LET’S LEAVE THE PAST BEHIND
Chapter Eleven

Jacquelyn was upstairs in Jack and Rose's room, putting away some clean sheets and blankets. She was not surprised to find Rose asleep, but she was surprised that the girl seemed troubled and was mumbling in her sleep.

Jacquelyn took a step closer and was surprised when Rose began talking in her sleep.

"I'd rather be his whore than your wife," Rose mumbled. "At least I'm with you…Jack! I'll never let go, Jack…I'll never let go! There's a boat, Jack! A boat! Please wake up!"

Rose was tossing and turning by now, obviously caught in a nightmare, crying out for Jack. Jacquelyn immediately went and shook her awake. Rose's eyes opened as she cried one last time for Jack. At first, she was a little disoriented, but after turning and seeing Jacquelyn, she remembered where she was.

"Are you okay?" Jacquelyn asked. "You were having a nightmare."

"Where's Jack?" Rose asked.

"Out in the fields with Father…you want me to get him for you?"

Rose didn't answer for a minute, then shook her head. No reason to drag Jack back to the house because of a nightmare.

"You were talking in your sleep, you know. Want to talk about it?" Jacquelyn asked, looking curiously at Rose. Some things about her mysterious sister-in-law and brother were coming to light. Those two had really been through something horrible that they weren't talking about. Plus Rose…she was such a contradiction. All her manners, speech, and posture spoke of upper class status, as if she had gone to finishing school and been taught to be a real lady. But everything else…the fact that she was married Jack, a poor drifter, and that she didn't have much in the way of clothes spoke differently. Plus, how pale she had gone at the party when the Titanic had been mentioned, and just a while ago when Kimberly and her mother had been talking about a certain first class girl who had died aboard the ship. Could Rose have possibly known those people?

Rose looked at her sister in law and sighed in defeat. Jacquelyn and her parents-in-law had been so kind to her since the day she had stepped upon their porch on the arm of their son. She couldn't lie to them anymore, but could she talk about the Titanic without Jack by her side? Looking at Jacquelyn…at those same blue eyes and blonde hair that Jack possessed, she felt more at ease.

"It's a long story…"

"I have time."

Rose nodded and swallowed, gathering her wits about her and her courage. It was time to go back to the Titanic, hopefully for the last time. Because after today, she was determined never to bring the ship up again.

"It was a week ago…it seems like such a long time…like years, actually. But it was a week ago, after a pre-wedding trip to Europe, that my mother, fiancé, and myself boarded the liner Titanic."

Jacquelyn’s eyes widened. "Oh, my God…the Titanic?"

Rose nodded and went on with the story. "To everyone else, Titanic was called the ship of dreams…but to me…it was a slave ship. Taking me back to America in chains. I was everything a well-brought-up girl should be…but inside, I was screaming. I guess before I go any further, I should tell you my maiden name…Rose. Rose DeWitt Bukater."

"Rose DeWitt Bukater? That's the name of…"

"Caledon Hockley's deceased fiancée. Rather, ex-fiancée. Despite newspaper reports, Cal was no hero. He was an unimaginable bastard. He framed Jack for stealing a necklace and chased us deeper into the sinking ship, shooting at us the whole time. Even before Jack, he was horrid. He never listened to me and was always abusive, emotionally and physically."

"Why did you get engaged to him, then?"

"My mother. You see, my father had died, leaving us nothing but debt covered by a good name. In order to keep our upper class status…she arranged for me to be courted by the rich Caledon Hockley. At first, he was charming, but after the third date, he became possessive and boorish. I was going to break it off at a party my mother was throwing. Imagine my surprise and horror when my mother got up, along with Caledon and his father, and announced our engagement."

"They never even discussed it with you?" Jacquelyn asked in disbelief. It was hard to imagine a mother doing that to her daughter, but then again, the same thing was happening to Kimberly right now.

Rose shook her head. "Not once was I aware of my mother's plans. I begged and pleaded for her to call off this charade, but she refused. My feelings on the matter weren't important. So I decided that if I was to be miserable, so would they. I was determined to make them pay."

"How did you do that?"

"I would do little things. If my mother picked out a dress for me to wear, I would show up wearing something I knew she'd hate. One time, when they were picking out bridesmaid's dresses, my mother, for once, had me make a decision. So, knowing that she hated the color lavender, I ordered all the bridesmaid’s dresses in lavender. She was furious with me for that. Then, when we were to sail on the Titanic, I wore black, but Cal, horrified by my choice, made me go change. Then, when we saw the Titanic, I made a snide remark that it didn't look any bigger than the Mauritania, knowing that it was far larger and more luxurious. There were other little things I did that got on their nerves." Rose laughed lightly. "When I met Jack, I had Cal invite him to dinner just to get on both Cal's and Mother's nerves. Cal tried to turn the tables, but Jack turned the tables back on Cal. He was a big hit at the first class dinner. He charmed everyone, except Mother and Cal, of course."

"How did you meet Jack, anyway?"

So, Rose told the rest of the story. Of how Jack and Rose first saw each other on the deck, of Jack talking her over the railing and how she had gotten Jack out of trouble. Of their time together on the deck and how he had taught her to spit like a man. Of the first class dinner and the steerage party. Of how she had told Jack that she wasn't going to see him again and of Jack teaching her how to fly at the bow of the ship. Of him drawing her nude wearing nothing but the Heart of the Ocean. Of their fleeing Cal's valet and the Renault. Of how Rose had told Jack that she was going to get off the ship with him, all the way until they were in the water and Jack had made her promise to go on. Of the Carpathia and their impromptu wedding, once they had reached New York. Neither Rose nor Jacquelyn realized that Jack's mother had joined them near the beginning of Rose's tale until Rose was finished and she gasped.

"So that's the reason we weren't invited!" Nancy gasped.

Jacquelyn turned around and stood. "Mother?"

"Jack on the Titanic…how?"

"Poker game." Rose bowed her head. "He won third class tickets."

"I always knew that game would get him in trouble." Nancy shook her head and looked at Rose, who had tears streaming from her eyes as she remembered all of their friends who had not been as lucky as her and Jack. "You two were lucky you were saved."

"I know. Fabrizio, Tommy, and my maid, Trudy…they weren't so fortunate."

"You must have liked Trudy a great deal to be crying over her loss." Jacquelyn squeezed Rose's hand.

"She was my best friend…the only one who would listen to me cry over what was happening. She knew how much I loved Jack, and was the one who made me see that saying good-bye to him was the worst mistake of my life. She would be so happy if she knew that Jack and I were married."

"So your mother and that Hockley man think you're dead."

"And made up that absurd story about me going back for that necklace. It wasn't the necklace I was going after…it was Jack. I wasn't about to get on that boat, knowing that he was trapped down below."

"I guess we should thank you on all counts. For saving Jack's life not once, but twice. Having him fall in love with you…freeing him of those cuffs, and then making him promise to hang on until help came…that was so brave of you, Rose. Not all women would do that for a man they've known for only a couple of days." Nancy came over to hug her daughter-in-law. "To think, we never would have known if things had turned out differently. We would have thought our son had disappeared off the face of the earth."

"Jack's a wonderful human being. You did a great job raising him." Rose smiled. "I was telling the truth when I said I had never met anyone like him before. And I should be the one thanking you for bringing him into the world. If it wasn't for him, I would have been the one at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean right now, before the ship even sank."

"We must be in trouble." Charles and Jack appeared in the doorway. "Three beautiful women gathered together…what did we do this time?"

Nancy got up and went to her son, giving him a big hug. "You are so brave, and I am so proud of the way you handled yourself aboard that ship while it was sinking."

"What?" Jack asked, surprised. He looked at Rose and knew that she told them about Titanic.

"I couldn't lie to them, Jack. Jacquelyn was here when I had a nightmare…they deserve to know the truth," Rose explained.

"Truth about what?" Charles asked, confused about the somber expressions in both Jack and Rose's eyes.

"Jack and Rose were on the Titanic, Daddy." Jacquelyn stood up. "That was where they first met and fell in love. We're lucky to have them here with us now."

"I'm sorry we lied earlier." Jack bowed his head as his mother released him from the hug. "We just thought that the less we talked about the Titanic and the less people knew about us being on it…the better. Well, at least I did. Rose is having a tougher time letting it go."

"At least now I understand why you two were so upset last night about the whole Titanic talk and all." Jacquelyn nodded.

"Well, it is the biggest news to hit Chippewa Falls in a long time." Jack shrugged, remembering what Kimberly had said. "We shouldn't expect people to just ignore it and act like they don't care."

"Rose…about your mother…have you contacted her at all since the sinking? She must be devastated," Nancy said.

"Uh…no. I haven't, and I don't really care to. After all she's done to me…I don't think I'll be ready to do so anytime soon."

"I think it's best if we wait for Rose to heal some more before she even attempts to contact Ruth. Both Ruth and Cal hurt Rose more than anything." Jack went to his wife and squeezed her hand.

"Well, Nancy and Jacquelyn…let's leave these two alone for a while. It looks like they have a lot to discuss." Charles pulled his wife to the door and motioned for Jacquelyn to follow.

"We'll talk later." Jacquelyn smiled, following her parents out of the room.

Silence engulfed the room as Jack and Rose were left alone, their feelings and thoughts thrown into turmoil. Jack was the first to speak.

"Are you really okay? I know how hard the Titanic was on you…"

"I'm fine, Jack. Really. I'm sorry that I didn't wait for you to get back…it's just that…I couldn't lie to them. They've been so good to me, and accepted me into the family so quickly, just like you quickly accepted me into your life. I love them, Jack, just like I love you."

"Don't be sorry, Rose. I understand, but I'm sorry for not being here for you. We should have told them when we came back instead of hiding it. That way we would've been together."

"So…do you think we need to tell all your friends here in town? Or should we just leave it within the family?"

"To tell the truth…I can't see any use in letting the whole town know we were on the Titanic. I mean, it'll bring us nothing but pitying glances, curious stares, and a bunch of questions we don't want to answer. I think it's wise if we keep it in the family."

"So do I." Rose smiled, leaning into Jack's arms and shivering as she thought about if her dream had been real. What if she really had lost Jack to those horrible waters. Then she would have had to tell his family about his death, and she didn't think she would have been able to do that.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked, tightening his embrace.

"I'm fine. Just thinking. I love you, Jack."

"I love you, too, Rose. And don't worry. We're going to be fine."

"I know."

With that said, they drifted off into a dreamless sleep, their love blocking out all the painful memories of their adventure aboard the ship of dreams.

Chapter Twelve
Stories