know how much your
kindness has meant to us. Not just now, with the money and the place to stay,
but also on the Titanic, when you helped Jack with the first class dinner. You
saved him from being Cal's first class joke. I, for one, will always be
grateful for that, because that was the night I first fell in love with him.
Molly, if you see my mother again, please keep the fact that I'm alive a
secret. The last thing Jack and I need is for her and Cal to come looking for
us. Also, Jack wants me to tell you that we plan to name our first daughter
after you...the Unsinkable Molly Brown, as one newspaper called you. Too bad
the same couldn't be said about Titanic. It really was a wonderful ship. I
shall miss it. We'll leave off here. If we do end up in Chippewa Falls, we'll
drop you a line. Good-bye, Molly, and remember, you never saw us.
Love,
Rose and Jack
A tear slipped from Molly's eyes as she
realized that the two young people were again off on their own. She was just
glad that she could give them a hand when she could.
"Good luck, Jack and Rose." Molly
smiled, placing the letter in a box full of memoirs, such as the newspaper
article Rose had mentioned, and a postcard with a picture of Titanic on it.
"Whatever you do, never forget Titanic. It holds a important lesson for us
all."