“Oh, Doris, it’s simply beautiful.” Rose gasped in awe at the wedding dress hanging from the coat hanger. Of course, a few finishing touches had to be added, but it was lovely. It was ivory in color and covered in small crystals and delicate lace. Doris had been working on the dress for months for Rose and could not wait to see her wear it.
“Now, I have to make a few alterations, but this is almost finished.”
Rose touched the delicate lace of the dress. It was so detailed, the most beautiful dress she had ever seen, even better than the dresses she had worn in Philadelphia—and those had cost a small fortune. “Now it all seems so real that this afternoon I’m going to marry Jack.”
Doris touched Rose’s cheeks, seeing the excitement in her face. “Now, my dear, there is just the small matter of the veil.” Doris disappeared into her bedroom for a moment and came back with a tattered box. She blew the dust from the top before handing it to Rose. “Open it, child.” Rose was hesitant, not knowing exactly what Doris had up her sleeve. Upon opening it, she found a small but pretty veil. She touched the delicate fabric of it before turning to Doris. “I want you to wear it, Rose.”
“Oh, no. I couldn’t.” Rose held the veil up. It was lovely.
“Of course you can. I wore this when I married my Larry and it has brought me many happy years with him. I have no children or next of kin for it to go to, so I want you to have it. See it as your own.” Doris touched Rose’s long, soft curls and saw the tears falling down her face.
“Thank you so much.” She hugged Doris. The woman had been more kinder to her than her own mother. “I don’t know how to thank you for all that you’ve done.”
“Oh, nonsense.” She pulled away from Rose. “Now, let’s try everything on together. We want Jack Dawson to faint when he sees you.” Rose laughed through her tears.
*****
A knock sounded at the door as Jack pulled on the jacket of his suit. He had been warned to stay away from Doris’s bedroom, as Rose was dressing in there, so he had dressed and awaited Fabrizio and Maria’s arrival. He hoped they came in time to see them marry.
“Come in!” he called, picking up the tie that Rose had bought him for his birthday. He was unsure of how to even put it on.
“Ciao, il mio amico,” a voice came. Jack knew exactly who it was. A huge smile came across his face as he turned to see Fabrizio dressed in his Sunday best for the wedding. He still wore a black cap, which he had bought during their time in Italy.
“Fabrizio!” He pulled his friend into a hug. He hadn’t seen him in such a long time.
“Very smart.” Fabrizio grinned. “I’ve just seen Rosa. She looks perfect. Like an angel from above.” Fabrizio gestured to the sky, and Jack felt his stomach churn, knowing that just in a few hours he would be married to that angel.
“She always does to me.”
“Where’s your tie?” Fabrizio gestured to his own tie, and Jack looked down.
“Shit. I don’t even know how to wear the damned thing.” Jack picked up the tie from his bed. Fabrizio shook his head, taking the garment from him and placing it around Jack’s neck before tying it for him.
“Some things never change, Jack. You’re never one for making an effort.” They both laughed, happy to be in each other’s company again.
*****
Maria placed the veil on Rose’s head, clipping it on before rearranging her hair to cover the clip. Rose wore her hair down, and it fell to below her shoulders in beautiful curls. Doris stepped back, sobbing, and Rose smiled, feeling tears in her own eyes.
“Oh, Rose, you look lovely.” Doris took Rose’s hand in hers. Rose turned to Maria, who wore a gray dress and less makeup than she had before. Rose had to admit that without so much makeup, she was stunning.
“I’m so glad you could come.” She held out her hand. Maria felt her shaking.
“I had to come. I feel I owe you an apology for dragging you into what I did in Paris. I was only jealous of you and Jack, but when Cal arrived, I knew that I couldn’t let you go through with it, knowing how much you loved Jack.”
“I’m glad it happened. I got a friend out of it, Maria. You’re too good for that now. I hope you can find a man who loves you.”
Maria hugged Rose carefully so as not to dishevel her hair or veil. “Rose…there is one thing you should know, though…” Maria started, not knowing if Rose’s wedding day was the best day to tell her or not.
“Go on.” Rose saw the seriousness in Maria’s eyes.
“When Cal came around, he wasn’t happy that you had gone. He knew you had left Paris, but didn’t know you went to England. He said he wouldn’t give up until he had found you.”
Rose could feel herself trembling slightly, but she doubted Cal would find her in this part of London. “Even if he does find me, he cannot force me to marry him, as I will already be a married woman.”
*****
Doris poked her head around the door. “The carriage awaits. Jack is already gone.”
Rose took a deep breath. This was it, the moment she had been waiting months for. She could feel her heart racing. The church was just a few streets away, but Larry had called upon his friend to take both Rose and Jack separately to the church in his horse drawn carriage.
St. Leonard’s church was a small, pointed chapel that was built around 1800. It was white and had two entrance doors. The graveyard was a square shape, with the gravestones standing in the yard dating back almost a hundred years.
Church bells rang loudly, and from inside the church Jack could feel his heart beating. There weren’t many attendees, just Maria and Fabrizio, Larry and Doris, and two of the teachers from the school where Rose worked, including Irwin Manning. Fabrizio stood with Jack at the front of the church. He sensed his friend’s nerves, but he knew that he was going to be happy with Rose.
The wedding march began, and Rose attempted to stop her entire body from shaking. Why she was so nervous, she didn’t know, but in a few minutes, she was going to be Jack’s wife. Nothing else in the world mattered. Making her way down the aisle, she simply concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.
She saw Jack’s smiling face at the altar. The vicar stood beside him. The faces of people attending the wedding turned to see how beautiful Rose looked, and Doris shed a tear, clutching Larry’s hand and remembering their wedding day. Upon reaching the altar, she stood beside Jack and glanced sideways at him. She sighed heavily in an attempt to stop her heart from beating so fast. To her, it sounded like the entire room could hear it.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is an honorable estate, instituted by God in paradise, and into which holy estate these two persons present come now to be joined,” the vicar began. “Therefore, if any man can show any just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace.”
Both Jack and Rose turned their heads to look around, but no one spoke up. The vicar was silent for a few seconds before returning to reading a passage from the Bible. Turning to Jack, the vicar began, “Wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?”
“I will.” Jack turned to Rose, his face serious. God, how much he loved her. He couldn’t wait for them to begin their life together. He felt happier than ever before in his entire life.
“Wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou obey him, and serve him, love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?”
“I will.”
“Now, take this ring and repeat after me.”
Jack took the ring from the vicar, holding it around the top of Rose’s wedding finger. He felt her shaking.
“With my body, I honor you, all that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you, within the love of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
Jack repeated the words before placing the simple gold band on Rose’s finger. Rose repeated the action, and afterwards they joined their hands together.
“And now, I do pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”
This was the moment they had both been waiting for, their first kiss as husband and wife. Jack slowly lifted up Rose’s veil to reveal her beautiful face. Slowly, he leaned towards her and kissed her lips just once. That was it. They were married. Rose felt a tear fall down her cheek, but she didn’t wipe it away. She didn’t care who saw. She and Jack were married now. It was all that mattered.
*****
As a wedding gift, Larry and Doris had booked the Dawsons into a small hotel, knowing they couldn’t spend their wedding night in the house with them. They needed some space. It wasn’t anything flashy at all, just a small bed and breakfast outside Hackney.
Checking into their room as Mr. and Mrs. Dawson was surreal but exciting. After the wedding, they had packed a few belongings for their stay at the hotel before having a small drink with their friends. It was after ten PM when they arrived at the hotel. The room was good-sized, with a double bed, three chairs, and a coffee table. A few potted plants decorated the room and a bottle of champagne sat on the coffee table.
Dumping their suitcase on the floor, Jack laughed. He couldn’t believe they were staying here tonight. This room was luxurious to him, but of course Rose had seen rooms a lot more opulent. That didn’t matter. She would have slept under a bridge with her husband tonight, as long as she was with him.
“Holy shit, Rose! We have got champagne!” Jack pulled the bottle out of the ice bucket.
Rose laughed at him. He was like a small child at a fair. Loosening his tie, he threw it to the floor before removing his jacket. The attire he had worn all day was annoying him. He could never be a flashy man with a lot of money. He couldn’t wear the clothing.
“Shall I pour us a drink?” he asked her. She nodded.
Rose still wore her wedding dress and could feel the beads from the bodice digging into her skin. She wore no corset, nor did she ever intend to again. She detested the garment.
Jack handed her a glass of champagne. “What does it even taste like? I’ve never had it,” Jack said, like an innocent young boy.
“You’ve never had champagne? Try it.”
Jack took a small sip before screwing up his face slightly. “Jesus! Well, it’s a good job it was free.”
Rose burst out laughing. “This could have cost hundreds of pounds,” she pointed out, knowing how expensive some wines and champagnes were.
Finishing the rest of his glass, he placed it on the table. He now knew that champagne wasn’t for him, but Rose seemed to enjoy it. “You want another glass?”
Rose placed her glass on the table. She shook her head, coming towards him. Her eyes turned up to him, and he immediately became lost in them. “No,” she whispered. “I want you.”
Jack felt his stomach churn heavily, knowing what she meant. Closing his eyes, he took both of her hands in his. “Are you sure you still want this?”
He wanted to make sure. He knew that after their many passionate times of almost making love, he had turned her down, wanting to wait until they were married. Now that they were married, he still wanted to make sure it was what she wanted. It had been ten months since they had met and fallen in love, but to them, it felt like a lifetime.
Rose nodded her head slowly. That was all he needed to know. Touching her face gently, he leaned forward to her. Their eyes closed, their lips met gently, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. The passion they had for each other took over and they deepened their kiss, knowing that neither of them could stop what they had started tonight.
*****
Sunlight poured in through the windows of the hotel room, and Rose awoke, stretching. She felt achy and slightly in pain. She was naked beneath the sheets, and she smiled, remembering last night’s events. Jack had made love to her for the first time. Both of them had been virgins and she couldn’t have thought of a more perfect way to lose her virginity.
She felt sore, and of course she had bled like crazy, but Jack had been the perfect gentleman and when the pain had become too much for her, he had stopped until it subsided. Whoever had told her that losing her virginity would be perfect and magical were wrong. The pain at first had been indescribable, but as the night wore on, they had made love four times.
Rose felt Jack stir. She ran her fingers through her disheveled hair before leaning over Jack, who faced the opposite way, and kissing his cheek and stroking it gently.
“Morning, Mrs. Dawson.” His voice was groggy and deeper than usual, which made Rose giggle. Just calling her Mrs. Dawson was surreal, but at the same time, it felt so right. Turning himself to face her, he pulled her to lay beside him and pressed his naked body to hers.
“Morning, husband.” She smiled at him. “I cannot believe we’re married.”
“I know.” Jack stroked her hair and her cheeks. “I can’t believe what we did last night.” He winked at her.
“It feels like a dream that I never want to wake up from. I keep thinking that I’m going to wake up and I’ll be at finishing school again last February and Cal will be there, pressuring me to marry him.”
Jack kissed her lips once and rubbed their noses together, causing her to giggle. “It’s not a dream, Rosie. It’s real. We are married.”