TITANIC ROSE
Chapter Thirteen
"Some new year." Rose sighed as she
found a piece of tinsel on the floor from Christmas. Soon it will be a year
without Jack, she thought.
"We had our fun," Thomas said, as
he looked up from his paper. "It was our first holiday together, and I was
happy with it."
"Me, too. I guess I'm just in a
post-holiday depression. I always get like this after a holiday."
"That just means we'll have to cheer you
up." Thomas began to ponder what to do. "What makes you happy?"
"Don't you know by now?" Rose
walked over to the big chair and sat on his knee. "You make me
happy."
"Well, then how about we stay right
here?" Thomas asked with a smile, placing his paper on the small table
next to him. "I'm happy, you're happy, we're all happy."
Rose smiled back at him. "At least it's
your day off, so I don't have to watch you leave me. I hate when people do
that."
"Then I won't leave you unless I have to.
You have my word."
"Promise me this, Rose. Promise me
you will survive."
"I'll never let go, Jack. I'll never
let go…"
Never let go…
Never let go…
"It's getting late," Rose said,
rubbing her eyes. The tragic scene of that night was still so clear in her head.
"Maybe we should go to bed."
"I'll second that," Thomas said,
picking up his wife and holding her as a groom held his new bride across the
threshold. "If memory serves me correctly, I never carried you like this
when we got married."
"No, you didn't." Rose giggled
after she wrapped her arms around Thomas' neck. "But now you have your
chance, Romeo."
"Juliet."
Thomas kissed her as they made their way up
the stairs.
*****
"Who could that be?" Rose asked
herself as a knock sounded on the door. Thomas was at work. "Maybe it's
Myrtle."
Rose untied her apron and walked to the front
entrance. She almost died when she saw who it was.
"John Wilkes!"
Yes, it was John, all right. Here from New
York. "Never thought I'd find you, did you?" He drank from his
canteen of whiskey. He was obviously drunk, moreso than Rose had ever seen him.
"Leave! Leave right now!" Rose
commanded, pointing out into the road.
"You know, I never did tell your parents
about you, Rose," John said, stepping into the parlor. "I thought
maybe you'd be grateful and come back to me. But, no! You marry some other man
with more money. Is that how it goes?"
"I love my husband," Rose told him,
dragging him back to the door.
"Is that what you told your
fiancé?" John asked. "Or the father of your child?"
"Go away, John. Please, get out!"
Rose shoved him outside.
"I love you, Rose," John pleaded,
taking her hands in his. She struggled to free herself, but he kissed her before
she could get away.
"Get out!" Rose screamed, as she
pushed him into the snow bank in front of the porch. She slammed the door, and
collapsed into a sobbing pile against the wall. She could hear him outside,
cursing her under his drunken breath, and then she heard his car roar off.
"I don't need this," Rose cried
into her lap. "Not now, not ever. I can't deal with it. I believe he's the
reason my baby died, with all the stress he put me through. Having to make me
beg to stay..."
"Oh, Rose," Jack's voice said in
her ear. "You have nothing to worry about. He'll stay away. I
promise."
"Jack." Rose embraced him and
cried her tears. "Jack, I miss you so much. In the past month, it felt
like my whole past was coming to haunt me. Why, Jack? Why? Please, come back."
"You have Thomas, now, and I'm happy
you're happy with him."
"Oh, I'm terribly happy with Thomas.
But I miss you. Have you forgotten what we shared on Titanic? The things we
experienced? I'd never felt such love before, and it seems as though I'm supposed
to forget it and move on. I just can't."
"Don't forget." Jack kissed her
head, cradling her in his arms. "What I want you to do is remember, so you
treasure every moment with Thomas."
Rose smiled. "You always know how to
make me happy, Jack. Even when you’re dead." Jack laughed at this.
"Yeah, well, it's a gift. I miss you,
too."
"Will we ever be together
again?"
"If we aren't, I'd sue."
Rose laughed and fell asleep in his arms.
When she woke up, it was almost dark. Rose
could almost still feel Jack's presence. She missed him so much after her
dreams. They were so very real, and Jack was so very much alive in them.
*****
"Rose, is something wrong?" Thomas
asked, as he rolled over onto his side to face Rose's back in bed.
Rose turned around. "I can't sleep. I
don't know why. I've had such haunting dreams lately."
"Well, I'm right here to protect
you," Thomas joked. "Now, stop sitting up and lay down. I won't have
you exhausted tomorrow morning. And you need a good night's rest."
"You're right, as usual," Rose told
him, getting under the covers. "You're always right. How do you know so
much about your little wife? How do you do it?"
"It's a gift."
Rose remembered Jack using the same exact
phrase. "You know, Thomas," Rose began, yawning and closing her eyes.
"Maybe everything will be all right."
"I hope so," Thomas replied. He
turned out the light above the bed. "Now, get some sleep."