CAL'S CHRISTMAS VISITOR
Chapter Four

Rose shivered as the wind blew through the palm trees. She felt chilled not from the warm breeze, but rather from a feeling or a premonition that she had. She looked up at the Spanish style house and wished that she did not have to go in. While she had promised her friends that she would come to this party it was not really what she wanted to do. She had reluctantly decided that it was better than being alone at Christmas.

“Jack, I don’t know how I can keep doing this. Living for both of us. Sometimes I want to give up. And then I see you or think I hear you and you give me strength,” she whispered, looking up at the sky. “Well, Jack, here I go again. I just hope no one says something that reminds me of that awful night.”

She squared her shoulders and daintily lifted her ankle length skirt as she climbed the stone steps to Franklin Hamilton’s stucco mansion. The lights from every room in the house cast a warm glow on sidewalk and decorations on the lawn. Laughter and music filtered out the open doorway. The evergreen wreath on the door and the pine branches wrapped around the railing, seemed out of place in this balmy climate.

“As out of place as I feel,” sighed Rose.

A middle aged man, of medium height was standing at the top of the stairs, admiring his young guest.

“Ah, Rose, I am glad I was right here at the door to meet you,” said Franklin Hamilton, looking suave in a black silk smoking jacket.

Rose smiled politely at the man who had been directing her in films for the past few months. She did not want to offend him so she forced herself to give more than the lukewarm response that was on the tip of her tongue.

“Franklin, it was so kind of you to invite me. All of us really. So many of the people from the studio have no friends here. And it does get a bit lonely on the holidays.”

Franklin smiled indulgently at Rose. “Well, perhaps if you stay in this town long enough, you will have a family.”

She knew the hidden meaning of his words. He repeatedly offered to take her home after work, and to dine with her. But Rose kept giving him one excuse after another. It was hard enough trying to live, while loving a dead person. But to get involved again with someone who bore such a distinct resemblance to Cal, was the last straw.

Before she could give a reply, several young women came fluttering around Rose.

“Oh, Rose, Rosie, are we glad you could come. It was getting so late, that we thought you had changed your mind.”

“Oh, no, Clara. I just took my time walking over here. It is such a lovely night,” said Rose.

“It is,” agreed a blond, named Imogene. “Say, Rose, that handsome Tommy Finch has been asking for you. Wanted to know if we thought you might dance with him.” Imogene covered her mouth with her hand and giggled.

“Dance,” Rose thought to herself. “I haven’t danced since….Could I possibly dance with another man?”

“You’re gonna get out of here, and go on and have lots of babies…”

Rose closed her eyes.

“You must do me this honor. You must promise to survive.”

Jack really wanted her to live. He had made her promise to go on for both of them. And tonight she was at least going to try a little harder. Suddenly she broke into a grin.

“Where is old Tommy? I’ll tell him myself that I will dance with him,” she offered recklessly.

Rose had noticed that in the last few weeks, her feelings of sadness, were slowly diminishing. Instead of mourning Jack, she turned her thoughts to him for support and advice.

“I just wish that I would not have had that funny feeling earlier. But he made me promise. I have to live. I am going to make myself have fun tonight.”

Cal and Jack stood just outside the open terrace doors, watching the party going on before them. A small orchestra was playing lively, popular tunes. The guests, women in beautiful dresses and the men in suits, moved around the room in a kaleidoscope of color. Jack felt the urge to tap his foot in time with the music. If only he could go in there and dance with Rose.

“Dawson, look at them. They don’t care about anything. So irresponsible. Do they even know or care where their next meal is coming from?” observed Cal.

“Cal, you’ve forgotten how to have a good time. You don’t even know what the word fun means. That was the wonderful thing about Rose. She was so spirited and full of fun and mischief.”

Cal looked a Jack with a puzzled expression before he turned and watched the dancers for a few more minutes. Finally he spoke. “Where are we now Jack. Is this real? Is Rose alive? Is that a vision of her, or really her?”

Jack let Cal think about this for a few minutes before answering. He was busy watching Rose go from partner to partner. There was a smile on her face. Her body moved through the crowd with grace and ease. He bit his lip and felt a pain inside of him. If only. But someday, a long time from now, he knew what would happen.

“Does it look real to you?” Jack asked, watching for the reaction on Cal’s face.

“Dammit, Dawson, tell me. Is she alive?”

Jack nodded his head. “Yes, Cal, she’s alive. That’s really her. I promised I’d take you to her. And now you can see for yourself, how she is. She’s not had an easy time. But she gets better everyday.”

“Alive? You’re sure?” exclaimed Cal. “She died too. Or did you hide her from me?”

“Yes, she’s alive. How could I hide her? I’m the one that died. No, Rose has been making her own choices. After I saved her life, she made the decision to keep away from you,” Jack told him.

Cal contemplated this for a moment and then pulled his hand through his hair roughly. Like a spoiled child, he shouted, “No, Rose, you can’t do that. You are engaged to me. Rose, Rose! Come here, now.”

He started to charge forward through the terrace door. But before Jack could put his hand out to stop him Cal felt trapped by an icy wall.

“Dawson, let me get to her. I need to talk to Rose. She doesn’t know about the necklace. I need to find out what she did with the necklace.”

Jack moved his head from side to side. It was typical of Cal that he would be more interested in the necklace, than the feelings of his fiancée. Only Cal would think like that.

“Is that materialistic side of you showing through again? Sounds to me like you need the necklace, not Rose. Remember, she can’t hear you.”

Cal jerked away from Jack and stalked back into the garden, mumbling angrily about the coat and the necklace. Jack followed him listening as Cal raged. His mind was not on the monetary value of the necklace, but on the drawing he had done of Rose wearing it. “Look, Dawson, I want you to get her out where I can talk to her. Do something,” Cal pleaded. Jack shrugged his shoulders.

“I can get her out here, but I can’t promise she is going to talk to you.”

“Rose, wait here. I’ll go and get us a drink,” said Tommy, his face flushed from the strenuous dancing.

They were both hot and tired from the exhausting dancing. So far she had been having a very nice time. As long as she was away from Mr. Hamilton, she intended to continue doing just that. She stood waiting in the corner of the room watching her friends Imogene and Clara, flirting and waltzing. It seemed as though everyone was enjoying themselves. The room had been beautifully decorated for the holidays. A tall tree dominated the center of the large parlor and everywhere were professionally made flower arrangements.

“Pretty,” thought Rose. “Nothing warm or cozy about it though. Jack would not approve,” she said to herself, smiling. “Nor do I.”

“What are you smiling about,” questioned Tommy as he came back with the drinks.

“Oh, Tommy look out,” warned Rose. One of the guests who’d had too much to drink crashed against Tommy’s back, throwing ice everywhere.

Tommy gasped and shoved the man away. “Rose, help me get this ice out of my shirt. I feel like I am freezing to death.”

Rose lifted her hand to her mouth. Her eyes dilated widely. Why those words? “Freezing to death.” Exactly what had happened to Jack. She turned and ran blindly from him.

“Rose, Rose, come back,” cried Tommy. “What’s wrong?”

He shouted to Rose as she disappeared outside.

She found herself in the garden and looked for a place to hide for a few moments. Rose grabbed the side of a bench and slipped into the seat. Her body was wracked with sobs and her eyes were filled with tears.

“Well, you wanted her out here, Cal. But look how upset she is?” said Jack, his heart breaking as he helplessly watched Rose.

“I’ll get her to talk to me,” Cal replied confidently.

He stood up straighter and smoothed his lapels. He was at last going to speak with Rose. Just as he was about to approach her, Rose put her hands up to her face and tried to wipe away the tears. She leaned back against the bench and looked up at the sky.

“Oh, Jack, I try so hard. And I really was having a good time. Then someone will say something like that and all the pain comes back to me.”

Cal took a few steps closer to where Rose stood.

“Rose. Rose, listen to me,” shouted Cal. “ I want to take you away from all this. I can give you everything you want. I can replace everything you lost. I will give you a good home. You won’t have to work. I need you to be my hostess. Everyone will envy me with you as a wife. Rose, please. Come with me,” pleaded Cal, frustrated that she was not responding. “Dawson, make her hear me! Maybe if I tell her about the necklace?”

Jack shook his head sadly. Cal was unable to comprehend the meaning of love and commitment. He only thought about his possessions. And to him, Rose was just another possession.

She sat there listening to the sounds coming from the house as she wrapped her arms around herself. She felt again the unexplained chill that had come over her when she had first arrived at the party.

“I wish I knew why I felt like that.”

She glanced back up at the ongoing party. Somehow, she had to go back in there and make an explanation for her unusual behavior.

“Rose,” Cal repeated sharply. “Dawson, make her listen,” he demanded.

Jack stretched his hands out in front of him and tilted his head towards Cal.

“I can’t make her do anything, Cal. Maybe if you used the right words, she might feel your presence. But she is not a dog. Offering her a good home is not exactly an enticement that would appeal to her.”

Rose stood up and went to lean against the tree, only inches from where Jack and Cal stood. She took a deep breath and traced the tree bark with her fingers. It felt rough and mysterious. Like Jack himself. She drank in the fragrance of the nearby roses. Slowly, she started to feel a calmness about her.

“Jack, I feel your presence. I know you are nearby. You gave me a hard task to live up to. But whenever I feel you near me, I know I have to go on. In my heart, I carry all the love that we share. All the love that I still long to give to you. You have taught me so much and given me so much. For as long as I live Jack, our love will live. And then someday, I will come back to you. No matter who I meet and no matter what happens."

She held her arms in front of herself and closed her eyes, trying to remember what Jack’s embrace had felt like. A little smile formed on her face.

“That one time, Jack, that night in the car, I felt I became a part of you forever. As if we were spiritually married.”

Cal’s face turned white. He knew about the drawing, but he had never really believed that anything else had happened. Was this was Jack had meant when he yelled back at her, “You know me,” as he had been lead away.

“My God, I had everything to give her and yet she gave him what she denied me.”

Jack put his head down, embarrassed that Cal had heard Rose’s words to him. Yet in spite of that, he felt proud. Proud that Rose felt that deep commitment to him.

“Oh, Jack,” she sighed, “I’ll do what you told me. I’ll go on and meet someone and have those babies we should have shared. It will never be what we could have had.” Her hand came to rest over her chest. “But you will always be here in my heart. Nothing can take you away from me there.”

Before she headed back in, she looked up at the sky.

“Come with me, Jack. Be with me tonight in me dreams. So I can tell you I love you.”

Jack watched as she gracefully moved among the bushes and returned to the house. He reached out for her, but his arm just missed her as she passed him. He could smell the scent of her perfume and feel the heat of her body. But as he started to move, that cold wall formed and he could go no further. He felt the hot tears in his eyes and leaned his forehead against the wall, wondering just how long forever was.

Cal looked at him. He had never seen anyone look more pitiful. He felt a tugging inside of him that he did not understand. Rose had spoken to Jack, even though Jack had uttered no words. She had talked about their love and how it would live forever. This feeling between the two of them was so strong, that just his invisible presence evoked a reaction from her. He on the other hand had screamed and raged and she’d had not a thought of him.

Cal stood watching Jack. Love. That what was had connected Rose and Jack forever. Not wealth or the necklace or any other material thing.

“Jack, maybe if I told her I loved her,” asked Cal, suddenly confused.

“It’s more than telling, Cal. It’s what the feeling is in your heart.”

Jack stood up straight and took a quick glance at Rose who was now back inside talking to her friends. He lifted his hand to his mouth and blew a kiss her way. Her head turned and she looked out in the garden, a smile on her face.

Cal gave Jack a dumbfounded look. How did she know Jack was there? How could she go on saying she loved someone who was dead? How did one get that feeling that they had for each other?

“Jack?” asked Cal in a subdued voice. “How did you get her to feel that way about you? You had nothing to offer her. I don’t understand. Truly, I don’t."

Jack tilted his head and pursed his lips. He turned to Cal with pity in his eyes.

“It all begins with respect, Cal. And trust. You still don’t understand that you can’t buy a person. You have to let your feelings show through. Rose and I felt that those feelings the first time we saw each other. She saw me for what I was and respected and honored that. And the same with me. I knew she was much more than a beautiful first class lady. She had a spirit, and a fire within her that longed to be free. You never figured that out, did you? She’s an intelligent woman, not some statue that belongs in a glass case.”

“Dawson, you’re a dreamer,” said Cal scathingly. “Fires, spirit. What the devil are you talking about? She was a woman. You just didn’t think I could manage my own fiancée.”

“Obviously not, Cal. Or she wouldn’t have given me a second glance,” answered Jack.

Cal squeezed his eyes together, giving Jack a look of disdain at that remark. Jack clapped his hand against Cal’s shoulder, indicating that they had spent enough time here.

“Listen, Cal. I had hoped to help you tonight. And so far, I don’t know if we are getting anywhere. We still have one more place to go. If that doesn’t work, then I don’t know what will. Come on. The night is passing quickly.”

Jack inclined his head in the direction that Cal was to follow. As if to protect himself from the light he knew was coming, Cal started to put his hands to his face. Jack gave one more look at Rose. And with a sense of longing in his heart, led Cal on to their next destination.

Chapter Five
Stories