CHAPTER THREE
April 15, 1912 2:20 a.m
Rose is floating on a piece of
debris gripping Jack's hand. It's so cold, in fact she couldn't
even feel her body. This was the end...she knew it for a fact.
She didn't have any regrets, none. She was just glad to have
found the love of her life and to have had the time she had with
him, no matter how brief it was.
"I love you Jack," She said, squeezing his cold hand.
"Don't you do that. Don't start saying your good-byes,"
Jack said.
"I'm so cold."
"You're going to get out of here...you're going to go on and
you're going to make babies and watch them grow and you're going
to die an old old lady, warm in her bed. Not here. Not this
night. Do you understand me?"
Rose wasn't convinced, "I can't feel my body."
Jack takes her hand in his other one and holds her tightly. It's
obvious that he was having trouble breathing. "Winning that
ticket Rose was the best thing that happened to me. It brought me
to you. And I'm grateful for that Rose, I'm thankful. You must do
me this honor...promise me you will survive...that you won't give
up...no matter what happens...no matter how hopeless...promise me
now Rose...and never let go of that promise."
"I pomise," Rose chokes on a sob.
"Never let go."
"I promise. I'll never let go Jack. I'll never let go,"
Rose begins to cry, her tears freezing as soon as they came from
her eyes.
Jack just smiled, kissed her hand and closed his eyes. Rose
sighed and turned over on her back and looked at the stars and
waited to die. She began to feel calm and thought she could hear
Jack singing to her. She decided to join him. "Come
Josephine in my flying machine, and it's up she goes, up she
goes."
In what seemed like forever she hears a voice calling out,
"Hello! Is there anyone alive out there!"
She turns to see a bright light moving along the water. It was a
lifeboat, come back to save them. She turns around and she shakes
Jack's hand, who seems to be sleeping peacefully, her voice is
full of hope and love, "Jack. There's a boat."
He doesn't respond. His frost-rimmed face remains still.
She shakes his hand even harder and she speaks a little louder.
"Jack. Jack. There's a boat."
Then realization dawns on her. Jack wasn't waking up because he
couldn't. He was gone and she was left all alone. Sobbing, she
puts her face down on his cold hand and cries. Then it was like a
whisper, telling her to stop crying and remember the promise she
had made Jack just a short time ago. To go on, never let go.
Taking one last look at Jack, she forces her hand out of his
frozen grasp and lets him sink into the ocean.
"I'll never let go, I promise," She watches as he
disappeared into the darkness. Controlling her tears, she forces
herself into the freezing water and swims over to a dead officer
with a whistle in his mouth. She snatches the whistle nad blows
on it until she could get the attention of the officer in the
lifeboat, all the while one thought on her mind. I'll never let
go.
Jack awakes to see Rose tossing and turning, her face is streaked
with tears and she was crying, "I'll never let go Jack, I'll
never let go."
Jack immediately goes to her and lifts her into his arms, he
gently shakes her awake. "Rose wake up. You're dreamin'.
Wake up Rose."
Rose snaps awake to look into a pair of concerned blue eyes and
her heart soars with happiness because she knew who those eyes
belonged to. Jack. He was alive. He hadn't frozen to death in a
freezing ocean.
"Jack?"
"You were having a nightmare," Jack said, stroking her
hair. They had grown close in the four days they had known each
other. Jack now can't seem to imagine his life without Rose in
it. He didn't know what his feelings for her were yet, but he
knew they were strong and hated seeing her in so much pain like
she was now.
"Oh Jack, it was horrible," Rose sobbed, leaning into
his arms and hugging him tightly. "I dreamed you died. We
were in this ocean and it was so cold and you made me promise to
survive but you didn't. You died."
"Shhh Rose. It was a nightmare. We're fine. We're not in an
ocean and I'm not dead. We're both okay."
"What's going on?" Fabrizio wakes up, rubbing the sleep
out of his eyes.
"Rose had a nightmare," Jack explained. "It's okay
now. You can go back to sleep."
"Jack, are you blind? It's daylight out. I have to go to
work!"
"We'll walk with you Fabri. I think the morning air will do
Rose good," Jack said, helping her to her feet.
Fabrizio just looked at the two and felt a shiver. He had a
strange feeling that somehow this was wrong. That they shouldn't
even be in this flat.
"Fabri, are you okay?" Jack turned to his friend who
had suddenly turned pale. "You look like you've seen a ghost
or something."
"I'm fine," Fabri said. "Let's go, yes?"
Jack nods and leads Rose out the door.
Fabrizio has gone to work and now Jack and Rose are walking the
streets of Southampton, taking in their surroundings. Jack spots
a newsie holding up a paper, but they weren't close to hearing
nor seeing the headline.
"Jack...I'll be back. I need to freshen up," Rose
touches his shoulder lightly.
Jack nods, "Hurry back." He didn't like her to be out
of his sight for even a second. He couldn't help but worry that
they'd run into Ed and Sal again and he really didn't look
forward to another run in with them.
Jack decides to buy a paper while he waited for Rose. Handing the
Newsie a nickel for the paper he pales as he reads the headline: TITANIC
SINKS, THOUSANDS DEAD.
Olaf and Sven. The two swedes
pops into his mind. Those poor men. And to think, him and
Fabrizio had almost won those tickets on that ship...they could
have been one of the victims of this horrible disaster. And
Rose...she had family on that ship...she'll be devastated.
"Jack?" Rose asked appearing behind him. "What's
that you're reading?"
"Rose, you should see this," Jack hands her the paper.
He grabs her shoulder to steady her when she reads the headline.
"Mother...Cal...she begins to sob. "I didn't like
him...but I never wanted this."
"I guess it's a good thing you missed that ship after
all," Jack rubs her arms. "And it's definately a good
thing me and Fabri lost that poker game. This headline could have
been about us."
"I wonder...were there any survivors?" Rose asked.
Jack takes the paper and turns and skims through the article.
"It says here that the survivors were mostly first class
women and children. There were a few third class passengers and
first class men. There'll be more information at a later
date."
"Jack...I have to get home...right away. I have to find out
about my mother," Rose sobbed. "If she's alive."
Jack nods and is surprised when she takes his hand. "Will
you come with me Jack...back to Philadelphia with me? I don't
want to be alone if the worst happens and I don't want to be
alone with her if it hasn't because I'm going to tell her I'm not
marrying Caledon Hockley, if he survived that is."
"Sure. If that's what you'd like," Jack nods his
agreement. "But we have to get to America first."
Rose nods. She can wait. Facing her tyrannical mother was
something she wasn't looking forward to, plus now she can better
prepare herself for one of her mother's all too famous guilt
trips if Caledon had survived.
"Don't worry Rose," Jack reassures her.
"Everything will be okay. She's probably alive right now
thinking of the inconvenience of it all. First she loses her
daughter in Southampton then the ship sinks. She's probably
wondering at least nothing else could go wrong."
Rose had to laugh at this. Her mother really would be put off by
the inconvenience of a sinking ship. The the dream floods back to
her and what Jack said about winning that poker game hit hard for
her. They both could have been on that ship and that dream could
have really happened...if she had met Jack that is. If they had
met and fallen for each other as she now has fallen for him.
"Rose? Are you okay?"
"It's that dream Jack. That dream could've been reality if
we were on that ship."
"But we weren't Rose. We were warm in our beds last night
while that poor ship sank," Jack wipes a stray tear from her
eyes.
"Jack...I..."
"I know," Jack smiled, not wanting her to say the words
he thought she was going to say. He didn't want them to confirm
their feelings for one another, not until he knew that they were
going to be together for good.