9
Two weeks later, Jack and Rose had purchased their own apartment, just on the fringes of town and Jack and started work at the local factory. He hated going to work, but knew he needed money of his own so he can take care of Rose and they could put the rest of Cal’s money away somewhere. Rose mostly stayed in the apartment, getting used to being a housewife. The day before was her first day shopping for her and Jack. She was a little nervous but found it was rather easy.
It’s now three o’clock and Jack was due home any minute. She wiped her hands on her apron and pulled out the slightly burned casserole. "Oh no! Why can’t I get it right? Let me see if any of this can be salvaged."
"Rose!" Lisa’s voice hollered through the front door as she walked in. A week after they had moved in Lisa has began spending time there. It was like a get away from her father and uncle.
"Lisa hello. You’ve got here just in time. Dinner’s ready and Jack will be here any minute," Rose smiled. "The casserole is kind of burnt, but it’s still edible."
"I’m not here to eat
Rose. I need a favor from you and Jack. I need to use your place
tomorrow night."
"Whatever for?" Rose asked curious. She didn’t
know if she liked the sound of this.
"Well…I have a date. Not the usual date, a real honest to goodness date. This one is the one Rose."
"Well then why bring him here?"
"…Because his mother hates me and you know how my uncles are. Please Rose, let us have our date here. Please…"
Rose sighed tiredly. She really
didn’t want to have Lisa having her men in the apartment,
but if this was a real date, and the guys mother hated
Lisa…who was Rose to stand in the way of true love. Goodness
knows that Jack and herself had to overcome enough obstacles to
be together themselves. "Listen Lisa, if it was just me I
would, but it’d be wise to ask Jack."
"He’ll say no!"
"Maybe he won’t. You won’t know until you
ask."
"Ask what?" Jack walked through the door his eyes sweeping over both Rose and Lisa. "What are you two up to?"
Lisa looked at Rose as if she was looking for help, seeing that Rose was offering none, she turned to face her cousin. "Uh…I was just asking Rose if I could bring one of my dates here, but she said I had to ask you."
"Oh," Jack nodded in understanding.
"So?" Lisa asked expectantly.
"So what?"
"So can I bring my date here? Jack I promise, it’s not like the others. This one is a real honest date."
"Well then why do you want
to bring him here Lisa? I don’t understand? If this was the
real deal you’d be going out to a restaurant or something.
Who is this guy anyway?"
"…Ronald! Ronald Flintstine."
Jack narrowed his eyes. "But his mother hates you."
"I know. That’s why we’re not going out in public. He’s not ready for his mother to know and you know how daddy and Uncle Vince are. They’ll never allow us to meet at the house."
"And where will Rose and I be while you’re on this date?"
"We could go out to dinner ourselves Jack. Betsy had just told me about this little Italian restaurant in Eau Claire I’d love to try out," Rose grinned, deciding to help the other woman. "We haven’t been out in ages Jack. It’ll be fun."
Jack sighed. This was a chance to take Rose out and show her a good time for once. Not that the picnic wasn’t fun, but this would be more intimate. "…Alright. Lisa you may use the apartment for your date. But no going into the bedroom and if you set on the couch you set two inches apart."
"Jack!" Lisa exclaimed in protest.
"Take it or leave it. I wouldn’t even be doing this if it wasn’t for Rose."
Lisa sighed in defeat. She knew not to push her cousin too far. She was lucky he was even letting them use the apartment.
"Thank you Jack. Thank you Rose. Ronald and I appreciate this."
"Just don’t make us regret this decision. Ok?" Jack crossed his arms.
"I promise you won’t. I better go before daddy and Vic come looking for me. Thanks again," Lisa waved as she darted out the door.
"I hope I don’t," Jack sighed, tossing his jacket onto the nearby couch.
"You won’t," Rose wrapped her arms around his neck. "Lisa respects you way too much to go against your directions."
"So…tell me about this Italian restaurant Betsy had bragged about," Jack led her into the kitchen where the half-burnt casserole was waiting for them.
"According to Betsy, they have the best spaghetti and meatballs ever created and the garlic bread is to die for," Rose began to scoop the casserole onto two separate plates. "I hope you like dinner tonight. I almost destroyed it."
"It looks good so far," Jack shrugged looking at the concoction. "What kind of casserole is it?"
"Chicken and Broccoli."
"Mmmm. My favorite," Jack smiled. "It looks good. Tastes good too."
"You’re lying and I
love you for it," Rose ruffled his blond hair as she took a
seat across from him. "I had a feeling I’d spoil dinner
so I ran over to Betsy and she fixed your favorite. Meatloaf,
green peas and mash potatoes. She used your mother’s
recipe."
"Oh she didn’t have to do that," Jack’s eyes
widened with delight.
"That’s what I told her, but she insisted."
"We’ll have to do something nice for them someday," Jack smiled at his wife, gazing into her emerald eyes. At that moment he felt truly blessed to have found Rose. She was his treasure. The one worth everything and he knew she felt the same for him.
"Jack…have you ever thought about Santa Monica anymore? I know we’ve decided to hold off…I’m just curious."
Jack sighed. "I’ve been thinking about it. Maybe in a couple of months, but right now I’d like to stay put. But I promise you Rose, we will go and do all those things we talked about."
"Well as long as
we’re together, I’m fine. There was a time there Jack
when I thought we weren’t going to make it. Remember when
the stern began sinking into the ocean?"
Jack nodded. "I knew you were terrified. The only thing I
was sure of was that I had to get you out of there. I had to make
sure you survived. Even if I didn’t."
"But you did and I thank God every day for that. It was a miracle that we both didn’t die in those frigid waters. I’ll never forget that feeling for as long as I live."
"Neither will I. It was worse when I fell into Lake Wissota," Jack involuntarily shivered. Then he laughed nervously. "Why are we dredging all that up for? We’re alive, healthy, happily married and deeply in love. We should be thinking of happy times ahead. Not tragic times in the past."
"So true my love. So true," Rose leaned over and tenderly kissed her husband. She sighed as she let his love flow threw her. She knew that there was never going to be anyone for her but Jack. He was the air, the sun, the moon to her and she was going to dedicate her life to making him and their family happy.