GRATITUDE
Chapter Seven
After getting as far away as they
could--by Harold's watch it read 2:05 AM--they saw the last lifeboat leaving
and the tilt of the ship’s deck got steeper and steeper. About fifteen minutes
later, the Titanic's now broken off stern settled back into the water, becoming
more level for a few moments. The end began to tilt up into the air, leaving
the people behind, either still on the ship or in the water. Arabella, sitting
beside Harold, watched in horror. She knew Thomas too well. He wouldn't have
gotten off the ship. When their boat met up with the others, Harold told the
people in his boat to move into another boat. He and some men went back.
Arabella sat in a boat beside some people that she knew. She felt sleep
overtaking her, but refused to fall asleep. About an hour later, Harold
returned with six people in his boat. Arabella looked. She knew Thomas had gone
down, but for some reason, had hope. She looked and recognized one person.
Rose. With some assistance, and Arabella's need to be with someone who was
friends with Thomas, she moved back into Harold's boat. Arabella observed Rose.
She still hadn't noticed Arabella. For three more hours, they waited. At about
4:10, they came to the Carpathia. People were loaded onto the ship, and with
assistance, Arabella went up, and then Rose. Still not being able to sleep,
Arabella helped in getting the people onto the ship. At about 8:50, when
everyone was out of the lifeboats, the Carpathia left the area, headed for New
York. Arabella stayed down in steerage for a bit longer with Rose.
"Rose, please. You’re the
only true friend beside Thomas that I had on that ship. Now, you’re the only
true friend I have left. Please talk, or else I will be left with going to the
first class rooms to sit and cry," Arabella said, fighting back her tears.
Rose looked at her. "I left
Cal. The reason I went down to the Master-at-Arms office was because of Jack. I
love...loved him. I went down to save him and…well…he died in the water. When
we were trying to get back up to the deck, though, we saw Thomas. He was in the
smoking room," Rose explained.
Arabella looked at Rose,
restraining herself from crying.
"Did he say anything?"
Arabella asked finally.
"He said he was sorry that
he didn't build a stronger ship. Then he wished us luck," Rose answered.
Arabella nodded, and after not
being able to stand it any longer, she stood up and left for the first class
area. When she reached her bed, she lay down and shut herself out of the sounds
of the others who were crying. She began to cry. Arabella cried until she was
asleep. A couple of hours later, she woke up, feeling hungry. She got out of
the bed and looked at some of the people who were crying. When Arabella reached
the dining room, she was about to walk through a line when she was approached
by Harold Lowe.
"How are you feeling, Mrs.
Andrews?" he asked.
She turned to the voice and
smiled slightly at Harold.
"Please, call me Arabella.
And for the most part, I'm all right," she said.
"Here. Let me get you some
food. Take a seat," he said.
Arabella wanted to protest that
she could take care of herself, but took a seat anyway due to the fact that she
was just too tired. A few moments later, Harold came over with a bowl of soup,
just like her mother made it.
The two sat in silence as
Arabella ate. Finally, Harold spoke.
"I'm sorry, Arabella, for
your loss. Thomas truly was a great man."
Arabella looked up and blinked
away tears. "I loved him from the moment I laid eyes on him. That’s saying
a lot, considering I was about fourteen. Thank you, Harold," she said.
"What do you think you'll do
when we get to New York?" he asked.
"Maybe stay for awhile, but
I probably need to get home to my mother," Arabella said.
"Aye. That would be wise. I
don't know what I will do, maybe just continue on with my plan of living in New
York, working for the White Star Line over here," Harold said.
Arabella nodded. "I wonder
if my ex-fiancé survived," she said after a few moments.
"Your ex-fiancé?"
Harold asked.
"Yes. He stowed away on the
ship, thinking the minute we got to New York I would marry him," Arabella
said.
"Oh. Well, they've only just
started to take the names of the first class passengers," Harold replied.
Arabella finished eating and felt
the need to get out, so she said good-bye to Harold and went out onto the deck
for some air.
While she was out there, she was
approached by a man who was helping to collect names.
"Excuse me, ma’am. Can I get
your name, please?" he asked.
"Arabella Andrews," she
answered.
"Ah…are you the woman who
married Thomas Andrews on the ship?" he asked.
Arabella looked at him and
nodded. "Yes. How does it concern you?" she asked.
"Well, Mrs. Margaret Brown
was asking about you," the man replied.
"Where is she?"
Arabella asked.
"I just saw her a moment
ago. She was sitting over on a bench," the man said, pointing behind him.
"All right. Thank you,"
she said. Then she walked off and headed for the end of the deck. She looked,
and sure enough, she spotted Molly sitting on a bench. Arabella walked over to
her slowly and sat down. "Hello, Molly," she said softly.
Molly looked at Arabella.
"Oh, Bella, you survived. Thank God...and Thomas?" she asked.
Arabella looked down. "He
went down with his ship," Arabella answered.
"I'm sorry. I didn't expect
him to run, though. He just didn't seem like that type of man," Molly
said.
Arabella nodded and then felt
them again, the tears.
"Molly, how do I get through
this? He was the love of my life," Arabella asked, the tears starting to
come out.
"I don't know. I guess you
just try to go on. You mourn and cry and every day it gets just a little
easier. You know Thomas will always be with you, though," Molly answered.
"Yes…" She trailed off
and remembered something. "I might need to see a doctor. When we were on
the ship, the night Jack ate with us, I went to see a doctor because I felt
ill. He said there was a possibility that I was with child. It's been two days
now," Arabella said.
"You want me to go with
you?" Molly asked.
"Would you mind?"
Arabella asked.
"No. Of course not,"
Molly answered.
Arabella and Molly stood up and
walked to the ship’s infirmary.
Arabella told the doctor
everything, and he took her behind a screen to examine her. Molly stood right
outside the screen, hopeful almost. About fifteen minutes later, Molly heard
Arabella crying softly. The doctor came out and let Molly go to check on her.
"Bella? What was his
answer?" Molly asked.
Arabella looked at her friend and
smiled. "I'm carrying a baby," she replied.
Molly smiled back at the girl and
hugged her. The two left the infirmary. Arabella said good-bye to her friend
and walked around the ship. That night, at nine o’clock, the ship pulled into
New York City. Out on the dock were hundreds of people who had heard about the
disaster and turned out to either see if their loved ones had survived or just
to see everyone. Arabella got off with her friend Harold, not having any money
on her, and she went to a hotel room. With the hotel being overcrowded with the
first class people, Arabella wound up sharing a room, which she honestly
preferred. When she was shown to her room, there was a crying woman on the bed.
"Hello?" Arabella
asked.
She closed the door behind her to
see the woman. It was Madeline Astor.
"Oh, hello, Maddy,"
Arabella said when the woman turned to her.
"Arabella!" she cried.
Madeline stood up and went to her
friend. The two women hugged. "I guess John didn't make it?" Arabella
asked.
Madeline shook her head, erupting
into tears again.
"Oh, Maddy, I'm sorry.
Thomas didn't survive, either," Arabella said as they sat down.
The two sat for a couple of
hours, comforting each other. Since Madeline was farther along and there was
only one bed in the room, Arabella slept on a cot and Madeline slept in the
bed.
The next morning, Arabella left
the hotel to see about getting back home to Ireland. She hated the thought of
getting back onto a ship so soon after the disaster, but she couldn't be in New
York. She didn't care about being on a high class, fancy ship. She just wanted
to be home in Ireland with her mother. With borrowed money from Molly, which
she promised she would pay back once she reached Ireland, she got on a little
ship and arrived in Ireland a week later.
She got off the ship just in time
for the funeral that was being held for Thomas. When she got off the ship, she
had no time to change. She went straight to the church and entered. By the time
she reached the church, they were about to start. When the doors opened, people
were surprised and turned to look. One of the people who was surprised was her
mother. She looked up and saw her daughter. When she saw Arabella, she began to
cry. She went to her daughter and threw her arms around her. Arabella pulled
away a moment later and went up to the front of the church, where Thomas's
mother and father were. She nodded at them. They knew from Arabella's mother
that she and Thomas had wed on the ship. Now all that was left was to tell them
that she was carrying his child. After the funeral, Arabella returned to the
house that Thomas had once lived in. It had been only two or three weeks ago
that she and Thomas had left the house together. As she walked in with her
mother and Thomas's parents, she felt the tears begin to build up, but she
restrained herself. When they walked into the parlor, they sat down, and
Arabella managed to tell them that she was with child.