LOVE THAT NEVER FADES
Chapter Nine

A Ring

Jack and Rose went to the nearest bank and put their money and the necklace in a safety deposit box. Earlier, without Rose noticing, Jack had taken some money and put it in his pants’ pocket. He was going to buy Rose something very special later on. After they made sure everything was in the safety deposit box, Jack and Rose left the bank and walked hand-in-hand down the block, back to their apartment. Ruth was talking to a middle-aged woman whom she had met while she was out going for a walk. She was a nice lady, a lady that Ruth would love to become friends with. She hadn’t had a real friend since she was young, and she was hoping that she would finally have a real friend after all these years of loneliness.

While they were walking, Jack stopped and faced Rose. He looked into her emerald-green eyes and smiled. He put his hand on her cheek and leaned closer, kissing her--in public. Rose responded and hugged him close, kissing him. Rose felt free. She felt as if she could do just about anything she wanted to do, without anyone objecting or telling her what to do with her life. She felt as if she could do anything she wanted and be loved by the handsomest man in the world. She felt like a butterfly, free to fly for the horizon whenever she felt like it. Rose knew that someday Jack and herself would head out for the horizon, ride horses in the surf, and ride the roller coaster until they threw up--just like they had talked about when they were on the Titanic.

Jack was the one to pull away. He looked into her eyes and smiled. He was glad that he had Rose by his side. He was glad that he had won Rose’s heart and saved her from the man who would’ve ruined her life forever. Jack caressed Rose’s curls gently and smiled down at her. He moved his hand down her neck and down her arm until they interlocked hands, continuing walking back to their apartment. They reached the front entrance when Jack stopped. He ran his fingers through his hair and smiled at Rose.

"Uh…I gotta go somewhere. I’ll be back," Jack said.

"Where are you going?" Rose asked. "Can’t I come with you?" Jack just laughed.

"No, my sweet Rose," Jack said, caressing her cheek. "I’ll be back soon. Don’t ya worry." Jack kissed the top of her head and left, smiling at her as he waved. Rose smiled back and waved, going inside the apartment building and up to their apartment. Rose went into their bedroom and grabbed a clean dress and underclothes, making her way towards the bathroom to take a nice, long bath.

*****

Jack walked a couple of blocks from the apartment building until he reached a jewelry store. Jack made his way inside the small store and went up to the counter. He looked through the glass and saw a few engagement rings. He looked at each of them, but one caught his eye. It was a solitaire diamond engagement ring with a gold band and a shining diamond in the middle. It wasn’t much, but he knew Rose would love it. He smiled and rang the bell until a middle-aged man came from the back room.

"How may I help you?" the man asked, looking at Jack with curious eyes.

"Uh…I would like to purchase this engagement ring, please," Jack said, pointing to the one he wanted. The man opened the counter and took out the ring he had selected.

"Uh…this can be engraved for you if you want anything special for the lucky lady," the man said, looking at Jack hopefully.

"Uh…engrave the words ‘Make it Count’ and have ‘Jack and Rose Forever’ below it," Jack described. The man nodded and disappeared into the back room, where he began to engrave the words. Jack waited patiently for ten minutes. He leaned on the counter until the man came back from the back room and held the ring out to him.

"How’s this?" the man asked, handing Jack the ring. Jack looked at the ring and smiled.

"Perfect," Jack said, handing the ring back to the man.

"Okay. That’ll be one hundred and ten dollars," the man said, putting the ring in a small box. Jack took one hundred twenty dollars from his pocket and handed it to the man. He took his change and placed it in his pocket, along with the small box, which contained Rose’s engagement ring. Jack ran his fingers through his hair and left the jewelry store, heading back to the apartment building that was his new home. He walked up the stone steps, opened the front door, and walked into the lobby. He looked up the stairs and sighed. Slowly, Jack walked up the steps until he reached the third floor, where he entered his apartment. No one was in the living room, so he went to their bedroom, and didn’t find anyone there. He searched the whole apartment until he came to the bathroom and heard Rose humming happily. Jack couldn’t help but smile. He knocked on the door gently.

*****

While Rose was humming a cheery tune, she heard a knock on the door. Rose looked at the door, wondering who it was. Her mother was at her new friend’s apartment, and Jack was out. Rose swallowed and stared at the door.

"Who is it?" Rose called out, her voice a bit shaky.

"Rose?" Jack’s voice was heard through the door. "It’s me."

A smile appeared on Rose’s lips.

"Come in," Rose said, continuing to scrub her body with soap. The door suddenly opened, and there stood a happy Jack, smiling at her.

"Well, well, well." Jack smiled. "If it isn’t little Miss Dawson taking a bubble bath." Rose smiled up at him. Suddenly, Jack had a sly smile on his face. "Mind if I join ya?" Jack asked.

"Not at all." Rose smiled, watching Jack strip out of his clothes and join her in her bubble bath. Jack sat behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Rose leaned back and looked up at him, smiling. "This is comfortable," Rose said, kissing the tip of his nose.

"Really?" Jack asked.

"Really," Rose said, taking a handful of soap bubbles from the tub and placing it on top of Jack’s shaggy blonde head. She couldn’t help but laugh.

"Oh, and you think that was funny, do you?" Jack asked and saw Rose nod, a smile on her face and the shine of happiness in her eyes. Jack smiled, grabbing a handful of soap bubbles and spreading it across her cheeks and her chin, making a beard of soap bubbles for Rose. He laughed and ducked as Rose tried to playfully slap him across the head. They ended up splashing each other, then kissing each other. When they broke apart, they smiled and continued washing each other until their hands were wrinkled from being in the water for too long.

Thirty minutes later, both of them got out of the tub and dried themselves with towels. Rose changed into her clean clothes, while Jack wrapped the towel around his waist and went to their bedroom to get clean clothes. Once Rose was changed, she brushed her hair, which was now soft and unmatted. After Rose picked up the dirty clothes, she looked at Jack’s corduroy pants, perplexed as to why there was a bump in the pants pocket. Curious, Rose set the other clothes down and dug her hand into the pocket, retrieving a small box from the pocket, along with money. She stared at the box, wondering if she should open it or wait for Jack to show it to her--if it was for her. Quickly, Rose placed the items back in Jack’s pocket and picked up the rest of the clothes, exiting the bathroom and going to their bedroom. There, she found Jack fully dressed in a new pair of corduroy pants, a white shirt, and suspenders holding up his pants. He was also wearing his shoes, and his wet hair was falling in his eyes. He smiled at her and watched as she set the clothes on the bed. She spread out her dress and caressed it.

This dress hadn’t meant anything to her before, but now, it was a prized possession. When she had first worn this dress, her life had changed--in good ways and bad. When she had worn this dress, she had run away from Lovejoy with Jack beside her, and she had worn this dress when they had gone down to the cargo hold and into the Renault, where they had made love. But she had also worn the dress when the ship had sunk, and when she had almost lost Jack on that dreadful night. Rose decided to bring the dress to the laundry, as well as Jack’s clothes, and save them for their memories. Precious memories aboard the ill-fated ship, which had changed their lives forever.

Jack saw how Rose was looking at her dress, which she had worn for the past few days since the sinking. He wondered why it meant so much to her. To him, it was only a dress which had looked beautiful on Rose, but he didn’t understand why Rose was looking at the dress as if it were her prized possession, as if she was remembering something so wonderful, yet so horrible. He moved closer to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her cheek.

"Something wrong?" Jack asked, holding her close.

"No," Rose whispered, still admiring the dress. "It’s just that we wore these clothes before we made love, and we wore them while the ship sank. I’m not sure why, but I want to keep these clothes for our memories. That way, when we get older, we can look at them and remember the precious moments we had together before we became husband and wife." Rose looked up at him, only to see him smile.

"Sounds like a wonderful idea to me," Jack said, kissing the top of her head. Rose smiled and leaned her head against his chest. Suddenly, a lonely tear slid down her cheek. Wiping it away quickly, Rose gathered up the clothes and put them on the chair, preparing to bring them to the laundry later. Rose sat on the bed and gestured for Jack to join her, which he obeyed. There, they just sat together, enjoying each other’s presence. Rose covered her face with her hands, crying. She just let it all out. She couldn’t hold it in anymore. Everything that had happened on the fifteenth of April had finally gotten to her. Jack just held her close, knowing her pain since he, too, had gone through that tragedy. "Shh. I’m here. Everything will be okay. Don’t cry." Jack held her head to his chest and caressed her hair gently. Rose just clung to his shirt and cried.

It took Rose about ten minutes to calm down. When she had, she got up and wiped the tears away. Jack sat beside her and looked at her, hoping that she was all right. Rose looked at him and smiled sadly, hugging him close. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing Jack. She wouldn’t know what to do with her life. They just stood there and hugged each other, neither wanting to ever let go.

"They’re gone," Rose whispered. "All of them are gone." Jack hugged her close and closed his eyes, realizing that Fabrizio and Tommy hadn’t survived. Then, tears began pouring down his cheeks, while he quickly wiped them away. He just hugged Rose close, and they both cried. They mourned for those they had lost, and for the other innocent people who had died on that night in the freezing North Atlantic. They heard the door open. Quickly, both of them wiped their tears away and went to the living room to see if it was Ruth. Sure enough, they saw Ruth enter their apartment.

"I’ve got good news," Ruth announced. "I’m going to move into Patricia’s apartment."

Patricia was the lady that Ruth had befriended earlier. She was a couple of years older than her, but they had become good friends immediately. While Ruth was in her apartment, having tea, Patricia explained that her son had moved out with his wife a month ago, and now she was alone, with nobody to keep her company. Ruth had made a suggestion. She had asked Patricia if she would like it if she moved in with her, and Patricia had immediately agreed. Now, Ruth was going to get her things from her bedroom and leave. Besides, she thought it was a good idea to live with someone who was about her age, and she wanted Jack and Rose to live alone together. That way, they’d have enough privacy.

"Why?" Rose asked.

"Well, darling, you two are engaged and are soon to be married, and I don’t want to interfere in your lives. Besides, you two need your privacy. You don’t need a middle-aged woman living in your apartment. I’ll be on the fourth floor if you need me. All right? You two need to live alone together. Not live with Rose’s mother," Ruth said. Rose smiled sweetly.

"All right, Mother," Rose said. Ruth smiled and went to her bedroom to get her clothes and the other things she would need. Once she had retrieved her things, she left her bedroom and went into the living room. Rose went over and hugged her mother.

"What was that for?" Ruth asked, once they pulled apart.

"That was for being a good mother, and for changing," Rose said. Ruth smiled and hugged her daughter tightly.

"I’ll see you, Rose. I’ll just be upstairs if you need me," Ruth said. Rose nodded and watched as her mother walked out the door, and heard her walking up the stairs to her new apartment with her friend. Rose turned, stared at Jack, and smiled.

"Guess we’re all alone in our new apartment," Rose said, smiling.

"Guess so," Jack said, going towards her and caressing her hair. He kissed the top of her head and smiled. "I’ll be right back. Gotta go get something." Jack disappeared into their bedroom and took out the small box from his pocket. He clutched the box, then went back to the living room, where he found Rose standing where he had left her. She was wearing a light blue dress that she had bought earlier when they had gone shopping. Jack smiled and walked towards her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, still clutching the small box. Rose turned around and smiled, kissing him on the lips. Jack smiled and took a deep breath. "Rose..."

"Yes, Jack?" Rose smiled, looking into Jack’s piercing blue eyes.

"I know I did this before, on the Carpathia, but I wanna be traditional here," Jack said. He went down on one knee and held Rose’s hand as she looked down at him with tearful eyes and a smile on her face. "Rose, I’ve known you for a week now, and having known you for that week made me fall in love with you. I knew, from when I first saw you up on the first class deck, that I loved you. It was something in my gut that told me that you were the one. The one and only for me. I cherish the moments we’ve had together. From when I saved you, to the night in the Renault. Most importantly, I cherish you, Rose. You’re my soulmate, my best friend, and my lover. I can’t imagine living the rest of my life with anybody else but you, Rose. Rose, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Jack looked at Rose’s expression. Tears were flowing down her cheeks, and she nodded.

"Yes, Jack. I will be your wife!" Rose cried. Jack got up and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her. He spun her around and held her close. After he put her down, he opened the small box and showed it to Rose. She gasped, and took the ring from the box. "Oh, Jack, this is beautiful."

"There’s a message on the ring," Jack said. Rose smiled and looked at the inscribed words on the gold band. Rose smiled and threw her arms around him, kissing him all over the face.

"I love it!" Rose said. "I love you." Jack leaned down and kissed her. He took it from her and took her left hand, where he put the engagement ring on her finger. He kissed the ring and smiled.

"Now, I’m going to marry the woman I love," Jack said. Rose hugged him and kissed him once more. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Both were confused as to who it was, but they went towards the door and opened it. To their surprise, it was Caledon Hockley. Rose sighed, and Jack just stared at him with a not-so-friendly stare. "What do you want, Cal?" Jack held Rose close.

"Can I come in?" Cal asked innocently.

"Why should I trust you?" Jack asked. "You shot at us, nearly killing us, and now you want to play innocent with us?" Cal sighed and ran his fingers through his dark hair.

"Look, I just want to have a talk with you two, nothing more," Cal said. "Besides, I already know that you have Rose. What would I want to do with a slut, anyway?"

"She’s no slut, Cal," Jack said angrily.

"She is, Jack. Trust me," Cal said. "She had a love affair with you while she was engaged to me."

"Listen, Cal," Rose said, angrily. "I told you once, and I’ll tell you again. Our engagement is off. It has been ever since you proposed to me. I never loved you. I only did it for my mother, but I couldn’t live with it anymore. You’re nothing but a lying, stupid, unimaginable bastard. You had the nerve to frame Jack for stealing the necklace, having that fucking asshole put it in Jack’s coat pocket. You have been aggravating me ever since I first accepted your proposal, and I have had enough of it, Cal." Cal just looked at her with hurt eyes, but Rose could care less. "Oh, and Cal, meet my new fiancé, Jack Dawson." Rose interlocked arms with Jack. "I’m sure you’ve met before."

"Rose, why do you always have to be so selfish?" Cal asked.

"I’m being selfish?" Rose exclaimed, remembering the last time she had said that. Only she had said it to her mother, not to Cal, when her mother had forbidden her to see Jack again.

"Listen, Rose," Cal said. "I want you back. I want you to give me a second chance. Please?" Rose just laughed.

"Cal, I’m engaged," Rose said, looking at Cal straight in the eye.

"How can you be engaged to this worthless bastard?" Cal asked, looking at Jack from head to toe.

"He’s no bastard, Cal. You are. Now, get out!" Rose said angrily, pointing to the door.

"Not just yet. I want to get what I came for," Cal said, going towards Rose and grasping her arms.

"Let go of me!" Rose screamed, struggling under Cal’s grasp.

"Get away from her!" Jack yelled, pushing Cal away from her. He went to see if she was all right. "Are you all right?" Jack caressed Rose’s cheek softly. Rose nodded. Cal got up and straightened his clothes. He looked at Jack, anger shining in his dark eyes.

"You have ruined everything, Dawson," Cal said angrily. "You’re nothing but a gutter rat."

"You can say all you want about me, but don’t you dare hurt Rose in any way! You hear me?" Jack yelled, pointing at Cal angrily.

"Don’t worry. Someday, you’re going to pay for this. Both of you," Cal said. With that, he left, leaving Jack and Rose alone together.

"Oh, Jack!" Rose cried, hugging him tightly.

"Shh," Jack said, comforting Rose. "It’s okay. Everything is okay. I’m here." He hugged Rose close and kissed the top of her head, hoping to erase all her worries. Rose cried and clung to his shirt, not wanting to ever let go, fearing that if she did, he would disappear forever.

"I love you, Jack," Rose whispered. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Rose. I always have, and I always will., Jack said, hugging her tighter. Rose buried her face in his shirt, breathed in his scent, and cried.

"I love you," Rose whispered once more, hugging him tighter. Jack hugged her to him, not saying a word.

As Rose brought her hands to his back, she caught a glimpse of her new engagement ring. A different engagement ring from Cal’s. Cal’s engagement ring had just confirmed that she belonged to Caledon Hockley, the steel tycoon. The engagement ring she wore now confirmed Jack’s love for her. The ring showed that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. This ring was a ring of love. An engagement ring given to Rose by her beloved Jack.

Chapter Ten
Stories