10
It was a beautiful, sunny day. A day too beautiful for a funeral. Jack took one more glance into the mirror,
noticing how the sad gleam in his eyes had returned. The last time the gleam was there was five years ago when his
parents had died.
“Jack?” Lily and Paul stood in the
doorway. Tears were shining in their
blue eyes.
“When’s Nana
waking up?” Lily asked.
His
heart broke at the question. He went to
the children and hugged them closely.
“She’s not going to wake up sweetie.
Remember what I told you? Nana
was so sleepy, that when she fell asleep, she wouldn’t be able to wake up.”
“Well then who will take care of us?” Paul frowned.
“I
will sweetie. I’ll take care of you,” Jack
wiped away the little boy’s tears. “I
promise. I’ll take care of you and I
won’t leave you.”
“Neither
will I,” Chloe stood in the doorway.
She sighed with relief to see both Jack and the twins dressed in their
Sunday’s best. The past couple of days
have been nerve wrecking for her. The
twins had refused to do anything she told them to, plus Jack was being
difficult as well. He had stayed on the
phone, ignoring the fact that she needed help.
Finally, he got off the phone and made the twins behave. She was grateful that today wasn’t going to
be more of the same. “I assume that you
three are ready.”
“We’re on our way out,” Jack nodded.
As
soon as Chloe was gone, Lily turned to Jack.
“Are you sure we should behave for her?”
“Yes. Like I said, if Nana was awake, she’d be
upset to see us being mean to our sister.
And we wouldn’t want Nana to be mad at us would we?”
The
twins shook their heads; their eyes were wide with innocence.
“I
didn’t think so. So as long as Chloe’s
around you do what she says and behave.
Now let’s go. We don’t want to
be late,” He took children’s hand and led them outside.
~*~
Jack and Chloe flanked the door as mourners arrived. They ranged from Mae’s friends to Jack’s.
“Hey,”
Moira stopped to fiercely hug her friend.
“We’re all going to miss her.”
“Thank
you for coming,” Jack pulled away, forcing a smile. “She would have appreciated your being here.”
Moira
simply smiled. “Keep your chin up kid.”
Rose
was next. Jack immediately pulled her
into a hug. They hadn’t seen each
other since the night they made love.
Rose’s mother had kept her busy, plus she was afraid that he was mad at
her. After all, she had taken advantage
of his grief.
“Thank
you for being here Rose. You don’t know
how much this means to me,” Jack tightened his hold on her, afraid that she’d
disappear if he let go. He had so much
to apologize for, but he knew this wasn’t the time or the place.
“I
wouldn’t miss being here. I meant what
I said the other day. I want to be here
for you.”
“Rose,
your seat is right over…” Chloe began but Jack interrupted.
“She’s
setting with us. Rose wait here. I’ll show you where we’re setting,” Jack
held her hand tightly. Neither of them
noticed Chloe’s worried frown.
~*~
The crowd were now surrounding Mae’s casket. Rose held Jack’s trembling hand as the preacher read the last rites. She closed her eyes against her own grief. She needed to be strong for Jack. He needed her right now.
Finally
the speech was over. Slowly they began
to lower the coffin into the ground.
Unable to watch, Jack let go of Rose’s hand and ran into church. Rose and Moira were right behind him. They found Jack on the church’s front step,
sobbing into his hands.
“Jack,”
Rose sat next to him and rubbed his back.
“Are
you ok?” Moira asked, hoping that it
wasn’t as bad as it seemed. She was
never good with grieving people unfortunately.
She never knew what to say.
Luckily,
it wasn’t Moira that Jack looked to for comfort. “She’s gone Rosie. She’s
really gone,” Jack sobbed, falling over into Rose’s arms. “It didn’t hit me until now…when I saw her
casket being lowered into the ground!”
“She’s
always going to be with you Jack,” Moira bit her lip.
“That’s
right. Mae will never truly leave you.”
“I
need to get out of here,” Jack sniffed, pulling out of Rose’s arms. “I just can’t be here any longer. I’m not doing the twins any good by
staying.”
“Where
will you go?” Moira frowned.
“You
can come to my apartment for a while.
Mother’s gone for the day.
There’ll be nothing but peace and quiet there,” Rose’s eyes lit up with
the idea.
“Rose…I
don’t know…I don’t want to intrude.”
“It won’t be intruding,” Rose reassured. “Come on Jack. Let me take care of you.”
“I
would take her up on that if I were you,” Moira snorted. She wasn’t a big fan of Rose, but she could
tell that the redhead cared a great deal for Jack.
“It
won’t be any trouble?”
“None
at all,” Rose smiled.
Jack
sighed. There was no one else he’d
trust more than Rose. She had seen him
at one of his lowest points already and she was closer to him then
anybody. “Ok. Moira, will you tell Chloe where I went?”
“Sure,” Moira nodded, watching the couple leave hand
in hand.
~*~
The apartment was dark and empty when they arrived. Rose immediately went around the area turning on the lights. When she got back to the living room, she found Jack setting on the couch, once again sobbing into his hands.
She
immediately went to him and pulled him into a warm embrace, wanting to take his
pain away. “Shhh Jack. Everything is going to be all right. You’ll see,” She crooned, rubbing h is back
gently, just like her father used to do for her whenever she was upset. It had made her feel loved and safe.
“I
miss her so much Rose! Why did she have
to die?”
“I
don’t know Jack. I don’t know. But just think, she’s not in pain
anymore. She’s not sad…and she wouldn’t
want you to be sad either Jack. She’d
want you to be happy and to take care of yourself and your little brother and
sister. She’d want you to get to know
Chloe better. Shed’ want you to have a
good life.”
“That
seems so impossible.”
“I
know. Right now it does, but Jack…trust
me. You’ll be happy again. I know you will.”
“Ever
since she died, the only time I’ve truly been happy was when we…well…” Jack
blushed, remembering that night of passion.
Rose
also blushed at the memory. It was her
first time and was something she’d never forget. She just wished that it had happened under better circumstances.
“Rose…I’d
like to apologize. Our first time should
have been more special.”
“It
was special Jack. I’ve never been that
close to anyone like that before. I’m
glad you were my first.”
“I
feel like I’ve taken advantage of you Rose.
I feel like I used losing my grandmother as an excuse to get you into
bed. I am so…”
“Jack,
wait a minute. You’re not guilty of
anything. I’m the one that initiated
everything. When you tried to stop…I
wouldn’t let you. So if anyone’s at
fault here, it’s me.”
Jack
sighed, exasperated by the situation.
“Rose, you did nothing wrong. It
was what I wanted.”
“Well
I wanted it too.”
“Ok. That night was something we both
wanted. Neither of us are guilty of any
wrong doing,” Jack smiled for the first time in days. “The only time I feel remotely happy is when I’m with you.” He
pushed a red curl out of her eyes, ready to lean in for a kiss when Rose made a
startled gasp, her eyes wide in alarm.
“What?”
Jack pulled back in concern. “I didn’t
hurt you did I?”
“Jack…I
wasn’t on the pill…and you didn’t use a condom.”
“So?”
Jack stared at her blankly, not yet getting what she was saying.
“…Jack…I
won’t know for a couple of more days, but still…Jack I could be pregnant,” Rose
gasped, getting to her feet and pacing the floor. “Oh God, what if I am?
What am I going to do? My mother
is going to kill me!” hot tears filled her eyes at the thought of being thrown
in the streets with a crying baby.
“Shhh
Rose. Don’t cry. We don’t even know if you’re pregnant or
not,” Jack got to his feet and grabbed her shoulders to stop her from
pacing. “Listen, this is what we’ll
do. We’ll wait for your period. If it doesn’t come, then I’ll buy the test
and then we’ll know for sure. But no
matter what Rose, I promise I’ll never stop loving you and will always be here
for you.”
“You
love me?”
“Of
course. That night wouldn’t have
happened if I didn’t,” He smiled again.
Rose
laughed, happy again. “I love you too
Jack. I love you too.”
They stood in the middle of Rose’s
living room in each other’s arms, knowing that no matter what happened next,
they’ll get through it together.