JACK'S ROSE
Chapter Forty-One
The large group stood back from the loading
platform, waiting as coal was dumped into the coal car. The dust it put off was
terrible, and it seemed to suck any trace of moisture from their mouths.
"I'm gonna miss you so much,
Rosie!" Susan exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Rose.
"I'll only be gone a few weeks,
Susan," Rose said, laughing. "It's not like I'm leaving
forever."
"I know." Susan backed away.
"But still."
Rose laughed.
"And I'm going to stay as long as I
possibly can, Rosie," Molly said. The two women embraced tightly.
"I'd give anything to be there when you two get hitched!" she said
loudly.
Both Rose and William blushed.
"I certainly hope you can stay that long,
too, Molly. We'll hurry back. I promise."
"Good! Good!" Molly exclaimed,
laughing.
"And to you, Andrew, don't you two make
any plans 'til I get back. All right? No wild hairs," Rose said, turning
to Andrew.
He smiled and slung his arm over Susan.
"No wild hairs."
"Good."
The train blasted its horn and a man began
calling, "All aboard!"
"It was a great pleasure meeting
you," Cora said to Andrew and Susan. "And thank you for letting us
take that room for as long as we did, Susan."
"Oh, of course! It was lovely meeting
you all as well!" she responded, smiling. "I hope you and Lilly will
not hesitate to come visit again. Any time."
Cora smiled. Lilly said, "Perhaps we
will come in a couple years and help with the theater?"
"Help is always needed, as are
actresses," Susan said, looking at them. The two girls nodded and smiled.
"All aboard!"
"We'd better go," William said.
"And I'll see you two when I get back." Andrew and Susan smiled.
William turned to Molly. "It was nice meeting you, Molly. I hope we'll see
you when we get back."
"Me, too! Now, go on," she said
over the train's whistle sounding again.
"Bye!" Rose exclaimed, hugging her
friends once more.
"Shoo, now!" Susan said, shooing
her friend away. Nathan, holding Rose's hand, William, Cora, and Lilly all
boarded the train.
Rose looked out the window, waving
enthusiastically as the train pulled away. William was in the seat beside her,
and Nathan sat happily in her lap. As her friends disappeared, and the station
slowly slipped out of sight, Rose looked over at William and smiled.
After a few moments of watching the landscape
fly by, Nathan looked at Rose and William, then stood up and wiggled out of the
seats. "I'm gonna go sit with Cora," he announced. Nathan turned and
trotted down two rows, where he climbed into the empty seat beside Cora. Lilly
sat across the aisle beside a dark-headed man. The two were already deep in
conversation.
"My heart is pounding," she
whispered.
"And why is that?" William
inquired, taking her hand.
"I don't know. I just feel...feel
excited." She laughed.
"Me, too, Rose."
"Say, do the Ciclys still go to the
store, Will?" she asked slyly.
He chuckled. "Yes, unfortunately, they
do. Why?"
"No reason. Just asking."
William eyed her suspiciously. "They'll
be in for a surprise when they find you there."
"You really think so? Do you think
they'll even remember me?"
"I'm sure. They don't seem to forget
much. They still remember when we went to that spring dance together."
Rose's smile suddenly faded, and she drew her
hand away from William's. "Oh," she mumbled.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Those are just bittersweet
memories," she responded, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.
William studied her. "What do you think
our lives would be like right now if I had proposed that night, Rose?"
"I don't know." She looked over at
him. "I really don't. But 'might've beens' never will be. I've learnt that
already. What happens, happens, and you've just got to move on."
William smiled at her, then leaned over and
kissed her cheek. "And now we have each other. To have and hold."
"'Til death do us part."
‘Til death do us part. Please, God, let
that be many, many years from now,
Rose thought as she gently touched William's cheek.