THERE YOU’LL BE
Chapter Three
Walking down the side streets of
downtown New York, Rose swayed in shock and panic.
How on earth could she and Jack
raise a child? They could barely afford themselves to keep. They could
certainly not ask for Phillip to allow an infant to reside there with his
family, too. That was certainly too much to ask. So it would mean to uproot
again and to find work elsewhere, which was hard for her and Jack.
Jack? Oh, dear God, how would he
react to the news? Would he even want her or the baby. Would she be alone again
in a place she was unfamiliar with?
There was no doubt in her mind
that she would keep the baby. But at that point in time she felt no attachment
to it. Like it was a burden inside of her. Yet another thing to ruin her life.
She was just seventeen. How could
she be a mother?
As she walked on, she thought
more. Dragging her feet, she walked slower and slower until she came to a stop.
Feeling her weakness, Rose felt the tears welling in her eyes yet again. She
leant against the brick wall in the alley and wept and wept.
It was three o’clock now. Almost
time for dinner, which Phillip had promised would be boiled potatoes and fresh
chicken. Jack’s stomach had turned at the thought of the meal, a proper meal
once a day had certainly done wonders for him, so had all of the hard work. He
had begun to shape up into a muscular young man which Phillip and he often
shared a joke about. This life wasn’t so bad. He was just grateful to have Rose
by his side but he also had a place to stay, a good meal in the evening and a
job and decent days pay. It wasn’t what he wanted for himself and especially
Rose. But he knew he could never give her what she had been used to. But that
had made her unhappy. Jack knew that Rose hadn’t adjusted to life very well
here, he’d heard her sobbing at night and when he tried to comfort her she had
just pushed him away. He knew she was ill, and that terrified him. He couldn’t
lose her now, after everything. Then his life would be unbearable and
meaningless. He’d already lost two best friends and his parents he couldn’t
lose much more.
Dinner was served at four o’clock
pm, Phillip and his three daughters had already tucked in, but Jack refused to
eat until Rose was home. She has been gone since noon and Jack was a little
worried by now. Maybe she was lost? Or met a friend? But she would have told
him.
At 4:15 the rain was beating
down, when the front door opened and Rose stood in the doorway. Absolutely
drenched from head to toe. Her eyes red and bloodshot. Her expression was
blank, as she glanced at the floor. She said nothing.
Seeing her, Jack immediately
embraced her.
"Hey, where have you been? I
was so worried."
Hearing his soft, comforting
voice, she raised her eyes to look at him, he smiled gently at her, before
reaching down to take her wet hand in his.
"C’mon darling, let’s get
you dried off." He took her hand and began to lead her to the stairs.
"Do you want me to boil you
some water for a bath?" Phillip shouted after them, with a mouthful of
chicken.
Rose didn’t answer as she
absentmindedly climbed the stairs.
Reaching their small but cozy
bedroom. Jack immediately shut the door and sat her on the bed.
"C’mon darling, lets get you
dry and in some fresh clothes. Then we can head for some dinner."
Jack rushed about in the airing
cupboard to find a towel and a clean dress for Rose. She still didn’t speak. He
was concerned now, her beautiful face was blank and staring at the floor. He
approached her slowly, gently placing his hand on the back of her hair and
running his fingers downwards to get rid of the knots. He then placed her clean
dress beside her and motioned for her to stand up. She did so, and shuddered as
she felt his gentle hands slowing undoing the buttons on her dress one by one.
He let it fall to the floor and then handed her a towel. Smiling, she took it
and began to dry herself bit by bit.
When she was dry and in a clean
dress, Jack then placed his hands around her waist from behind and tenderly
kissed her neck.
"What’s the matter
Rose?" He asked gently in her ear, his voice no more than a whisper.
"What’s wrong?"
Feeling short of breath yet
again, Rose sat on her bed and Jack beside her. How on earth could she word was
she was about to say? Could she even tell him?
Her eyes became bleary with tears
yet again, she could feel his warm touch on her back and she flinched for some
reason she didn’t know.
Her eyes remained on the floor,
it was like she was ashamed of it. But she knew she was frightened.
"I’m pregnant, Jack,"
she whispered, tears ran freely from her eyes and she did not bother to wipe them
away. She felt Jack’s hand fall away from her back and he gasped heavily. From
shock or disgust she did not know, for she refused to look at his face.
Eyes wide in shock, Jack rose
from his bed and walked around the room rapidly. He ran his fingers through his
hair in shock and then slowly fixed his eyes on Rose.
His darling, beautiful Rose,
sobbing her dear heart out in front of him. Oh, how he wanted to reach for her
and hold her in his arms and promise her everything would be fine. But would
she push him away? She was clearly frightened.
Tears pricked in Jack’s eyes as
he bent on his knees in front of her. Taking her hands in his, he softly
brushed his lips against her knuckles. Placing a finger on her chin, he raised
her head so his eyes met hers. Her gorgeous blue eyes were shining with tears,
gently he wiped them away before kissing her cheek. He smiled at her gently,
brushing away hair from her face.
Rose’s breath was caught in her
throat, she was shocked at his reaction. As he gently smiled at her, she slowly
began to smile back.
"I-I don’t know what to say
or do, Jack," Rose stuttered. "I’m so scared," she confessed.