UNTIL I FOUND YOU
Chapter Five
Rose blinked the sun out of her
eyes as she sat up to take in her surroundings. She sighed with relief to find
that they were indeed off the moving ship and were back on dry land. Getting
up, Rose glided over to Cal’s coat he had put on her shoulders the last night
she spoke to him. Frowning at the weight of the jacket, she rummaged the pocket
and gasped when she found stacks of hundred dollar bills and the Heart of the
Ocean.
"Oh, my…Jack! Jack, wake
up!" Rose hollered in surprise.
"What?" Jack sat up,
rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Look! Look what Cal left in
his coat! Money and the necklace! He must have been planning to buy his way off
the ship!" Rose gasped, collapsing onto the bed right in front of Jack.
"Look at all this money."
"He was a coward, Rose. Only
a coward would bribe his way off a sinking ship."
"Well, now all his blood
money is ours now. Plus his precious necklace." Rose grinned. "Just
think of how much we can get for it."
"Rose, we can’t sell
it," Jack replied, more serious now than he’d ever been. "If it got
back to Cal…he could track you down. We can’t let that happen."
Rose nodded in understanding.
"You’re right. We’ll just put it up someplace. It can be a keepsake…a
memory of our first night together."
Jack blushed at the memory.
"And we’ll bank the money. We’ll take enough out to get us some new
clothes and tickets out of New York. Then we’ll bank the rest. Now, my dear,
let’s get ready to meet Molly for breakfast before she comes banging the door
down." Jack laughed.
"Jack! Rose! Are you
up?" Molly’s voice blasted into the room, along with the buzzing of the
bell.
"Why, speak of the
devil." Rose giggled. "We’ll be right out, Molly!"
"Hurry, children! I have a
full day planned for the both of you!" Molly replied.
"Oh, no," Jack groaned.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"
"What’s so bad about
shopping with us?"
"Two women shoppers. Need I
say anymore?"
"Jack!" Rose playfully
hit his arm. "We’re not that bad, and we won’t take so long, knowing that
you’re with us. Happy now?"
"Ecstatic." Jack
grinned.
*****
Molly took Jack and Rose down to
a tiny café just a block away from the hotel. Rose sat down to the fruit crepes
and enjoyed the spacious atmosphere.
"I love it here,
Molly." Rose grinned.
"I thought you would,
darling. So…have you two talked about what you’re going to do now that you’re
back on dry land?" Molly glanced at the young lovers.
Jack smiled adoringly at Rose and
took her hand. "We’re going to get married as soon as possible. And we’d
love it if you were a witness for us."
"Oh, Jack and Rose! How
marvelous, and of course, I’ll be a witness! I knew you two were going to tie
the knot before it was all said and done with!" Molly hugged both her
friends. "This is a happy day."
"It’s a happy life." Rose
sighed. If someone had told her a couple of weeks ago that she’d be deeply in
love with her fiancé and eagerly awaiting the wedding, she would have laughed
in their faces. But now…getting married and being with Jack was all she could
ever want.
"And after the
wedding?" Molly asked.
"We’ll be heading back to my
home town of Chippewa Falls. Rose wants to see where I grew up," Jack
answered. "I don’t know where her fascination with my life comes
from."
"Well, as Cal always said,
information is power." Rose smiled.
"Quoting Cal now, are
we?" Jack asked, his eyebrows arched.
"Just this one time. Oh,
Jack, it’s going to be great. I get to meet all your old friends, and they can
tell me what a little angel you were." She pinched his cheek.
"Ow." Jack rubbed his
face. "Believe me, Rose, I was no angel."
"Well, you’re mine, and
that’s enough." Rose kissed his cheek.
"You two, we’re in public.
Let’s remain proper," Molly cheerfully warned. "But you know, I know
the justice of the peace here in this city, and I’m sure he’ll be happy to
marry you this afternoon. What do you say?"
Rose looked at Jack. He could be
all hers by this afternoon, and nothing would be able to separate them ever
again. She liked the idea of that very much, and by the light in Jack’s eyes,
she could tell he felt the same.
"We’ll do it," they
said together.
"Okay." Molly laughed.
"We’ll have a wedding just as soon as we’re done shopping."