5
Jack and Rose had been in Chippewa Falls for two months now. When they had first arrived in the small town, there was a friendly welcome and exclamations of surprise at Jack’s return. But soon afterwards, Rose began to feel like an outsider. It all started a month after their arrival. Rose was at the local grocers. Usually Jack did the shopping, but since he was out job hunting, Rose decided to give it a try herself.
Everything was going smoothly, until it came to buying laundry detergent. There she found two older women deep in conversation about herself and Jack. Rose immediately recognized Mabel Forrester; an old friend of Jack’s mother who had stopped by to borrow sugar the other day. Jack was teaching Rose how to cook a roast and as far as Rose could tell, the woman was impressed by Rose’s willingness to learn. But obviously, Rose was wrong.
"Are you telling me that the girl doesn’t know how to work?" Mabel’s friend giggled.
"The poor boy has to cook himself. Really, what kind of woman doesn’t know how to cook?" Mabel’s voice was harsh and full of derision
"One of those hoity toity women that they have in the big city. You know, the ones that have servants to do all the cooking and cleaning for them," the other woman shook her head.
"You can tell that she’s one of those girls too. Look at how she holds herself and that accent…it’s like she thinks she’s better then the rest of us. Who knows how she treats poor Jack. Elaine would not be pleased."
Both women were unaware that Rose was nearby and listening in on their ridicule.
"I don’t know where she’s from, but she’s definitely not one of us and I’m surprised Jack would marry someone like her. In fact, we were all hoping that he and your Laura would get together. That Rose…. She’ll never fit in. She might as well go back to wherever it was she came from and allow Jack to find himself a decent wife."
Having heard enough Rose turned away from the conversation and went to pay for her groceries. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Walking home, the women’s words kept running through her head. She tried to forget about them, but she couldn’t. What if they were right? What if Jack really was better off without her? What if she really was just getting in the way?
Sighing, Rose realized that they were right. Jack did deserve so much better. He deserved a woman who didn’t have to be taught how to cook or keep house. Not some first class girl who couldn’t even boil water without burning it. The best thing she could do was to leave and probably return to the old life she hated so much. Leave Jack so he could find the kind of wife that could take care of him, instead of the other way around.
Wiping away her tears, Rose hurried back to the house, hoping to be gone before Jack returned. She was going to do the right thing…the selfless thing. She was going to go back to where she belonged. No matter how bad it hurt.
~*~
Rose wiped away another tear as she glanced around the room, making sure that she hadn’t left anything behind. As far as she could see, she had the few belongings she had packed and ready to go. She looked at a nearby picture of herself, Jack, Tommy, and Fabrizio in New York. They had all looked so happy there. The four musketeers. Wiping away another tear, she looked around one last time, saying good-bye to a life she could have had. A life full of love, laughter, and happiness. Tearing her eyes away, Rose entered the living room, just as Jack returned home.
At first Jack smiled, happy to see Rose seemingly awaiting his return. But soon, that smile faded as he saw the packed bag in her hand and the tears in her eyes. Something was up. By the look of things, she was leaving him.
"Rose? What’s going on? Are you going somewhere?" He glanced at the closed bedroom door behind her. A chill ran through him, sensing the seriousness of the situation. Something was indeed seriously wrong. But what? "It’s Hockley, isn’t it? He’s here."
Rose shook her head, cursing herself for taking so long to pack and her wistful goodbye to the bedroom. She had hoped to avoid a confrontation with Jack. To avoid saying good-bye and the hurt in his eyes. But she had dragged her feet and now she had to face him. "Cal’s not here Jack."
"Well then…what’s going on? Why are you packed, like you’re going to take a trip or something? You’re scaring me here sweetie. Please, just tell me…. What’s wrong?"
Rose glared at the ground, feeling that it was too painful to look at him…to know that she was his world and she was taking that world away from him. That she was walking out of his life…a life she had loved. "I am leaving Jack."
"What? But why? Was it something I said or did?" Jack asked, feeling as if he had been shot through the heart. Why was she leaving him? He had thought she was happy with him. He had thought that she loved him as much as he loved her.
"Because you deserve so much better then I can give you. Jack…you deserve a woman who can be more of a proper wife to you. Someone who can cook and clean…do the laundry. Someone who can take care of you instead of the other way around. I love you too much to let you settle for anything less. You deserve the best."
Jack blinked back his surprise at Rose’s reasoning. She thought that she wasn’t good enough for him? But that wasn’t true. She was perfect for him…his soul mate. He had known from the moment that he had first seen her on Titanic that they were meant to be together forever. As for the cooking and cleaning…she was quickly learning. Even if she never mastered it, he could do it. He didn’t mind. But how could he make her see that? That her lack of knowledge of how to run a house didn’t matter to him.
Rose, listen to me. You are a proper wife…the perfect wife. So what, you don’t know how to cook, clean, whatever? You’re learning. Besides, I fell in love with you despite of your first class upbringing. You don’t have to go anywhere," He tried to hug her, make her see the truth of his words; but she pulled away, her tears falling freely now.
"But it will matter Jack. Eventually, you’ll be sick of me and want someone who knows what they’re doing. It’s best that I leave now…before that happens…before you end up hating me."
"Rose…"
But she didn’t give him a chance to finish his protest. She pushed past him and ran out the door, blinded by her tears. She ignored his calls for her to come back and didn’t dare look back. If she had looked back, she wouldn’t have been able to do what needed to be done. So with her bags and her memories, she disappeared into the darkening horizon.