HOPE
Chapter Fifteen
Hope
January 17, 1913
Rose was now in her ninth month, and the baby
was due any day. She tried not to move around too much, per Molly and Lynn’s
suggestions. It was quite difficult for her to do so anyhow, seeing as to how
her stomach was the size of a watermelon. Early in her pregnancy, it had not
been so difficult, but these last few months were murder. Her back and ankles
ached every evening. She would be thrilled when her pregnancy finally ended and
she held her newly born son or daughter in her arms.
Rose had also come to a major decision. She
realized that staying here with Molly, she was still too connected with the
Titanic…and Jack. She needed to rid herself of that chapter in her life, to
start anew. She would miss Lynn, Molly, and the rest of the household
immensely, but she knew that it was something she had to do.
She wouldn’t head for Santa Monica, though—not
yet, at least. She didn’t feel she could bear the sight of the things she and
Jack had talked about just yet. Instead, she would head to San Francisco. In
the years to come, she would muster up the strength to visit the famous Santa
Monica pier and bid her final good-bye to Jack’s memory, but for now San
Francisco would have to do.
Rose would leave as soon as the weather
became warmer. She did not want to travel with the baby in such cold weather.
It was a bleak winter in Colorado thus far, and the season was only just
beginning. May would be the earliest she could leave. She would most likely
leave in July, though. Rose just wondered how she would break the news to Molly
and Lynn. Both of them had become like family to her. She also wondered if she
would be able to find a job and a suitable place to live. Perhaps Molly knew of
a nice place. She had mentioned, on several occasions, friends she had in San
Francisco. Maybe she knew of a place to find work?
What about the baby? Could she find a
suitable caretaker for him or her? No. Rose tried to block all the what ifs
from her mind. She was moving, and that was all there was to it. She would make
it work; she knew she could. Rose was a very strong woman, and she knew she
could do it. She was going to head out for the horizon.
Why can’t I be like you, Jack? Just head
out for the horizon whenever I feel like it?
I’ll do it, Jack. I’ll make it count. I’ll
make you proud of me. Rose was cut
short in her thoughts by a slight pain in her abdomen. "Oh, now, that
wasn’t very nice," she spoke to her stomach.
She thought nothing of it and continued in
her daily activities. She was used to these false contractions by now. They had
been coming for about three weeks, and the doctor had assured her that they
were normal. However, on this day she got more than just a couple.
Two hours later, Rose was down in the dining
room eating lunch. Suddenly, a sharp pain surged through her body, and she felt
something warm trickle down her legs. "Molly!" she yelled. Molly came
running in from the parlor.
Rose sat up suddenly and grabbed her stomach.
"My water just broke. The baby’s coming."
"I—oh, what?! Oh, my! Hank, get the
car!" Molly yelled to the other room.
"No, Molly. I don’t think there’s time
to get to the hospital. Call the doctor and tell him to get here as fast as
possible." Molly did as she was told as Rose walked towards the guest room
that was downstairs.
Lynn hurried into the kitchen when she heard
the commotion. "What’s going on?" she asked Molly.
"Rose is having the baby now. And I mean
now. Do you know anything about childbirth?" Molly asked hopefully.
"I was there when my cousin was born,
but—"
"Good enough. Come on, dear." She
grabbed Lynn and practically pulled her into the room where Rose now lay on the
bed. "The doctor is on his way, darlin’. Don’t you fret. I’ve been through
this before. It’s going to be all right. Now, Lynn, go get a cloth and a bowl
of cool water." Lynn hurried out the door and ran into the kitchen.
"Rose, honey, why didn’t you tell me you
were in labor? You’re already quite near the end." Lynn returned with the
bowl and cloth.
"I though I was just having false
contractions. They didn’t seem much worse than usual...ah!" Rose squeezed
Molly’s hand, and her eyes tightened with pain.
"Breathe, darlin’, breathe. Okay, Rose,
you’re going to have to start pushing soon. All right?"
Rose nodded her head in understanding. She
was just concentrating on her breathing as much as possible. Anything to
distract her from the pain. She kept reminding herself that this was for Jack.
"For Jack...for Jack," she repeated over and over in her head.
Two minutes passed, and then another
contraction came. One and a half minutes later, another. It was time for the
baby to come out. "Okay, Rose. I need you to start pushing for me now. Can
you do that, Rose?"
Rose nodded her head. She gripped Lynn’s hand
and she gave a strong push. She closed her eyes and thought of Jack as she did
so. Just moments later, the doctor arrived. "‘Bout time you got
here!" Molly exclaimed.
"All right, Mrs. Dawson, I need you to
give me a good, hard push now..."
*****
What seemed like hours later, Rose’s child
was born.
"It’s a girl!" announced the
doctor.
Rose smiled widely. She could feel Jack’s presence
now more than she ever had since the sinking. She closed her eyes and let out a
deep sigh. It was there, when she closed her eyes, that she saw Jack smile at
her. She wanted to go run with him, but her daughter’s crying shocked her back
into reality. "Would you like to hold her, Mrs. Dawson?"
"Oh, more than anything!" The
doctor delicately placed the small baby in Rose’s arms. "Let’s give her
some time alone, everyone. Come on." He gestured for Lynn and Molly to
follow him out the door.
"Congratulations, Rosie," Lynn said
as she closed the door behind her. But Rose was too busy staring into her
daughter’s blue eyes. Her crying had stopped, and Rose gave her daughter her
breast to feed on. She was so small, but already had a little bit of red hair
on top of her head. She had Jack’s deep blue eyes and his cute nose. She could
not imagine her looking more beautiful.
"Hello, little one," she spoke in a
soft tone. "You certainly gave Mommy a difficult nine months." Mommy.
Yet another new name.
"She’s beautiful, Rose." That
voice. It was all too familiar.
"Jack," she whispered.
"I’ve come to say good-bye, Rose."
"I understand." She let the tears
welling up in her eyes fall down her cheeks.
"Never give up hope..." Those would
be the last words he ever spoke to Rose. It would be another eighty-three years
before she would hear his sweet voice again. But she wouldn’t have wanted the
last words he spoke to be any different.
His last word echoed through the room and in
Rose’s mind. Hope…hope...hope...
"Hope," Rose whispered to her
daughter. She gurgled. In an instant, Rose knew her daughter’s name. "Hello,
Hope."
The End.