THE HEART IS GOLD
Chapter Three
Celeste breathed a deep sigh of
relief as she stepped out onto the gravel path, out of that horrid atmosphere.
Now, the mission was on. To find Sam and thank him. She walked along the
street, keeping an eye out for any blond-haired young men. She enjoyed watching
the birds sweep over her head, with such grace about them. The trees stood
bright green in the early spring morning. She spotted some little children
playing at a stream. Suddenly, on a street corner, there stood a young man
either writing or drawing in his little tablet. She thought that it must be
Sam. She collected her courage and gracefully walked up to him.
"Sam?" she asked
softly, looking over him and trying to see what was in his tablet. He jumped at
her words and looked up, startled.
"Yes? Oh, hello there,
Celeste." He gave her a bright smile, and she instantly warmed to him.
"Hello. Can we talk?"
she asked, slightly nervous.
"Sure. What about?"
"I just wanted to thank
you…for what you did last night. It could have been the end for me if it were
not for you."
"Well, you’re welcome. But
I’m starting to wonder what made you want to jump off that dock and kill
yourself."
"Oh, Sam, it’s my whole
world! I’m being forced into an abusive, loveless marriage! And the wedding is
in a month!" she cried hysterically.
"That really is quite sad.
Who is this guy, anyway?"
"John Hockley. Terrible man.
I think he’s worse than his brother, Caledon Hockley, who is marrying this
really nice girl named Rose," she explained to him. She remembered Rose
DeWitt Bukater well. Rose was trapped, going into a loveless marriage like she
was. She had become Celeste’s good friend. Cal, Rose’s fiancé, was a horrid
man, practically John’s twin.
"Wow. I can see that. Is
that why you seem sort of beat up?"
"Yes…" she choked.
"Gosh. I’m so sorry. It must
be horrible living like that," he told her in sympathy.
"Yes, but I think that
maybe, one day, I’ll be free. Just to able to head out for the horizon, not
knowing what will happen next."
"Maybe we could do just
that. We’ll go back to America and have freedom. We’ll go to the beach, we’ll
ride horses and things, and we’ll go to Santa Monica and go the amusement park
there," he told her, smiling.
"Well, I do not see how
that’s going to happen, but if you insist…" She stifled a laugh.
"Oh, come on. That John
guy’s not someone to fool around with. He doesn’t deserve someone like
you."
They walked along a little
farther.
"Well, Celeste, I think
we’ve walked just about three miles around this town, and chewed over just
about everything there is to talk about!" He laughed at his words.
She laughed, too, for the first
time in a long time.
"Yes…I think I probably
should be heading back now…" She sighed in disappointment.
"Well, I hate to see ya
go." She caught a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Can we meet again?"
she asked.
"Of course. I’ll just be
around town," he said.
"All right. Well, it was
nice talking to you." She turned to walk away. Suddenly, she wanted to
know what was in that notebook.
"Give me that thing,"
she spontaneously said, taking the notebook from him. As she guessed, it was
full of writing!
"Yeah, I write poetry and
stories," he answered, smiling at her. "Want me to read one of my
newest ones to you?"
"Sure."
He flipped a page and read aloud.
The love of the heart is young
and pure,
Given the wings of eagles to graciously soar.
It never fights, and knows what’s right,
Will never uphold the coming of night.
True love is always difficult to find,
One always finds it within their own kind.
It waits for the right time, and is always passionate.
Love determines who you are, and who you will become.
"Oh, Sam! That was
beautiful!" she exclaimed.
"Um…thanks. It’s good to
know some of my writing is good."
"Of course. But Sam, I have
to get going. It was nice talking to you." She turned to leave.
"Bye, Celeste!" he
called, but she had already disappeared.
One Week Later
April 9, 1912
Southampton, England
Celeste walked out onto the
balcony of the hotel, which overlooked the courtyard. She sighed. Apart from
John, the week was going well. She had been going to visit Sam each day, each
learning new things about the other. They were the best of friends now. She let
out a deep sigh, lost in thought. She jumped when a voice called out to her.
"Celeste! Come see, dear.
You have a letter," the voice said. Celeste was happy to realize it was
Marilyn. She gratefully accepted the letter and read it. Her face lit up. It
was from Rose!
"Thank you, Marilyn. I’m
going to go and read it now." With that, she walked out onto the balcony
and settled into a chair. She ripped it open. She read the letter.
Dear Celeste,
Hello. How are things? I am
all right here…but, oh, I cannot stand Cal! He is abusive to me, and so mean.
He seemed lovely at first, but then, after he proposed me, his character
totally changed from decent to terrible. Oh, Celeste, what shall I do? There’s
nothing to do. But how is John being to you? Oh, I soon I will be finishing our
tour of Europe. I will call on you if we stop near your home. Good luck to you.
Your friend,
Rose
Celeste stared at the letter,
realizing how similar their problems were. She decided to write Rose back. She
needed Rose to know that she understood how she felt.
Dear Rose,
I got your letter. It was nice
to hear from you. Truthfully, with John, it is horrid. He strikes me really
hard, leaving painful bruises. I do not like him a bit. But at least we can
relate to each other’s pain. But, as for the bright side of things, I have
found a new friend, Sam Dulles. He is a great writer. You should hear his poems
and stories! They are amazing! He is also very nice to me. We have become best
friends over the last few weeks. Oh, Rose, what will I do? If John finds out I
even talked to another man, he will really hurt me. I do not know what he will
do, and I do not want to find out. Mother does not believe me when I tell her.
But Sam wants to help me. He is a good friend. I hope things get brighter for
you.
Your friend,
Celeste
Dear Celeste,
I know how you feel. Cal will
not let me near another man, either. I do not like him at all. But I am
curious. What do you and Sam have in common? He seems amazing, by the way you
have described him. Tell me more about him. And it seems like John is a total
replica of Cal, if not worse. I hope things get better for you.
Your friend,
Rose
Dear Rose,
Yes, maybe even twins! Well,
Sam is very tall and handsome, with blond hair and these penetrating blue eyes.
He is always kind to me, and is always telling me I am special and he would do
anything on earth to help me escape my pain. But every time I get home, John is
angry. He beats me, and it hurts. But then I can go to Sam, my best friend. Did
I mention how we met? He stopped me from jumping off the dock and killing
myself. Aside from that, all’s well.
Your friend,
Celeste
Dear Celeste,
You tried to commit suicide?
Life cannot possibly be that bad! He sounds like a nice person. He seems to
care a lot about you, and is looking out for your well-being. Cal…well…he tried
to take away my virginity! Aside from that, all’s well, too.
Your friend,
Rose
Dear Rose,
Oh, that is horrible! How
could he? What kind of person does he think he is to even attempt to rob you of
that? That horrid man…but thank you for saying that about Sam. I can see he is
looking out for me, like a guardian angel sent down from heaven. I learned this
the other day when he came to my rescue when John was going to strike me. It
was quite a sight! He beat him up. He taught John a lesson! I really think he
does care like a great friend.
Your friend,
Celeste
Celeste thought about what Rose
had said about Sam. Indeed, Sam was looking out for her. And she was going to
look out for him.