IF THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES
Chapter Ten
Early Morning
April 15, 1912
Jack pushed open the door to St. Peter's Church.
He and Adam had arrived in Santa Monica about fifteen minutes before. Jack had
sent Adam away and then had gone to get some poison from an old druggist. The
poison was very strong and the druggist told Jack the person who took it would
be dead within a minute of taking it. This was exactly what Jack wanted. If what
Adam said was true and Rose really was dead, he would swallow the poison and
lay with Rose forever. Jack sighed and slowly walked inside the lobby. The
doors to the chapel were open, so Jack slowly walked down the aisle. Tears came
to his eyes when he saw what was waiting for him at the end of the aisle. Upon
an altar covered with a white sheet and rose petals was his Rose. She was lying
peacefully in a long, cream-colored gown. Her hair spilled around her shoulders
and in her clasped-together hands, which were resting on her stomach, were four
roses, two of which were deep red in color and the other two white. Jack slowly
approached the altar and looked at Rose. Even in death she was still very
beautiful. "Oh, Rose," he whispered, lying down beside her. He smoothed
down her hair with his hand and studied her lifeless body. Her face was not
pale like he had expected, but still very healthy looking. Her cheeks still
held a pinkish glow and her lips were still very red. He hated seeing her
there, lying still, and looking so helpless. Jack started to cry for real this
time. It was true. Everything was true. Rose was dead, and nothing mattered
anymore. He buried his head in the crook of her arm and cried. He cried and
cried until he had nothing left. Finally, he lifted his head and looked at
Rose. "I will be with you in a minute, Rose," he whispered.
"Eyes, take your last look," he whispered, studying her one last time.
"Arms, take your last embrace." And then Jack leaned down and kissed
her gently on the lips, whispering, "And lips, take your last kiss."
He pulled Rose's necklace off from around his neck and slipped her ring back on
her left hand. Last, he sat up and took Rose's right hand with his left. With
his other hand, he pulled out the little bottle of poison. Jack took out the
cork with his thumb and looked at Rose one last time. "I love you,
Rose," he whispered before putting the bottle up to his lips. Closing his
eyes for the last time, Jack threw back his head and swallowed the drugs. Right
away, he started to lose breath and started shaking. Raising her hand to his
mouth, Jack kissed her hand one last time before falling, his head resting
against Rose's. And then, with one last breath, he whispered, "I love you,
Rosie."
*****
Rose, of course, was not dead, and she began
to stir only minutes after Jack's death. As she began to wake up, Rose noticed
someone's hand holding hers down. She slowly opened her eyes and let her eyes
adjust to the light. Then she looked over to see who was there. Her face went
white when she saw Jack. "Jack," she whispered, touching his face
with her free hand. When he didn't move, Rose knew what had happened. He had
killed himself because he thought she was dead. "Oh, my God," she
whispered, tears coming to her eyes. Rose looked around, wanting to know how
exactly he had killed himself. She came to the bottle he still held in his
right hand. She pried the bottle from his cold fingers and studied it.
"Poison, I see," she whispered, choking on the words. Looking inside
the bottle, she saw that none of its contents remained. "Damn," she
cursed, throwing the bottle across the room, where it hit a pillar and smashed
into a million pieces. Looking at Jack again, Rose started to cry hysterically.
Sobbing, she rested her head on his chest and let all of her tears flow. She
cried for Jack and all he meant to her, for their torn marriage, for those two
lovers laughing and talking, for those two soulmates who had the world and
didn't even know it. She cried until all her strength was gone, holding Jack's
hand tighter all the time. Sitting up, she tried to wipe the tears as best she
could, but it wouldn't work. New ones just formed in the old ones’ place.
Trying to calm her racing heart, Rose looked around. She spotted a knife
sitting in a sheath around Jack's waist. Rose knew what she had to do; she
couldn't live without Jack. She studied it a moment before drawing it out from
its resting place. Rose pointed the knife towards her chest with her free hand
and looked at Jack one last time. As her eyes filled with tears, Rose whispered
her last words. "I love you. I'll never let go, Jack. I'll never let
go." With that, Rose stabbed the knife into herself with all her might.
She instantly started to fall, pushing the knife father into her body. Finally,
she lay down next to Jack, dying peacefully with him. Their foreheads were
touching, hands laced together, and souls finally free to be together.