YOU JUMP, I JUMP
Chapter Four

As fate would have it, we did end up moving to Boston in early February, and Mr. Dawson, whom we quickly came to call Jack, went with us to help. It was hard, packing up everything we knew and moving to Massachusetts. I stopped to look back at my empty, darkened bedroom for a moment.

"It’s hard, isn’t it?" I turned to see Jo standing there with Mama, Luke, and Jack.

"Yeah," I choked. I hadn’t even realized I was crying. Jo came to stand beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder. All of my memories were here. Daddy, Mama, Luke, and Jo…this was the only home I had ever known, and I didn’t want to leave.

"It’s going to be great in Boston, Jamie," she assured me.

"I know…" I whispered and I felt Mama’s soft hand touch my arm as Jo fell back to stand with her father and Luke. Mama crouched to look into my eyes.

"Hey," she said, touching my wild red curls. "No one’s forgetting your daddy, Jamie. How could we ever? We loved him so much." This made me feel better, and I summoned up the courage to nod.

"I’m ready," I said, my voice back. I looked up at Jack, who smiled at me, and I felt better.

The house we moved into in Boston was an old-fashioned house that had been there for over a hundred years. It was amazing, with little nooks and crannies to hide in. Jo even had a room there to stay in until her wedding in April. She said that eloping wasn’t her idea of romance and that she wanted a real wedding. Jonathan, in turn, moved to Boston as well, though he was keeping the Philadelphia house he owned.

Mama married Jack in the middle of February with a few guests. They got married in a church and we had a dinner afterwards. There was no procession or anything. Mama simply walked down the aisle. I got to stand with Jack while Jo stood beside Mama. They even let me hold the rings until the time came to put them on. Jack winked at me as he took them from me.

"I do take thee to my husband." Mama began to cry and Jack chuckled while taking her hand.

"I do take thee to my wife." I couldn’t suppress a yawn then, not because I was bored, but because I had stayed up all night worrying that I would screw up or lose the rings. Jo must have noticed me yawn because she smirked at me. They finally kissed and I heard Jack murmur to my mother, "Those better be tears of joy, Red."

"You know they are," she replied.

"I love you…you have no idea how long I’ve waited to say that." He laughed. She laughed, but was still crying.

"You have no idea how long I waited."

That night, Mama and Jack spent the entire night with Jo, Luke, and I. There was no party or anything. We all changed into our pajamas and sat on the couch in our new living room, looking through old photo albums. Luke, of course, was still very little and fell asleep nearly right away. Mama took him to bed and rejoined us. Jo sat beside Jack and I sat between him and Mama.

"These are fairly new photos," Mama explained, pointing out everyone. "Here is Jamie…" She squeezed my shoulder. "You were a baby then, see?"

"Look at how fat you were!" Jo laughed. "How cute!"

"Shut up," I muttered, looking at Jo’s braids and big smile in the picture.

"How old were you here?" Jack asked Jo.

"Eleven," Mama answered for her. "That was Jamie’s first birthday."

"I remember that day!" Jo said excitedly. "He tried to eat his birthday cake without his hands and he had icing in his hair for a week." They all laughed, but I was not amused. Mama turned to page to reveal a picture of her holding Jo when she was about Luke’s age. Her hair was in braids again, but she looked a lot different. She was chubby and her eyes were big and bright and she still had baby teeth. Mama looked like a little girl in the photo. Her face was thinner and more tired and her hair was tied back. She was smiling, though.

"This is you?" Jack chuckled in disbelief, nudging Jo. She turned red.

"Yeah…"

"Look at all that hair!"

"Yes, well…my children were doomed by this mop," Mama said, gesturing to her own hair.

"I like your hair. It’s gorgeous," Jack assured her, making her blush. Mama smiled until she turned the page. Her face became grim.

"What’s wrong?" Jo asked. Biting her lip, Mama showed us the photo. It was Mama and Jo again, but Jo was a tiny baby in this picture.

"This was the one year anniversary of the sinking," she answered quietly.

"Oh, Rose…" Jack said sympathetically, taking her hand. I remembered the little I had learned about her being on that ship. Jo looked uncomfortable.

"It was so hard…that first one," she said as a tear made a shiny path down her cheek. "I took her to the pier."

"Yeah?" Jack asked, sounding surprised.

"It was what you would have wanted."

"You’re absolutely right. I’m proud of you, Rose," he said, and he really did sound proud.

"You know what?" Jo asked, standing and pulling me up with her. "Jamie and I have some worlds to design…we’ll just leave the two of you alone." I looked up at her hopefully.

"We’re gonna…you’re gonna draw me something?"

"You bet. Just like old times, Jamie," she said with a wink, turning back to Mama and Jack. "Good night, Ma…" She stopped, staring at Jack for a moment before moving forward to give him a quick hug. He stood and held her very tightly for a moment before pulling back and ruffling my hair.

"Hey…" he said kindly. "Me and you…tomorrow, Jamie. We’re going to have ourselves a time."

"Really?" I asked excitedly, then darkened. "Does Luke have to come?" Jack shook his head.

"Just me and you, buddy," he said. I couldn’t help myself. I moved forward to hug him, too. He beamed down at me just like Daddy used to do, and I felt a warmth come over me. Of course, that could have been Mama, sweeping me into her arms for a kiss on the cheek, but this was different. This was contentment. I was truly happy for the first time since Daddy died. Jo and I went upstairs and I talked as she drew the picture of the enchanted forest. We fell asleep together like that, with her laying sideways on my bed and me curled up at the top.

Jack took me to the Boston Children’s Museum the next day, where they had everything from cars to animals. There was an exhibit about the Old West which I loved, and there was an art exhibit which Jo would have liked, but my favorite would have to be the exhibit on the recent World War. The thought of fighting for my country sent a small thrill through me as I looked at the figurines set up to display a scene of battle. Jack let me call the shots, following me. He crouched to look at things with me and listened when I went on about something I was excited for.

As we left the museum that day, we stopped for hot dogs and he sat me down.

"When it gets warmer outside, I’m going to take you and your brother to Fenway park to watch a baseball game," he said sincerely. "But I want you to know that I am not trying to replace your dad, Jamie. Okay? You don’t have to call me Dad if you don’t want to."

"Okay," I said, unsure of how I was feeling. I liked Jack, but I had never thought about calling him Dad until he said it. Then I remembered Jo…who had grown up without a father and when my daddy had married Mama, she’d called him Dad without hesitation.

"One day at a time, right?" Jack asked, grinning down at me. I nodded at him. "Come on. Let’s get home to your Mom, brother, and sister."

"Did you have a good time?" Mama asked when we walked into the house. She bent to kiss my forehead before kissing Jack.

"It was the best!" I exclaimed.

"We looked at everything," Jack agreed. "Jamie’s got great taste…we especially liked the World War exhibit."

"Good!" Mama said. "Luke is in the kitchen and Jo is out with Johnny tonight, so you two are just in time for dinner."

"What are we having?" I asked anxiously.

"Spaghetti," Mama said. "Your favorite."

"Mine, too," Jack said, following Mama into the kitchen. He tickled Luke, making him giggle, and sat down. I met Mama’s eyes as we all sat down together and I realized I hadn’t stopped smiling since this morning. Her eyes were brilliantly blue as she grinned at me and winked.

"Eat, Jamie," she said gently.

The days seemed to fly by and it was suddenly my tenth birthday, March twenty-first. We were having a dinner with Jo, Johnny, Uncle Randy, Aunt Liz, Aunt Livy, and Uncle Grant. Belinda was there, along with Dave and Gloria. Johnny had also brought along his little sisters, Grace and Bianca, whom I had met once before. They were silly, giggly things and though I liked them, I longed for a friend my age who was a boy. Jo had helped make dinner, Mama’s favorite, stuffed chicken with asparagus. Mama and Jack had given me a bicycle for my birthday, which Luke was extremely jealous of.

As we all sat down to dinner, I waited impatiently because I wanted to get right to the cake, which Mama would never allow. The cake was chocolate with little candies on it. I had spent the entire day admiring it and waiting for when I would be able to eat it. Mama had slapped my hand playfully when she caught me trying to take some of the frosting with my fingertip.

"I don’t think so, James…" she’d said, but she was smiling. Tonight, I sat between her and Jo. Jo took it upon herself to serve the dinner and set the table. Mama tried to argue, but Jo shushed her.

Everyone excitedly began to chatter and serve themselves, but Mama had stopped, staring ahead in confusion. All the color drained from her face.

"Mama?" I asked quietly. Jack looked back from his conversation on the other side of Mama.

"Rose?" he inquired, his eyebrow quirked. She shook her head, closing her eyes. The room went silent as Jo leaned in.

"Ma?" Her voice quavered. Mama pushed her food away and covered her eyes with her hands. "Stuffed chicken is your favorite!" Pushing away from the table, Mama rose and turned, but she didn’t make it far enough and we could hear as she threw up into the potted plant in the hall outside the dining room. Jo sat back down, looking a little green in the face. Jack had since gotten up to help Mama and Luke had noticed nothing and gone on eating. Everyone else ate in silence before Aunt Livy broke the calm.

"Poor thing. This weather isn’t good for anyone."

"She doesn’t get sick," Jo said.

"What?" Aunt Livy asked. Jo met her eyes.

"She doesn’t get sick."

"Everyone does sometimes," Aunt Liz interjected reassuringly.

"I’m sure she’s fine," Dave added.

Mama came back a few minutes later with an apologetic look on her face.

"Do forgive me." She chuckled. "A slight queasy moment." Patting my head, she sat down again. After dinner and cake, I played blissfully with my new toys while Mama rested on the sofa. Johnny had taken his sisters home and Belinda lounged near Jo, Dave, and Gloria. Jack sat in the armchair reading the newspaper, eyeing Mama every so often. I marveled at how calm he remained through everything.

"Doctor tomorrow, Rose," he said firmly and she nodded.

"One step ahead of you…" she replied weakly.

Jo stayed with us the next day when Mama went to the doctor with Jack. They returned less than two hours later, both of them looking dazed and out of sorts.

"Well?" Jo asked impatiently, getting up to take Mama’s coat.

"I need to…to sit down…" she said quietly. Jack sat first, his eyes wide. We stood before them, staring them down as Luke climbed into Mama’s lap.

"Tell us now!" Jo demanded, her arms crossed. Mama looked up at her and then at me.

"I’m pregnant," she said softly. Jo and I exchanged glances and suddenly we began to laugh.

"What?" Jo giggled.

"Pregnant…baby…" Jack managed. The two of them were still staring ahead as if in a trance.

"S-seriously?" Jo whispered.

"You’re having a baby?" I asked my mother. She nodded, looking down at me.

"Oh, my God…" Jo said, sitting in the nearby armchair. I bit my lip, unsure if we were happy or upset about this. Mama and Jack weren’t giving off any certain emotions, and I was completely confused.

"Is this good?" I finally chanced. Mama seemed to sober.

"Oh…yes. I mean, of course it’s good, Jamie…but so fast…I thought I was done…a baby?" She looked at Jack for confirmation. He nodded, deep in thought as he glanced at Jo, who had a clandestine smirk on her lips.

"Smile, Dad…" she said, patting his hand. He looked completely shell-shocked, but there was a slight exhilaration to his demeanor as well. There was an awed look in his eyes.

"Where do babies come from, Mama?" Luke asked curiously. Mama put her arm over her eyes and collapsed against the back of the sofa. Jack chuckled and I looked at Jo, who only shook her head. Then I grinned.

Chapter Five
Stories