SWING
Chapter Seven
The dance hall was jumping by time Rose and
Jack arrived.
"Fabrizio and Helga said they were
meeting us here?" Rose asked, clinging to Jack’s hand.
"Yeah. They’ll be here soon." Jack
started looking for a table.
"Jack! Jack!" Tommy called, heading
in Jack’s direction, dragging a blonde behind him.
"Hey Tommy! You made it!" Jack
hugged his friend.
"Where have you been all day? I’ve been
looking all over for you."
"I was around." Jack shrugged.
"So, tell me, who’s this?" He glanced at Tommy’s date.
"Ursula Burgenhiem." Tommy grinned.
"We met at the record store. She was going through the secret stash of
swing albums and we got into a deep conversation about Louis Armstrong. And who
is this lovely creature?"
Jack laughed. "Rose Dewitt Bukater.
Fabri and Helga set us up last night and we've hit it off from there."
"It’s nice to meet you." Rose shook
Tommy and Ursula’s hands.
"Your name…it sounds familiar."
Ursula frowned. "I just can’t place it."
"Come on, you girls, let’s sit down. So
Jack, where is Fabri?"
"He and Helga are meeting us here."
Jack led the way to a table he spotted a second ago. "So tell me, Tommy.
How did you get out of the house without your parents knowing where you
went?"
"I told them that Ursula was introducing
me to her brother, who just so happens to be a Hitler Youth. Genius, huh?"
"Totally." Jack laughed.
"So, Rose." Ursula cleared her
throat. "Tell us more about yourself."
"Yeah, it’s not every day we see Jack
with a date. You must be pretty special."
"Well…there’s really not much to
tell." Rose glanced at the table.
"She’s best friends with Helga,"
Jack replied.
"You do hate, Hitler, don’t you?"
"Of course." Rose nodded.
"It’s horrible what he’s doing to all those people."
"If my folks caught me here…they’d send
me to the front lines themselves." Tommy shook his head.
"My mother doesn’t like it, but she
knows she can’t tell me not to go." Jack sighed. "She doesn’t
understand that if we let Hitler get his way, soon they’ll be coming after us
for some reason or another."
"Well, I for one am tired of
sitting." Ursula got to her feet. "Come on, Tommy. Let’s dance."
"Now?" Tommy asked, not ready to
get up on the dance floor.
"Yes, now. We’ll be back." Ursula
pulled Tommy away, leaving Jack laughing.
"I think Tommy’s got more than he hoped
for." Jack laughed.
"Tommy seems nice." Rose shyly
smiled.
"He is. He’s just having a hard time
right now. His parents are pressuring him to join the youths and he doesn’t
want to."
"Sounds like my situation. My mother
wants me to marry Cal, but I don’t want to." Rose sheepishly smiled.
Despite her situation, she was indeed having a good time. The music was like
getting lost in a dream or something. Plus being there with Jack, to be the
only girl he was looking at…it was all magical. Just for one more night she
forgot about Caledon Hockley and her domineering mother. For that night she was
just Rose, having fun with a boy named Jack.
"Rose!" Helga waved as she and
Fabrizio pushed their way to their table. "Was I surprised when Fabri
called and told me that we were meeting you and Jack here. I thought for sure
you were never going to see Jack again."
Rose smiled. "Let’s just say that I’ve
had a change of heart." Rose laughed.
"Come on, Rosie. Let’s dance." Jack
pulled her onto the dance floor and together they began to move to the music.
Following Jack’s moves, Rose became quite good.
"Jack, who is this song by?" Rose
asked curiously, trying to keep up with the moves.
"Count Basie. Isn’t he great?" Jack
laughed.
Rose just nodded and held onto Jack's hand as
they continued to dance the night away.