UNTIL I FOUND YOU
Chapter Twenty-One
Saturday morning finally arrived,
and Rose was standing in the doorway of the boarding house, watching Jack and
George load up the car. Mrs. Gladys stood beside her, tears in her eyes. Even
though she understood the reason for the move, she was still sad to see the
young couple go. Jack and Rose were a breath of sunshine around the old house.
They had made her feel young again.
"Oh, Rose, I’m going to miss
you two." Gladys dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.
"We’ll miss you, too, Mrs.
Gladys. I wish there was a way we could stay, but with the baby coming…"
"You’ll need the space. I
know. Now, you take good care of yourself, and don’t let Cillie and George push
you around."
Rose just sadly smiled and hugged
the older woman. "Thank you. Thank you for being so kind to me. I was so
scared when I first came here, even though Jack was with me."
"Oh, dear, it was a
pleasure. And I meant what I told Jack about you. If his parents were alive
today, they would fall in love with you. You’re just the thing a boy like Jack
needs."
"Thank you." Rose had
tears in her eyes. "You don’t know how much that means to me."
"All ready," Jack
announced, stepping up onto the porch. "You may want to go on ahead to the
car. I’ll be down in a minute."
Rose just nodded. Taking one last
look at the house she had called home for all these months, and hugging Mrs.
Gladys one last time, she headed for the car.
"You take good care of that
girl, Jack. She’s so fragile, and needs a lot of love and tenderness…"
"And believe me, I plan to
give her just that." Jack smiled. "Thank you for being so good to
her, Mrs. Gladys. You were there for her when she needed a friend, and I’ll
never forget that."
"I’m still here if you two
ever need anything, Jack. Don’t hesitate to ask."
"Thank you." Jack
hugged the older woman he had known all his life. "We’ll be around to
visit."
"You’d better be." Mrs.
Gladys tearfully waved as Jack ran down to the car and watched them disappear
into the horizon. She glanced up at the sky, praying for the young couple,
before she entered her house to prepare that day’s lunch.
"Here we are! Home sweet
home!" George announced as he led the way into the Dawson house, Rose’s
bags in hand. "Your room is waiting for you."
"Oh, Rose, it’s going to be
so much fun having you here." Cillie giggled. "While our men are at
work, we can go shopping, out to lunch…"
"Looks like Cillie has a
whole day planned." Jack laughed.
"I’m just so excited. That’s
all." Cillie shrugged.
"Well, let’s tone down the
excitement and get these two settled." George started up the stairs.
Jack, Rose, and Cillie followed
George up to a room on the right. Jack recognized it as his parents’ room.
"Wait a minute, George…I thought you said we could stay in my old room.
Not in here."
"Oh. Well…Cillie and I
talked and decided that it would be a good nursery. This way, you two will have
more room."
"But this is…"
"Perfect," Rose
interrupted. "This will be perfect. Thank you."
"Jack…I’m sorry. But this
room was going to be used anyway. It might as well be you two. But if you
prefer…we can switch." George cleared his throat.
"No…this will be fine."
Jack sighed, placing an arm around his wife. "I’ll be fine."
"Okay, then. Is there
anything else that Cillie and I can do to get you settled?"
"No. We can handle it from
here." Jack forced a smile, pushing back the already rising memories.
Looking at Rose, he knew he had to put the past to rest, for both of their
sakes, and this really was the best way to do it.
"Okay, then. We’ll be downstairs
if you need us." George nodded, leading Cillie out into the hall.
"Jack…are you sure this will
be all right? I really shouldn’t have spoken up like that…" Rose began,
just to be silenced by a gentle kiss.
"Rose, as long as we have
each other, I’ll be great." Jack nodded. "Let’s unpack."
"Jack…"
"I’m fine. Trust me."
Jack squeezed her shoulder, then began opening the drawers in what used to be
his father’s dresser. He stopped when he came to a large shirt. He pulled it
out and simply stared at it.
"Jack, darling…what is
it?" Rose stopped her unpacking and went to her husband.
"This used to belong to my
father. He was so big, Rose…when I was little, I used to get lost in his
shirts, wanting to grow to be the same size." Jack laughed. "That’s
obviously not going to happen."
"Oh, Jack…here…let’s not do
this now. Let’s go downstairs and have some tea." Rose pulled on Jack’s
hand. "In fact, leave this for me to do while you’re at work, all
right?"
Looking at Rose, Jack knew not to
argue. He simply nodded and followed her down the stairs, where Cillie was
making lunch.
"Are you two getting
unpacked okay?" Cillie asked as Jack and Rose appeared in the doorway.
"Yes. I decided to do the
unpacking during the week while Jack’s at work," Rose answered. "What
are you cooking?"
"Chicken pot pie. George’s
favorite." Cillie smiled.
"Rose, let’s go out on the
porch. I want to show you the joys of sitting on the Dawson swing."
Cillie laughed. "The Dawson
swing?"
"Yeah. My parents used to
sit on it and rock until the late hours of the night. It was a tradition with
them. Don’t you and George use the swing?"
"Sometimes. But not that
long." Cillie giggled. "Oh, well, go on, you two. Get out of here.
I’ll call you when lunch is done."
*****
That night, Rose slept warm and safe
in Jack’s arms, listening to his heartbeat. But it was different for Jack. He
was plagued by visions of flames and screams. Feelings of guilt and grief
overwhelmed him so much that he could barely breathe. For just a moment, he had
forgotten where he was, and he was again the fifteen-year-old boy losing his
parents.
"Mom! Dad!" Jack bolted
upright, waking both Rose and himself.
"Jack?" Rose rubbed the
sleep out of her eyes. "Jack, darling, wake up. You’re dreaming."
"Rose?" Jack blinked,
now fully awake. "I woke you, didn’t I?"
Rose nodded. "You were
having a nightmare."
"Oh. I’m sorry…I…I’m fine
now. Go back to sleep." Jack sighed, leaning back against his pillow, but
Rose remained awake. She was deeply concerned. For as long as she known Jack,
he had never had nightmares before…at least, not one that bad.
"Jack…please…don’t shut me
out. Tell me, what is it? Maybe talking about it will help."
Jack took a deep breath, not sure
whether to share the nightmare or just force it from his mind and pretend it had
never happened. If he avoided the issue, Rose would be hurt, and he didn’t want
to hurt her. He had to talk about the nightmares if he ever hoped for a good
night’s sleep.
"Well…I haven’t had that
dream for years. The last time was the last night in Chippewa Falls. I’m
standing outside the house, and it’s on fire. My parents are calling for me to
help them, but I can’t get to them, no matter how hard I try."
"Oh, my poor Jack."
Rose pushed a strand of hair away from his eyes, her own eyes brimming with tears.
She hated seeing him in so much pain. Maybe moving into this house wasn’t a
good idea after all.
"Rose…I don’t know if I can
do this. I thought I could, but now…"
"You can beat this,
Jack." Rose took his hand in hers and held it tightly, trying to channel
all her strength into him. "I know you can. You’re the strongest person I
know."
"Well, I’m glad you have
such faith in me." Jack sniffed.
"I just got it from
you." Rose smiled, leaning down to kiss him lightly. "Now, try to get
some sleep. I’m right here if you need me."
"Yes, ma'am." Jack
smiled, a flash of humor in his eyes. "Good night, my lady."
"Good night." Rose’s
smile remained. Finally, after thirty minutes of staring up at the ceiling,
Jack drifted off into a dreamless slumber. Rose remained awake for fifteen more
minutes, just to be sure no more nightmares were plaguing him, and then drifted
off to sleep herself.