TITANIC ROSE
Chapter Eleven
"Hmm." Rose moaned slightly the
next morning as she woke to the sunlight. She stretched and noticed her husband
laying next to her, in a deep sleep. She could hear soft snores coming from his
direction, and snuggled up against his back.
"Rose," Thomas whispered, as he
woke from his sound slumber. He realized that he was now married, and that he
had just had a wonderful night with Rose, filled with passion.
He turned over so he could face Rose's slim
figure. They lay under the sheets, kissing for a moment, enjoying their first
morning together. Rose hadn't wanted last evening to end. It was perfect;
everything went right.
"I'm going to make some coffee,
dear." Rose tried to escape his hold with a giggle.
"No, you're going to stay right
here," Thomas answered her, with soft kisses on her shoulder, moving down
her side.
"Thomas, it's almost eleven o'clock. We
should get up soon."
"And go where?" Thomas asked with a
grin, preventing her from leaving. "Let's stay here all day."
"We have the rest of our lives,"
Rose stated, laughing as he kept pulling her back. "What if the neighbors
came by? We'd be in an awful condition, wouldn't we?"
"I don't care," Thomas replied.
"I love you. I want you to stay here."
"All right. But only for a little while,
and only because I like you."
*****
"This place is beautiful." Rose
squeezed Thomas' hand as they walked down the wooded path that led to the lake.
"It reminded me of you when I first saw
it."
The air was chilly, but not as cold as it
should have been for December. Rose wore a long coat, almost identical to
Cal's, except this one didn't hold a certain necklace so dear to her.
"What's over here by the path?"
Rose asked, venturing toward the small cliff overlooking the lake. She could
see nothing below but water, not even the ground beneath her feet. Below was a
vast blue lake with nobody on it, and it was as still as water could be. Reflecting
everything around it, the lake was gorgeous.
"Almost like flying, isn't it?"
Thomas asked, holding her waist and snuggling his head in the crook of her
neck.
"Jack, I'm flying!"
"Come, Josephine, in my flying
machine..."
"Rose? Are you all right?"
She snapped out of her flashback and realized
where she was. The ocean became the lake, and Jack became Thomas. The clear air
became the canopy of trees.
"Yes, I'm all right. I was just taken
aback by the beauty of the lake, is all."
"Would you like to go and see it up
close?"
"Of course. I just wish it wasn't so
cold. Even New York was warmer."
They traveled down the dirt path to the
water, still as it could be. Few noises were heard, and Rose and Thomas were in
their own world. Thomas watched as Rose walked toward the water. A sudden fear
swept over her.
"Jack, there's a boat. Jack. Jack!
Jack, there's a boat."
She shuddered at the remembrance of the
chill, and pulled her coat tighter. Why, today, were all the memories flooding
back?
"You're pale," Thomas stated, putting
his arms around her shoulders. "Maybe we should go back."
"Maybe we should. It is a bit chilly.
I'm surprised there's no snow."
"I hope it's a white Christmas. The way
things are going, it may be brown and dead."
"I almost forgot about Christmas,"
Rose told him, as they retreated from the water's edge. "I guess with
everything going on, it slipped my mind."
"I love this time of year. All the
merriment and festivities. And our first together."
"That makes it all worthwhile."
Rose smiled as they approached the house.
*****
"I love you, Rose."
"Jack!" Rose exclaimed, as she
sat up in bed. Not just any bed, but a bed on Titanic. She recognized her
surroundings and reached out to touch them. Then, she reached for Jack.
"Did you think I'd forgotten
you?" Jack asked, walking towards her. He sat on the bed beside her and
held her close. "Stop crying, for God's sake. Yes, it's really me."
"But you're--"
"Dead, yeah, I know. It happens to
the best of us." He laughed and shrugged it off. "But that doesn't
mean I can't still be here with the woman I love."
"Jack, I love Thomas. And I love you.
You know that, so don't think I betrayed you in any way--"
"Betrayed me?" Jack asked.
"No, you didn't do that. Did you think it was just fate Thomas found you
on the street? I wanted to see you safe."
"You mean--"
"I've been here all the time, Rose.
All you need to do is remember, and I'll be there."
The room began to grow brighter and fade
away. "I must go," Jack told Rose. "Remember what I said."
"I love you, Jack."
"I love you, too, Rose. And I miss
you..."
*****
"Rose. Wake up, darling."
"Mmm, Jack," Rose mumbled, with a
smile as she turned over in bed, only to see the blank stare of her bewildered
husband. "Oh, Thomas..."
"Are you better?"
"Much better, thank you," Rose
replied, adjusting herself against the backboard. "I guess I dozed off
there for a minute."
"More than a minute. An hour."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Thomas. I'll go make
dinner right now."
"That's not it, Rose. Who is Jack? You
kept speaking of him in your sleep."
Rose opened her mouth as if to say something,
and then closed it again. "I--he--we--oh, God, Thomas, can't we have this
conversation later?"
"No."
"He was my brother," Rose lied.
"He died on Titanic. Are you happy now?" At least it was only half a
lie.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I wouldn't have brought
it up if I thought it wasn't important."
"No, it's all right, Thomas. You
couldn't have known. I haven't told many people about what happened that night,
and the pain is still there."
"I hope it heals."
"It's been eight months, Thomas,"
Rose said, with tears in her eyes. "In four months, it will be a year. Why
does it still hurt?"
"Because you still love Jack."
"You're trembling."
"I'll be all right."
"What?"
"Your brother."
"Oh, yes, Jack. Yes, I loved him
deeply."
They sat in silence for a few more minutes.
"Well, how about that dinner?" Rose asked, as she hopped out of bed.
"That sounds good to me."