A LOVE REBORN IN THE STREETS
Chapter Two
"Wow, Jack. You look so
different since we last met." She looked at him, amazed at his appearance,
barely now realizing it.
"I am different. My hair is
longer and I no longer draw anymore," he described himself to her.
"Why? You were so good at
it." She touched his shoulder.
"Because they weren't worth
crap, Rose. My dreams of becoming an artist were for nothing." He had
loved drawing. Always had.
"That's not true. Maybe you
just need some inspiration again." She hugged him.
"Rose, you are my
inspiration. Maybe what I needed was you." He held her, loving the feeling
of her in his arms.
"You have me, Jack. That
night in the car was the most precious moment of my life." She smiled with
passionate eyes.
"You mean that?" He
looked at her lovingly.
"Yes, I mean it, Jack. When
I thought I had lost you, it hurt me so bad." She held him tighter.
"I promise you will never
lose me again." He touched her face.
"I hope that's a promise you
can keep!" She smiled.
"For you, Rose, I
will!" He took her in his arms and kissed her.
"Well, it's getting late. Do
you have somewhere to sleep?" he asked.
"Yeah, but it's not a nice
place," she said.
"Where?" He took her
hand and started to walk.
"I have a little room of my
own in the uptown part of town," she said, looking at the beautiful
moonlit sky.
"How do you have such luck
to be there?" he asked, wondering what she had to do to get a place in the
uptown part of town.
"I worked from place to
place and gathered some money after I sold Cal's necklace. But I have been
trying to get it back from the man I sold it to because it reminded me of
you." She leaned into him, and he held her as they walked.
"You don't need it, Rose.
You have me now," he said, reassuring her that he would never leave her.
"I love you, Jack," she
said, remembering when she had said it in the cold water of the North Atlantic.
"Rose, I should have said
this a long time ago. I love you more than you will ever know." He stopped
walking and looked into her eyes.
Rose started to cry. He held her.
It felt so good for her to be in his arms. She held him tighter.
"Come on. It's getting cold
out here." He rubbed her shoulders.
"All right," she said,
looking at him in the dark.
He walked with her to her place,
and when he saw a drunken man try to ask Rose for a date, he beat up the man,
and they ran as fast as they could.
Rose stood there, out of breath
and in shock that he had actually done that, but she was glad that he had. Who
knew what could have happened?
"Thanks, Jack," she
said.
"No problem, Rose. You're
not for sale. You never have been." He kissed her so passionately that she
didn't want him to leave.
"Jack, I want you to stay
with me tonight." She grabbed his hand, taking him with her into her room.
"Really?" he asked.
"Yes. I want you to take me
to the stars tonight." She smiled at him, remembering the night in the
car.
"Anything you want, Rosie.
Anything at all." They closed the door behind them. Inside, one could hear
laughing and kissing noises.
Rose was happy that she had found
Jack. She would never regret what she had done to live in New York alone. For
once in her life, she was happy and not sad.