Ruth looked at her daughter between sips of tea. The afternoon had been spent alone, as Jack had taken the children fishing.
“Does it sound hideous, Mother?” Rose asked, warming her hands on her cup. Her relationship with her mother had deepened since Nathan had died two years before.
“No, Rose. I have told you before, though, that I will take care of the boys if you and Jack want to go to Italy. You need a break, Rose.”
“Oh, no. I couldn’t possibly ask you to take care of the boys alone. They are such a handful.”
“Are you trying to say I cannot cope? Rose, I am a mother myself, and I look after the boys perfectly fine while you and Jack are working. Besides, I have Trudy to help, and I love seeing the boys.” Ruth smiled at Rose, who softened slightly. She and Jack had had endless discussions about whether they should actually go to Italy, although it was Rose who was a lot more wary than Jack. Ruth had offered endlessly to look after the boys.
“I know that, but it’s the thought of being on a ship, too. I don’t know if I am ready.” Taking a sip from her cup, she put it on the table in the parlor of her mother’s house.
Ruth looked at her daughter. She was a woman now, and a mother herself, but still she saw the child inside of her. She was a hardworking woman who had married a wonderful man who doted on his wife and children. “Look, Rose, you and Jack work hard. You should have a vacation,” Ruth pointed out. “It’s perfect for you both.”
“I’d miss the children too much.”
“Yes, I know, but it is only for a few weeks.” Ruth smiled. “I do wish you’d stop making excuses, Rose. I know of your fear, and I understand, but you are young, Rose.”
*****
Stroking their hair softly, Rose looked down at her two sons, who had already fallen asleep lying in their bed together. She kissed each of their foreheads gently, feeling a sense of happiness come over her. How much pride she felt as the mother of the two little boys she and Jack had created.
The door creaked open slightly and Jack entered. The dim light from the moon illuminated the small room in which the children slept. In fact, the whole house wasn’t exactly large, but it suited Jack and Rose. Though they both had earned good money, they saved most of it away, only spending what they needed to.
Quietly, Rose tiptoed out of the room. Jack put his arm around her back and led her quietly across the hallway and into their bedroom in the dark. Clicking their door shut, Jack pulled off his shirt and began to unbutton his pants.
Rose settled herself on the bed and folded her arms. She could feel a little chill. Maybe she was tired. The conversation that had taken place earlier that day made her think. Should she go to Italy? Her mother obviously didn’t understand her reasons for not wanting to go, because she hadn’t witnessed the Titanic disaster.
Her stomach sank at the thought of it, and her eyes misted. She sensed Jack looking at her, so she snapped out of her thoughts, raising her head to meet his eyes.
“I know what you’re thinking, Rose,” he said softly, sitting beside her on the bed. Eleven years he had known her, since she was a sixteen-year-old girl.
“Is it so obvious?”
“It is to me.” He smiled. He touched her arms, which were in her lap. “I know the letter was out of the blue. It was quite a shock.”
Rose nodded in agreement. “Mother thinks we should go. She has even offered to take care of the boys.”
“You’re still uncertain?” he asked.
She nodded. “If we did go, Jack, I don’t want the boys on a ship,” she told him, her voice forceful. She felt her stomach churn. “God took away the best ones that night. Poor Tommy and Sharon and the baby.” Rose fought back tears. She didn’t want her own babies boarding a ship.
Rubbing her back, Jack understood. But he didn’t want her to be afraid of ships all her life. He would be there with her. During the war, Jack had had to face his fear. Now, maybe it was time for Rose to face hers.
“Rose…ships are different now. They were different back in the war,” he told her. Her eyes opened and she turned her head to face him. “They are stronger and filled with enough lifeboats. The law insisted they have to since the disaster. I know that won’t be much comfort to you, but I swear.”
“The thing is, Jack, I actually want to go.” A smile crossed Rose’s face. “Remember when we first met and we talked of traveling and seeing the world, even when we had no money at all?”
“We have been some places, Rose. Paris, England, Ireland, and back to America to Santa Monica, New York, Chippewa Falls, and now here.” He stroked her hair. “Then, of course, the boys were born so we couldn’t travel. We needed to make a home for them.”
Jack was right, but she never regretted having children so young. She had been just nineteen when Will was born, but he and Harry were the most precious things in her life, along with Jack.
“Maybe this would be our only chance, Jack. If Mother takes care of the boys, it could be our only chance to see Maria and to travel again.”
Jack nodded. He sensed that Rose was coming around to the idea a little more. “Besides, I want to see Fabri’s grave. It’s been a long time coming for me. I have to make peace with that, just like I did with my parents.”