Rose was watering some flowers in the garden, though as the time passed and she got farther into her pregnancy, it became more difficult to bend down, so she just stuck to watering and planting the higher flowers while the gardener planted the lower ones. The gardener was a very nice young man close to her age. He had a disability, so he couldn't find a very high-paying job. This was the best he could find. His name was Daniel, and was so fascinated by Rose's pregnancy that whenever she was near he asked her how the baby was doing. Today, Daniel was planting some tomatoes in the vegetable part of the garden when Rose came by to inspect the plants. Daniel jumped up the minute he saw her.
"Hi, Rose!" he said, which slightly startled her. He was blushing a bit, and she smiled.
"Hello, Daniel!" she said to him.
"How's the baby doing?" asked Daniel.
Rose rubbed her hands over her growing stomach. "The baby is doing swell. Thanks for asking," she replied. "How is the gardening today?"
"It's going great!" exclaimed Daniel.
The teakettle that Rose had put on started whistling.
"Oh, there's my tea. I'd better go get it. Would you like some?" Rose asked him.
"No, thank you, Rose," said Daniel, and he got back to gardening.
Rose left to go get the tea. She took the kettle off the stove and poured some tea into a teacup. She sipped it as Jack came rushing in, excited and happy.
"Hello, hello, hello, my love!" he said, kissing her.
"Oh, triple hello! Someone had a good day!" Rose said, setting her teacup down.
"You bet I did! I finally managed to find a job doing something that I love to do!" Jack exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm so happy about this, Rose! Now we can both make money faster and find a home of our own!"
"What job did you find?" Rose asked him.
"An artist, Rose! I'm officially an artist!" Jack exclaimed, kissing her.
"Weren't you before?" Rose asked him.
"Well, yes, but now I'm getting paid for it!" Jack said.
"Again, weren't you before?" Rose asked, laughing.
Jack laughed, too. "Okay, yes, I was, but this time, I get paid a lot more than just ten cents! Rose, I've got wealthy people coming in having me paint their portraits or draw them! I've always dreamed of doing so!" Jack exclaimed. "Just like you've always dreamed of being a moving picture actress!"
"Or like Lynette always dreamed of moving to Chicago and owning a restaurant?" Rose asked.
"That's her dream?" Jack asked. Rose nodded. "Well, yeah, basically the same thing." Rose picked up her teacup and took a sip.
"Tea?" she asked.
"Nah, I'm good," said Jack. They sat down at the table together. "You see the headline today?"
Rose shook her head as Jack handed her the newspaper. She looked at the headline. "Titanic survivor Caledon Hockley tells his side of the story," read Rose. They looked at each other. "This can't be good."
"I recommend that you read it," said Jack, lighting a cigarette and smoking it. Rose nodded, and started reading it.
Titanic Survivor Caledon Hockley Tells His Side Of The Story
Another story of another Titanic survivor makes headlines today as Mr. Caledon Hockley tells his side of Mrs. Rose Dawson's story. "She made the whole thing up for attention," says Mr. Hockley. "There was never a Rose Dawson on the original passenger list. There was my fiancée, Rose DeWitt Bukater, but unfortunately, she died on the ship. We were first class passengers on the ship, traveling together, ready to be married in Philadelphia. The ship soon struck ice, and started sinking. When she sunk, Rose had not made it into a lifeboat because she gave up her seat for her mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater. She then ran off to the third class deck and drowned in one of the rooms."
"That bastard!" exclaimed Rose.
"Keep reading," said Jack, taking a puff of his cigarette.
"While we were on the ship, a man by the name of Jack Dawson had used her to get the Heart of the Ocean, a diamond necklace I had given Rose for our wedding. This man had attempted to steal it, but it was taken from him and he was arrested. He somehow escaped and is now wandering the streets of New York somewhere with ten thousand dollars of mine that he stole."
"What?" exclaimed Rose, shocked and furious at the article. "Jack, this is horrible!" She slammed the paper down on the table and looked up at the clock. "I have to get to the theater."
"You need an escort?" asked Jack.
"No, I'm fine," said Rose angrily. She stormed out of the house. When she arrived at the theater, the director took her to the back.
"Mrs. Dawson, I've been meaning to speak with you," he said.
"Oh, certainly," said Rose. The director stood there for a few minutes before speaking.
"I don't know how to say this, Mrs. Dawson, but…you're fired," he said.
Rose gasped. "Fired? But…but…why? Is it because of my pregnancy?" asked Rose.
"No," said the director. "Have you seen today's headline?" He held up the paper that told the lies.
"Sir, this story is full of lies! Do you not realize it?" asked Rose.
"Mrs. Dawson, Mr. Hockley explained how everything you had said was a lie, and that the only Rose aboard the Titanic was a Rose DeWitt Bukater," said the director.
"That was my original name! I changed it to Rose Dawson when I married my husband!" Rose exclaimed.
The director held his hand up. "Mrs. Dawson, I'm sorry, but this is bad publicity for my play, and since you were playing the lead, no one's going to come to the show. I hate doing this. You were the best leading actress I've ever had, but I have no choice," he said.
Rose sighed. "All right," Rose said in a sad tone. She gave the director one last look before leaving.
She made it home fast, and when she did, Jack was still in the kitchen, smoking another cigarette and was reading the newspaper. He heard the door open, knowing it was Rose because Joseph was away on a business trip.
"Hey, Sweetpea! How was your…" he said as she passed by the kitchen door and stormed up the steps. "…evening." He knew something was wrong the minute she came home, because she shouldn't have come home this early. He put out the cigarette and raced up the steps to find Rose pacing around the room in fury. "Rose, honey, is everything all right?" He ran over to her and attempted to put his arms around her, but she pushed him away.
"Not right now, Jack!" she snapped.
"Rose, tell me, what's wrong?" Jack asked.
Rose stopped pacing and looked at him. "You want to know so badly?" Rose asked. "I got fired because of that damned article!" They exchanged looks before Rose stormed out of the room.
Jack put his hand on the back of his neck, wondering why such a small piece of writing could change lives in such a huge way.
"Goddamn it!" exclaimed Jack, kicking the vanity with a huge surge of rage.