A SIMPLE SOLUTION
Chapter Fourteen
Jack leaned on the door for a moment and then
walked up to her, thinking only of how he could calm her down. She looked like
she was about to tear the room and everyone in it to pieces. Even herself.
Why did Tina have to come here? What had she
said to Rose to make her this angry? Jack reached out to take Rose's hand, but
she just pulled back as if he had struck her and tears were shining angrily in
her piercing eyes.
"Don't touch me." Every word was
like venom. Deadly as it reached his heart.
"Rose…please sit down and try to…calm
down." He was forming the words gently, his eyes warm and calming on her
body. "This isn't good for the baby." He was pleading with her now,
softly and lovingly, trying so hard to make her listen.
She closed her eyes, hiding the shooting
flames in them, but as his words sank in, her shaky breaths stopped and she
advanced towards him, her hand trembling as she pushed him away.
"Don't you dare tell me to calm down. I
will stand when I want to and I'll be just as upset as I want to. This is my
baby and I know what's good for it. You haven't got a damn clue! You've only
known that it exists for about a day." She was whispering harshly, every
word like a knife, stabbing him all over.
Ignoring the pain in his blue eyes, the worry
and the heartache, the plea to let him help her, to make her listen, Rose went
on. "Now tell me about Tina and why she showed up here saying she's your
goddamned girlfriend!"
She whirled around, shoving Fabrizio away as
she picked up the two drawings she had found earlier. "So, what's this,
Jack? Just a joke to you? A way to make me think you really love me?" She
was spitting out the words and every syllable hit Jack like a dart, making him
step back a little, not knowing where to even begin.
Rose flashed him a quick, dark smile and then
threw the two drawings to the floor. Her foot landed on top of the one with the
hand, her heel digging into it, leaving ugly, dirty footprints right where Jack
had written "Beautiful hands". Jack winced violently, blinking
quickly to hide his feelings.
Rose had seen his reaction and new tears
filled her eyes. She hated seeing him suffering. But he had…he had lied to her.
He didn't want her. He already had someone, why would he need her? Why would he
propose to her? Because of the baby. The baby. No other reason could have made
him ask her to be his wife.
She stepped over the drawing again and then
took a deep breath, staring at him.
"Rose, please…I don't care about her! I
don't. I met her in a bar a few weeks ago. I was depressed because you weren't
here and I thought you didn't care anymore…"
"So you just replaced me with her?"
Rose bit her lip hard and walked over to the window, bowing her head as she
leaned on the windowsill. "You never loved me. You just…" Her voice
faded and her next words were like a shadow in a dark forest. "You just
want to marry me because of the baby."
Fabrizio winced and seemed to disappear even
further into nothingness in the room, knowing that he wasn't welcome. He
quietly opened the door and tiptoed outside, hearing Jack approaching Rose.
"No. No, Rose." He paused, his
heart pounding hard at the thought that she could even say something like that.
"Nothing is further from the truth. I…thought about asking you weeks ago.
Weeks. When we left Titanic, I thought about it. I was just too much of a
coward to ask. I was terrified you'd say no."
His hands gently touched her shoulders. She
winced and felt her resistance weaken. New tears were coming to her eyes and
she shivered, grasping the edge of the windowsill so hard that her knuckles
were starting to turn white. She refused to turn around and look at him. She
refused to believe his deceitful words. He was lying. She knew it. He was
lying.
"Let me go."
She turned slowly, tearing his hands away
from her, not facing him. "I said…let me go. I have to…pack. I am leaving
today." He refused to move. He just stood there, looking at her face,
melting her anger away.
"Jack, please let me go."
"No. You have to listen to me. I…"
He took her hands, caressing her skin softly as he forced her to look into his
eyes, determined to keep her with him, to never let her leave like this again.
"I love you, Rose. You. No one else. I
swear, Rose, I swear that I didn't ask you to marry me because you're pregnant.
Tina…" Rose winced and tried to make him let her go again, but she wasn't
really trying now and Jack just had to smile at her faintly to make her stay.
"Tina is…was just a friend. I saved her
from this man who was bothering her in a bar and then we had dinner once.
I…spent the whole evening thinking about you. Nothing but you. Tina must have
been offended and tried to get even with me like this. I think it's horrible of
her and I regret the moment I ever walked into that bar." He sighed
lightly, still looking straight into Rose's now softer eyes.
"I admit…that…when I thought you were
lost to me, I toyed with the idea of being with her. But I never was. I…my mind
was on you constantly, even though I tried to hide it. I…was so lost without
you, Rose. I've never experienced something like this before."
Rose smiled in spite of everything and didn't
protest when he softly touched her face. But doubts still hovered in her mind.
Tina was beautiful and she wouldn't tie Jack down like she would. She would be
what Jack needed.
"Maybe you…you just don't know that
you're in love with her, that…" She was whispering, scared to death that
he would stop to think about her words. But she had to know. It had hurt so
much when Tina had claimed to be Jack's girlfriend. She couldn't let that kind
of pain come near her again.
Jack chuckled softly, shaking his head.
"No, Rose. I don't even like her anymore. To know that she's capable of
upsetting you like this makes me want to kick her all the way back to that bar,
back into the arms of that man who was gonna hurt her. But, my mom always told
me to treat women with respect and never to hurt them, no matter how horrible
they may be."
Rose laughed half-heartedly.
"Jack…"
"Yeah?" His blue eyes were full of
hope now and he just prayed that she wouldn't say that she had to leave. Leave
and make him just as miserable as he had been a few days before.
"You know that…that I don't want to
force you into anything. You're free to go if you want to. I wouldn't…"
Jack just shook his head at her first words
and then stopped her from going on by pressing his lips against hers, deepening
the kiss slowly as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He smiled when they
parted for a second or two to get some fresh air into their lungs and she
blushed softly, both because of his obvious passion for her and because of her
own silly accusations. She got lost in the kiss a moment later, forgetting both
where they were and what they had been talking about.
"Now, would that be a kiss to someone I
would want to leave?" Jack whispered, letting her go slightly, looking
into her eyes. She smiled, too, leaning on his chest, her cheek soft against
his shirt and half-exposed chest.
"I'm sorry, Jack. I just…I thought…she
sounded so secure. I'm sorry I didn't trust you." He stroked her hair
softly as he kissed her forehead, making her look up at him.
"I think the baby had something to do
with all this."
Her eyes narrowed. New and old fears pounded
inside her and she looked at him, confusion shining in her eyes.
"What do you mean?"
Surely, he couldn't mean that part of her
irrational thoughts had been true?
Jack smiled as his thumbs moved over her
cheeks. "I just think you're not yourself right now and that's because of
the baby." He pretended to duck, fearing her reaction.
She just laughed, relief filling her once
more, but his words still annoyed her and she hit him playfully. "What do
you mean! I'm perfectly normal."
"Yeah, it is normal to hit your
fiance…" Jack laughed and she followed him across the room as they landed
on the bed in a heap, Rose lying with her upper body on his stomach as her legs
moved freely in the air.
"I'm sorry, okay," she whispered
softly and then kissed him over and over, once again forgetting what had just
happened.
"Jack?" He looked up at her, his
hands still glued to her chest, his fingertips gently moving over her stomach.
"We should get going. Molly invited us
to lunch, remember?"
Jack laughed out loud, as he sat up, running
a hand through his tousled hair. "Says the girl who practically tried to
take advantage of my fragile emotional state." Rose joined him in his
laughter, poking him in the ribs.
"Wow. Those are big words. Where did you
ever learn those?"
Jack grumbled, standing up from the bed,
leaning on her legs for support. She held up her hand to let him help her up,
but he just shook his head, muttering something about her being able to get up
on her own.
"Yes, of course. But I'm a lady and if
you're a gentleman you would help me up." But he was already at the door,
laughing as he watched her trying to disentangle herself from the sheets and
pillows. She sat up and ran her hands through the knots in her long red hair, grunting
in annoyance at the pain.
"I am going to get you for that,"
she muttered, but her laughter disappeared from her voice when she saw the
crumpled drawing on the floor. The beautiful strokes of the charcoal were
ruined by black marks and holes and she wanted to hit herself so badly, hurt
herself in any way possible to make the emptiness in her heart leave. The
emptiness that had been created because she had hurt him.
"Oh…Jack…I didn't mean to…" She
touched it gently, her fingers trembling as she picked it up from the floor.
She held it lovingly, like a mother holding a bruised child.
"Rose?" Jack walked over to her,
sinking down on the bed next to her. When he saw what she was holding, he
sighed sadly, taking her hands in his.
"It's okay, Rose…I'll draw a new one. I
wasn't even happy with this one. Really. I'll draw tons of new ones."
She melted into his arms, her hands still
grasping the drawing. "I'm sorry. I don't know how I got so angry. I'm
sorry."
"It's okay. I already forgave you. And
I'll draw a new one. Lots of new ones. Imagine what you'll look like with the
baby in a few months. That'll turn into beautiful drawings."
Rose smiled, relieved that he wasn't mad.
"You know, this is like when we first met. When the wind took those
drawings on deck and you started throwing away more of them. Remember?"
Jack nodded, grinning, as he thought about
the look on Rose's face when he had thrown the rest away. "Yeah…you
thought I was crazy." He looked into her eyes, his smile softer now.
"I am. About you." She laughed and
then pulled him up from the bed.
"Let's go now. You can tell me just how
crazy you are on the way to Molly's. By the way, Jack, what do you think about
this place now?"
He looked around, for the first time really
noticing how much she had changed it since that morning and he nodded,
impressed and proud over her. "Love it. Because you're here."
She hit his arm softly and pulled him out the
door, laughing as he locked the door and they ran down the stairs chasing each
other playfully, acting like twelve-year-olds rather than grownups.
*****
Molly looked at the young couple in front of
her, smiling. Rose could barely tear her eyes away from Jack to look down at
her plate and eat and Jack didn't seem to mind one bit. His hand was around
hers as they gazed deeply into one another's eyes.
"Hey, lovers, you gonna eat something?
My poor cook spent ages making this and you aren't even looking at it. Come on
now."
Rose looked up with a smile, blushing when
she felt Jack's eyes remaining on her, adoring the way she held the fork, the
way her face was turning pink, the way she…he smiled and looked down at his
food, too, not wanting to embarrass her anymore.
"Sorry, Molly."
"Now, you have something planned for
this wedding of yours?"
Jack and Rose both shrugged their shoulders,
not sure what to say, because they hadn't thought about it at all. All they had
told Molly was that they were engaged, but they didn't have rings, or a dress
for Rose, or a church, even an idea of where they wanted to be married.
"Well, all I know is that I don't want a
huge church wedding," Rose said with determination. "And I don't want
a lot of guests. I'd go to City Hall right this minute and get married if it's
okay with you, Jack."
Jack laughed and rolled his eyes at her.
"Never say that to a man, Rose. That's
all they want to do, unless they're high society, like our good friend
Caledon." Molly smiled when Rose pretended to faint in disgust from
hearing that name.
"No seriously, Molly. That's all I
want."
"Well, who am I to argue?" Jack
grinned and leaned closer to kiss her.
Right after lunch, they wandered around in
Molly's garden, talking quietly about the wedding, when Rose suddenly stopped.
"Now what?" Jack asked with
pretended annoyance, but she just laughed.
"We can have it here. Right here in this
garden."
Jack gave a whistle and looked around,
nodding in agreement. Rose looked at Molly suddenly, worried that she had gone
too far.
"If it's all right with you,
Molly." Molly nodded, grinning. "It's more than all right. I'll
organize everything. How does June 30, 1912, sound for a wedding day?"
Rose's eyes widened and she looked at Molly with shock. "Would you manage
to set it up till tomorrow?"
"Of course, darling," Molly nodded
and headed inside to make the necessary phone calls and arrangements.
"Darling, let me know if there's anyone special you want there. You too,
Jack."
She wondered if they had even heard her,
because they were locked in a deep kiss, oblivious to their surroundings.
Soft music was playing in Rose's head and
suddenly it was playing for real. She was wearing a beautiful, dreamlike white
dress and Jack was in a dark suit, his hair combed back like it had been on
Titanic that night. Rings sparkled on their fingers and even though diamonds
were nowhere to be found, her eyes twinkled as if she was looking at a thousand
of them.
And all around them were people dressed in
beautiful clothes, Jack's friends were there, everyone was there. Fabrizio,
smiling happily, Tommy, nodding as if he had known it all along…even her mother
was standing in a corner, wiping tears from her eyes.
Jack smiled at Rose as the kiss ended and
immediately started leading her out on the dance floor that had been set up in
the garden. Rose picked up the end of her long white dress and Jack touched her
veil lightly, making sure it wouldn't fall back over her eyes.
What the world needs now is love, sweet
love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some but for everyone.
Rose smiled as Jack wrapped his arm around
her waist more securely and they started floating around the green and
flower-filled space.
"I don't know the steps…"
"Well, get a little bit closer
then." His hand on the small of her back, pulling her closer, making her
disappear in his arms. White, black, white, whirling around in the ocean of
flowers.
Lord, we don't need another mountain,
There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb
There are oceans and rivers enough to cross,
Enough to last till the end of time.
Roses were everywhere and everything was
bursting with colors and perfumes. Jack's arms were around her, holding her
safely against the dangers of the world and they were safe in their own
paradise.
What the world needs now is love, sweet
love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some but for everyone.
"Jack?"
"Hmm?"
"I never thought I'd be happy when
someone said those words to me. You may now kiss the bride, but I was…I was so
happy I thought I'd explode." His nose gently brushed against her cheek
and he smiled at her.
Lord, we don't need another meadow
There are cornfields and wheat fields enough to grow
There are sunbeams and moonbeams enough to shine
Oh listen, lord, if you want to know.
"Me too, Rose. Me too. After everything
we've been through, I never thought we'd actually be here. But thanks to Molly
we are." He looked seriously at her, but his eyes were twinkling, still
moving with her in their sea of perfection.
"Maybe love does conquer all?"
Rose laughed at the silliness of her
question, but Jack just smiled, loving her voice and her words.
"Maybe. But right now I want to dance
with my wife if you don't mind."
"Mrs. Dawson…oh how I love that
name…wouldn't mind. In fact, she demands it."
"She demands a whole lot of
things." Jack grinned at the pouting mouth she presented in response and
then swung her around gently, moving slowly to the music.
What the world needs now is love, sweet
love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some oh but just for everyone…
Finally things were looking up. No more
heartaches or lies, or jealousy. Little did they know that sorrow could be
brought to them in other ways and that it would come soon. Soon something would
enter their lives and it was already laced with death.
But, happily unaware of this, they danced in
Molly's garden, bringing even a proud smile to Ruth's cold face.
Author's note: The song "What the
World Needs Now is Love" in this chapter was written by Burt Bacharach and
Hal David, Jackie DeShannon sang it. I realize that it didn't exist in 1912 (as
far as I know) but this is fiction, so I really don't think it matters. The end
of this chapter was a tribute to a wonderful episode from "Mad About
You" when the show was still great. *sigh*