LOVERS LOST AND CHILDREN FOUND
Chapter Eleven
Rose started for the door, but
was stopped by Jack.
"Let me get it. You go set
the table; please, relax yourself."
"All right, Jack." Rose
got the table set.
Jack opened the door.
"Hello, Mrs. DeWitt Bukater." Jack stepped aside to let her walk in.
"Hello, Jack."
Summer and Eva walked towards
Ruth. "Hello--" Summer started.
Eva stepped in "Grandmother,
or Mrs. DeWitt Bukater. Whatever you prefer," Eva said in a polite manner.
"Grandmother, please."
Ruth smiled, and Jack did also because of this happy scene before him.
Rose walked in, and all eyes were
on Ruth and Rose.
"Children, let’s go put the
food on the plates," Jack said, taking the children with him into the
dining room.
"Well, hello, dear,"
Ruth said, hugging her daughter, which shocked Rose, who returned the hug.
"Hello, Mother," Rose
said, sitting on the couch.
Ruth sat next to her. She turned
to Rose, and tears trickled down her cheeks. "Rose, I am terribly sorry
about Cal, about not letting you make your own choices, and especially about not
letting you be with Jack, who seems to be a great father and husband."
"I truly forgive you,
Mother. By the way, we’re engaged, and I’m pregnant. The little girl…"
Rose told Ruth her whole life story after Titanic.
"My goodness! I am so
sorry!" Ruth exclaimed, one hand over her mouth. Rose had tear-stained
cheeks, as did Ruth.
"Ladies, your dinner is
getting cold!" Jack called.
They went into the dining room
and had a good time. Rose found out that Ruth lived two blocks away in a little
beach house with a friend.
The Next Day
Rose took Summer to the park for
some bonding. She had asked Eva to come, but she had decided to stay with Jack.
They were going to go to the pier together. Jack was in the parlor, waiting for
Eva to get something from her bedroom, which was right next to the parlor.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Jack got up to answer it.
"Nicole…what in God’s name
are you doing here?" Jack asked bitterly.
Nicole pushed her way into the
house. Eva heard, and was spying from her bedroom to see what was going to happen.
"Jack! I am sick of your
games, and I want my daughter!" Nicole shouted.
"No," was all Jack
said. Nicole snapped and slapped him hard on the cheek.
Eva ran out to her room and
pushed her father gently out of the way. "You listen here, missy. I am not
going to tolerate you hurting three people in my family, especially my mother,
who was pregnant when you knocked her down. You are so lucky she did not lose
that child. Now, slapping my father, who has done nothing whatsoever to you! Do
you even know what my parents went through? No! You know, they were on the
Titanic! Yeah, I bet you feel pretty stupid right now! You are not going to get
my little sister, Summer. What if you suddenly don’t want to be a mother again?
Huh? I will most definitely not let my sister go through that again! Now, since
I was brought up well, I will escort you out."
Jack stood there, amazed at how
his daughter had taken control like that. She most definitely got that from her
mother. At the front door, Nicole was outside and Eva was in the doorway.
"No! I won’t leave you
alone! I will have custody, because I am bringing this to court!" Nicole
shouted.
"Yes? You do that. I know a
rich man who will help me. So, you’d better be prepared to fight!" Eva
slammed the door, leaving a confused Nicole on the steps. She walked away.
"Miss Eva Josephine Dawson,
where did that come from?" Jack asked, astonished.
"My mother. Where
else?" Eva laughed. "Let’s go, Father," Eva said, walking back
towards the door.
"Wait. Who is this rich man
you know?" Jack asked, wanting to know how she knew a rich man.
"His name is Caledon
Hockley," Eva said.