A FIRE IN THE WIND
Chapter Thirty-Five
A series of knocks came from Jack's apartment
door, waking Rose up in a flash.
"Jack," Rose cried weakly, tapping
him softly on the shoulder. "Jack!"
Jack groaned a little, and then smiled at
Rose. "Oh, Rose, I'm sorry. I'm just a little tired. Is someone at the
door?"
"Yes. Do you want me to answer it?"
Rose asked.
Jack shook his head. "No, it's all
right, Rose. I'll get it. It's probably just the landlord."
Jack walked over to the door and opened it,
surprised to see Allison standing in the threshold.
"Hello, Jack! Hello, Rose!" Allison
said, happier than ever. "Mind if I come in?"
"Of course not, Ali. Come in!"
replied Jack, leading her inside. "I'm sorry. Rose and I were sleeping in.
We didn't get to sleep for some time last night."
"I can imagine!" Allison replied
with a girlish chuckle. "How are you two?"
"Great," Rose answered, braiding
her hair. "I literally couldn't be better."
"Neither could I," Jack added.
"How's my mother?" Rose asked,
concerned.
"Oh, Rosie," Allison started.
"I don't think she's all right. The events that occurred yesterday came as
quite a shock to her, as you could imagine. I--I don't know if she'll forgive
you anytime soon."
Rose nodded, tying a ribbon to the end of her
braided hair. "That's what I expected. I know she won't forgive me anytime
soon, if ever. I--I embarrassed her in front of everyone, all of her friends,
her family. They'll never look at her with the same amount of respect ever
again. Did you speak with her?"
"No." Allison shook her head.
"She knew that I had a part in the whole production yesterday
afternoon."
Jack laughed, inappropriately.
Rose and Allison gave Jack a bewildered
stare.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Jack replied,
still with a hearty laugh. "I just don't ever think I'll forget the look
on Cal's face when he...when he saw us together!"
Allison and Rose join in on the laughter.
"I'm sure that's the last response he
expected from anyone!" Allison said, her face bright red from laughter.
"Anyone else, maybe," Rose replied,
gaining some somberness in her expression, "but not me. I just
couldn't."
Allison shook her head, and answered
abruptly, "You saw right through the bastard!"
Allison covered her mouth with her hand after
realizing what she had just said.
Jack and Rose looked down at the ground and
then exploded into laughter.
"You're right, Allison!" Rose
replied, calming down a bit. "I saw right through him."
The three spent the morning catching up with
each other, and talking of Rose and Jack's plans for the future. It was a
bittersweet morning, for Rose knew that this would be one of the last times she
would be able to see her friend for some time.
Jack and Allison started to talk of Santa
Monica as Rose took out a piece of paper and a pencil and begin to write. She
smiled as she signed her name and read the letter over.
May 7, 1912
Grandmother--
Please don't worry about me. I'm fine and
I will be happy for the rest of my life. I know that's just what you and my
father wanted.
I don't regret leaving Caledon Hockley at
the altar, I don't regret making my mother cry, and I don't regret making a
mockery out of the Hockley name. The only thing I do regret is that I didn't do
it sooner.
I'm sorry that I didn't say good-bye. I
did want to, but my heart spoke up at that exact moment and I knew that it was
time for me to run. If I didn't get away then, I might have never.
Thank you for being there for me on
Saturday. I had just about given up hope, but there you were. On my side, ready
to defend me to the death. I don't know if I would have been able to do it
without you.
Jack and I are thinking of heading to
Santa Monica when we get enough money. It sounds so beautiful there. We may
even be able to stop by Chicago to say hello.
One last thing, please look after Mother.
I'm sure you were aware of all the financial troubles. Could you please see to
it that she is looked after?
Thank you for getting me through this. I
love you for it. You aided me throughout my childhood, mourned with me when
Father died, and now you have helped change my life. You helped me find Jack
and Father when they both seemed lost. Thank you.
--Rose
Rose sighed and addressed the envelope to her
grandmother's residence in Chicago. She was very relieved to have written to
her grandmother. Rose knew that she would feel guilty if she hadn't. She
decided to write to Molly, too. She came in all the way from Denver, Colorado,
just to help Rose win the battle.
The hardest good-bye would be to her mother.
Ruth had been hurt when Jon had left her with all of the financial debts so
many years ago. Rose couldn't imagine the pain that she had bestowed upon her
mother. Rose knew that she needed a few days to get up the nerve to write her
mother a letter, but she knew that she owed it to her to say a proper good-bye.
After Allison had left that afternoon, Jack
and Rose decided to take a walk by the Delaware to catch up on things.
The two's voices were full of joy and
excitement. They found it hard to control their strong passion for each other
in public.
The park was near empty, it being a Monday
afternoon, and the tranquility of it put Jack and Rose into their own universe,
a place where they only existed, a place where there were no obligations, no
fear, no pain.
There would finally be no more conflicts.
They were bound together by fate and would never break apart again. They had
met less than a month ago, but felt as if they knew each other perfectly. Jack
might not know Rose's favorite color, and Rose might not know where Jack went
to school, but there was plenty of time for all the insignificant details
later. Right now, they were one.
And they spent the rest of the afternoon
there. Walking on the shoreline of the Delaware River, getting in and out of
conversations about nothing and everything, renewing their love for one another
by the sunset.
By sundown, Rose and Jack were the only ones
on the shore. The air was warm, and it lay on the couple like an old quilt. The
birds had stopped their constant song, and there was a great solitude to
everything. The only noises that could be heard was the constant humming of the
waves billowing onto the beach and the breathing of Rose and Jack.
The palms of their hands had been joined for
hours now.
Everything went together rhythmically.
Everything was working together to create the perfect moment.
"Rose?" Jack asked out-of-the-blue.
Rose was startled by Jack's voice, but she
looked up at him and gave him a wide smile.
Jack got down on his knees and kissed Rose on
her cheek, then he went over to her ear and whispered a message in it.
"Will you marry me?"
The question was simple, and so was the
reply.
"Yes, Jack! Yes!" Rose shouted, tears
in her eyes.
"I love you, Rose," Jack stated,
tears in his eyes now, too. "You gave me strength on that fateful night to
survive. I found my purpose in life, you. I knew we couldn't be apart, so I
lived for you. I wanted to save you, but you ended up saving yourself."
Rose shook her head. "Jack, you had
already saved me. You helped me realize that I was alive. Without you, there
would be no Rose De--" She giggled softly. "Dawson."
Jack hugged Rose gingerly. "There
already was, Rose. There already was."
There was a moment of beautiful silence, and
then Jack spoke. "What next, Rose?"
Rose giggled girlishly. "I guess there's
only one thing left to do right now."
She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a
very elegant ring.
Jack eyed her, suspiciously, as she got up
and walked towards the shore of the river. In one gesture, she threw the
worthless trinket into the river, and now was ready to start life over again.