DUST IN THE WIND
Chapter Three

Rose woke up bright and early the next morning. She just lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling and thinking of Jack, when Molly entered.

"Ready to start the day, Rosie?" Molly grinned. "We have a lot of talking to do today."

"I guess." Rose shrugged, not bothering to look at Molly.

"Come on, Rosie. Snap out of it. I know you miss Jack, but trust me when I say he wants you up and about, not laying in bed drowning in self-pity, and this baby is depending on you to get this information about its daddy."

"I guess you’re right." Rose forced herself to get out of bed. "Where do we begin?"

"How about downstairs with Mrs. Cleary? She must know something about the Dawsons."

"I don’t know, Molly. It’s going to seem strange to her that we’re seeking this information."

"Well, let it seem strange. You’re a young mother with the need to tell her baby about its father. That’s what’s important. Let’s go. Maybe we can get the name of a good restaurant." Molly grabbed Rose’s hand and led her out the door.

They found George and Mrs. Cleary at the desk when they came down. It looked like Mrs. Cleary was sending George to deliver some letters.

"Why, good morning, Mrs. Brown. How was your sleep last night?" Mrs. Cleary smiled.

"It was quite nice, thank you. My companion and I were wondering--are there any good restaurants around here so we can grab us some grub this morning?"

"Well, ma’am…my wife is a great cook, and she’s fixing a nice breakfast now if you want to join us," George offered, eyeing the young Rose Dawson curiously. He wanted to learn more about the young woman with his last name.

"Well, that’s right nice of you. If half the people in this town are as friendly as you are, sir, I’m sure to enjoy my stay here. We’d love to have breakfast with you and your wife." Molly nodded, nudging Rose encouragingly, who looked absolutely mortified. She didn’t think she’d have to deal with finding out about Jack’s past this early.

"Well, follow me. I just have to deliver these letters. Then, we’ll head on out to the farm. Sam’s sure to have breakfast ready by then." George smiled, motioning for the women to follow him.

"Molly, I don’t know about this," Rose whispered.

"Everything will be fine, Rose. Just think about who this is for. The baby." Molly squeezed Rose’s hand. "Relax. These are good people. There’s nothing to be afraid of."

Rose just nodded and continued staring out the window.

Thirty minutes later, George pulled into the drive of a two-story house. She looked up and wondered if this had been Jack’s house.

"This is a lovely house," Rose said.

"It belonged to my aunt and uncle. They died in a fire five years back. It was horrible. But my wife and I came back a year ago and decided to fix the place up and make it our own."

"Oh." Rose bowed her head. Nothing about Jack. But then again, Jack had mentioned that his parents had died in a fire.

"Come on in. Sam should have breakfast ready." George opened the door for his guests. "Sam, honey! We have company!"

"Who?" A beautiful brunette about Rose’s age emerged from the kitchen.

"Samantha, honey, I’d like to introduce you to Rose Dawson and the Unsinkable Molly Brown." George grinned.

"The Molly Brown?" Samantha’s brown eyes widened with shock.

"It’s nice to meet ya, darling." Molly held out her hand.

"What brings you to Chippewa Falls?"

"We’re here to find out some information about someone dear to my friend here. Poor girl has been through the ringer and back." Molly patted Rose’s back.

"Well, breakfast is on the table. Come join us." Samantha beckoned to the kitchen.

Rose’s face went pale as she felt the familiar pangs of morning sickness. "Huh…is there a bathroom nearby?" Rose asked.

"Sure. Upstairs on the right." Samantha smiled, pointing to the stairs.

"Thank you." Rose rushed to the stairs. After she was done, she left the bathroom and saw a closed door. She looked at the door, trying to ignore the urge to open it and take a look inside, but was unable to resist. Knowing that she shouldn’t, she opened the door and ducked in.

The room was small and had a bed in the center. Against the wall, next to a window looking out on the trees surrounding the lake, was a desk. A strange force moved Rose over to the desk. It reminded her of someone taking her hand and leading her over to it. She opened the desk and gasped. It was a portfolio, and in that portfolio were drawings with the initials JD scrawled in the lower right corner. Jack. This must have been Jack’s room, and this was his portfolio.

She looked on the inside of the cover and read the inscription.

To our dear son, Jack. May this portfolio keep all your hopes and dreams safe.

Love,
Mom and Dad

"Oh, Jack." Rose sniffed.

"Rosie? Are you okay up here?" Molly came up. She entered the room when she spotted Rose. "Rose, what are you doing in here?"

"This was Jack’s room, Molly. See? Here’s his portfolio." Rose showed Molly the portfolio.

"That boy sure was a talented one." Molly nodded, looking over the pictures. "Come, Rose. Let’s get back downstairs." Molly took the portfolio away from Rose and lay it back on the desk. "It won’t do for them to find you up here rummaging around. Let’s go. We came to the right place, though."

"Oh, God, Molly. What are we going to do? How are we going to tell them that Jack’s dead?"

"We’ll think of something. Okay? Just stay calm and don’t get yourself upset. Remember, that baby feels everything you do. Just remain relaxed." Molly stroked Rose’s hair.

Rose nodded, allowing Molly to lead her downstairs.

"Is everything all right?" Samantha asked, concerned.

"Oh, everything’s fine. Sometimes the morning sickness just hits me." Rose nervously smiled.

"Well, I hope it hasn’t ruined your appetite. I’ve made George’s favorite breakfast. Flapjacks, goetta, sausage, and eggs with maple syrup."

"Sounds delicious." Molly grinned, following Samantha into the kitchen. "This certainly is a beautiful house you have here."

"Thank you, but it’s not really ours. It belongs to George’s cousin, Jack, but no one’s heard from him since he took off five years ago. So you can say that we’re keeping it up for him until he returns, whenever that will be."

"Molly…I’m sorry…I can’t do this." Rose got up and ran outside, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Rose! Rose, come back! I’m sorry…"

"Oh, that’s okay. George told me about her husband dying. Go after her."

Molly found Rose a couple of steps away from the porch. She had collapsed onto the ground, crying and crying. Nothing could stop her tears.

"Rose, darling, don’t do this. Stay strong for the baby…" Molly tried to soothe her friend.

"I can’t do this, Molly. I thought I could, but I can’t. I can’t tell them that Jack’s not coming home! That he’ll never be coming home again!" Rose wailed.

"Of course you can, Rose. You have to. This is Jack’s family. They loved him. They have a right to know, and they have a right to know that you’re having his baby. Come on. I’ll be with you the whole way, and so will Jack. He’s with you, Rose. I can feel him, and I know, deep down, you do, too. Now, let’s go and do this for Jack."

Rose looked up at Molly and tearfully nodded. "Okay, Molly. I’ll do this for Jack and our baby." Rose sighed, allowing Molly to lead her back into the house.

"Is everything okay?" Samantha and George came out of the kitchen.

"Everything’s fine. This is just one of Rose’s bad days. It’s been like this since Jack’s death," Molly explained.

"Come sit and eat and tell us all about it, you poor dear." Samantha wrapped an arm around Rose’s shoulders and led her into the kitchen.

"Did you say her husband’s name was Jack?" George asked curiously.

Molly just nodded and followed the young man into the kitchen. They sat down at the table in front of steaming plates of food.

"I guess I’d better tell you, since Rose here isn’t in the condition right now. As you know, Rose’s last name is Dawson…and now you know her husband’s name was Jack." Molly cleared her throat.

"Oh, my God. No. Please tell me that your deceased husband’s name isn’t Jack Dawson. He’s my cousin…the only cousin that I could stomach, anyway, even though I haven’t seen him in five years." George’s face paled.

Rose tearfully looked at Jack’s cousin, and noted the same expression filling his eyes that she now wore. The expression of overwhelming grief and loss.

"I’m sorry," Rose could only whisper, and looked away from him. "I wish it was someone else, but his name was Jack Dawson, and he was the most wonderful man I ever knew." Rose began to cry again.

"My Lord." Samantha’s hand rose to her throat.

"How? How did it happen?" George asked, his voice dull and emotionless.

"Titanic. We were on the Titanic." Rose managed to get her sobs under control. "We had just gotten married. He wanted to take me back to his hometown to meet his family…we were so happy. I had thought nothing bad could ever touch us. I wasn’t counting on an iceberg to rip my life apart. They tried to get me on a lifeboat, but I wouldn’t leave Jack. We ended up in the freezing water together. We found a piece of floating debris in the water. Jack told me to get on it. He tried to get on, too, but the board wouldn’t hold both of us, so he told me to stay on, and he remained in the water. I thought I was going to die, so he made me promise to survive. To not give up. I thought when he made me promise that he’d be here with me, too, but when the boat came back…I tried to wake him up…but he wouldn’t. No matter how hard I shook his hand and yelled at him, he wouldn’t wake up. I was going to die, too, but I remembered my promise. So I let go of Jack’s hand and swam to this dead officer with a whistle in his mouth. I blew on the whistle until the boat came back. They couldn’t get Jack because he didn’t have a lifebelt and so he had sunk into the sea when I let go of his hand. Two or three months later…I found out I was pregnant with Jack’s baby."

"I found poor Rose on the Carpathia that day and took her in. I thought it’d be wise to travel here and let whatever family Jack had here know of his death." Molly squeezed Rose’s hand. "I had only met Jack once, but let me tell you, he was an extraordinary young man. So bright and optimistic, not a gloomy bone in his body. He gave Rose so much love and courage…"

The room was silent. There wasn’t much to be said. The gloom of Jack’s demise hung over the house like a blanket. No one said a word. It was George who broke the silence.

"Jack must have loved you an awful lot to give his life like that. I always knew he was a gentleman, but to be so brave and valiant…I didn’t know he had that in him."

"He did." Rose sniffed.

"Excuse me." George got up and headed upstairs to Jack’s room, closing the door behind him.

"Jack was his favorite cousin. He’s taking this rather hard." Samantha looked in the direction her husband had gone.

"The sinking has touched everyone’s life in one way or another. All we can do is band together and not let it destroy us," Molly replied, squeezing Rose’s hand.

"I’d better go check on him. You two please enjoy the breakfast." Samantha got up and went after her husband.

"What have I done?" Rose looked at Molly.

"Told them the truth. Everything will be okay now, Rosie. Don’t you worry."

"George, honey?" Samantha entered the room to find her husband sitting on the bed, looking through the portfolio and touching each and every picture lovingly, tears spilling from his eyes.

"Jack was so talented, Sam. He could have been something big someday, if he was just given the chance…if he had never set foot on that blasted ship." George closed the portfolio and held it in his hands. "I wonder if she knew that about him…about his love of art and sketching people."

"I’m sure she did."

George laughed sarcastically. "I can’t wait for all the people in this town to find out about the golden boy’s untimely demise. I love my cousin, Sam, but it really irks me how everyone in this town never accepted me as part of the Dawson clan. They were always waiting for Jack to return…for the real Dawson to step up. They barely tolerated me living here in this house. But now that Jack’s not going to return…they’re all going to have to accept me."

"But they have accepted you, George."

"No, they haven’t. It’s always been what are you going to do when Jack comes back. Jack this, Jack that. I loved Jack dearly, but at times...I resented him. He hasn't been around for five years, and people were still comparing me to him. Those townspeople never trusted me. No one does."

"Jack obviously does." Sam laughed at the weird look George threw her. "What I mean is, George, look at it…what made you go to the inn this morning?"

"I don’t know. Something was telling me to go. That it was important."

"And why did you invite them to breakfast?"

"Something was wanting me to do that, too."

Samantha scooted closer to her husband. "George, don’t you see? Jack trusted you. He trusted you to take in his young bride and child and tell them about him…his life here. Who he was and who he could have become. No one in this town was that close to him except you. He trusted you with his family, George. Are you going to let him down now just because you resent how the townspeople treated you?"

George looked at his wife and sighed. "You’re right. It is up to me to share information with Rose. Do you think she’d like to see this?" He held up the portfolio.

"She’d love to see it." Samantha smiled and pulled his hand. "Come on. Let’s go down and show her."

One hour later, the four people sat silently, but three were consumed with memories.

"Thank you for showing me that portfolio." Rose sniffed. "And for explaining the significance of those pictures. Jack was such a remarkable artist."

"He certainly was. He could have been something someday if things had been different." George sighed, laying aside Jack’s portfolio. "Tell me, did he keep up with his art?"

"Oh, yes, he did. In fact, he drew a picture of me the night of the sinking. It’s probably laying at the bottom of the North Atlantic by now," Rose softly replied. "Along with the rest of his wonderful drawings."

"The world has missed out on a wonderful talent." Molly nodded, then got up. "Well, Rosie, darlin’, it’s time for us to head on out and find what else there is to know of your Jack. Tell me, Mr. Dawson…"

"George." George cleared his throat.

"George…did Jack have any close friends in these parts? Are they still around, and would they still remember?"

"Of course. Jack was a very outgoing, friendly fellow. Everyone liked him and never forgot him. Let me tell you, the news of his death is going to hit everyone in this town hard." George nodded. "In fact, if Sam doesn’t mind, I’ll escort you through town, introduce you to the people who knew Jack best. The ones who will be happy to share information."

"Thank you, George. This means a lot not only to myself, but to Jack as well," Rose nodded, tears glimmering in her green eyes.

"It’s my pleasure to help out the widow of my beloved cousin. To help her know who he was so she can share it with my unborn cousin."

"Go on ahead, you two. I’ll start on lunch." Samantha smiled. "And George, remember to stop by Mrs. Cleary’s and pick up their luggage."

"Oh, you don’t have to put us up." Molly tried to decline. "I have more than enough to pay for the rooms for however long we may need them."

"Mrs. Brown, Rose is our cousin-in-law, and it’s our cousin that she’s carrying right now. Plus, by all rights, this house belongs to her and this baby. It’s our duty to take her in. Not to mention that I think it helps George feel closer to Jack," Samantha insisted.

"Thank you." Rose nervously smiled, hating all the time lying to these good people. If only she knew that she and Jack weren’t married, and this baby was the product of a night of passion in the back seat of a Renault. Even though she believed that she and Jack would have been married if he had lived, it was still a lie.

"No need to thank us, Rose. If anything, we should thank you for allowing us to remain here." George bowed his head. "Well, we’d better hit the road."

"See you three tonight." Samantha waved as her husband shut the door behind himself and the two ladies.

Chapter Four
Stories