THERE YOU’LL BE
Chapter Two
Closing her diary, Rose settled
her feet upon the rug in front of her. Her ankles had swollen twice their size
and Rose was unable to wear her usual shoes. Her back ached up and down and her
head throbbed. The fire had begun to die down meaning Jack would need to mend
it when he was home.
After returning to New York after
the disaster, Jack and Rose had struggled to find a home, or even food. They
slept on a bench the first night they were in the City. Fingers intertwined,
bodies shaking from the cold their bodies had become so used to.
Food was hard to find with no
money until a kind old man named Phillip had taken them under his wing. He was
a carpenter with a family business and promised Jack and Rose a room at his
small house in return for work. Jack of course, agreed.
With shelter and little food,
Rose had suddenly become ill, vomiting violently almost every day for a month,
her face became slender and she began to ache so much she could barely face the
days which came.
She would lay in bed for hours
while Jack was working hard, to support her.
She had felt guilty for putting
him in the predicament, for bringing him down and giving him trouble. He was
just twenty, he shouldn’t have to support her too.
When she had felt slightly
better, Rose had taken a two day a week job at a café. The money wasn’t great
but it was something. Although the girls which she worked with were very
pleasant, the men who dined there wasn’t. Smelling of beer, cigarettes and as
if they hadn’t washed for months. They’d grin at her dirtily, some of them even
touched her behind. She’d smile politely thinking it was part of the job but
never telling Jack.
By July 1912, Rose had become
very ill. Her sickness seemed to have subsided quite a lot but she still had
headaches and she grew weaker, even though she did seem to have gained a little
weight.
Hesitantly, Rose had decided to
visit the doctor for an examination after Jack had pleaded with her for a
month, she had finally agreed to go alone, afraid of what results she would
face. Was it serious? Could she even be dying? She was terrified.
On the twenty-seventh of July,
Rose visited local Dr. Leach, he was a very small, round, jolly man with small
eyes and a moustache. He smiled genuinely as Rose entered the very small
patient room, it was white and had a funny smell. Nevertheless, Rose took a
seat on the brown chair which Dr. Leach directed her to and began to explain
her symptoms.
This was the first time she had
visited a doctor alone, it was the first time she had even visited a doctor’s
office. She was nervous, even the doctor noticed that as she wrung her fingers
and fiddled with the small material from her dress.
After she finished explaining her
symptoms, the doctor ran a few crude and visual tests and was then sent to the
waiting room and wait for the doctor to diagnose the problem.
The waiting room was bigger than
the patient room, other people scattered around the room, waiting to see the
doctor. None of them seemed to look as nervous as Rose. Her heart thumped
heavily in her chest. She hoped to God it wasn’t anything serious or life
threatening, she didn’t want to leave Jack, not now. A sudden blast of breeze
came from the door as a patient walked in and Rose shuddered under the thin
dress which she had borrowed from Phillip’s youngest daughter Marie. It wasn’t anything
spectacular just pale blue in color with tassels around the bottom of the
dress. It wasn’t what she was used to wearing. And with Cal’s coat draped
around her shoulders, it still didn’t stop the cold. She hated wearing the damn
coat, she simply hated it. But she had no more possessions, just three simple
dresses and a pair of white heels which Marie had loaned her. Rose had wept at
her kindness but also because of the life she had begun to lead. The fact she
had little money to buy herself the essentials, she was ruining a young mans
life by being his anchor to drag him down, she was cold, tired and ill.
The doctor appeared from the
office and called Rose’s name. Hesitantly, she rose from her seat and back into
the office. Dr. Leach had a small grin on his face as he looked at a sheet of
paper and then his grin grew.
"Well Miss Dawson. I have
some very…well…startling news…" The doctor went on. "I believe you
are with child."
At that moment, Rose felt as
though she would black out. The room went swirling around and numbness set in.
Pregnant? How? There was just one time. One time she had made love, ever.
Honestly, there was some sort of a mistake?
"I-er-don’t
under-stand," she stuttered. Her eyes shifted around the room, trying to
grip this reality, her heart beat had slowed down but her breathing had
quickened because of the pure shock.
"Miss Dawson, you are with
child. Not very far along I’d say, maybe a few months, around three." The
doctor sat back in his seat and examined the young girl before him. She was
certainly beautiful, but no more than a child, eighteen at most he would guess.
She was certainly not married. She had spoken with a genteel accent, very
polite and clear, maybe that of a society woman. Her clothes had spoken
otherwise, a shabby dress and very large overcoat.
"Maybe--there is some sort
of mistake," Rose spoke, her eyes transfixed to the floor. This was a
large amount of information for a young girl to take in.
"No, no mistake ma’am, you
are indeed with child."