TITANIC ROSE
Chapter Fourteen
Rose brushed her hair and placed the brush on
the table. It had been a long day, and she was ready for a pleasant night of
dreaming, especially about Jack. She knew she was married to a wonderful man
and loved him very much, but Jack would always be her first.
"Good night, Rose." Thomas kissed
her neck and sat on the bed. Rose stood from her chair and sat next to her
husband.
"Thomas, I love you," she told him.
"I love you, too, Rose." Thomas sat
upright, looking into the eyes of the woman he loved more than anything in the
world. "Do you think I doubted that you loved me?"
"No, never, Thomas. I was just
saying...I don't know. I just wanted you to know. I love you."
"I love you, too," Thomas answered
her with a peck on the cheek. Rose blushed as he placed his arm around her
waist and pulled her into the bed. They lay in each other's arms until the next
morning.
*****
"I'm here, Rose. You know I can't
come every night."
"I know, Jack." Rose embraced
him and kissed him. "I just missed you tonight. And every night. Why did
you die, Jack?"
"I had to, Rose. Would you be with
Thomas now if I hadn't?"
"No, but that's not my point,
Jack," Rose said. She didn't cry now, or as often as she used to. She knew
Jack was always with her, and even when the pain felt like a sharp stabbing in
her heart, she strongly stood with his memory.
"Please, Rose. You know you can do
this," Jack said, making her turn to face him.
"It's just…it's not even a year. And
it feels as if it were yesterday."
"I know it does," Jack replied.
"Time flies, doesn't it? It seems like only the other day you were living
with that John guy."
"Jack, please don't bring him back
into the picture. That scare last week with him almost broke me. What if he
revealed me? And before we moved here, Mother and Cal almost found me. What am
I supposed to do about them all?"
"You can't erase your past like a
mistake in your writing, Rose," Jack said. "They will always be
there. Your mother, no matter what she ever said to hurt you, loved you. And
when she saw you step into that taxi the day after Carpathia docked, she
thought she could win you back. She's your mother."
"She hated you."
"It doesn't matter. Your mother just
wanted you to be well-off with Cal."
"I would have been better off with
you, either way. I hate her so much."
"You shouldn't." Jack hugged
her. They could hear a clock strike in the background, probably the old
grandfather clock Rose and Thomas had downstairs in the parlor. "I see
lots of things for you in the future, Rose. I promise you, you're going to have
lots of kids and a happy life."
"Jack, what?"
"This is the last time I can visit
for a while. The next time I see you will be when the time is right."
"The time is?" Rose then thought
of what he meant. "No, Jack. I can't wait that long. Are you crazy?"
"Yes, that's why I trust it." He
looked at her longingly and leaned down to kiss her on her full lips. Rose
brushed her fingers through his hair.
"Jack, I love you," she said, as
he unbuttoned the back of her dress. Rose quickly unbuttoned his shirt and
tossed it carelessly aside. If it was the last time she would see Jack for a
while, she was going to make the best of it. And apparently so was he.
*****
Rose stretched as she awoke from her dream.
The sunlight shone on her content face. Thomas was still holding her in his
arms. She kissed his forehead gently. He smiled.
Last night with Jack made everything clear
for her. No more mourning. Jack told her not to. She trusted him, and always
would. She wanted children terribly at this point, and could hardly wait until
her first-born. Jacquelyn wasn't even a baby when she was born, and Rose wanted
a child to nurture and coddle in every way a mother can.
"Rose, are you all right? You're never
as cheerful in the morning as you are today, and you've only been awake for
five seconds."
"I am just so happy," Rose replied,
turning on her side to face him and propping herself up on her left elbow.
"I had wonderful dreams last night, and I'm planning on having a wonderful
day. How about you?"
"Well, it's the weekend and I don't have
to go work at the stuffy old box they call a factory," Thomas answered,
smiling smugly. "I have a few ideas about what I'm going to do, as long as
you're there."
Rose giggled. "You know I love you more
than anything, Thomas."
"I had a hunch, Rose," he said.
*****
"Oh, dear." Rose felt her stomach
gurgle. She hadn't felt right all week, and now this.
"Is there something wrong, dear?"
Thomas asked over his paper and coffee. He was almost ready for work, and he
worried when Rose wasn't feeling well. It made him jumpy all day and anxious to
get home.
"I just don't feel well, is all,"
Rose replied. "Myrtle came to visit a few days ago, and she had the flu
when she got home. Maybe I caught something from her. I heard she's still in
bed with a temperature that won't quit."
"If that's the case, I'm taking the day
off," Thomas said. "I don't need you getting sick on me, there, my
sweet."
"But your paycheck won't have as much if
you skip," Rose argued. "No, you go to work. I'll be fine. If worse
comes to worst, I'll just go to bed. I'll be fine, dear. Please, I'm
fine."
"All right, but I'm going to leave a
little early just in case. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, Thomas." Rose smiled as he
kissed her. He picked up his coat and left for his job. Rose would miss his
company today.
A week. It had been a week since she last
heard Jack's voice in her dreams and seen his face. No picture could have ever
been so clear as his appearance in that dream. And she was glad she got to
spend one more evening with him before they were forever parted.
A sharp pang in her stomach sent her flying
out the door to Thomas. "Thomas, maybe I'm not all right. Can you get me a
doctor?"
"Right away. One lives at the end of our
road. I'll be back in a moment."
"Thank you." Rose kissed him
quickly as he hopped in the car. Something was wrong with her, and she knew it
couldn't be--could it?
*****
"A baby." The doctor confirmed
Rose's idea. "You're pregnant. Congratulations."
"What?" Rose asked. Then, she
smiled happily. She lay back on the bed with relief and laughed. "Oh, that
just makes my day!"
"Should we call in Mr. Calvert?"
"Please do," Rose told him.
"But don't tell him anything, Dr. Stevens. I want to tell him
myself."
"Fine with me," the doctor said, as
he went to fetch Rose's husband.
Thomas rushed in with a frantic look on his
face. "The doctor said it was urgent. Is there something wrong?"
Dr. Stevens excused himself and closed the
door. "I'm afraid it will change our lives forever," Rose replied in
the gravest voice she could. Then she perked up and smiled again. "I'm
pregnant!"
Thomas sighed in disbelief and shock. Then he
shook it off and smiled, too. "Rose, this is terrific! I can't believe it!
We're going to be parents!"
"I know, and I'm so happy I feel like
I'm going to burst!" Rose hugged Thomas, who hugged her back.
"I guess everything has turned out all
right for you, then?" Thomas asked.
"My life is perfect."