HEARTS WILL GO ON
Chapter Twenty-Two
Christmas, 1933
Boston, MA
"Ma? Jamie? Luke?
Anybody?" I asked, opening the door to my mother’s home of nearly a year.
I motioned for Jonathan to come in behind me. The house was silent, which was
really strange, as my brothers were quite possibly the loudest children I’d
ever met.
"Is anyone even here?"
Johnny asked, taking my coat and hanging it on the rack. I jumped as James
poked his head around the corner.
"Hey, Jo…we gotta be
quiet," he whispered.
"Why?" I asked in a
lower voice.
"Mom’s sleeping," he
replied, and I suddenly understood.
"Oh. Gotcha. Where’s
Luke?" Jamie pointed down the hall.
"In the living room with Dad
and Jack." I nodded, starting toward the living room as James fell into
step behind me to inquire of Johnny, "Hey, Johnny, do you want to go
sledding after lunch?"
"Sure, kid! Your sister and
I will take you guys out for a while," he replied easily, and I could tell
he was smiling behind me.
"Really?" Jamie was
excited now. "Is that okay, Jo?"
"No problem." I
grinned. I heard a wail of protest as I walked into the living room, where my
father, bless him, was trying in vain to diaper his infant son. I cleared my
throat, trying to hold back my wry grin. He looked up, panicked, obviously
thinking I was my mother.
"Rose…I just can’t figure
this damned thing…" He noticed it was me. "Oh, Jo?" Luke
laughed.
"Daddy’s funny…he tried to
put three diapers on Jack already!" Luke told us excitedly. I rolled my
eyes affectionately.
"Dad…" I tried to speak
without laughing. I turned the baby so that he was facing me and grabbed a new
diaper. Within seconds, my smallest brother was clean and dry.
"He peed on me," Dad
said dryly. "Twice," he added. With a giggle, I put the baby’s blue
jumper back on.
"Amateur," I teased.
"How’s Mom?"
"Tired," he replied,
shaking Jonathan’s hand.
"Has Dave called?" I
asked, sitting with the month-old baby in my lap. He smiled faintly, which I knew
wasn’t really a smile, but it was cute all the same.
"Yes…they’ll be along in a
bit. The train was delayed," Dad said, slumping against the back of the
couch.
"Poor Gloria," I said,
thinking of my friend. "But she’s staying with us until after the baby is
born, right?" Dad nodded, gently taking a broken toy away from Luke.
"You could hurt yourself,
buddy," he said when Luke began to whine in protest.
"It’s a stupid toy
anyway," Luke replied grumpily. Dad chuckled, ruffling his hair and
pulling him to sit beside him.
"He thinks he’s so tough
because he’ll be four in two days."
*****
After lunch, we took the boys
sledding so that my parents could relax. Ma was awake when we came back in,
flushed from the cold. I almost died of shock. She’d cut her long hair to her
shoulders.
"It was bothering me,"
she said in response to my open-mouthed surprise.
"It looks nice," I
offered, meaning it. It complimented her well and was very modern.
"So, how is married
life?" she asked Jonathan and I as we sat on a loveseat.
"Busy," Johnny
answered, laughing. I nodded in agreement.
"I don’t think we’ve been
home for more than a day for six months!" Jonathan squeezed my hand.
"We’re going to Europe for a
few months after New Year’s," he said as Ma raised her eyebrows, sipping her
tea.
"That sounds fun…" I
could see it, the fear in her eyes. I reached across to grab her hand.
"It’s okay…the cruise
companies have really improved safety standards…they don’t want another Titanic
on their hands."
"I know…" she replied
uneasily, biting her lip.
"Rose…" Dad
interjected. "The odds of that happening again…are so small…" He was
always so calm. It never ceased to amaze me. I was glad to have inherited that
trait…well, for the most part. I had Mom’s temper, though, and poor Jonathan
had seen it a few times in the six months we’d been married.
"Yes, I know…" Mom went
on, sighing. "You’ll be fine. Just be sure to write us and let us know
you’ve arrived."
"I promise," I said
reassuringly.
"Momma!" Jamie said,
coming into the room impatiently.
"What is it, James?"
she asked, reaching to brush some of his long brown hair out of his eyes.
"Dave and Gloria are here,
and is she ever big! Even bigger than you were when you had Jack!" I
smacked his arm.
"Be nice. You’d better tell
her how pretty she looks, or I’ll pop you one," I warned. He scowled and
nodded, walking away.
"You should have seen how
big I was with Jack," Ma muttered. I turned to her with a small grin on my
face.
"I did. It wasn’t pretty. I
thought a toddler was going to come out of you," I joked.
"Josephine!" Ma cried,
stifling a laugh.
"Or at least twins! He was a
monster baby!" I amended. She shook her head as the door opened and Gloria
walked in, guided by Dave. Jonathan rose so that she could sit next to me. She
wasn’t as large as James had made her out to be, but for her petite size, it
was a bit overwhelming.
"How do you feel?" I
asked, putting my arms around her. She giggled, hugging me tightly.
"My feet are swollen, my back
hurts, I can’t sleep anymore, and I have stretch marks…I feel great!" She
sounded sincere. "Of course, I’ll feel much better when he or she is on
the outside of my body. But it’s worth it."
"Sorry we’re late,"
Dave said, kissing my cheek. "Gloria wanted to visit her mother’s grave
before we came, so we stopped off in Philadelphia." Constance Edwards had
succumbed to tuberculosis in June, just after Gloria had found out she was
pregnant. She’d been buried beside Gloria’s grandparents near Jonathan’s father
and mother. We visited Deirdre and the girls as often as we could. More often
than not, Jonathan and I were bombarded with questions about having children,
but we both felt it wasn’t time yet. Not for me. I had decided that summer to
start writing a memoir, for which Ma offered some of her diary excerpts. Dad
wrote a short piece, and Dave, of all people, contributed a bit. I was about
halfway done with my own part.
*****
The day before New Year’s, Gloria
gave birth to Michael David Stirling, who had a head of golden hair and blue
eyes, just like both of his parents. Liz and Randy had arrived with Belinda on
Christmas Day, so they were thrilled to be there for the birth of their first
grandchild. Liz raved that Michael looked exactly like Dave had when he was
born. Michael was a surprisingly small baby, but healthy. Dave was so proud he
didn’t know what to do with himself, and had bawled when he’d seen his son for
the first time. After that, all the men had drunk into the night and smoked
cigars, celebrating. I stayed with Gloria, who was exhausted, but so happy she
was glowing.
"He’s really something,
isn’t he, Jo?" she asked, and I nodded, watching the baby sleep after he’d
eaten for the first time. I looked over at Belinda and nodded for her to join
us.
"Come on, Bel. Don’t you
want to see your nephew?" I asked, and she shyly approached us. Gloria
beamed at her.
"Would you like to hold him,
dear?" she asked. Belinda nodded. I took the baby from his mother and
gently placed him into his new aunt’s arms. She looked happier than I’d ever
seen her. The entire smart attitude was gone. Dave appeared in the doorway,
grinning at his little sister.
"He’s so pretty, Dave,"
she said in a quiet voice. Dave nodded.
"He is, isn’t he?" he
agreed.
"He must take after Gloria,"
I quipped, and Dave laughed heartily, coming over to hug me. He embraced me so
hard that he picked me up.
"Put me down, you
putz!" I cried, smacking him. "Or I’ll sic my husband on you!"
"Sorry, love. You’re at his
mercy," Jonathan said, standing in the doorway now.
"You’re going to pay for
that, Jonathan," I muttered as Dave set me on my feet not quite
gracefully. My husband strode over to me and put an arm around me.
"You ready for one of
those?" he asked, indicating Michael. I looked up at him in horror.
"No…I want to finish the
memoir first," I replied, laying my head on his shoulder, feeling him kiss
my forehead.
"We have plenty of time…no
rush," he said. As I watched Dave and Gloria with their son, I was amazed
at how much could change in one year. I’d gotten married. Dave was married.
Hell, Mom was married! I’d found Jack. I had another brother and a godson.
Grant’s nephew had gone to live with him and Olivia after he’d lost his parents
to a car crash. Life was still unfair at times, but I was often able to see the
good through the bad since marrying Jonathan. I’d never been happier.