TITANIC CONTINUED
Chapter Thirteen
"Jack," Rose whispered,
staring into Jack's eyes. "Please never leave me again."
"I promise," he said,
with all the sincerity and love in his soul.
They held each other for an
embrace that lingered for an eternity.
"I love you, Jack."
"I love you, Rose."
"Rose! Wake up! There's
somebody here to see you!"
A dream.
Rose opened her eyes and heard
her mother's voice calling from the sitting room. Beads of sweat had collected
on Rose's forehead, and her clothes were terribly wrinkled.
That dream…
Rose walked into the sitting room
after a splash of cold water on her face.
"Who is it?"
Rose's mother, Ruth, was eyeing
the visitor suspiciously. "Are you sure you know this person, Rose?"
she asked, not even bothering to lower her voice.
"Um…yes, I know him. It's
all right, Mother. Excuse me," Rose said, stepping towards the door so she
could talk to her guest in the hallway.
Ruth stepped beside Rose and
whispered in her ear, "I don't approve of you walking around the ship with
these…ruffians."
Rose ignored her mother and
pushed past her. After shutting the door, Rose sighed and looked at her
visitor.
"Hello, Rose."
"Hello, Fabrizio."
Rose, unable to imagine what
Fabrizio was doing there, noticed that he seemed nervous, holding his hat in
his hand and fidgeting.
Fabrizio spoke. "You're
probably wondering why I'm here--"
Rose nodded her head in
agreement.
"Actually, it has to do with
Jack." He paused.
"Oh, so you know what
happened between us," Rose said, sighing. Her tone was impatient and
frustrated, almost as if she was holding something back.
"Rose, listen. I promise,
I'm not wasting your time. Now, I know you're feeling very hurt by what
Jack…did to you, but--"
Rose lifted her shoulders, as if
to show she was confident in what she was saying. "Actually, I'm over
him," she said bluntly.
"Your attitude towards him
doesn't surprise me, after what happened. But, please, let me say what I have
to say. I'm here because I love both of you, and I'm not happy with things as
they are right now between you."
Rose stiffened. "I'll hear
what you have to say, Fabrizio. If you're here to counsel me, I appreciate the
gesture. What Jack did to me hurt, yes. But that was then…and, well, I can't
wallow in it forever."
"You and that man aren't
right together…Mr. Hockley. You belong with Jack. You know it, Rose. I can see
it in your eyes," Fabrizio said gently.
Rose could feel her eyes
beginning to water. She turned to go.
She felt Fabrizio grab her
shoulder, not forcefully, but just hard enough to make Rose turn around.
"Rose, don't do this,"
he said, his voice almost flat.
For some reason, Rose turned back
towards him. She gathered herself together. "Continue," she said, her
voice toneless.
Fabrizio cleared his throat.
"I don't know exactly where to start. You see, I can't explain to you most
of the things you're wondering about. I know what you were thinking when Jack
said those things to you. He told me everything, and I can understand what a
place that put you in. You wondered why Jack was giving you all these excuses.
You wondered if he really loved you at all. I can't give you all the answers.
Only one person can do that." He paused, then continued. "I don't
know what Jack was thinking, either, why he just shrugged you off all of a
sudden. What you two had was special. Now, I know this is rather unexpected…the
way he made you feel, you probably think he hates you…but, Rose, he wants you
back."
For a few moments, nobody said
anything.
"And he wants to see
you," Fabrizio finished.
Rose, who had been staring at the
floor the entire time Fabrizio had been speaking, now looked up and sighed
softly.
"I can't believe I'm doing
this."
Fabrizio began to get the feeling
that his impossible mission had been accomplished.