NOBODY SAID LOVE WAS GONNA BE EASY
Chapter Three
Rose woke up alone and to a silent house.
Jack was nowhere to be seen. Surprisingly, there was a note on Jack's pillow.
Rose picked it up and read:
Dearest Rose,
As you may remember from last night, I have
a surprise for you. I'm off to arrange everything now. Wear the white dress
hanging in the closet. Christina will be over to collect you and take you to
the surprise.
Love,
Jack
Curiosity seared through Rose as she got up
and found a beautiful, sequined white dress in the closet. The dress reminded
her of the dress she had worn on the Titanic during that first class dinner
Jack had been invited to. How was Jack able to afford such a thing, and why did
he want her to wear it? Curious, she did as the note asked and went outside to
wait for Christina.
Anna was outside, cradling a baby in her
arms. Rose frowned, wondering if this was part of the surprise.
"Anna?" Rose asked, confused.
"Are you here to see Jack? He's not here if you are."
"Oh. That's too bad." The other
woman looked disappointed, staring at her shoes. "I just wanted to
apologize for Matt's behavior last night and introduce him to my son,
Jacob."
"How cute." Rose looked at the
child, wondering when she and Jack would start on a family of their own.
"I wish I knew where he was, but I don't know. He's surprising me today
and he's not telling me anything."
"That's Jack. Full of surprises."
Anna smiled just as Christina drove up in a horse-drawn carriage. She smiled
and waved at Rose, signaling her to come on.
"Well, that's my ride. Come back later
tonight. I'm sure Jack will be here then."
"Okay. Have fun." Anna smiled,
about to walk away from the house when Christina stopped her.
"Why don't you come with us, Anna?
Getting away from Matt for a couple of hours will do you good, and I'm sure
Jack would want you to be there," Christina said.
"Be where?"
"I can't tell you. It's a surprise for
Rose. But with you being Jack's friend, he's going to want you there."
Looking at Rose and Christina and back down the
path, Anna nodded her head. It would be nice to get away for a while, and
judging from Rose's white dress, she was pretty sure what the surprise was now.
"Okay. Fine. Count me in." She hopped into the carriage after handing
the baby to Rose.
After Rose got in, they were off. To Rose's
surprise, they left Chippewa Falls and went to the town of Eau Claire. Rose
looked at Christina, who only shrugged with a sheepish expression on her pretty
face as the driver pulled into the lot labeled Courthouse. Rose suddenly knew
what was happening.
"Oh, my…I don't know what to say."
She gasped in delight, her green eyes sparkling happily. She knew that she and
Jack were going to get married eventually, but she had never thought it would
be so soon.
"Surprised?" Christina asked.
Rose eagerly nodded. "Definitely. How do
I look?"
"Like a blushing bride." Anna
smiled, climbing down from the carriage. "Come. Jack's waiting."
In single file, Rose in front and holding a
bouquet of roses that Christina had thrust into her hands, the women entered
the building. The wedding march began to play, and Rose gasped as she saw Jack,
standing between an elderly man and Robert, looking just as handsome as he had
at the first class dinner.
"Lucky girl," Christina whispered
to her, giddy with excitement and happiness for her friend. It wasn't every day
that there was a wedding. So much excitement in one week.
Rose blushed and walked down the aisle
towards Jack, her heart on her sleeve. She loved him so much and hoped that she
would make a good wife. Jack held out his hand and she eagerly took it.
"You look so beautiful." Jack
smiled.
"So do you." Rose grinned, trying
not to squeal with happiness.
Soon afterwards, the Justice of the Peace had
them recite their vows. Five minutes later, Rose was officially Mrs. Jack
Dawson. She held onto his arm tightly as they went to greet their friends.
"Congratulations!" Anna hugged Jack
tightly. "I am so happy for you."
"Who's this?" Jack asked, eyeing
the baby.
"My son, Jacob. Jacob, this is your Uncle
Jack."
Robert laughed. "I bet Matt will just
love you having the kid calling Jack uncle."
Anna blushed and looked away. "I'm glad
that you two got married. Jack deserves this happiness."
Jack wanted to beg her to leave Matt and find
happiness of her own, but he knew that idea was impossible. She'd never leave
her husband. Never. That was the kind of person she was. She took her vows
seriously. "I'm glad you were here to see it."
Anna could only smile before following
Christina and Robert out the door.
"Thank you." Rose hugged Jack
tightly. "This is the best surprise you've ever given me."
"Well, there's going to be a lot more
from now on." Jack laughed. "I'm going to make you happy, Rose.
That's my life goal from here on out."
Rose could only smile, touched by the
promise, knowing that he meant it. "I promise the same, Jack. You won't
regret making me your wife."
Jack smiled and tucked a red curl behind her ear.
"I know I won't. The horizon is ours, Rose. Now and forever. Someday I
will take you to Santa Monica and we'll do all the things we ever talked about.
But first there's some things I have to take care of here."
"I understand, Jack." Rose smiled.
"As long as I'm with you, I'm happy."
Jack just smiled and squeezed her hand,
wondering if he should tell her his suspicions. Maybe he was making too much
out of nothing…but his gut told him that he wasn't. That his suspicions were
right on. Maybe he should talk to Rose, get her opinion. Yes, he'd do that, but
not today. Today was all about their wedding and happiness and love. Doom and
gloom could wait for another day. Taking her hand, he led her back to the
carriage, where their friends awaited them.
*****
Meanwhile, at the O'Connor house, Matt sat
with his father, both deep in thought. The return of Jack Dawson was indeed
unexpected. Ronald O'Connor regretted not seeking the boy out and taking care
of him then. But it was too late now. Hmm…maybe the boy didn't suspect a thing.
Maybe he just came back to make a life with his fiancée among people he knew and
respected.
"Maybe we're worrying about
nothing." The elder O'Connor sighed. "Maybe the boy just wants a
quiet life with his new fiancée."
"Father…do you really want to take that
chance? We've worked long and hard to get what we have today. Are you willing
to risk losing it all because you have a soft spot for Jack Dawson? It's that
soft spot that's causing us all this worry today. You should have made sure
Jack was with his folks when…"
"Silence!" Ronald got to his feet,
guilt and anger flashing in his eyes. "Do not speak of the fire or the
Dawsons ever again. This town has too many ears and if anyone even suspects
that the fire that killed Lily and James Dawson wasn't an accident, we will
lose everything and more! Hmm…what we need is a distraction…something that will
keep young Jack's mind off of us and his parents’ demise."
Sighing, Matt picked up the newspaper, tired
of the discussion at hand. A distraction, indeed. What an absurd idea. What in
the world could distract someone from the loss of their parents? They should
take care of Dawson now and get it over with. Opening the paper, the young
man's eyes widened with surprise and recognition. "Well, well, well."
"What?" Ronald looked up at his
son, his mind trying to come up with ideas about how to deal with this threat.
"I think we have our distraction right
here. Look at this pretty little lady. The deceased Rose DeWitt Bukater,
fiancée to Caledon Hockley. Perished in the Titanic sinking."
"So?" Ronald asked, confused by
what this had to do with anything.
"She's not dead." Matt began to
laugh. "That explains everything! The upper class accent, the mannerisms!
I knew there was something about that girl!"
"Matthew, what in the hell are you
talking about?"
"The answer to our prayers, Father! You
want to distract Jack? Well, his new fiancée isn't all that she appears to be!
Look."
"Rose DeWitt Bukater, fiancée to Caledon
Hockley, steel tycoon. Perished aboard the Titanic. So? What does this have to
do with anything?"
Matt rolled his eyes. Sometimes his father
missed the big picture. "She's here, Father. Rose DeWitt Bukater didn't
perish aboard the Titanic. She's Jack's fiancée. Or rather, this Hockley's
fiancée. Leave it to Jack Dawson to charm himself another man's fiancée, and a society
one at that. I knew he had it in him. That's why I never wanted him around my
Anna!"
"Are you saying that this Rose is now
engaged to Jack Dawson? Get serious, Matt. She was on the Titanic, and as you
can see, she's dead. And Jack on the Titanic? The boy barely has ten dollars to
his name, plus he's very much alive. Even if he could have afforded a third
class ticket, he wouldn't have survived the sinking. There would have been no
way."
"You don't know Jack, Father. He's very
resourceful. But even if I'm wrong, and Rose is just a look-alike…we can give
this Hockley fellow a call. Tell him that his fiancée’s not dead, but alive
playing house with Dawson. Fending the guy off, or rescuing his girl, will keep
Jack plenty preoccupied. The perfect distraction. Hey, he may even pick up and
leave Chippewa Falls again."
Ronald stroked his chin, considering his
son's idea. He liked it. He had to admit, it was brilliant. "Let's do it.
Get your address book. It's time to track down Caledon Hockley and tell him
about the girl that looks like his fiancée. The man deserves to know."
With an evil smile, Matthew did what he was
told. Jack Dawson was going to pay for coming back and for talking to Anna. He
was going to wish he had stayed as far away from Chippewa Falls as possible.