FOR BETTER OR WORSE
Chapter Three
Rose awakened to loud noises
downstairs. It sounded like pots clattering. She groaned and turned around, to
find Jack still asleep. She smiled and reached lightly to kiss his lips, happy
that for now he wasn’t haunted by the nightmares he had been having two nights
before.
"Rose," he mumbled.
"You awake? Go back to sleep."
"Shh. I’m fine." She
smiled. "I have to use the bathroom. Where is it?"
"Next door down," Jack
mumbled, drifting back into his dreamless slumber.
Rose nodded and slipped out of
bed, shivering at the coolness in the air. It was amazing how warm body heat
was. She slipped out of the room and headed for the door when she heard
whispers from Lisa’s room.
"What if we wake ‘em?"
a male voice asked. "Lisa, it won’t do to let people know I come here. My
ma will kill me."
"Don’t worry, Ronald. You’re
perfectly safe. My uncles are asleep, and my cousin and his wife are probably
too busy doing the newlywed thing to even notice you’re here. Your precious
mother won’t know a thing."
Well, this was interesting. It
seemed like someone’s boyfriend had an Oedipus complex. Freud would really be
interested in this. Rose scolded herself mentally for such thoughts. She didn’t
know anything about these people. It wasn’t her place to judge. She quickly
slipped into the bathroom and peeked out into the hallway, to see a different
man from the one that afternoon slip downstairs. "Will wonders never
cease?" Rose shook her head. She wondered if Jack knew anything about
this. Doing what she had to, then slipping back out, she went back to her room
and firmly shut the door. She snuggled closer to her sleeping husband, trying
to warm herself again, and drifted off to sleep.
*****
Two days later, Jack and Rose
entered the general store hand-in-hand. Both had just been to the bank and
bought a safety deposit box. They had placed the money they had found in Cal’s
coat and the Heart of the Ocean inside. Rose took out two one hundred dollar
bills and slipped them into her purse. Now it was her plan to replace what Jack
had lost.
"Jack! Rose! What a sight
for sore eyes you two are!" Kyle exclaimed happily.
"Hello, Kyle. We’re just
here to buy some supplies," Jack greeted, leaving Rose’s side to look at
the shelves.
"Mr. Lavery…I mean, Kyle.
Can you help me out?" Rose approached the older gentleman.
"Sure thing, Rose. What
might I do for you?"
"Well, you know Jack’s an
artist, right?"
Kyle nodded. He was familiar with
Jack’s gift. He had had a bunch of paintings done of his daughter and wife, all
of them done by Jack. "Of course."
"Well…Jack’s portfolio…it
was destroyed in an accident, and I know he misses it terribly. I was wondering
if you had any art portfolios for sale here? Plus, all the art supplies. I know
nothing about art, and it’d be a great help."
"Of course I have art
portfolios, and art supplies, too. Come. I’ll help you shop." Kyle placed
a hand on Rose’s back and led her into a separate section of the store.
Ten minutes later, Rose was at
the counter, ready to pay for the items. "That’ll be twenty-five
dollars."
"All right." Rose
handed him a one hundred dollar bill. Kyle’s eyes practically came out of his
head.
"Where did you two get money
like this?" he asked incredulously.
"We saved up for a rainy
day." Rose cleared her throat nervously. She didn’t want to tell him that
the money had once belonged to her pompous ex-fiancé.
Kyle just nodded. "I’ll wrap
these for you while you help Jack finish shopping."
"Thank you, Kyle. This means
a lot to the both of us." Rose smiled gratefully.
"Anything for Jack and his
young bride." Kyle took Rose by surprise and squeezed her hand. "I
mean it, Rose. If there’s anything at all that you need, just give us a call.
We’ll be happy to help out."
"Thank you, Kyle. I’ll keep
that in mind." Rose smiled, rejoining Jack just as a middle-aged woman and
her son entered.
"Wilma!" Kyle greeted
cheerfully. "And Ronald. What are you two doing out this balmy day?"
"Ronald needs a new pair of
reading glasses. He lost his last night." Wilma cleared her throat.
"I don’t know where he left them at."
Rose and Jack reemerged, arms
full of supplies. "Jack? Jack Dawson?" Ronald’s eyes popped out of
his head when he spied his old friend.
"Ronald! Hi!" Jack
smiled happily.
Rose almost choked when she saw
the boy from Lisa’s room.
"Rose, are you okay?"
Jack looked at her in concern.
Rose quickly nodded. She didn’t
want to get Ronald in trouble with his mother. "I’m fine. I just swallowed
wrong."
"And who is this?"
Wilma Flintstine, Ronald’s mother, asked.
"This is my wife, Rose, Mrs.
Flintstine," Jack introduced Rose. "We just got into town a couple of
days ago. You know, Ronald, I’m surprised you and Lisa didn’t get together. It
looked as if you two were going to become a couple when I left."
Ronald’s mother cleared her
throat haughtily. "Ronald knows nothing of girls. Especially that
girl."
"Yeah, right," Rose
mumbled under her breath, stifling a giggle.
"Excuse me?" Wilma
turned her attention to Rose.
"That’s right. Keep a tight
reign on your son," Rose quickly covered.
Wilma just smiled. "Here you
go, Rose. And Jack, here’s your supplies. Tell those uncles of yours they still
owe me a hundred dollar tab from last month!" Kyle handed them the
packages.
"I sure will, Kyle. Thank
you for everything." Jack waved, taking Rose’s hand and leading her
outside.
"What was that about?"
Jack turned to his wife once they were outside.
"What?"
"That comment when Mrs.
Flintstine said Ronald knew nothing about girls."
Rose couldn’t help herself. She
just began laughing uncontrollably.
"Rose?" Jack looked at
her, wondering what had gotten into his wife. "Are you okay?"
"Jack…Ronald knows a lot
more than his mother is aware of. Remember when I woke up last night?"
"Barely."
"Well…I heard voices from
Lisa’s room. It was Lisa and Ronald. I went into the bathroom, and for some
reason I can’t explain, I peeked out into the hall, and it was Ronald going
down the stairs!" Rose burst into renewed laughter. "He was telling
Lisa how scared he was of his mother."
Jack grinned and shook his head.
"Lisa and her adventures. Wait until Wilma Flint hears about that. And
knowing Chippewa Falls, she will."
"Come on, Jack." She
grabbed his hand and pulled him down the street. "Let’s go home."
*****
That night, after a dinner that
Lisa had fixed, Jack and Rose found themselves alone in the living room, the
perfect time for Rose to give Jack his gift.
"Jack, wait here." Rose
ran up to their room and returned with the package. "I’ve bought something
for you."
"Rose, you didn’t have to do
that." Jack shook his head, accepting the gift. "What is it?"
"Open it." Rose
laughed.
"Okay." Jack slowly
began to open the package. His eyes widened when he revealed the portfolio,
paper, and art supplies included. "R-Rose…this is too much…"
"I know how much you’ve
missed just picking up a pencil and sketching anything you want. I saw it an
awful lot on the Carpathia and our wedding day. And when we went for a walk
when we came here. So, I asked Kyle to help me, and we came up with this."
"Oh, Rose…thank you."
Jack hugged her. "I love this. And this one means so much more to me than
the other one did, because you gave it to me."
Rose blushed.
"In fact, this moment is an
inspirational moment. I think this moment, right now, you sitting right there
is a perfect portrait."
"Jack! Now?"
Jack nodded. "You remember
the drill. Sit still and no smiling, laughing, or talking."
"Jack!"
"Do it." He was deadly
serious, by the look in his eyes.
Rose sighed. "All right. But
make it quick."
One hour later, Jack was hanging
his masterpiece on the wall in their bedroom.
"Jack, you are truly
gifted." Rose leaned back into his embrace as they stood and stared at the
drawing.
"I have great
inspiration." Jack kissed the top of her head. "I love you,
Rose."
"I love you more."
The newlyweds stared into each
other’s eyes and shared a passionate kiss.