DUST IN THE WIND
Chapter Fourteen
The Dawson residence stood silent
and still in the late evening hours. Silent, yet inviting. That was Maria di
Rossi’s first thought as she stood on the path leading up to the house. She
looked at the paper in her hand, given to her almost a year ago. She remembered
that day so clearly.
"If you need anything, come
here. I’ll be at this address."
"But Fabri, how will I get
there?"
"You’ll make it, Maria. You
always do," was his answer.
And she did make it, and she was
in America, standing in front of a strange house, nervous about not only seeing
her brother again, but his handsome friend Jack, as well. She blushed at the
very thought of Jack. They had only shared a few kisses once or twice. But then
Fabrizio had gotten overly protective and Jack had kept his distance ever
since, not wanting to ruin his friendship with her brother. Well, she was
hoping to change that. She was going to have a long talk with Fabri, and then
see where things went with Jack.
Clutching her bags tightly, Maria
rang the bell. A cry rang throughout the house, followed by another one. The
sound of hurried footsteps approached the door. Maria opened her mouth,
expecting to see Fabrizio, but instead came face-to-face with a woman with red
hair and tired green eyes.
"May I help you?" the woman
asked.
"Yes. Is this the Dawson
residence?" Maria asked, feeling like she had gotten the wrong address.
"I’m looking for a Jack Dawson…"
"Maria?" A familiar
voice spoke up from behind the woman. A relieved smile stretched Maria’s lips
as she saw Jack. He looked just as tired as the woman, but just as handsome as
the last time she saw him.
"Jack? Who is this?"
the red-haired woman asked curiously.
Jack’s smile was a mixture of
sadness and joy. Maria frowned, wondering why he looked so sad and why Fabrizio
hadn’t come down yet. Surely he must have heard her voice or Jack say her name.
"This is my wife Rose,
Maria. Rose, this is Fabrizio’s sister. Come in, Maria. You must have had a
long trip." He took her hand and led her inside.
"Where is Fabrizio? Is he
not living here with you in America?" Maria frowned, getting a cold chill.
"Uh…Maria, sit down."
Jack’s voice was soft and gentle. His heart went out to the young woman in
front of him. She had adored Fabrizio, and now he was telling her that Fabri
was dead. "We have to talk about Fabri."
She frowned, not liking the sound
of this. Where was Fabrizio, anyway? Why was Jack looking sad? "Where is
he, Jack? Why has he not written us before now? Why isn’t he here with
you?"
Jack sighed, tightly holding onto
Rose’s hand. He looked Maria squarely in the eyes, knowing that what he was
about to say was going to be devastating.
"Maria…about Fabrizio…we won
some tickets in England. Tickets that should have gotten us to America.
But…sadly, that never happened."
"Jack, you’re confusing me.
What’s going on?"
"Oh, dear." Jack
sighed, releasing Rose’s hand and taking Maria’s. "Maria…I don’t know how
to tell you this. The ship we were on…it was the Titanic."
She gasped in horror.
"No…no. Not…"
"I’m sorry, Maria. But he
didn’t make it." He looked away from her, the guilt of having survived
without his best friend returning.
"He’s dead? H-how? I don’t
understand."
"He was crushed by a smoke
stack. Jack went to Halifax and found his body," Rose explained.
"I would have brought him
back here, but I didn’t have any money."
Tears overtook the petite girl
right then. What was to become of her now? Fabrizio was supposed to take care
of her when she arrived. That was why her mother had let her come to America in
the first place. But now she found that her brother was dead and she was all
alone in a strange country. Nowhere to go, no one to take care of her.
"What’s to become of me now?"
Rose pushed down a surge of
jealousy as Jack embraced the young girl on their sofa. He was comforting her.
That was all. She had just found out that her brother had died. Of course she
was going to be upset and Jack was going to comfort her. He wouldn’t be her
Jack if he didn’t.
"It’ll be okay, Maria. You
can stay here with Rose and me for a while. At least until you get on your
feet."
"I’ll prepare the guest
room." Rose headed upstairs, leaving Jack alone with Maria. She frowned as
she noticed that he was still holding her.
"Jack." Maria’s sobs
slowed as she leaned against him. "I thank you for your kindness. Fabri
was right. Your soul is generous. He loved you, Jack. You were the brother he
never had."
"Are you hungry, Maria? I
can heat you up a plate," Jack offered.
"No. I’m just tired and
confused. I have to decide what I’m going to do now." She bit her lip.
"I don’t want to go back home."
Jack took her hand in his and
looked deeply into her eyes. "You won’t have to. I promise, we’ll think of
something."
Rose frowned as she came down and
saw Jack holding Maria’s hand. "Ahem." She cleared her throat.
"Her room is ready."
"Great." Jack got to
his feet and gathered up Maria’s bags. "Follow me, milady."
Maria giggled as she followed
him, a blush painting her cheeks. Rose was left on the steps, feeling alone and
extremely jealous.
*****
Jack and Rose lay awake that
night, their minds filled with different things. Jack’s mind was, of course, on
Fabrizio. His best friend. His brother. He still couldn’t believe that he was
gone. And now, here his sister was. Lost, confused, and grieving. Poor Maria.
Poor, beautiful Maria with the warmest brown eyes…wait! Stop! What was he
thinking?
Yes, Maria was beautiful, with
big brown eyes and soft ebony hair, but he shouldn’t be thinking that way about
her. He was married and deeply in love with his wife.
"Rose." He reached for
her, needing to feel her in his arms. Warm, and full of love and tenderness.
She went to him eagerly, accepting each kiss and caress. But she had to stop
when she felt his hands lifting her nightgown. She remembered what the doctor
had said about intimacy. Reluctantly, she pushed him away. "Jack, we
can’t. Remember what the doctor said…"
"Oh, yeah. I forgot."
He hid the hurt in his voice. The moment he really needed Rose, they couldn’t
do anything. "I think I better go take a cold bath before I go to
sleep." He got to his feet and headed for the door.
"Jack…are you mad?"
Rose bit her lip, not wanting him to be angry with her.
Jack’s smile was warm and guilty.
He shouldn’t have put this kind of pressure on her. She didn’t deserve that.
"No, sweetie. I’m not mad. In fact, I’m the one who’s sorry. I shouldn’t
be pressuring you like that. Especially after you’ve just had my baby."
"I wanted to, Jack. I really
did."
"I know." He kissed her
hand, his eyes meeting hers. "We’ll be together again, Rose. Soon."
Kissing her once again, Jack
headed for the door, determined not to let a wall come between himself and
Rose. Rose watched him leave, wondering what had caused Jack’s recent bout of
passion. Did Maria have anything to do with this? Banishing that thought from
her mind, Rose drifted off to sleep, at peace with her life at that moment.