AFTER TITANIC

BOOK ONE

Chapter Thirty-Two

April 18, 1913

Rose shivers from the intense cold of her dream. It's the same dream she's had since the anniversary of the sinking. It's dark and she's cold and alone.
"Rose," a familiar voice calls to here. "Rose darling, wake up."
Rose awakens to the feel of warm lips pressing against her own and two strong arms holding her in their tight embrace. The delicious smell of sausage, eggs, and pancakes whiffs into her nostrils. She opens her eyes to gaze into a pair of lovely blue ones.
"Jack," She happily whispers when their lips part.
"Good morning sunshine," Jack smiled.
"What time is it?" Rose yawned
"Time for you to get up. I have a big day planned for us today," Jack smiled, leaving her side to go to the dresser.
"Jack?" Rose is suspicious when she spots the small silver box he withdraws from the top drawer. "What are you up to?"
"Happy anniversary my love," Jack brightly smiled, presenting the box to her.
Of course! Their anniversary! She had completely forgotten. "Oh Jack!" Rose cried. She hasn't even gotten him a gift yet.
"Go ahead. Open it," Jack urged. Looking up at him for a second and back at the box, she opened the box to reveal a silver heart-shaped locket.
"Oh Jack...this is so beautiful," Rose cries, throwing her arms around him. "I love it. By the way, where are the children? I didn't hear their cries this morning."
"I dropped them off at Kathy's earlier this morning. She's been begging me to let her keep them. So I decided that today was the day to grant her wish," Jack smiled. "Now get up and get dressed. We have a busy day ahead of us."
"What are we going to do?"
"I can't say. It's a surprise," Jack smiled. "Now hurry. We want to be on our way before it gets too hot," Jack helps her out of the bed.
"Can't I just have a little peek?" Rose shous over the loud hum of the car. Jack had blindfolded her and now they were heading to God knew where.
"Not a peek Rose. You'll find out when we get there," Jack answered. "You're going to love it Rose. Trust me."
"I trust you," Rose replied, her voice is a little weak as she wonders what Jack had in store for her today.
The car comes to a complete stop. Rose gets nervous when she hears Jack leave the car and sighs in relief when he opens the passenger door.
"Don't worry Rose. I didn't leave ya," Jack laughed, taking her hand and pulling her out of the car. He walks behind her and takes off the blindfold, he notices that Rose still had her eyes closed.
"You can open your eyes now darling," Jack squeezes her shoulders.
Rose gasps in surprise and delight when she sees the roller coaster rising above the pier.
"Oh Jack! It's the pier!"
"I told you I'd take you here didn't I? I just wanted to make sure the day was special when we went. What's more special than our anniversary?"
"Oh Jack thank-you! A day at the pier is the greatest way to spend our anniversary?"
"Oh Jack thank-you! A day at the pier is the greatest way to spend our anniversary."
"So my Rose. What do you want to do first?" Jack asks, then follows her gaze to the roller coaster. "You want to do that first?"
Rose nods and takes his hand to pull him over to the roller coaster line. Jack wraps his arms tightly around her as they wait.
"Jack...I'm so nervous. I never rode on a roller coaster before," Rose confesses.
"Oh Rose, it's great. It's truly like you're flying. You're going to love it."
"Tickets please," the man requested as their turn comes up.
Settling into their car seats, Jack squeezes Rose's hand. "Try not to throw up now," He smiled.
Rose just smirked at him, then suddenly she grips the bar in front of them as the roller coaster begins to slowly make it's way up the tracks.
"Jack!" Rose screamed as the car reaches the top and plunges down the track, pushing the wind into Rose's face.
"Hold your hands up Rose!" Jack shouts.
Rose did as she was directed and felt the freedom she had felt at the bow of Titanic when Jack was teaching her to fly, except this time the feeling was more intense.
All too soon the ride is over.
"Well Rose, how did you like it?" Jack helps her out of the car.
"It was so invigorating. I loved it," Rose happily smiled. "I haven't felt that free since that time on the bow of Titanic."
Jack smiled at the memory, glad that he could give her that freedom again.
Jack what's that over there?" Rose asks, pointing to a strange shaped building.
"Oh that's the house of mirrors. It's a maze of mirrors. The purpose is to try to find your way out," Jack explained. "Do you want to go in?"
Rose quickly nods and takes off for the mirror house without Jack.
"Rose wait up!" Jack calls after her, breaking into a run of his own. Jack enters the house to find images of Rose everywhere.
"Rose!" Jack calls, moving along the room searching for his wife.
"Jack!" Rose called back as Jack himself appeared in the mirrors.
"Rose!" Jack appears behind her in the mirrors.
"Jack," Rose turns to find herself staring at another reflection of Jack. Where was he? "Jack?"
"Rose over here!" Jack appears to Rose's right.
Spotting him, Rose runs to him to find it's just another reflection. That's when fear begins to twinkle into her mind. What if she couldn't find her way out of this maze?
"Rose?" Jack steps up behind her and lays a hand on her shoulder. She turns to him, trying to calm herself down.
"Rose you're crying," Jack wipes away a stray tear away from her eyes and pulls her into his arms. "It's ok Rose. I'm here now. It's alright."
"Jack," Rose lays her head on his shoulder.
Jack then lefts her face up to look at him, their eyes meet, then they kiss a long passionate kiss.
"Ewww! They're kissing!" Two little girls giggle.
Jack and Rose break from the kiss to see the little girls run away.
"I guess we better get out of here. We still have a long day ahead of us," Jack takes her hand and leads her outside.
"Where to next?" Rose asked.
"There," Jack points to the dunking booth. "The throw and dunk."
"Hey Dawson!" The man sitting on the pedistal greets Jack as they approach.
"Hey Sonny. Long time no see," Jack smiled. "I see you're still taunting people for a living."
"Yep. And what about you? Are you still a starving artist?"
"Far from it. In fact, I brought my wife Rose here for our anniversary," Jack places an arm around his wife.
"Oh I see. She's very beautiful Jack. You've done well for yourself. In fact, such a beautiful lady deserves a teddy bear. What do ya say Jack? Think you can dunk me?"
"I don't think I can dunk you," Jack laughs, picking up a ball and handing the cashier two dimes. "I know I can."
Rose winces as Jack misses the first shot. He had two shots left.
"Some shot you are!" Sonny taunts. "I hope baseball isn't a dream of yours."
Jack throws another ball and misses. Sonny then turns to Rose. "Sweetpea, it doesn't look like you're getting that bear."
Narrowing her eyes, Rose grabs the last ball and throws it at the target, hitting it directly. Sonny screams as he falls into the water tank.
"Looks like we have a winner!" The cashier announces.
"Cal used to call me that," Rose explained to Jack.
"Yes, I remember. I also remember the anger in your eyes when he called you that."
"She's a pistol Jack," Sonny resurfaces. "I hope you can handle her."
"I'm handling her just fine," Jack grins.
"Which bear would you like little lady," the cashier asks.
"You pick one out Jack," Rose grabs his arm.
Jack immediately spots the one he thinks is perfect for Rose, a white bear with a shiny party hat and a shiny bow tie. "That one."
"Here you go sweetie. You two have fun now," the cashier waves as Jack and Rose leaves.
"Where to next?" Jack places an arm around her.
"That shop there. Let's go in there," Rose points to the small store up ahead.
"Why?"
"I want to window shop a little," Rose giggled, pulling Jack over to the store.
It turned out to be a general supply store. Jack goes over and looks at some toys for the twins, but Rose immediately spots what she's looking for. It was perfect for him.
Grabbing the item and another small package, she goes up to the cashier. "How much extra are these to have them wrapped?"
"Twenty cents. A extra five cents for a written message."
"That comes to five dollars and fifty cents," Rose thoughtfully muttered, wondering if they could actually afford it, but she decided Jack was worth it. "I'll take it," She grabs a pen and paper available for engravings. "Write this message inside the cover."
"Yes Miss," the cashier nods, disappearing in the back. Ten minutes later the package was ready and paid for.
"Have a nice afternoon Miss," the cashier smiled as Rose rejoined Jack.
"There you are," Jack greets. "Are you ready to go?"
Rose nods hoping he doesn't spot the package. She wanted to wait until they were alone to give it to im. "Where to next Jack?"
"Follow me," Jack smiled. Jack takes her free hand and pulls her out of the store and down to the ocean, where a man with a gorgeous white arabian horse tied to a rope he held in his hands was waiting.
"Why hello Jack Dawson. Never thought I'd see you in these parts again," the man greeted. "Jasmine here sure has missed ya."
"Hi Sal," Jack greets. "It has been a long time, but I'm back for good now. I've moved my family here. I'd like you to meet Rose Dawson. I promised her that I'd teach her to ride like a man and I was wondering if you could help us out."
"Sure I will. Jasmine would like that too. She loves teaching beautiful young ladies how to ride. I'm sure she'll love you two," Sal smiled at Rose.
"She sure is beautiful," Rose smiled, looking over the horse. She's never seen a horse as beautiful as this one.
"White arabian she is. I brought her off a horse trader that had visited there and recieved her as a gift from the sultan. He didn't know what to do with her so he sold her to someone who did. She had sure brought me a pretty penny."
"How much Sal?" Jack asked.
"For you two it's free. I'll even let you have her for as long as you want. Just be sure to get her back to me before sundown. If I don't get her back to the stables by eight, I'll lose the space," Sal smiled, "Have fun you two."
Rose and Jack waved as he handed the reigns to Jack and disappeared down the beach.
"Ok Rose, lesson number one. Hop up on the horse like you normally would," Jack directed, leading her over to the side of the horse.

"Oh Jack, it's been so long," Rose replied, unsure if she can even remember how to ride a horse.
"Don't worry Rose. I'll show you. Just do as I say," Jack reassured her. "Just put your foot in the stirrup and swing your leg over the horse."
Rose does just as Jack said. "That's a girl rose. You did perfectly." Jack hops up behind her and gently placed his hands over hers that were tightly gripping the riegns. "Loosen up your hands Rose. Relax. Jasmine can feel your nervousness and that will make her nervous. Don't worry Rose, I won't let anything happen."
"Ok Jack," Rose loosens her grip. "Now what do I do?"
"Tap the horse lightly with your foot. That should get her moving," Jack directed.
Rose did so and gasped in surprise as the horse began walking down the beach.
"See this isn't so bad is it?" Jack asked.
Rose shakes her head and leaned back into Jack a little, enjoying the closeness of his body. "So this is what riding like a man is like," Rose smiled.
"No not really. It's much faster than this," Jack laughed.
"Well then let's go faster," Rose replied, feeling a lot braver than she did a couple of minutes ago.
"Are you sure Rose?"
"Positive Jack. I just needed to get use to the horse again, that's all. I'm used to it now, so now we can go faster."
"Ok Rose, here we go," Jack taps the horse a little harder than Rose the first time, and Jasmine bolts into a fast gallop. Again Rose is over come with the feeling of intense freedom as the wind whistles through her hair.
Jack suddenly stirs the horse into the surf of the ocean. Rose laughs as water sprays up, slightly wetting her face. They ride like this for a while until the sun is high above them.
"Tired?" Jack asked, slowing the horse down.
Rose just nods. She's ready to stop horse riding and move on to something else. Maybe laying beside Jack on the beach, and enjoying his company. Maybe she'll even give him her gift.
Jack stirs the horse over to a pole and helps Rose down after he hops off himself. After tieing the horse to the pole, they settle onto the beach and stare out at the ocean stretching out into the horizon.
"Are you hungry Rose?" Jack asked.
"A little," Rose replied, letting her head drop to Jack's shoulder.
"I'll go get us something," Jack suddenly stands up. "Stay here with Jasmine. I'll be right back."
"Jack..."Rose is again struck with fear. She didn't want to be left alone here on the pier. She didn't know anyone here hardly.
"I'll be back in a minute Rose, don't worry," Jack reassures her. "Just set here and relax."
Rose nods and watches him disappear into the crowd. She drifts off to sleep as she waits for Jack to return. She dreams of Jack and the first time she met him. He was stroking her hair and whispering her name lovingly.
"Rose," His voice is a little louder than the one before. "Rose."
Rose's eyes pop open awake to stare into a familiar pair of brown eyes. Fear leaps into her heart as Caledon Hockley come to mind, but that fear turns to joy and delight when she notices her friend Kate Milton from finishing school. Kate was what was called new money and Rose was the only girl who was nice to her. She had often wondered what had happened to Kate.
"Rose Dewitt Bukater! I can't believe it. The last time I heard you had died on that ship that sank last year!" the other girl hugs Rose.
"I survived," Rose shrugged, returning the hug. "I just don't go by Dewitt Bukater anymore. Wow, I haven't seen you in forever. What have you been up to?"
"I'm a actress now in the moving pictures," Kate laughed. "Can you believe it? Me, Kate the bookworm Milton is now a actress and a pretty good one too if you don't mind me saying."
"Wow, you really have come up the world."
"And you? Did you marry that pompous jerk Caledon Hockley?"
"No way. I got rid of him when the ship went down. But I am married to a wonderful man named Jack Dawson. Oh Kate, he's so perfect. So different from Cal. He has blond hair, blue eyes, and has the kindest heart..."
"Is that him?" Kate asked noding towards Jack who's not paying attention to them but at his effort not to drop the food he had brought for them.
"That's him," Rose grinned.
"Oh Rose, he's beautiful...I knew men can't be beautiful, but it can be said about this this one. There's no other word to describe him. I bet Cal was put out when you two met."
"Put out doesn't describe it," Rose remembers how angry Cal was that morning after the steerage party and can't help but shiver. She's so happy Jack had saved her from marriage to that man. He was so violent.
"Well you're one lucky woman Rose to have caught that one. He must turn a lot of heads."
"Hey Rose," Jack finally made it up to them. "Here's the food."
"Jack, this is a old school friend of mine, Kate Milton," Rose takes her half of the food from him.
"Hello," Jack greets.
"Hi," Kate shakes his hand, entranced by his intense blue eyes. He was even lovlier up close. Rose certainly was a lucky woman to wake up to those eyes every morning.
"Kate's in the moving pictures now. I was so surprised to see her," Rose grinned.
"You're an actress?" Jack asked, his eyebrows arched in interest.
"Yep. I've starred in a couple of pictures already. Next I'm starring in this film about the Titanic. I'm extra nervous about that one," Kate laughed.
"What's your part?" Rose asked, her curiousity peaked about this moving picture about Titanic.
"I'm a first class passenger who finds romance with a man from steerage," Kate explained. "Sadly, he dies at the end and she's eventually saved. Oops, I ruined the ending for you."
"Sounds sort of familiar," Rose glances up at Jack. "But that's ok Kate. I very much doubt we'll be going to see any moving pictures about Titanic.
"Oh that's right," Linda opens her eyes wide in shock. "You two were on Titanic weren't you? I'm sorry. How stupid of me to forget."
"That's ok. We're pretty much over it now," Jack smiled.
"I'm sure you'll be a hit though Kate."
"Well I better get going. I have to get to rehearsal. I'll see you two around sometime. Maybe we can do lunch," Kate smiled. "It was so nice meeting you Jack and it was grand seeing you gain Rose."
"Same here," Rose gives her one more hug and lets her leave. "Can you believe they're making a movie about Titanic? And fasioned off our story to boot, except you didn't die."
"It's a popular tale and a lesson can be learned from it," Jack said, staring after Kate. "Listen to me, I sound like Molly," he laughed, plopping down on the sand.
"But you don't look like her though. As Kate put it when she first saw you...you're beautiful," Rose laughed.
"Men can't be beautiful Rose."
"Well it's like Kate said, there's no other word to describe you," Rose grinned, kissing his cheek. "Besides, who said men couldn't be beautiful?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't really know. I just never heard anyone call a man beautiful before. But let's drop the subject. How do you like your hot dog and cheap beer?"
"They're good," Rose grinned taking a bite of her hot dog. "Very good actually. As for the cheap beer...I've tasted better."
"Well Rose, we've done everything we've talked about. We rode on the rollercoaster, I taught you how to ride like a man, and spit like a man. We've just drunk cheap beer..."
"But you didn't teach me how to chew tobacco like a man Jack. Remember?"
"Oh yeah. Well...to tell the truth Rose...I don't chew tobacco. I've always thought it was a disgusting habit," Jack looks at the sand.
"But you smoke," Rose said. "Some say that's a disgusting habit too."
"Rose, I haven't had a cigarette in over a year now...not since Titanic. I don't know why, I just never went back to it," Jack said. "Besides, you wouldn't want me coming to bed smelling of cigarettes anyway."
"So what you're saying is no chewing tobacco. Right?"
Jack nods, "I hope you're not disappointed."
"Not really. To tell you the truth, I was kind of looking for a way out of it," Rose laughed. "I'm quite relieved."
Jack just smiled and looked back at the ocean. Rose's attention returned to the package she had purchased for Jack. She couldn't wait anymore. She had to give it to him.
"Jack," Rose said tentatively, picking up the package. "I've brought you something."
Jack looks at her confused, wondering what it was that she had gotten him and when. Then he remembered the little shop. There was a minute or two when she had gone off by herself.
"Here," Rose hands him the package. "Open it."
Looking up at Rose, Jack opened the package to reveal a black genuine leather portfolio and a package of art supplies. "Oh Rose...I don't know what to say."
"Look inside the cover," Rose directed.
"My dearest Jack, there's no words to say how much you've meant to me in the past year. You have changed my outlook on life, you changed the way I live my life as well...making each day count...especially each day with you. I try to see things the way you see them...you make the simplest things seem magnificent. So I'm giving you this new portfolio not only to replace the one lost, but also to symbolize how I feel about us...our relationship. It's like everyday is an empty page just for us to make beautiful art on...to make the day magnificent. I love you Jack Dawson and I want to be with you forever. Love Rose Dawson," Jack read. "Oh Rose...this is beautiful. I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything," Rose smiled. "I knew you needed a new portfolio and this was so perfect for you."
"Well I love it and I love you. Thank-you," Jack smiled, pulling her closer to him to kiss her. Then he gets an idea. "You know what. I know what I want my first drawing to be."
"You do?" Rose asked.
"You on Jasmine, ready to ride like a man, with the ocean and that rollercoaster in the background.
"Jack...you mean you want me on that horse by myself? With one leg on each side?"
Jack nods. "Don't worry, I'll hurry. I just think that'd be a great picture. My beautiful Rose on a beautiful horse."
Rose blushed as always when Jack called her beautiful. "Ok Jack. I'll do it."
After Rose is on the horse and in the right position, Jack begins to draw, making sure he caught the very essence of the day. After a hour, Jack was done and it was time to return Jasmine.
"What do you think?" Jack asked, showing Rose the drawing. Rose gasped, Jack had done it again. He had truly captured her true spirit.
"It's beautiful Jack. You captured the whole meaning of the day," Rose grinned.
"It's time to return the horse. Let's go," Jack places a arm around Rose and they lead Jasmine back to her owner.
When they got home that night, both Maxwell and Eliza had gone to bed and they went to their room to revisit the stars. This was a day that neither of them would ever forget.

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