JACK AND ROSE: TOGETHER FOREVER
Chapter Sixty-Five
Middle November, 1918
"Michael! Put that down!" Rose
yelled as she came into the kitchen and found Michael holding a knife.
Michael put the knife down and jumped off the
chair he was standing on. He and Jillian ran downstairs into their playroom.
Rose sighed as she looked at the mess before her. Lunch dishes were all over
the place and Michael and Jillian had somehow managed to track mud into the
room. Rose sat down in the chair at the table.
"God," she whispered tiredly as she
put her head in her hands.
She was stressed out over Jack and it was
making her mad at everyone and everything and making her blow things out of
proportion. The war had ended some time ago and Rose hadn't heard from Jack
since right before then. People were starting to be sent home. Just the other
day Scott Langston had returned home to Jennifer and a much older Matthew.
Bryan Foster was due back next week and Cameron Wakefield at the end of the
month. But Rose hadn't heard a thing about Jack. A million things were running
through her head. What if Jack had been killed suddenly? What if nobody knew
where he was? If he was okay, why hadn't he been writing to her?
"Hello!" Rose picked her head up
and saw Dianna standing in the kitchen. Meaghan and Grace were standing next to
her and in her arms was three-month-old Amy.
"What are you doing here?" Rose
asked, her words coming out more rudely then she intended.
Dianna looked down at Grace and Meaghan.
"Go play with Mike and Jillian, you two," she said softly.
"They are downstairs," Rose mumbled
at the two little girls.
Grace and Meaghan ran off, and then Dianna
came over. "I was going to help you clean out Michael's room,
remember?"
Rose nodded. "Yeah, I do now," she
said.
Dianna and Rose were both quiet for a moment.
Dianna could tell Rose was worried or upset about something. "Are you
okay?" she asked gently, after a minute.
Rose shook her head as tears filled her eyes.
"He hasn't written in over a month, Dianna! The war is over and still no
word about him coming home! What's going on?" she asked, putting her head
down on the table again.
Dianna sighed. "I don't know what to
tell you, Rose," she said. "I wish I could say everything was fine
and will be okay, but I don't know if that's true or not."
"I'm scared, Dianna," Rose
whispered, bringing her head up.
"I know you are, hon. But no matter
what, Bryan and I are always here for you. And you can always talk to us."
Rose sighed shakily. "I know, Dianna. I
just...I just want Jack to come home," she whispered.
Dianna nodded and didn't say anything.
Finally she whispered, "We all do, Rose."
Rose closed her eyes and put her head in her
hands. She sighed heavily and then looked at Dianna again. "The kids are
starting to ask more questions. Once they saw that Scott was home, all they
hardly ever talk about is Jack."
Dianna sighed and sat down next to Rose.
"I don't know what to say," she said gently.
Rose wiped a tear from her eye and sighed
again. "It's all right. I don't know why I am telling you all this for.
You don't have to listen," she mumbled.
"Rose, I am your friend," Dianna
said, trying to smile for Rose. "I will always be here to listen to
you."
Rose smiled. "Thank you, Di. I don't
know how I would have gotten through this past year without you and Jennifer
and Brittany."
Dianna shook her head, and then smiled.
"You would have had those two kids. I think you rely on them more than you
think. Or know."
Rose nodded. "Yeah, I do. They've helped
me through this, too. I mean, I see Jack in Michael every day. And I see Jack
in Jillian too. Not so much, but I do."
"See?" Dianna said, patting Rose's
hand. "Jack is still here. But just not the way you think."
Rose nodded, and then after a minute, she
smiled. "I thought you were here to help me with Michael's room?"
Dianna laughed as she got up from the table.
She handed the very quiet Amy to Rose. "Hold her. Then I will help you
with Michael's room," she said.
Rose took Amy and looked at her. "I miss
Michael and Jillian being babies," she whispered, kissing the little
girl's hand.
Dianna smiled at Rose. "Oh, don't worry,
Rose. With the way you and Jack act, I am sure that as soon as he gets home
there will be another one of these around your house."
Rose gasped at Dianna. She hadn't pulled one
of her little jokes in a long time. Rose had almost forgotten about them. She
looked at Dianna and fought a smile.
"Got you," Dianna said, smiling.
Rose couldn't help it and started laughing.
Dianna laughed along with her. It felt like old times, like Jack was home and
there had been no war. Rose wanted to keep it that way for as long as she
could.
*****
"Okay, we need to push that rocking
chair back into the room," Rose said, brushing the hair from her face.
"Is that it?" Dianna asked, looking
around. They had taken all of Michael's furniture out of his room, cleaned it
out, and were now putting the furniture back in the room.
Rose nodded and clicked her tongue. "I
think so. Just the rocking chair," she mumbled. She and Dianna moved the
rocking chair back into Michael's room and then made sure everything was in
order.
As they left the room, Dianna remarked,
"Are those kids still asleep?"
Rose shrugged and peeked into Jillian's room.
Sure enough, all five of the children were still asleep. "Yeah, they
are," Rose whispered, closing the door.
"It's amazing they all went down for a
nap at the same time," Dianna said as she walked down the stairs. Rose
nodded and walked into the kitchen. "Where are you going?" Dianna
asked, following Rose.
"Getting coffee," Rose mumbled as
Dianna walked in the room.
Dianna sat down at the table and studied Rose
as she moved around the kitchen. She looked as if she hadn't slept in days. Her
eyes were bloodshot and there were dark circles under them. She walked tiredly
and even spoke differently. There was just something that wasn't Rose. Like she
was hiding something. Or carrying a burden. Dianna decided to bring up
something she knew wouldn't upset Rose.
"How is work going?" Dianna had
been right. Rose smiled brightly and her whole face changed. She brought over
her cup of coffee and handed another to Dianna.
"Wonderfully," Rose said excitedly.
"They asked me to co-direct this year's A Christmas Carol! I don't know if
I am going to do it, though. That's such a busy job, and I don't want to leave
Mike and Jillian with Brittany any more then I already do. Especially with
Cameron coming home. I would much rather be in charge of casting. Or maybe help
some of the actors with their work; give them extra lessons here at home. That
way I wouldn't have to leave Jillian or Michael anywhere. I could teach while
they are taking their naps."
Dianna smiled at Rose. "Its beyond me
how you went from being a twice a week drama teacher to being asked to direct
plays. And in only six months."
Rose laughed. "Yes, I know. I don't know
that I am going to direct just yet, though. Maybe in a few years. When the kids
are older."
Dianna noticed Rose didn't say 'after Jack
gets home.' Was she giving up hope on her husband? That didn't sound like Rose
at all. All throughout the war, it had been Rose who had kept them going. She
kept saying 'It's going to be all right. They are coming home, believe me.'
Dianna sighed without meaning to. She looked up to see if Rose had noticed, but
she hadn't. She was looking at something over Dianna's shoulder. Dianna turned
around and looked to where Rose was looking. Hanging on the wall was a sketch
Jack had done. Dianna had seen it before, and of course Rose had too. Then why
was Rose looking at it so intently?
"I look so much different there,"
Rose whispered suddenly.
Dianna turned and looked at Rose again. She
was right, she did look different. But it wasn't anything outward. It was something
inside that was making Rose look different.
"My eyes," Rose whispered.
Dianna looked at the picture again. Rose was
sitting in a chair, holding a younger Jillian in her arms. Michael was right
next to her, intently looking at his sister. Rose was looking toward where Jack
would have been, so her eyes could clearly be seen. Rose was right. There was
something different from the eyes in the picture and her eyes now.
"Ah...Rose?" Dianna asked worriedly
as she turned around.
Rose was no longer there. She had gotten up
and was walking toward the living room. Dianna got up and followed her. Rose
had stopped at the coffee table. She bent down and picked up a framed picture
off of it. After studying it for a moment, Rose handed it to Dianna.
"Look," she whispered, tears
filling in her eyes.
Dianna took the picture and looked at it. It
was a picture of Rose and Jack on the beach. They were both smiling and looked
as if they were almost laughing. She could tell from the picture that Rose's
dress had been blowing in the wind and Jack's hair was all sorts of different
ways.
"Someone walking by took that picture
for us," Rose whispered. Dianna looked up and then looked at Rose. "I
miss him," Rose said, tears going down her cheeks. "I miss him a lot.
I was trying to make things better today. But it's not working. Everywhere I
turn I see something that reminds me of Jack. And reminds me that he is not
here. It was easier when everyone else was away at war, Dianna. But now people
are starting to come home. I still haven't heard. I just want him to come
home."
Dianna set the picture back down and then
looked at Rose again. "Hon, I am going to tell you the same thing I did
this morning; I don't know what to tell you. I don't know where Jack is. And I
don't know if he is coming home or not. All I know is that you need to be
strong. You've come this far; you can go a little longer."
"God, I am sorry," Rose whispered
as she sat down. "I don't mean to dump this all on you again."
Dianna smiled as she sat down next to Rose.
"It's okay, Rose," she said.
"I think I am just going crazy,"
Rose whispered.
Dianna shook her head. "You are not
crazy. Not completely. You are just worried about your husband. I would be
worried if you didn't act this way, Rose."
Rose smiled and then nodded. "I
just...oh, I don't know."
Dianna chuckled and pulled Rose up off the
couch. "Come on, we still have a lot more to do."
"What?" Rose asked, giving her a
questioning look.
"Hon, look at your kitchen," Dianna
said, smiling brightly.
Rose glanced toward the kitchen. The place
was still a mess from earlier this morning. Rose laughed. "I guess you are
right," she said. Dianna nodded and then started off for the kitchen.
"Hey, Dianna," Rose said as she came in. "Thank you."
Dianna smiled. "No problem. Now get over
here and help me."
Rose laughed and came over. She and Dianna
began to clean up the dishes, each of them took turns washing and drying.
Before long, there was the sound of the doorbell. Rose froze as a weird feeling
came over her. The doorbell brought to mind the day she had gotten the telegram
about Jack. She looked at Dianna as she dried her hands. Dianna nodded and
followed Rose out into the front hall. She watched as Rose opened the door and
talked to someone outside. A moment later, Rose turned around and shut the
door. She was holding a piece of paper. On her face was a look of shock. Dianna
was immediately worried and she came over.
"He promised he was coming come,"
Rose whispered, handing Dianna the paper. Tears ran down her cheeks when she
thought of the telegram said. Dianna quickly read the slip of paper and then
looked up. Tears were in her eyes as well. Without saying anything, Dianna
pulled Rose into her arms and hugged her tight. Tears continued to run down
Rose's face as she whispered over and over, "He promised he was coming
home."