RUNAWAY ROSE
Chapter Fifty-Eight
October 12, 1915
Around the middle of October, Rose finally got
the courage to visit Santa Monica. She had avoided doing so before, telling
herself that she was too busy, but the real reason was that she was fighting
against her memories of Jack, and feared that visiting the place they had
talked about would bring back the memories and overwhelm her.
When she finally did visit, Rose took the
train to Santa Monica, bringing Tripper with her. The dog had grown much more
used to people and civilization and didn’t fight her when she brought him on
the train with her. People still stared, but the animal had grown used to them,
and simply curled up at Rose’s feet for the short trip.
Once there, Rose wandered around the pier,
taking in all the sights and sounds. She could almost imagine how Jack had seen
it back in 1911 before he had left for Europe. People walked around, talking,
laughing, enjoying themselves, while small children ran around or clung to
their mother’s hands, some enjoying themselves, others squalling tiredly.
She stopped for a moment at a worn wooden bench,
recognizing the spot from the drawing that Deborah had shown her. This was
where Jack had done his drawings. She could almost feel his presence.
Walking on, Rose made her way into the
amusement park, eyeing all the buildings, booths, and carts selling foods and
souvenirs. In the distance, she could see the rides—including the roller
coaster. She stopped as she drew near, wondering if she could get up the
courage to ride it.
The roller coaster rose several stories into
the air, and she could hear the delighted screams of people riding it. She
stared, debating whether to try it or not, then shrugged. Why not? If she
didn’t like it, she didn’t have to go again.
Rose looked around, wondering what to do with
Tripper while she rode the roller coaster. Certainly she couldn’t bring him
with her. Finally, she approached a teenage boy who stood near a food stand,
looking bored.
"Excuse me," she said to him. He
turned, looking at her with interest.
"Yeah?"
"Could you watch my dog for me while I
ride the roller coaster? I’ll pay you fifteen cents," she added when he
looked reluctant.
He shrugged. "Okay."
Rose handed him Tripper’s leash, instructing
the dog in a firm voice to behave, then handed the boy a nickel and a dime. He
took the money, still looking at her with interest.
Rose bought her ticket for the roller
coaster, then stood in line, waiting. Her heart pounded as she watched the cars
on the ride go around the track at a dizzying speed. This was what she and Jack
had talked about doing—riding the roller coaster, drinking cheap beer, riding
horses in the surf—but she was doing them alone.
Her turn finally came, and Rose stepped into
a roller coaster car, seated beside a young girl who turned to shout to her
friends, then squealed in delight as the ride began.
Rose held onto the bar in front of her,
terrified at first. Then, as the car passed the first dip, she shrieked in
delight with the other passengers, beginning to enjoy herself. As the roller
coaster rose and dipped around the track, she laughed and shouted in delight,
echoing the girl sitting beside her.
When the ride ended, Rose returned to where
she had left her dog, staggering a bit dizzily. The ride had been delightful,
though she was ready to try something else now. She only wished that Jack had
been there to enjoy it with her.
Putting the thought from her mind, Rose
retrieved Tripper’s leash, laughing as the large dog jumped up on her, licking
her face as though she had been gone for days instead of just half an hour. The
boy looked at her.
"Hey...uh...you wanna go get a soda or
something?" he asked, jingling the coins she had given him.
Rose looked at him. He reminded her of many
of the stage-door Johnnies that she had met in her career as an actress—eager
to escort her around, hoping that she might reward them with something more.
"No, thanks," she told him.
"Thank you for watching my dog, though."
"Sure," he replied, a bit deflated.
He caught site of the girl Rose had sat beside on the roller coaster and
sauntered after her, forgetting that he’d just been rejected.
Rose smiled to herself, walking away into the
crowd with Tripper trotting ahead of her. She stopped to buy some beer, much to
the surprise of the man selling it, and wandered through the amusement park,
stopping occasionally to buy a snack or play some game.
Around the middle of the afternoon, Rose
wandered towards the beach, wondering if she could find a place to rent a
horse. She was a bit leery about riding—she hadn’t ridden a horse since before
she had set sail on the Titanic, and then she had been riding sidesaddle—but it
was one of the things she and Jack had talked about doing, and she was
determined to try it.
About a mile down the beach, she came across
a small rental stable. She approached it, hoping that they would not object to the
presence of Tripper.
The owner was a bit nervous about the large
dog, but he agreed to rent Rose a horse anyway, one that wasn’t likely to shy
around dogs. He led the horse, a chestnut mare, from the stable and inquired as
to whether Rose knew how to ride.
Rose hesitated a little at this question; she
did know how to ride, but only sidesaddle, and this horse was wearing a regular
saddle. However, she was set on trying, and told the man that she did know how to
ride. A bit skeptically, he let her take the horse, helping her mount, and Rose
made her way out onto the beach.
She found herself a little wobbly at first
and wished that there was someone who could help her figure out how to ride
astride, but she soon got the hang of it and began to walk the horse slowly up
and down the beach, Tripper trotting alongside them.
As she grew more confident, Rose urged the
horse to go faster, laughing in delight as they flew over the sand. Tripper
raced along beside them, barking.
The tide was coming in when Rose turned the
mare into the shallow water at the edge of the beach, sending her splashing
through the surf. The dog followed, stopping to shake whenever he was drenched
by a wave. Rose threw her head back and laughed. It was the first time she had
gotten so close to the ocean since the Titanic had sunk.
As she was returning to the stable, a couple
of tourists stopped her. They had been watching her ride along the surfline and
wanted a picture of her on the horse.
Rose objected at first, but when the woman
pulled out her camera, she finally agreed. The woman took her picture, Rose
sitting on the horse with the roller coaster in the background. The sun was
beginning to set, but there was still enough light for the photograph, and the
couple got Rose’s address so they could send her a copy of the picture.
*****
Rose received her copy of the photograph two
weeks later. She looked a little odd, she supposed—she was wearing trousers
instead of a skirt—but what struck her most was the expression on her face. She
was smiling, her eyes lit up and full of life. In the background, the roller
coaster stood high above her. The day she had gone to Santa Monica and done all
the things she and Jack had talked about doing had been one of the best days of
her life.