TRAPPED!
Chapter Four
"Come Josephine in my
flying machine, and it’s up she goes! Up she goes! In the air she goes! Where?
There she goes..." Jack Dawson’s words trailed off into nothingness.
"You still miss her, don’t
you, Jack?"
Jack raised himself up into a
sitting position, glancing at his new friend, Mark, sadly. "Every
day," he mumbled. It seemed like years had passed since he’d last seen
Rose. He still felt anger every time the thought of her once again living a trapped
life with Cal came to him, but more often than not he felt sadness. That wasn’t
the way Rose was supposed to live.
"You need to move on,"
said Mark, lighting up a cigarette and taking a large puff. "Heck, you
even got yourself thrown in jail over that gal."
Jack didn’t answer. He remembered
how Cal had had him arrested when he had tried to free Rose. If it hadn’t been
for Molly Brown finding out and freeing him, he’d probably still be there
rotting.
Mark sighed and sat beside his
friend. "Ah…you have to move on, mate. No point in having a broken heart
the rest of your life."
"But you don’t
understand!" yelled Jack, suddenly angry. "They’re killing her. She’s
going to die if she doesn’t break free. It’s not right..." He stopped,
unable to find the right words to explain just how unfair life was for Rose.
Jack had continued his life just
as he had before the Titanic. Though he hadn’t moved around as much yet, he had
continued sleeping under bridges and drawing portraits, trying to make ends
meet. But he felt incomplete. Ever since the Titanic, he had lost
everything--his best friend, Fabrizio, his other good mate, Tommy, and of
course, Rose--his Rose. He knew he would have managed life without Tommy and
Fabrizio. Though he missed them both dearly, he could make new friends. It was
easy for him, but Rose--there would never be another Rose...
*****
He watched the busy people moving
around from where he sat, families chatting, all oblivious to his misery. His
eye caught sight of a small girl walking across the street with her mother and
father. She looked similar to the little girl, Cora, but she was gone, too,
only five years old and she was gone. Her whole family had drowned.
"Rose, what have they done
to you?" he whispered to himself, and then, as if by magic, she appeared.
Dressed in a beautiful blue gown, she was walking arm-in-arm with Cal, a huge
smile across her face.
Jack sat there, mesmerized. She
looked happy, chatting away with a woman dressed just as splendidly next to her
and Cal. All three seemed so happy.
Jack swallowed a lump that had
formed in the back of his throat. He was just about to get to his feet when a
woman approached him.
"Excuse me," she said,
sounding rather nervous. "Could you please draw a portrait of my son and
daughter?" She motioned to a well-dressed boy of about eight and a girl of
about five.
"Yes, ma’am," said Jack
quickly. He turned his gaze away from her, trying to find Rose, but she was
gone. With a sinking feeling quickly taking over him, he began to draw.
*****
"Here you are," he said,
handing the finished drawing to the woman. "That will be fifty cents,
please."
The woman handed it to him,
smiling. "Why, this is amazing work," she said, smiling at him.
"And…um…well…I don’t suppose you have had any training?" She eyed his
clothes.
"No, ma’am," he
answered.
She smiled. "What did you
say your name was?"
"I didn’t. It’s Jack
Dawson." He held out his hand, and reluctantly she shook it.
"Have you…I mean…could I
look at some of your other work?" she asked timidly.
"Sure," said Jack,
handing her his book. The lady sat down beside him, flipping through all his
pictures. "These are terrific, Mr. Dawson." She studied each one
intently. "This woman…may I ask who she is? She is the subject of every
picture."
She motioned to one of the many
pictures of Rose. It was Jack’s favorite picture, a memory he’d perfectly
preserved. It was of him and Rose on the railing of the Titanic, Rose’s arms
stretched out wide as she flew across the ocean, and he was standing beside
her, whispering soft words into her ear. Above it was written, Come
Josephine in my flying machine, and it’s up she goes! Up she goes!
"That," said Jack,
"is a very special person."
The lady eyed him somewhat
suspiciously. "Where did you meet her?"
Jack sighed. "We met on the
Titanic."
"Really?" The lady
raised her eyebrows in surprise before asking, "What was her name and how
did you know her?"
Jack stayed quiet for a little
while, wondering why so many questions, but he supposed the woman was just
interested. He smiled when he remembered the question Rose had asked when she
had first seen his work.
"Her name is Rose," he
said quietly. "We met when she--well, she was kind of unhappy, and that’s
how we met," he finished lamely, knowing he hadn’t made any sense, but he
thought Rose would want to keep her near-jumping experience secret.
The lady frowned, knowing that he
was hiding something, but she overlooked it. "Well, thank you, Mr.
Dawson," she said, smiling sweetly. Then she turned to her children.
"Come along, Matthew and Jasmine."
*****
"Tell us about the
Titanic," said one of Cal’s wealthy friends. "It must have been an
awful experience."
You can bet it was, thought Rose, but not because it sank.
She stood beside Cal, trying hard
to keep a happy smile on her face so no person would realize the true horror
that she was feeling within, and listened as Cal made himself seem like a hero.
"Well, Rose got separated
from Ruth and I, so when I eventually did find her, there were few lifeboats
left. However, I did manage to get her into one."
He turned to Rose and smiled.
Numbly, she tried to return it.
"And then, of course,"
he continued, "I had to wait myself for a boat. I think I must have been
on the last one to leave that liner."
"I heard that it was
supposed to be unsinkable," the old man replied.
"Unsinkable?" scoffed
Cal. "No. I never believed that for a second."
Rose almost choked, remembering
the first words he had said on seeing the ship.
"This ship is unsinkable.
God himself could not sink this ship!"
What a fool he had turned out to
be.
*****
"That certainly is a
stunning necklace," commented Mr. Bernard.
Cal smiled smugly. "Nothing
is too stunning from for my Rose."
"Where did you get it?"
asked Mr. Bernard, sounding quite interested.
As Cal explained all about it,
the only person lost in their own thoughts at the table was Rose--or maybe not.
As soon as the chatter about the
Heart of the Ocean died down, Mrs. Bernard spoke up. "Rose," she
began.
Startled at only herself being
addressed, Rose turned her full attention to her. "Yes?"
"It’s funny," began
Mrs. Bernard, "but today I got Jasmine and Matthew’s portrait drawn,
and…well…the man did quite a good job, very talented, but you see, Rose, I
wonder if you knew him? He showed much of his work, and many of the portraits
were of you. What was his name again? Dawson. Jack Dawson."
The room went unearthly quiet.
"No. You must be
mistaken," said Cal loudly. "Rose has never known any Jack Dawson.
Have you, sweetpea?"
Rose was too shocked to answer.
"No. I am quite sure he knew
Rose," persisted Mrs. Bernard. "He knew your name. He said you met on
the Titanic."
The whole room was deadly quiet
now.
"Where did you meet--"
began Rose, but Cal quickly cut her off.
"I suppose they just
exchanged kind hellos in passing."
"Well," continued Mrs.
Bernard, "there was one drawing I will never forget--it looked so real. He
and Rose were on the railing of the Titanic, and she looked as if she were
flying. Words where written on top. What was it? That song--Come Josephine
in my flying machine, up she goes! Up she goes!"
"Oh, him," said Ruth
quickly. "He was of some assistance to Rose, but we hardly knew him. We
invited him to dinner once, but that was all."
"Oh, yes, him," said
Cal, in strange kind of voice, as if he were struggling to keep it quiet.
"Yes, I hardly remember him. Only met him once. He was from steerage"
He forced a hearty laugh. "Do you remember him, Rose?"
All heads turned towards her.
Mrs. Bernard seemed quite interested. From the other side of the table, Cal
gave her a warning look.
"I can’t say I remember him
too well at all," lied Rose, her heart breaking. "I met him briefly
only twice. I had forgotten all about him..."
There was laughter around the
table, and then some other topic was quickly brought up, and all seemed to have
forgotten Jack and Rose.
Inside, Rose’s heart was soaring.
Jack wasn’t in prison! He was living his old life, the life she had wanted to
live with him...and he still loved her. He still drew her. All at once, she was
filled both happiness and a terrible sadness.