LOVE LASTS FOR ETERNITY
Chapter Six

Rose's POV

I left the infirmary once Jack was asleep and headed for the wireless room. There was a long queue of people wanting to send telegrams, so I had no choice but to stick it out and wait. I must have waited for about half an hour before I finally got to the wireless room. I took a form from the pile and wrote out what I wanted to send.

Nathan. Stop. It's Rose. Stop. Can a friend and I stay at your home for a while? Stop. Long story, sorry. Stop. Will explain when we get there. Stop. Nowhere else to go. Stop. Again, long story, sorry. Stop. See you soon. Stop.

Rose

I handed it over to the wireless operator and he counted up the charge. "That'll be seventy-two cents, please, Miss," he said. I fumbled in my water-stained pocket and found a one dollar coin. Officer Lowe had taken pity on me after I told him I had lost everything and everyone and he had given me a small handful of coins. Such a selfless man--the only one to take his boat back to look for survivors. I had been rescued and transferred to another boat so Lowe could go back one last time with a fresh team of rowers. Thank God he had, or I really would be alone!

I left the wireless room and decided to take a walk around the deck. I was halfway to the bow when a very excited Helga came running up to me with the last person I expected to see. Fabrizio! He was alive!

They came running up to me, Helga shouting, "Rose! Rose! Fabrizio is alive! My love is alive!"

Fabrizio shouted, "Rose! Ah…you have lived also! This is good!"

I hugged them both and said to Fabrizio, "How did you survive?"

"Ah…is lucky I am here, bella Rosa. I manage to climb on top of an overturned lifeboat as it was swept off of the ship and very nearly had a large funnel land on me. Must hurt a lot, no?" Then his eyes darkened. "Ah…I just wish my best friend would be here to celebrate the living, too. I am sure he is not surviving. He is on no list. I check many times." I smiled, delighted to be the one to tell him the news.

"Fabri, Jack isn't dead. He's alive! He's alive, Fabri!" I shouted. He looked at me, smiled, and gave a loud cheer, picking up Helga and hugging her tight.

"Bellisima! The Lord above us has spared me my friend! Grazzi!" He looked at me. "Where is he, bella Rosa? Why is he not here if he is living?"

"He's in the infirmary and I think he has been since we got here. He's got severe hypothermia, but the doctor says he should be all right in a week or so."

"Ah…that is good news. He shall be all right. But how did you survive? I go to the deck and the lifeboat I am on is the last and you are not on it."

I explained the whole story, about riding the ship down to the end of its life, finding the debris, and Jack making me get on it.

"Ah…he was always noble, even when we meet when he was sixteen," Fabri said.

I told him about the boat coming back and thinking Jack was dead. I didn't feel good about telling Fabri this, in case he thought I had allowed his best friend to die, but he didn't look angry. I told him about Molly finding me with Helga and taking me to Jack, who had told me how he had lived. Fabri was nearly in tears when I finished and, after I explained it in French, so was Helga.

"Can we see him? I have not seen my friend since I think him dead," said Fabri. I shook my head.

"Well, not yet. He was sleeping when I left and the drugs they give him make him feel drowsy and weak."

Fabri nodded understandingly. "Ah…yes. We see him later, no?"

I nodded my head. I explained to Helga, too, who asked me the same thing. Fabri shook his head a little.

"Ah…this is awkward. I love Helga with my life, and yet I cannot speak to her. She knows my name and that I love her, no more. I hate it. She speak French, not English nor Italiano. I no speak French, too."

"Well, I could try to teach her some English, and I know a place in New York where she can learn for free."

Fabri looked grateful for my help. "Ah…yes, that would be good. Thank you, sweet bella Rosa. You are a good friend." He hugged me and I hugged him back.

I explained to Helga and she nodded enthusiastically. She said that she very much wanted to learn English. Fabri decided to go and get us something for lunch, so I stayed with Helga and got right down to English lessons.

I first taught her how to say simple words like yes, no, please, thank you, hello, and good-bye, which she caught onto quite quickly. For someone who'd only spoken French all her life, she grasped our language quite quickly. I hoped she would be able to speak fluent English before long.

Fabrizio came back with tea and sandwiches a few minutes later. By this time, Helga could say a simple sentence in English very well. She said it over and over until she could say it perfectly. When she saw Fabri, she ran up to him and said excitedly, "Hello. My name is Helga Dahl."

"So, where are you and Helga headed when the ship docks?" I asked.

"Well, we stay in New York for Helga to learn English, like you said, and then we hope to move to Florida. I wish to return to the heat and Helga does, too. Norway, where she was born, and the part of France where she lived is always cold."

"That’s nice. I went there for a holiday when I was fifteen. It's beautiful--not that I had the chance to enjoy it." Fabri raised his eyebrows.

"Why is that? Did you not stay long enough?"

"Well, no, it wasn't that. I went with my mother and she just wanted to go to galas and parties and such, so I didn't even get to set foot on the sand. I asked her, and she just said that beaches were filthy and infested with animals. She hates anything that isn't classy, you see."

Fabri nodded understandingly. "Ah…your family is rich, no?"

I nodded. "In fact, Mother went so far as to arrange my wedding, forcing me to marry Caledon Hockley."

Fabri nearly choked on his tea. "Did you say Caledon Hockley?" he asked.

"Yes. Why? Have you heard of him?"

Fabri stamped on the ground angrily. "Do I know him? I spit on the name of his family for what they did to mine! Caledon Hockley is a bastardo!" And he starting raving in Italian. When he finally calmed down, he explained. "He forced my family off of the farm we owned and built a factory on our land. He is a heartless bastardo!"

I couldn't believe my ears. How could the Hockleys be so cruel? I knew they were cold-hearted, but I didn't know they'd gone so far as to force a family out of their home and build a factory on it. "I didn't know he'd go that far," I said, shocked. "He was always building new factories and investing more and more money into his business, but I didn't know he was so heartless. And I nearly married the son of a bitch!"

"What was he like to you? I cannot imagine him to be a loving fiancé."

I sighed. "Yes, he was horrible. He was controlling, selfish, obnoxious, hit me a lot of times, and pressured me to come to his bed many times."

Fabri looked shocked. "He hit you? That is bad enough, but I cannot understand how he could ask you to come to his bed before marriage! How could any foul demon do this to you, bella Rosa?"

I was touched by how concerned he was for me. "Well, that's the evil, heartless man he is. And that's not all he did." I told Fabri the whole story about the Titanic, how Cal had tried to keep Jack and I apart, how he'd framed Jack for the theft of the Heart of the Ocean, how he'd chased us around the ship like a maniac, and how he'd tried to bribe his way into a boat.

Fabri had more details to tell me. "He was so evil, is true, but he did more, Rose. He bribe his way onto a boat with a little child and when the boat was swept away, he try to push people off with an oar, when so many were dying, me included. It makes me shake with rage. He would not even let women and children into the boat." Indeed, Fabri had clenched his fists and was shaking with rage. He suddenly noticed the coat I was wearing. "Rose, that coat is not yours? It is a man's coat, no?"

I hadn't given the coat a second thought since boarding the Carpathia. I looked down at it and remembered who it belonged to. I took it off and threw it on the deck. It made a unexpected thump against the wood, like something was inside it, and there was the sound of the rustle of paper. I bent down and looked inside the pockets curiously. I pulled out the Heart of the Ocean. I gasped in surprise. So did Helga, and Fabri dropped his sandwich.

"Oh, my God," I gasped. Cal's most valuable possession was resting in the palm of my hand. I looked in the other pockets and found large bundles of crisp banknotes. I emptied all the pockets and found a total of around ten thousand dollars. I stuffed the money back in the coat and sat back down on the bench.

"Whoa," was Fabri's gob smacked response.

I was speechless, but eventually managed to say, "I guess Cal kept the money for bribery. Or maybe he wanted to smuggle it off the ship so he wouldn't lose any money. There's about ten thousand dollars here and the diamond is worth millions."

"Well, Rose, you sell that and you’ll be rich for life. Live in big house, have expensive things all your life."

I shook my head. "No, Fabri. I've lived that life since I was born, and it's not all glittery clothes and big houses. It's a hard life. You are always expected to behave properly and you can't do anything you want. No, I've left that life for good."

Fabri smiled. "Wise move. A beauty and a good brain. Jack is a lucky guy." I smiled. Then I took out half of the bundles of notes. I dropped the lot into Fabri's lap.

He looked at me like I was crazy. "No, no, I cannot take your money. It is yours," he protested.

"No, Fabri. I want you to have some of it for you and Helga so you can have a good life. That's more than enough to get you to Florida and buy you a small house. There's still more than enough for me and Jack. And he'd want you to have it, too." Fabri opened his mouth to protest, but I held up my hand. "No arguments," I said firmly. "Think of it as a gift."

He gave up and put the money in his pockets. "Jack picked very wisely. You are beautiful, smart, kind, and giving. Thank you, bella Rosa," he said, smiling at me.

I glowed with pride. No one had ever complimented me like that. My father had given me the occasional compliment, but he was always traveling, and I never really saw much of him. I know he loved me dearly, though, not like Mother. Mother had always showered me with scorn, forever telling me to smarten myself up or act like a lady. The only compliments I got from her were about the clothes I wore, which she had purchased. I had never been told anything so good about myself as what Fabri had said.

We chatted for a while more until it was nearly sunset. Fabri told me about his home in Italy, his family, and how he had met Jack. He told me about traveling all over Europe with him--Paris, just over the Spanish border, Holland--before crossing the channel to Southampton. Jack had promised to take Fabri to America, a lifelong dream of his. He told me how Jack had won the poker game and how they had only just boarded the ship before it left the dock.

I laughed at most of the details of their adventures and wished I could have experienced a life like that. Maybe I would. Jack had said we would go to Santa Monica someday to ride horses on the beach, ride the roller coaster, drink cheap beer, and spit like a man. I smiled at the memories of spitting off the side of the promenade deck. I couldn't wait to live a life like that. I thought of other places we could go. I wondered if Jack would want to go back Chippewa Falls, his hometown. Surely he had friends there who he hadn't seen since he left? Maybe he wanted to go and see them one day. I was interested in seeing the place, what it was like. As night fell, the three of us settled down on the deck for the evening. We each had a blanket and managed to make a cozy spot for ourselves. I slept that night peacefully, the melodic music of the waves echoing in my ears.

*****

I awoke the next morning to a beautiful sunrise. It was the day we were due to dock in New York, and if I looked carefully into the horizon, I could see the faint outline of land. We wouldn't dock until midday, but it looked so close and so beautiful in the golden sunrise. I stretched and yawned, waking myself up to face the day ahead.

Opposite me, Helga had just woken up and was smiling at me.

"Good morning, Helga," I said, testing her memory to see if she remembered her English lesson.

She narrowed her eyes, wracked her brain, and eventually said, "Morning good, Rose."

I said well done in French, but told her she had said it backwards. She gave an embarrassed giggle that woke Fabrizio, who was lying next to her.

"Good morning, Rose." He yawned. "Ah…what a beautiful sunrise, no?"

I went off to get some breakfast for us. I went to the common room and collected a stack of toast and three cups of tea. I carried the lot in my arms to the deck and put it all on the deck, where we picnicked on the food. We lounged around the deck for a couple of hours after that, a little bored. Sometimes we strolled over to the railing and admired the ocean and the steadily approaching black buildings on the horizon.

At around nine, we decided to go to the infirmary and see Jack. On the way there, I ran into Molly, who I immediately gave a huge hug. She laughed when I threw my arms around her.

"Aw…Rose, what was that for?" she asked.

"For everything," I said. "If it weren't for you, I'd still be believing that Jack was dead and we wouldn't be together."

"Aw…darlin', that was nothing. You two were meant to be together. Say, where are you headed when the ship docks? You can always stay with me in Denver if you need." I shook my head.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Molly. We're going to stay with a friend of mine, Nathan, just outside New York." Molly nodded.

"That's good. Well, I’d better be getting back to first class now, get myself ready to dock. Oh, and…" She leaned closer to me. "Your mother and Cal--I didn't tell them you survived. Would you like it to stay that way, or shall I tell them?"

I shook my head violently. "No, Molly," I said firmly. "Please don't tell them. If they know, it will ruin everything. Cal will take me away, and Mother won't exactly pull him off of me."

Molly gave me an understanding nod. "All right, darlin'. I won't tell ‘em if you don't want me to. But your mother is really torn up right now, about you supposedly dying and all. If you change your mind, she's stayin’ with me for now, so let me know if you need me or anything. Here's my card." She handed me a small white card with a telephone number written in italic letters on it. I gave her one last hug and we said good-bye and parted ways.

We walked along to the infirmary and walked inside. Jack was half-asleep when we arrived, but was immediately wide awake when he saw Fabrizio. He looked just as shocked as when he'd seen me.

"Fabrizio!" he shouted when he saw his best friend.

"Jack! It is true! You are alive!" Fabrizio shouted, running over to Jack. They embraced tightly, overjoyed that they had both survived.

"How did you survive?" Jack asked.

"Ah…is a lucky tale. I escape on an overturned lifeboat, the last to leave the ship. But your tale is luckier, no? Rose tells me of how you two ended up in the water."

"Yeah. I guess it was lucky. Except for the hypothermia." I walked over and sat beside Fabri.

"Speaking of which, how are you feeling?" I asked.

"Not too bad. I should be better in about a week now. I can stand and walk some now."

"Great! I sent a telegram to Nathan so he knows we're coming. The ship should dock about midday. You can see the city on the horizon already."

Right on cue, the ship's whistle gave an almighty blast to signal that we were on our way into the dock.

Fabrizio smiled delightedly. "Ah…yes! I make it to America, just like I always dream. Bellisima!"

"Where'll you go?" asked Jack.

"Helga and I stay in New York for her to learn English, and then we go to Florida. We wish to be in the sun and warm."

"Great, but where'll you get the money for it?" Fabri looked at me and smiled.

"I’d better explain that." I laughed, pulling a couple of stacks of bills out of the coat.

Jack stared at them as though the money were completely alien. "Where the hell did you get that?" he asked in a bewildered voice.

"A present from our dearest Cal. Along with this," I said, pulling the Heart of the Ocean from my pocket.

"And he gave you that, did he?"

"Well, no. You remember when he put the coat on me? The money and necklace were in there. I guess he forget where he put it all. There was a lot more than this, but I made Fabri take half of it for him and Helga."

"Yes, she did," said Fabri. "Your Rose was very firm, would not let me refuse it."

"This is great! We've got enough money to start out with!"

"Yes, we have. But I don't want to be rich anymore. I don't want to live in a huge house with lots of money and jewelry. I've had enough of that to last a lifetime," I explained.

Jack smiled. "Well, that's actually a relief, 'cause I don't want that life, either. I was actually kind of worried you'd get tired of the lower class life and go back to Cal."

"Jack, how many times have I said this? I don't want Cal. He made my life hell. I'm much happier with you."

Before Jack could respond, Fabrizio interrupted us. "Sorry to break up your little chat, but the ship is docking in a few minutes."

Sure enough, the ship was noticeably slowing down. Fabrizio and Helga ran outside and leaned over the railing of the ship, eager to catch their first look at America.

"We have made it!" Fabri said delightedly, hugging Helga and kissing her. It was touching to see how much he loved her, even if they couldn't understand one another.

I stepped outside, too, and looked at the oncoming land ahead. I thought back to the tenth of April, merely a week ago. I had planned to return to my homeland to be locked in a forced marriage, facing a life of torture being Mrs. Rose Hockley. Well, how different could things be? I was returning to my homeland happy. Happy to be free and with a man I loved, and who loved me, not a man who would treat me like a prized show horse. I was approaching a new life of opportunities and the chance to do anything I liked with my life. I could hardly wait.

When the ship docked a few minutes later, Fabrizio and Helga raced to the gangway to get off the ship as soon as possible. The first class and second class people got off first, and third class went last. Fabri and Helga were among the first steerage passengers to leave the ship and were just about the only two there who were smiling.

Once all the other passengers were off, the infirmary was cleared out. Those who were still too weak were taken to nearby hospitals, but most, including Jack, were strong enough to leave. He was still a little wobbly on his legs at first, but was soon walking fine. Fabri and Helga waited for us on the dock when we left the ship, huge grins on their faces. I couldn't help but grin myself. I was back home, in a country of endless freedom.

Chapter Seven
Stories