11
It was noon when they went to the house Jack had grew up in and much to their surprise, well to Rose’s surprise anyway, there was someone living there.
"Jack…who do you think it is?" Rose tightly held his hand.
"My cousin George perhaps. I told him to feel free to make the place his own when I took off. It’s funny, he was one of the few people I thought about that night in those freezing waters. I was wondering if I’d ever have the chance to tell him how much I love him"
"Well you do now. So what’s keeping you?"
Jack shrugged. "Nothing. Come on. Let’s go see if it’s him or not," Jack squeezed his wife’s hand and led her up onto the porch. Jack’s about to knock when a gruff voice approached.
"Who goes there?!"
Jack turned around to stare into a pair blue eyes so much like
his own. "George? It’s me. Jack."
The man blinked in surprise. "Jack? You mean in Jack Dawson? My cousin?"
Jack laughed. "The one and only."
"Jack!" George yelled in happiness and hugged his cousin. "Where did you come from? When did you get in? Who is this lovely creature you have with you?"
Jack laughed again. "Slow down. One
question at a time."
George grinned. "Well come on in! Set! Cillie has just
gotten done with lunch. There’s enough for the both of you
to join us!"
"Come on Rose," Jack smiled reassuringly at his wife, pulling her into the house.
"Cillie! Look who’s here! My cousin Jack!" George led the couple into the house, being greeted to the smell of fried chicken and mashed potatoes.
"Jack’s back?" a woman with straight blond hair and brown eyes came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a apron. "Why it is Jack. I must say this is a surprise."
"Hello Cillie," Jack nodded.
"Ok Jack, tell us who the lady you have with you is," George crossed his arms. "The curiousity is killing me."
Jack laughed. "Alright. I’ll stop torturing you. I know how you get when you’re curious. George, Cillie…I’d like you to meet my wife, Rose Dawson."
"Wife?" George blinked back his shock.
"You got married?" Cillie stared at Rose.
"Yeah. We eloped a couple of days ago," Jack nodded.
"I must say I’m surprised. The last thing I expected you to be when you returned was married, and to such a lovely woman at that," George shook his head. "So…are you two planning to move back into the house?"
"Oh no. We’re staying at Mrs. Gladys’s boarding house. There’s just too many memories of ma and pa here," Jack sighed.
"Well if you ever change your mind…you’re welcomed to. Your room is still available."
"Thank you George. We appreciate it," Jack smiled.
"Well don’t just stand there you two. Come in. Lunch is on the table," Cillie hustled them deeper into the house and into the dining room.
"You always loved Cillie’s fried chicken," George settled into his chair.
"It’s the best. Cillie will have to give us the recipee," Jack grinned.
"Ok. But I doubt Mrs. Gladys will let either of you near her kitchen," Cillie giggled.
"That’s ok. Rose and Jack will just have to come over here for dinner," George shrugged. "So Rose, you’re quiet and in this family you’re going to learn that being quiet is not a good thing. So speak up and tell us about yourself."
"Yeah. Where are you from?" Cillie leaned her chin on her hand.
"Philadelphia," Rose answered. "My father was a business man and my mother…well…there’s no words to describe my mother."
"Oh so you’re a lady," Cillie leaned back in her chair.
"How did you hook up with Jack?" George threw a look over at his cousin.
"We met on a ship. It was love at first sight," Rose smiled at her husband. "Well…actually third sight. I thought he was an annoying pest at first."
"Hey!" Jack laughed. "Oh well, that’s okay. I thought you were a spoiled brat."
"A spoiled brat? Really Jack."
"You two act like you’ve known each other forever," Cillie giggled.
"Honestly, it feels like we have," Rose sighed looking adoringly into her husband’s eyes. "I can’t even think about what my life was like before Jack entered it."
"Me either," Jack kissed her hand.
"George why don’t you ever kiss my hand like that?" Cillie looked at her husband.
"Because I don’t believe in getting my moves from nickelodeons," George laughed.
"Ha ha," Jack threw a dirty look at his cousin. "So George. How has the Falls been treating you?" Jack was curious. He’s been away for five long years and wanted to catch up on how everyone was coming along.
"Ok I guess. The townsfolk don’t care for me much, but I don’t care for them either so the feeling’s mutual," George shrugged.
"What happened?" Jack looked towards Cillie.
"We took in two of the town blacksheep and now we’re blacksheep you can say," Cillie sighed.
"Who were they?"
"The Leoni family. They were evicted and needed a place to stay for a couple of days. No one else would take them in and Gina just had a baby. We couldn’t just leave them out in the cold."
"Why would the town be mad at you about that?" Rose asked.
"Because Gina had her baby outside of wedlock. Plus…Junior was rumored to be putting her favors up for sale," George sighed.
"That’s still no reason to treat you horribly," Jack shook his head.
"Plus the fact that I’m the wrong Dawson living in this house didn’t help matters any."
"What?"
"Jack, people are waiting for your
immenent return so we can be thrown out of the house and out of
town," George sighed. "It’s the way things
are."
"They should know that I’d never do that."
"They don’t care. To them I’m trespassing."
"So in other words nothing’s
changed," Jack sighed. "Figures. Chippewa Falls never
did take too well to change."
"So Jack tell us about your travels. I’m sure
you’ve been around the world and back," Cillie changed
the subject wanting to stay away from further talk of the
townspeople. Goodness knows they didn’t want to scare Rose
away.
*
Two hours later it Jack and Rose were ready to leave.
"Don’t be a stranger. Come by and visit us every once in a while," Cillie smiled. "I’ll be happy to teach Rose everything I know about being a housewife."
"That would be greatly appreciated," Rose smiled.
"And remember the door is always open if you do decide to come back to the house," George shook his cousin’s hand.
"Thanks, but I doubt that’ll be necessary."
"Well you’d never know," George shrugged. "We’ll see you later."
"Bye," Jack and Rose waved stepping off into the warm air.
"They were nice," Rose sighed, leaning her head against Jack’s shoulder.
"Yeah. I’m surprised that the town has treated them so badly. I mean, Chippewa Falls is usually a friendly town."
"To you Jack it was friendly. But obviously it’s another story for your cousin. It’s just like the first class society. You’re fine until you associate with the wrong people."
"Well I guess that means you’re definitely no longer a member of high society. How low can you get than marrying a penniless artist?" Jack grinned.
"Marrying a stuck up, self-absorbed coward," Rose placed her arms around Jack’s neck and kissed him passionately. "I’m so happy to have found you Jack Dawson."
"Not as happy as I am to find you," Jack stroked her red curls. "Come on. Let’s get back to the boarding house to finish unpacking. Who knows how long we’ll be staying here."
"Lead the way," Rose smiled.