Rose was relieved to be free of the crowd surrounding the Carpathia. She didn't know how, but she'd find a way to get away from New York City, her mother, and Cal forever. The rain soaked her to the skin and chilled her to the bone. But the cold took a back seat to the ache in her heart.
"Promise me, Rose. And never let go of that promise."
She found a quiet bench and sat there. "Jack. I won't let go. But I could really use your help."
You could've bowed out gracefully
But you didn't
You knew enough to know
To leave well enough alone
But you wouldn't.
The day started out sunny and bright. Only a few puddles remained from last night's rain. Rose stared from the window of the inn she had sought refuge in last night. She didn't know if it was irony or coincidence that she ended up being able to afford the room.
She recalled placing her hands in the pockets of Cal's jacket while staring at Lady Liberty. Her heart had skipped a beat when she found a stack of Cal's money. She hadn't taken the time to count it, but it looked to be over a thousand dollars.
In the other pocket was the diamond. The Heart of the Ocean. It was proof that she hadn't been dreaming, that Jack had been real. She had shoved it back into the pocket and from her mind until she found herself asking for Jack to help her go on with her life.
Suddenly, the image of the necklace and the money flared in her mind. She had the means to get away. Rose hated the idea of using Cal's money, but it was the fastest way out of New York. So, shoving the odd feeling aside, she found a room for the night. She could almost hear Jack's voice telling her, "He was stupid enough to give you the coat. So he's out a couple grand. He'll get over it."
The innkeeper didn't ask questions, and Rose provided no other information other than her name. Rose Dawson. Saying the name filled her with hope. That hope was renewed when she looked out the window and saw the sun shining.
Thanking the innkeeper for the room, Rose left and never looked back. Her first stop was a boutique selling inexpensive dresses. She picked out three and changed into one. It never once crossed her mind to toss the one she had been wearing. Instead, she took it with her when she found the train station. Buying the first ticket to Los Angeles, she left New York City and first class society behind her forever.
I drive myself crazy
Tryin' to stay out of my own way
The messes that I make
But my secrets are so safe
The only one who gets me
Yeah, you get me
It's amazing to me.
Rose let out a scream as the actor on stage fell to his death. The curtain dropped, and the audience roared with applause. She offered her fellow thespian, Joshua Calvert, her hand. He smiled as he took it and rose to his feet. Before the curtain opened for their bow, he placed a kiss on Rose's cheek, making her blush.
She had been courting with Joshua for almost a year, and felt herself beginning to love him. Maybe even falling in love with him. He was the first person Rose had met out in Los Angeles. Rose felt something good about him, and opened up about her hopes and dreams to become an actress. Joshua took her to an audition that very night, and she scored the part of Lady Macbeth. After a year of acting together, Joshua asked Rose if he could court her, and Rose didn't know any other word to say but yes.
How every day
Every day, every day
You save my life.
"Joshua! Where are we going?" Rose laughed as Joshua tugged her hand along the streets of Santa Monica. She had been surprised, overjoyed, and saddened all at the same time when he suggested they take a trip there. She had dreamed of coming there with Jack.
Rose asked for some time to think about it, and Joshua gracefully gave it to her. He didn't ask questions or push the issue at all. Upon returning home, Rose dug out the necklace. She played with it in her hands, missing Jack.
"You promised me, Rose." Rose knew she hadn't actually heard Jack, but his voice seemed so real and near that she shivered. She knew that going to Santa Monica was exactly what she was going to do.
I come around all broken down and
Crowded out
And you're comfort.
Rose's jaw hung slightly open. She looked at the ring. Joshua had just asked her to marry him. Here in Santa Monica. After riding horses in the surf.
Having never told Joshua anything about the Titanic, Jack, or Santa Monica, Rose couldn't help but wonder if Jack was pulling strings from wherever he was. Or if it was just one big gigantic sign that her life was truly beginning.
"Rose?" Snapping back to the here and now, she looked at Joshua. A feeling of warmth spread through her. Tears of joy began to slip from her eyes.
"Yes, Joshua. I'll be your wife!" Even though she was brimming with happiness, a tiny piece of her ached for Jack. She suspected it always would, but upholding her promise would help ease that ache.
Sometimes the place I go
Is so deep and dark and desperate
I don't know, I don't know.
Rose gave one final push and heard her daughter, her second child, cry as she entered the world. Exhausted from a long labor, she let her head drop to the pillow. The nurse wrapped the baby in a bundle and handed her to Rose.
Joshua came in, holding their son's hand. "Michael, come meet your little sister." The baby made a tiny cry before Rose offered the little girl her breast. The infant latched on immediately.
"She's really little, Mama," Michael said. He hadn't wanted a new brother or sister, but both Joshua and Rose saw the look on their son's face. He was in love with her already. "What's her name?"
Rose looked at Joshua. "I chose his name," he told her. "You choose hers." Rose smiled as she looked down at the baby, who was now asleep.
"Welcome to the world, Molly."
How every day
Every day, every day
You save my life.
Rose watched her children run off to school. Michael was thirteen, and Molly was ten. She laughed as Molly refused to hold her brother's hand. Michael was protective, and Molly hated it.
Joshua was working at a sawmill in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It had been his hometown and he wanted to move there to raise their family. Again Rose thought of Jack, wondering what Chippewa Falls was like. Maybe one day she'd find out. For now, she planned to live in the moment, every moment, with her family.
Rose continued to make each day count as the years continued to fly by.
Sometimes I swear, I don't know if
I'm comin' or goin'
But you always say something
Without even knowin'.
Rose wiped a tear away with her handkerchief. A day had come that she never wanted to see. Joshua had passed away two nights ago. He had been twelve years older than Rose, but she never noticed the age difference. But then a heart attack took him from not only her, but her children, and now her grandchild.
Michael never got married. Instead, he had become a preacher. Molly had married, though. Her daughter, Lizzy, was now twenty-two.
Surrounded by his loved ones, Joshua was lowered into the ground. Saying good-bye to Joshua was harder than Rose had ever imagined. It wasn't fair. She had been robbed of love not once, but twice in her life.
After the funeral, Rose asked her children for some time alone. She assured them she'd be all right, and promised to call them that evening. Right now, she needed to mourn her husband.
Arriving home, she again dug out the treasure that comforted her most. The Heart of the Ocean. After nearly sixty years, Rose still held onto the love that she and Jack shared. It wasn't that she didn't love Joshua, because she truly did. But Jack had been, and always would be, her soul mate.
Putting on the necklace, Rose felt a shift in the atmosphere. Suddenly, Rose knew she'd never make peace until she shared her story of Jack. It wasn't time yet, but when the time came, she'd know.
That I'm hangin' onto your words
With all of my might and it's all right
Yeah, I'm all right for one more night—
Rose walked out on the deck of the salvage ship. She had spent the past two days telling Brock Lovett and her granddaughter, Lizzy, of the Titanic and Jack.
She was one hundred years old now. Her birthday was next month, but Rose knew she wouldn't make it. Her time on earth was almost up. Soon, she would be reunited with Jack.
Climbing onto the railing, she unwrapped her hand from the necklace. Maybe Brock would find it, maybe he wouldn't. Either way, she didn't care.
The years had passed by. Not a day had passed that Rose didn't think of Jack. She often prayed to him, and asked him to keep her family and loved ones safe. She knew he would even after she rejoined him.
She looked at the necklace one last time. Rose smiled, recalling how finding it had saved her life by keeping Jack alive in her heart. No longer needing it, she tossed it into the ocean with a small splash.
Rose looked at the stars a final time and saw a shooting star streak across the sky. She knew it was Jack, calling her home. He was so happy, not only to see her again, but that she had lived out a full and happy life.
Every day
Every day, every day, every day
Every day, every day
You save me, you save me, oh, oh, oh
Every day
Every, every, every day—
Rose walked along the ship deck, the same one she and Jack had walked along eighty-four years ago. She approached the doors to the ballroom and looked back one last time.
As Jack had predicted, she had died an old lady, warm in her bed. Now her soul had returned to the body of a seventeen-year-old. The gentleman opened the door for her and smiled.
Rose looked around, and saw everyone she had known. Tommy, Fabrizio, Helga, Cora, Thomas Andrews, Mr. Murdoch. At the top of the stairs was a man with longish blond hair, staring at the clock.
As she climbed the stairs, he turned. After eighty-four years, Rose and Jack once again stared into each others' eyes. The smiles on their faces were so wide, they were almost painful. Jack took Rose's hand and embraced her.
As innocently and as passionately as before, Rose and Jack leaned into each other. Their lips met and the ballroom erupted in applause. Finally the two souls, ripped apart by society and fate, were reunited forever.
Every day you save my life.
The End.
