FORMALITY
Chapter Nine
April 14, 1912
I opened my eyes. I was in Rob's
arms in his stateroom. The clock on the bedside table read 6:30. No one in my
family would be awake yet to hear me sneak back in. I slowly got up, not
disturbing Rob. I dressed back in my nightgown and quickly wrote a note to him,
telling him that I'd see him at breakfast later. I gently kissed his forehead
and slipped out of his room and down the hall and into my stateroom. I got
under the covers and tried to get two more hours of sleep before breakfast, but
I couldn't. I picked up my copy of Futility, grabbed a blanket, opened
the curtain, and curled up on the couch.
I finished it at 7:30 in a daze.
The ship in the book, the Titan, sank, taking most of her passengers with her.
I've always said that no ship is unsinkable, but after reading Futility, I
hoped they all were right. The book was too eerie.
I walked over to the basin and
washed my face of the tearstains and dark circles under my eyes. My eyes fell
on the tower drawing again. It was so precious to me, maybe because Rob gave it
to me, or maybe the talent in which my favorite place was drawn. I smiled,
thinking of Rose and Mr. Dawson, and of my Rob.
I dressed for breakfast and went
right to the cafe. I saw Madeline Astor at a table with Molly. Two of my
favorite people, so I sat with them.
"How lovely to see you,
Belle," Madeline greeted me.
"Where's your mother?"
Molly asked with a kind smile as I took my seat.
"I don't know. I haven't
seen her since last night," I honestly said. "Isn't this a lovely
ship?"
"Yes, it is! The gymnasium
is marvelous. Have you been there?" Madeline asked me.
"No, I haven't. But I think
I will after services today," I said.
Rob approached our table just
then with a handsome smile on his face.
"Good morning, ladies,"
he said. He turned to me, smiling, and kissed my hand before he sat down next
to me.
It was an enjoyable breakfast.
Everyone was laughing and smiling and having a great time, just sitting
together and sharing a few stories of journeys past.
"Well, I think this was
truly wonderful. We shall gather again here tomorrow morning. What do you
think?" Madeline asked, setting her napkin on her plate. Everyone nodded
and smiled in agreement.
"It's settled, then,"
Molly said with a smile, rising from her seat. "I'll see you around the
ship. Have a wonderful day."
"You, too, Molly." I
smiled back at her as she turned to go. I took Rob's arm and we walked out of
the Cafe Parisien.
"Let's go see the gymnasium
today," I suggested.
"Why? Do I really look that
big?" Rob asked, smiling. I laughed and lightly punched his arm.
"No, of course not," I
said seriously. We made our way to the dining saloon, where the services were
taking place. We found a seat in the middle of the crowded room. Members of all
classes were permitted to attend, though not many second and third class
passengers took advantage of it.
I saw my family enter, my mother
looking a bit annoyed about last night. She scanned the room, for me, I knew,
but I turned and smiled at Rob, so I don't really know if she saw me. I saw
Rose and her family enter, and we exchanged smiles, although I noticed that
something heavy was weighing on her mind.
After services, Rob and I visited
the gymnasium. It was a neat place. I tried the rowing machine, though it was
not to my liking. Rob humored me by beating up the small punching bag, making
silly comments at it as if it were a real person. I leaned against the wall in
laughter, his eyes brightening at the sound of my laughter.
Just then, the door opened, and
Mr. Andrews, the ship's designer, came in with Rose and her family, on a tour,
I guessed. Rob and I stood straight and tried to contain our laughter until we
were out the door. We burst out laughing when the door latched shut.
"Wait until Mrs. DeWitt
Bukater tells your mother about that!" Rob said, tears streaming down his
cheeks and holding his side in laughter.
We moved closer, our laughter
subsiding, and kissed, right out on the open deck.
"Well, what do you say we
conduct our own tour?" Rob asked, taking my hand.
"How many boats are on this
ship?" I asked.
"Well, let's see--one, two,
three, four, five...eight, and probably likewise on the other side, plus those
two up there...I count twenty right here," he said.
"And this one can hold
sixty. Sixty multiplied by twenty is one thousand, two hundred," I said.
An officer was patrolling nearby, so I approached him.
"Excuse me, sir, but how
many people are aboard?" I asked him.
"Well, miss," he said,
smiling, "there are about two thousand, two hundred passengers and
crew."
"Thank you," I said,
going back to Rob.
"There's only enough boats
for half of the passengers!" I whispered.
"Hmm…there's got to be more
boats on the aft side by steerage. Plus, I wouldn't worry, my dear. We're
having excellent weather. And look how calm the ocean is," Rob said,
extending his arm out over the rail and indicating the ocean.
"But no ship is unsinkable!
Did you ever read Futility? That ship only had enough lifeboat space for
half, and it sank! And do you want to know the name of the ship? The Titan.
Don't you think that's a little too scary?" I protested.
"I can see now why you are a
little uneasy. Just don't worry too much. Enjoy yourself," he tried to
reassure me. "And besides, it hurts me to see you like that." He
stifled a smile. I smiled back.
"Now, if we should happen to
sink, we know exactly where the boats are, so we shall waste no time finding
one. Let's see if we can visit the bridge," Rob said. I took his arm, and
we asked the officer if we could have a look at the bridge to get an idea of
how things worked. His name was Officer Lowe, and he let us in with a smile. He
showed us the watertight door closer switch and indicator board, and the
telephone system to the lookouts. Rob picked up the phone with a silly grin.
"Hey, boys, see anything up
ahead?" he asked. I was trying hard to contain my laughter. I must have
turned a rosy red.
"Good. Keep up the good
work. Bye," Rob said, hanging up. Officer Lowe just shook his head,
smiling.
"Now, let's move over
here," Officer Lowe said, showing us the telegraph wheels that they used
to communicate to the engine room. All of a sudden, one began ringing,
startling me.
"We're speeding up. Do you
want to move it back?" Officer Lowe asked me.
"Me?" I asked,
surprised.
"Sure. Just put your hands
right here and turn it...okay, stop right there. Excellent work, miss." He
smiled. The seaman at the wheel even let me steer for a bit, too. The officers
were all nice and understanding, and it was quite interesting.
"Thank you for the short
tour," Rob said as we left the bridge and walked back out on the boat
deck.
"Now where to?" Rob
asked.
"How about the ship's
doctor? I've got a headache."