BACK WITH YOU
Chapter Eleven

If Rose was mad about the Heart of the Ocean, she didn't say so. Jessamyn assumed everything was fine and let the subject drop for a couple of days until she nonchalantly asked why Rose had given it to her in the first place. Rose had explained that for one, she didn't want it lying around, two, if anything were to happen to her then Jessamyn would have some sort of other clue to look at in her search for who Rose was, and three, that it was a major piece of evidence that Rose was indeed the dead DeWitt Bukater girl and if anyone caught her with it then she would be found out. Of course, this led Jessamyn to ask the question of why Rose just didn't sell it. Rose had answered that she had wanted to and had thought about it, but if she sold it would certainly make headlines and then they were back to the issue of her being found out. She had also added that she just thought Jessamyn would sell it--which would in turn let Rose know Jessamyn knew--or leave it somewhere, and hadn't expected her to hold onto it.

Jessamyn didn't really understand everything about the necklace, but she left it at that. Along with some other questions, she also asked about the box. Rose said that back in the late twenties she had gone back to Chippewa Falls, where Jack was from, and had asked about him around town. She didn't tell Jessamyn a lot of what people had told her, but she did explain that the box was just a bunch of old things that had been left over when Jack skipped town.

It took a week or so for Jessamyn to move in and get everything settled. But when she did, it finally felt like she was getting into a normal life again. Rose would go off to work every morning and Jessamyn would hang out at the house, except for Mondays and Fridays when she still worked at the deli. During her free time, though, Jessamyn had managed to find out some other secrets through old diaries and such that she probably shouldn't know. Like how her mother had reoccurring dreams about making love to Jack and how she had a large supply of sleeping pills stashed away in her nightstand drawer.

A dozen times she had started a letter to her family back in Maine; and a dozen times she had ripped the paper into a billion little pieces and flushed them down the toilet. She just didn't know what to say. How was she supposed to let the people who had raised her and provided for her know that she was happier in California with her real mother and she didn't plan on leaving, without hurting them? It was just too hard. If she had a choice, she wouldn’t even tell them. But she knew that wasn’t possible.

Thoughts of this pending letter occupied Jessamyn's mind as she walked home from work early one Friday afternoon. She was in a cheery mood, despite what problems lay in her path, and smiled happily as she made her way along. She was so distracted, though, that she didn't even see Charlie approaching her. So you can imagine her surprise when she walked straight into him.

"Oh, I beg your pardon. I'm so--Charlie!"

She threw her arms around him as he started laughing. He pulled her into a big bear hug and held her tight for a bit before letting her go.

"How've you been?" she asked, out of breath, realizing she hadn't seen her friend since the day before she had found Rose, almost four weeks ago. His hair had gotten a bit longer, and lighter. But all in all, he looked like himself.

Charlie nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "Um…okay." He chuckled a little bit. "Been busy with school and things like that."

Jessamyn smiled. "Yeah, I can imagine so," she said as she brushed some stray hair away from her face.

"What about you, though? Did you ever find your mom?" He seemed honestly interested in what had happened. His face had a concerned, but excited look upon it.

"Yes, actually, I did. I'm living with her now."

Charlie’s face lit up and he grinned charmingly. "That's wonderful, Jess!" he exclaimed. And then, true to his fashion, he pulled Jessamyn into another warm hug.

Jessamyn laughed as she returned the hug. She hadn't realized how much she had missed him until now, and she was pleased they had run into each other. When she pulled away, she smiled at him. "It's great," she said sincerely. "She was really happy to see me, too; I was worried she might not want me there. Oh, and I've found out so many things I didn't know but wanted to. Its just so exciting, Charlie."

He smiled, but checked his watch hurriedly. After cursing under his breath, he shook his head. "That really is amazing, Jess. And I really want to hear more, but I've got to run. I have meeting in about ten minutes."

Jessamyn tried not to look or sound disappointed as she mumbled a soft all right. She was really hoping they could have sat down and talked for a while.

Charlie broke into a grin as he realized that she was upset he had to leave. Not that he was happy she was sad, but just that she probably wouldn't reject his next proposal this way. "Are you busy tonight?"

A sly smile broke out on Jessamyn's face. "No...why?"

"Have dinner with me." It wasn't really a question. He just kind of proposed it, making it sound like she had to.

"Mr. Beaumont, are you asking me out on a date?"

Charlie's floppy grin continued to be plastered across his face. "You could call it that."

Jessamyn's heart skipped a few beats when he said that. A date, hmm? "Okay," she agreed. It had been so long since she had been out on a real date.

"Great...I'll pick you up at about 5:30..." Charlie said, as he started to walk backwards away from her. "I have your address already!" he called, before finally turning around and running down the sidewalk.

Jessamyn watched until he was gone, slightly awestruck, not even bothering to worry about how he already had her address. How long had it been since a boy had paid any sort of romantic interest to her? It would probably have to have been a year or so ago, when she had had a date for one of the junior dances. Never before, though, had she had a real, honest-to-God boyfriend. The boys in high school had liked her. She knew that, but Jessamyn wasn't the type of girl they dated. They wanted the blonde, flirty type of girls who would go behind the football stadium with them after a game. And Jessamyn was the girl who had skipped a grade and was still smarter than most of her class. She knew better than to go behind a stadium with boys. She was always their friend, but never their girlfriend. But as Jessamyn was left standing there, she began to think that it might not be so bad if Charlie wanted to take her behind a stadium. Most likely, she would follow him.

It was a half hour later when Jessamyn made it home. She came in the front door and found Rose lying on the couch in the living room, a washcloth across her forehead and a magazine in her hands.

"Hi, Mom. Are you all right?" she asked, as she set her purse and her jacket on the floor.

Rose pulled the washcloth from her head and gave Jessamyn a weak smile. "I'm fine. I just had a bad day."

Rose didn't look fine, but Jessamyn didn't say so. It was probably some personal thing, she decided, and so she kept her mouth shut about it. "I'm going out with Charlie tonight; he's coming by at 5:30, which is in about an hour."

"That’s fine," Rose said absently. In fact, it didn't even look like she had really heard Jessamyn.

"I thought I would wear that black dress in your closet...is that okay?"

"Hmm..." was the only response she got.

"And your emerald necklace..."

This time there was nothing from Rose and Jessamyn saw that her eyelids had lowered.

"...and dance naked around the pier with all of Santa Monica watching as I do on every date..."

Rose's eyes opened swiftly and she gave Jessamyn a really odd look. "What?" she asked.

Jessamyn started laughing. "Did you even hear anything I said at all before that?"

"No. I'm sorry," Rose said apologetically, a tiny smile forming on her face. She didn’t know what was wrong with her lately; she was so tired and worn out. She felt like a teenager again; every little thing was getting on her nerves and it was hard to keep her temper under control. Hopefully, the aspirin she had taken a little bit ago would kick in soon.

Jessamyn asked again if she could borrow the dress and necklace, and once she had gotten permission from Rose, she scrambled off to her bedroom to get ready. The excitement of a real date had left her in a relatively good mood and she hummed to herself as she got dressed and put her makeup on. It didn't take very long because a kick of adrenaline had kicked in and she hadn't wasted any time. Even her hair, which usually didn't like to cooperate at the end of the day, went easily into a fashionably messy upsweep. And when she presented herself to Rose, she was afraid her mother might cry.

"You look so old!" Rose exclaimed. She hadn't moved from her position on the couch, but she sat up a little more and took the washcloth off.

Jessamyn broke into a bright smile and she twirled around a few times, making the dress fly out. "I feel old," she confessed. Definitely not like a girl of eighteen. She felt at least twenty, twenty-five maybe.

Rose took a sip of water from a nearby glass and raised her eyebrows. "Now, who is this boy?"

"Charlie," Jessamyn said, as she sat down next to Rose. "Do you remember him? He's the man I was telling you about when I first showed up...the southern one...from New Orleans."

"Oh yes, that one," Rose mused softly. "Southern boy, Jess? At least he must have good manners. I should hope, at least." She paused and then gave her daughter a sly grin. "Hmm…well, I hope you have fun. But don’t stay out too late, and I mean it. And don’t do anything I wouldn't do." She sensed that she probably had no right whatsoever to start telling Jessamyn what to do now. She was eighteen; she could really do whatever she wanted so long as it was legal. But maybe some words of wisdom would stick in her daughter’s head.

This time, it was Jessamyn who raised her eyebrows. What wouldn't Rose do? Her mother seemed to get the idea as she threw up her hands and rolled her eyes.

"All right. You have a point. Just...be careful. All right?"

Jessamyn nodded. "I will, Mom. There’s nothing to worry about," she said, earnestly, before standing up and smoothing her wrinkled dress out.

As if on cue, there was a loud knock on the front door. The adrenaline rush kicked in again as Jessamyn realized that it must be Charlie. As she rushed about, trying to find her dinner purse, Rose finally got up from the couch and sprinted over to the front door. She found behind it a grinning boy.

"You must be Charlie."

He nodded. "Yes, that's me. You must be Mrs. Dawson."

Rose moved aside to let him in, and then closed the door. "I'm afraid so," she commented, a smile on her face.

Charlie held his hand out. "Pleased to meet you, ma'am," he said, politely, as he shook Rose's hand. "Jessamyn didn't tell me her mother was quite so young looking, or beautiful, for that matter." He was about to kiss the back of her hand, but Rose stopped him by softly pulling her hand away. Memories were the last thing she needed right now. Still, she couldn't help but blush a little from his comments.

She was saved by Jessamyn coming into the front hall. Charlie's face lit up and he held out his arm. "Are you ready to go?"

Jessamyn smiled and nodded. "Good-bye, Mom," she said, as she linked her arm with his.

Rose called good-bye as they left, closing the door behind them with a soft click.

Jessamyn followed Charlie out. Neither of them said much until Jessamyn saw what was waiting at the curb.

"Who did you swipe that from?" she asked excitedly, breaking free from Charlie and running toward the car. She knew very well that he didn't have one and couldn't afford one. Her brother in Maine had been quite fascinated by cars, so she was pretty sure it was a nice, not to mention pretty expensive, automobile. It wasn’t very big, but it was a soft red color with black seats. Convertible, too. She could definitely get used to this.

Charlie came up behind her and smiled. "I borrowed it from my roommate. He's a bit obsessed with it, though, so we're not allowed to eat, drink, or do anything of the sort in it."

Jessamyn laughed and ran one of her fingers across the edge. "It’s great," she said sincerely.

Charlie nodded and wiped some hair away from his eyes. "Yeah. But shall we go? I thought we could go to that Cajun place down by the pier."

Jessamyn nodded and allowed him to open the door for her and help her into the car. When he shut the door and then ran around to the other side, she couldn't help but remember what her mother had said about him about the manners and such. She had to agree...southern to the very last.

Chapter Twelve
Stories