A FIRE IN THE WIND
Chapter Four
It was Thursday. A dreary, raining New York
night. Ruth shook her head. "Cal, honestly. We're not going to miss this
train. It leaves at 11:15."
Rose sat on a nearby bench like an obedient
schoolgirl. Cal had tried to avoid the crowds, and the papers, by taking the
first train back to Philadelphia.
Cal stared at the pitiful figure of Rose
DeWitt Bukater, the rain dripping through her hair, making it thin and
straight. Her eyes stared into nothing, thinking of a lost dream of going to
Santa Monica Pier with Jack, a dream that would never come true. "Darling,
come here. You look a fright. Have my umbrella." Cal's emotionless dark
brown eyes stared at Rose, trying so hard to look sincere.
"I'm fine, really," Rose replied,
composed. She tried her best to go back into her daydream.
At that moment, the taxi arrived, disturbing
Rose again. The driver abruptly led Ruth and Rose into the auto, as Cal
disapprovingly shook his head as he told the driver to go to the Pennsylvania
Railroad Station.
The train ride back to Philadelphia was
relatively calm. Ruth and Cal talked of the engagement gala on Saturday, as Rose
tried her best to keep her composure, and to keep her mind off of Jack. It
wasn't possible.
'Jack? Jack? Oh God! Why did you leave me
here? I love you. Did I ever get the chance to tell you that? I love you more
then life itself. A life without you isn't a life. Why did I leave you on that
ship? Why? If I had died, too, at least I wouldn't have to marry that bastard
Cal. And here I am. Without a prayer in the world, two weeks away from being
his wife, bearing his children, being his slave for all eternity. Oh, God, I
miss you, Jack! If my father were alive things would be different. He would
have liked you, Jack. He truly would have. He's the exact opposite of my
mother. Oh, Jack…please come back! I can't stand living my life, except this
time when I jump, their will be no one to pull me back.'
"Rose?"
'Please Jack, don't let go…'
"Rose?"
Rose's eyes opened wide, shocked by the sound
of her mother's voice. "Yes?" Rose replied, softly.
Ruth looked at her daughter, mortified.
"My God, Rose."
"I'm sorry," Rose replied.
"I'm a little tired."
"I wanted to remind you that we have to
reorder your dress for the gala, since it went down with the ship. I was
thinking…"
Rose continued to get lost in her thoughts as
her mother blabbered on. Went down with the ship. Rose couldn't believe her
mother could say that so casually, like nothing had happened. Had she forgotten
that fifteen hundred people's lives were lost? Of course, Ruth couldn't relate
to any of the steerage passengers that died. Rose thought that her mother would
have preferred them dead, anyway. No one who "went down" with the
ship had anything to do with Ruth except a few first class gentlemen and Trudy.
Poor Trudy. Rose had befriended her, even though Ruth didn't approve of Rose
getting too friendly with the household staff. Cal's personal valet and
bodyguard Spicer Lovejoy had died, too. Rose didn't want to admit it, but she
was definitely not going to miss the man whose heart was as black and unwilling
to take in love as Cal's.
The train arrived in Philadelphia at 2:45 AM,
as planned. Rose was exhausted. Thankfully, the Bukater's house was only a
twenty-minute drive from the train station.
As the taxi pulled up in front of the black
iron grates, Rose sighed in dread. First the engagement gala on Saturday, then
Cal would leave to Pittsburgh for a week, and then one week after that…hell.
Cal extended his hand into the car, helping
Rose out, and then Ruth. The three were too tired to engage in any
conversation, so they worked their way into the mansion, fatigued. All of the
household staff had gathered in the front hall to welcome the DeWitt Bukaters
home from their vacation. As Rose talked to many friends from the household
staff, they made sure to avoid the word "Titanic" and they made sure
not to mention poor Trudy's name, who hadn't been lucky enough to make it to a
lifeboat in time.
Rose, shortly after, retired to her room, and
was happy Cal was staying in a guestroom and not in her own. The second she got
in her room, Rose completely lost her composure and broke down into a mess of
tears. She softly cried on her bed, keeping down the volume, for her mother's
room was right next to hers.
Rose put on a nightgown, one of the sets of
clothes that they had ordered after the ship went down. Rose had no idea how she
was going to get through the night. It was her first night alone, and would be
spent thinking about Jack. How could someone that she had only known for three
days have such a big effect on her life? Rose didn't know. Jack was her soul
mate, her only true companion. Rose felt as if she had lost a big piece of her
soul when Jack died. Rose turned off her lamp, and prepared herself for a hell
of a night with no sleep.