AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY
Chapter Thirty-Six
"No, Jack! Stop!" Rose cried, tears
coming to her eyes because of her laughter. But Jack wouldn’t let up, he
continued to tickle her. They were lounging in the grass behind his house. Jack
had just gotten home from work; he’d had another short day at the shoe factory.
Dinner would be ready in a while. Then, they would get to announce their
engagement. The sun was just about to set. Jack stopped tickling her. He sat
up, then looked at her seriously.
"Rose, I would like to draw you. Would
you mind?" he asked. He felt nervous. He knew that drawing her would
remind them both of the portrait he had done of her on Titanic.
She smiled at him, her eyes lighting up.
"I’d love for you to draw me." He smiled at her before grabbing his
sketchbook off of the ground. She posed for him, her long red hair blowing
freely in the wind. He sat there drawing for quite some time, capturing her
soul on paper like only he could. "I do believe that you will have to draw
me like one of your French girls, Jack, wearing only the necklace,"
she teased. She was pleased when he started to blush. "Hmm, Jack, I do
believe that you are blushing…again. And this time I have my clothes on.
Whatever would you do if I took them off?"
He laughed, his cheeks still pink. "I’m
sure that we could arrange that," he said as he continued drawing her
form. Both of their heartbeats raced at the thought of that night on Titanic.
When he was finished, he handed her the drawing.
She knew that he was a great artist, but she
was still amazed at his talent. "You have such a wonderful gift, Jack. I
don’t know how you do it. You can capture something about me that no other
person can see." She gazed at the drawing in wonder. In the drawing, she
was sitting on the grass, her hair framing her face. Her eyes radiated the love
that she felt for the artist whom she was posing for. What he had captured was
the wild and free spirit that shone through her eyes. Jack gently took the
drawing from her hands and put it back in his sketchbook. He turned back to
her, gently touching her face and staring into her eyes. She could read his
mind, see his thoughts through his eyes. Those blue eyes told her so much. They
were both thinking of that magical night when their lives had changed forever.
The night that they both knew they were in love.
They fell to the ground in a passionate
embrace. Neither one of them noticed Diane. She watched as they kissed
passionately, both completely unaware of the world, least of all her. She felt
her heart break all over again.
A half an hour later, Jack and Rose entered
the house. Katherine had decided to cook dinner, insisting that Rose spend some
time with Jack. Katherine had been sick all morning, but was feeling better
now. Rose wondered if she was pregnant. Being pregnant herself, she knew the
signs. But Rose was pretty good at hiding her morning sickness, and it hadn't
been as bad since she had found Jack alive.
They took two seats at the table, nervously
glancing at each other. They were both nervous and excited about their news.
Once again, Jesse and Diane were joining them for dinner. Rose was nervous
about announcing their engagement in front of Diane, but she wasn’t about to
let that get in the way of her and Jack’s happiness. David sat next to his
wife, across from Rose. She had met him the night before at dinner. Jack talked
with Jesse until everyone was seated. They all said a prayer before eating.
Rose liked saying a prayer before meals. Although her mother had always been
into going to church, she hadn't been much on prayer, especially at meals. It
had been Rose’s father that had insisted they say a small prayer before dinner.
Rose had missed that about her meals.
"So, Jack, you told me earlier that you
and Rose had something that you wanted to say tonight at dinner?" David
said as he looked across the table at his younger brother.
Jack glanced at Rose before revealing their
news. "Yes, actually, we have some news. I proposed to Rose last night,
and she accepted. We want to get married as soon as possible."
Everyone seemed delighted at the
news--everyone but Diane. She glared at Rose from across the table. Rose could
see the hatred in her eyes.
Diane got up suddenly. "Excuse me. I
don’t feel well," she said before running out of the room. Jack looked at
Rose, a puzzled expression on his face. The way that Diane had been treating
Rose had not escaped his attention. Rose hadn't told him of the heated words
exchanged between herself and Diane earlier that day.
"Well, I believe that congratulations
are in order!" Katherine exclaimed, ignoring Diane's abrupt exit.
Rose smiled weakly. "Thank you,
Katherine." She looked at Jack as he got up from his chair.
"I’m sorry to interrupt dinner, but I’d
like to talk to Rose for a minute." Rose got up and followed him into the
sitting room.
"What is it, Jack?" she asked as
they sat down on the couch.
"I wanted to talk to you about Diane. I
noticed the way that she’s been treating you. Has she said anything to you,
Rose?"
Rose nodded, wishing that she could just
forget the words spoken between herself and Diane. "Yes, actually, she and
I had a rather heated discussion this afternoon," Rose told him.
He sighed. "Why didn’t you tell
me?" he asked.
"I’m sorry, Jack. I tried to put it out
of my mind, and when you arrived home early today I was so excited to see you
that I guess I forgot."
He smiled at her before kissing her. "I
was excited about seeing you, too. It was unbearable being away from you all
day," he said. "So, do you know why Diane seems to have a grudge
against you?"
Rose nodded. "Jack, she’s in love with
you, and I really can’t blame her."
He sighed. "I suspected that she had
feelings for me, but I never thought that they were that serious. Diane’s
always been a kind person. She’s never treated anyone the way that she’s
treated you."
Rose looked at him lovingly. "What girl
can keep their hearts with you around?" she teased, tickling his side.
He laughed before picking her up. "Okay,
so we’re going to start this again, huh? Just remember, you started it!"
je cried happily as he carried her to his room. It was now their room. He knew
that it was inappropriate to be sharing a room before they were married, but
his family didn’t really object. After hearing their story, they felt that they
were already married in God’s eyes.
She laughed hysterically. "Jack, no! We
have to finish dinner. Put me down!" But he had other plans.
Once he got her into their room, he shut the
door behind them. She pretended to struggle as he carried her over to the bed.
He laid her down on their small bed, then kissed her passionately, hungrily. He
couldn’t get enough of her. She wiggled out from underneath him, then ran over
to the one bag that she had brought with her on the train. She fished the Heart
of the Ocean out, then let it dangle in the air.
"Well, Mr. Dawson, I do believe you said
that you could arrange something," she said teasingly, as she dangled the
necklace in front of his eyes suggestively. "Jack, I want you to draw me
like one of your French girls…wearing this–only this!"
His eyes widened at the sight of the diamond.
"Rose, where did that come from?" he asked in amazement.
She smiled mischievously. "Well, I found
it in Cal’s coat, along with four hundred dollars," she explained.
Jack remembered how Cal had pushed his coat
on her before she got into the lifeboat. Jack almost laughed at the irony of it
all.
But he looked at her seriously as she put the
necklace on. She turned to him, her eyes full of desire and love. Then she
started to undo the buttons on her dress. She no longer wore a corset, so it
wasn’t as difficult to undress.
"This necklace holds a great memory,
Jack. Let’s make one more."
He watched as she dropped her clothes. He
grabbed his sketchbook, trying to control his shaking hands. He couldn’t
believe that he was shaking so badly. After all, he had seen her nude before,
and he had even made love to her.
He smiled as a thought came to his mind.
"Over there, on the bed…and this time it isn’t a slip of the tongue,"
he said, a teasing smile on his face.
She laughed before lying down on the bed. A
moment later, he started to draw her, for the second time that day. Slowly, his
heartbeat calmed down. She gazed adoringly at him. "I love you,
Jack."
He looked up from his sketch and smiled.
"I love you, Rose. Always and forever." He finished the drawing a
while later. He got up and handed her the drawing.
She took one glance at it and broke down in
tears of happiness. "It’s beautiful, Jack. I’ll always remember that
night…and this one." She set the drawing aside, then pulled him to her.
"Put your hands on me, Jack, always and forever, and don’t ever let
go."
They got lost in each other, finding a world
where only they existed.