THE SHIP OF DREAMS
Chapter Twenty-Four
Cal knocked on the door of Rose
and Coddie Anna’s suite an hour or so after Rose had returned to the hospital
wing, and was not the least bit surprised to get silence as a response.
"Coddie Anna?" he called, knocking again. He hadn’t seen the young
girl since the previous afternoon, and was starting to get a little worried
about her. "Are you in here?" He tried the doorknob and found it to
be unlocked. He turned it, pushing the door open, and found Coddie sitting on
her bed.
"There you are!" He
stopped short as he started to enter, realizing that she was staring at the
wall with a blank expression on her face, clutching her pillow against her
stomach. Her auburn curls were untidy, and her clothes were rumpled as though
she had fallen asleep in them. Cal hesitated for a moment before deciding to
walk up to Coddie Anna, and sat down on the bed next to her. "What
happened?" he asked, and she turned to him, her eyes red-rimmed and her
cheeks wet with tears.
"Nothing." She turned
away, lying down on the flat mattress, curling into a ball.
"Where is your mother? I
haven’t seen her since last night at dinner, and she didn’t even stay for the
meal. Has she been back here?"
Coddie Anna shrugged, snuffling.
"Don’t know." She vaguely remembered feeling someone tuck her in that
night, but she had been dead to the world as far as she was concerned. Cal had
a sickening feeling that he knew exactly where Rose had been and where she
currently was, but he kept his mouth shut for the moment. He would worry about
that later.
He remembered the sign he’d
passed after coming out of the dining room, announcing a children’s ball that
night, and wondered if Coddie Anna would show any interest in it. "There’s
going to be a dance tonight," he announced, and almost instantly Coddie
sat up, wiping her cheeks with the heels of her hands.
"Where?" she croaked,
and he grinned.
"The Palm Court. My guess is
they’ll be removing the tables and chairs so you have a dance floor."
"Who would I go with?"
she asked, not sure if she felt too comfortable going alone. Many of the formal
dances or dinners she’d attended with her mother.
"I’m sure I can set you up
with some nice gentleman. Oh, not me." He laughed when she looked slightly
disappointed. "I wouldn’t be able to pass off as a child if I tried!"
"I guess I would like
that," she told him, sounding a bit more cheerful.
"Good!" Cal stood up.
"Change your clothes, and since you missed lunch, I’ll take you to get
something else to eat."
That sounded good enough to her,
and Coddie Anna managed a bleak smile as she watched him leave the room to give
her privacy. As she removed her dress, she stood before the mirror, horrified
at her appearance. She quickly removed the clip from her hair, shaking her head
around to fluff out her hair, and giggled as it covered her face. She took her
hairbrush from her night table, brushing out the knots, and peered over at the
desk. The calendar read April 14, 1912, which meant they had been sailing for a
grand total of four days. They would most likely be reaching New York by the
evening of the eighteenth, and frankly, Coddie Anna could not wait to get
there.
She changed her clothing and
washed her face, allowing her hair to hang loose for the time being rather than
pull it back into its usual ribbon. It was when she entered the small bathroom
that she noticed a handwritten note lying on the sink. She peered closely at
it, realizing it was her mother’s writing, and she quickly picked it up.
Coddie Anna,
I knew eventually you would
come in here, and I did not want Cal to find this in case he came in to see
you. Jack is very ill, and I have made accommodations for him to be taken care
of in the first class infirmary.
Coddie Anna felt her stomach
twisting with guilt, wondering if her behavior towards him at lunch the
previous day had triggered this…he hadn’t looked very well to begin with.
Still, she did not want her mother to force them into poverty by marrying Jack,
and she was really starting to like Cal.
Please do not mention anything
to Cal about this right now…if the time comes, I will handle it. If you need
anything, I will probably be at the hospital wing, or I will be making periodic
trips back to the stateroom. I am sorry for having treated you the way I did
the other night, but dear, you need to learn to control your temper. I was just
so angry at the time, and I certainly do not hide the fact that you get your
temper from me. I would please ask that you at least give Mr. Dawson a
chance…and please pray for him in church this afternoon.
Love Always,
Mother
Coddie Anna was not sure if she
should jump up and down with relief, knowing her mother truly did not hate her,
or should she feel angry again? There was another knock on the door, and she
quickly folded the letter, stuffing it into the pocket of her skirt. "I’m
coming!" she called, quickly checking herself in the mirror once more
before slipping into her flats and greeting Cal again. He stared at her as she
came out, and let out a small whistle of approval.
"You shouldn’t have any
trouble getting a date for the ball," he said, and she blushed, smiling.
"Your grandmother stopped by and she is going to meet us at the café in a
little while, once she finishes writing her letter."
"All right, then."
Coddie Anna shut the door and locked it, chewing on her lower lip. She felt
strange going to eat without her mother, and with the thought of the letter
secretly tucked away, her heart raced a bit more quickly than usual. She
followed Cal down the deck and towards the café, deciding to just enjoy herself
and try to get back on track with her life.
*****
Rose felt herself slipping into
an almost trance-like state as she sat watching Jack sleep. The lunch hour had
come and gone, and she refused…despite the doctor’s warning about starving
herself by accident…to go. One of the nurses brought her a small plate, which
she barely touched. She jumped when she heard the door to the hospital wing
open, and half-expected to turn around and see Mac and her cousin Ana
returning, but to her utter surprise, that was not the case at all.
"Coddie Anna?" she
practically whispered, and her daughter stood about two feet away, holding the
note she’d left for her in her hand.
"I’ve come to say I am truly
sorry about how I behaved the other day at lunch," Coddie Anna replied in
a quiet voice, not wanting to disturb Jack. "But I also came to say I’m
not sorry for how I feel about your relationship with him." She wet her
lips, and her eyes were sorrowful. For a moment, neither of them spoke, but
then Rose nodded.
"You are allowed to have an
opinion."
"Mother, I do wish you would
tell Cal you are not interested in marrying him. It would make things much
easier for you if he knew. You will get yourself into more trouble by hiding
it, you know."
Rose managed a small smile.
"It is not as though I did not think of these things," she replied
softly. "Coddie Anna, I understand how you feel about this. I did not
expect any of it to happen. I truly didn’t. But please try to understand how I
feel. Do I look like a person who would agree to walk one step behind someone
for the rest of their life?"
Coddie Anna frowned. "Cal
would not make you do that," she started, but Rose cocked her head.
"He does love you, Mom. He told me so."
Well, isn’t that a funny thing.
Rose shook her head,
turning back to Jack. "Allow me to make this decision."
"But if you make it…we’ll
be…" Coddie Anna paused, and Rose closed her eyes.
"Poor. That is exactly what
you were going to say, wasn’t it?"
Coddie Anna blushed with
embarrassment and looked down at her hands. "Mother, I do not want to be
poor…I’ve never been poor in my life, and I’ve seen people who are, and it
looks awful…what would you do for money if you marry Jack? He probably has
nothing!"
"I do not choose who I love
over riches. Love should not center around money, Coddie Anna. Money only ruins
things. It cannot buy true happiness. Jack is the first man since your father
who has made me feel as though I have reason to continue living."
Coddie Anna started to say
something else when Jack started coughing and shifted around a bit. He moaned
softly, only settling back down when Rose smoothed his forehead.
"Shh," she whispered. "Coddie Anna, sometimes you must overcome
obstacles in your life to get to where you want to be both physically and
spiritually. Nothing is ever easy." She managed a small smile as she
offered her daughter a hug, which Coddie Anna accepted, and then held her
hands. "So, Cal told you about the ball tonight?" she asked, and
Coddie Anna nodded.
"Yes," she replied,
smiling again herself.
"Who is your date? Is he
handsome?"
Coddie Anna snickered. "Why,
honestly, Mother, do you think I’d have agreed to go with him otherwise?"
"What’s his name?"
"Jonathan Hyden. First
class, of course…we met him at the Palm Court when Cal took me to get something
to eat, since I missed lunch."
"I’m not familiar with that
last name…how old is he?"
"He is fourteen, so only
three years older than I am. He’s tall, and has black hair and brown eyes…and
the most amazing smile. He just saw me and came over, and said, ‘Miss, I could
not help but notice you…’ and then we started talking, and he asked if I were
going to the ball tonight…" Rose nodded for her to go on. "And I told
him I was. So, then…meanwhile, Cal was standing beside me and I can tell he was
trying really hard not to laugh…and then Jonathan asked if I had a date. I told
him no, that I hadn’t had time to ask around, so he said he’d be honored to
take me."
"That’s wonderful,"
Rose replied, thrilled that her daughter was feeling cheerful again despite the
circumstances. "Shall I help you pick out an outfit to wear?"
Coddie Anna looked at Jack and
shook her head. "Grandmother wants to."
"Ah…" Rose nodded.
"Well, I shall certainly have to see you off. My daughter going to her
very first ball…very exciting indeed!"
Coddie Anna beamed. "I’m
afraid he apologized in advance that he can’t dance well." She giggled.
"He told me he’ll try not to have my toes all black and blue by the
end."
"Oh, dear…I’m sure he’ll
practice for you." Rose chuckled.
"I do hope they have plenty
of waltzes…" Coddie Anna grinned. "I do know how to lead if he does
not."
Rose nodded. "You’ll have a
wonderful time."
"Mother, I…I am sorry Jack
is not feeling well. What did the doctor say he had?"
"He has pneumonia. It’s too
early to tell the seriousness of it, though he’s been sleeping most of the time
since we brought him in. It’s hard to tell how he truly feels…he hasn’t really
spoken since last night."
Coddie Anna peered over at Jack,
fiddling with the sleeve of her dress. "Oh…" She reached over to take
his hand, which, despite the fact that his body was burning, was ice cold. Jack
suddenly gasped and his eyes snapped open with alarm. She jumped back,
startled.
"Coddie Anna, honey, just go
before anything happens…" Rose begged, giving her daughter another hug and
kiss. "Please…I’ll be up to see you before the ball."
Coddie Anna stepped back,
nodding, and then hurried out of the hospital wing. Rose held onto Jack’s hand
as his breath came in short gasps, and she took the washrag out of the bowl on
the table, wringing it out and dabbing his forehead and cheeks with it.
"Where am I?" he whispered, and Rose frowned. "Who are
you?" He swallowed past his swollen throat, and she choked on tears.
"Jack…it’s me."
"Alyiah?" he croaked,
trembling a bit more roughly.
"No, sweetheart…"
"What have you done with
her?" Jack asked, his voice hoarse as he struggled to sit up. "What
have you done with her?"
"Jack!" Rose felt her
heart racing as she was nearly knocked off of her chair. "Jack, please,
calm down…it’s me. It’s Rose…you remember who I am…you know you do!" She
watched as he stared at her, his eyes wide and full of panic.
"Rose?" he gulped, and
then he started to shake again. Only this time, it was not a natural shaking
from chills…he was shaking as though…
"Oh, my God…" Rose held
him, shouting anxiously for the doctor. He was having some type of a seizure.
"Jack! Jack, please…please, sweetheart…oh, God…"
Dr. O’Loughlin immediately
hurried over after having heard her shout, and stopped short at the sight of
the patient. "Move aside," he ordered, and the nurse helped her do
so, encouraging her to take deep, slow breaths so she wouldn’t faint.
"Come with me," the
nurse told Rose softly, and started to lead her away, but Rose refused.
"I can’t," she replied.
"Until we calm him down. You
may distract him from allowing the doctor to do what he needs…he’s having a
seizure. We’ve dealt with these before…the fever gets too high, so we need to
tranquilize him before we can cool him properly."
Rose wanted to protest again, to
demand that she be allowed to stay. But the sight of Jack shaking so violently
and the sight of his eyes rolling into the back of his head made her feel
suddenly very dizzy. "Oh…" She swayed, darkness clouding her vision.
"Ma’am…come and sit
down," the nurse told her, but Rose barely took a single step forward when
she crumpled to the ground in a dead faint.