INTO THE SUNRISE
Chapter Three
Tuesday morning had finally
arrived without incident. Of course, the fact that Jack and Rose had remained
in his cabin had helped tremendously. They had spent most of Monday getting to
know one another better.
"Good morning." Jack
kissed her, both waking from a dreamless slumber.
"Morning." Rose smiled,
just as Fabrizio came rushing into the room, his brown eyes wide with
amazement.
"Dios mios, Jack! Come
see!" He pointed towards the deck. "It's America, Jack! We finally
made it to America!"
Jack and Rose looked at each
other and then back at Fabrizio. "Are you sure?" Rose asked. "We
aren't supposed to be in America until tomorrow morning."
"We must be early!"
Fabrizio clapped his hands in excitement. "Come! Come see the Statue of
Liberty!"
"This had better not be one
of your jokes." Jack glared at his friend as he and Rose got up to go on
deck.
*****
Once up on the deck, Rose and
Jack gasped in amazement. It was true. They were finally home. Staring up at
the statue, Rose realized that it now had new meaning for her. Before, she had thought
it was just a statue, but now it was a symbol. A symbol for the new life she
had chosen for herself…the freedom that was now hers.
"It's beautiful," she
breathed, holding tightly to Jack's hand.
"Come, Rose. Let's get our
things ready. We'll be disembarking soon." Jack led her back to their
cabin, the image of the statue still burned in their minds.
*****
Rose, Jack, Fabrizio, and Tommy
were among the last of the third class passengers to disembark. Rose had
thought that there would be less of a chance of running into Cal if they got
off last. Sadly, she was wrong. Cal and Lovejoy were not too far away, talking
to a couple of officers.
"Shit!" Jack cursed.
"We have to get out of here fast."
Rose nodded, pushing back the
anxiety that had threatened to overtake her. If Cal saw them, she could kiss
her new life good-bye. Cal would drag her back and there would be no more
chances to escape. This was her last chance.
"We've been looking for you,
Miss," a hatefully familiar voice spoke up from behind. She turned to face
Lovejoy. He tightly grabbed her arm in a grip of steel. "Mr. Hockley will
be most glad to see you safe. Now, come along."
But before Lovejoy could pull her
anywhere, Jack's fist smashed into the older man's face. Jack quickly grabbed
Rose's hand, and they hopped into a nearby taxi, followed by Tommy and
Fabrizio.
"Where to?" the driver
asked.
"Wherever this will take
us." Jack stuffed the ten dollars he had told Rose about into the man's
hand.
"Yes, sir." The driver
tipped his hat and they were off.
Rose dared a look back to see
Lovejoy with Cal, pointing in their direction. "We're going to have to
leave New York."
"We'll need money for
that." Tommy leaned back. "Plus a place to stay the night."
"Jack?" Fabrizio looked
at his friend. Surely Jack had a plan. He always did.
"Give me a minute. I'll
figure something out." Jack wrapped a secure arm around Rose's shoulders,
pushing back the uncertainty that had come over him. Now was not the time to be
nervous, nor was it the time to sleep in the streets. For one thing, he had
Rose with him this time. Living under bridges and scavenging for food was
something she was unaccustomed to, and Jack didn't want to introduce her to
such things. For the first time since agreeing to let Rose join him, he had
doubts about the decision. "Tommy…where were you planning to stay?"
Tommy's eyes lit up with relief
and happiness. "My cousin Riley's, of course! He owns an apartment
building and is looking for tenants! I'm sure he'll put all of you up if I
ask."
"What do you say,
sweetie?" Jack looked at Rose.
"Better than in the
streets." Rose nodded.
Suddenly, the taxi came to a
halt. The ten dollars had taken them to a section of New York that Rose had
never been in before. Swallowing her fear, she clung to Jack's hand. As long as
she was with Jack, she knew she was safe.
"The ride ends here."
The driver grinned. "Enjoy your stay in our wonderful city."
"Come on, Rose." Jack stepped
down and helped Rose to the ground.
Three minutes later, the foursome
stood in middle of a deserted street, trying to figure out where they were.
"Tommy…where is this cousin
of yours again?"
Rose leaned against Jack, pushing
down the sudden swell of anxiety that was overtaking her. Everything had to be all
right. They would find Tommy's cousin and have a place to stay and warm food to
eat.
Tommy looked around and frowned.
"It's on 42nd Street."
Jack's eyes widened. "42nd
Street!"
"This is only 23rd."
Rose read the sign with a groan. "That's twenty blocks! It'll take us
forever to get there."
Jack sighed miserably. This was
exactly what he didn't want for Rose. To have to walk just to get to a place to
stay. Well…at least it wasn't raining. "Let's get moving. The sooner we
start out, the sooner we'll get there."
So, they walked and they walked.
At first, everyone was in good spirits, laughing at Jack's tales of his life
wandering the world and the scrapes that he and Fabrizio were always finding
themselves in. But by the time they had reached their destination, their
disposition had turned rather gloomy. Especially Rose's, since she hadn't eaten
that morning. She was starving, plus her feet ached terribly. Jack had offered
to carry her, seeing the pain she was in. But she had refused. It would have
drawn too much attention to them, and with Cal on the lookout, attention was
the last thing they needed.
"Is this it, Tommy?"
Jack looked up at the tall structure, pulling Rose to lean against him more,
hoping to take some of the weight off her feet.
"Yep. Ryan Manor. He'll be
surprised to see us." He rang the bell. “He wasn't expecting me until
tomorrow."
Two minutes later, the door was
opened by a muscular, heavyset man with warm brown eyes and sleek blond hair. His
eyes widened in shock when he saw who was at the door. "Tommy? Is it
really you? You weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow."
The young man grinned sheepishly.
"The ship arrived early. I hope this ain't inconveniencing ya."
The man grinned and pulled Tommy
into a hug. "Of course not! My favorite cousin! Come and bring your
friends! There's plenty of room for you all!"
Smiling gratefully, the small
group of friends followed Riley Ryan into the building, where they got a bit to
eat and a well-deserved nap.