LOVE FOR LIFE AND BEYOND
Chapter Seven
Rose sat down in a large armchair. "Daddy?
Well, he was—he was one of a kind. He was more of a mother to me than Mother
herself, even when he was busy. He would tuck me in at night and read me
bedtime stories. He was so cheerful, always; you couldn’t help but be cheerful
around him. Daddy could always bring me out of a sulk or tears—even Mother was
in a better mood when he was around. All was right with the world when Daddy
was there," said Rose. "When he died, the world went and stood on its
head. Mother turned bitter, and before I knew it, I was engaged to that—that
bastard, Cal." Rose brought out the word with such vehemence, even Jack
was surprised. "I’m sorry," continued Rose. "I couldn’t help it.
He was all right when he was courting—flowers, candy, concerts. He went through
all the courting protocol, played the part of the perfect gentleman. When we
became engaged, he was so possessive. He became angry if I so much as
glanced at another man—it was a nightmare!"
Jack shuddered. He remembered various female
versions of Cal back in Chippewa Falls, women who nagged so badly their
husbands were henpecked beyond belief. He made a promise to himself he would
never behave towards Rose like Cal had.
"I would never do a thing like
that," he told her. "Now, how about checking—"
Jack was interrupted by a knock on the door,
accompanied by a cheerful, "I’m back!" Molly walked in laden down
with parcels.
"Here, I think I’ve got the right sizes.
I’m not quite sure which parcel’s which, so you’ll have to open them all and
see," said Molly.
"Parcels of what?" asked Rose in a
slightly confused tone. "I thought I asked you to help me pawn some
jewelry, not go on a shopping spree. I think the sinking must have done
something to my powers of speech."
This drew a hearty laugh from Molly. "I
took the liberty of buying something for you two to wear. Think of it as a
wedding present. Oh, and here’s the money from your pawned jewelry," said
Molly, handing Rose a stack of bills. "Now, go open those parcels."
Jack and Rose set about unwrapping the
parcels and opening the boxes. The clothing amounted to two sets each, as well
as shoes and other accessories.
"Thank you, Molly," said Rose.
"You’ve already given us so much—and somehow I don’t think the money here…"
Rose gestured to the stack of bills. "…was all from the jewelry. There
must be at least five thousand dollars here," she finished.
"Well, what can I say? Guilty as
charged," said Molly. "I guess I haven’t gotten over mothering my own
children—so, I’m borrowing a few. I’ll leave you two lovebirds to sort things
out now." With that, Molly departed.
"Gee, Molly sure is generous," said
Jack. "Now we don’t even need to buy clothing for now."
Rose smiled. "So, when are we going to become
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Dawson?"
Jack returned the smile. "As soon as
we’ve let Molly have a rest—she’s the witness, after all. I’m sorry I don’t
have a ring for you."
Rose gave him a hug. "That’s all right.
And I do have a ring," she said, looking down at her hands. "A
ring of love, which means more to me than the biggest diamond in the
world."
Jack grinned and gave her a kiss. "You
already have that. Come on. We’d better get dressed for our wedding."
Rose donned a simple green dress, the color
bringing out the tints in her hair and the color in her cheeks. She thought
Jack looked very handsome in his suit—the blue made his eyes seem even
brighter. Jack walked over to the vase of flowers on the mantelpiece and
plucked out two red roses. He stuck one in his buttonhole and handed the other
to Rose.
"The final touch," he said.
"Now, let’s go find Molly."