THE HEART GOES ON
Chapter Eight
Mid-October, 1912
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Rose
The sign on the station read Chippewa
Falls. We grabbed our valises and slung them wearily onto the platform.
Jack helped me alight from the train. It had been a three-day train ride,
stopping at rural stations and towns, meandering our way to Jack’s home.
"God, it’s good to be back.
Strange, but good," he said to no one in particular. I shivered in the
chill October winds. "Yep, it’s cold here," Jack remarked, pushing
his windblown blond hair out of his eyes, which were shining with excitement.
"You get the breeze straight off Lake Wissota."
"Are you going to go ice
fishing on it?" I teased, picking up the nearest case.
"Mmm…nope. Had enough of ice
to last a lifetime," he said. Jack grabbed the case from me. "No,
Rose. I’ll carry these. You just bring my portfolio." I carried the art
folder Jack was storing his work and all his tools in. He was certainly
prolific these days. His pencil was never off the paper. Hamish was looking
forward to new material for a spring exhibition. The recent collection had sold
very well, and we had a nice nest egg. The necklace was well-hidden in my case.
Jack had said we would go to Eau Claire, the biggest town nearby, and deposit
it in a safety deposit box. "Come on, Rosebud!" he called playfully
as we walked out of the station. "We’ll take a slow walk to the farmhouse,
and it’s not far. Aunt Janette is expecting us."
We walked slowly down the main
street. Being late evening, no one was about. The small number of shops were
closed. It was a quaint, rural, one-street town, but it was very leafy.
"It’s very pretty," I
said tiredly.
"You okay?" Jack asked,
looking back.
"Yes, just tired from
traveling, Jack, and a bit nervous about meeting Janette and William."
"Not far to go, darling,
just down this track and through the gates at the end," he remarked.
Ten minutes later, we arrived at
small but pretty brown, old-fashioned looking farmhouse surrounded by a few
fields. There were chickens rushing about in the yard and I could hear some
cows mooing in the nearby small cowshed. There was a light on in the downstairs
of the house. Jack knocked briskly on the oak door.
A small, gray-haired woman with
heavy lines around her eyes opened the door. She was dressed old-fashioned in a
black, high-necked dress with an apron over it. Her gray hair was in a bun. She
looked at Jack and burst into tears, not seeing me at all. "Jack! Jack!
Oh, you’re back!" she sobbed, and hugged him so hard he dropped the cases.
"Auntie," he said, and
kissed her cheek.
She stepped back, wiped her eyes,
and took a long, hard look at Jack, not believing what she could see.
"Jacky, you’re grown. My, you’re the image of James, your pa," she
said.
"Auntie, I’m so happy to be
here," Jack breathed. "This is my wife, Rose," he said,
indicating me. I stood shyly with the portfolio clutched to my chest.
Aunty Janette’s eyes swept over
me and the happy look that had been in her eyes as the sight of her beloved
Jack turned frosty, as her ice blue eyes, just like Jack’s, surveyed me coolly.
"My, you’re a one," she
said in a cold tone. "A hoity-toity one, by all appearances."
Jack
My jaw dropped as Janette took in
Rose. She read her in a trance. All of Rose’s demeanor spelled out what class
she was, even dressed simply. Rose’s chin stuck out in defiance. "Nice to
meet you, too," she drawled in an imperious voice, strains of Ruth coming
through in her sarcastic tone.
"Aunty, please. We have been
traveling for days. I did wire you that I was bringing my wife." My voice
rose in displeasure.
Janette recovered herself.
"Yes, Jack. I wasn’t thinking. I was just surprised. Come in and warm
up." She looked at Rose. Rose’s eyes were flashing with anger "And
you, too, ma’am," Aunty finished.
*****
We were sitting around the table
near the fire, sipping hot tea, Aunty still eyeing Rose and Rose eyeing Aunty.
"Rose, is it?" Aunty
inquired.
"Yes," said Rose. Her
cheeks flushed and she looked beautiful. Her hand went to her middle and rested
there.
"There’s a baby on the way,
I see," Aunty said. "When’s it due?"
"In January!" Rose
retorted sourly.
"Aunty Janette, I know it’s
a shock seeing me grown-up, married, and with a baby on the way," I said
curtly. Aunty heard the tone in my voice and raised her eyebrows. "We
don’t need this coldness," I continued. "We have been through hell.
We both nearly died on the Titanic. Rose has been through hell. Yes, as you’ve
guessed, she is an upper class woman, but we love each other, and that’s all
that matters."
Aunty said nothing. I had always
remembered Janette as a homely, loving woman. This distaste for Rose was not
nice.
Rose sat quietly, eyes lowered,
biting back weariness and anger.
"We’ll find a hotel in the
morning," I said testily.
Aunty sighed. "Oh, no need
for that, Jack, dear," she said in warmer tones. "I must apologize.
It’s just a shock to me. You look like quite the young man, and Rose is quite a
picture, a typical redhead, I guess." She chuckled. Rose managed a faint
smile. "Trust you, Jack, to pick yourself a stunner." Aunty laughed.
The tension in the room lessened.
"William will be in soon.
He’s just closing down. Now, let me show you where your room is. I am sure you
need a good night’s sleep. We’ll talk in the morning. There will be breakfast
for the pair of you." She smiled at me, picked up a candle, and said she’d
show us to our room.
Janette went over to Rose and
took her hand. Rose was taken aback.
"We’ll get to know each
other, dear. I wasn’t expecting such a lovely, well-educated lady, Mrs. Dawson.
We’ll chat tomorrow."
Rose, speechless for once, nodded
and went up the stairs to bed.
Once in the small but cozy room,
we undressed quickly and huddled together in the big bed.
"Your Aunty seems very
unsure of me," Rose whispered sleepily.
"Oh, she’ll be fine. She’s
very caring," I said. Then, exhaustion claimed us, and we slept, curled up
together.