3

Rose woke up bright and early the next morning. She just laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling, thinking of Jack when Molly enters.

"Ready to start the day Rosie?!" Molly grinned. "We have a lot of talking to do today."

"I guess," Rose shrugged, not bothering to look at Molly.

"Come on Rosie. Snap out of it. I know you miss Jack, but trust me when I say he wants you up and about, not laying in bed drowning in self-pity and this baby is depending on you to get this information about it’s daddy."

"I guess you’re right," Rose forced herself to get out of bed. "Where do we begin?"

"How about downstairs with Mrs. Cleary. She must know something about the Dawsons."

"…I don’t know Molly. It’s going to see strange to her that we’re seeking this information."

"Well let it seem strange. You’re a young mother with the need to tell her baby about it’s father. That’s what important. Let’s go. Maybe we can get the name of some good restaurant," Molly grabbed Rose’s hand and led her out the door.

They find George and Mrs. Cleary at the desk when they come down. It looks like Mrs. Cleary was sending George to deliver some letters.

"Why good morning Mrs. Brown. How was you sleep last night," Mrs. Cleary smiled.

"It was quite nice thank you. My companion and I were wondering are there any good restaurants around here so we can grab us some grub this morning."

"Well mam…my wife is a great cook and she’s fixing a nice breakfast now if you want to join us," George offered, eyeing the young Rose Dawson curiously. He wanted to learn more about the young woman with his last name.

"Well that’s right nice of you. If half the people in this town are as friendly as you are sir, I’m sure to enjoy my stay here. We’d love to have breakfast with you and your wife," Molly nodded, nudging Rose encouragingly, who by the way looked absolutely mortified. She didn’t think she’d have to deal with finding out about Jack’s past this early.

"Well follow me. I just have to deliver these letters then we’ll head on out to the farm. Sam’s sure to have breakfast ready by then," George smiled motioning for the women to follow him.

"Molly I don’t know about this," Rose whispered.

"Everything will be fine Rose. Just think about who this is for. The baby," Molly squeezed Rose’s hand. "Relax. These are good people. There’s nothing to be afraid of."

Rose just nodded and continued staring out the window.

Thirty minutes later, George pulled into the driveway of a two story house. She looks up and wonders if this was Jack’s house.

"This is a lovely house," Rose replied

"It belonged to my aunt and Uncle. They died in a fire five years back. It was horrible. But my wife and I came back a year ago and decided to fix the place up and make it our own."

"Oh," Rose bowed her head. Nothing about Jack. But then again, Jack had mentioned that his parents died in a fire.

"Come on in. Sam should have breakfast ready," George opened the door for his guests. "Sam honey! We have company!"

"Who?" A beautiful brunette about Rose’s age emerges from the kitchen.

"Samantha honey, I’d like to introduce you to Rose Dawson and the unsinkable molly brown," George grinned.

"The Molly Brown?" Samantha’s brown eyes widen with shock.

"It’s nice to meet ya darling," Molly held out her hand.

"What brings you to Chippewa Falls?"

"We’re here to find out some information about someone dear to my friend here. Poor girl has been through the ringer and back," Molly pats rose’s back.

"Well breakfast is on the table. Come join us," Samantha beckons to the kitchen.

Rose face went pale as she felt the familiar pangs of morning sickness. "Huh…is there a restroom nearby?" Rose asked.

"Sure. Upstairs on the right," Samantha smiles, pointing to the stairs.

"Thank you," Rose rushes to the stairs. After she’s done she leaves the restroom and noticed a closed door. She looked at the door, trying to ignore the urge to open it and take a look inside, but was unable to resist. Knowing that she shouldn’t she opens the door and dunks in.

The room was small and had a bed in the center. Against the wall next to a window looking out on the trees surrounding a lake, is a desk. A strange force moved Rose over the desk. It reminded her of someone taking her hand and leading her over to it. She opened the desk and gasps. It was a portfolio and in that portfolio was drawings with the initials JD scrawled at the lower right corner. Jack. This must have been Jack’s room and this was his portfolio.

She looks on the inside of the cover and reads the inscription:

To our dear son Jack. May this portfolio keep all your hopes and dreams safe.

Love Mom and dad

"Oh Jack," Rose sniffed.

"Rosie?! Are you okay up here?!" Molly comes up. She enters the room when she spots Rose. "Rose what are you doing in here?"
"This was Jack’s room Molly. See here’s his portfolio," Rose showed Molly the portfolio.

"That boy sure was a talented one," Molly nods, glancing over the pictures.

"Come Rose. Let’s get back downstairs," Molly takes the portfolio away from Rose and lays it back on the desk. "It won’t do for them to find you up here rummaging around up here. Let’s go. We came to the right place though."

"Oh God Molly, what are we going to do? How are we going to tell them that Jack’s dead?"

"We’ll think of something. Okay. Just stay calm and don’t get yourself upset. Remember that baby feels everything you do. Just remain relaxed," Molly stroked Rose’s hair.

Rose nodded, allowing Molly to lead her downstairs.

"Is everything alright?" Samantha asked concerned.

"Oh everything’s fine. Sometime the morning sickness just hits me," Rose nervously smiled.

"Well I hope that hasn’t ruined your appetite. I’ve made George’s favorite breakfast. Flapjacks, goetta, and sausage, and eggs with maple syrup."

"Sounds delicious," Molly grinned following Samantha into the kitchen. "This certainly is a beautiful house you have here."

"Thank you, but it’s not really ours. It belongs to George’s cousin Jack, but no one’s heard from him ever since he took off for five years. So you can say that we’re keeping it up for him until he returns, whenever that will be."

"Molly…I’m sorry…I can’t do this," Rose got up and ran outside, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Rose! Rose come back! I’m sorry…"

"Oh that’s okay. George told me about her husband dying. Go after her."

Rose found Rose a couple of steps away from the porch, she had collapsed onto the ground crying and crying. Nothing could stop her tears.

"Rose darling, don’t do this. Stay strong for the baby…" Molly tried to soothe her friend.

"I can’t do this Molly. I thought I could, but I can’t. I can’t tell them that Jack’s not coming home! That he’ll never becoming home again!" Rose wailed.

"Of course you can Rose. You have to. This was Jack’s family. They loved him. They have a right to know and they have a right to know that you’re having his baby. Come on. I’ll be with you the whole way and so will Jack. He’s with you Rose. I can feel him and I know deep down you do too. Now let’s go and do this for Jack."

Rose looks up at Molly and tearfully nods. "Ok Molly. I’ll do this for Jack and our baby." Rose sighed, allowing Molly to lead her back into the house.

"Is everything okay?" Samantha and George come out of the kitchen.

"Everything’s fine. This is just one of Rose’s bad days. It’s been like this since Jack’s death," Molly explained.

"Come set and eat and tell us all about it you poor dear," Samantha wraps a arm around Rose’s shoulder and leads her into the kitchen.

"Did you say her husband’s name was Jack?" George asked curiously.

Molly just nods and follows the young man into the kitchen. They set down to the table in front of smoking plates of food.

"I guess I better tell you since Rose here isn’t in the condition right now. As you know Rose’s last name is Dawson…and now you know her husband’s name was Jack," Molly cleared her throat.

"Oh my god no. Please tell me that your deceased husband’s name isn’t Jack Dawson. He’s my cousin…the only cousin that I could stomach anyway even though I haven’t seen him for five years," George’s face pales.

Rose tearfully looks at Jack’s cousin, and notes the same expression filling his eyes that she now wore. The expression of overwhelming grief and loss.

"I’m sorry," Rose could only whisper and looks away from him. "I wish it was someone else, but his name was Jack Dawson and he was the most wonderful man I ever known," Rose begins to cry again.

"My lord," Samantha’s hand rose to her throat.

"How. How did it happen?" George asked, his voice is dull and emotionless.

"Titanic. We were on the titanic," Rose managed to get her sobs under control. "We had just gotten married. He wanted to take me back to his hometown to meet his family…we were so happy. I had thought nothing bad could ever touch us. I wasn’t counting on a iceberg to rip my life apart. They tried to get me on a lifeboat but I wouldn’t leave Jack. We ended up in the freezing waters together. We found a floating debris in the waters. Jack told me to get on. He tried to get on too but the board wouldn’t hold both of us so he told me to stay on and he remained in the waters. I thought I was going to die, so he made me promise to survive. To not give up. I thought when he made me promise that he’d be here with me too, but when the boat came back…I tried to wake him up…but he wouldn’t. No matter how hard I shook his hand are yelled at him he wouldn’t wake up. I was going to die too but I remembered my promise. So I let go of Jack’s hand and swam to this dead officer with a whistle in his mouth. I blew on the whistle until the boat came back. They couldn’t get Jack because he didn’t have a lifevest and so he had sunk into the sea when I had let go of his hand. Two or three months later…I found out I’m pregnant with Jack’s baby."

"I found poor Rose on the Carpathia that day and took her in. I thought it’d be wise to travel here and let whatever family Jack had here know of his death," Molly squeezed Rose’s hand. "I had only met Jack once, but let me tell you he was an extrodinary young man. So bright and optimistic, not a gloomy bone in his body. He gave Rose so much love and courage…"

The room is silent. There wasn’t much to be said. The gloom of Jack’s demise hung over the house like a blanket. No one said a word. It was George who broke the silence.

"Jack must have loved you a awful lot to give his life like that. I always knew he was a gentleman but to be so brave and valiant…I didn’t know he had that in him."

"He did," Rose sniffed.

"Excuse me," George gets up and head upstairs to Jack’s room, closing the door behind him.

"Jack was his favorite cousin. He’s taking this rather hard," Samantha looks in the direction her husband went.

"The sinking has touched everyone’s life in one way or another. All we can do is band together and not let it destroy us," Molly replied, squeezing Rose’s hand.

"I better go check on him. You two please enjoy the breakfast," Samantha gets up and goes after her husband.

"What have I done?" Rose looks at Molly.

"Told them the truth. Everything will be ok now Rosie. Don’t you worry."

"George honey?" Samantha enters the room to find her husband setting on the bed glancing through the portfolio, touching each and every picture lovingly, tears spilling from his eyes.

"Jack was so talented Sam. He could have been something big someday, if he was just given the chance…if he had never set foot on that blasted ship," George closed the portfolio and held it in his hands. "I wonder if she knew that about him…about his love of art and sketching people."

"I’m sure she did."

George laughed sarcastically. "I can’t wait for all the people in this town to find out about the golden boy’s untimely demise. I love my cousin Sam, but it really irks me how everyone in this town never accepted me as part of the Dawson clan. They were always waiting for Jack to return…for the real Dawson to step up. They barely tolerated me living here in this house. But now that Jack’s not going to return…they’re all going to have to accept me."

"But they have accepted you George."

"No they haven’t. It’s always been what are you going to do when Jack comes back. Jack this Jack that. I loved Jack dearly, but at times...I resented him. He hasn't been around for five years and people were still comparing me to him. Those townpeople never trusted me. No one does."

"Jack obviously does," Sam laughs at the weird look George threw her. "What I mean it George, look at it…what made you go to the inn this morning?"

"I don’t know. Something was telling me to go. That it was important."

"And why did you invite them to breakfast?"

"Something was wanting me to do that too."

Samantha scoots closer to her husband. "George, don’t you see. Jack trusted you. He trusted you to take in his young bride and child and tell them about him…his life here. Who he was and who he could have become. No one in this town was that close to him except you. He trusted you with his family George. Are you going to let him down now just because you resent how the town’s people treated you?"

George looked at his wife and sighed. "You’re right. It is up to me to share information with Rose. Do you think she’ll like to see this?" He holds up the portfolio.

"She’ll love to see it," Samantha smiled and pulls his hand. "Come on. Let’s go down and show her."

One hour later, the four people set silently, only three were consumed with memories.

"Thank you. For showing me that portfolio," Rose sniffed. "And for explaining the significance of those pictures. Jack was such a remarkable artist."

"He certainly was. He could have been something someday if things were different," George sighed, laying aside Jack’s portfolio. "Tell me, did he keep up with his art?"
"Oh yes he did. In fact, he drew a picture of me the night of the sinking. It’s probably laying at the bottom of the Northern Atlantic by now," Rose softly replied. "Along with the rest of his wonderful drawings."

"The world has missed out on a wonderful talent," Molly nods then gets up. "Well Rosie darlin’ it’s time for us to head on out and find what else there is to know of your Jack. Tell me Mr. Dawson…"

"George," George clears his throat.

"George…did Jack have any close friends in these parts? Are they still around and would they still remember?"
"Of course. Jack was a very outgoing friendly fellow. Everyone liked him and never forgot him. Let me tell you, the news of his death is going to hit everyone in this town hard," George nods. "In fact, if Sam doesn’t mind, I’ll escort you through town. Introduce you to the people who knew Jack most. The ones that will be happy to share information."

"Thank you George. This means a lot not only to myself, but to Jack as well," Rose nods a tear glimmering in her green eyes.

"It’s my pleasure to help out the widow of my beloved cousin. To help her know who he was so she can share it with my unborn cousin."
"Go on ahead you two. I’ll start on lunch," Samantha smiles. "And George remember to stop by Mrs. Cleary’s and pick up their luggage."
"Oh you don’t have to put us up," Molly tries to decline. "I have more than enough to pay for the rooms for however long we may need them."

"Mrs. Brown, Rose is our cousin in law and it’s our cousin that she’s carrying right now. Plus, by all rights, this house belongs to her and this baby. It’s our duty to take her in. Not to mention I think it helps George feel closer to Jack," Samantha insists.

"Thank you," Rose nervously smiles, hating all the time of lying to these good people. If only she knew that her and Jack weren’t married and this baby was a product of a night of passion in the backseat of a Renault. Even though she believed that her and Jack would have been married if he had lived, it was still a lie.

"No need to thank us Rose. If anything we should thank you for allowing us to remain here," George bows his head. "Well we better hit the road."

"See you three tonight," Samantha waves as her husband shuts the door behind himself and the two ladies.

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