BETWEEN TWO HEARTS
Chapter Four

Friday, April 12, 1912
8:15 AM

A knock on the door brought Siobhan out of her sleep. She was in the middle of a dream where she was docking in New York, but she was not on the Titanic. Harold was with her--in fact, he had his arms wrapped around her waist and her arm was in a makeshift sling. The dream went by quickly, but the last thing she remembered in the dream was the officer whispering something into her ear, and just before she woke up, they kissed.

Knock! Knock!

The knocking on the door was a little bit louder this time. "Ugh…" she said to herself. She grabbed her robe and put it on. "Uncle Thomas, if that’s you, I swear I’m going to be angry! You aren’t supposed to be here until nine!" She opened the door and came face-to-face with Lowe.

"Erm…um…good morning, Harold."

He had a smile on his face and had to restrain himself from laughing. "Your uncle is actually the one who asked me to make sure you were awake. I saw him on the way to the verandah and he asked me to come down here and wake you if you were not awake already."

"Well, I am awake now. I thank you for your gesture," she said, pulling her robe around her tighter. "But I could have used the extra fifteen minutes of sleep."

"I know. It’s hard getting up when you need to be awake. But since you are awake, would you like to join me for breakfast?"

"I appreciate the suggestion," she said, though she had a slightly sorrowful disposition about her. "I was just going to get something from the a la carte restaurant because Uncle Thomas is going to be here at nine...in forty-five minutes. The food was going to come back here with me so I could eat it while I got ready. I’m going to be spending the day with my uncle down in Third Class."

"What about tonight?"

"I’ve already made some plans with some people."

"Oh…because there is a party down in the Third Class area and I was wondering if you were going…"

She smiled. Obviously Moody had told him about the party and had gotten him interested. "I’ll try to go down there and make an appearance. I mean, we’ll see what all will happen today. For all I know, I could be down there rather late with Uncle Thomas. We’ll see what’ll happen."

"You’re right. Well, if you do come down, try to make it before eleven or so. I have to go on watch at twelve, so I’ll be leaving around 11:30."

"I shall try."

She gave him a smile before she ducked back into the room. Now that she was awake, she might as well get ready. After all, her uncle would be there in less than forty-five minutes.

*****

The time passed quickly, and the next thing she knew, it was nine o’clock and there was a knock on the door. She went over to it and opened it, seeing her uncle standing in the doorway. "Come in, Uncle Thomas. I’m just about ready." Indeed, she was dressed to fit in down in Third Class.

"Excellent. Thanks again for doing this, Siobhan. I have a couple of things you will need, though." He threw down a set of keys and a notebook with a pencil onto the table. "You’ll need these when you go down into the all-female areas of the ship. I’m not going to break those rules just because I’m in a higher class. The keys I have for you are actually Archie’s, but he’s agreed to let you use them for awhile." He referred to his friend, Archie Frost, a fitter who was sailing in second class. He picked up the key ring and showed her what sort of key would get her through which locked gate.

She walked over to her closet and pulled out a scarf, which she tied around her waist and used it to create a sort of fold for the key ring and the notebook. "I’m ready," she said, and the two left the stateroom and headed for the Third Class areas.

*****

It was not long after they had gotten down to Third Class that they split off to cover different areas of the ship. Thomas had decided that on the way down that he wanted to cover the Third Class area in one day, so obviously he used the fact of having two people in the party to his advantage.

"Just look for anything that you think could be improved. It could be the carpet, it could be the wall patterns, it could be anything you think of. I trust your judgment."

With that, he had sent her off into the bow of the ship--heading for the all female area. She stood there now and looked around, taking acute observations of the minute details.

Paint chipping around light fixtures. Doorframe in Scotland Road Aft sticks. Will send steward with oil.

When she got to the door for Scotland Road Forward, she was stopped when she heard a male’s voice call to her. "Well, I had never thought I would live to see her again. Siobhan! Siobhan Andrews!"

She turned around and there was truly a surprised look on her face. "Oh, my! Owen? Owen Magnusson? Is that you?"

He laughed as the two hugged. "Aye, Siv. I didn’t know that you were going to be sailing on Titanic also! I mean, ever since you ran away, we thought you had dropped off the face of the earth."

"We?"

"Well, that’s another thing…I’m sure you remember Catriona Abercrombie? Well, we began dating about five years ago and…well…we were married about a year ago. This is her anniversary present. A trip to America."

She smiled at the memory of the girl who would always hang around with them back in Queenstown. "That’s wonderful! Where is she?"

"She’s back at the room--just off Scotland Road, back there about twenty feet. What about you? Where are you quartered? Are you going to the party tonight after dinner?"

"Well, actually, Owen, I’m sailing in First Class with my Uncle Thomas. You see, I went to live with him in Belfast after I ran away. He got his ticket through the shipyards that built the Titanic and had to do some bargaining before he got mine. I am going to be at the party, though--after all, the man who has won my affections is going to be there."

"And who might the lucky fellow be?"

"Well, it’s actually the fifth officer of this ship. Tonight I’m going to tell him how I feel--because, thanks to his friend, I found out he feels the same way about me."

"You’re kidding!" It was like the two had never spent a day apart. The two people were best friends back in Queenstown before all the rocky events in Siobhan’s life. "Hey," he said suddenly. "Have you had lunch yet? I can go get Catriona and we can all go get something in the dining hall together and catch up on what we missed."

The woman sighed. "Okay…but I need to get to checking out the all-female part of the ship after we get done eating." She smiled as the man ran back to get his wife.

*****

The lunch went better than what Siobhan had expected. The three of them caught up on how life was going after the redhead had run away from home. Of course, after they were all caught up on the past, the two Third Class passengers started to ask numerous questions about First Class.

Of course, all the good things that one waits for must come to an end. She needed to get back to examining all of the ship that her uncle had entrusted to her. She bid farewell to her two friends for a short time--after all, they would be seeing each other again in just a few hours…when the sounds of Celtic music would indeed fill the halls of Titanic--or, at least the Third Class area of the ship.

*****

Siobhan finished her observations rather quickly after lunch, and she was able to drop her notebook off at her uncle’s stateroom--of course, attracting a few stares from the other first class passengers. It was just about time for the party to start down below, so she borrowed the keys for just a bit longer and went back down below decks. It took her hardly any time to get there, and she met up with her friends--who were also waiting for the party to begin.

At around 7:45, the band began to play as the passengers were filing in. It was obvious that it was a come-and-go party. The passengers who were already in the dining hall got up and hit the floor, joined soon after by those who wanted to dance. For those who chose not to, they grabbed drinks and found their friends. Several games began to appear, ranging from a checkers game to arm-wrestling matches.

Lowe and Moody got there about fifteen minutes into the party. They could hear the sounds of the party from down the hall, and when they got there they found it jam-packed with Third Class passengers.

"I’m glad I got Joe to cover my watch tonight!" Moody said to his friend.

"What?"

"Never mind! It isn’t important!"

"Do you see her?"

They looked as they moved into the room. "There she is," Moody said with a smile. He pointed to the dance floor, where everyone was doing an Irish reel. Indeed, she was there, just as happy as he remembered.

Just as they spotted her, the song ended and the band started up a lively jig. Siobhan, feeling eyes upon her, looked up and spotted the two. She grabbed her friends’ hands and pulled them off of the floor. "Come on. He’s here!" she said with glee. They looked at each other with smiles as they went over to the officers.

"Harold! Mr. Moody!" she called out as she neared them. The two also walked towards the trio, closing the distance even more. "Hey," she said when they all finally met. "I want to introduce you to my friends from back in Queenstown, Owen and Catriona Magnusson. I’ve known them practically my whole life. Owen, Catri, these are the fifth and sixth officers of the Titanic--Harold Lowe and…uh…"

Moody noticed her hesitation and realized that he never told her his first name. "James Moody." He looked back over at her and smiled when he saw relief in her face. The group shook hands.

"Hey, Owen…I think we should go get something to drink. Over there. James, why don’t you come along with us?" The two men looked confused. "Come on." She grabbed both of them by their hands as they realized what she meant. They disappeared in the crowd, leaving Lowe and Siobhan alone together.

The band finished their previous song and started to play yet another lively jig. "Would you care to dance?" He held out his hand.

"I’d be honored," she said as she took it. They walked out to the floor and joined hands.

"I’m afraid I’m not familiar with this dance."

"Well, first we need to get closer."

"Like this?" Harold asked as he drew his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Exactly. Now, just go with the music--a lot of people make everything up as they go." He nodded as she felt his arm tense around her waist. "Relax," she whispered to him, though she quite enjoyed the feeling of his arm around her. After he had managed to get the feel of the beat, they joined the many passengers who were dancing, and after a few minutes, they were completely into the dancing--laughing, looking for their friends, and even drawing each other closer.

They kept on dancing until they began to hear cheering and hooting. "Come on," Siobhan said. "Let’s go see what’s going on." She didn’t realize it at the time, but she grabbed his hand and they both were walking over to the gathering.

They broke through the crowd and saw that Owen and Moody were arm-wrestling. Siobhan saw Catriona near her. "Catri?" she asked. "What’s going on?"

"Owen bet James that he wasn’t as strong as him and James called him on the bet."

"Basically a matter of ego?"

"Exactly." She laughed as Siobhan leaned in and started to cheer on Moody--after all, he needed some back-up. She heard a male voice chime in right next to her and realized that Lowe was cheering on his friend also. The support was supposedly working, because she noticed that he was gaining on Owen. The next thing they knew, the Irishman gave up and the officer slammed his hand down on the table.

"No hard feelings there, eh, Mr. Moody?" Owen extended his hand and the officer took it, shaking it charismatically.

Siobhan felt Harold’s hand on her shoulder and heard him say to her, "Come on…let’s get back to dancing." She looked back over at him and smiled, nodding her agreement. They went back onto the dance floor and danced until Moody shouted those fateful words.

"Lowe! Its 11:30!"

It was time for him to leave the party so he could make the watch on time. They left the dance floor and he grabbed his jacket--which he had discarded with Moody beforehand. As he slid it on, he turned back to her. She was vaguely aware of Moody watching them, but her attention was mainly focused on him.

She saw his hand come up and caress her cheek. "I guess I’ll see you later, then?" She nodded as he reached down and kissed her hand. However, the look in his eyes revealed to her that he yearned to kiss her on the lips. He turned with a sad smile and began to leave the room and head up top.

She looked at Moody, who was gaping at the sight. They were supposed to reveal their feelings tonight for each other and work on building a relationship together. Not this! She sighed as she turned on her heel and went after him. "Lowe!"

She caught up with him a few feet from the entrance of the hall. "Harold Lowe!" He turned and smiled at her.

"Yes?"

She didn’t say anything, but rapidly advanced on him. She suddenly threw her arms around him and did what he so longed to do to her. She felt him stiffen under the initial contact of the kiss out of surprise, but he quickly got over it and lost himself in the moment. This confirmed it to him--his feelings were shared.

She pulled away after a minute or two. "Don’t deny your feelings," she said as she ran a fingernail along his jaw line. "Especially when they may be shared."

He longed to talk about the new discovery…but knew that he couldn’t. "Meet me tomorrow in the Verandah Café at two. We can talk about this then." She nodded and he gave her a quick kiss before he continued down the hall.

She went back to the party, where she saw that Moody was waiting on her return. When she flashed him a grin, he returned the smile. He knew that everything went like he had hoped--and now maybe his friend could be happy, knowing that his feelings were truly shared.

Chapter Five
Stories