DUST IN THE WIND
Chapter Eighteen
Rose held her daughter in one arm
and a small suitcase in the other as she entered the room she had rented at the
boarding house. She wiped away her still flowing tears, shutting the door
behind her and laying Josephine in the crib that came with the room. She
collapsed on her bed, exhausted from the day’s revelations. Jack…the one man
she had thought could never hurt her had hurt her beyond repair. He had fallen
in love with someone else.
But really, what did she expect?
She was stupid to think that she could know him after only knowing him for
three short days. He was a stranger to her, really. A stranger that she loved
with all her heart…almost to the point of obsession.
"Jack, why?" New tears
began to flow. "I loved you so much."
Two Weeks Later
Rose sat rocking Josephine,
trying not to think about Jack, who she had seen the day before when he had
stopped by to visit Josephine. She remembered the visit. How tense things were.
How his eyes had begged for forgiveness. How she had wanted to race into his arms
and forgive everything. But the fact that Maria was still there stopped her. So
he had left, leaving her alone with her daughter and bittersweet memories of
their time together. Of the marriage that seemed to be coming apart at the
seams.
Suddenly, Rose was startled out
of her memories by a quick knock on the door. She was relieved to hear a very
familiar voice on the other side.
"Rose? Rose, darlin‘? Are
you in there? It’s me. Molly."
Rose had called her friend two
days after leaving Jack. Molly had agreed to come as soon as possible. Maybe
with a mediator, Rose and Jack could put things back together again.
"Molly!" Rose got up
and threw open the door. "Molly, you’re here!" She embraced her
friend.
"Of course I’m here. I told
ya I’d come, didn’t I?"
"Yes, you did. Come in. Meet
Josephine." Rose stood aside so her friend could enter the room.
"Oh, my goodness. She’s
adorable." Molly scooped the baby up into her arms. "The perfect
mixture of Jack and yourself."
Rose avoided Molly’s eyes at the
mention of Jack as a sharp pain ran through her. Did he still love her? Did he
even think about her? Or was he now deep in an torrid love affair with Maria?
She closed her eyes, halfway wishing that she had died that cold April night.
Anything was better than the pain she felt at that moment.
"Rosie?" Molly
tentatively touched Rose’s arm after putting Josephine back in her crib.
"What’s going on? Why did you leave Jack? I still can’t believe it."
Rose sighed, rubbing her
face…wanting to hide her tears of heartbreak. She wanted to seem strong and
stoic…but she was failing miserably. "There’s someone else, Molly. Jack’s
in love with this girl…Maria. She was Jack’s friend Fabrizio’s sister. I walked
in on him kissing her."
"Was that all?" Molly
asked, shocked at the news. She was indeed surprised by Jack’s behavior. He had
been so into Rose on the Titanic. Even went up against one of the most powerful
men in the country, just to be with her. Why would he risk it all like this?
"What did he say?"
"That he loved us both. But,
Molly, how can that be? How can he be in love with two women at the same
time?"
"The heart is a complicated
thing, Rose, darlin‘. But I bet you anything that his love for you is much
stronger than whatever he’s feeling for this Maria. Plus, you two share a very
special bond. Josephine. That’s definitely a point in your favor. Have you two
talked since you left?"
Rose nodded. "Yes.
Yesterday, in fact. He wants me to come home. I want to…but Maria’s there,
and…"
"You’re just going to let
her steal your husband?"
"What?" Rose frowned,
thrown off by Molly’s words.
"Rosie, listen. Our Jack is
handsome, sweet, brave, but he isn’t perfect. He’s had a moment of weakness.
But was it enough to give him up for? Do you want him back, Rose?"
"Yes, I do. More than
anything."
"Well, then, go home and
fight for him. A man like Jack…I think he’s well worth fighting for."
Molly smiled knowingly.
"You’re right, Molly. He is.
I love him so much…I just want things back to the way they were before
Maria."
"Well, let’s go make it
happen, darlin‘." Molly grabbed Rose’s suitcase.
*****
Jack sat on the porch, smoking
another cigarette. He was once again thinking of Rose and how much he missed
her. He was such a fool for even thinking that his feelings for Maria even came
close to what he felt for Rose. His feelings for Maria didn’t even come close
to how much he loved his wife. Now that Rose was gone, it was like someone had
torn out his soul. There was no more meaning to his existence.
"Jack?" Maria stepped
out onto the porch, thinking of how different things were now. Jack hardly ever
looked at her anymore. Plus, Samantha and George kept giving her dirty looks.
It was obvious that she wasn’t wanted there. But they were too afraid of Jack to
say anything.
"Hello." He forced a
smile, resisting the urge to run in the opposite direction, just in case the
urge to kiss her returned. But thankfully, it hadn’t. Not yet, anyway.
"She’ll be back, Jack. If
she loves you, she’ll come back." She touched his arm. "I’m sorry for
causing so much trouble. Really, I am."
"It’s not your fault, Maria.
I lied about my feelings for you. I didn’t tell her how I was feeling."
Jack sighed just as Molly came up on the porch.
She wanted to get to the bottom
of things before Rose returned. She especially wanted to meet this Maria and
feel the girl out. See what her true intentions were.
"Molly?" a genuine
smile of disbelief lit up Jack’s face.
"Hey, there, Jack."
Molly hugged the young man. "I decided to drop by for a little visit.
Thought I might be needed."
"Does Rose know you’re
here?"
"Of course. I just came from
seeing her. Now, do you mind telling me your side of what caused this
separation?"
"I did." Maria raised a
guilty hand.
"So, you’re Maria."
Molly looked the girl over. "You’re pretty."
"Rose walked in on me
kissing Jack." Maria nervously bit her lip. "I am so sorry. I
never…"
"No, you’re not." Molly
smiled. "You may be sorry for the mess the kiss caused, but for the kiss
itself…"
"How is Rose, Molly? I saw
her yesterday, but how is she today?" Jack asked, wanting to go running to
her rescue if she was in any pain or sick, or if Cal came back to stalk her.
"Is she eating right? Is she getting enough sleep?"
Molly laughed, happy that Jack
wanted to rush off and take care of Rose. It meant that she really was number
one in his life. Kiss or no kiss. "She’s fine. Not happy, but she’s okay.
As you probably know."
"I love her, Molly. I know
what I did was inexcusable…"
"Jack. It was only a kiss.
That was all you did…right?"
Jack nodded. "It was only
that one kiss."
"Jack!" George called
from inside. "I need ya in here for a second!"
"I’ll be right there!"
Jack called. "Molly, I’ll be right back."
"Sure thing, darlin‘."
Molly smiled. Left alone, she turned to Maria. "So it’s just me and
you."
"Yes, ma’am." Maria
nervously cleared her throat.
"So, Maria…do you love
him?"
Maria sighed. The answer to that
question was all too easy. "Yes. Yes, I do love him."
Feeling a bit sorry for the girl,
Molly placed a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder. "That’s what I
thought. He does have some feelings for you. I can see that. But my
dear…they’re nowhere near love. Not the kind of love he shares with Rose, anyway.
That girl owns his heart and always will. You might want to think about that
before pursuing him any further. Do you want a man who can never truly love
you, or do you want a man that can give you his whole heart? Think about
that." Molly patted Maria’s shoulder before disappearing into the house.
"But I love him," Maria
whispered to herself, sinking down to the porch step. "How can I live my
life without him?"