DAWSON’S TRAVELS
Chapter Thirteen
Santa Monica, California
Two Weeks Later
Rose Dawson stood at the counter,
wiping up the spilled soda a little boy had knocked over. On the outside, she
looked like a normal waitress, busy at work, her mind on getting off and
resting her sore feet. But on the inside, she was in turmoil. She had lost the
two people that meant the most to her, and it had destroyed her spirit. She no
longer looked at everything in an optimistic way. She lived day to day, hoping
that someday she’d feel herself again. Maybe she’d even slip up and Mother and
Cal would find her and drag her back to Philadelphia. She wouldn’t have cared.
There was nothing left of her freedom to fight for.
Closing her eyes, she could still
see Jack, smiling at her with all the love in the world, hear his voice saying
her name…feel his hands touching her face. Sighing, she cursed herself. She had
work to do, and here she was, daydreaming about another woman’s husband. Two
hot tears leaked from her eyes, knowing this. By now, Leah and Jack should be
husband and wife. Jake now had two parents to love and take care of him
properly. Oh, it should be her! She should be the one married to Jack! It
should be her sharing in being a parent to Jake! Not Leah! How stupid was she?
Jack would have left with her if she had asked. He would have broken that engagement
and headed out to Santa Monica along with Rose and their son. But no, Rose had
had to be noble and give him up for the sake of a girl she barely knew! Not
only had she given Jack up, she had given her baby up as well! She had just
handed them both over on a silver platter!
"Rose, there’s someone here
to see you." Sally, one of the waitresses in the café, passed her. "I
suggest you take your break now. I wouldn’t keep this guy waiting."
A deep-seated fear rose up in her
throat. What if it was Cal? Then what? Would she go back to Philadelphia, or
would she fight it? Taking a deep breath, Rose finished wiping off the counter
and walked over to the table Sally had referred to. Her heart in her throat. If
it in fact was Cal, she was going to accept her fate and return to
Philadelphia. There was nothing else left for her out here but heartache. She
narrowed her eyes in confusion when she reached the table. Sitting there was a
man, but it definitely wasn’t Cal. By his build and blond hair, Rose almost dared
to believe it was Jack. But that wasn’t possible, was it? Jack was in Chippewa
Falls, marrying Leah Calvert. It looked as if the man was holding a child and
was gently talking to it, as if the child needed to be calmed down. Rose
stepped closer and got a better look at the baby. She gasped in surprise. It
was Jake! Which meant the man at the table was…
"Jack?" she tentatively
asked, just in case she was wrong.
Jack turned around, happy at last
to finally have found Rose. It took a lot of remembering and searching to find
Rose, and now here she was at last. "Rose."
"What are you doing here?
Where’s Leah?" Rose asked.
"Back in Chippewa Falls,
canceling all those wedding invitations."
Rose was afraid to believe what
she was hearing. "I don’t understand."
Smiling, Jack stood up, holding
Jake in one arm and taking her hand with his free hand. "Leah and I had a
talk the morning you left. She saw that it was you I truly loved. Not her. She
broke off the engagement and told me to go find you."
"You mean…you’re single
again?" Rose stared at him in disbelief. She was afraid to believe him.
"We can be together?"
Jack nodded. "You, me, and
Jake."
Tears sprang to her eyes.
"Oh, Jack, you don’t know how happy this makes me!" Rose hugged both
him and Jake tightly. "I’ve been so lost the past couple of weeks without
you."
"Me, too." Jack hugged
her tightly. "And so has Jake. He’s been crying for Mama since the day you
left."
"Oh, Jake, I’m sorry."
Rose hugged her baby. "I really did think I was doing the right
thing."
"Thank goodness Leah was
good enough to do the right thing."
Rose nodded, sighing happily. She
lay her head on Jack’s shoulder. "We have to send her a thank you note, I
guess."
"Or a wedding
invitation."
Shock filled Rose’s mind. Was he
proposing to her? "Jack?"
"Rose…I loved you for so
long…I don’t know if I can ever stop. When I thought you were dead, I died,
too. I just let life pass me by. You can say I was a drowning man, still stuck
in those below freezing waters of the North Atlantic. It wasn’t until two weeks
ago, when you walked into that store, that I freed myself from those icy
waters. Rose, what I’m trying to say here is that I love you more than
anything. You and Jake are everything to me. Will you do me the honor of
becoming my wife?"
Rose’s eyes lit up with true
happiness. This was a dream come true for her. Now she, Jake, and Jack would
finally be a family. "Yes." She nodded, tears streaming from her
eyes. "Yes, Jack. I’ll marry you."
Jack grinned widely. This was the
answer he’d been wanting for so long. He happily pulled her into his arms and
they hung onto each other for dear life, knowing that from now on, nothing
would ever come between them again. At that moment, Jack thought back on his
life. From the moment he had left Chippewa Falls five years ago to the time
Titanic went under, he had never thought he’d be so happy to settle down. He
had never thought that life would lead him to a point where he’d be utterly and
completely happy.