Three Weeks Later
The train platform was full of what appeared to be thousands of people. Jack lifted the suitcase in his right hand as he disembarked the train. Rose followed, holding her skirts in one hand. She was careful not to trip, as she held baby William in her left arm. He had been lying silently, but the loudness of the train woke him from his deep sleep and he cried out loudly, obviously scared by the strange environment. Rose pulled him closer to her body and began to rock him a little, attempting to comfort him, but to no avail.
“Come on. Let’s find my mother. The noise here is too much for Will.”
Three sharp blasts sounded as another train began to rumble out of the station. Searching the scores of people for anyone who appeared to be her mother was hard. She wasn’t exactly a tall woman and couldn’t be seen over the heads of other people.
“Perhaps she’s waiting outside with the car,” Jack suggested, not seeing Ruth as the type of woman to stand in the crowd at the station, even if it was to see her daughter.
“Maybe,” Rose mumbled as they pushed through the crowd, Rose still trying to soothe her son’s cries.
The exit loomed, and as Jack was about to open the door, a hand tapped him on the shoulder. Jack turned to see a tall, thin man who appeared to be panting so hard he would faint at any moment.
“Are you the…the Dawsons?” he asked breathlessly.
“We are. Who is asking?” Rose asked, having never seen this man in her entire life. He appeared to be dressed smartly, but surely didn’t run in her mother’s circle.
“Oh, good. I thought you two fit the description.” He grinned, his lips so thin they barely existed. “I’m Antonio, the Hockleys’ chauffeur. They sent me to find you here.”
Jack looked at Rose from the corner of his eye. Her face matched his. They had both guessed Ruth wouldn’t meet them there herself. Some things never changed, although having a ride to the house wasn’t such a bad thing. The suitcase weighed a ton.
“Follow me, Mr. and Mrs. Dawson.” He led them out of the exit and to the front of the station, which was on a main road. The car was parked on the left side of the road. Antonio took the suitcase from Jack and almost dropped it when he felt the weight, but he kept up his act as chauffeur and carefully tucked it away in the trunk.
The drive back to the house was lively. They learned that Antonio could talk for the entire ride. Both Jack and Rose just smiled, happy to be off the train and for William to have settled down.
As soon as they had married, Nathan and Ruth had moved into a thirty-two room mansion in the heart of Pennsylvania. The garden was huge and full of roses. It was twice the size of the house Rose had grown up in. It appeared to be like a fairytale castle, but she knew it was everything her mother would want and more, so she was happy for her.
Ruth awaited the arrival of her daughter on the veranda. As soon as the car appeared, she stood and began to descend the steps of the house. Her small Yorkshire terrier followed, yapping at the strangers.
Rose opened the car door herself and stepped out, her son still in her arms. Ruth came towards her, her arms open to her daughter. They hugged carefully so they didn’t smother William.
“Oh, Rose, it’s so good to see you. Look at this little angel.” Ruth moved the blanket from her grandson’s face to take her first look at him.
“He’s perfect, isn’t he?” Rose felt herself bursting with pride. She turned to Jack, who simply winked at her. Jack took the suitcase from Antonio, seeing that he was struggling. He tried not to laugh, so instead he thanked him for the ride.
“Come in, both of you. I have made sure the entire third floor is empty for you. That’s six bedrooms, two parlors, three bathrooms and, of course, the spa.” Ruth spoke as if it was normal to have so many rooms on one floor.
Jack couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but this was like a vacation to them and they might as well enjoy it up while they could, because in three weeks they would be back in Santa Monica, working for a living.
*****
That evening, the Dawsons sat down to dinner with Ruth and Nathan. The conversation was lively and when Nathan brought up Cal’s name, Jack squeezed Rose’s hand under the table in reassurance. They hadn’t spoken of the night Cal died in a long time. They didn’t feel the need to. He was where he should be and that was the end of it.
The Yorkshire terrier entered the room, barking around the feet of the two servants who served dessert. Rose smiled at the furry little thing. “Mother, you have a dog!” Rose was surprised. Ruth had never been the animal type, always complaining of the hair and such.
“Of course I do.” Ruth smiled. “It was a birthday gift from Nathan. Isn’t it adorable?”
“It? Does it have a name?” Rose suppressed laughter as her mother turned to Nathan and asked him about the name of the dog.
“I don’t know. We never discussed that, dear. Hell, we don’t even know if it’s a male or a female.” Nathan laughed, sipping his brandy.
Jack burst out laughing before looking at his wife. Their faces matched. It wasn’t so bad here. He, of course, had expected the worst, but he felt content and at ease.
*****
Dinner was over at ten o’clock. Nathan retired to his office with his son, Ethan, to discuss business. “He’s not really one for family gatherings,” Ruth explained to Rose and Jack as he left, but Rose sensed something in her mother’s voice as she spoke the words, almost a longing for him to have stayed and chatted some more with the family.
“Perhaps tomorrow we can take William for a walk somewhere nice,” Ruth suggested to Rose before she headed to bed. William was fast asleep in his father’s arms. His little chest rose and fell, his mouth wide open. Ruth touched his cheek before smiling at Jack. “You two did well. He is lovely.”
“Thanks,” Jack said simply. “I’m going to take the little one to bed. I’ll wait for you upstairs, darling.”
Rose nodded, watching her husband climb the stairs. Even after he had disappeared, she could still hear his footsteps as he climbed the other flight to get to the third floor.
“I’d like that, to go for a walk.”
Ruth looked at her daughter’s face and saw the maturity. She was now a mother and a wife. “I want to tell you just how proud I am of you, Rose.” Ruth held her daughter’s hands in her own. Rose saw of their wedding bands. Hers was simple and pretty, while Ruth’s was huge and gaudy, but Rose couldn’t say anything—it was what made her mother happy.
“And I’m proud of you and I am so happy for you. Nathan is a kind man. He will look after you.”
“He does. He does.” Ruth felt something niggling at her, something which she had been feeling for quite a while, and wondered whether or not she should share it with her daughter. Rose saw the look on her mother’s face and knew something wasn’t quite right.
“Mother?”
Ruth looked her daughter straight in the eye, tears in her eyes. “Rose, I do love Nathan. He is a good man, but he’s not quite your father.”
Rose thought she was hearing things. She thought that her mother had never loved her father.
“Your father was so carefree and easy. I could wrap him around my little finger when we married. We were so in love, and I see the way you and Jack look at each other now and remember your father in so many ways.”
Rose felt tears running down her face. She had known none of this. Memories of her father’s death were still fresh in her mind, even though he had died in December of 1910. “Oh, Mother, I didn’t know you were in love with my father.”
“Oh, of course I was. I just never learned how to show it after I gave birth to you.” Ruth sighed. “Rose, you were conceived when I was just seventeen years old. I wasn’t even married.”
“I thought that…” Rose trailed off, confused, having never known anything like this in her life.
“Your father had proposed to me, and in one of the three times that we were…” Ruth thought of a polite way to put it, even though she knew her daughter was now a woman herself. “…together, in a physical way, you were conceived. I found out four days before I married, so it was easy to cover.”
Rose felt as though she and Ruth had bonded so much more in the time that she had told her the things she had never known. “When you were growing up, I just wanted the best for you, Rose, and for a time, I failed you. I pushed you into things you never wanted.”
Rose felt her tears coming quicker. “No, Mother, you didn’t fail me. You did what you did out of love for me. You wanted the best. You thought you were doing the right thing. It just turned out you weren’t. I knew from the moment I met Jack what I wanted, and I have it now, and a child, as well.”
Ruth touched her daughter’s face. Her features were similar to her mother’s, although Ruth could see part of James in her. “Your father would be proud.”
“I hope so. I wish he was here to see William, but I have come to terms with his death now. At least Will has his grandmother.”
Ruth kissed her daughter’s cheek. “He does. Now, go to bed, and I’ll see you at nine for breakfast.”
*****
Jack rocked the cradle slowly. Finally, his son closed his eyes. It had been almost an hour since Jack had come upstairs. Will didn’t like to sleep without knowing his mother was present, but finally Jack had rocked him to sleep. The rocking of the cradle and his slightly off key singing had apparently soothed him.
The bedroom door clicked open and Rose walked in. Jack knew she had been crying from the look on her face. He came to her and she fell into his arms, tears falling from her eyes. The talk with her mother had made her realize just how lucky she was to have found Jack when she did. Her mother wrestled with guilt at not showing her father enough love, but at least she had found some happiness with Nathan.
“Rose?”
“Don’t worry, darling. I’m all right now.”
She smiled at him, seeing him standing in just his underwear. His arms were more muscled than ever. His body was manly, and she felt safe when she was in his arms.
“Good. I finally got him to sleep. He doesn’t like it when you’re not here.” Rose crept quietly towards the cradle where her son lay and saw him sleeping like an angel.
“It’s been a long day.” Rose yawned.
Jack came up behind her and kissed her neck, causing her to giggle quietly. “It’s not over yet.”
Rose turned to him, their faces serious. Rose’s heart began to pound. She had a feeling what would happen next. They hadn’t made love since their son was born. Maybe now it was time to.
Gently, he swept the hair away from her face and kissed her gently. “Oh, Jack…” she whispered softly to him. “Take me to the stars...”