AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY
Chapter Thirty-Eight
"Mrs. DeWitt Bukater, a letter from Mr.
Hockley has arrived." Ruth took the letter from Michelle, whom she had
hired as her new maid since Trudy had been lost in the Titanic disaster. She
was glad that Cal had finally sent word of the situation with Rose. Please
tell me that you have found her, she silently pleaded. She didn't
understand why Rose had not contacted her. I'm her mother, for goodness
sake! Why is she hiding from her own family? Ruth waited until the maid had
left the sitting room before she opened the letter.
She couldn't believe what she read. Cal had
left days ago for Chippewa Falls. He was looking for Rose there! Ruth shook her
head angrily. She has gone to be with that low class steerage boy! How dare
she! I am her mother, and Cal is her fiancé. She belongs with us! She could
feel the anger rise within her. Suddenly, she knew what she had to do. I
will go to Chippewa Falls. If Cal can't find her, I will! I will talk some
sense into that daughter of mine.
Ruth called Michelle back into the sitting
room. "Pack our things and get us booked on the next train to Chippewa
Falls. We are going to get my daughter back," Ruth instructed once
Michelle had entered the room. The maid nodded, then curtsied before leaving
the room. Ruth knew that it was only a matter of time before Rose was back
where she belonged.
*****
Rose couldn't help but watch Jack as he
concentrated on the sketch that he was working on. She loved how his eyes lit
up when he drew. He started to smile as he felt her gaze upon him. A moment
later, his eyes were concentrating on her. Every time he looked at her he could
feel his heartbeat accelerate. She took his breath away. He leaned over and kissed
her gently. He loved these moments that they spent together. Between his job
and preparing for the wedding, they'd had a hard time finding time to be
together. But now, with the wedding only a day away, and most of the
preparations taken care of, they had found themselves lounging together out
behind the house. Jack set his drawing aside so he could lie down next to her
on the cool grass. The sun's warm beams shone down on them, warming their skin.
He turned to her, his eyes telling her how happy he was to be there next to
her.
She looked back at him, her eyes expressing
her own happiness. "I can't wait until tomorrow, Jack. I can't wait to
start our lives together."
He put his hand on her stomach. "I think
that we've already started our lives together, Rose," he said with a
meaningful smile.
The light in her eyes left as she was
reminded of what she would have to tell him after the wedding. But the change
in her mood didn't escape Jack's attention.
"What is it, Rose?" he asked
softly. He leaned in closer to her, looking into her eyes intently. "I
know that something has been bothering you, Rose. Is it the baby? Did you get
bad news from the doctor today? You know that I'm here for you…and our baby.
I'll always be here."
She couldn't control her emotions any longer.
The concern in his eyes and his soft-spoken words tore at her heart. How could
she continue to lie to him? But how could she shatter his world with the truth?
"No, Jack. There's nothing wrong with
the baby. Everything's fine," she said, barely able to hold back tears.
"Rose, please tell me…what's
wrong?" He held her close, waiting for her to say something to him.
She wiped at her eyes, trying to hide her
tears. But she knew that it was too late. He had already seen them. He
continued to look at her, the concern in his eyes obvious to her. Rose could
feel a lump form in her throat. She knew that she had to tell him now.
"Jack…I--I have to tell you something,
and I know that it's going to break your heart. I was hoping to wait until
after the wedding to tell you. I didn't want to ruin the happiest time of our
lives, but this has been eating at me."
At her words, he held her tighter, scared of
what she was about to tell him, but knowing that it was something that he
needed to hear.
"Rose, you can tell me anything. I won't
love you any less, I promise."
A sob escaped her throat. She looked at him
through her tears. "I know, Jack." She put her hand up to his cheek.
"I love you so much. I just hate to have to hurt you like this."
He was really getting scared now. What was
she about to tell him? He had no idea, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear
it. But he had told her that she could tell him anything, and he meant it. So
he waited for her to continue, trying to ignore the lump that was forming in his
own throat.
She removed her hand from his cheek, then
looked him in the eyes. "Jack, this baby…it might be…" She couldn't
get the words out. Instead, she buried her head into his shoulder and cried. I
hate you, Cal! Why did you have to put us through this? she thought in
despair.
Jack pulled back so he could look into her
eyes. "Rose, what about our baby? Please, tell me what's going on."
She looked into his pleading eyes.
"Jack…this is hard for me, so I'm just going to say it…you might not be
the father of this baby." She said the last part in a choked whisper.
Jack couldn't believe what he had just heard.
"What do you mean, Rose? Who else could be the father?"
She hesitated. "When Cal kidnapped me,
he--he forced…" She couldn't finish what she was saying, because she broke
into uncontrollable sobs. Just the thought of what he had done to her made her
skin crawl.
Jack held her tight. He could feel his heart
breaking. Oh, Rose, why couldn't I have been there? he asked himself for
the thousandth time since they had found each other alive. Tears were falling
down his own cheeks. He couldn't believe that she'd had to go through all of
that. The hell that Cal had put here through was unthinkable. He could feel an
intense hatred for Cal start to build up inside of him.
They held on to each other tightly for what
seemed like forever, slowly rocking each other. "I'm so--so sorry--Jack…I
shouldn't have provoked him. It's all my fault!" she cried, barely able to
get the words out between her sobs. "I should have told you earlier. I was
so scared…I'm--sorry…"
"Shh. It's not your fault, Rose. Don't
you ever think that again. What he did to you was…I'm so sorry, Rose. I wish--I
wish that I could have stopped him! I just feel like hunting him down and
killing him!" he cried. He held her even tighter, trying to comfort her,
and himself, at the same time. "You must have been terrified. What he did
to you was unimaginable. I can't begin to understand the pain that you've been
carrying."
"It did tear me up inside, Jack, but now
that I've finally told you, I feel better. That's what scared me the most…I was
afraid that you would blame me...and that you--that you wouldn't want me
anymore," she whispered.
He looked at her in shock. "I'd never
blame you, Rose. What he did to you was not your fault. You have to believe
that."
She nodded; feeling for the first time that
Cal was completely to blame. It hadn't been her choice to be with him. She had
told him no. He should have listened. She finally understood that.
Jack tilted her chin up so he could look her
directly in the eyes. "You know that you can tell me anything…no matter
what it is. You can always talk to me. I'll always be here for you."
She nodded. She had always known that, but it
had been her fear and shame that had kept her from telling him until now. Not
to mention that she hadn't wanted to hurt him. "I know, Jack. Can we just
try to put this behind us…is that even possible? I--I mean…because this baby
may be…" She couldn't bear to finish what she had been trying to say.
Jack kissed her lips softly in response.
"Yes, Rose, it is possible. We love each other; we're going to be married
tomorrow. I want this baby, no matter who the father is…do you understand what
I'm saying?"
She nodded slightly. "I think so, Jack.
You'd really be willing to raise this child as your own, even if you're not the
father. Is that what you're trying to say?"
He nodded before pulling her up to stand with
him. "I love you, Rose. Nothing will keep me from doing otherwise. Now,
what do you say we go inside and see if Katherine needs any help with
dinner?"
She nodded, then allowed him to lead her
inside.
*****
All through dinner, Rose was lost in her own
thoughts. She was immensely relieved to have finally told Jack everything;
there were no more secrets between them now. All that was left for them to do
was to get married the next day, then announce to Jack's family that there
would be a new addition to the family soon. Rose knew that Katherine would be
ecstatic to hear about Rose's pregnancy. She hoped that Nora would be happy,
too.
After dinner, Jack and Rose said good-bye to
each other for the night. They had decided that Jack would stay with Jesse, who
he'd asked to be his best man. She knew that it would be a long and lonely
night without Jack, but to her it would be worth it to see the look on his face
as she walked down the aisle the next day. She couldn't wait until they were
able to put all of the tragedy and pain behind them, and start their lives
together.
Rose fell asleep that night with a smile on
her face, and Jack did the same. They both couldn't wait, nor could they
believe how lucky they both were to have found each other.