THE SHIP OF DREAMS
Chapter Five

"Hurry up!" Mac’s voice rang out over the din as she led her father and Anastasia along after breakfast. The Titanic would be casting off in exactly an hour, and they wanted to get to the ramp before the docks became too crowded, not that they weren’t already.

"Slow down, honey!" Jack laughed, finally catching up to her. "Doing all right, Ana?" he added over his shoulder to the Grand Duchess, who was dragging her suitcase along and panting. Jack stopped and waited for her, taking her suitcase and lifting her into one arm. "Better?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes." Anastasia giggled, steadying herself against him as he carried her.

"Stay right with us, Mac. I don’t want you getting lost," Jack ordered, finding a good spot to stand and wait to board. Mac stood gaping at the enormous ship, holding onto her father’s hand tightly. Jack eventually let Anastasia down, and the two girls stood side by side, their heads up, their mouths hanging open. The ship looked even bigger today than it had when they’d first seen it.

"All right, girls. Let’s get ready to board. Let me get the tickets." He reached into the pocket of his black overcoat and pulled out the three yellow passes the Tsar had presented him with and, as a joke, a horrified expression came over his face. Anastasia and Mac stared at each other and then looked back at him, wide-eyed.

"Oh, no," Mac wailed.

"You didn’t forget them!" Anastasia gasped.

"Hmm. I could have sworn they were in here--wait--what are these?" He grinned and pulled out the three yellow sheets, his blue eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Papa! You nearly scared us half to death!" Mac cried in disbelief.

Jack hugged her. "I’m sorry, sweetheart. I couldn’t resist. Forgive me?" he asked.

"Of course. Just never pull something like that again, will you?" She poked him jokingly in the side, and he ruffled her hair and kissed her.

"I promise, love."

"Look at that car!" Anastasia squealed when a horn honked, and they turned, to see a beautiful red and brown car pulling down the street. Mac had seen fancy cars before, but this certainly was beautiful, and she wondered if it also belonged to royalty. When Mac suggested the idea to her father, he shook her head. "I have no idea, honey. It could be possible."

"Highly unlikely," Anastasia broke in.

"Why?" Mac asked.

"Because most imperial families have their own private ships like we do. They don’t want a lot of publicity. I mean, even my father changed my name on my ticket so I wouldn’t be recognized."

Mac nodded in understanding. "Oh." She sighed sadly. "I’m going to miss the Standart. I really enjoyed dancing with the officers and going swimming. I’ll miss everything about Russia."

Anastasia frowned. "Maybe you can come back and visit one day, Mac," she offered.

"Maybe." Mac shrugged.

"Oh, girls, looks like they’re getting ready to open the doors. Let’s get ready, all right?" Jack took a deep breath and lifted up his suitcase, watching as the girls did the same.

"Can’t wait!" Anastasia cried, jumping up and down.

"Third class passengers must go through the health inspection!" a guard was shouting ,and whistles were soon blown, and the crowds began cheering as passengers made their way towards the inspection que.

"Health inspection?" Anastasia asked with confusion. She’d never had to go through one of them before.

"To make sure neither of us have contracted any foreign diseases that might be brought to the country," Jack explained, understanding why she was puzzled.

"But--"

"Oh, please. It’s not a big deal. Your mother had everything sterilized in the palace, anyway--we have nothing to worry about." Mac’s eyes bulged before she looked up to her father, remembering that he had been sick for a long time while at the palace. "Papa? What about you?"

"Honey, pneumonia isn’t contagious," Jack insisted. "Let’s go, girls. Don’t worry. This will take no time at all." He gave each of them a nudge, and they hurried towards the line that had started to form by the officer who was in charge of the inspection. Anastasia was still pouting over the idea, but she obliged nonetheless. The price I pay for a friend, she thought, shaking her head with a sigh, but lifted her chin and puffed out her chest, ready to go.

*****

The fancy cars pulled to a stop by the docks, and Lovejoy stepped out of one, aiding Ruth DeWitt Bukater to the ground. Coddie Anna, dressed in a white lace and silk gown that had a high neck and a large straw hat, peered out the window, watching the goings-on, until her door opened and Cal held his hand out to her.

"Coddie." Rose chuckled. "Come back, dear."

Coddie Anna blinked, and realized Cal was right in front of her.

"Oh! Sorry." She accepted his hand and stepped out of the car, nearly tripping in her heels, but her mother caught her. She cursed silently as she held onto her mother’s arm for support so she wouldn’t fall again.

"I don’t see what all the fuss is about," Rose told Cal. "It doesn’t look any bigger than the Mauritania."

Coddie Anna looked over her shoulder, stunned at how many people were here.

"You can be blasé about some things, Rose," Cal replied, "but not about Titanic. It’s over a hundred feet longer than the Mauritania, and far more luxurious."

Coddie Anna gasped. "What’s in it? The Mauritania was very big. I thought it had everything!"

Cal chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder, pointing up at the ship with his black walking stick. "Squash courts, a Parisian café…even Turkish baths and a swimming pool for you." He winked. "You’ll look lovely in the new bathing suits we bought for you."

Coddie Anna blushed slightly, and looked up at her mother, who glared at Cal.

"So this is the ship they say is unsinkable?" Ruth asked.

"It is unsinkable. God himself could not sink this ship."

A porter soon came up to them, a whistle in his hand, noticing their enormous amount of luggage. "Sir, you’ll have to check your baggage through the main terminal, ‘round that way--"

Cal took out a roll of bills from his pocket and handed them to the porter, much to Coddie Anna’s disgust. God forbid, he had to always use money to get out of doing a little bit of work.

"I put my faith in you, good sir. Now, kindly see my man." He pointed to Lovejoy, and the porter walked over.

"Mama," Coddie Anna whispered, and Rose knelt down a little so she could hear her daughter better over all of the noise.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I’m scared."

"Oh, love, why are you scared?"

"I don’t know. I don’t want to go on a ship. I’d rather go on a train…"

Rose hugged her. "Shh. It’s going to be all right. Cal is right. After all, it is supposed to be unsinkable, the Titanic."

"Supposed to be," Coddie Anna whispered.

Rose frowned and stood up, taking her daughter’s hand in her own, as Cal announced finally, "Well, ladies, we’d better hurry." He nodded towards the ship. "They’re letting us on." The DeWitt Bukaters and Cal moved into the crowd. Coddie Anna saw that Trudy Bolt, Rose’s maid, was hustling behind them, carrying a few of her mistresses’ most recent purchases, things too delicate for baggage handlers.

They passed by the health inspection line and headed up the ramp. Coddie Anna felt her heart pounding with anxiety as she followed behind her mother, trying not to stumble in her high heels, and they reached the entrance. One of the ship’s officers greeted them in his heavy British accent and told them, "Welcome to Titanic." It took every ounce of courage for Coddie Anna not to turn and bolt back down the ramp.

*****

Callista, Sam, and Michael arrived at the Titanic’s dock in plenty of time before the ship was to depart. "Okay. First," Sam began. "We have to go through the inspection que, since we’re traveling in third class. That shouldn’t take too long, as all of us are perfectly healthy from what I know. Right?" He gave Michael a stern look.

Michael nodded. "I’m all right. Do you think Anastasia’s already here?"

Sam checked his watch. "I’m not sure. But we have the Dawsons’ cabin number, so we’ll wait around there to see if they come out."

"Okay."

"Let’s go, Sam. We’re wasting time," Callista announced, and the three of them made their way to the immigrant inspection line. The docks were so crowded with onlookers and passengers waiting to board that they hardly made it through to the immigrant line.

There were three guards checking passengers, and a guard with blonde hair and brown eyes took care of them. "All right. You’re good," he announced, after checking them over. "Where are you from?"

"Russia, sir. St. Petersburg."

"Welcome aboard Titanic, then."

"Thanks. Let’s go," Sam ordered, and they dashed up the ramp to the main entrance, and Sam handed their three tickets to the guard.

"Right, then. Go on." They hurried inside the ship, and Michael gasped. It was the most beautiful place imaginable. "Would you look at this?" he asked, smiling. "Like a hotel!"

"Well, third class won’t be this much of a picnic. I’ll give you that," Sam admitted. "But that’s all the Tsar could get, so we’ll have to deal with it."

"Not that it matters, eh?" Michael added. "We’re still on the grandest ship in the world on its first ever voyage! This is something we’ll remember for a lifetime."

Callista smiled. "Michael’s right, Sam. Enjoy what we have. A lot of people won’t get this opportunity, even if we are stuck down in steerage."

"Have you ever gone to watch one of the princesses on a ship?"

"Okay, okay. I get it," Sam barked. They started downstairs towards the third class quarters. "First we’ll get our room, drop off our things, and then we’ll head towards the Dawsons’ cabin."

"What number is it?" Callista asked, struggling with her big leather suitcase.

"360."

"All right, then." And the three of them made their way to their room.

*****

Jack, Mac, and Anastasia eventually passed the health inspection and were allowed to board the ship. Mac could not believe how big it was when they entered. "Like a hotel on the water!" she gasped, and Jack laughed.

"It is like a hotel, isn’t it, sweetheart?" he asked. "Let’s go up to the top deck and wave good-bye to England. Shall we, girls?"

They nodded in excitement and followed him with their things to the main deck, where passengers were standing at the rails waving to family members or friends who were below on the sidewalk. Jack lifted both girls into his arms and they began waving to the crowds once they could get a better look.

"Bye bye, England!" Mac and Anastasia called, blowing kisses also. Jack smirked, but his heart skipped a beat slightly when the Titanic’s horn gave a few short but very loud blasts.

"Yay!" Anastasia squealed, stuffing her fingers into her ears, something she always used to do on the Standart. "Cast off! Whoa!" She nearly fell out of Jack’s arms, but he steadied her, chuckling.

"Careful," he warned.

After the lines were cut and the ship began to move, Jack took the girls and their luggage down to third class so they could unpack. Third class was very narrow and cramped, but to Anastasia it was perfect. They had to squeeze their way past crowds of immigrants who were flipping through phrase books, unable to read the English signs on the walls. Jack looked on either side of the corridors, trying to look for their room. "360," he whispered to himself. "360…ah…right here, girls." He set the bags down and pushed the door open. What met their eyes was quite surprising.

"Oh!" Anastasia gasped.

A medium-sized man was already there, unpacking his things onto one of the top bunks. He appeared to be Italian, and he seemed to realize people were watching him and turned around. A smile spread across his face, and he came over to Jack, stretching out his hand.

"Hello. Fabrizio di Rossi. A pleasure."

Jack shook the man’s hand. "Jack Dawson. I didn’t realize we were sharing a room."

"The ticket says 360. No?" Fabrizio showed Jack his ticket, and sure enough, it read Room #360.

"Well, that explains the two sets of bunks." Jack chuckled. "Not a problem. Nice to meet you, Fabrizio. This is my daughter, Mac, and her cousin, Anya."

"Beautiful girls," Fabrizio complimented.

"Thank you. All right, girls, pick which beds you’d like to stay in." Jack suddenly felt a tickle in his nose and his eyes began to water, and he sneezed loudly into the handkerchief he’d managed to pull out just in time.

"Uh-oh," said Mac, frowning.

"Bless you," added Anastasia.

"Are you all right?" Fabrizio chuckled, as Jack blew his nose.

"I think so. I might be allergic to something in here, that’s all." He cleared his throat and went over to start helping Anastasia and Mac get situated, but another harsh sneeze overtook him. "My goodness." He gasped.

Mac was giving her father a look of great concern, because she’d seen his allergies work up before, and it was usually not a pretty sight. Anastasia popped open her suitcase and was rummaging through it, pulling out one of her silk gowns with a purple sash. "Oh, honestly," she grumbled. "What was my mother thinking when she packed my suitcase? I’m not going to be attending anything formal."

Mac giggled. "She probably just wanted to make sure that you did not lose your dignity."

Another sneeze from Jack made the girls jump again.

"I can’t seem to stop sneezing," Jack told them, sitting down for a minute.

"I’m sorry, Papa," Mac apologized. "It’s probably dusty in here."

Fabrizio shook his head before setting his empty travel sack by the wall. "So, where are you all from?" he asked curiously.

"Russia," Mac explained. "How about you?"

"Italia," Fabrizio told her, smiling. "Actually, I was in France for a while, working, but I won my ticket on Titanic playing poker." He chuckled. "What is it you do?" he asked Jack.

Jack looked at Anastasia, who shook her head. "An artist," he finally spoke.

"I see. You must have made a lot of money to get tickets for the Titanic."

Jack smiled. "Yes, I did, in fact," he lied.

"Well, at least you’ve stopped sneezing for now," Mac told her father, sitting down beside him.

"For now," he agreed, kissing her on the forehead. "I think I should go outside for a breath of fresh air, and we can explore the ship a bit. How does that sound?"

Anastasia and Mac nodded in excitement.

"But we’re not allowed anywhere but in steerage," Mac complained. "What’s there to see in steerage?"

Jack cleared his throat and gave her a warning look, and she nodded. "I’m sorry, Papa."

"That’s all right, honey. Fabrizio, would you care to join us?" Jack stood up. Anastasia, who had claimed the other top bunk, made her way down the ladder and to the floor.

"Of course. I would be honored."

Jack laughed. "All right. Let’s go." He took Anastasia and Mac’s hands and led them out into the hallway. What they did not notice was that the three young adults in black that had been in the booth earlier that morning were following them, not far behind.

Chapter Six
Stories