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.