DUST IN THE WIND
Chapter Four
George led Rose and Molly down
the street and around the block, just to stop at a small brick cottage. He
turned to Rose and Molly, clearing his throat.
"This is Jack’s best
friend’s house. I don’t know if he’s home yet, but he’ll be able to tell you
all about Jack’s time here." George nodded before ringing the bell. Molly
looked over at Rose and noticed how pale she’d become.
"Rosie, are you okay? We
don’t have to do this if you don’t want to." Molly squeezed her friend’s
hand.
"I’m fine, Molly. I have to
do this. For Jack. It’s only right that his friends know what happened to
him."
Molly nodded. "Okay, sugar.
But if it gets too difficult, just let me know, and we’re out of there.
Okay?"
Rose only smiled and nodded. She
closed her eyes, silently asking Jack to give her the strength to do this. She
didn’t want to break down in hysterics in front of strangers.
"Yes? May I help you?"
A petite blond woman answered the door. Her green eyes examined Rose curiously.
Her eyes dimmed when she saw George. "George Dawson. Whatever do you
want?"
"I’m here to see
Thomas." George’s voice was twice as cold. "This young lady here
needs to talk to him."
"Why?"
"That’s none of your
concern." George crossed his arms. "Now, can you let the leash off
Thomas for a couple of hours, or is that asking too much?"
"Come in." The blonde
stepped aside, glaring at Rose intently. She was, of course, suspicious of the
beautiful redhead. What could she want with her husband? "Thomas!
Company!"
"Yeah?" A man with
ebony black hair and brown eyes jogged into the room, his full attention on his
wife.
"George Dawson is here,
claiming that this…" The blonde gave Rose a disgusted look. "…needs
to talk to you."
Thomas turned to the small group.
"What is this about?"
"Let me introduce ourselves
first." Molly stepped in. "I am Molly Brown, and this is Rose
Dawson."
"Yeah?" Thomas crossed
his arms. Oh, boy. Another Dawson cousin. Just what this town needs. "Well,
I’m Thomas Downs, and this is my wife, Patricia. What can I do for you?"
"She’s the widow of young
Jack Dawson." Molly nodded. "Of course, you can tell she’s carrying
his child."
"Jack Dawson?" Thomas
gasped. "Widow…that means…"
"My God." Patricia’s
hand flew to her throat. She had also known Jack Dawson. She hadn’t really been
fond of her husband’s best friend, with his bright attitude and crazy ideas,
but she hadn’t disliked him, either. Unlike Thomas’s other friends, Jack had
always treated her with the utmost respect. "How?"
"We were on the Titanic…Jack
died a hero’s death." Rose held back her sobs.
"Titanic..." Thomas
gripped the nearest chair. The news of his best friend’s death was hitting him
hard.
"I’ll take it from here,
Rosie. George, why don’t you take Rose out for some air? She looks rather
pale."
"Yes, ma’am." George
took Rose’s shoulders and led her outside.
"Sorry. Rose is still in
mourning. She cries for Jack about every night. What makes things worse is that
she’s not only a widow, but with child, as well, if you haven’t noticed
already. The thing is, Jack never talked about his past much, and Rose is
looking for information about him so she can tell their child about its father
when he or she gets older. She wants to make sure that Jack’s memory never
dies. That the child will know that its father was a kind, good man."
"Oh. Okay. We’ll share all
we know. Won’t we, Patty?" Thomas nodded.
Patricia nodded. "Of course.
This is awful news. Just awful."
"Well, have George bring her
back in. Patty here will prepare some tea and scones and we’ll go into the
living room and talk about Jack."
Molly smiled. "Thank
you." She headed out to retrieve George and Rose.
Everyone was seated in the living
room. Rose’s hands trembled a little as they sat, ready to talk about her
beloved. It was still hard to believe that she was here and he wasn’t.
"So, where should I
begin?" Thomas asked. "Well…Jack Dawson was my best friend, even
though he got me in tons of trouble. Especially in school with Mrs. Scrowls,
our third grade teacher. Jack was always joking around and scheming. Of course,
I’d get drawn into his schemes. I didn’t want to take part, of course…but with
Jack…he was just so…"
"Irresistible," Rose
quietly replied.
"Yes. Irresistible. He’d
make anything sound like perfect sense. When we got caught with his schemes,
which usually backfired, we’d get detention. But Jack never let it get him
down. He enjoyed each and every day like it was his last."
"That sounds like
Jack." Rose smiled. "He made every day count. He had such a love for
life."
"His artwork…he drew so
beautifully." Patty nodded. "He sketched Thomas and I a couple of
times. I still have those sketches put away somewhere upstairs."
"I can go up and get them,
if you like," Thomas offered.
"Oh, would you?" Rose’s
eyes lit up. Anything her Jack had created, she wanted to see.
"I’ll be right back."
Patty smiled, getting up and heading upstairs.
"So…was Jack’s death…was it
painful?" Thomas nervously asked. He didn’t want to bring up bad memories
for Rose, but he had to know if his friend had been in pain.
"Well…at first…the water was
freezing…like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body. But, come to
think of it now…near the end, Jack was starting to relax. He wasn’t shivering
anymore. He just fell asleep and slipped away."
"So, he wasn’t in any
pain?"
"Not for long. No."
"Jack." Thomas sighed.
"Of all the people to go first, it had to be him. It’s not fair, you know.
He had such a love for life, and he was so talented. He had a lot to live for,
and to have it all snuffed out like that…"
"The good ol’ Dawson luck
didn’t hold out for Jack, I guess." George sighed. "It’s too bad that
we don’t have his body. He deserves a decent burial."
"Well, who says we can’t
give him one, huh? I mean…Rose here is his widow. She deserves a chance to say
good-bye, and so do us all. I can go down to see old Mr. Ravens and have a
headstone made. I can get in touch with the rest of Jack’s friends, and they
can stand up and share their memories of Jack before he left. That way, Rose
gets to bury her husband and get a bunch of memories without a lot of
traveling."
"Now, that’s a good idea,
Thomas. I guess you’re not useless after all." George clapped him on the
back. "Rose, you don’t mind us doing this, do you?"
"Oh, no. Of course not. It’s
just that…I didn’t think I’d have to say good-bye to him so soon." Rose
swallowed.
"You’re not saying good-bye,
darling. You’re just giving him a place to rest. Plus a place where the people
who loved him can come and cherish his memory. Something that says remember me.
Who I was and who I could have been." Molly placed a comforting hand on
Rose’s shoulder. "Really, I don’t think it’ll ever be good-bye between you
and Jack. He’s always going to be with you, making sure you keep that
promise."
Rose forced a smile. "You’re
right. I’m fine with this. So, when do you want to have it?" Rose asked.
George made a face, knowing just
how the town was going to react to the news of Jack’s passing. "As soon as
possible."