NO MORE 'IF ONLY'S'
Chapter Two
Meeting Molly Again
Rose was excited and nervous at the same
time. She was not ready for this! She was looking forward to seeing Molly again
after so long, but…Rose looked up and saw Molly standing up from her table,
with a big smile on her face. "Rose DeWitt Bukater, darling, I never
thought I’d see you again! And who is this here with you?"
"Hi, Molly." Rose couldn’t help but
smile. "This is my husband, James Calvert. Jim, this is Molly Brown."
After the introduction, Rose stood there, not really sure what to do or say.
The last time she saw Molly was on a lifeboat, with her mother. "It was so
nice of you to invite us to join you." Rose put genuine feeling into her
voice. Somehow she knew that Molly would understand.
After they sat down, Jim looked at Molly and
asked her, "Why did you call her Rose DeWitt Bukater? Her maiden name was
Dawson."
Rose and Molly exchanged glances, Rose’s
pleading and Molly’s questioning. "Well," Molly began. "I met
her as Rose DeWitt Bukater nine years ago."
"Now, Jim, I guess you forgot that DeWitt
Bukater was a stage name, and Dawson was my real name," Rose said,
trying to hint to Molly. "After dinner, I’d really like to catch up with
Molly. But right now, Molly, why don’t you let us know how your fight for
women’s suffrage is going?"
"That would be fine with me," Jim
responded, before Molly could. "I’ll just go for a swim while you two
visit, since you don’t like to swim, Rose."
The three had a lovely dinner. Molly was a
perfect hostess. She kept them laughing throughout the entire meal. Rose had
forgotten how much she liked Molly Brown.
*****
"Molly, where would like me to
begin?" Rose asked, as she sat down on the couch in Molly’s private
sitting room.
"Rose, darling, I haven’t seen you since
1912, and a lot of people have spent the last nine years thinking you were
dead, me included. What happened to you? And Jack?"
At Molly’s words, the memories came back to
her. Rose really was at a loss for words. "Molly, you must realize that my
husband knows nothing. He doesn’t even know that I was on the Titanic.
We are happy. But I do feel that I owe you something, so…here goes nothing. The
night that ship hit an iceberg, Cal had Jack arrested…"
A Few Hours Later…
"…and when I got to New York, I told
them my name was Rose Dawson, and I have been ever since. Until I met James,
and he made me fall in love with him. He taught me that a life is not something
you keep for yourself, but something you share with others. And not once have I
ever regretted my life now."
"I would have to say that I’m proud of
you. I am very sad to know how Jack died, but so happy to learn that you lived.
When I saw you I wondered. I don’t think I have ever heard such a story before.
When I saw you leave your mother to go find him…I admit that I thought he was
better for you, but at the time I thought you should’ve stayed with your
mother. I am glad you didn’t. It seems to me that when the Titanic sank,
you were able to actually begin to live. Now, dry those tears, and let’s go
find that handsome husband of yours."
Rose smiled up at Molly and excused herself
to go clean up. Who would’ve thought that telling that story to Molly would
have had such an effect on Rose? She hadn’t talked about it at all, not to
anyone. Molly had actually understood. Rose pictured Jack as he was that night
dancing in third class. But that picture was soon replaced by one of James. As
much as she loved Jack, she loved James, too. She knew she had a life to live
before she could see Jack again.
*****
Rose found her husband asleep on their bed.
She gave him a kiss on the cheek and went out to meet Molly. They had agreed to
meet on the stern of the ship. I wonder if Molly remembers that this is
where I met Jack, she thought as she walked.
Molly was leaning up against the rail,
waiting for her. As Rose approached, Molly said, "I wonder what it must
have felt like for you to be hanging off the back of that ship."
"It was scary as hell. I haven’t thought
about that in years, Molly. I am happy I ran into you. I never thought I would
see anyone."
"So many people died that night."
"I miss more than just Jack, Molly. I
met so many wonderful people on that ship. Fabrizio, Tommy Ryan, Mr.
Andrews…" Rose couldn’t continue.
"Rose…don’t cry now, darling. It was a
long time ago."
"Did you see Mother’s obituary in The
New York Times?"
"Yes, I did."
"All they thought was important was that
she had been on the Titanic. I guess every survivor will get an obituary
in that paper. Mother had no other relatives. They mentioned that her daughter
died on the Titanic. I never missed her, Molly. I knew she would not
have cared. But I still loved her."
Molly and Rose talked late into the night out
there on the stern of the Olympic. They knew that once they got off they
would not see each other again. Not all their talk was painful. Molly never
knew what it was like in third class, and enjoyed the story about the party.
Rose laughed at Molly’s foray into the smoking room. The two women talked well
into the early morning.