TITANIC CONTINUED
Chapter Nine
Jack knocked on the door. He
could hear voices on the other side of it.
"Hello?" called the
voice of a female.
Jack cleared his throat.
"Mrs. Brown?"
He clearly remembered Mrs. Molly
Brown's kindness, letting him borrow her son's tuxedo to wear to dinner the
other night with Rose, and telling him that anytime he needed something, he
knew where to find her.
The door swung open to reveal the
jolly Molly Brown. There were maids in the room behind her, straightening
pillows and dusting ornate furniture.
"I told you to call me
Molly! Come in, son. What's on your mind?" She welcomed him into her
stateroom. As Jack seated himself, Molly dismissed the maids.
"I still can't get over
these rooms!" he said, gazing around at the beautiful furniture, fancy
upholstery, and expensive artwork adorning the walls.
"Yeah," Molly agreed.
"I wake up feeling like the Queen of England in this place! Then I get out
of bed and I'm afraid to touch anything. I tell you, it's like a museum!"
Jack laughed. He liked Molly
Brown. She was an aristocrat, but she wasn't like the others. She doesn't
sit around all day talking about boring crap like the others! And she's not a
snob, either, Jack observed.
It was true. Molly Brown often
mortified the other first class passengers--but besides her clothes, she fit
right in with Jack and the rest of the third class. That was what made Molly so
likeable to Jack. She wasn't a brick wall. She was a person. A person who
treated Jack like another person. Since they'd first met on the Titanic, Jack
felt that they shared something.
Jack hadn't really thought about
what he would say to her. "Mrs. Brown...Molly...I came to you to ask you
for advice."
Molly nodded. "About?"
All of a sudden, Jack didn't know
quite where to begin.
"You know Rose DeWitt
Bukater, Mrs. Ruth DeWitt Bukater’s daughter?"
Molly smiled. "Why, of
course I know Rose! She and I get along swell. But it seems to me like you know
her much better than I do..." Her grin was sly. She was obviously aware of
the semi-secret romance he had shared with Rose.
How did she find out about us?
He was thoughtful, but
decided not to ask her.
"Well, good. At least I
don't have to tell you about that part. Yes, Rose and I are...how to put
it...well, we love each other. We really do. But you see..."
Jack was finally starting to
relax. Molly remained silent, waiting for him to continue, nodding
occasionally, but never asking or speaking.
Jack told her the whole detailed
story--even how Rose had really been trying to commit suicide when Jack had
stumbled across her right as she was bending over the rail to look at something
and accidentally slipped. He told Molly about the love they shared. He felt
that he could trust Molly completely.
He stopped for a breath. Molly
finally spoke.
"So, what you're asking me
is, what can you do about that Cal guy?"
Jack didn't respond--she hadn't
caught the end of the story yet.
Molly continued. "Because
you know, he's the big problem here. So, you want me to help you...break them
up?"
Jack shook his head and sighed.
"That was the trouble at first. But then, last night, I got to thinking
about stuff. The guy she's engaged to, Cal--he can give her everything she
wants. He can give her the life she's been raised to live. Rose and I talked
about getting off the ship together tomorrow. It seemed like a dream come true.
But then what? We get off the ship, and we have no home to go to. I know,
Molly, that you can tell by just looking at me that I'm a wanderer. I haven't
had a home since I was a kid. I barely get by half the time. Now, having a
wife..."