MEET ME AT THE CLOCK
Chapter One
Rose Calvert, wearing nothing more than her
long, flowing nightgown, slowly counted the steps from her room aboard the
Keldysh to the stern of the ship. She tightly gripped something in her hand and
could feel its imprint forming on her skin. As she climbed the barricade, she
felt her hands being caressed in Jack's as he steadied her when they were
"flying." She closed her eyes and opened them. This time, instead of
the lonely darkness, she saw the breathtaking sunset of this night eighty-four
years ago. As she blinked again, she was once again in the present. She held
out her hand and was ready to drop the article she held. It was The Heart of
the Ocean in all its arrogant beauty. Somehow, the diamond chain seemed glued
to her fingers, as to say its duty was still undone. She had just narrated
Jack's secret, the story of her escape from slavery. Wasn't that enough pain
for her to endure? Now it was time for their intimate memories to begin. Rose
clearly saw the love she and Jack shared, displayed in each facet, as though
the experiences were recurring in reality once more. Their stares across the
decks, Jack saving her from falling into the icy water after she attempted
suicide, their dreams they made of a life together, ignorant of society, and
the spitting lesson in front of her mother. The dashing gentleman who escorted
her to that horrendous dinner, their party below decks in steerage, and
"flying" on the bow, slowly brought a smile to her aged lips. Perhaps
the most awkward test they endured was when Jack drew her in her cabin. The
ultimate salvation Jack offered her, their time spent in the Renault, was all
she could have asked for.
The most difficult task he laid on her shoulders
was being able to completely promise him with all her heart that she would pick
up the pieces of her life and go on without him. Now that she was alone with
him once more, she did not bother to fight back the tears that always
accompanied the memory of his death. Finally, as if on cue, the necklace
slipped from her fingers and she leaned across the railing to watch its two and
a half mile descent into the North Atlantic, over the place where she kept all
things Titanic frozen in time. The beautiful jewel that once symbolized her
slavery to high society now became proof that her only true love Jack Dawson
was more than a haunted memory. Was it simply her imagination, or did she
really see Jack catch the jewel as it landed in his open palm?