LET’S LEAVE THE PAST BEHIND
Chapter Six
Three Days Later
The Dawson family sat on their
porch, drinking iced tea and talking about the upcoming wedding of Kimberly
Smith to Brendan Lakesworth…the son of the wealthy Rex Lakesworth, owner of the
glue factory that sat in the center of town.
"Have we received an
invitation yet, Nancy?" Charles Dawson asked his wife of twenty-five
years.
"Nope. Not yet. Maybe we
won't get one, and that's just fine with me. I don't want to go see poor
Kimberly get sold to that awful Brendan." Nancy Dawson shook her head.
"It's a shame, I tell ya. A pure shame. If only Jack hadn't left…"
"It's a good thing Jack did
leave, Mother. Brendan Lakesworth is a ruthless man and there's no telling what
he'd do if anyone got in the way of him and what he wants. If Jack was here,
we'd all be in a world of trouble." Jacquelyn, Jack's twin sister, crossed
her arms.
"Why is that?" Jack
came up onto the porch, tightly grasping Rose's hand. Rose nervously stood
beside him.
"Jack! You're home!"
Nancy threw her arms around her only son and hugged him tight, not noticing
Rose.
"Where have you been?"
Charles questioned, not noticing Rose, either.
"And do you mind telling us
who your friend here is?" Jacquelyn noticed the gorgeous redhead standing
next to her brother.
"Hey, one question at a
time." Jack laughed, leading Rose up onto the porch. They both take the
swinging seat at the far right of the porch. "As for the first question,
I've been all around the world in the past five years. Italy, France, you name
it...I've been there." Jack laughed. "And for the second question.
Mom, Dad, Jacquelyn…I'd like you all to meet my wife, Rose. Rose, this is my
mother and father, Nancy and Charles Dawson, and this here is my little sister,
Jacquelyn."
"Only by two minutes."
Jacquelyn shook Rose's hand in greeting.
"You're twins?" Rose
asked, looking at Jack, who just shrugged. He never told her he had a twin
sister. She wondered what other things there were to find out about Mr. Jack
Dawson.
"Why, Jack, you never told
us you were engaged. When did this all happen?" Nancy frowned, a little
hurt that she hadn't been invited to her son's wedding. It must have been
lavish, judging from the girl's Philadelphia accent and the way she held
herself. She was obviously upper class, and by the way she looked at her
son…the girl was deeply in love and happy.
"A couple of days ago. It
wasn't anything fancy. Just Rose, the Justice of the Peace, his wife, and me.
You see, we wanted to get married as soon as possible."
"And Rose, what did your
parents think about that?" Nancy asked, looking at the girl, who had
suddenly gone pale. Jack quickly stepped in.
"Um...Ma, it's been a long
ride for both me and Rose, and I was wondering…is my old room still
available?"
"Of course. Go on up and get
some rest. We'll call when dinner's ready." Nancy nodded, recognizing a
dodge when she saw it. Jack and Rose were definitely hiding something, but
she'd leave it alone for now. Jack would probably tell her in his own good
time.
As soon as Jack and Rose had gone
inside and up the stairs, Nancy took a deep breath. "I can't believe he
would do that. He just got married and didn't even notify us."
"Mother, I'm sure there's a
reasonable explanation. I mean, did you see the look in their eyes…it looked as
if they'd been to hell and back. Whatever happened to them must be the reason
behind their quickie wedding. You know, the Titanic sank a week ago, I think.
Maybe they were on there."
"Jack on the Titanic?"
Charles Dawson began to laugh. "Jacquelyn, your imagination is even more
out there than your brother's. How would Jack be able to afford a trip on a
luxury liner such as the Titanic? That's ludicrous!"
"Well, he did say he was in
Europe for a while, and…you're right, Daddy." Jacquelyn sighed in defeat.
"The idea of the sinking being the reason behind Jack's marriage is
ridiculous. But there is an explanation, and I'm going to find it."
"I'm really worried about
poor Kimberly now. There really is no hope for her now." Nancy shook her head.
*****
Rose and Jack lay in bed, both
wide-awake and staring at the ceiling. Jack had his arms wrapped securely
around Rose's shoulders. Rose snuggled closer to him, enjoying his nearness.
"I don't think your mother
likes me very much. Did you see the look on her face when you said I was your
wife?" Rose sighed.
"That look had nothing to do
with not liking you, Rose. She was just hurt that she wasn't at the wedding,
plus the fact that she didn't even know that I was engaged."
"Well, there was no way to tell
her. We were only engaged for two minutes." Rose sighed. "I just want
your family to like me. We already have enough against us. We don't need your
parents hating me, too."
"Don't worry, Rose. They're
going to love you as much as I do. Even though you can be a spoiled brat at
times…" Jack burst into laughter, causing Rose to playfully punch his arm.
"Well, you're right. They
seem to like you, even though you can be a bit cocky at times."
"I'm not cocky." Jack
laughed.
"Yes, you are. How did you
know I would jump back on that ship?" Rose raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't. I thought I was
looking down at you for the last time." Jack smiled slightly. "Even
though Cal was sure he had won, I knew he hadn't. That you wouldn't let
him."
Rose looked deep into his eyes
and kissed him deeply, happy that she had jumped back on and gone through the
entire sinking with Jack. Somehow going through it together had made their love
stronger and unbreakable. "I love you, Jack."
"I love you more," Jack
whispered into her ear.
Rose smiled seductively at him
and placed his hand on her breast. Put your hands on me, Jack."
Jack smiled at the memory and
happily obeyed, pulling her into a deep kiss. They once again visited the stars
and soared above the clouds.