AN UNEXPECTED TURN
Epilogue
Gwen spent the rest of her days
in the house. She returned to Scotland to see Will's mother shortly before Jane
died. Gwen stayed in correspondence with Will's sister and the two became great
friends. Gwen never married and kept her promise by raising her brothers and
sister. The only thing that Gwen regretted later on in life was never having
children, but then again...she never could imagine being with anyone other than
Will. Gwen donated a large portion of her money to all of the funds and
charities that were going for the victims families who died that horrible
night. She tried to go on a boat again once later on in life but then at once
got off. She sight of water and the memories of stepping on that ship with
Officer Moody that sunny day in April came rushing back to her. During both
World Wars she volunteered as a nurse. Gwen died in her home in Liverpool at
the age of ninety one. Her last words were reported to of been 'Will' as she
tried to tell the story to Colette of how Will shot himself that night, but she
couldn't muster the strength to finish telling. She died in her sleep, and
suffered no pain. She is buried next to her little brothers, her mother, and
the tomb stone she later had erected for her father.
*****
When Gwen woke up she noticed something
was not right about her surroundings. She was relaxed in a chair in what seemed
to be a dining room. She was quite confused about her surroundings, everything
seemed a bit familiar, like something out of a dream. When she went to stand,
not thinking about her wheel chair she found she could walk. She also found
herself in a beautiful gown, a gown that she had not had in about sixty-three
years. She looked at her hands and they had been restored to their softness,
the softness that she had not felt since before she nursed during the war. As
she studied her surroundings she realized where she was. She was in the first
class dining saloon of the Titanic.
"Oh my word," she
whispered.
She walked towards the exit that
she knew would take her to the grand stair case. By the door was an officer.
The same officer that had escorted her to her room the day they had boarded the
Titanic on the tenth of April, 1912.
"Miss, you need to come
through here," he said, with a warm kind smile.
Gwen looked confused but obeyed,
when she walked through the door she was speechless. Hundreds of people were in
this room. People she had not seen in years, the people who had either died in
the sinking or she just lost contact with after she left the city. The first
person she saw was Molly Brown, she ran to the woman and hugged her.
"Oh my gosh Molly!" she
said.
"Hi there Gwen
darling," Molly said with a warm smile.
Gwen looked and saw the one
officer that had been at lunch that day with Will and Bruce. Harold Lowe, the
fifth officer. He went back to look for survivors after the ship had sunk. She
also saw the other officers, Thomas Andrews, but out of the officers she at
first didn't even notice that Will was not amongst the group standing at the
foot of the stairs. But there on the third step was her father. When she saw
him she felt the big fat tears welling up in her eyes.
"Daddy," she whispered.
Her father smiled down at her and
she ran to his arms which were outstretched, as if he was waiting for her.
"Oh daddy," she cried
into his arms.
They pulled apart and her dad
wiped the tears away from her eyes.
"I've missed you love...but
there is someone here who I think has missed you even more," her dad said.
Gwen looked up, there by the
clock was him...Will.
"But daddy I thought you disapproved,"
she said.
"Gwen I have had sixty-three
years to see the error of my ways. Now go to him...before I change my
mind," her father said.
Gwen smiled and hugged her dad
before going to him.
"Thank you daddy," she
whispered before pulling away and walking with so much more grace and dignity
than she had done when she first saw Molly.
At the sounds of her footsteps
Will turned around and smiled down at her. When she reached him she was totally
speechless. He simply smiled and pulled her into a tight embrace. At the
feeling of his arms she began to cry silently.
When she pulled away a moment
later Will wiped her eyes and smiled at her.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi," she said back.
Then the two were kissing and
everyone seemed to be clapping. Her dad was the one who was clapping the
loudest. When they stopped kissing about two minutes later they smiled a loving
smile at each other.
"I love you Will," she
said.
"I love you too, Gwen,"
he replied.
The End.