CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Santa Monica , California
Two weeks later…
Rose Dawson stood at the counter, wiping off the spilled cola a little boy had knocked over. On the outside she looked like a normal waitress, busy at work. Her mind on getting off and resting her sore feet. But on the inside she was in turmoil. She had lost the two people that meant the most to her and it had destroyed her spirit. She no longer looked at everything in a optimistic way. She lived day by day hoping that someday she’d feel herself again. Maybe she’ll even slip up and mother and Cal will find her and drag her back to Philadelphia. She wouldn’t have cared. There was nothing left to her freedom to fight for.
Closing her eyes she could still see Jack, smiling at her with all the love in the world. Hear his voice say her name…feel his hands touching her face. Sighing she cursed herself. She had work to do and here she was daydreaming about another woman’s husband. Two hot tears leak from her eyes knowing this. By now Leah and Jack should be husband and wife. Jake now had two parents to love and take care of him properly. Oh it should be her! She should be the one married to Jack! It should be her sharing in being a parent to Jake! Not Leah! How stupid was she? Jack would have left with her if she had asked. He would have broken that engagement and headed out to Santa Monica along with Rose and their son. But no, Rose had to be noble and give him up for the sake of a girl she barely knew! Not only did she give Jack up! She gave her baby up as well! She just handed them both over on a silver platter!
"Rose, there’s someone here to see you," Sally, one of the waitresses in the café passed her. "I suggest you take your break now. I wouldn’t keep this guy waiting."
A deep seeded fear rose up in her throat. What if it was Cal? Then what? Would she go back to Philadelphia, or should she fight it? Taking a deep breath, Rose finished off the counter and walked over to the table Sally had referred to. Her heart in her throat. If it in fact was Cal, she was going to accept her fate and return to Philadelphia. There was nothing else left for her out here but heartache. She narrowed her eyes in confusion when she reached the table. Setting there was a man, but it definitely wasn’t Cal. By his build and blond hair, Rose almost dared to believe it was Jack. But that wasn’t possible was it? Jack was in Chippewa Falls marrying Leah Calvert. It looked as if the man was holding a child and was gently talking to it, as if the child needed to be calmed down. Rose steps closer and gets a better look of the baby. She gasped in surprise. It was Jake! Which means the man at the table was….
"Jack?" She tentatively asked, just in case she was wrong.
Jack turned around, happy at last to finally have found Rose. It took a lot of remembering and searching to find Rose and now here she was at last. "Rose."
"What are you doing here? Where’s Leah?" Rose asked.
"Back in Chippewa Falls canceling all those wedding invitations."
Rose was afraid to believe what she was hearing. "I don’t understand."
Smiling, Jack stands up,
holding Jake in one arm and takin her hand with his free hand.
"Leah and I had a talk the morning you left. She saw that it
was you I truly loved. Not her. She broke off the engagement and
told me to go find you."
"You mean…you’re single again?" Rose stared
at him in disbelief. She was afraid to believe him. "We can
be together?"
Jack nods. "You me and Jake."
Tears spring to her eyes. "Oh Jack you don’t know how happy this makes me!" Rose hugs both him and Jake tightly. "I’ve been so lost the past couple of weeks without you."
"Me too," Jack hugged her tightly. "And so has Jake. He’s been crying for mama since the day you left."
"Oh Jake I’m
sorry," Rose hugged her baby. "I really did think I was
doing the right thing."
"Thank goodness Leah was good enough to do the right
thing."
Rose nods, sighing happily. She lays her head on Jack’s shoulder. "We have to send her a thankyou note I guess."
"Or a wedding invitation."
Shock filled Rose’s mind. Was he proposing to her? "Jack?"
"Rose…I loved you for so long…I don’t know if I can ever stop. When I thought you were dead, I died too. I just letted life pass me by. You can say I was a drowning man, still stuck in those below freezing waters of the North Atlantic. It wasn’t until two weeks ago when you walked into that store that I freed myself from those icy waters. Rose, what I’m trying to say here is that I love you more than anything. You and Jake are everything to me. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Rose’s eyes lit up with true happiness. This was a dream come true for her. Now her, Jake, and Jack will finally be a family. "Yes." She nods, tears streaming from her eyes. "Yes Jack. I’ll marry you."
Jack grins widely. This was the answer he’s been wanting for so long. He happily pulls her into his arms and they hang onto each other for dear life, knowing that for now on, nothing will ever come between them again. At that moment, Jack thought back on his life. From the moment he left Chippewa Falls five years ago, to the time Titanic when under, he had never thought he’d be so happy to settle down. He had never thought that life would lead him to a point where he’d be utterly and completely happy.