DUST IN THE WIND
Chapter One
Molly sighed irritably as she
picked up another rag off the floor. That new maid of hers was definitely not
working out. She was going to have to call the agency for a new girl. Throwing
the rag on a nearby table, Molly was about to head upstairs when the doorbell
rang. Not even bothering to wait for the maid to answer it, she opened the door
and gasped in surprise.
Rose stood on her doorstep, two
bags in hand. By the look of her, she’d been taking good care of herself, even
put on a little weight.
"Rose, darlin’!" Molly
exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around the smiling girl she hadn’t seen in
four months. "What a surprise!"
"I’m sorry to just show up
like this. I wrote you a letter, but I’m not sure if it even arrived in
time." Rose smiled apologetically.
"Don’t be sorry, darlin’. It
probably did arrive, but that fool maid probably lost it." Molly rolled
her eyes. "Well, just don’t stand out there in the weather! Come in! Come
in and make yourself at home and tell me what brings ya here to Denver!"
Rose smiled and accepted Molly’s
invitation. Setting her bags on the floor beside her, she took a seat on the
couch and faced Molly.
"Well, first off…you might
as well know this now before you get any further…I’m pregnant."
"Oh, my dear Lord!"
Molly gasped, gazing at Rose’s extended abdomen. So it wasn’t regular weight
gain after all. "Is it Cal’s?"
Rose shook her head, her face
twisted in disgust. "God, no. It’s Jack’s. I’m pregnant with Jack Dawson’s
child." She smiled at this. Every time she thought about having this
little piece of Jack with her, she couldn’t keep the smiles away.
"Oh, my! But how? You two
didn’t know each other that long!" Molly scooted closer in her chair.
"Well…it was the night of
the sinking, of course…and Jack and I…we had fallen completely in love with
each other…no one has ever loved me or treated me like Jack did. Well,
anyway…we were in the cargo hold after running away from Cal’s manservant. We
ended up in the cargo hold…in a brand new Renault car…in the backseat…and then…it
just happened. He asked me if I was nervous. I said no. Then I told him to
touch me, but I wanted more and so did he."
"Oh, Rose…"
"It was my first time,
Molly, and it was so magical. I should have known it wouldn’t last…I should
have known that something would come and take him out of my life. Everything
I’ve ever loved deeply has been taken away, and Jack was no different."
"Oh, Rose. Jack didn’t want
to die. You do know that, don’t you?" Molly took Rose’s hand and looked
into her eyes. "It’s just that sometimes, no matter how hard we fight...we
lose anyway."
"I know he didn’t want to
die, Molly. But he knew he was going to. From the very moment the ship began to
sink, he knew." Rose wiped the hot tears that were streaming down her face
away. "I wish he could be here now, Molly. I wish our child will be able
to get to know his or her father and love him just as I do."
"Oh, it will darling. This
baby will get to know it’s father from the people who knew him…from you and me.
I’ll share all I know with the child."
"Oh, but Molly, it’s not
enough! I’d known Jack for only a couple of days! I didn't even know what his
favorite color was! Or his birthday! Or any distant relatives he may have
had!" Rose cried. "I know nothing of Jack to share with our child!"
"But we can find out. Did
Jack ever tell ya where he was from?"
"Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
He had fallen through some thin ice while ice-fishing out on Lake Wissota with
his father." Rose sniffed, then laughed sarcastically. "How ironic
that it was in icy waters that he died."
"Well, I’ll tell you what.
We’ll go to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. We’ll gather up as much information
about the early days of Mr. Jack Dawson as we can find, and we’ll follow it
from there. As soon as this child is born, you’ll be an expert on his life.
It’ll be like you knew him forever."
"That sounds like a good
idea, Molly. But you don’t have to do that…"
"Oh, but I want to. I’m
quite curious myself. And besides, I’m sure the lad had some friends and family
that will want to know of his untimely death. It’d be cruel to leave them out
in the cold, allowing them to believe that he’s still out there and will be
coming home. Don’t you think?"
Rose nodded. "You’re right.
It would be cruel. Okay. Fine. When do we go again?"
"How about two weeks from
now? That gives you a chance to catch your bearings, and me time to make the
proper arrangements. Then we’ll go in search of your young man’s history. It’ll
be like a little adventure."
Rose giggled at the thought. It
was just like what Jack had told her. She was going to head out for the
horizon, and she was going to bring back information about Jack for her child.
Rose hadn’t been so happy since she had lost Jack.