LOVE THAT NEVER FADES
Chapter Fourteen

The Tickets

It was early morning on the twenty-first of April. Jack and Rose were cuddled up against each other, sound asleep. Rose’s head was on Jack’s bare chest, and Jack’s arm was around Rose’s bare shoulders. The sunshine had crept into their bedroom, which caused Jack to open his eyes. Jack rubbed his eyes with his free hand and yawned quietly. He slowly slid out of Rose’s embrace and got out of bed, putting on his underwear, which had been thrown on the floor last night. A smile played upon his lips as he remembered what had happened last night.

Whenever he made love to Rose, it felt like he was in heaven. To him, he was making love to the most beautiful woman in the whole world, who loved him for who he was, and had married him. He looked over at Rose and saw a small, happy smile on her face as she slept. Jack smiled, took his clean clothes out of the bureau, and went into the bathroom to take a quick bath. When he finished, he got out and dried himself with a towel. He dressed in his clean clothes and combed his hair back. Jack took the dirty clothes, went back to the bedroom, and put the clothes in the laundry basket.

Jack heard Rose turn over, covering herself with the covers. Jack smiled and went towards her, sitting on the edge of the bed. He gently stroked her hair and kissed her cheek. Jack just sat there and waited for her to wake up. After waiting for awhile, he shook her gently, hoping to wake her up. He hated to wake her up when she was sleeping peacefully, but he had to.

"Rose, time to get up," Jack said, shaking her gently. Rose stirred and turned over, facing Jack. She held the covers over her chest tightly and kept on sleeping. She smiled sweetly, looking like a sleeping angel. Jack smiled and stroked her cheek. "Come on, Rose. Get up. We gotta go to the train station." Rose cuddled up against Jack, her head lying in his lap. Jack laughed quietly. "Oh, Rose. You’re making me feel guilty. Come on." Jack gently shook her. Suddenly, Jack got a sly smile on his face. He grabbed the sheet from over her and took it off, showing Rose’s naked body. Rose got up and covered herself with her hands. Jack laughed and handed her the sheet.

"Jack!" Rose said, covering herself with the sheet.

"I’m sorry, but that was the only way I could wake you up," Jack said. "I tried waking you up, but you didn’t respond to my calls."

"I’m sorry. I guess you wore me out last night," Rose said, smiling.

"Guess I did," Jack said, smiling as well.

"Why are you dressed up?" Rose asked. "Are you going anywhere?"

"Yes. And so are you," Jack said.

"Where are we going?" Rose asked.

"Ah-ah-ah," Jack said. "That’s a surprise. Now, go on and get dressed so we can be on our way." Rose smiled and got up, taking the sheet with her. She walked towards the bureau, took out a clean set of undergarments, and went into the bathroom to take a bath. After fifteen minutes had passed, Rose came out of the bathroom, wearing her undergarments, and went over to the closet to retrieve a dress. She found a lavender-colored dress and slipped it on. She put on her shoes and went to brush her hair. She put it half-up and half-down. Once she was done, she turned towards Jack and smiled.

"So, how do I look?" Rose asked, holding out her arms so he could get a better look.

"Beautiful," Jack said, walking towards her. "As always." Rose smiled and kissed him. Jack held her close and kissed her back. "Uh…pack up a few clothes. That way, we’ll have something to change into when we get to our destination." Rose was confused, but did as she was told. She took the wooden box from under the bed and began filling it up with her clothes, as well as Jack‘s. The clothes that they had worn onboard the Titanic were still inside, and Rose kept them there. Once she had packed everything they needed, Rose closed the wooden box and held it by the handle. Jack quickly made his way towards her and took the box. "I’ve got it. Uh…we’ll stop by the bank and pick up some money. That way, we won’t be broke when we get to where we’re going. Okay?"

"Whatever you say, Jack. I just hope that I’ll like it, wherever we’re going," Rose said.

"Trust me. You’ll like it. I know you will," Jack said. Rose looked up at him and smiled.

"I trust you," Rose said. Jack smiled and kissed her on the lips. Jack took the key and left the apartment, locking the door behind him. Just as they left their apartment, Annie came out of hers.

"Why, it’s nice to see the newlyweds up early in the morning," Annie said, smiling. Jack and Rose smiled. "Where are you two heading off to?"

"Well, I don’t know where we’re going, but Jack does. He just told me that it was a surprise," Rose said. "I just wish I knew where we were going."

"Ah…Rose, it’ll ruin the surprise. I know you’ll love it once we get there," Jack said, patting her on the shoulder. Rose smiled up at him.

"If you say so." Rose smiled. Jack kissed her forehead.

"Let’s go," Jack said, leading Rose down the stairs. Annie followed them.

"How long will you two be gone?" Annie asked.

"Two weeks. We’ll be back on the fourth of May," Jack answered.

"Okay, then," Annie said. "You two have fun now, and be safe."

"Don’t worry. With Jack, I’m always safe," Rose said. "Will you tell my mother that I’ll be gone for two weeks? Just so she won’t worry about me, you know."

"I’ll tell her. But what if she asks where you went?" Annie asked. Jack went towards her and cupped her ear. He whispered where they were going. "Oh, okay. I’ll tell her that." Annie smiled.

"Okay. We’d better head off to the bank and withdraw some money," Jack said. "See you in May, Annie."

"You bet," Annie said. "Go on and have fun, you two. You deserve it!" Jack waved, and they left the apartment building, heading towards the bank.

Jack held Rose’s hand, heading towards the bank that held all their money. Mike had deposited one hundred thousand dollars in the bank, so they had plenty of money to take out, although Jack was still worried about having that much money. He had never seen a hundred thousand dollars, and to him, it felt like a hundred million dollars, since he was poor. Once they had reached the bank, Jack and Rose went inside and took out the money that they would need for their trip. Jack took three hundred dollars, while Rose took two hundred. Jack was nervous about having that amount of money in his pocket, but he knew that now, he had to get used to it.

Rose sensed his nervousness and held his hand with both of hers. She looked up at him and smiled. She was used to having that much money in her pocket, but she knew Jack wasn’t. She gave him a reassuring smile and kissed his hand lovingly. Jack smiled back at her and placed a gentle kiss on her ruby-colored lips. People were staring at them, but they were newlyweds, and they loved each other. They hugged each other and left the bank with money in their pockets.

Jack and Rose walked towards the train station, which was only six blocks away. They had no problem walking. It would save them money for getting a cab. Besides, they enjoyed walking together. Once they reached the train station, Jack went towards the ticket clerk and asked for two second class tickets to Santa Monica. Rose was sitting on a bench a few feet away from him, holding the wooden box. As the ticket master handed him the two train tickets, Jack paid for them and retrieved his change. He put the change in his pocket, took the tickets, and went towards Rose.

Jack handed Rose her ticket, a smile appearing on his lips. He watched as she took the ticket and looked it over. Suddenly, Rose got a bright smile on her face and looked up at Jack. She got up, putting the wooden box on the bench, and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him as lovingly as she could. Jack kissed her back, holding her close to him, knowing that she was happy to finally go to where they had wanted to go when they were aboard the unsinkable ship.

"Oh, Jack!" Rose said, looking at the ticket, then at him. "I can’t believe that we’re actually going to Santa Monica!" Jack smiled.

"I told you that you’d love it," Jack said. Rose hugged him once more and kissed his cheek.

"I love you!" Rose said, hugging him tightly.

"I love you, too, Rose," Jack said, hugging her back. "This is our honeymoon. I knew it would be a perfect place, since you wanted to go there." Jack pulled away. Rose smiled up at him.

"I love you. I always will love you," Rose said, kissing him once more. They suddenly heard a whistle and heard a train pull into the station.

"Santa Monica!" the conductor called out. "Anyone going to Santa Monica, board this train!" Jack and Rose turned, then smiled.

"That’s us," Jack said, picking up the wooden box and taking Rose by the hand as he led her towards the train. He helped her get on the train and hopped on behind her. They went to their seats in the second class section of the car. Once they found two free seats, they sat down beside each other. "This is it, Rose. We’re going to do the things we said we were gonna do. I told you that I’d bring you to Santa Monica one day, didn’t I?" Jack looked at Rose. Rose smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"You sure did, Jack. And I can’t wait to ride a horse right on the surf. Like a real cowboy. No sidesaddle stuff," Rose said, looking at him. Jack smiled and kissed the top of her head. Fifteen minutes later, the train began to move, taking them towards the horizon. Both were free to do what they wanted, with nobody in their way to stop them--or so they thought.

Chapter Fifteen
Stories