Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Train station…

Jack and Rose sat close together on a bench inside the train station. Their bags sat around their feet as they glanced at the listing of destinations. They had come to Philadelphia so Rose could have closure about her realizations about her father. Now that was done and it was time to get on the road. The problem was, where to go next.

"There are so many places," Rose stared at the listing, feeling completely overwhelmed. "Where do we start? How do we start? It's getting cold now, maybe we should start with the warmer states...like California then work our way across and over…?"

"We could do that," Jack nodded in agreement, also feeling overwhelmed. This shouldn't be a problem for him. He's been traveling on his own and with Fabrizio for five whole years! Why now is it that he's having trouble figuring out where to go next?

"I would like to see that house that Lewis left you...you do have the key, right?"

Jack nodded, remembering yesterday morning, when the Lawyer had stopped by and handed him the key to the house and to the gallery that was left to him. He didn't know when or if he was going to get the gallery started, but that house could come in handy.

"We should go there first. I've never been to Napa before, so it'll be new to me too...plus we need a home base. Somewhere we can go and just be off the road for a while. A place to keep the things we'll accumulate...a place to call home. That house can be it.."

Rose nodded and taking a deep breath, feeling better now that some kind of plan was taking shape. "So we'll go to Napa, California first. Check out the house and gallery maybe and then decide on where to go next from there..."

"Sounds like a plan, Rosebud," Jack grinned. "I'll go get our tickets. Stay right there."

Rose giggled and waved to Jack as he went to the ticket counter to buy the tickets for the next train heading to Napa California.

Sitting back and watching the people mill around the station, Rose felt a sense of peace come over her. This had been exactly what she had dreamed of doing all of her life. Just picking up and going anywhere she wanted to go, not a worry in the world. No mother, no overbearing fiancee. It was just her and her loving husband. Really, she couldn't want anything more.

"Rose? Is that you?"

The voice brought her out of her thoughts and she frowned when she looked up to see her father's mistress Selene and her half-sister Jasmine. Both women were finely dressed and carried traveling bags. She wondered where they were off to.

"Selene? Jasmine? Where are you two off to?" She asked, getting to her feet. None of the resentment she had felt came over her again. It had been a part of the baggage she had shed at her father's grave site. Now looking at the two women, she felt nothing at all. Not anger. Not hate. Not blame.

"We're going to Boston. To see you, actually," Selene answered, her shock at seeing Rose evident. "We were hoping that you'd help us talk to your mother."

"Well as you can see I am not in Boston. In fact, it will be sometime until we are in Boston again. Why do you want my help with mother?"

Selene and Jasmine looked at each other, not sure if they should tell this girl their business. But with a sigh, they decided that it was best to go ahead and get this over with. "We had gotten a notice from your mother's lawyers. It seems that he is suing me for the dowry that her family had given William when they had wed. I have no idea what she is talking about. He never mentioned a dowry..."

"Her family gave father a good deal of money when he had married mother. That money was part of my mother's family fortune and my father was supposed to invest it for the good of the family that he was to make with her. Obviously, father reneged on that when he decided to lie to my mother and leave everything, including what money the Dewitts gave him for their daughter, to you," Rose sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. She really didn't want to get into the drama that was unfolding between her mother and her father's mistress. She just wanted to continue on with her and Jack's travels.

"Oh..."

"Yes. It turns out there are strings to that money father had so carelessly left you. Is that all she is asking for? I know mother can be greedy at times..."

"No...just the dowry," Selene sighed twisting the gloves that she held in her hand. "Please Rose...talk to her. Tell her that this is insane. It is not our fault what William did...to give her that money is taking money away from my daughter."

Rose sighed and shook her head. She wished that she could feel sorry for the two women before her. She wished that she could feel angry with them. She wished she could feel something other than...indifference when looking at them...but that's what she felt. Indifferent. She did not care what happened in this situation. It was not her problem. Not anymore. Besides, did Selene even think about how her going along with her father's plans would affect rose? Did she really have the audacity to think that she'd care how her mother's plans would affect her half sister?

She looked at the girl that was her sister and to her relief, did feel something. Pity. This girl was an innocent. Just like herself. What their father did was not her fault. She had only been a child as well.

"Look, I wish that I could help you, but my husband and I are in the midst of leaving Boston. I probably won't talk to mother again for a very long time. Look, since Jasmine is...somewhat family to me...I'll tell you what. Give me your address. I'll write to her and if she should need anything, I'll see what I can do. As for mother...I suggest you give her the amount of the dowry. No more and no less. That should get her and the lawyers off of your back. Mother is probably just wanting back what her family had added on to the Bukater fortune."

"What of you? What do you want?" Jasmine asked, not able to believe that the girl that her father had abandoned wouldn't want anything.

"I just want a happy life with my husband. I have that."

Just then Jack returned with the tickets to Napa in hand. "Okay, our train leaves in another hour. I hope that you're…," His voice faded as he noticed that Rose wasn't alone and recognized the two women as Rose's half sister and her mother. He tensed, hoping that they weren't going to cause a relapse or anything. Rose had been back to herself and happy. "Hello..."

"Jack, you remember Selene and Jasmine," Rose smiled, walking to his side and taking his hand. "It's lucky that we ran into them here. They were about to go to Boston."

"That would have been awkward," Jack chuckled, relieved to see that the women's appearance hadn't caused a relapse after all. In fact, Rose seemed to be in even more of a good mood.

"Yes it would have. Now I have saved them a trip."

"Well, I guess there is nothing to do now, but to return home. Thank you for the advice, Rose. Here is our address. Feel free to write anytime," Selene handed Rose a card with some fine print across it.

"Good luck to you both," Rose waved as Jasmine and Selene headed back out of the train station, leaving Jack and Rose alone once again.

"What was that about?" Jack asked, leading Rose back over to their bench.

"Mother is suing them for the amount of the dowry that her family had given father upon their marriage. Selene was on her way to Boston to ask me to talk mother out of it. I told her to just go ahead and pay the money. It wasn't like mother was asking for all of the money father had left them."

"Why would your mother want that money? She's married to my cousin and has more money than god now," Jack frowned, again not getting the reasoning behind the actions of some in the first class.

"It's not necessarily about the money, Jack. It's about...the principle. Father had accepted money from the Dewitts, with them thinking that he was going to take care of their daughter and any children had by the marriage. Instead, he had left us destitute while he provided for his mistress. It's like mother is asking for a refund. She just wants back what her family had given," Rose explained, understanding and even somewhat agreeing with her mother's motives.

"Hmm...I guess I am never going to understand the ways of high society," Jack yawned, looking at the clock. He couldn't wait for the train to arrive so he could close eyes and take a nap without having to worry about their belongings.

"I don't want you to understand them, Jack. Understanding them means conforming to them, and then you wouldn't be my Jack anymore..."

"Would you still love me? Or would you find another penniless artist to run off with?" Jack chuckled, his eyes laughing.

"Of course I'd still love you. But I'd miss the Jack that you are now..."

He gently touched her check and kissed her nose. "There is no worry then. Because I will never understand first class life, nor do I want to. Which is why it's good that we left before Boston made us into something we never wanted to be in the first place."

"I have to agree there. I was becoming a little too comfortable. All that shopping...all of those clothes..."

"Hey, if it's shopping and clothes that you want, you can still have that. Remember, I'm getting a pretty good allowance from the inheritance..."

"I know. But I think what money we get should go to our travels. I don't need fancy clothes to go from state to state. But comfortable arrangements is something I don't want to give up," Rose was a little ashamed to admit, because before her, Jack was able to sleep any and everywhere. It didn't matter...and maybe...if things had been different, she would have adjusted as well, but now, she was too used to sleeping in a bed with four walls. She did not relish the thought of sleeping under a bridge or on a park bench.

"Not to worry, Rosebud. Unless we are camping out, you will always have four walls and a bed. I can at least promise you that."

Rose giggled as he pulled her into a kiss. She wrapped her arms around him, happy to be there with him, ready to begin their trip to Napa.