10
Jacklyn and Rose are at the market, grocery shopping for the rest of the week when they run into Linda and Kimberly Smith.
"Kimberly…Mrs. Smith…what a surprise to see you here," Jacklyn crosses her arms. "At the market with us ordinary folk."
"We just came by to make sure they have all the ingredients for the cake right. I reckon that your father has your brother helping him in the fields today?" Mrs.Smith asked.
Jacklyn just nods.
"Good thing my Kimberly is marrying into a influent family. Not as rich as the Philadelphia Hockley’s mind you, but my daughter will never know the drudgery of farm life."
"Was that supposed to mean something?" Jacklyn puts her hand on her hip.
"Mother really, this gloating is out of hand," Kimberly sighs, her face apologetic. "Jacklyn please forgive my mother. She doesn’t know how to watch her tongue."
"Well it’s a heck of an impression she’s making on Rose here. Oh yes, have you met my brother’s new wife Mrs. Smith?"
"We haven’t been formally introduced, no," Mrs. Smith looks Rose up and down. "You do look awfully familiar. Have you been in the papers before? The society pages perhaps?"
"I don’t think so," Rose shruggs, beginning to feel uncomfortable. She wanted to escape from the market and sink into the safety of Jack’s arms.
"I don’t know…I swear I’ve seen you before…oh yes! You’re the exact image of that poor girl who went down on the Titanic…what was her name Kimberly? She was engaged to be married to Nathan Hockley’s son Caledon?"
"Rose mother. Her name was Rose Dewitt Bukater. It was reported that she had gone back on the ship for a necklace Caledon had brought her and she was never seen again."
"Oh really?" Rose asked, avoiding their eyes. Both women would be fairly surprised to know that they were holding a conversation with the recently deceased Rose Dewitt Bukater and it wasn’t the necklace she went back for, plus that wasn’t the last time she saw Cal. The last time was when her and Jack were fleeing from his gunshots. "Well you know what they say. Everybody has a twin," Rose laughs nervously.
"That poor man. To think Rose, if you had the mind too, you can be a very rich woman by posing as his deceased fiancee. He’d be none the wiser I don’t think," Mrs. Smith laughed.
"Well she won’t be doing that because she’s married to my brother. Now if you’ll excuse us, we must be getting back," Jacklyn grabs Rose’s hand and leads her away, noticing how pale she’s gotten. "Hey are you ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost."
"I’m fine. It must be the heat. You don’t mind if I go up and lay down some when we get home do you? I know I’m supposed to help with the cooking but I’m really not feeling well."
"Oh of course I don’t mind and neither does mom. When we get to the house, head straight upstairs to bed and I’ll send Jack up there to check on you at lunch. Ok?" Jacklyn squeezes her sister in law’s hand.
Rose forces a smile and nods, wondering how she got so lucky to have married into such a wonderful family as the Dawson’s. She really didn’t miss Philadelphia or her mother at all. She could care less if Ruth thought her dead or not.
"Come on Rose. Let’s go," Jacklyn leads who down the path leading out of town and towards the house.
Rose lays in bed, thinking about the news that she was listed as dead in the newspaper and that Cal had the audacity to make up such a lie. She’s so deep in thought that she doesn’t hear Jack come in. She jumps when she feels his warm hand press against her forehead.
"How are you feeling sweetie. Jacklyn said you got ill at the market," Jack sets on the edge of the bed.
"I feel…I don’t know…weird. I just heard from your friend Kimberly’s mother that my death was in the paper. I went down on the Titanic because I went back for that stupid necklace Cal gave me. Nothing about the truth Jack…about what really happened."
"What else did the paper say?" Jack asked curiously.
"As far as I know, that’s all it said. Rose Dewitt Bukater lived, got engaged, died because of a selfish need to get a necklace. How typical for Cal to do that to me."
"Rose, we all know that’s not true. You were not selfish in the least. Refusing to get on that life boat to go free me was a selfless act."
"But no one knows Jack. They all feel that I was the selfish fiancee and that Cal was the heroic gentleman! If only they knew the truth!"
"But we do and that’s what matters. Let Cal have his honor while he can. Sooner or later he’ll mess up and lose it all…just like he lost you."
"Oh Jack…I wish that Cal would just disappear off the face of this earth and we’d never have to hear anything about him again!" Rose crossed her arms.
"Rose…just let it go ok. Let Rose Dewitt Bukater die with that ship. She’s lived her life unhappily and she’s in a better place now, while Rose Dawson has recently been born, happy and free."
Rose smiled. "Since when have you become so good with metaphors?"
"Since I met you," Jack laughed, and moved behind her as she sat up, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "Rose…everything will be alright. The worse is over. We can go on with our lives now."
"I know Jack…it’s just these memories…"
"I know. But let’s leave the past behind us Rose. That’s where it belongs now."
Rose smiles and nods as her eyes grow heavy. "Ok. I love you Jack."
"Love you too Rose," Jack smiled as he watched his wife drift to sleep. Smiling he layed her back down and went back to rejoin his father so they could get back to work.