AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY
Chapter Five
Rose was miserable. Cal had ordered her food
for her, just like he had done the day before. He hadn't even considered what
she might want for lunch. She had to sit through more boring conversations
while sitting daintily and sipping her tea. The only two interesting people at
their table were Molly Brown and Thomas Andrews. Mr. Andrews had designed and
built the Titanic. She found him to be very kind.
Mrs. Brown had an incredible sense of humor.
She was down to earth and not the slightest bit stuck up. That’s what Rose
liked about her. But Ruth, on the other hand thought she was vulgar. She was
new money. Rose remembered her mother saying that when Mrs. Brown had boarded
Titanic the night before at Cherbourg.
Another person that occupied their table was
Bruce Ismay. He was the director of the White Star Line. Rose found him to be
very stuck up and boring. But of course, Mother is in her element here, with
all of the right people. She had nearly jumped for joy when we were asked to
sit with the elite group on Titanic.
Rose wanted to light up a cigarette, but she
knew that her mother would frown upon it if she did. And I certainly don’t
need a repeat of yesterday, she thought, thinking back to yesterday’s
lunch, when her mother had frowned at her for smoking. But that’s not the
worst part. When Cal took the cigarette out of my mouth like some child…she
didn’t want to think about yesterday’s lunch; it infuriated her every time the
thought crossed her mind. Instead, she decided to think about Jack. She
wondered what she would say to him when she talked to him later that day. She
felt awful that he had seen her at her worst. No one has ever seen me in
that manner before. Mother has made sure of it. Rose watched as her mother
talked about her wedding, once again excluding Rose from the conversation.
"Five hundred invitations have been sent
out," Ruth told the Countess of Rothes. "The wedding will be
splendid. Everyone important will be there," Ruth boasted.
Rose gritted her teeth. She had heard all she
could stand of this wretched wedding that was supposed to be her own. Why
doesn’t Mother marry Cal? That would make me happy and she would have all of
the money that her heart desired. A small smile appeared on her face at the
thought. Wouldn’t that be a riot!
She turned to Cal, who sat at her side.
"Darling, I'm not feeling well. Please excuse me," she said, before
getting up to leave. She’d had enough of these people and their boring
conversations.
"Sweetpea, can I escort you back?"
he asked in his gentlemanly manner.
She shook her head. "I can manage on my
own, darling. I would not want to interrupt your lunch."
She walked back to her suite as quickly as
possible. It was such a relief to get out of that room! Once she reached her
suite, she freshened up before leaving for the forecastle deck to wait for
Jack.