CALIFORNIA PARADISE
Chapter Twenty-Four
The train pulled to a painstaking stop. Two
young people practically ran off. The new sun seemed to shine only for their
eager faces.
"Rose, welcome to Chippewa Falls!"
Jack said.
*****
They stood in front of the only hotel within
twenty-five miles. It was three stories high, with six rooms. The pale blue
paint was peeling from the frame because the kind, middle-aged couple couldn’t
afford to fix it. But the hotel was beautiful to Jack and Rose.
"Um…I reserved a room for the
Dawsons," Rose kindly told the man behind the counter.
"Dawson. You know, it’s funny. Ever
since you booked the room, I’ve been trying to remember where I’ve heard that
name before..." That was when he caught sight of Jack.
"Oh, my gosh! Polly, get in here! You’ll
never guess who’s staying at our humble hotel!"
A woman with graying hair rushed in.
"What? Who? Stop screaming, Howard!"
Howard pointed.
"Oh, my! It’s--it’s little Jack Dawson.
Little Jack that none of the teachers could control and must have pulled every
girl’s braid in town. Our Jack Dawson. The self-made millionaire. We’ve been
reading about you in the papers for months. I feel like such a fool for not
putting two and two together."
"Actually, Mrs. Trish, I’m just here to
see the place I was born and bred, so I don’t wanna hear any of that self-made
millionaire stuff, especially since it’s not true. I just--I just can’t believe
that I’m home!"
*****
After putting their things away, getting
cleaned up, and saying good-bye to the Trishes, Jack whisked Rose off.
"That used to be an ice cream parlor,
and they still have the theater around the corner, and the grocery store
is..." There was no stopping Jack now.
Rose was having the best time of her life,
but even more than all the monuments, Rose loved to see Jack meet his old
friends.
She saw all of his old neighbors, all of
which invited them to lunch, and the shopkeepers, and his old schoolmates.
"Jack! It’s good to have you back! How
long are you staying?" Mr. Ever, who ran a small restaurant, asked.
"Oh, just a couple of days, tops."
"Well, then, you’d better catch up to
Justin. He was in here about ten seconds before you. He comes up and says,
‘Have you heard the word?’ And I say, ‘There’s a lot of gossip floating around.
Which one are you talking about?’ His eyes go all round and he says, ‘Jack
Dawson’s back.’ And those words just seem to be too much for him. He swallows
and finally manages to say, ‘Have you seen him?’ Well, I say no, of course, but
the second I do, he runs off looking for you. I’ve never seen a grown man run
so fast. You’d better catch up with him or it’ll break his heart to be greeted
last by you."
Jack finally spotted Justin outside the
hotel, only a quarter of an hour later.
"Justin!"
Justin turned, and his face broke into a
grin. "I knew you’d have to show up here sooner or later."
They hugged, just like old friends should.
"Justin, I’d like you to meet my wife,
Rose."
"Pleased to meet you, Rose."
Rose couldn’t believe the stunning beauty of
the man before her. He was lean, and she could swear that she saw the muscles
through his shirt. His blond hair was cropped short so that you immediately saw
his bewitching blue eyes. Rose would have sworn on her life that those eyes
could bring a country to its knees.
As they shook hands, he smiled the most
brilliant smile that Rose had ever seen in her entire life, and she was
thankful for Jack’s arm supporting her. Jack. Jack Dawson. The man she was in
love with.
*****
Justin never wanted to let go of this
goddess’s hand. Her skin felt like silk against his own. The sun--it must be
shining because of her, since it was a rare thing to be seen in the
wintertime--reflecting off of her hair made it seem as if it were made up of a
thousand red jewels, and his world revolved around her beautiful features.
"So, how’s life?" Jack asked. Of
course. Jack. Her husband.
"Same old. Same old. You know how it
goes."
"Come on. I see that ring on your
finger."
The forgotten wedding band on Justin’s finger
now seemed too tight, and a layer of sweat formed around it. Reaching with his
other hand, he bobbed the ring up and down on his fingers.
"Well, I’m a married man now,"
Justin said, barely able to control his own voice.
"And who’s the lucky bride?"
"Victoria Van Rahem."
Jack perked his eyebrows up in memory.
"But she has girl cooties."
*****
"Welcome to my palace!" Justin
motioned toward the quaint house in front of them. It was a simple wooden
house, newly built, with a powder-blue door and window frames. A shady porch
ran along the entire perimeter of the house and was surrounded by out-of-season
flowers.
He led them inside. As Rose stepped through
the door, she was greeted by the smell of rosemary and mint.
"Victoria, I’m home. And I’ve brought
guests!" Justin called.
The second she walked into the hallway, Rose
sized her up. She had spiral curls in her chestnut hair and smooth, ivory skin.
Her almost overwhelming brown eyes had specks of gold, and the corners of her
cheery mouth turned upwards to greet the newcomers.
"Hello. I just got a tip about half an
hour ago that you were in town." Her voice was clear and crisp, but at the
same time, soothing and gentle.
For the next two hours, the four young people
talked in the cozy kitchen of the becalmed house, until the sun began to dip
down and the sky turned orange and pink.