A LOVE REBORN IN THE STREETS
Chapter One
The utter disaster of Titanic was all over
the papers in New York City. Rose had no money, and she had lost the only
person she had ever loved, Jack Dawson. She had no idea what to do. The only
thing she knew she had to do was to stay alive for Jack’s sake. She had
promised him, no matter what.
Times had changed in New York after the draft
and the assassination of Lincoln. But there was one thing that was still the
same--pickpockets and gangs still lived on. Rose entered the Five Points. She
knew that she had no money except for the necklace she carried in her pocket,
and she knew that she wasn’t going to give that up. No way, no how.
She entered the church, which wasn’t really a
church. It was more of a brewery turned into a church house. When she went
inside, she was astonished. There was an apparent raid of the place in
progress. She dodged the police, fearing that they might have read the article
about Caledon Hockley’s dead fiancée. She had read the article after trying to
cover herself with newspapers.
What amazed her was that after everything had
happened. he had lied and told the paper that they had gotten separated. He had
forgotten to mention, however, that he had chased her and Jack with a gun.
She thought of Jack, his skilled artist hands
on her body, and she would never forget him as long as she lived. She cried day
after day, feeling lonely and upset. She just wanted to crawl into a hole and
die. She had learned to survive the past few weeks, stealing from anyone who
passed her by, and she was good at it, too. She’d do anything to survive.
Rose looked around the city she now called
home. It was a wasteland for poor people, and there was no one she recognized.
She thanked God. Day after day, it was the same routine. Go into the church and
say a prayer for Jack, bludget a few times until she got enough for food and
shelter and sleep in the underground. She had survived pretty good. She had
also gotten a gun to protect herself, and she had saved almost all of her
bludgetings, except for what she had to pay for the gangs to leave her alone.
After the Titanic disaster, nothing was ever
the same. Sometimes, in her sleep, she could see Jack. He had told her he was a
survivor. She had believed him until he didn’t wake up.
She would sometimes end up screaming or
crying when she woke up. These times were hard for her, but she forced herself
to go on living.
When a local dance was held, she forced
herself to go. She had a nice dress. At least, for the best in the Points and
what she could afford. She was thinner and her hair had grown more, so she
didn’t look the same as before. She couldn’t even tell it was herself.
When she entered the brewery, everyone was
gathered around. She forced herself to smile at men, most of them not to her
liking.
A man called all the ladies. Rose stepped up
in line. He inspected each and every one. Rose had decided to call herself
Jenny for her new life in New York. When he asked her name, she said Jenny
Everdeane. Back in Philadelphia, she had had a friend named Gwen Everdeane, so
she had decided to take that name for herself, with the exception of Jenny, of
course.
He gave her a mirror, and she sat on the
chair. She looked into the mirror. When the man ordered all the men to line up,
she got the idea. One by one, she saw the faces of men. She said no to the
first few. She knew she was being selfish, but she was looking for a man just
like the one she had lost.
Men passed by, one by one, and none of them
appealed to her. None at all.
Rose looked into the mirror, seeing the
reflection of the next man, a handsome man she had never seen before. She was
so mesmerized by him that she didn’t speak. He looked so familiar. She couldn’t
quite place him. She started to really look at his features, and all she could
think about was Jack.
He looked into the mirror and guessed that
she didn’t want him, so he stepped aside.
When he disappeared from the mirror, she put
it down and said, "That one."
The man looked back and looked at the frail
redhead. She reminded him so much of a girl he used to know.
Rose dared not look up at the man. She took
her candle and took his hand to dance.
He tried to dance with the girl, but she
refused to look at him, so he just went with it.
"You can hold me a little closer, if you
would like," she told him.
He took hold of her. She closed her eyes,
leaning against him, trying to imagine that he was Jack.
"Miss, what is your name?" he
asked.
"Jenny Everdeane. And what is your name,
sir?" She glanced up, looking into his beautiful blue eyes.
"Jack Dawson."
When he said the name, she thought it was
impossible that he would be the same Jack she had made love to on the Titanic.
She started to cry.
"Did I doing something wrong,
Jenny?" He took her aside.
"No, it isn’t you. You see, I lost a man
I loved. His name was Jack Dawson. too. We met aboard the Titanic."
He pulled her away and stared at her.
"Why did you say that?" He looked
at her questioningly.
"What?" Rose wondered what she had
done.
"Rose, is that you?" He looked at her,
unable to believe that she was still alive.
"Jack?" She looked at him. It was
hard to recognize him.
"Oh, Rose, it is you, isn’t it?" he
asked cheerfully.
"Stop playing with me. Jack Dawson is
dead. He died on the Titanic." She pulled away from him.
"Rose, it’s me. Remember when we made
love in the car?" he asked her.
"Jack? Oh, Jack." She hugged him
tight, and kissed him several times.
They walked out of the dance hall. Jack held
Rose’s hand.
"So, why the name Jenny?" He was
curious about it.
"Haven’t you seen the papers,
Jack?" She looked at him, wanting to be in his arms again.
"Nah…not lately." He walked with
her, looking at her. She was so thin and sloppy.
"Cal thinks I am dead, and I want it
that way." She felt part of herself come alive now that Jack was here.
"Ah…Caledon." Jack remembered.
"Yes. I chose Jenny for my new life
after I saw you die." She tried to explain without crying for once.
"I wasn’t dead, Rose. Just asleep, until
you let me go, that is." He didn’t blame her for letting him go.
"I tried to wake you up. I’m sorry I
left you." She tried to apologize.
"Don’t worry. I told you I was a
survivor." He smiled at her.
"So, what brought you here, Jack?"
she asked.
"My father, actually. He’s a priest. I
found out shortly after I went back home." They walked to the docks and
sat there, looking at the stars. He didn’t even bother to tell her that he was
in a gang.
"Oh." She looked at him kind of
weird.
"You?" he asked.
"I stayed here because I had no money.
So I have been stealing until I get enough to go to California or somewhere
close." She looked at him. She knew that she was not the Rose she used to
be.
"Rose, I have something to tell you. I
think I should say it now, ‘cause I don’t wanna lie to you." He looked at
her. She was still so beautiful to him.
"Okay. What is it?" she asked.
"I am in a gang. The Dead Rabbits. Ever
since I got here, I have been though some rough training. My father, the
priest, is the head of the gang. I had no idea until I went back home that he
was here. That is why I stayed. He needed me." He wondered if she would
ever understand.
"I understand, Jack. I am no better than
you. I lure men into my bed and steal from them before they even have a chance
to do anything. We have changed, but if I may say it, there is one thing that
is still the same." She felt guilty doing that, but she had to survive.
"Which is?" He looked at her. She
was so different than when he had met her, the pretty little rich girl.
"I still love you." She looked at
him, wanting him to kiss her.
"I still do, too." He stepped up
and kissed her breathlessly.