LOVE LASTS FOR ETERNITY
Chapter Nine

Jack's POV

We all left the house and walked a little of the way together, until we finally parted at the end of the street. Rose, Selina, and Lucy went in one direction, towards the city. Nathan and I walked the other way.

"So, will this locksmith want to know where the cuffs came from? He might think I escaped from prison or something."

Nathan chuckled. "Nah, he won't. Bit thick for his own good, this guy."

But despite being too thick for his own good, this guy had a good enough business. His shop was a bright, clean place with a fair amount of people buying keys and locks and such. Behind the counter was a short, squat man with very little hair and small, squinted eyes. He looked quite gruff and didn't smile much, just sat there eyeing his customers for thieves. He did look rather thick. We walked up to the counter and I cleared my throat. He looked at us like he wanted to be anywhere else on earth but here.

"Um…do you have anything to get these off?" I asked in a low voice, lifting my wrists.

He didn't look suspicious at all, just lifted it and examined the chain and keyhole. "Medium size, three and one-half millimeter thick steel, inch wide keyhole. I'd say you need a size G60 key." I winced at those words. G60, the number of the cabin Fabrizio and I shared with the Swedes on the Titanic. Would reminders of the tragedy ever stop?

He stood up and left the room, disappearing into a back storeroom. He returned a moment later with a small silver key. "Try this," he said simply, handing the key to me.

I fitted it into the lock, but the key was slightly too small for the hole. I took it out and handed it back to the guy. "It's too small for the lock," I said. He gave a grunt and walked off, returning a moment later with a slightly bigger key. Again, I fitted it into the lock--and it turned. The steel cuff fell away from my wrist and landed on the counter. I quickly unlocked the other one, which fell away, too. It felt good to finally be free from them. The guy took the key back from me and returned it to the storeroom. I pocketed the cuffs, deciding to dispose of them later.

The guy came back to us and said gruffly, "That'll be thirty-two cents." He held out his hand. I gave him one of the dollar bills I had in my pocket. I'd swapped one of the ten dollar bills for ten one dollar bills from Nathan for some smaller change. The guy put it in the cash register and gave me back sixty-eight cents. He didn't say another word as we left the shop.

"Bit plain, isn't he?" I asked Nathan as we walked back down the street.

"Yeah, he is," Nathan agreed. "I once went in there to buy a lock for the back gate and he accused me of stealing his stock when I carried on looking with one in my hand."

"Well, sure looks like he's really into customer loyalty." I laughed.

"Oh, yes. He's a very friendly chap, puts complete faith in his customers," Nathan replied sarcastically. "So, what's this other thing you're planning on doing?"

"I'm gonna get an engagement ring for Rose," I said.

Nathan smiled. "Great! So, when're you gonna propose?"

I hesitated. "Well, I…er…hadn’t really gotten that far yet. How did you do it?"

Nathan smiled at the memory. "I took her for a walk in Central Park at night, and proposed by the lake when it was all lit up. It was beautiful. The sky was full of stars."

I pictured it in my head. "Wow. Sounds like the perfect image to draw..." I muttered vaguely to myself.

"You draw?"

"Yeah. Mostly portraits, but some landscapes. I drew most of them in Paris." I thought of the nude drawings Rose had stumbled upon. I thought she would gasp in shock like a nun that had just discovered a naked man in her chapel. I was surprised she'd reacted so calmly.

Nathan looked quite impressed. "So, you been anywhere else in Europe?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, northern Italy, where I met Fabrizio, a bit of Switzerland, while traveling to France, and a place just over the Spanish border called Bermeo."

Nathan looked at me in surprise. "Bermeo? That's where Selina's from!" We were both amazed at the coincidence.

We walked to the opposite side of town from where we knew Rose and Selina would be. We didn't really want to spoil the surprise. Eventually, we found a place that sold good rings. The man behind the counter seemed more interested in his customers than the locksmith. In fact, it was a little annoying when he kept trying to get us to buy one of his more expensive rings. There was a large selection to choose from, but I eventually found a ring that was just right.

It was white gold with a red rose on it, and a tiny diamond in the center of the rose. Luckily, it was only eighty-nine dollars, a perfect price. The ring was sold.

I thought about where to ask the all important question. I could do what Nathan did, a romantic walk in Central Park, or I could just do it back at the house. I wanted it to be special, a moment we would both remember.

"You could take her out for dinner somewhere," suggested Nathan.

I considered. "Well, maybe. But we're trying to save as much money as possible to start out with, and I don't really want to spend too much of it. Plus, I've got to get her something for her birthday in a week's time." Rose had told me that her birthday was the first of May. I'd told her mine, the fifteenth of October, but that was ages away. It was Rose's I had to worry about.

"Oh, yeah. It's her birthday. I can't believe I almost forgot!" said Nathan, slapping his forehead. "No matter. I've got the perfect idea..."

"What?"

"Can't tell you. It's sort of something for both of you. Speaking of which, I've gotta go and get a few things. I'll meet you back here in half an hour." And he ran off into the crowds. I decided to go hunting for something for Rose, too, although I hadn't the faintest idea what she'd like.

I searched through countless shops, searching for the perfect present, but with no luck. I wished I could get her all the stuff Cal could have. With him, she would have had jewelry and clothes and all sorts of expensive things. I could never give her that. I pushed those thoughts out of my head. Comparing myself to Cal would do no good. I should just get on with what I had, which was about fifteen dollars and change.

After unsuccessful searching, I finally found it. The perfect present. I was walking past an ordinary jewelry shop. Nothing big or expensive caught my eye, just an ordinary silver necklace with an oval locket engraved with roses. I saw it out of the corner of my eye and knew instantly that it was perfect. I felt a jolt in my stomach, for the locket attached to the chain was the exact one I had.

Five years earlier, after the fire that killed everyone I'd ever loved, I'd gone back into the ruins of my house, looking for any family belongings. Nothing. Everything was reduced to piles of ash and dust. All the photos, all the sentimental things we had--gone. All, that is, except for a silver locket my mother had owned. It had been given to her by her father for a wedding present and had belonged to her grandmother. I had found the locket, slightly dented now and dirtied by soot, the chain a melted mess. But the locket was mostly intact, as was the photo inside it. It was the only photo I had left of my parents, taken when I was about ten. The photo was slightly singed around the edges, but still in good condition. I had kept the locket tied onto a piece of string and kept it with me at all times. During the Titanic sinking, I had tied it tight around my neck to keep it safe so I would still have it if I survived. It was the last connection I had left to my family, who had died in the fire.

I pulled the dented, singed locket out of my coat pocket and looked at it. It was still tied onto the string, and now the slightest appearance of tarnish had formed around its tiny hinges, caused by the seawater. I decided to clean it as best I could to keep it in the best condition possible. I looked at the picture inside and then at the locket in the window. This locket held a picture of my past family. Rose's would hold a picture of our family yet to come. Without a second thought, I walked into the shop and bought the perfect eighteenth birthday present for my one true love.

I met Nathan a little later than we planned, but he didn't seem to notice. He was holding a bag that he wouldn't let me look into. I didn't show him what I'd bought Rose, either, so we were even.

We decided to get a quick lunch and bought a couple of sandwiches from the market. As we walked along eating, we talked more about our interests. It turned out that Nathan also had a keen interest in art, despite admitting to being a rubbish observational drawer. He was, however, quite talented at cartoon drawing, and had a job illustrating the New York Times' cartoon strips. I picked up a free paper from a newspaper boy, not daring to look at the large Titanic-themed headlines, and flicked to one of the comic strips. Sure enough, in the corner was Nathan's signature. I was quite impressed at his unique style and the way he drew his people. They all had extravagant, extreme body shapes, each one unique from the others. I didn't know who wrote them, but Nathan sure did bring the story to life!

I decided I would take up drawing again as soon as I could, once I'd restocked on supplies. I needed paper, pencils, a sharpening knife, and a folder to keep them in, all the essentials for an artist. I also decided to look for a job related to art.

I told Nathan this and he said, "Hey! I know a guy who works in an art shop that does portraits. He's looking for another person to draw the portraits. Sadly, one of his others went down with the Titanic. Poor fellow. I knew him vaguely. He was a nice guy." He shook his head sadly.

We went to the art shop, a back street place with a large wooden sign overhead and letters carved into the wood and painted gold. Ryerson's Portraits. Again, my stomach lurched at yet another reminder of the Titanic. Ryerson, the name of the guy I'd stolen the coat from. I pushed the thought away and walked inside with Nathan.

The owner of the shop was a tall, lanky man with brown hair. He had a good sense of humor and loved to get to know his customers. I told him I was interested in the job and he got me to draw a quick observational sketch of the woman behind the counter. I showed him the finished picture, in record time, too, he said, and he hired me straight away. I was over the moon. A day after arriving in New York and we already had at least some money coming in. The owner, Tom, said the pay would be eighteen dollars a week, and the hours would be either eleven until four, or twelve until five. I decided to go for eleven until four, which seemed perfect for me. Tom also said that the days were Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, which was fine with me. I said I would be able to start the next day and left with Nathan.

I was in such a good mood after the day's success, I didn't notice the tall, dark-haired man approaching in the distance.

Chapter Ten
Stories