TITANIC ROSE
Chapter Twenty-Six
"You do look wonderful with that child
on your arm." Lora smiled warmly at Rose as she traipsed through the
kitchen. "To think, my brother has a wife and child. It’s
unimaginable."
Rose spoon-fed Andrew some applesauce, and he
ate it happily. "It’s not so unimaginable. Thomas is wonderful, and he
loves Andrew more than anything. I just wish that his work would permit him to
be home with his family more. But his latest case is a tough one; so he says,
anyway."
"I am so glad he ended up marrying you,
in the end," Lora told her. "That first girl was horrible, but he
wouldn’t listen to anyone. The more we told him no, the less he would listen to
us. But he’s so in love with you, Rose. I swear upon the bible that Melissa was
just out of spite."
"Melissa? Was that her name?" Rose
asked innocently. Thomas had brought up the subject of this girl once before,
but didn’t really want to delve deeper into the subject, much like Rose didn’t
want to reveal her past in its entirety.
"Yes. But I’m sure you don’t want to
know anything about her. She was such a horrid woman, anyway. You could look
straight up her nose, she held it so high." Lora laughed. "And it was
a big one, too."
Rose smiled. Lora was known to always see the
best in people. It made her think, what could Melissa have done to give Lora
such a dreary outlook on Thomas’ relationship with Melissa? "Has Thomas
seen her since?"
"Since they stopped courting? I don’t
think so. And anyhow, she married some millionaire and moved to Canada
somewhere. They haven’t been in touch. And if they have been, I give you all my
permission to smack him senseless. She is a witch."
"And what wonderful things did she do to
earn that title?" Rose joked, holding Andrew on her knee. He giggled, a
speck of white showing in his gums...his first tooth.
Lora sat at the table next to Rose, eager, it
seemed, to tell the story. "She used Thomas. Took a little money, here and
there. She might have been rich, but that didn’t mean anything to her. Melissa
dwelled on the fact that Thomas was doting on her, buying everything she
needed. But he was never sure as to whether or not they should marry. Being my
brother, he confided in me with everything, and asked my opinion. I told him
the truth: that Melissa was an evil, conniving, little she-witch, and no, he
should not marry her."
"What did he say to that, I
wonder?" Rose grinned.
"He proposed to her, of course,"
Lora replied, and Rose frowned, bemused. "He eventually called it off,
after I told him he could certainly do better. And he did, my dear. He found
you. And I’m glad Thomas wasn’t bull-headed enough to marry that girl out of
spite for his family."
"I’m glad, too," Rose replied.
"I love him to death, Lora. It’s just that...well...he isn’t home much
anymore. Andrew needs him. I need him. I wonder if I’m fulfilling my duties as
a wife well enough."
"And what duties would those be?"
Lora asked with an evil grin. Rose blushed. "Oh, don’t worry, Rose. He
loves you and Andrew. He’s just extremely busy with his work, and adjusting to
California. And with fall setting in, don’t be surprised when frost doesn’t
cover the ground and leaves don’t blanket the lawn."
"I’m going to miss the snow," Rose
said. "On the other hand, after about a month, it got me depressed.
Everything was dead, and ugly, and there wasn’t any color, either. Fall was my
favorite, with the color. I can’t stand the double colors of gray and white
after the new year."
"It does get awful," Lora admitted.
"In a way, I’m glad I’m in California. And you’ll adjust to it in
practically no time whatsoever."
"I hope so. That rain the other day
certainly struck me dumb. It came on so quickly."
"Well, it’s just another chapter in your
life. You have to make it count, whether it rains, snows, or the sun shines all
day."
"That’s what Jack would have said,"
Rose replied without thinking. Then she realized what she had just said, and
looked up at Lora, who was confused.
"You’ve mentioned this Jack person
before," Lora told her. "And then you always change the
subject."
"I really must get Andrew down for his
nap. It is noon," Rose said, rising from the chair and clattering Andrew’s
spoon and dish into the sink. "I’ll clean these later."
"No, you won’t, Rose. Why won’t you talk
about this Jack person? Or is it another part of your mysterious past you won’t
tell anyone about?"
"It’s nothing, really."
"When you came to the shelter, delirious
with hunger, you couldn’t stop calling his name. He obviously meant something
to you. Like I said before, Thomas always confides in me, and he is getting
angrier by the day that you aren’t telling him something. He thinks you’ve got
a secret lover locked up somewhere."
"Jack is dead!" Rose shouted,
before she could stop herself. "All right? Is that what you wanted to
know? Jack is dead! Jack is dead!"
Rose’s eyes filled with tears as she fled
from the kitchen, Andrew nestled cozily in her arms. She ran to the bedroom she
shared with Thomas, placing Andrew in the crib. "You don’t mind, do you,
Andrew?" she asked, tucking him in. "You didn’t know Jack, and even
though I love your father very much, that won’t change the feelings I once had
for Jack, and your sister, Jacquelyn."
Her eyes sparkling with tears, Rose threw
herself on the bed, crying into the pillow. "Jack is dead!" she kept
saying to herself. "Get a hold of yourself, Rose. He’s dead! Dead, dead,
dead!"
*****
"Rose, are you all right?" Thomas
sat beside her on the bed, tossing his briefcase onto a chair. "I got
home, and Lora said you’ve been in our room for hours, and haven’t emerged
since you went, as she said, insane."
"I guess I got a little overly passionate
about the topic we were discussing."
"She said you were talking about your
past. She should have known what a sensitive subject that is for you. You don’t
even bring it up with me."
"Maybe you should know, though,
Thomas," Rose told him, leaning against him. "It might be better for
you. And I wouldn’t blame you if you left me afterwards."
"You don’t have to tell me, Rose.
Honestly, you don’t--"
"It’s about Jack," Rose
interrupted, pulling away from him and pacing the room. "I know you’ve
heard me speak his name before, and I know what must be running through your
mind."
"You said he was a close friend."
"Was, yes. Close friend...we were more
than that, Thomas. Years ago, I was wealthy, spoiled, and superficial. I was
engaged to a man..."
"Jack..." Thomas chimed in.
"Well, no," Rose replied, knowing
this was going to be more complicated than she first thought. "Cal
Hockley, actually."
"Do you mean Caledon Hockley? The
richest man in Philadelphia?"
"Um…well…yes, I do," Rose answered,
wringing her hands. "But I didn’t love him. We were on Titanic, on our way
to Philadelphia to marry."
"Yes. Go on."
"On the ship, I met this man..."
"Jack..."
"Yes, Jack. We fell in love, but, he was
poor, and Mother didn’t exactly like him. Well, he died when the ship sank, and
a few months later, I bore him a child, who died."
Rose looked deeply into Thomas’ eyes, which
seemed to be filled with no emotion at all. He was stone-faced, but looked
almost hurt. She immediately regretted telling him, and waited patiently for an
answer.