16
Rose stared out of her bedroom window, Josephine sleeping peacefully in her arms. It had been a busy morning for Rose. Helping with breakfast, a bit of housework, and of course, caring for her newborn daughter. It had all made her extremely sleepy. Silently, she wondered where her husband was. Probably spending more time with Maria. The thought was bitter and stung her pretty good. What could they possibly be talking about for so long? What were they really doing?
"Rose!" Sam’s voice pulled her out of the world of jealous wife rambling thoughts. "What are you doing?"
"Rocking Josephine to sleep," was her exhausted answer. "What is it?"
"I just wanted to make sure that
you were ok. I know you’re thinking that Jack’s still
with Maria since he’s not with you. I thought I should just
come up and see if you needed anything."
"What if he falls in love with her and leaves me, Sam?
She’s so beautiful and exotic…I can’t possibly
compete with that," Rose got up and placed Josephine in her
crib.
"Jack loves you Rose," Samantha tried to reassure her sister in law, as well as herself. "Listen, maybe you should talk to Jack, yourself. Tell him how you feel."
Rose sighed, staring up at the ceiling. She knew that she needed to talk to Jack. Keep the lines of communication open. But what if he thought she was being a baby? "Sam…you’re right. I do need to talk to Jack. But what if he thinks I’m horrible."
"He won’t."
"How do you know?"
"Because he loves you. I see it in his eyes every time he looks at you Rose. Just talk to him."
Rose sighed. Samantha was right. Keeping her feeling from Jack would only cause problems. "Ok. You’re right. I’ll talk to Jack. Even if he does think I’m being silly."
"He won’t think you’re silly. Talk to him now. George said he was outside."
Rose nodded and took a deep breath before leaving the room; hoping to get over her jealousy over Maria.
~*~
Sure enough, Jack was indeed outside, smoking, his eyes closed against the bright morning sunlight. At first Rose thought that he was asleep, but then he sighed and opened his eyes.
He turned his head and Rose knew that Sam was right, when Jack’s eyes lit up with love and adoration when he saw her. "Rose," He put out the cigarette and got to his feet.
"Jack," She shyly smiled, suddenly nervous. How was she going to explain herself, without sounding like…Cal? "Can we talk?"
Jack nodded, concern emerging into his eyes. "Sure we can. Come here," he led her to the chair he had been sitting in and knelt before her. "Now tell me, what do you want to talk about?"
Rose took a deep breath, hating herself for feeling the way she did. For doubting Jack’s love. "It’s about Maria. How do you really feel about her Jack?"
Jack inwardly frowned. Did Rose know about his earlier conversation with Maria? Did she suspect anything at all? "What are you talking about?"
"…Jack, I don’t know why, but I feel that you rather be with Maria then with me. I know I’m being silly, that I’m the only woman you love…but I can’t help being jealous of her," Rose bowed her head, ashamed to be feeling like this.
Pulling her into his arms, Jack held Rose, rubbing her back gently. "Oh Rose, you have nothing to worry about. I love you. I always have and always will. You’re the mother of my child, the love of my life. Maria is only a friend. That’s all she can ever be," Jack sighed, pushing away his confused feelings for Fabrizio’s lovely sister. George was right. Rose was too important to him to risk losing over feeling he shouldn’t be having at all.
Smiling, relieved to know that Jack didn’t think her silly after all, Rose pulled out of the embrace and stared deeply into his eyes, falling into them completely. "There’s no one else for me, but you Jack. There never will be. I love you so much."
Jack could only smile and pull her into another hug as he banished any more romantic thoughts of Maria to the back of his mind.
Maria stood at the door, looking out at the couple. Sighing, she walked back to her room, convinced that there would never be anyone else for her but Jack. Whether he was married or not.