AFTER TITANIC
Chapter Eight
Jack and Rose were standing outside a beat-up
building in one of the worst neighborhoods in New York City. After looking for
apartments, this was the only one they could afford at the moment.
"I don't know, Rose. I don't like this
place. It's not safe." Jack shook his head, his eyes dark with worry.
"Maybe we should use the rest of the money to buy a decent condo or
something."
"No, Jack. We're saving that money for
something more important, something we've always wanted to do. We're saving it
to go to California. We can't use that money...not yet, anyway. Maybe we should
go back to the hotel. I'm sure Molly wouldn't mind." Rose sighed.
"No way, Rose. We've already imposed on
Molly enough. This will have to do until we can make up our minds about where
we want to go. Maybe then we'll be able to figure out what to do. Let's go in
and inquire about that room." Jack squeezed Rose's hand as they entered
the building.
"Hello!" Rose called as they
entered the empty hallway. "Is anyone here? Hello?"
"Keep your pants on!" a grumpy
voice called down. "I'm coming!" The woman appeared at the top of the
stairs, a cigarette dangling from her mouth, her hand propped on her hip, and
her hair tied up in a tight bun. "Well? What do you two want?"
At that moment, Rose wanted to run out the
door and away from this horrible old woman who looked down on her and Jack as
if they were the lowest life forms ever to cross her path.
"It's okay, Rose," Jack whispered,
sensing her fear. "I won't let her hurt you in any way." Then, Jack
turned to the woman. "We're here about the room for rent."
"Are you two married? I don't rent to
people who want to live in sin. This is a respectable establishment."
"Of course we're married," Jack
answered. "Please, ma'am. My wife and I, we're newlyweds and we need a
place to stay. Let us stay here. We have nowhere else to go."
"It's five dollars a month. Can you
afford that?"
"Yes, we can," Jack lied. He was
determined to find a job as soon as possible to support his family, and soon
they'd be out of this dirty building.
"No drinking, no prostitution, no
gambling. Those are my rules. Take them or leave them." The woman snorted.
"We'll take them." Jack eagerly
nodded, happy that he and Rose had found a place to call home, no matter how
rundown it was. Looking at the look in Rose's eyes, he wished that he could have
gotten her something fancier...something Cal could have gotten. He wondered if
she regretted marrying him.
"Come on. I'll show you to your
room." The woman beckoned, starting back up the stairs. "By the way,
my name is Mrs. Hagatha Hitcherman."
Rose's heart dropped when she saw the room
they'd be staying in. It was even worse than how the building looked on the
outside. This was when the tears of fear and aggravation came flowing out of
her eyes.
"Rose? What's wrong?" Jack asked,
taking her hand. By the look in her eyes, he already knew. She hated it here.
She wished they never came. He couldn't blame her. It must be hard going from
the world of luxury to the world of struggling people. "I'm sorry, Rose.
I'm sorry," he apologized over and over again.
"Oh, Jack...is this what it's going to
be like?" Rose wiped away the hot tears. She felt guilty for making such a
fuss. She should have been happy that they'd found a warm and dry place to
stay. Sure, it wasn't the house in Philadelphia or the room they'd had in
Molly's hotel, but they could make it home.
"No, Rose. It won't always be like this.
This will only be until I can get a job and I'm able to keep up a better
apartment." Jack wiped away her tears. "I know we should use some of
Molly's money, but that will only last us for so long. A job will give us more
stability."
"I know, Jack, and I promise, I'll try
to like it here. As long as I have you, I'll be fine." Rose smiled,
leaning into Jack's waiting arms, biting back the urge to blubber like a baby.
She'd just have to get used to the idea that from now on life would be hard.
This was what she wanted, and she was happy that her wish came true. Besides,
as long as she had Jack, she'd be fine. "I love you, Jack."
"I love you, too, Rose." Jack
hugged her tightly, trying to banish the thoughts of maybe she'd be better off
with Cal from his mind. Rose would have been miserable with Cal. She tried to
jump off the back of a boat to get out of marrying that jerk, for goodness
sake. "I promise I'll take care of you, Rose. I'm going to make sure that
you'll never have to worry about anything, ever again."
"Jack...don't make promises you can't
keep. There's no way you can keep me from worrying. Besides, I plan to go to
work myself. That way we can get out of this dump sooner."
Jack just smiled at the new sound of optimism
in Rose's voice. From that moment on, he never questioned Rose's happiness with
him, ever again.