THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HEAVEN
Chapter Seven
Rose had been sick. She had kept it to
herself. So many years ago, when Jack died, she was sick for a while, but this
was different. Something was wrong. She couldn't be happier now that she had
Jack. She decided to make an appointment with a doctor. Jack went with her to
the doctor's office. She went up to the window.
"I have an appointment," Rose said.
"Okay. Fill out this form, and the
doctor will be right with you," the nurse said.
Name: Rose Elisabeth Dawson
Address: 31 Hamilton Terrace, New York NY 10031-6447
Date of Birth: October 5, 1895
Age: 18
Sex: Female
Marital Status: Married
Last period: April 5, 1912
Allergies: None
People to notify in case of emergency: Jack Dawson (husband), Ruth O'Riley
(mother)
"Those were simple questions," Rose
said to herself.
"Rose Dawson," the doctor called.
"Yes? I'm Rose Dawson. This is my
husband, Jack." Rose was nervous.
"Mr. Dawson, would you please wait
outside?" the doctor said.
"Sure," Jack said. "Rose, I'll
be right here if you need me."
"Okay, Jack."
"How are we feeling, Rose?" the
doctor asked.
"Well, I throw up in the morning, and I
go to the restroom a lot."
"Okay. We'll start with a pregnancy
test. I'll need some of your blood."
The doctor got a syringe and inserted it into
Rose's arm. The sight of the blood made Rose nauseous.
"Okay, Rose, we're done. You can wait
outside while I get the results."
"Okay."
Rose was nervous. She wondered how Jack would
react if she was pregnant. She opened the door and saw Jack sitting there.
"Rose, what's wrong?" Jack asked.
"Nothing, yet. The doctor told me to wait
for the results," Rose said.
The doctor was checking the blood sample. He
found the answer he was looking for. The doctor came out.
"Rose."
"Yes?"
"Congratulations. You're pregnant."
Jack was shocked. Rose fainted. Jack got her
before she reached the ground. The doctor ran to get the smelling salts. Jack
put her on the gurney. As the doctor put the smelling salts to Rose's nose, she
started to wake up.
"Jack? What happened?" Rose
whispered.
"You fainted." Jack was worried.
"The doctor said I was pregnant. Jack,
it must be a mistake."
"No, Rose, it isn't." He couldn't
believe she said that.
"Jack, I'm so sorry."
"For what?"
"For being pregnant and ruining your
plans."
"Oh, Rose, no. I want this child."
"You do?" Rose was surprised.
"Yes. More than anything. From now on, I
am going to take care of you, Rosie."
The doctor came in.
"Rose, how are you feeling?"
"Fine."
The doctor checked her stomach. She was a
month pregnant. She was fine.
"Doctor, may I have a word with
you?"
"Sure, Mr. Dawson."
"Please, call me Jack."
"All right, Jack. What do you want to
know?"
"Is Rose able to do certain stuff?
Because, tomorrow we're supposed to head to Wisconsin."
"Yes, she will be able to make the trip.
But when she gets bigger she is going to need a lot of bed rest."
"This is kind of embarrassing, but can I
still make love to my wife?"
"Yes. Just not too forceful. Any more
questions?"
"No, that's about it." Jack was
pleased.
"When you get to Wisconsin, see that the
doctor contacts me. Here's my card. We're done now. You can go."
Rose got up.
"Are you all right, Rose?"
"Yes, Jack. I am fine."
They walked to their car and Jack drove them
back to Hamilton Brownstone. While Jack parked the car, Rose went inside the
little cozy apartment and laid on the bed. Tomorrow they would be in Chippewa
Falls, Jack's home town. Rose looked at her stomach and touched it.
She started to talk. "Hello in there.
I'm going to be your Mommy, and Jack, your father, is going to love you and
probably spoil you."
"Rose, who are you talking to?"
Jack had come into the bedroom.
"I'm talking to our son or daughter. I'm
telling him or her about us."
"Oh. May I, Rose?" Jack asked.
"Sure. Come on." He placed his hand
on her stomach.
"Hi in there. My name is Jack. I'm your
father, and your mother here is gonna be such a good mom, and I'll tell you
why. Because even though we hardly knew each other, she saved my life."
"And don't forget, Jack, you saved me,
too," Rose included.
"Okay, so we're a team. If you need
anything, you can count on us to get it for you. Are you tired, Rose?"
Jack asked her.
"No."
"All right, then. What shall we
do?" Rose had a sinister plan for Jack.
"I know," Rose said.
"Okay. What?"
"Come here, Jack."
He got closer to Rose. He knew what she
wanted. He kissed her with such sweet passion. He wanted her more than he ever
had. Even when they were on Titanic, it couldn't compare. Rose wanted him, too.
She remembered his hands, those wonderful fingers touching her naked body. She
was red in the face.
"Rose, don't be shy."
"I'm not, Jack."
He kissed her again, and placed his hand on
her face. He put the other hand on her breast. A little sound came from her.
"Rose, this isn't the first time."
"I know. It's just...things are
different now, and there's enough light that I can see every part of your
body."
"Rose, my precious little Rosie. Are you
saying that you're embarrassed to let me see your body?"
"No, Jack. I am not saying that. I'm
saying it's different, that's all."
"Well, Rose, I am going to show you
something."
He brought her close to the mirror.
"Look. Who's that beautiful woman
standing with me?"
"It's me, Jack."
He turned her around. "Look, Rose. Look
into my eyes. Tell me, what do you see?"
"Well, I see kindness, love, passion,
hope and security."
"You know what I see, Rose? A man in
love with you, who will take care of you for the rest of your life."
He kissed her, and started to take her
clothes off. He took off his shirt and kissed every part of her body, starting
with her belly. He faced her toward the mirror again, and she looked at
herself. Seeing him touch her with those large artist fingers tracing her
belly. Jack finally took his clothes off and let her stare at him.
"Come on, Rose." He took her to the
bed.
She looked at him from head to toe, wanting
to touch every part of him, and she did.
The next morning, Rose and Jack were packed
to head to Wisconsin. They stopped by the gallery to see Jason. Rose was
looking at the drawings. They were wonderful. She knew Jack was a great artist,
but these drawing were the best she had ever seen. Even Monet couldn't compete.
She finally passed a drawing she remembered. It was her. Jack must have
recreated it sometime when she wasn't around. She passed it by. Memories
flashed by her. It reminded her of the times when she was happy. Then she saw
the famous Madame Bijou. She remembered that drawing, when she had seen it in
Jack's drawing pad. And to say they were worth nothing. Jack was wrong. Jack
was in the office with Jason. Jack was telling him the final instructions
before he headed to Wisconsin. Also, Jack didn't know where the plane was. When
they were done, Jack found Rose staring at all the drawings.
"Jack, have you seen these?" Rose
asked.
"Not really. I remember then, though,
and all the places where I drew them," Jack remembered.
"Jack, can I ask you one question? When
did you have the time to draw this? I was with you most of the time, and you
never said anything about it." She pointed to the drawing of her with the
Heart of the Ocean.
"Well, I thought that was my best work,
so I redrew it when you were asleep. I copied it from the one you put in the
safe. You know, that morning after we were reunited again. I'm sure I drew
plenty of you. After all, I had a lot of time to wait for you. See, I told you.
You would die an old lady warm in her bed," Jack said.
Suddenly, a flash of light hit her, and she
fell to the floor. She saw herself lying in a bed on the Keldysh. Her
granddaughter Lizzy was crying. Brock Lovett was comforting Lizzy.
She could hear him say, "I'm so sorry,
Lizzy. I guess it was just her time."
When Rose came to, she was in Jack's office.
She started to cry. Jack ran to her.
"Rose, what's wrong?"
"I saw her, Jack. I saw my
granddaughter, Lizzy. I was dead."
"Oh, Rose. It finally came to you."
"What, Jack? What came to me?"
"The aftereffects of death. You see,
Rose, when I died I saw you survive. And I was glad that you kept your promise.
I just had to wait for you to come back to me if you still wanted me."
"What do you mean, Jack?"
"I thought you'd want to be with your
husband, James Calvert."
"I did love him, Jack, but it took me a
long while to face your death. You would have been my husband if you hadn't
died. I missed you so much. James understood and said to me to never forget you
and I never did. When I had my family, James knew I loved him and our sons, but
he knew that I would always keep you in a special place in my heart. Someplace
he could never touch. And he faced that. He even told me, when he died, that I
belonged with you, and to never regret being with you when I died. He loved me
so much, Jack, and I'm grateful for that. He sacrificed his love for me, so I
could move on to you in heaven."
"I'm so...I don't know what to say,
Rose. He was a great man. I would understand if you wanted to go back to
him."
"Jack, after all we've been through, I
could never leave you, but I love James, too. I love you, Jack, and I love
James, wherever he is."