Chapter 3: Dinner With Jack
The next day I told Rose I had met Jack the night before.
"Why were you down there anyway?" she asked.
"It's not important…he was cute Rose…" I said.
"Quit changing the subject Rory!"
"I'm not Rose! Leave me alone! I don't have to tell you anything"
"You're a brat" she said in a tone I hadn't heard her use in a long time.
"And you're a baby!" I shot back.
"Excuse me?" she asked?
"You won't stand up for yourself and you let people push you around and tell you what to do…fix it!"
"Yeah? Well, you're a nosy, immature brat that doesn't have any real problems…fix it!"
"That was original…" I said sarcastically.
"I'm going to find Mr. Dawson and thank him…don't be here when I get back" she said nastily.
"Where am I going to go Rose? I'm on a ship! I'll be wherever I want when you get back"
"I hate you…" she said quietly as she walked out of the room.
"Back at you!" I stood up and yelled to her. I loved getting under her skin.
About ten minutes after Rose left, my mother walked in.
"Come on. Lets go. The countess and I are having lunch and she asked you to join us. She wants to talk about your upcoming cotillion" she said going through my closet picking out an outfit.
I sat on my bed and smirked. "Um…I'd rather not"
"I'm not giving you an option Rory" she said quickly. "You're going and that's final!"
"But mother!" I stood up and complained.
"Rory, I don't know what on earth is going on with your behavior lately but I'd like you to know I do not like it at all! Now you will be ready in twenty minutes, is that understood?"
"Yup" I said as I rolled my eyes.
"Good" she said pleased with herself. She thought she got her point across. Yeah, right. As soon as she left and closed the door, I threw my brush at the spot she was standing in.
Lunch was miserable! People I didn't even know were telling me how amazing cotillions are and how it's a step towards woman-hood and blah blah blah. I was so annoyed, even going to find Rose sounded more appealing than talking to these first class princesses.
"Mother? May I please be excused? I need to find Rose. We got in a small argument earlier and I think I should go apologize for my behavior" I said sweetly.
"Of course darling" she said smiling. What a show off…
As I left, I heard my mothers friends telling her how sweet and polite I was. I ignored it and went out on deck to find Rose. I saw her talking with Jack staring at the water. When I walked over, Jack was teaching Rose how to spit.
"Ugh! That's revolting!" I said laughing.
Jack laughed. "Well, can you do it?" he asked me. Rose just glared. I assumed she was still mad about earlier. I looked at Jack.
"Hold on a second"
I then looked at Rose. "Rose, I'm sorry about earlier, I was just upset. Mother is being so frustrating with this whole engagement and the cotillion and you're the only person I expected not to jump down my throat about stuff you know? But anyways, I'm sorry"
"It's alright Rory. I'm sorry too. I know all this is hard for you too and I need to remember that" she said as she hugged me.
I looked back at Jack. "Okay, now that we got that out of the way…what was the question?" I asked.
"Can you spit?" he answered.
I arched my back and hawked my throat and spit into the water just like he was trying to teach Rose to do. Jack just looked at me in shock. So did Rose.
"Does that answer your question?" I asked.
"Wow. That was good" he said.
"Where did you learn to spit like that?" Rose asked.
I shrugged. Jack went back to teaching Rose how to spit but then my mother walked up. She looked at Jack in disgust.
"Mother, may I introduce Jack Dawson" Rose said.
"Charmed, I'm sure" My mother said.
Just then the dinner bell rang and Rose and I followed our mother to dress for dinner.
When Rose, Cal, Mother, and I were through getting ready we went down the stairs by the clock. My mother and Cal were ahead and Rose and I behind them. Then I saw him. Jack was waiting by the bottom of the stairs. He looked amazing. He actually wore a tux! It was unbelievable. Then I looked at Rose. I saw a glimmer of excitement in her eyes I'd never seen when she looked at Cal. That's when I realized something huge. Rose liked Jack…This was going to complicate things. Jack winked at me and took Rose by the arm and escorted her to the dining room. Rose introduced him to various people of our crowd. The funny thing was though, is that Jack somehow managed to fit in.
Dinner was weird. My mother's behavior was inexcusably rude. Yeah, and she said mine was bad. Ha!
"And you find that sort of rootless existence appealing do you?" she said.
"Well, yes, ma'am I do…I mean I got everything I need right here with me. I got the air in my lungs, a few blank sheets of paper. I mean, I love waking up in the morning not knowing what's gonna happen, or who I'm gonna meet, where I'm gonna wind up. Just the other night I was sleeping under a bridge and now here I am on the grandest ship in the world having champagne with you fine people" Jack looked at the waiter and held up in champagne glass. "I'll take some more of that…I figure life's a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. You never know what hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you…to make each day count" he finished. I was sitting next to him. I smiled at him. He smiled back and nudged me.
"Well said, Jack" Molly Brown said. Everyone agreed.
"To making it count" Rose said gesturing everyone to toast. We all raised our glasses of champagne. "To making it count!"
