"Rose Dewitt Bukater, let me tell you, you're a star. You're bigger than the Gish sisters," Mr. Davis, her frequent director, ranted on, a glass of whiskey in one hand and a lit cigar in the other. He was a rich man, with a thinning head of hair but a loud personality and a large mansion to make up for it. He wasn't a very handsome man either, but there was always a young girl or two on his arm.
Mr. Davis had decided to throw a huge party to celebrate his next moving picture, with loud jazz music and hundreds of young socialites. Rose could practically see her mother in this place, looking around in horror and mumbling about "new money" or whatever. There was a time in her life when Rose hated parties, but the truth is, she'd never been to a real party, just the ones where a bunch of old rich people sat around and talked about how much money they had. Mr. Davis's parties were extravagant, loud, and fun. When she was 16, Rose and her mother had practically dripped their money flow dry. Her father had left them nothing but a good name when he passed, and after several years, the two decided to move in with Rose's Aunt Ada and her husband, Uncle George. She had been more than happy to welcome her sister and niece into her overly large estate on the outskirts of New York City, especially with George almost always away on business. Ada had encouraged Rose to follow her acting dream, especially since they were so close to the city, despite her mother's protests. First she acted in plays, but then Mr. Davis gave her the opportunity to be in one of his motion pictures, which would make its debut in three days.
"Oh please Mr. Davis, I'm hardly as famous as them," Rose dismissed his compliment, although she was flattered.
"You're a true talent Rose, really, you are. I mean you're only like what? 18?"
"17, Mr. Davis, now how about you reward me with another drink rather than smothering me with your praise," She said with a glint in her eye, holding up her empty glass.
Mr. Davis let out a hearty laugh, and the young girl on his arm who had hardly spoken to them also giggled.
"Jean could you get sweet Rose here another whiskey?" Mr. Davis addressed the girl next to him.
"Sure thing, Robbie," The girl said, taking the empty glass and walking to find a waiter.
"Robbie?" Rose laughed at the nickname.
"She's not formal, that one. You should learn a thing or two, with all this Mr. Davis talk."
"That's what your name is!" Rose defended herself. "You are my boss, after all."
The girls Mr. Davis pursued were usually about Rose's age, but Rose and Mr. Davis had never had that type of a relationship. He was a sort of strange father figure to her, and her a daughter to him. Their friendship was weird, but neither of them questioned it.
Mr. Davis shook his head and scoffed, "Call me what you want, there's no point in arguing with the likes of you."
Rose laughed, "You sound like my mother."
I bet you were stubborn as a child."
"Quite the understatement"
The two laughed together again, a bit too hard for a joke that wasn't that funny, but the laughter was fueled by alcohol.
"Speaking of mothers, I should really get going. I promised to be home for some boring dinner party and I'm already late. Drink that whiskey for me alright?"
"Don't get into too much trouble. Ruth will skin me alive!" Mr. Davis knew that Rose's mother didn't like him. She looked down upon anyone that was new money, especially with a fortune in the arts.
"I'll try not to!"
"You are late, Rose." Ruth watched her daughter stumble in from the door, slightly disheveled and smelling like cigarettes.
"My apologies mother, the traffic was so cumbersome on my way from the theater," Rose lied with such perfect timing that it was believable.
Most of the people in the room were too busy in their own conversation to notice the girl that had walked in. It was just another one of Aunt Ada's dinner parties, with people she didn't recognize nor care about conversing in the sitting room about money before the meal. Only a few mere seconds after she entered the room, one of the servants had announced that dinner was ready. She gave her mother a small smile which was not returned as everyone slowly got up and made their way to the dining hall.
Unfortunately, Rose sat in between her mother and a random socialite, having no one to talk to, not that she'd want to talk anyways. The stark contrast between Mr. Davis's party and Aunt Ada's was comical. Footmen in black tuxedos circled the table like vultures, serving the guests as they idly chattered. People sat stiffly, nodded politely, and gave each other small smiles of false approval. Rose hated these parties. She felt as if she'd seen her whole life before, or as if it were going in circles, and acting was the only way to get out of the endless cycle of small talk and dinners. If she hadn't fallen in love with the art sooner, she would have gone insane.
"I hear that Rose is quite the actress, isn't that right?" a voice with a southern twang said.
Rose lifted her head at the mention of her name. People were looking at her expectantly. She wasn't sure who asked the question, but she nodded and smiled.
Yes, I, uh, I do enjoy acting"
"Do you do any plays 'round here?" the voice finally matched with the face, a larger woman with brown hair and a round face.
"I've done around ten plays, but I only had a big role in two of them. I just finished filming for a moving picture however, which is premiering in three days I believe."
More people were interested now, and the whole table had their eyes on her. She felt like she was in the spotlight, a feeling she normally loved, but now made her squirm with discomfort.
"Oh a moving picture!" a man chimed in, "Who is the director? I know a few good men in the film industry."
Rose knew that Mr. Davis didn't have the best reputation among these kinds of people, but she couldn't lie, so she told them, "Robert Davis."
"Oh I've heard about him. Supposedly he throws quite raunchy parties in that mansion of his," a woman in a blue dress mentioned.
Ruth spoke up, "I never did like him much, but Rose enjoys working with him nonetheless."
"He's a fantastic director, really," Rose defended Mr. Davis, shooting her mother a short glare.
"Rose is always out and about in the city because of her acting," Aunt Ada said, "she uses the car so much when George is away, and when he is here she has to use taxis, poor thing."
A few people at the table were visibly disgusted by the thought of using public transportation. Rose resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She actually preferred taxis, because when she used Aunt Ada's car she had to be driven around by Uncle George's chauffeur, Bedford. Bedford was a strict man in his 40s who seldom talked unless it was to Aunt Ada about Rose's whereabouts. She could rarely ever sneak around to Mr. Davis's parties with Bedford driving, so usually she had him drop her off at the theater or some place and tell him to pick her up much later, and in the meantime she would walk or take a taxi to her real destination.
Aunt Ada continued, "Well I don't think she should be put through that much longer. George and I recently purchased a newer model Rolls Royce, and instead of selling the old Model T, we decided to hire a personal chauffeur for Rose!"
Rose almost choked on her water, "P-Pardon?"
Her mother chimed in, "Rose, your Aunt is getting you a chauffeur. Isn't that fantastic? It will be so much safer than having ruffians drive you in those taxis or walking home. Who knows what lurks in this city."
Rose channeled her acting skills into mustering up faking a smile, "Oh goodness thank you Aunt Ada!"
The dinner table changed the subject of their conversation, while Rose's mind was somewhere else. Now she would have a personal chauffeur. How ridiculous. Why can't she just learn to drive herself places, or better yet, just take a god forsaken taxi. She would now have a permanent escort: a pair of eyes on her at all times to inform her mother or Aunt Ada what she was doing. Rose sulked and tried her hardest not to stab herself with her seafood fork.
A/n: This is my first ever published fan fiction for anything! I'm very excited! Jack will come in next chapter, and there will eventually be appearances of Fabrizio and Tommy if you guys would like. If you could leave a review that would be fantastic! Thank you! :D