BETWEEN TWO HEARTS
Chapter Eleven
After Siobhan was safely settled
into Boat 14, her fears began to ease up slightly. They did not go away fully;
after all, her world--as well as those around her--had just gone out from below
everyone only a mere few hours ago. Now, however, being reunited with Lowe, she
felt like she was safer. She still had to reach over and touch him, however, in
order to reassure herself that this was not a dream and she was really with
him. Being greeted each time with a smile, a pat, or sometimes even a kiss, she
knew that deep down things would be just fine.
It felt like ages until it was
light enough that they saw the Carpathia. In fact, the passengers were so
relieved to see the ship that many thought it was a gift from heaven. From what
she could see over the quiet ocean, there were already a couple of lifeboats
alongside her and there were more that were making their way to the liner.
It was quite a chore to get all
of the survivors on board. Not only did they have the frostbitten limbs and
exhaustion, but the lifeboats to worry about also. However, the crew of the
Carpathia took everything as it came and had come up with some very successful
ideas to combat the obstacles presented to them.
"Okay, Siv," Owen said
while placing his hand on his friend’s back. "You’re next. Can you take
the ladder?"
"Oh, no," she replied.
"Not until you’re on board. I’m not going to leave until you’re
okay."
"Siv," Lowe
interrupted, coming over. "He’s right. Don’t worry--he’ll soon
follow." He was answered with a begrudged look from her, but she didn’t
say anything. She took the ladder rungs and tried to climb up, but felt a
searing bolt of pain through the shoulder and arm that were injured in the
sinking. She fell back into the boat, aided by her two male companions, and
after she recuperated from the sudden shock of pain, crawled into the bag that
was hanging over the side for those who weren’t able to manage the ladder.
"Don’t worry, dear,"
the officer called after her as she was being hoisted up. "I’ll send the
first doctor I see to examine your shoulder." She nodded as she looked up,
drawing closer to the deck.
The Irishwoman took the hands of
the two crewmen at the top and was helped on deck. Cringing from the slight
recurrence of pain in her shoulder, she slowly turned her head to the right and
was greeted by Catriona, a blanket, and a mug of warm milk. "Ay,
Siv," her friend said. "I got us a spot over there for the three of
us." They both went over to a bench that was sitting alongside the
railing. Owen joined them a few minutes later. She presumed that Lowe had his
duties to attend to; she didn’t even see him get on board the Carpathia.
*****
Siobhan turned outward and gazed
over the ocean. There were only a few pink and red rays left from the sunrise;
indeed, it was truly beautiful. Her heart went out to the people that were
seeing this, too, because she knew that so many people didn’t get the chance
to. Uncle Thomas…
Her thoughts drifted back to one
of her few friends, confidantes, and her father figure. Had he come to his
senses and gotten to a lifeboat? She had to find out.
"Name, miss?"
"Siobhan Andrews." As
he wrote it down, she asked, "Please, sir. Can you tell me if my uncle is
on the list?"
"What’s his name?"
"Thomas Andrews." He
quickly scanned the list and, as he began flipping the pages, she began to feel
a feeling of quiet dread.
"I’m sorry, ma’am, but I’m
not seeing him on the list. He could be on another one, but if I may be frank,
I’m afraid the chances are not looking good for him."
A feeling of cold numbness swept
over her body. "Oh," she managed to choke out. "Well, thank
you." He nodded to her and moved off. She glanced back over the side of
the ship to the two remaining lifeboats that needed to unload their passengers.
Not seeing her uncle made the harsh realization a reality. As she looked up and
glanced at an iceberg that was nearby, she could feel a tear starting to run
down her cheek. She knew without anyone having to tell her that her uncle had
stayed true to his word--he had gone down with his life, his hope, his
dream…Titanic.
April 17, 1912
A couple of days dragged by after
the Carpathia left the wreck site for good. Lowe visited as much as he possibly
could, but he also had a whole lot of new duties that he had been assigned to
take care of. She understood that he was busy, but at the same time, she longed
for his companionship after what had happened to them. However, he was true to
his word, and he sent over a doctor to examine--and eventually set back in
place--her dislocated shoulder. While she was happy about this, they also were
forced to put her arm up in a sling--that, she didn’t like so much.
"Siv, I must go and help
with the name collecting. I’ll definitely do all I can to be with you when we
arrive in New York." With that, Lowe stood and, putting his hat back on,
headed over to join Lightoller and Pitman, who were both going over clipboards
of their own.
Sometime later, she was
approached by a steward of the Carpathia. "Siobhan Andrews?" She
nodded. "I have a telegram for you. You’re quite lucky this got
through--our operator was in between messages when it came." She took it
and, nodding her thanks, read it over.
My dearest niece: I hope this
finds you well. Because of the unknown condition of your uncle, I have sent
word to relatives of mine in New York. You are to stay with them until you can
obtain passage back to Belfast, either with your uncle or on your own. They
will meet you at New York Harbor--their names are Samuel and Eileen Barbour.
Aunt Helen.
She folded the message in half
and put it into a pocket. "Thank you," she said, waving off the
steward. A sense of relief sort of settled upon her as she realized that she
would not be trapped in New York alone. She would have some support of family,
no matter how indirect their relations.
April 18, 1912
9:00 PM
Siobhan pulled her blanket closer
around her as the rain started to come down on the passengers who were standing
outside on the decks. It was only a few hours ago that the word had swept
through the Titanic’s survivors like wildfire--they were nearing land. This was
the moment that they had all been waiting for like crazy--the Third Class
survivors up through the crew.
"Siv, look!" Catriona
climbed up onto the railing as Owen held onto her waist to keep her from going
over. "It’s the Statue of Liberty!" Indeed, it was so. She felt a
sense of accomplishment come over her as well as a sense of sadness.
I did it, Uncle Thomas…I made
it to New York.
Before she had the chance to tear
up, she heard Owen call her name. "Siv," he said, pointing.
"That man of yours is trying to get your attention." She looked in
the direction that he was pointing and indeed, Lowe was there, motioning for
her to join him. She looked back to her two friends and saw that they were
telling her to go ahead. Knowing that this might be the last time she saw the
two of them, she took one last look and took off, walking quickly towards her
love.
Lowe greeted her warmly as the
ship made its way past the Statue of Liberty. "Come on," he said
quietly to her. "Let’s go join the others. They’re waiting for us."
He was referring to the surviving officers and a couple of other members of the
crew. They both went up closer to the bridge, where they were reunited with the
group that was waiting for them.
Lightoller greeted them with a
smile. "Have you got someone to meet you at the docks, Miss Andrews?"
"I do," she replied as
she felt Lowe put his arm around her waist. Over the voyage, their relationship
was no surprise to any of them and they all seemed unusually accepting of what
had happened over the course of one week.
"Do they know to go to the
Cunard docks?" Everyone turned to Harold Bride, the only surviving
wireless operator of the Titanic, who had been confined to a wheelchair after
both of his feet were somehow injured, leaving him unable to walk. Everyone
turned to him with a puzzled look; obviously this was news to them. Sensing
their questioning, he continued, "I heard Captain Rostron talking about
it. They’re going to drop the lifeboats at White Star’s dock and turn back to
the Cunard dock to unload the passengers."
"I hope so," she said
in reply. "I sure hope so."
It seemed to be only a matter of
minutes before the Carpathia pulled up to her dock, getting ready to unload the
Titanic’s surviving passengers. "We finally made it," Siobhan mumbled
to no one in particular.
"Yes…we did." She felt
Lowe plant a kiss on her head as she set her hands on top of his, which were
still around her waist. She subconsciously scanned the crowds of people at the
dock and tried to see if anyone looked similar to Aunt Helen.
"Siobhan…"
"Hmm?" She barely even
recognized that he said something to her; he said it so quietly.
"I…I love you."
These three words quickly snapped
up her attention. She slowly turned her head to face him. "I love you,
too--" Her sentence was cut short as Lowe, out of the blue, kissed her.
Neither one of them picked up the
pair of eyes watching them--that which belonged to Officer Lightoller. He
smiled as a chuckle escaped from his throat. "Crazy kids," he said to
himself. Making a mental note to send a telegram to his wife Sylvia as soon as
he could, he moved off to join the other members of the crew, who were
beginning to move down to the gangplanks.
The time eventually came for the
surviving crew members to set foot on solid land. They were greeted by flashing
bulbs, reporters, and hordes of people who were crowding the docks. Making
their way down the gangplank, Siobhan scanned the crowd once more for anyone
who could probably pass for family members of Aunt Helen.
"I’m going over here to see
if I can find my contacts."
"Okay," Lowe said to
her, making his way along with the rest of the officers. "Come find me
before you leave." She subconsciously nodded, but he had a funny feeling
that she did not fully comprehend what he said. She was gone from his side,
however, and he couldn’t make sure that she knew what he asked of her.
He glanced over his shoulder at
her and saw that indeed she had found who she had needed to find--as well as a
couple of reporters who were trying to hound her for a story. He tried to go
over there and stop them from harassing her, but he was stopped by Lights, who
wanted to tell them that they would be attempting to depart soon. Turning back
to where she was, he realized in horror that she was gone.
She was gone. Without a good-bye
or any sort of way to get in touch with her.
She was gone.