JACK AND ROSE: TOGETHER FOREVER
Chapter Forty-Seven
The Middle of Nevada
Aug 20, 1914
Rose slumped against the toilet where the
remaining portion of her breakfast now lay. She had been feeling sick all
morning and now her breakfast had decided to resurface. Feeling herself about
to get sick again, Rose placed her head above the toilet, once again saying
hello to something resembling her breakfast. When she had finished, she leaned
against the closet wall and groaned. She hated throwing up. Almost nothing was
worse. Suddenly someone knocked on the door to the bathroom, in the tiny
sleeper section, aboard the train home to Santa Monica. "Yes?" Rose
mumbled weakly, not having strength to say more. She felt tired and didn't want
to move. She wanted to be home, in her own bed, curled up with a book in hand.
"Rosie? You okay? I heard some noises
coming from here," Jack called from outside the door.
"No," Rose said starting to cry.
Jack immediately pushed open the door and
squeezed into the closet size room.
He looked at Rose with her hair all out and
sweaty, her eyes glassy, and tears running down her cheeks. "Oh
honey," Jack whispered sitting down next to her and wrapping his arms
around her. "Did you get sick?" he asked. Rose nodded and leaned
against him. "Oh, Rose, you should have told me you weren't feeling well
again," Jack whispered pulling her closer.
"I know," Rose mumbled.
"Here," Jack said handing her a
rubber band off the floor, "let's put your hair up, it'll be more
comfortable." Rose nodded and let Jack pull her hair into a messy bun atop
her head. Then he reached up and dampened a washcloth in the sink. "Here,
put this against your forehead," he whispered, pressing against her head.
Rose closed her eyes and pressed the cloth
against her forehead.
Jack's ideas were making her feel better.
"Thank you Jack, you didn't have to do that. Thank you though," Rose
mumbled.
"Oh Rose," Jack said pressing his
forehead against her cloth and hand covered one, "I will do anything if it
makes you feel better."
Rose smiled weakly, she couldn't ask for a
better husband. "Thank you," she whispered.
Jack smiled and pulled away, pulling off the
washcloth. "You have a fever?" he asked kissing her forehead.
Rose smiled, her Mother never checked to see
if she had a fever that way. She always put her hand on Rose's forehead, never
kissed it.
"Nope, no fever. Did you just eat
something bad?" Jack asked.
Rose put her washcloth back to her forehead.
She knew that this whole thing was most likely not from bad food. But she
nodded her head anyway, "Probably. Maybe it was that soup I had last
night."
Jack smiled, "Probably. That didn't
taste the best."
Rose smiled back at him, "I'm starting
to feel better Jack, thank you."
Jack kissed her cheek, "Anytime Rosie.
Now, do you think you can get up?"
Rose nodded and took Jack's hand. He helped
her stand up, but the moment Rose was on her feet she felt queasy, even with
Jack supporting her. Rose moaned and squeezed Jack's hand.
"Come here," he said feeling her
squeeze. He pulled her close and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"You're going to lay down right now."
Rose closed her eyes and let Jack guide her
into the room. "Okay," he whispered helping her lay down on the bed.
Rose tried to relax, closed her eyes, and took a few deep breaths. "Want
me to read to you?" Jack asked.
"Oh Jack, you don't have to do anything.
Or wait for that matter. Go do something, if you want to," Rose said
pressing the cloth closer to her forehead.
"No, no, Rose. I am not leaving until
you're better," Jack said, "even if that means were stuck on this
train forever."
Rose groaned, "Oh, don't worry. I am
going to be the first one off this train tomorrow. I can't wait to get
home."
Jack smiled, "Me either. So, you want me
to read?"
Rose nodded, "That would be nice Jack,
thank you."
Jack smiled and grabbed the book off the
floor on Rose's side of the bed. He lay down next to her and opened up to where
she had it marked. "Hmm, Jane Austin, very classic. Now let's see here.
'After tea, Mr. and Mrs. Weston, and Mr. Elton sat down with Mr. Woodhouse to cards.'
Wow! I have no idea what is going on," Jack said.
Rose smiled, "Keep going Jack."
Jack cleared his throat and started to read
again. "'The remaining five were left to their own powers, and Emma
doubted their getting on very well.'"
***************
Jack and Rose were sitting across from each
other that night at dinner. While Jack wasn't eating very much, Rose was
wolfing down anything she could get to. Jack put his fork down when Rose
reached for her fourth piece of bread. They had gotten a five-piece plate and
Rose had eaten all but one of the pieces. "Rose, honey," Jack said
slowly.
Rose lifted her head and nodded,
"Yes?"
"Don't you think you've eaten enough.
You did get sick earlier," Jack reminded her.
"I know," Rose said taking another
bite of bread.
Jack eyed Rose. Just hours ago she had been
so sick she could hardly stand.
Now, here she was, eating everything in
sight. He knew something was going on, something big, and he wished Rose would
tell him what was the matter.
"I don't feel sick," Rose said
smiling at him. "I'm actually really hungry. I feel as if I haven't eaten
in days."
"Well, I can see that," Jack said
smiling at her. "Just take it easy, okay?"
Rose nodded, "I will Jack."
Jack took Rose's hand and kissed it. "I
don't want anything to happen to you Rosie."
Rose smiled sweetly at Jack. "I know, I
promise I'll take it easy Jack."
Jack grinned, "Thank you Rose."
Rose looked down at her piece of bread. Jack
was right. If she didn't take it easy, she might get sick again. "You want
this?" she asked handing the bread to Jack.
Jack laughed, "Changed your mind
huh?"
Rose nodded, "I don't want to get sick
again. Besides, I'm starting to feel a little full." Jack smiled and took
the bread from her. Rose took a sip of water before asking, "What time
tomorrow do you think we'll get into Santa Monica?"
Jack shook his head, "I'm not sure.
Hopefully early in the morning."
Rose nodded, "Yeah, hopefully we will. I
want to get home!"
Jack smiled at Rose. "We'll have to go
say hi to the Fosters and Langstons tomorrow night."
Rose's eyes sparkled, "Yes, I've missed
them a lot."
Jack laughed, "They'll want to hear
every single detail."
This time Rose laughed, "We'll they're
not getting every single detail."
Jack started choking on his hot cocoa at
Rose's last remark. "I should hope not," he got out before starting
to cough again.
Rose giggled, "We'll have to show them
all the pictures we got."
Jack nodded, taking a sip of Rose's water to
stop his cough. "Are you okay?" Rose asked.
Jack swallowed the water down and nodded.
"Now I am, you have to warn me when you're going to make those kinds of
remarks."
"Oh I will next time, maybe," Rose
said grinning.
Jack smiled back at her. It seemed his old
Rose was back, at least for now.
****************
That night Jack was sitting against the
backboard in bed with the window shade open. The window was cracked open a bit,
so a gentle breeze was filling the room. It felt good to get some fresh air
after being stuck on a train for almost four days. A full moon was positioned
high in the sky and from the bed, Jack had a beautiful view of it. It seemed as
if it moved with the train, following them along. His mind was filled with
thoughts of Rose. He hoped nothing serious was going on with her. Maybe she did
have a touch of a weird type of flu. But then, wouldn't he have gotten it by
now? As far as he knew it had been well over a week since she had been feeling
bad. Just then, the bathroom door opened and light filled the room. Rose stepped
out and shut off the light. In the dark she crossed over to Jack and climbed
into bed with him. Jack lifted up the quilt and she got under the covers,
snuggling up to Jack. He put his arms around her and Rose leaned backwards
against him.
"You still feeling all right?" he
asked quietly.
Rose nodded, "Yes, just fine." Jack
smiled and kissed the top of her head.
"The moon looks beautiful," Rose
remarked pulling Jack's arms closer around her.
"Hmm, yes it does," Jack whispered.
Rose smiled and snuggled back against the
crook of Jack's arm. Jack started to run his fingers through Rose's hair. Rose
closed her eyes and thought to herself. She knew that she was almost for sure
pregnant now. All she had to do was tell Jack, and make sure it was for sure of
course. She was planning to go to the doctor's sometime this week, after they
had been home for a few days. Just to see if possibly this was all travel
related, though she doubted it was. Rose decided to wait until after she went
to the doctor's to tell Jack. That way, she would know for sure and everything
would be fine. Maybe she wouldn't even tell Jack that she was going to the
doctor's, just that she was going out or something.
"Hey Rosie," Jack whispered in her
ear suddenly.
Rose opened her eyes and turned to face Jack.
"Yeah?" she asked quietly.
"Look," Jack whispered as he
pointed outside. A flock of nighttime flying ducks was slowly making its way
across the sky, right in front of the moon.
Rose gasped, "It's beautiful Jack.
Almost like a painting."
"Yeah," Jack breathed slowly.
Already his mind was turning with ideas for new drawings and art pieces.
Rose kissed the side of Jack's arm and closed
her eyes again. This time she yawned and moaned a little, snuggling up closer
to Jack. She was cold, despite the fact that she wrapped up in Jack's arms.
Jack must have known that she was starting to get chilly because he drew
another quilt from the end of the bed and covered them up with another blanket.
Rose smiled and said, "Thank you Jack."
Jack kissed her cheek and rested his head
against hers. A few minutes later, he decided he had better get to sleep. He
nudged Rose to move so he could get up and close the window, but she didn't
move. He bent down and looked at her.
Her eyes were closed and she was breathing
softly. Jack smiled when he realized she was fast asleep. He glanced at the
window and then back down at Rose. He didn't have the heart to wake her up, and
if he didn't wake her up, he couldn't get up. Jack smiled and pulled the quilt
closer around himself. He kissed Rose's cheek and gently wrapped his arms
closer around her. Closing his eyes, he slipped into a deep, peaceful sleep.