LOVE LASTS FOR ETERNITY
Chapter Five
Jack's POV
I couldn't believe it! Rose, my
beautiful, sweet, spirited Rose, was alive! I was overcome with joy at the feel
of her body, the feel of her soft red curls, the feel of her lips on mine. We
talked about where we were going to go after the ship docked, but we had no
idea where. I was reluctant to take Rose back to Chippewa Falls with me. I
didn't want to relive the memories it held. But we were fast running out of
options, so maybe I didn't have a choice.
I could see that Rose had
something on her mind as we talked, or maybe someone. I decided to play the
truth card.
"Rose? What's wrong? You
look kind of worried."
She hesitated slightly, but said,
"Jack, I think I know someone who'll take us in." I was more curious
now. I'd always been told I was too curious for my own good. In fact, the
Christmas when I was seven, I'd sneaked around the whole house and eventually
found the Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, my mother found
me looking. Guess the rest.
"Who? Who is it?" I
inquired.
She gulped and said, "A
friend of mine from when I was a child. Well, my only friend. My truest friend
in the world." She took a deep breath and said, "His name is Nathan
Calvert." I felt a bit surprised that her one true friend was a man, but I
could tell she was worried by what I thought. She was worried that I thought
she felt more for him than just friendship. I decided to confirm my suspicions.
"Rose, are you afraid of
what I think of this Nathan Calvert?" I asked. She looked a bit awkward.
"Yes," she muttered. Then
she looked into my eyes and said, almost begging, "Jack, please understand
that I don't feel romantically toward Nathan. He's just a very good friend to
me. You're the only one I love. I do love Nathan, but not in the same way. He
was my only friend growing up, and I love him more like a brother than anything
else. Please understand me, Jack." I gave her a reassuring smile.
I held her hand tightly and said,
"Rose, I believe you. If you say that's all you feel for Nathan, then I
believe you. I'm not Cal. I won't accuse you of anything like that. So, what's
he like?" She smiled at my understanding and seemed happy to talk about
him.
She told me of how she would
sneak out of the house and go down to the stables with him. She'd help him with
the horses, explore the grounds, climb trees, play cowboys and Indians with
sticks as guns. She told me how he'd even sneaked out with her in the middle of
the night and they'd secretly ridden her favorite horse, Silver, together. She
told me how they'd lay on the grass together, looking at the stars, and he'd
point out all the constellations he knew. I was happy to hear that despite her
sheltered, rich adult life, she'd had a happy childhood. She asked me about my
childhood, so I told her.
I told her that my parents and I lived
on a small farm in Chippewa Falls. I'd learned to ride horses there. My father
had taught me. I didn't have my own horse, but we owned four and I favored one,
Thunder, whom I'd named because he was born during a huge midnight thunderstorm
that made me bury my head under my pillow trying to block out the noise. I'd
ridden Thunder through all the fields I could find, but was forbidden to ride
him into town after the time I'd decided to show off to my friends by galloping
through the Saturday market. My parents were furious and I wasn't allowed to
ride for the rest of the month. I told her about when I decided to experiment
with gravity after collecting the eggs, swinging the whole basket upside down.
The result--we were without eggs for a week and I lost Thunder for another
week. I told her about the pranks my friend, Joey, and I had played on our
teacher at school, Mr. Henderson, which resulted in a lot of detention for both
of us and a very sore backside--Mr. Henderson was very fond of his cane. Dad was
always saying I didn't have a hope in hell of getting into college if I didn't
shape up. My parents wanted me to go to college and get a good degree, but I
had other ideas. I spent less time on my schoolwork and more time trying to
impress my classmates. I had to work hard to impress them because Mr. Henderson
often chose my scruffy work as a shining example of how not to do the work.
Halfway through the lesson, he'd peer over my shoulder and swipe my book. He
would stand up in front of the class and state, "Please, everyone, do not
copy Jack Dawson and make your work as untidy as possible!" That resulted
in a lot of teasing. Mr. Henderson would then rip the paper in half and I'd
have to start all over again. Well, I think he deserved to have total idiot taped
to his back and his shoes filled with custard from my lunch bucket. Problem
was, he'd figured out who was doing the pranks and would go bright red in the
face and yell "Dawson!" as if my name were the foulest swearword ever
to be spoken. I'd look up at him innocently and say in my most polite voice,
"Yes, sir?" And then...wallop! I'd go home bent double in pain.
Rose was in tears of laughter
when I'd finished. I was nearly in tears, too, because it was so funny thinking
back and because it made me think of how I missed everything. I missed my
parents, I missed Joey, I missed Thunder, heck, I even missed Mr. Henderson--I
never dreamed I'd say that. Rose saw this and quickly changed the subject by
telling me all the things she'd got up to in finishing school.
She'd been bullied by all the
posh snobs who saw she wasn't one of them. But she was no pushover and had
poured oatmeal all over one of them, Penelope Hillsbury. She'd been furious and
had told the headmistress, Madame Delacour. Rose had been severely lectured and
had had to write I must not behave in an unladylike manner three hundred
times. This made me laugh because I could just imagine fiery Rose doing such a
thing. She told me how she'd written frequent letters to Nathan and how he'd
written back, sympathizing with her. I found her tales of defying the rules of
finishing school amusing. I was especially amused by the time she'd sneaked
into the main hall in the dead of night and written a very rude essay about the
headmistress on the huge chalkboard, on display for all to read until the
caretaker cleaned it off. I couldn't believe how rebellious she was. I knew she
was spirited and was never someone to be judged, but the thought of her doing
something so sneaky was hilarious. I could see why Ruth was so desperate to
marry her off to a rich man who would finally make an honest lady out of her.
Ha! Break my Rose's spirit? Impossible!
We chatted about each other’s
childhoods for a while, until the nurse finally came with the all too familiar
bottle of medicine. I sunk down lower into the bed, trying my best to avoid it,
but it was useless. My stomach screamed in protest when she poured the sickly
yellow liquid onto the spoon. Rose looked a bit uneasy looking at it, but at
least she didn't have to swallow it. I thought about what Rose had said
earlier. If I took it, we'd soon be able to start our lives together. With that
thought in mind, I willingly sat up again when the nurse told me to. I took the
spoon from her and tipped it down my throat quickly, trying not to think about
the taste. I swallowed it quickly and a searing pain stung my throat. Just when
I'd gotten over the sickening taste, I had to endure it all over again. Two
spoonfuls every four hours, I'd worked out. The nurse screwed the top back on the
bottle and left, leaving me feeling like I was going to throw up. I reached for
the glass of water on the table next to my bed and gulped down the whole glass,
washing away the dreadful taste.
When I'd finished every drop, I
gasped and said, "Thank God for that." Rose looked a bit uneasy after
seeing just how horrible the stuff I had to take was, but stood by what she
said earlier.
"Well, at least it's helping
you get better," she said.
I guess she had a point. It
wasn't over yet, though. I still had to have an injection, too. Right on cue,
the nurse came back with a syringe full of clear liquid. Knowing what to do, I
extended my arm and she pushed the needle into a vein. I closed my eyes
tightly, trying to block out the feeling of the fluid entering my body. It was
over in seconds, but the drug always made me feel dizzy, weak, and drowsy. I
laid my head down on the pillow and my vision gradually went a bit blurry. Rose
could see I needed to sleep and said she had to send a telegram to Nathan.
"Even if he is my best
friend, I need to ask if it's all right for us to stay. He's got a wife,
Matilda, and a daughter, Lucy. It should be fine, though. He wouldn't just turn
us away," she explained.
She stayed until I was asleep. I
could feel her hand stroking my hair. She left just before I drifted off,
imagining what the rest of our lives would be like.