JACK'S ROSE
Chapter Eight

Cora smiled eagerly as Lilly approached the breakfast table with her parents.

"Good morning, Rose. Did you sleep all right?" Julia asked, sliding into a chair beside her daughter.

"Yes. Quite well." Rose smiled brightly.

"I wish I could say the same. It was too bumpy for me."

"She's like the princess in that story," Henry said, limping to the table and settling into the chair next to Rose. "The one that could feel the pea through all those mattresses."

Rose laughed as Julia shot her husband a scornful, yet rather playful look.

She reached for a muffin from the basket set in the middle of the table, trying to quiet her rumbling stomach. She buttered it and quickly ate it.

"Rose, you said you don't have anywhere to go once you get to Chippewa Falls, didn't you?" Julia asked.

She looked up. "Well, yes, but I'm not worried about—"

"Then I invite you to come live with us. The house has plenty of extra rooms. You can stay in your own room, and the girls can stay together," Julia said, smiling.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly intrude—"

"Intrude! No! Please, come!"

"Please," Henry said, "come. I would love to have you live with us. You're family, after all." He smiled.

Rose sighed heavily, and a small smile crossed her face. "All right. Cora, would you like that? To live with Lilly?"

Cora's eyes lit up like shooting stars. "Yes! Oh, yes, Rosie!"

Rose turned back to Julia and Henry and nodded. "All right. We'll come."

"Oh, wonderful! Wonderful!" Julia exclaimed, smiling.

Rose shared her smile, thinking how wonderfully her new life was starting out.

*****

Rose grunted, struggling to shift the bag from her left hand to her right as she made her way down the road with Henry and Julia, Cora and Lilly. The girls skipped ahead of the adults, singing some silly song Lilly had taught Cora on the train.

"This house is really...different, I'm sure, from what you've been used to," Henry said, grimacing as another shot of pain raced up and down his leg. "But it really is a nice house. The stairway is carved. My father spent most of his free time on the stairway. But there is no electricity or running water." Henry laughed.

Rose smiled. If her new life meant a new lifestyle, then she would have to learn to cope. "That's fine," she said, as they turned another corner. "I'm ready to take whatever comes at me."

Henry and Julia both glanced at her. "Just look out for yourself, Rose," Henry said as they approached a large old farmhouse. "Small town people can be cruel to outsiders. Gossip is as true as they believe it to be, all right?"

Rose glanced at Henry questioningly.

"Here we are. Let's go," he said, walking up the stairs. Henry opened the door and dropped his bags. "Home sweet home."

*****

Finally, after hours of scrubbing and washing and scraping, Rose, Henry, and Julia wiped their reddened hands off and stepped outside the house for a breath of fresh air. Cora and Lilly sat on the porch swing playing "patty-cake." The three adults plopped down on the porch steps and looked down the road. The sun had already slipped behind the hills and only a faint light lingered to reveal a wagon bumping down the road, nearing the house.

"Well, then, what's this?" Henry asked, though it seemed he was talking mostly to himself. Finally, the wagon came near enough so that they could see the faces of the people in it. "Oh, God. The Ciclys," Henry mumbled to himself. But despite his mumbled curses, he stood, opening his arms and saying, "Fred! Dear man, how wonderful to see you!"

Rose stood, standing aside as Julia went to join her husband in greeting the Ciclys. The girls' game of "patty-cake" had come to a stop.

"It's been far too long!" the woman exclaimed.

"It certainly has," Julia said, hugging her.

"Where's this little girl I've heard say about?" the woman asked, looking about.

"Lilly, come say hi to Mrs. Cicly," Julia said, turning. Lilly obeyed, and Cora went to stand beside Rose.

"She's so adorable! Hello, Lilly!"

Lilly looked up at the woman, a frown across her face.

"Lilly, say hi," Julia whispered harshly.

"Hello, Mrs. Cicly," Lilly said through her teeth.

Mrs. Cicly stood back, rather shocked, then shook herself and glanced over at Rose. "Who is this?" she asked, looking disapprovingly at Rose.

"This is Rose, Anne. She's our...cousin," Henry lied.

"Your cousin?"

"Our father had a brother who was her father. We just happened to bump into them on the train."

"Oh, well, how fortunate. What brings you to our little town, Rose?"

"I was...looking for...for family," she stumbled.

"And she found it!" Julia said, trying to change the subject.

"And the girl?" Fred asked, motioning to Cora.

"Cora. She's my...my niece," Rose said, glancing down at Cora.

"Your niece. Yes. Well, this house has been empty so long, it's not suitable for rats to sleep in yet." Here, Anne paused to glance at Rose. "So, you all are welcome to come spend the night at our house. We'll bring you back in the morning so you can clean it up some more tomorrow."

"Thank you, Anne! That sounds nice. I think we'll take you up on that offer," Julia said, smiling.

"I'll stay here," Rose said sternly. She had no desire to go anywhere with those people.

"Oh, no. You can't, Rose. I wouldn't feel—"

"I'll be fine. Rats don't bother me," she said, looking to Anne. The woman smiled uncomfortably.

"Well, come. We've got to get some food in you all and then get you into a nice warm bed." Anne turned to her husband and smiled.

"Come on, girls," Henry said to Cora and Lilly.

Cora looked up at Rose. "Please come, Rosie."

"Go on, Cora. I'll stay here. Go with Lilly and have fun. But don't stay up all night, all right?"

Cora nodded, frowned, then clambered into the wagon beside Lilly and Julia.

"Jack's room was the first on the right of the upstairs hallway. Stay there if you want," Henry whispered to Rose before jumping into the wagon.

"Sleep well, Rose!" Anne called back as the wagon began to bump away from the house. "Don't let the rats bite!"

I'm going to bite you if you don't shut up, Rose thought harshly. She kicked a pebble angrily and wondered if she'd made the right choice by coming to such a town.

She sat down on the porch steps, resting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. Rose listened as the crickets chirped and the whippoorwill sang its song. The stars shown brightly overhead.

“See that star, Rose? That's our star.”

She smiled as the star twinkled.

But finally, the chilly night air drove her take cover in the house, and she groped up the stairs and along the wall until she finally found the room...Jack's room. She threw herself down on the bare mattress and frowned as her stomach rumbled. There was no food in the house. Why hadn't she thought of that? She closed her eyes. After all, if she was asleep, she couldn't be hungry.

*****

Rose awoke the next morning to the sound of a wagon bumping down the road mixed with the sound of rain droplets pounding the tin roof above. She lifted herself from the bare mattress, the past night's dream still lingering wonderfully in her head. Rose walked down the stairs, her stomach rumbling angrily from her negligence of it. She was greatly relieved to see Julia carrying a basket as she and Henry rushed into the house.

"I felt so terrible last night, Rose, when I realized there wasn't any food in the house," Julia said, looking regretfully at Rose.

"Yes. And the Ciclys, being the wonderful people they are, refused to hitch the horse back up to let me bring you some," Henry told her sarcastically.

"Henry, they may not be the best people in the world, but they helped us."

"Of course, dear."

"Anyway, here you are, Rose. There's some bread and cheese, and I sneaked some ham out from last night. I'll be sure to go into the town today and get some food from the store. You might want to come. Just to get a look at your new home." Julia shrugged her coat off and hung it on the doorknob.

"I'll do that." Rose smiled.

"Good morning, Rosie!" Cora exclaimed, running into the house and coming to join Rose on the steps.

"Morning, Cora. Did you and Lilly sleep well?" Rose asked, sitting down.

"Yep!"

Lilly's giggle was a second on the answer.

"That's good."

"Well, here you are, Rose. I'm gonna go upstairs and get our bedroom ready," Julia said, handing Rose the basket as she made her way up the stairs. "God knows there'll be a death in the town if we spend another night at the Ciclys'," she mumbled, not meaning for anyone to hear it. But Rose had.

She giggled and bit into her breakfast.

*****

Rose and Julia hurried up the stairs of the general store, shook their coats off, and entered the store. A young man behind the counter looked up from a magazine. He was dressed in an outfit just like the ones Rose had always seen in paintings of small town stores. He had on a khaki-colored apron and white arm bands to hold his sleeves up. Rose couldn't help smiling. His light brown hair fell into his eyes, but with one small toss of his head, it flew back from his face. His green eyes danced as he smiled back at her.

"Hi, there. I've not seen either of you around before. Are you new?"

"No," Julia answered. "I'm not. But you are."

"Yeah. Just got here three weeks ago, myself. Thought I'd seen everyone in the town by now, though. You're the first new faces I've seen since my first week here."

"Well, we're the Dawsons. I'm Julia and this is Rose. My husband and I grew up here and we just moved back. Rose is Henry's cousin," Julia said, reaching over the counter and shaking the young man's hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'm William Calvert—"

"Julia?"

"Ralph! Oh, my God! Ralph Jones, you haven't changed a bit!" Julia exclaimed as the older man embraced her.

"You look good, Julia. Henry is treating you good, I trust?"

"Of course. Oh, you two will have to come down when we get the house ready so we can talk." They broke the embrace.

"Will, boy, I used to give her candy. When she was yea tall," he said, motioning to the height of his waist. "She used to come in here with her aunt and uncle and just be all over the entire store."

Julia blushed as he finished his story.

"A new addition to the family?" Ralph asked, noticing Rose for the first time.

"Yes. Rose, this is Ralph Jones. Ralph, this is Rose."

"Nice to meet you," he said, reaching out and shaking her hand. "You don't look like a Dawson."

"I'm Henry's cousin," Rose said, trying to regain her composure.

"Oh. All right, then." He glanced at her suspiciously, then turned to Julia. "Have you heard from Jack, Julia? He's been gone five years now. Haven't heard a word from him."

"He's dead," Rose whispered.

Ralph eyed her with that same look. "What a waste. He was such a talented young man. God works in mysterious ways."

"That he does," Julia echoed quietly.

"But I doubt you dropped by for catching up," Ralph stated briskly after a short pause.

"No. We need food," Julia said cheerfully.

"Well, we've got everything you need." Ralph motioned toward the rows of shelves lined with jars and bags and bottles.

Rose looked about.

Am I really suited for small town life? she asked herself as she followed Julia to the back of the store and began filling the empty baskets they'd brought with goods.

Chapter Nine
Stories