April 5, 1919
“No, Will. You give the little girl her hat back.” Jack scolded his son as the small blonde girl stood in front of them, her lip curling slightly. Will had chased her across the beach to steal her pink hat before taking it back to his father to show him, thinking it was a good idea.
“All right.” William hung his head before stalking back to the girl and giving her the hat. “She is so posh she won’t even play with me.”
Rose laughed at her son before looking at Jack. Will didn’t understand that some four-year-old girls didn’t appreciate their hat being stolen.
“Will, go find your ball and we’ll play,” Jack suggested, but William shook his head, sighing heavily.
“It’s too hot,” he complained.
Rose reached into her bag and pulled out a jar of some concoction that she had read was good for protecting the skin against the sun. Dipping her hand into it, she began to rub it on her son’s body.
“Does that cool you down?” She smiled, seeing the goosebumps on his body. His skin was like his father’s, tanned and freckled, whereas she was pale and had to sit under the shade of the parasol all day or she would end up lobster red.
“It feels like paste.” He ran his finger over the lotion with a disgusted look on his face. “It smells, Mommy.”
Jack shook his head at his son’s continuous complaints. “How about we all go take a dip?”
Rose looked over the top of her magazine at Jack and then the ocean. “Yes. Why not? You want to take a dip, Will?”
He nodded, grinning. Rose stood and removed her shawl, wearing just a simple white cotton dress. Jack rolled his trousers up to his knees and removed his shirt, to the dismay of some other beachgoers, but he didn’t care. It was a hot day and he didn’t care what they thought. Grabbing William’s hand, they ran down to the water’s edge. They felt the cool water on their feet. Will screamed before running back to the beach.
“Come on, Will. Don’t be such a little girl.” Jack laughed. “I’m coming for you.” He began to run after his son. It didn’t take him long to catch him. He lifted him up on his shoulders and took him to the water as they both laughed.
“All right. I’ll stand in the water. I don’t want to be posh like that little girl.”
Jack lifted him from his shoulders and Will stood in the water next to him. A small wave came and splashed them both. Rose began to splash them, flicking water with her hands.
“Ah…so, you’re going to play, too?” Jack scooped Rose up out of the water. Her dress dangled in the waves. She screamed to Jack to not let go. William watched in hysterics.
“Jack, no! Don’t let me go!”
“Let her go, Daddy! Get her wet, Daddy!” William laughed, clapping his hands.
Jack lowered Rose back into the water. She splashed him in revenge and William joined in. In the end, they all ended up soaking all of the clothes they were wearing.
*****
That night, Jack closed William’s bedroom door, hearing his son’s soft snores. He was so tired at the beach that they had had to bring him home early. He had gone to sleep right away.
In the kitchen, Rose was scrubbing the clothes they had worn that day.
“You need any help?” Jack offered, seeing the stains on William’s pants. “That chocolate ice cream wasn’t such a good idea.” He laughed, seeing the chocolate marks on the shirt.
“No, maybe not. What a good day, though.” She smiled, the excitement of the day still fresh. Jack noticed that her cheeks were glowing with happiness, something they hadn’t done in a while.
“It was amazing. William loved it, and you seemed happy, too.” Jack rolled up his sleeves and began to scrub some stains.
Rose threw her soap back into the water. “Why are we scrubbing after such a good day? That can wait.” She dried her hands on a towel before handing it to Jack.
“So, what do you plan to do then, huh?” Jack smiled at her.
“Actually, could you rub some of that lotion on my back? The sun burned me a bit today. I hope I don’t peel.”
Rose winced as she attempted to pull down the back of her dress. Jack led her into their bedroom before closing the door.
“I don’t want Will to wake up and see me rubbing this all over you.” He laughed. Unbuttoning the back of her dress, he was careful when he pulled it down and saw just how red her back and shoulders were. “Jeez, Rose, I didn’t know it caught you this much.”
“I know I should have been more careful, but today has just been so much fun. Since the war, the world seems to be full of depression.”
“I know, and I don’t want our son surrounded by that. It’s why I gave up the gallery. Money may be a little tighter right now, but I want to spend time with my family after being away for so long.”
Rose winced as Jack touched her skin with the cool lotion and began smearing it over her back and shoulders.
“Don’t you regret giving up the gallery?” Rose asked, remembering the day her husband told her what he planned to do.
“No. There are too many memories of Fabrizio there. Besides, I wanted to live for a while. I spent a whole year of my life fighting in that damned war. The money I got from selling it was a nice surprise, though, but the money will stay in a nest egg for our future, or maybe for Will if he wants to go to college.”
Rose turned to Jack, not realizing just how organized he was. “You’re thinking about saving for Will’s college education?”
“Well, yeah. He may want to go get the education that I never did. I mean, you were a well brought up girl with an education, but I wasn’t. I won’t force him into anything he doesn’t want, but he will have dreams, too. Just like I wanted to be an artist.”
Jack closed the lid on the lotion and Rose moved her hair out of the way so that it didn’t stick. “What else do you think about? Our future?”
“Yeah, where we would live. I’d like to actually visit Chippewa Falls again sometime soon.” Jack sat on the edge of the bed. Rose looked at him, confused as to why he hadn’t mentioned this before.
“Where you grew up?”
“Yeah. I thought about it a lot throughout the war. Now we have a son and we’re giving him a good childhood, but I think it’s about time I faced up to my own childhood demons.” Jack thought for a moment. “I want to visit my parents’ graves and the river where my father died.”
“Do you think you could do it?” Rose knew just how much his father’s death had affected him and how much he had placed the blame on himself in the past.
“Yeah, I do. It’s been ten years, and maybe it’s time I put my own past behind me. But I want you to be there, Rose. I want you to help me through it.”
Rose moved closer to Jack and gripped his hand tightly. “Of course I will. You have helped me through so much in my life. We should go to Chippewa Falls soon, maybe when the summer comes and Will isn’t in school.”
“So soon?” Jack would need time to prepare for this journey.
“Yes. I think it would be good for all of us. I want you to get rid of these demons, Jack. I love you and hate to see you fight them. Besides, I want to see where you grew up, and I’m sure Will does, too.”
A smile crept across Jack’s face and he took Rose’s hands in his. “Oh, Rose, what did I do to deserve you?” He pulled her close to him, stroking her hand and touching her back with his other hand to see if the lotion he had applied had dried before stroking her bare skin.
“Nothing. We just found each other at a time when we needed each other the most.” She sighed. “And as for going to Chippewa Falls, we’ll have to start making arrangements soon. I think we should talk to Will first, ask how he feels about taking the trip.”
Jack nodded, knowing his son wasn’t really one for train journeys, but hopefully he would look forward to going to Jack’s hometown.