CAL’S PLAN
Chapter Nine
Jack spent his first night in New
York in a homeless shelter. The next morning, he decided that he required money
in order to leave the city and travel, so he went to the park to do the only
thing he was good at--drawing portraits of people for ten cents apiece. It
wasn’t much, but it would provide him with what he needed--more sheets of
paper. He had only few cents, so he used them to buy the materials. Next, he
found a good place in the park and waited for inspiration to come.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy
as he had thought it would be. He couldn’t find someone as beautiful as his
Rose. She’s not your Rose, dammit, he thought. But then something caught
his eye. It was a young couple walking through the park. Jack didn’t know why,
but he took his pencil and started drawing. He had to be fast, because the
couple was moving, but then they sat on a bench, and that gave Jack the time
necessary to finish their faces. It wasn’t until the drawing was complete that
he recognized them. They were Cal and Rose.
At first, Jack wanted to destroy
the drawing, but then he looked at it. It might have been his imagination, but
Rose didn’t seem too happy. There was something in her eyes telling him that
she was extremely unhappy.
Stop trying to believe that
she loves you. She left you. It doesn’t matter if she is happy or unhappy. It’s
not up to you to save her, he
thought. But then something came back to his mind. It was the vision of a
young, red-haired woman. She was hanging off the back of the ship.
"Don’t come any
closer," she had said. "I’ll let go."
"No, you won’t," he
had answered. "I’m too involved now. If you jump, I jump."
Jack repeated that last sentence
to himself many times. I’m too involved now. That was true. In spite of
being told that she didn’t love him, he had to know if she was all right.
Rose and Cal began to walk again.
Jack followed them from a distance so he wouldn’t be discovered. The couple
didn’t talk at all. That’s a bad sign, he thought. Finally, they arrived
at a hotel. Although it needed some paint in the front, he could tell that it
had been a very good-looking building. Rose and Cal entered it, but Jack couldn’t
move. He was very confused. On the one hand, he could have sworn that he had
seen that Rose wasn’t very happy about being with Cal, but then, on their way
home, he didn’t see any sign of rebellion. It looked as if her old fire had
gone out.
I’ll stay, so if she goes out
again, I can see if she really is happy. If she is, I swear I won’t came back.
I’ll let her live her own life, Jack decided.
So he stood, hidden behind a
tree, hoping that his love would come out soon and prove that he wasn’t lying
to himself.