Throwing his rucksack on the bed, Jack sat on the double bed and pressed it downwards a few times to test the comfort. He curved his bottom lip. It wasn’t too bad. Rose examined the wardrobe space—just a single dark oak wood closet with a few coat hangers. The floors were wooden, albeit slightly worn, and the wallpaper appeared to be Victorian, but since they had paid very little, the room wasn’t too bad.
The door creaked open and Mrs. Brookes poked her head through. She was around sixty, with gray hair and a friendly face, and she had mentioned she was a seamstress. “Is everything to your satisfaction?” she asked in her Cockney East London accent. She stepped inside the room, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her apron.
“Yes. Thank you.” Rose sat beside Jack on the bed, taking the weight from her feet. She could feel the blisters from her uncomfortable shoes, which she had been wearing since she left Paris.
Mrs. Brookes clapped her hands together. “It’s been such a long time since a lovely young couple stayed here.” She looked from Jack to Rose. They seemed no older than eighteen, but they were obviously in love. “Perhaps too long,” she added.
“Well, thank you, and thanks for letting us stay here. We really appreciate it.” Jack was grateful to have a place to rest for himself and Rose. Mrs. Brookes seemed to believe them to be married, or he doubted she would have allowed them to share a room—and they couldn’t afford to rent two rooms.
“It’s my pleasure. If you need anything, just let me know. Larry’s here all of the time when I’m out to work.” Larry was her husband. He was a lazy old fool and spent most of his days with his collection of pigeons. They had been married for almost forty years, but with no children. “Now, I usually cook breakfast around nine, but you’ll want a lie in because it’s so late, so it’ll be ready around ten.”
“Thank you so much.” Rose smiled. She removed her shoes and Jack heard her groan in relief.
“No problem. I will let you settle in. Good night.”
The door clicked shut and Jack turned to Rose. She had her eyes closed. He touched the small of her back with his right hand, rubbing it slightly. Her eyes flickered open. “How do you feel?”
Rose moved closer to Jack and he put an arm around her shoulders. “So tired after the ship and then the train. The last three days seem like a blur since we left Paris.” And she was right. A night on the ship and then several hours on the train to London and then a carriage to the East End. They had worn the same clothes and Rose’s feet had blistered badly.
“I think tomorrow we need to find a store and some shoes for you. I cannot bear to see you in pain any longer,” he whispered to her. He had tried rubbing her feet aboard the ship, but that just caused more pain.
Kicking away her shoes, she lifted both of her feet onto the bed and lay herself down. She had barely slept since leaving Paris. “I know,” she muttered tiredly, feeling her eyes droop slightly.
Jack smiled, laying beside her but propping himself up on his elbow. His dark blond hair hung in his face. Rose studied his face carefully. He appeared so young. He was beautiful. His tan skin, the cute freckles over his nose, the chicken pox scars on his forehead, his button nose and full lips and, of course, his gorgeous light blue eyes. She never failed to fall for him more just by looking into them.
His hair hung in his eyes. Rose lifted her hand slightly, moving the hair away. “Maybe we should get you a haircut,” she teased.
Running his fingers through her auburn locks, which spread out on the pillow, he did nothing but laugh at her comment. He kissed her lips just once before laying himself next to her. “I’ll think about it.” He entwined his fingers with hers and ran his thumb over her hand. They remained silent for a while, just enjoying being next to each other, and before they knew it, they were asleep.
*****
“I like the burgundy.” Rose held out the dress in front of her as she gazed at her reflection in the full-length mirror. “But the lavender is my favorite.” Rose alternated holding the dresses out in front of her, examining her reflection.
“Darling, I like both. Get them both.” Jack held out his bag of four shirts, two pairs of pants, some socks, undergarments, and a coat, which he had purchased while Rose decided on a dress.
Pressing her lips together, she tried to make a decision, but finally decided to purchase them both. “Now, that’s everything.” She sighed, turning to Jack, who just grinned at her amusedly. She knew she had taken a long time, but she wanted to make sure she had everything she needed. She had decided on four dresses in burgundy, lavender, mint green, and navy blue, two pairs of comfortable shoes, some undergarments, and some hairpins.
The young, blonde shop girl added up the amount of Rose’s purchases. “Are you two new? I haven’t seen you before,” she said, folding the garments and calculating the amount by writing on a piece of paper.
“Yes, we are. We arrived yesterday,” Rose told her, watching as she calculated the purchases.
“Are you American? I’ve never met one before.” There was excitement in her voice.
“Yes, we are.”
“Oh, golly. Are you married?” She looked at Rose’s wedding finger, which had no ring on it. Rose quickly noticed the attention and thrust her hand into her pocket.
“Yes, we are. Just,” Jack piped in. The shop girl asked so many questions.
“Oh, congratulations.” She wrapped up the last of Rose’s garments. “That’s two pounds and six, please.”
Rose dug into her pocket, found some loose coins, and tossed them to the woman. Jack took Rose’s bag from the counter. “Thank you.”
He smiled at her. As the blonde woman watched them leave, she thought there was something strange about that couple. Jack turned to leave and Rose followed, feeling the shop girl’s eyes on them.
As they began walking back to their bed-sit, they remained silent. They had so much to organize. Rose wanted to find some sort of work. She didn’t know what she could do, with very few skills, but she wanted to find a way to bring some money to the table. The new life she had with Jack could only get better, and she couldn’t wait for them to find a place of their own.
Jack had a definite talent, something which he could use to his advantage and make money off of, even though he drew for pleasure more than anything else. Since he had left home in the winter of 1907, he had used his talent to make money in various ways.
Marriage was something that Jack and Rose really had spoken about. Although she was posing as his wife now, Rose hoped that in the future she could become his wife for real. But for now, all that mattered was that they were away from Paris and that they could be together, with no obstacles. That was all they cared about.