TITANIC ROSE
Chapter Twenty-Nine
September, 1914
Rose lay on the examining table, her face set
in a grimace as the nurse-midwife examined her. Obstetrical examinations
weren’t her favorite thing, but they were necessary to be sure that she and her
babies were healthy.
The nurse-midwife pulled the sheet back down
over Rose’s legs and let her sit up. "So far, so good," she told
Rose, writing something on a sheet of paper. "You and your baby are both
fine."
Rose smiled. She knew that she was carrying
twins, but hadn’t informed the doctor or the nurse-midwife of that fact. She
doubted that they’d believe her. After all, it was very difficult to tell if a
woman was carrying more than one baby, unless her stomach was unusually large
or the babies could be felt in the womb, and at only three months along, she
wasn’t showing yet and the developing babies felt like nothing more than a mass
inside her when she was examined.
"How have you been feeling?" the
nurse-midwife asked. "Any severe morning sickness, other loss of appetite,
or swelling ankles?"
"I’ve had some morning sickness,"
Rose told her, "but it’s been getting better. And my ankles do swell a
little, but not too much. I can still wear my shoes comfortably, anyway. And I
think I’ve gained some weight, because my clothes are a little tighter."
"Yes," the nurse-midwife confirmed.
"You’ve gained about five pounds, but there’s nothing unusual about that.
Did you experience the same symptoms with your first baby?"
Rose nodded. "Yes." She didn’t
mention that Andrew hadn’t been her first baby, or that she had been terribly
sick during her first pregnancy and had finally lost the baby. As long as
everything was going well, she saw no reason to mention Jacquelyn.
"Well, Rose, just continue following the
instructions you were given, and I will see you next month." The
nurse-midwife handed her the sheet of paper. "You can make an appointment
with the receptionist on your way out."
Rose nodded, taking the paper and sliding
from the table. As she put her clothes back on, she smiled to herself.
Everything was going well this time.
*****
Rose was sitting in the kitchen, feeding
Andrew, when Thomas came in. He gave her a kiss, sitting down next to her and
setting his briefcase and newspaper on the table. Andrew squealed in delight,
reaching for his father with grubby fists.
"How was work?" Rose asked, kissing
Thomas back.
He smiled. "It was great. In fact, it
was better than great. You know how my boss was elected district attorney after
the last district attorney resigned?"
Rose nodded. "Yes."
"Well, he wants me to work with him at
the county office. It’ll require more driving, but there’ll be a good-sized pay
raise and a lot of interesting cases to work on."
"Thomas, that’s great!" Rose threw
her arms around him and kissed him soundly. Andrew, not really understanding
what was going on, but knowing that his parents were excited about something,
squealed again, banging a spoon on his high chair.
"Now we’ll be able to get a place of our
own sooner," Thomas continued. "I know that Lora doesn’t mind our
being here, but I don’t like to impose, especially with two more babies on the
way."
"So you finally believe that we’re
having twins?"
"I never really doubted it—but it did
seem a little far-fetched that the doctor could know so soon."
"Well, that’s why you’re a lawyer,
rather than a doctor." Rose turned back to feeding her hungry son.
"Oh, Thomas, I went to see the nurse-midwife today."
"And?"
"And she says we’re doing fine. The
babies and I are just fine. I thought we were—after all, things are even easier
this time than they were with Andrew…but it’s nice to be sure."
Thomas kissed her cheek. "You’ll be
fine, Rose, both you and the babies. I know you had a hard time the first time,
but you’re much better off now, much healthier. Andrew will have some beautiful
younger siblings."
Rose lifted Andrew from the high chair and
carried him to the sink, washing his little face and hands before gently
setting him down on the floor. He immediately crawled over to his father and
gripped his leg, pulling himself up and grinning.
Thomas picked him up and set him in his lap.
"You’re getting stronger every day, Andrew. Next thing you know, you’ll be
running all over the place." He bounced the baby on his knee, drawing a
contented giggle from him.
Lora came into the kitchen, carrying two bags
of groceries. Andrew screeched in delight and reached for her, struggling to
get out of his father’s arms and into his aunt’s. Lora took him, leaving Rose
and Thomas to put away the groceries.
"Aren’t you cute?" she cooed, bouncing
him gently. "You’re getting to be such a big boy."
"You’re spoiling him, Lora," Thomas
told her, but he didn’t look unhappy.
"Oh, now, Thomas, you can’t spoil a
baby. He’s too little to be spoiled."
She set him down, watching as he clung to
both her and her brother and took a tentative step before falling on his
bottom. Undeterred, Andrew pulled himself up again. He hadn’t yet taken his
first independent step, but he would soon.
"Oh, Rose, you got two phone calls while
you were away, one from the movie studio and one from your mother." Lora
picked the baby up again, handing him to his mother.
Rose paled a little a the thought of her
mother calling her. What did she want now? Was she trying to ruin her life
again? She gave no other indication of her distress, though, and calmly asked,
"What did the movie studio want?"
"Didn’t you audition last week?"
"Well…yes, but I didn’t think anything
would come of it."
"Well, something did. They want you for
a small role in a new picture they’re making. The title was…let me think…Save
The Last Dance. I’m not sure of the other details, but the director wants
you to call him back." She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket.
"Here’s his phone number."
"Thanks." Rose took it, excitement
growing inside her. Her first film role! Even if it was small, she was going to
be a moving picture actress, just like she’d dreamed.
Then her face fell. If only her mother didn’t
ruin this for her. Looking up, she asked, "Lora…what did my mother
want?"
"I took a message. She thanks you for
the money to keep her in the hotel, but she wants to leave and come out to
California now. She says that she’s sorry for what happened in Cedar Rapids,
and she’d like to start over."
Rose shook her head. "That’s what she
said the last time, and she almost ruined our lives. We had to move here and
start over."
"That wasn’t so bad, was it?"
"No, but she had no right. Cedar Rapids
was our home, and she ruined our standing in that town. I was happy there, but
she just couldn’t leave me alone."
"Maybe she really has changed this
time," Lora suggested. "Maybe you could call her and talk to
her."
"No." Rose was adamant. "I
don’t want anything to do with her. We’ll send her money, but that’s the only
contact she’s going to have with this family. She almost destroyed us once; I’m
not going to let her do it again."
*****
That night, Rose lay in bed beside Thomas,
sharing the newspaper with him. A headline caught her eye, and she frowned.
"Thomas, do you ever worry about that
war over in Europe?"
He set the newspaper down, shrugging. "A
little. I don’t think we’ll get involved in it, but you never know. A lot of
money is at stake."
"I hope we don’t." She moved closer
to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I don’t want you to have to go
over there."
"I won’t. I have too much here to want
to go to war."
"What if the United States joined in the
war, and reinstated the draft?"
"Why would they do that? There hasn’t
been a draft in this country since the Civil War."
"Yes, and it was a disaster." She
looked up at him. "I know my history, Thomas, but I also know that the
people in charge often don’t. I don’t trust President Wilson, no matter what he
says about us staying out. He’s much too influenced by businessmen, and I know
that some of them want this country to join the war so that they can profit
from it."
"He insists that he’s going to keep us
out of it."
"Well, let’s hope that he’s telling the
truth, and if he isn’t, let’s hope that there is no draft. I don’t want to lose
you."
"Now, Rose, plenty of men who go to war
come back."
"And plenty don’t. Promise me that you
won’t get involved if you don’t have to?"
"At this point, it’s a moot question.
We’re not involved, and probably won’t be. But if, by some chance, we do become
involved, I promise that I won’t sign up. Happy?"
"I guess. It’s just…I’ve seen so much
disaster in my life, that I can’t help but be afraid that more will come down
on us. I mean, no one thinks we could go to war, but no one thought that the
Titanic could sink. And we know how that ended."
"Yes, but that was an act of nature. War
is an act of mankind."
"Even worse."
"Ah, Rose." Thomas put his arms
around her. "Don’t borrow trouble, as my mother used to say. We have
enough to worry about each day without worrying about tomorrow’s trouble, too.
We’ll be all right. I’m sure of it."
*****
Rose opened her eyes to see Jack standing
at the end of the pier, his back to her. Slowly, she approached him, wondering
what he needed to tell her this time.
"Hello, Jack."
He turned around, smiling when he saw her.
"Rose."
"What’s going on this time?"
"Another visit. Isn’t it
obvious?"
"Yes, but you said a while back that
we wouldn’t meet again until the time was right, and yet we seem to keep seeing
each. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’m ready for heaven
yet."
"No, not yet," Jack admitted.
"You’ve still got a few decades to go before you come here to stay."
"What did you need to tell me? It’s
not that I don’t want to see you, but I’ve finally figured out that when we
meet like this, something’s going on."
"You’re right, Rose. Something is
going on. It’s about your mother."
Rose sank down onto a bench, burying her
face in her hands. "I knew it. She’s coming to ruin my life again, isn’t
she?"
Jack sat next to her, putting a comforting
arm around her. "She wants to see you, yes, but she isn’t going to ruin
your life this time. Her scheme backfired on her…someone found out that she’d
lied, and now the people of Cedar Rapids are on your side again, and are
ostracizing her. She knows that what she did was wrong, and she wants to make
amends."
"How can I trust her, Jack, after what
she did? How do I know that she won’t change her mind and try to split apart
Thomas’ and my marriage, so that I can marry Cal?"
Jack laughed softly. "That’s
something you definitely don’t have to worry about. Even if she did want to get
you back together with Cal, he’s married now. A few months ago, he met the
woman of his dreams…yes, Cal has a soulmate, too. She’s a member of high
society, too, so there was no problem with them getting married."
"Who is she?"
"A beautiful young woman from Boston,
ten years Cal’s junior. You’ll never believe what her maiden name was."
"What?"
"Dawson. She was a member of the
Boston Dawsons."
Rose clapped a hand over her mouth, trying
to stifle her laughter. "Oh, that is so ironic! He lost me to a Dawson,
and then he marries one! Do wonders never cease?"
Jack laughed, too, shaking his head.
"No, not in your world or in mine. That’s what makes life so interesting,
whichever side of it you’re on." He sobered then. "Rose, about your
mother…"
"Do you really think she’s changed?"
"I know she has. I paid a visit to
her last night, and while she was shocked to see me, she wasn’t angry. She’s
forgiven you for ruining her plans, especially since she’s learned how much she
hurt you. She’s not used to being the once ostracized, avoided, and gossiped
about. She wants to start a new life, too. We talked for a while, and she was
genuinely sorry for she did."
"She could have been lying."
"She wasn’t, Rose. Since I died,
I’ve…been able to sense when someone isn’t telling the truth. She wants to
start a new life, and she wants it to be with you and your family. She told me
that she won’t impose on you, but she does want to be a part of your life, and
of her grandson’s."
"You didn’t tell her about the twins,
did you?"
"No. I left that up to you. I can’t
tell you what to do, Rose, but I can tell you what I know. She’s changed—for
the better, and she wants to be a real mother to you, and a grandmother to
Andrew. Will you at least talk to her?"
Rose hesitated. She still wasn’t sure that
she could trust Ruth, but…she was her mother, and she’d always wanted her
mother to care for her like other girls’ mothers did.
"All right, Jack. I’ll call her in
the morning. If she really wants to start over…I’ll give her a chance. I won’t
let her live with me, but…I’ll give her chance to make amends."
"You won’t regret it, Rose."
"I hope you’re right." She
hesitated. "Jack…I have a question for you."
"What is it?"
"Thomas and I were talking about the
war in Europe before I fell asleep. Since you know about things that are going
to happen, can you tell me if we’re going to be involved in this war, and if
Thomas is going to wind up going over there?"
Jack shook his head. "That’s
something that I don’t know, Rose. I don’t know everything that’s going to
happen…only a few of the important things about your life. And no one has said
anything to me about that."
Rose sighed. "I can’t help but
worry…"
"You’ll be all right, Rose. That I do
know. And I know that whatever happens, you’ll survive. You’re stronger now
than you ever were before, and no matter what happens, your life will go on.
You’re keeping the promise that you made to me."
The light was fading now, and Rose felt
herself being pulled away from him. "Jack…"
He kissed her hand as he began to fade
away. "Until we meet again, Rose. Just remember that I love you."
"And I love you, Jack."
*****
Rose awoke with a start. Was it true? Could
it possibly be true that her mother really wanted to make amends? Jack had
never lied to her before, so she could only hope that he had told her the truth
this time. After all, why would he lie to her? He cared for her, and wanted her
to have a happy life. But what if he was wrong?
She would just have to trust him. There was
nothing else that she could do.
Rose climbed out of bed as she heard soft
sounds from Andrew’s room. He was awake, babbling softly to himself as he
played with his fingers, his eyes fixed on the patch of moonlight coming in the
window. She picked him up and cuddled him until he fell back asleep.
As she laid him back in his crib, she thought
back to the conversation she had had with Thomas earlier about the war. What if
something happened? What if their country took part in it and he had to go
away? What if she lost him, too?
There was nothing she could do about
it—whatever was going to happen would happen—but it made her all the more
determined to make each day count, and to record every event that happened in
their lives. Her eyes strayed to the camera on a high shelf of the room, out of
Andrew’s reach but close enough that they could take pictures of his everyday
activities, recording the baby’s growth and achievements. When they had them
developed, they would share them with friends and family members, so that
everyone could see what had happened in their lives, and the happiness that
they had known each day.
Looking once more at the baby, Rose returned
to bed, snuggling up against Thomas and closing her eyes, her dreams filled
with past joys that she had known with both of the men that she loved.