FINDING LOVE IN THE PAST
Chapter Seven
"Achoo!"
"Bless you. Lily, that’s the
fifth time you’ve sneezed. Are you catching a cold?" James asked Lily,
concerned. They were sitting in the general room after lunch.
"I’m fine."
"Maybe I should take you to
the hospital on D-Deck. I don’t want you to get sick."
Lily looked at James with loving
eyes and asked, "You don’t?"
James, being really blind when it
came to women, said, "No. The Titanic is going to hit the iceberg tonight.
You won’t be able to go outside and watch that historical moment if you’re
bedridden."
"Oh, right, historical
moment," Lily said, disappointed, and she looked away from James. She
glanced around the room and was surprised to see the third class passengers just
talking. They’ve had a party every night so far, Lily thought. And then
she remembered dancing with James, how she felt when he held her in his
muscular arms. "Achoo!"
"Bless you."
"Thanks." I will
probably never dance with him again if this cold keeps up, Lily thought.
"James! Lily!"
Lily and James looked up at the
same time to see John and Linda walking towards them.
"Hi," Linda said.
"We were just wondering if you two would like to come to another party
tonight," she said, eyeing James with interest.
"Another one?" Lily
asked, exasperated.
"Are you feeling well?
You’re all flushed," Linda asked, slightly concerned.
"I’m fine…achoo!"
"I don’t know," said
James. "Lily doesn’t look too good."
"Oh, please say you’ll
come," Linda said, pouting.
Lily couldn’t take it anymore. It
was too obvious that Linda liked James. It was making her sick. "I need to
lie down. I have a headache." Lily stood up to leave and was instantly
dizzy.
James stood up and said,
"I’m going to help her to our cabin." James helped Lily keep her
balance and led her to their cabin.
"They’re married?"
Linda asked, surprised.
*****
"Don’t go!" Lily
protested.
"Why? It’s just another
party."
"But you can’t go. Linda is
evil. Well, maybe not evil, but she likes you."
"No, she doesn’t,"
James said. He sat down next to Lily.
"Yes, she does. I’m not
letting you go without me. Who knows what she’d do." Lily rested her head
on James’ shoulder.
"Lily, I can’t let you go.
You’re getting a fever!"
"But…" Lily trailed off
and closed her eyes. "I feel dizzy."
"Here." James stood up
and said, "Here. Lay down and go to sleep."
Lily lay down, closed her eyes,
and said, "Only if…" Then Lily drifted off to sleep.
James figured Lily didn’t want to
wake up, so he thought he would walk around the ship. As soon as he shut the
door, he heard footsteps. Linda was walking towards him.
"Let’s go. John is waiting
for us," Linda said.
"But I don’t want to
go…"
But Linda didn’t want to hear it.
She gripped James’ arm and pulled him to the general room. James tried to get
away, but Linda was digging her nails into his arm.
*****
Lily yawned and opened her eyes.
She looked around the cabin and sighed. No wonder I got some sleep, she
thought. James isn’t here. I feel so much better now. Wait a minute. She
looked at the clock. 11:20. Lily jumped out of bed and opened the door,
thinking, If I find him with Linda, I’ll kill them both. And with that,
she walked as fast as she could to the general room.
*****
"James, dance with me!"
Linda said. To James, it sounded like an order.
"For the last time,
no," James said. He was starting to dislike Linda more every minute he was
with her.
"James, it’s only one dance.
What could happen?" Linda asked hopefully, pouting.
"Linda, I don’t want to
dance with you. Okay? I don’t want to be rude, but I want to see if Lily is
feeling okay."
"But James…"
"I don’t want to be here. I
want to be with Lily," he said, raising his voice.
"Why?"
"Because I love her!"
James said, louder than intended. His eyes widened in surprise. He couldn’t
believe what he had just said.
Linda glanced over James’
shoulder and saw Lily standing in the doorway, searching for him. Lily saw
them. Now is my chance, Linda thought. She quickly leaned in and kissed
James.
James stepped away and asked,
"What the hell is your problem?" She was smiling at something behind
him. He turned around and saw Lily with tears in her eyes. She turned around
and ran away as fast as she could. "Lily, wait!"