CALIFORNIA PARADISE
Chapter Three
As Jack turned, Rose gasped. It was him!
Jack! Jack Dawson of Chippewa Falls! Her Jack! The room began to spin, and she
was on the ground within a matter of seconds.
*****
"W-where am I?" It was cold. Dark
and cold. She groaned.
"You’re on the balcony. I volunteered to
take you out here. I thought that maybe the fresh air would help. Rich is still
inside. He spotted his old girlfriend." The man holding her in his lap
chuckled softly.
That voice. His touch. The sheer excitement
of having this man so close. Where did she know this feeling from?
"Jack!" She instantly sat up. Her
head throbbed, and he quickly guided her head to his chest.
"Yeah, it’s me." He held her
tighter.
"I--I thought you were..."
"No. I just couldn’t respond. It broke
my heart to see you think that I was--dead. And then when you pushed me down,
my arm hit a half-sunken backboard, and I knew that I had to swim. For your
sake, if not mine. So I swam, and they found me about an hour later. I checked
the survivor’s list, but your name wasn’t there."
She giggled softly. "That’s because I
told them my name was Rose Dawson."
He leaned back to stare deep into her eyes,
now alive with happiness and suppressed laughter. "I’ve missed you so
much, Rose."
*****
Rich came out onto the balcony, to find his
girlfriend resting peacefully on his best friend’s lap. "It’s nice to see
that you two are getting along so well."
Jack smiled. He couldn’t tell him. Not like
this.
Rich gently awakened Rose, and after she had
redone her hair, they headed to the dining room for a night full of joyfulness
and pleasure.