DUST IN THE WIND
Chapter Fifteen
Morning had arrived at the Dawson
home. Exhausted from the late night arrival, Jack and Rose were not the first
ones up. Samantha and George were. They were in the kitchen, playing with their
baby, when Maria entered. Hungry and nervous when she saw the strangers in the
kitchen.
"Hello?" she asked
hesitantly. Maybe she should have waited for Jack to wake up. She didn’t know
these people and was nervous about introducing herself.
"Oh!" Samantha stared
at the newcomer in suspicion. She was unaware that they had a houseguest.
"Maria!" Jack came up
behind her, Rose at his side. "There you are. Rose and I were hoping that
you hadn’t left or anything."
"I’m an early riser."
Maria blushed at the prospect of Jack wanting her to stay.
"Jack…who is this?"
George eyed the petite brunette.
"Maria di Rossi. She’s
Fabrizio’s sister. She’ll be staying with us until she can get on her feet here
in America."
"Oh?" Samantha snorted.
"Well, Maria, welcome."
George smiled, taking her hand in his. "I wish I could stay and be a proper
host, but I have some errands to run." He released her hand and left the
house.
"Maria, come. I’ll show you
my new drawings." Jack grinned, leading Maria out of the kitchen, leaving
Rose and Samantha alone with each other.
Sam immediately began on the
dishes left over from last night’s dinner, while Rose put on breakfast. "I
don’t like her."
"Who? Maria?" Rose’s
eyes widened in surprise. She had once thought that it was impossible for
Samantha not to like anyone. Obviously, she was wrong.
"Of course Maria. Did you
see how she clung to Jack like that?"
"This is a new country for
her, Sam. Jack’s really the only person she knows here in America."
Samantha looked at Rose in
disbelief. There was no way she could be this calm about Maria. Rose might be
cool and calm on the outside, but on the inside, she was a bundle of nerves.
She had to be a tinge jealous, at least. The situation called for jealousy.
There was no getting around it. "You can’t tell me that it’s not driving you
a little crazy that he’s alone with her right now. Probably sitting side by
side…their eyes meeting as…"
"Stop it, Sam." Rose’s
face was a little strained. Why was Sam doing this?
"I just want you to talk to
me, Rose. Let it out before it blows up in your face. Believe me, sooner or
later, it will," Sam explained, as if reading Rose’s mind.
Rose sighed and stared at the
floor, not wanting to confess anything. But before she could stop herself, she
was talking. "Okay. Maybe I am a little jealous. I mean, Jack is so
handsome, and Maria’s Fabrizio’s sister. They share memories and experiences
that I don’t have. But I trust Jack. I know that I’m the only one he truly
loves. Nothing Maria can do or say will change that."
Sam smiled sadly at Rose, hoping
that she wasn’t deluding herself into ignoring certain things. Like how Maria
looked like she was starving and Jack was a steak. She hoped that her friend
was right and Jack was as faithful as he seemed.
She opened her mouth to say just
that when two cries erupted from upstairs. Sam and Rose looked at each other
tiredly. "Yours or mine?"
"Let’s both check."
Rose dropped the dishtowel and was on her way upstairs to check on Josephine,
pushing back another surge of jealousy as she spotted Jack and Maria sitting
close together , going through the portfolio.
*****
"You have a true talent,
Jack." Maria sighed, looking at the very last picture in the leather
folder. "Those Parisian critics didn’t know what they were talking
about."
"That’s what Rose always
says." Jack blushed at the praise.
"Well, she’s right."
Maria giggled, a memory running through her mind. "Remember Fabrizio’s
face when he walked in on you doing a nude drawing of me?"
Jack smiled. "I thought he
was going to kill me for sure."
"But he didn’t. He couldn’t
bring himself to pummel the man he thought of as a brother. So, Jack…tell
me…have you ever drawn Rose that way before?"
"Maria! That’s
private!" Jack blushed, remembering drawing Rose on the Titanic. It was so
different from the time he drew Maria. Maria had an enchanting innocence about
her. From her round brown eyes, to her lovely olive skin, her lips slightly
parted…
"Jack." Maria’s voice
broke into his thoughts. "Have you? Can I see it?"
Jack sighed, looking up into
Maria’s eyes, falling into them. Suddenly, his mouth was dry and he was
suddenly nervous. "Uh…yes. I did draw her…but the sketch…it’s at the
bottom of the ocean now. With the rest of my drawings."
"Oh. I’m sorry. You’ve lost
so much. Fabrizio…your drawings…" Her face was only a few inches away from
his. She wanted to kiss him so badly. Yes, he was married. Yes, he did love his
wife. But he felt for her, too. She could see that so clearly in his sky blue
eyes. Eyes full of longing and desire. Tentatively, she touched his face,
enjoying the feel of smooth, warm skin against her hand. One kiss. One kiss was
all she wanted. What could it hurt?
Closing her eyes, she leaned
forward, anticipating the feel of his lips upon hers. Just as she got close
enough to feel his breath on her face, it disappeared. Confused, she opened her
eyes and saw that Jack had moved as far away from her as possible. His troubled
eyes shone with confusion, guilt, and dare she hope…love. He had wanted to kiss
her, too. She could tell that just by the way he looked at her now. But
something had stopped him.
"Jack?" she asked,
getting to her feet. "What is it?"
Jack sighed, rubbing his hands
over his face as if he was waking up from a dream. "I can’t, Maria. I
can’t do this. I’m married. I’m in love with my wife. Rose is everything to
me."
"But you love me, too, Jack.
It’s right there in your eyes."
"No, Maria…that’s
impossible. I love Rose. All you and I can ever be is friends."
"But, Jack, you don’t
feel…"
"Stop telling me what I do
and do not feel! I’m in love with Rose, my wife! If you can’t accept that, you
should leave." Jack pointed to the door.
"Is that what you really
want, Jack?" Maria asked, hurt evident in her voice and tears brimming in
her eyes.
Jack immediately regretted his
outburst. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her. That was the last thing he wanted to
do. He just hated being so confused, especially about his feelings. He just
needed to clear his head some. Get some fresh air. That always helped in the
past.
"No, Maria. That’s not what
I want. Listen, I’m sorry for snapping at you, okay? I just need to get some
fresh air and clear my head. That’s all. Stay as long as you like." Jack
headed for the door. He looked one last time at Maria before stepping out,
hoping to straighten things out in his head before Rose caught on that
something was wrong.
"You do love me, Jack."
Maria leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "I know you do."
*****
George was out on the porch
enjoying the morning sun when Jack came out and buried his head in his hands.
"Jack?" George asked,
concerned. He had never seen his cousin look so miserable before. "Are you
okay?"
"No," Jack groaned, now
glaring at the ground, wondering how he had gotten so confused about his
feelings.
"Want to talk about it?
Maybe I can help," George offered, already knowing that Maria di Rossi had
something to do with this.
Jack looked at George curiously.
Could he really trust George? Could his cousin even help him with his messed up
feelings? Well, there was only one way to find out. "George…is it possible
to love two women at the same time?"
George’s eyes grew as round as
saucers at this question. What an unusual question to ask. "Well…I
suppose. Even though I wouldn’t recommend it. Why, Jack? Are you falling for
Maria or something?"
"I don’t know. I do feel for
her, but…I don’t know what it is. I love my wife, George. I do. Rose and
Josephine are my whole world. But these feeling I have for Maria…they’re so
confusing."
"I don’t see what’s so
confusing. You and Rose share a daughter. You belong together. Jack…what you
feel for Maria probably isn’t real. Don’t throw away your family on something
as silly as a fling."
Looking at George, Jack knew that
he was right. His feelings for Maria probably weren’t real, but his love for
Rose was. But still…his heart was so confused. "I need more time to
think." Jack sighed. "Thanks for the advice."
"Anytime." George
patted Jack’s shoulder before heading inside, hoping that his cousin would make
the correct choice. Inwardly, he wished Jack the best. And in George’s opinion,
Rose was the best. No doubt about it.