A FIRE IN THE WIND
Chapter Twenty
Rose was dressed and ready for the day at
seven. Luckily, her mother and Cal were still asleep. She knew she was going to
get in a lot of trouble, but she had to see Jack. On her bed Rose left a brief
note.
Went out. I had some errands to run. I'll
be back by twelve.
--Rose
There. The note was her ticket for a morning
of freedom with Jack. Rose was willing to face the consequences when she got
back. And there would be consequences. Both Ruth and Cal hated when Rose went
out without a servant, let alone mysteriously disappearing for the morning.
However, Rose didn't care about a punishment.
She knew that she would have a life of freedom with Jack if she didn't follow
the rules today.
Rose crept down the hallway self-consciously.
It was quite a challenge. The wooden floor creaked under her feet like it
always did. Rose remembered a few failed attempts to escape from her homework
years ago.
Rose sighed in relief when she reached the
stairs. Abruptly, she looked downstairs to see if any servants were lingering
about. Luckily, no one was around, so Rose dashed across the front hallway and
opened the door.
Rose thought of herself as a convict escaping
from William Penn Prison. By the time she made it across the front yard, Rose
was panting for breath, her face turning red.
As she walked down her wealthy neighborhood
Rose's face became composed. No one was around except for a few children late
for school.
The neighborhoods became poorer and poorer as
Rose walked on. When she came to Jack's neighborhood she began to feel
self-conscious and out of place. People stared at her silk, beaded dress, her
perfectly pulled up hair, and just her general presence.
Rose couldn't help but stare at some of the
sights she saw along the way. Although it was early in the morning, she could
make out some drunks and prostitutes walking about. Rose was immensely relieved
when she opened the door of the building to Jack's flat.
She was startled by a round, gray-haired man
in the threshold.
"What are you doing here?" he
asked, startled by Rose's affluent appearance.
"I'm--I'm here to see Jack Dawson,"
Rose replied, nervously.
"Who asks for him?" the man asked,
his yellow teeth close to those of a serf during the Middle Ages.
"Rose. Rose DeWitt Bukater."
The man paused for a moment. "Ah, yes.
Yes. Dawson told me to let a girl named Rose in. You a friend of his?"
Rose looked at the man suspiciously.
"Ah, yes. Yes, I am."
The man nodded. "Didn't expect to have
someone such as yourself come. How'd you meet him anyway?"
Rose was dumbfounded and wasn't quite sure
what to say. "Um, we--we met on a ship. We became pretty close
friends."
"All right, come in. He's right up the
stairs. Expect you already know that."
Rose nodded and headed up the old wooden
stairs, relieved that the landlord hadn't asked her any more questions.
She knocked on Jack's door, praying that he'd
be there. Rose smiled after hearing some moaning within.
"Jack? Jack?" Rose asked, after
about thirty seconds of waiting.
Rose heard Jack's footsteps, and the door
opened. Jack stood on the threshold, still in his pajamas.
"Rose?" Jack said, shocked to see
her there. "Oh, God! I didn't think you'd come. Please, come in."
Rose followed Jack in and gave him a
passionate hug. "I was ill. I found out about the letter you wrote me
yesterday."
Jack laughed, looking down at his pajamas.
"I'm gonna put some clothes on. Sit down, please."
Jack walked across the room to his dresser
and took out a pair of corduroy pants and a white button-up shirt. "Rose,
we have to make a move soon. The wedding's coming up!" Jack said, coldly.
"Jack, please don't remind me."
"I'm not letting ya be Hockley's wife!
You're too good for him," Jack replied, forcefully, as he buttoned up his
shirt. "Rose, think. Are there any times coming up where your mother and
Cal are out and you're not?"
Rose sighed, frustrated. "Jack, I don't
know. I love you. I just want to get away. Things are getting quite worse. My
mother and Cal are continuing to ruin my life. They're constantly lecturing me,
and telling me the "proper" way to run my life. Even when I was ill
with the flu, my mother spent about an hour lecturing me about how to be his
wife. I don't want to grow old knowing I made the wrong decision, that I left
you."
Jack finished getting dressed and kissed Rose
fiercely on the lips. "I love you, Rose."
Rose smirked sadly, trying to hide the tears
in her eyes from Jack. Jack looked across the room at a clock on the wall.
"Have you had breakfast yet?"
Rose shook her head no.
Jack smiled, and took Rose by the hand.
"I know this great place with the best omelets you've ever eaten. Come
on!"
Rose nodded, knowing that everything would be
all right if Jack had something to do with it. He tried so hard to protect Rose
and make her feel happy. Whenever she looked at Jack, her heart would fill up
with hope and determination to start a new life. Rose would leave everything
she had behind for Jack, if she only had the chance to.
*****
"So how do you like your omelet?"
asked Jack.
They were at Tim's, a small but elegant
restaurant. Jack and Rose were eating at a table outside, away from spectators.
"Um, it's great," replied Rose,
looking around nervously.
Jack stared at Rose for a moment. She was so
beautiful. He hated seeing her so melancholy.
"Rose," Jack started. "You're
not marrying him. God, no. No matter what, I'm not letting ya."
Rose was a little shocked that Jack had
brought up the subject so soon, but nevertheless she replied. "He's one of
the most powerful men in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The most important thing
to him is his reputation. I don't think he's going to like a headline that
says, 'Rose DeWitt Bukater, fiancée of Caledon Hockley, breaks off the
engagement less then a week before the wedding day, because of an affair with a
penniless artist.'"
Jack tried his best to remain calm in front
of Rose. He was beginning to get nervous, too. "You know, it doesn't have
to sound that bad," Jack replied, coolly.
Rose looked up at Jack, perplexed.
"What's your proposal?"
Jack smiled mysteriously. "Rose, listen
for a minute. Don't take this in the wrong way, all right?"
Rose nodded, getting more bewildered by the
minute.
Jack's smiled grew. "What if that
headline read "Rose DeWitt Bukater, fiancée to Caledon Hockley,
disappeared last night. Police assume it was either a kidnapping or that Ms.
Bukater is dead."
Rose looked at Jack, appalled, and then a
smile, similar to that of Jack's, appeared on her face. "Jack Dawson, that
is the most stupid, idiotic, unrealistic, absurd--brilliant plan I have ever
heard!"
Jack laughed. "All right. For this plan
to work out, we have to involve Allison, too."
Rose nodded with a childish smile, taking a
gulp out of her orange juice.
"What I was thinking was--hmm. Is there
any time you could get together with Allison--say in the next two days?"
Jack asked.
Rose thought for a moment, and then nodded.
"Um, there is my wedding shower on Friday. But there will be a lot of
people there."
"Okay," Jack started in a
know-it-all voice. "After you've talked to everyone, take Allison aside to
talk to her. She will already know the plan by that point. You two should go
outside. Have everything you need packed in a suitcase hidden in a bush in your
backyard. I will be waiting in the alley for you. Allison can make up a story
about you disappearing or something."
Rose laughed out loud. "It's great. I
think it might even have enough potential to work."
Jack kissed Rose on the cheek, not noticing
that they where in public. All seemed right with the world once again. Both
Jack and Rose seemed confident that they could be together forever. They only
had one more obstacle left.