SURVIVING
Chapter Two
The hospital was full of shouting voices and
loud machines. Doctors and nurses were in a rush to get to the next victim of
the Hindenburg crash.
Jack was wheeled into a private room and
quickly hooked to a machine. A doctor stood in front of Rose, questioning her
nonstop. And then there was the official from immigration. The man was very
polite and helpful and promised Rose that he’d contact Jack’s relatives in
Chippewa Falls. After a hour, she and Jack were finally left alone.
She picked up the chart and frowned. Smoke
inhalation. That sounded serious enough to her, but obviously the doctors had
other opinions. Only one doctor had examined Jack, and one nurse came by every
hour. So she sat with Mr. Dawson’s ashes in her hands and waited for Jack to
wake up.
Yawning, Rose closed her eyes and fell into a
restless sleep. Two hours later, she awoke to find a blond woman with blue eyes
staring down at Jack, tears lingering in her eyes. She gently touched Jack’s
hair…
"What trouble have you gotten into now,
Jack?" The girl sighed.
"Hello?" Rose spoke up, wondering
how the girl knew Jack.
"Oh, you’re awake. You must be Jack’s
fiancée immigration told me about. My name is Emma Jean Dawson. I’m one of
Jack’s many cousins."
"Rose DeWitt Bukater." Rose got to
her feet. "You got here awfully fast."
"I was in the area, and a friend of mine
works at immigration and saw Jack’s file. He contacted me immediately."
"Thank you for coming." Rose rubbed
tears out of her eyes as she looked at the cousin, noticing just how much Jack
and Emma looked alike.
"He hasn’t changed very much in the five
years since I’ve known him." Emma sighed. "Does he still
sketch?"
Before Rose could answer, Jack began to wake
up. "Rose," he groaned, lifting a hand to his head. He opened his eyes
to meet his cousins. He frowned. "You’re not Rose."
Emma Jean laughed. "No, I’m not. Now
that we’ve established that, do you know who I am?"
Jack looked at her closely; still groggy from
the smoke he had inhaled. "Emmy? Cousin Emmy?"
Her eyes lit up. "You do remember."
"What…how? How did you get here so
fast?"
"I was in the neighborhood and a friend
from immigration contacted me. Grandma and Grandpa are going to be as pleased
as punch to see you."
"Rose…"
"I’m right here, Jack." Rose got up
and took his hand.
"You okay?"
Rose nodded. "I’m fine. Just worried
about you."
Emma Jean cleared her throat. "I’m going
to step out and get you two some tickets to Chippewa Falls. You are coming back
with me? Aren’t you, Jack?"
"Where else do I have to go right now?
Of course we’ll go back with you."
"Well…I was thinking you’d prefer the
cousins in Boston…" She laughed at the face Jack made. "That’s what I
thought. Now behave yourself."
"I always do." Jack waved as his
cousin left, leaving him alone with Rose. Rose was curious about his frown. She
realized he was staring at the box of ashes in the chair she was sitting in.
"You saved them."
"Of course I did. I know how much they
mean to you." Rose placed a warm hand on his left cheek, noticing how his
eyes were tearing up. "Jack, what’s wrong?"
"Emmy…she loved my father so much…how am
I going to tell her he’s dead? That the Nazis killed him and my mother’s
sleeping with one of them? How can I tell her such a thing? I know she must be
wondering where he’s at."
"You’ll tell her as gently as you can,
and I’ll be there to help." Rose kissed him.
"Thank you." Jack stroked her red
curls. "Thank you so much for saving his ashes from the fire and for
loving me like you do."
"We’ll just call it even." Rose
smiled, allowing herself to get lost in his blue orbs, which widened in wonder.
"Rose…we’ve made it. We’re here in
America! You’re free, Rosie! You’ll never have to worry about the Nazis, ever
again!" Jack pulled her into a happy hug. "We’re free, Rose! We’re
finally free!"
They remained in each other’s arms, once
again discussing their hopes and dreams for their new lives in America. Of
course they knew there were going to be hardships, but as long as they had each
other, they would make it.
*****
Rose was asleep when Emma Jean returned, but
Jack was wide awake, watching her. It was obvious that he was deeply in love
with the girl.
"I like her." Emma Jean entered.
"She’s good for you."
"She’s good to me." Jack sighed.
"I don’t know where I’d be right now if it weren’t for her."
"Jack…what happened? Why were you two on
the Hindenburg, and why didn’t you let anyone know you were coming? And where
is Uncle Lucas?"
Jack looked at the box of ashes still sitting
in Rose’s chair and felt tears well up. He didn’t want to tell her, but he had
to. She had the right to know. "They killed him, Emmy. The Nazis killed
him! There are his ashes in that chair. Delivered to me the day Rose and I fled
Germany for our lives. There are his ashes. In that chair." Jack pointed,
fighting back tears.
Emmy slowly walked to the chair and picked up
the box. She gasped in horror as she recognized the pair of glasses inside.
"Those sick bastards." She closed the box and sat it back down.
"What a horrible thing to have delivered. Why, Jack? Why did they
do…this?"
"He was protesting the government. They
wanted to shut him up, so they did."
"Oh, Jack…I…how horrible."
"I hate them, Emmy. I hate them and
everything they stand for." Jack rubbed away the tears that were beginning
to flow.
"I know you do, Jack, and I hate them,
too. I hate them, too." She took the hand that wasn’t wrapped around Rose.
"Listen, I know there’s more to this story, but I’m not going to push it.
I know you’ll tell everything in your own time. Let me leave you two alone now
to get your sleep. You’ll be discharged tomorrow morning, and then we have a
train to catch."
"Chippewa Falls." A smile appeared
on Jack’s face, and Emmy had to laugh.
"Yes, Chippewa Falls. Maybe being
surrounded by the people that love you will help you open up. Night,
Jack."
"Night, Emmy." He watched her leave
before yawning tiredly. Yes, it was time to sleep, so he could wake up fresh
and ready to face a new day.