THE CHIPPEWA FALLS DAWSONS
Chapter Thirteen
Jack and Rose sat in the hallway outside of
the courtroom. They were holding hands and trying not to talk too much. Mr.
Leary was pacing, and the rest of the family was sitting quietly in the hall.
They filled all of the uncomfortable benches. The judge was busy, and they had
been asked to wait. So they were waiting, but Jack was getting impatient. He
was already nervous, and waiting made it worse. He squeezed Rose’s hand, and
smiled softly. It was April twenty-ninth, and just a little over two weeks ago
Jack had saved her from the stern of the Titanic. The door to the courtroom
opened and the bailiff came out. "The judge is ready to see you now."
"Thank you," Jack said. They all
got up and walked into the courtroom.
"Would the couple please approach the
bench?"
Jack and Rose walked up to the front of the
bench. They stood there and waited for the judge to look at them. Rose’s palms
were sweating. She was so nervous.
Jack stood next to Rose and listened to the
judge marry them. He wasn’t really hearing the words. When it was time to say I
do, Jack didn’t hesitate. After Rose had said the words, they turned to each
other. Jack took Rose’s hand in his and slipped the ring on the wrong finger.
Rose took it and put it on the right finger, while everyone chuckled, including
Jack. And then Rose took Jack’s hand and went to put a simple gold band on his
finger. Just as she almost had it on his finger, she dropped it. She quickly
got down and picked it up. When she stood back up, Jack was looking at her with
such a mischievous grin, that she had to laugh at herself. She put the ring on
his finger, and the judge said, "You may now kiss your bride, Mr.
Dawson."
Jack leaned in and kissed Rose, playfully at
first and then with more passion. She is now my wife, he thought. I’m
the luckiest man in the world.
The whole party left the building, Jack and
Rose leading. They were laughing, and ready to go home and have a nice wedding
feast. As they crossed the street to the car, a faraway voice was heard
yelling. Jack turned towards it, and saw that it was Mr. Riley’s daughter. She
ran up to them, out of breath, and started to speak. "Mr. Dawson, Miss
DeWitt Bukater, I have a telegram for one of you."
"I’ll take it, and thank you for
delivering it," Jack said.
"Only I’m not Miss DeWitt Bukater
anymore. I am now Mrs. Dawson," Rose said, not with any bragging, but with
pure happiness. Rose was radiantly beautiful, as only a new bride could be.
Miss Riley handed Jack the telegram, and
smiled at Rose. She understood how new brides were. Both her older sisters had
been them.
Jack saw the telegram was from Philadelphia
and gave it to Rose. "It’s from your mother."
Rose sat down in the seat, and opened the
telegram. She read it, and started to smile. "Jack, Mother will be here
tomorrow! She was able to sell the house already. She says Elaine is coming
with her. This is good news, Jack. I am happy that she’s coming."
"I know you are."
At home, the Learys had a feast waiting. It
was cold foods so that everyone could go to the ceremony. The weather was
beautiful, so they ate outside. Jack and Rose sat on a blanket, and feed each
other small bites of meat. Mr. Leary stood up, and held his glass of wine high.
"I’d like to say a toast. To Jack and
Rose Dawson!" Then the yard rang out with the tinkle of glasses.
Rose stood up, and looked down at Jack.
"To making it count."