JOHN AND MIRIAM
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Carpathia docked in New York late that
evening. Hundreds of concerned relatives, reporters, and curiosity seekers
swamped the dock, eager for news and glimpse of the survivors.
The rain was pouring, driving the remaining
passengers to seek shelter on the ship. John stood inside the third class
gathering room with Mary, Nadia, and Allegro. An officer was walking around,
getting a last minute count of the survivors before they left the ship.
He approached John. "Can I get your
name, sir?" he asked, pen poised above the paper.
John looked up. "John Calvert," he
said. The officer gestured to the two children. "Mary, my daughter,
and..." John made a quick decision. "Nadia, my niece."
"Thank you, sir." The officer moved
away, looking for other survivors.
Two hours later, the last of Titanic's survivors
exited the Carpathia. John walked down the dock, stopping for a moment to look
at the Statue of Liberty towering over the crowd. Gazing at it, he wished
Miriam was there to see it. Even though she had been cynical about the true
meaning of the statue, he sensed that she would have been glad to see it, to
start a new life in America. And, that, after all, was what thousands of people
came here to do.
John took one last look at the statue, then
took Mary and Nadia by the hands and walked into the crowd, with Allegro
scampering ahead of them on the end of his leash.
John made his way through the crowd, then
moved onward into the city.
Into a new life.
The End.