LOVE THAT NEVER FADES
Chapter Eight

A New Home

It was the evening of April 18, 1912 when the Carpathia was getting close to New York. Jack, Rose, and Ruth stood out on deck with the other survivors. Soon, it began to rain, but they could care less. Jack had his arms wrapped around Rose’s waist, and Rose leaned her head against his chest, looking up at the Statue of Liberty, who held her torch high and stood straight, proud, and tall. Rose smiled, as did Jack, who just held her close to him, not wanting to let go. Ruth was sitting on a bench a few feet away, watching them stare up at the Statue of Liberty. A small smile came upon her lips as she saw how happy Rose was with Jack. She sighed and just looked around, finding people covered in warm blankets as they walked around on the deck.

Jack watched as Rose stared up at the Statue of Liberty. The cold drops of rain hit his skin, but he didn’t care. He knew he had felt worse three short days ago, when Rose and himself had had to fight for survival against the bitter cold of the North Atlantic. He knew, deep down, that he would never forget how cold the water had been, and how frightened Rose had looked when they were on the stern as it was tilting. But throughout all the tragic experiences of that night, he had won Rose’s heart, and they had both survived. Jack was proud of that, thankful that Rose hadn’t gone off to be with Cal. Just as Jack was about to let go of Rose and sit beside Ruth, a man with an umbrella and a clipboard in hand came towards them.

"May I take your names, please?" the man asked. Jack looked at him and smiled.

"Jack Dawson and Rose D--" Jack began, before Rose interrupted.

"Dawson. Rose Dawson." Rose smiled, leaning against his shoulder.

"Thank you," the man said, going to the last of the survivors. Jack looked down at Rose, confused.

"Rose?" Jack asked.

"Jack, I told you on the Titanic that I’d get off with you, and I’m keeping my word. Although it might not be the way we expected, we’ll still get off together, and Jack, nothing means more to me than being here, with you in my arms," Rose said. Jack smiled and brought Rose into a kiss. He was the one to pull away.

"Uh…would you consider it as your legal name?" Jack asked, looking straight into Rose’s green eyes. Rose smiled, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Of course." Rose smiled. "I would love to." With that, Jack hugged her close and kissed her with all the passion he had in him, knowing that Rose would soon be his wife, knowing that he’d be able to live the rest of his life with the woman he loved. They didn’t even feel the cold raindrops hitting their bodies, for they were much too occupied with each other to notice. Just then, they felt the ship stop and heard people walking. Jack and Rose broke apart and saw that they had finally reached New York and were disembarking the ship. Jack and Rose saw Ruth walking towards them. "We should be waiting for Annie in the infirmary. She said that we should meet her there, anyway," Rose said, holding Jack’s hand.

"Okay, then. Let’s go wait for her there," Ruth said, leading them to the infirmary, where they saw Annie dressed in a regular dress instead of the nurse’s uniform she had been wearing since they had met her.

"Hey, I’m just about finished here," Annie said, retrieving her purse and umbrella from a cabinet. "Let’s get going." Annie smiled as she led Jack, Rose, and Ruth out on deck. All four disembarked the ship and stepped into New York, waiting to start a new life after the event that had changed their lives forever.

While they were making their way off of the pier, they saw that reporters and family members were waiting for news of what had happened to the so-called unsinkable ship. Some were crying and others were reunited while reporters were asking questions about the Ship of Dreams. Annie sighed and found another way to her apartment building, which was only five blocks away from the pier. Luckily, they escaped the chaos of the reporters and reached the building safe and unnoticed. Annie finally reached her apartment building, with Jack, Rose, and Ruth close behind her. Annie took the keys from her purse and unlocked the front door, leading the three people inside. They were now in the lobby of the building, and there was a door that had landlord written in gold letters.

"There’s the landlord over there. His name is Michael Calvert. Just knock on the door and he’ll give you the keys to your apartment. I’ll be upstairs. I’m rather tired from all the work I’ve done," Annie said. Rose nodded and watched as Annie walked up a flight of steps. Rose turned towards the landlord’s door and went towards it, with Jack and her mother close behind. Rose knocked on the door a couple of times before it opened, revealing a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties with blonde hair and blue eyes, like Jack, only his hair was shorter, and he was a couple of inches shorter than Jack.

"How can I help you?" the man appearing to be Michael Calvert asked.

"I heard that there’s an apartment for rent," Rose said.

"Oh, yes. It’s on the third floor," Michael said.

"May we see it, please?" Rose asked.

"Certainly," Michael said, closing the door behind him. He led them upstairs to the third floor, where he opened a wooden door to an empty apartment. They stepped in, and Rose looked around, as did Jack and Ruth. "This here is the living room, and over there is the kitchen." Michael pointed straight ahead, where the kitchen could be seen. He led them to the hallway, where there were two doors. "These are the bedrooms. The master bedroom is the one to the left, and the other bedroom is to the right." Michael led them to the end of the hallway, where he showed them the bathroom. They went back to the living room, and Michael showed them the dining room, which was right next to the living room. The rooms were already furnished and cleaned. Rose looked up at Jack, and he smiled, nodding his head, telling her that he liked the apartment.

"The rent is twenty dollars a month," Michael said, looking at Jack and Rose.

"We’ll take it," Jack said, smiling at the man.

"Great," Michael said. "Uh…here are your keys." Michael reached in his pocket, took out two keys, and handed them to Jack. "Hope you enjoy living here."

"We will," Rose said, smiling. Michael smiled back.

"How foolish of me," Michael said. "My name is Michael Calvert." Michael held out his hand.

"Jack Dawson." Jack smiled, shaking his hand.

"Rose Dawson." Rose smiled as she, too, shook his hand. Ruth looked confused, but let it pass.

"Ruth DeWitt Bukater," Ruth said, shaking the man’s hand.

"Okay, then. I’ll be going now," Michael said. "If you guys need any company, come on down to my apartment and we can sit around and talk. Okay?"

"No problem." Jack smiled. With that, Michael left their apartment, closing the door behind him. "I’ll go look around. Okay?" Jack asked, wanting to leave Rose and her mother alone.

"All right, Jack." Rose smiled. She watched as Jack went into the kitchen. She turned to her mother.

"Dawson?" Ruth asked, a bit surprised. Rose sighed.

"Well, yes," Rose said. "I thought it would be best to use his name instead of DeWitt Bukater." Rose looked up at her mother, hoping that she wasn’t upset with her.

"Well, Rose, you aren’t even engaged to the man. Are you sure he wants you to use his name?" Ruth asked. Rose just smiled.

"You see, Mother…one, I already used his name when the officer asked for it on the Carpathia, and two, he proposed after that. So, you see, I am engaged to Jack," Rose said, smiling happily. Ruth smiled, as well.

"Congratulations," Ruth said, hugging her daughter tightly.

"Thank you," Rose said, hugging her mother back as a single tear of happiness slid down her cheek. "You don’t know how much it means to me to hear that from you." Ruth pulled away and smiled.

"You don’t know how much it means to me to see you happy again," Ruth said. Rose smiled and hugged her mother.

"I am happy, Mother," Rose said. "I’ve been happy ever since I met Jack." Ruth pulled away and rested a hand on her daughter’s shoulder.

"I know you have been. I could see it in your eyes whenever I looked at you," Ruth said. Suddenly, Jack came back from looking through the rooms and stood beside Rose, who leaned her head against his shoulder and yawned. "Why don’t you two go in and get ready for bed? You two had a long day."

"All right, Mother," Rose said, leaning over to kiss her mother on the cheek. "See you tomorrow morning." Ruth nodded and watched as Rose led Jack to the master bedroom, closing the door behind her. Ruth sighed and went to her own room, which was beside theirs. She closed the door behind her and began to get ready for bed.

Jack and Rose were now in their bedroom. Rose took the coat off for the first time in three days and set it on the chair beside the bed. She was still wearing the dress she had worn the night the ship had hit the iceberg, and she was beginning to feel dirty. Rose just took off her shoes and her stockings and set them aside. She stood in front of the dresser and sat down, looking in the mirror. Her hair was tangled, and her curls were sort of dead from not washing them. Rose sighed, but decided that she’d take care of that the next day. She felt Jack wrap his arms around her shoulders, standing behind her. Rose smiled and looked at him from the mirror. She turned around and kissed him. Rose got up and wrapped her arms around him, their lips still connected.

Jack led Rose to the bed and lay her carefully on it with him on top of her. He pulled away to look at her face, and found that she was smiling. She ran her fingers through his blonde hair and looked into his blue eyes with love and care. Jack looked down at her and smiled, and he gently kissed her forehead, beginning to undress Rose. As he did so, Rose unbuttoned his shirt and removed his pants, leaving them in their underclothes, which they removed themselves. Jack pulled the covers over them and smiled down at Rose. Rose smiled back and pulled him closer to her, kissing him with all the passion in her.

"Put your hands on me, Jack," Rose whispered, remembering the last time she had said that. She put his hand on her breast and smiled. Jack leaned down and kissed her passionately as they began to make love a second time.

*****

It was now early morning. Rose lay her head on Jack’s bare chest. He had his arms around her. Both were asleep, and both were happy. Meanwhile, in the other room, Ruth was already up. She looked out the window and saw people walking down the street. She wasn’t accustomed to her surroundings, but she knew she’d be happy by Rose’s side. Ruth walked towards the dresser and took her hair from the pins that held it in a loose bun. Ruth shook her hair out and saw that it was tangled. Ruth found herself surprised at the fact that she hadn’t bathed in three days, and she hadn’t brushed her hair in those three days, as well. Ruth knew that she had to go shopping with her daughter for clothes and other necessities.

Ruth got up, left her room, and walked towards Jack and Rose’s room, knocking on the door gently. She heard no response, so she knocked a little louder.

"Rose? Are you up?" Ruth called.

Rose raised her head a bit at the sound of her mother’s voice. Rose sighed and slowly slid out of Jack’s warm embrace, trying not to wake him up. She saw him turn on his side. Rose smiled, got out from under the covers, and put on her dress. She went towards the door and opened it quietly. There, she found her mother, with her hair down, smiling at her. Rose smiled back and stepped into the hallway, closing the door as quietly as she could.

"Good morning, Mother." Rose smiled. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. Perfectly well." Ruth smiled. "Uh…I was thinking that we should go shopping for clothes and other things. You know, we can’t keep wearing these clothes for the rest of our lives." Ruth gave a small laugh, and Rose joined in.

"That’s true," Rose said, looking down at the dress she had on. "We can go once Jack wakes up. I don’t want him to worry about me if we leave without him knowing."

"Okay," Ruth said. "So, we’ll wait."

Rose led her mother to the living room, where she sat down on the cream-colored couch beside her mother. Rose folded her hands in her lap, looking around the living room. It wasn’t big, but it wasn’t small, either. It was just the right size. Rose smiled as she thought of what her life would be like when she married Jack. She hoped that they would get married soon, but in a church. She didn’t want a big wedding, not like the one that she would’ve had if she had married Cal. She just wanted Jack there, her mother, Annie, and maybe Michael. He seemed like a very nice man, and sure enough, Jack and Michael would become good friends. Rose sighed happily at those thoughts, and turned to face her mother, who was smiling.

"You know, I have never seen you this happy before. At least, not since before you were engaged to Cal," Ruth admitted, seeing how happy Rose was with Jack. Rose smiled at her.

"Well, I am happy. Really happy. Especially since I have Jack now," Rose said, looking at the hallway to see when he would step into the living room, and sure enough, she heard their bedroom door open, and there he stood, with the clothes that he had worn the night the ship sank, his hair all over the place, and a sleepy smile on his face.

"Morning," Jack said, scratching his head.

"Good morning, Jack." Rose smiled. Ruth just smiled at him. Rose got up, went over to him, and kissed him gently on the lips. She couldn’t help but laugh at him.

"What’s so funny?" Jack asked.

"It’s just that you have a very peculiar type of hairdo." Rose smiled, seeing Jack trying to straighten his tangled hair. "But you are still handsome." Rose wrapped her arms around his neck. Jack smiled and kissed her forehead. They saw Ruth get up from the couch.

"Maybe we should go shopping now?" Ruth asked. "We really need to get more clothes and other things for the apartment."

"That sounds like a good idea," Jack said, agreeing to Ruth’s plan. "Just let us put our shoes on. We don’t want to go walking on the sidewalk barefoot now, do we?" Jack stared at Rose, who smiled up at him. Jack and Rose headed towards their bedroom, put on their shoes, and took some money from Cal’s overcoat, which Rose had worn since the sinking. Jack and Rose left their bedroom and left the apartment, Jack locking the door behind him. Just as they left the apartment, the door across from theirs opened and revealed Annie, dressed in a simple dress. She smiled at them.

"Well, good morning, everyone," Annie said, locking the door. "It’s good to see that you two have moved here."

"We really like the place," Rose said, smiling.

"I’m glad you do." Annie smiled. "Going somewhere?"

"Uh…yeah. We’re gonna go get some stuff for us and the apartment," Jack said.

"Sounds like fun. Mind if I come along?" Annie asked.

"No, not at all. We’d love it if you joined us." Jack smiled. Annie smiled back and followed them down the stairs and into the lobby. They left the apartment building and headed towards a clothing store, which was only five blocks away from their apartment building. Once they reached the store, they went inside and began browsing for clothes. Ruth was helping Rose with her dresses, while Annie was choosing clothes for Jack in the men’s section of the store.

"So, when do you plan on marrying Jack?" Ruth asked, looking through the dresses. Rose looked at her mother and smiled.

"I don’t know. He just proposed yesterday. I’m not sure what the date of our wedding will be, but I know that I want to get married as soon as possible," Rose said, looking through the dresses beside her mother. Ruth pulled a few dresses from the rack and showed them to Rose.

"What do you think?" Ruth asked. Rose looked at the dresses and smiled.

"They’re perfect," Rose said. Ruth smiled and pulled a few more from the rack for herself. Rose turned and saw a white, floor-length dress, which was like an evening gown, but wasn’t as expensive as most evening gowns were. Rose smiled and went towards it. It was short-sleeved and the front was low, but not too low. The top part of the dress had embroidery and beads covering it, making the dress look more beautiful, while the bottom part was silky and soft to the touch. Rose admired the dress and knew that it would make a perfect bridal gown for her wedding to Jack. Although it wasn’t as expensive and elegant as her gown for Cal’s wedding, she still loved it, and thought that it looked better than the gown chosen for her wedding to Cal. Rose found that her mother was standing beside her and smiling.

"That’s a beautiful dress," Ruth admitted.

"I know. I’m thinking of wearing it for my wedding," Rose said. "What do you think?" Rose turned to her mother and wondered what she would think.

"It’s wonderful. You should buy it," Ruth suggested. Rose smiled and took it off the rack, laying it over her arm. "Of course, you’re going to need shoes, a veil, and…" Ruth listed the things Rose needed for her wedding. Rose just smiled and went to get her shoes and other necessities for the wedding. Once they had everything they needed, Ruth and Rose went to the counter to purchase their chosen items. Once they were paid for, Rose and Ruth went to the men’s section and found Jack smiling at something Annie had said. Rose smiled and went towards him.

"So, what has my handsome fiancé been doing?" Rose asked, linking arms with Jack. Jack looked down and smiled.

"Ah…nothing. Just talking and choosing the right pants for me and stuff like that," Jack said. Rose smiled.

"How long does it take for a man to choose a few pairs of pants and some shirts?" Rose asked. "It only took us about ten minutes to buy our things, and you’re still choosing. I always thought that women spent more time shopping." Rose smiled up at him. She saw him shrug and smile brighter. Rose just leaned on his shoulder and looked down at her bag, which held her wedding dress, veil, and shoes. Rose smiled and looked at him, hardly able to wait for the day they would get married. She saw Annie take a couple of pairs of corduroy pants from a shelf.

"How about these?" Annie asked.

"Their fine," Jack said.

"Grab a few more pairs, along with some shirts and a pair of suspenders," Rose said. "I wouldn’t want my Jack to wear the same clothes he has on for the rest of his life, you know." Rose looked at him and smiled. Annie did as he had asked, and they went to the counter to purchase the items. Once they had, they left the clothing store and headed for a grocery store to get food for them to eat. Although Rose had no clue how to cook, she knew she’d learn. Besides, when she was younger, she had sneaked into the kitchen and the cook had taught her a few basics about cooking, so Rose would know how to cook some simple meals. Rose just hoped that Jack would like it. After they had everything they needed, they headed back to their apartment building. Annie went into her apartment, while Jack, Rose, and Ruth went into theirs.

They entered their apartment, and Jack closed the door behind him. He walked into the kitchen, setting the bags down on the counter and beginning to put the food away in the cupboards or the icebox. It took Jack approximately ten minutes to put everything away, while Rose was putting her wedding dress and her other dresses into the closet and her underclothes into a drawer, along with Jack’s underclothes and the Heart of the Ocean. Rose took the necklace from the drawer and sat down on their bed, looking at the expensive jewel that meant so much to her. This jewel held precious memories of her and Jack aboard the Titanic, and Rose cherished those memories with all her heart, and she would until the day she died.

Rose heard the door open and she looked up, finding Jack smiling at her. Rose smiled back and motioned for him to come sit beside her. He obeyed after he closed the door behind him. He put his arm around her shoulders and looked at the jewel she was holding. Rose clutched the necklace and brought it towards her heart, closing her eyes. Jack smiled and hugged her close, kissing her on the cheek.

"I think we should get a safety deposit box for the necklace and the money. We really should start saving up all the money. I don’t think we should spend it all at once," Rose said, looking up at Jack.

"You’re right. We’ll go to the bank later today. But for now, we have to eat breakfast. I’m starving," Jack said. Rose smiled and got up. She put the Heart of the Ocean back in the drawer, then followed Jack to the kitchen. Rose took some ingredients from the cupboards and the icebox and began preparing them. She was going to make scrambled eggs, hotcakes, sausages, and orange juice. Jack watched as Rose cooked. He had had no idea that she knew how to cook, so he was amazed. Ruth was sitting across from him at the kitchen table, and she was smiling at her daughter. Ten minutes passed, and Rose was finished preparing their breakfast. She put the food on three plates and put them on the table in front of Jack, her mother, and herself. She poured orange juice into three glasses. When she set the glasses in front of everybody, Rose sat down and began eating.

"Why, darling, this is delicious," Ruth complimented, chewing on a scrambled egg. "I never would’ve thought that you could cook."

"Well, I used to sneak into the kitchen when I was younger, and our cook would teach me basic things about cooking. And I sure am glad that she did." Rose smiled. Ruth smiled at her daughter and saw the fire in her. Saw why Jack had fallen in love with her. If it weren’t for Jack, Rose would be married to Cal, and she would be miserable. She knew that.

The three finished their breakfast, and Rose gathered up the dirty dishes and brought them to the sink to wash. Her mother got up and went to her room, while Jack stayed in the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her. He put his chin on her shoulder and watched as she washed the dishes. Jack kissed her neck gently, causing Rose to stop what she was doing and turn around to face him. Jack held her close now, looked into her emerald green eyes, and smiled. He brought her lips to his, kissing her lovingly. Rose was the one to pull away.

"Jack, I need to do the dishes," Rose said. "The water is running. We can’t just fool around now." Rose pulled away from his embrace and went back to washing the dishes. Jack laughed and stood beside her, watching as she finished washing the dishes. She turned off the running water and wiped her hands with a dry cloth. She looked up at him and smiled.

Rose looked into Jack’s piercing blue eyes, and immediately felt weak in her knees. She moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around him, while he did the same to her. He leaned down and gently kissed her lips, and then he kissed her cheeks, and soon enough, he was kissing her whole face, causing Rose to laugh. Jack lifted her up and began spinning her around. Rose squealed in delight, holding onto Jack’s neck a little tighter and smiling brightly. A short while later, Jack put her down and held her close, looking into Rose’s eyes deeply. Rose smiled and pulled Jack closer as they kissed, their arms wrapped tightly around each other, neither wanting to ever let go. They would soon start a new life in a new home.

Chapter Nine
Stories