JACK'S ROSE
Chapter Fourteen
Rose bounded up the porch steps, and burst
through the store door, rubbing her arms and bouncing in place, trying to warm
herself.
"Well, come on. Don't just stand
there," he said, starting for the back of the store. "Lock the door,
will you?"
Rose turned and locked the door, then rushed
after William to the back door that led out to the small stable behind it, and
stepped back into the cold Christmas morning. William had already hitched the
mare to the wagon and loaded everything they would need into the back. He
stepped to Rose's side and took her hand.
"Ladies first," he said, helping
her climb into the wagon.
"Thank you." Rose smiled as William
settled himself into the driver's seat and slapped the dun mare's shoulders
with the reins.
"Of course. But there had better be a
good supper tonight," he teased.
"The ham is already in the oven, the
dressing and other stuff like that is cooking, and the pies and such wait until
this evening so they're still warm." She smiled smugly at him.
"Sounds good to me. I've just been
eating whatever was at the store. Not that I'm complaining, really." He
shrugged as he turned the horse down the road that led up to the Dawsons’
house. "But anyway. How long are they going to be gone?" he asked, as
the mare stopped in front of the house. Both of them hopped off.
"I'm not sure. Maybe another hour or
so," Rose said, pulling two of the curtains off the back of the wagon.
William grabbed the curtain rods and hooks and tools and followed her inside
the house.
"That leaves us just a mite pressed for
time, doesn't it?"
"Well, yes...but what's life without a
challenge?" She smiled at him.
William shook his head and chuckled, but
quickly set about screwing in the hooks that would hold the curtain rods, while
Rose began sliding the curtains onto the rods. The four windows were taken care
of rather quickly. Then, they both pushed the furniture to the edge of the room.
The rug, on the other hand, proved to be more trouble that either had bargained
for. It was extremely heavy, and was dropped several times, but amidst it all,
Rose and William were laughing constantly, perhaps adding to their troubles.
But, finally, they managed to get it in the parlor and rolled it out, then
pushed the furniture back into its proper place. They both threw themselves
down onto the sofa, exhausted but still laughing.
"Ooh, my sides hurt!" Rose
exclaimed, trying to stop laughing. She clutched her sides.
"Then quit laughing," William said,
trying to stop himself. That proved to be easier said than done.
"What are we even laughing about?"
Rose asked, after she took a deep breath, her laughter finally ceasing.
"The look on your face when you slipped
outside with the rug," he taunted.
"No, no...you're wrong. It was the look
on your face when you fell on the porch." Rose smiled at him.
"Yeah, yeah." He stood and smiled
at her. "I think they're here."
They rushed to the door and greeted the girls
and Henry and Julia as they came up the porch.
"Merry Christmas, William," Henry
said, stepping into the house.
"Same to you, Henry."
"What are you—oh!" Julia exclaimed,
as her eyes settled on the parlor. "What in the world?"
"Merry Christmas!" Rose said, a
wide smile on her face. She stood back as Julia made her way to one of the
windows and gently touched the curtain.
"When—how—"
"Just this morning, but I must admit, I
had a lot of help," Rose said, looking at William.
"Thank you, Will," Henry said,
patting the young man's back.
"Of course."
The girls ran in and immediately plopped down
on the new rug. They smiled up at Rose and William and thanked them
enthusiastically.
"You are staying for supper, aren't you,
Will?" Julia asked, walking back across the parlor.
"Rose invited me, as help for this, so
if it's all right—"
"Of course! We would love to have you!
As I always say, the more the merrier!" Julia laughed.
And they began talking about something, but
Rose was not listening anymore. Her hand moved to her stomach. It felt as
if...something was...moving inside her. She frowned. What in the world? Jack?
"Rose? Are you all right?" William
asked, pulling her back into the present.
"Oh, yes...I was just...zoned out."
She smiled and blushed.
*****
"Can we open the presents now?"
Lilly asked again, as her father finally finished his pecan pie.
"Yes, yes, girls. Go ahead in the parlor.
We'll be there in just a second," Julia said, standing. The girls rushed
away, and everyone else soon followed.
"I'll sort the presents," Rose
said, dropping to her knees. She found herself giddy, like a child. As she'd
told Julia, she had never really enjoyed Christmas like a child is supposed to,
even though she had been surrounded by every glittering color a child could
imagine, and gotten more presents than she had even known what to do with.
She began to hand the few presents under the
tree to their addressee. "Cora, here's two for you. Lilly, two for
you." Then, she reached for one of the last two presents and was surprised
to see her name on it.
"Well, Rose, open it," Henry urged
happily.
The flat package was simply wrapped in a
sheet of newspaper which Rose gingerly unwrapped from around her present. As
the paper fell away, a brown portfolio with the letters JD inscribed on the
bottom right corner was uncovered.
"Oh, thank you!" Rose exclaimed,
standing and throwing her arms around Henry and then Julia. "I can never
thank you enough!"
"We thought that you might like
it," Henry said, smiling. "Those are some of his that he did just
before he left. The portfolio was something we all got him that Christmas, so I
thought it fitting for that...among other reasons."
"You can look at them later, when you
have time." Julia smiled happily at Rose.
"Oh, thank you again!" Rose smiled
and tightly gripped the portfolio.
"Well, I'm not sure that my present will
get quite that reaction," William said, extending toward her the little
box he had snatched away from Rose the day she'd gone into the store. "But
here."
Rose accepted the little box and set down the
portfolio. She gingerly opened the box to reveal a pair of tear drop emerald
earrings. She looked at William questioningly. "Oh, they're beautiful,
William, but I can't—"
"Of course you can. They're from both
Ralph and I." He smiled.
Rose gazed down at them again. They were
painfully similar to the ones she'd been wearing on the night she'd met Jack—the
night she'd decided to end her pain—and that thought alone brought tears to her
eyes.
"Oh, wait!" she said, wiping her
eyes. Rose gently placed the earrings on the portfolio and grabbed the last
present from beneath the tree. "Merry Christmas, William." She handed
him a soft package. He unwrapped it to reveal a handkerchief embroidered with
his initials in the top right corner.
Rose, having had no idea what to get William
for Christmas, had decided to put what little skill society had taught her to
use, and she had asked Henry for a handkerchief, which he had happily given to
her. Then, with red and green thread, she had embroidered his initials and a
fancy border around the edge with the skill that only one that had spent years
perfecting the skill could have done. She'd been quite pleased with herself
after seeing it finished, and hoped William would like it as well.
"Thank you, Rose. It's beautiful. Where
did you get it?" he asked, folding it and placing it in the pocket of his
shirt.
"Get it? You insult me, Mr.
Calvert," she teased back. "I made it myself."
He laughed merrily, and smiled at her. "Then
I shall cherish it forever."
*****
"Oh, not so fast!" Julia called, as
William stepped through the doorway, Rose beside him. Both turned to look at
her questioningly.
"You're standing underneath the
mistletoe!" Cora exclaimed, she and Lilly giggling.
"Well, go on! Kiss!" Henry demanded
happily.
Rose, her cheeks filling with crimson, turned
to William, who laughed, blushing as well.
"Go on, you two! We haven't got all
night!" Julia urged, her hands on her hips.
"Ah…come on, Rose," William
whispered. "I won't bite." He smiled again and gently brushed her
lips with his.
"Now, was that so bad?" Henry
asked, following Rose and William onto the porch.
"Yes, Henry. Just terrible,"
William replied, sarcastically.
"That's what I thought. Now, you'll be
joining us for New Year's Eve as well, I suppose?"
"Well, I—ah—hadn't been—"
"I'm inviting you. Will you come?"
"Sure. Why not?"
"All right, then. If not before, then
I'll see you on New Year's Eve. Good-bye!" Henry called, as William walked
around the house to the small single stall and fetched his horse. When he
brought the mare back around, everyone had retreated back into the warmth of
the house, and he hitched the mare to the wagon in silence and hurried back to
the store, all the time thinking of those last few moments of the Christmas
celebration.
And he knew then, more than ever before, that
what he felt for Rose Dawson was much more than friendship.