A/N: WHEW. Where has the time gone?
First things first. Merry Christmas everyone, and Happy New Year as well. Hope that went lovely for all of ya's.
Yeah. So I took a break. A long one. I needed to get out of "Titanic mode" for a bit and then come back to it later on, nice and fresh with new ideas and thoughts. Also, I wish I had more time to update. Grade eleven is by far the toughest year for me.
You'll be happy to know I actually sat down and wrote an outline plot for this story. (Well, not for the ENTIRE story, because I don't know how it'll turn out. Just for the next upcoming chapters.) That's a good thing because, believe it or not, I didn't have one! I was just planning on writing spontaneously whatever I felt like. But now, I sorta know what's going on. SUPER.
Your patience and very kind reviews are greatly appreciated, as always. Have fun reading, girls. And boys, if any. (I highly doubt it.)
CHAPTER 7: Settling Down
Jack's head was pounding. Everything seemed so surreal.
Just a couple weeks ago, he was in Europe, sleeping under bridges with the one closest person to him in the entire world, Fabrizio DeRossi. He was more than just a friend. To him, he was his brother. He might as well be related to him by blood, they were so close. They had met when Jack went to Italy. Fabri was a wanderer, just like Jack, working his way to America—working his way to the American Dream. But now, the young man would never get to his dream and just thinking about that broke Jack's heart even more. Things were going great, but that "lucky" hand of poker was life changing. It was that ship that changed everything in Jack's life. The only person left that Jack had was taken away. He had already experienced that five years earlier. Why did he have to relive the emotions again?
He pressed both his hands against an old brick wall and hunched over, breathing heavily. He felt like he was going to hurl. But he didn't.
He wandered around for a few minutes before walking into a small store to buy a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He only had an occasional cigarette. Unlike others, he didn't seem to be very addicted to it, which was a rare thing. In fact, he didn't even like smoking but that was the only thing he knew would calm him down. He wasn't going to drink like many others usually did to drown their sorrow because that would make him lose control of himself and he didn't want to wind up doing anything he would regret, nonetheless, worry Rose.
He walked outside, heading back to the hotel. Once he got there, he didn't go in. Instead he leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette. He tried to think about anything soothing, but it kept wandering back into his mind. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he blew out smoke from his mouth.
Titanic had killed Fabrizio DeRossi. No, he wasn't going to curse the ship, for it was on it that he met his destiny, Rose. She was everything to him. She was his soul mate. Even though Titanic had killed a part of Jack with the death of Fabri, in a way, it had brought to life other parts in Jack that he never knew he had or could feel. Rose was that spark. Just thinking about her filled the emptiness he felt in his heart now.
All of a sudden, Jack felt ashamed for having left Rose all alone, for running off on her like that. Rose needed him to be there. How could he be so selfish and think about himself at a time like this?
Rose was sitting on the sofa, her legs pulled up to her chest, worried at where Jack may have gone but knowing he'd be back soon enough. She just didn't know when. It had been at least an hour and a half since Jack had run off. But she knew he could take care of himself. After all, he had spent the last five years of his life roaming around from place to place, mostly living on the streets, and he was able to take care of himself all those years. She was just worried about the state he was in.
There was a soft knock at the door.
Rose's jumped up at the sudden sound. Her heart was beating fast as she was excited that it was Jack but also afraid if anything had happened to him or if it wasn't him at all.
She twisted the doorknob, and from the other side, someone gently pushed the door open wider.
It was Jack.
Rose stared at him with worried eyes. He had a slightly pale complexion, he looked weak and his face was tear-stained. She had never seen him like that before so she was awfully shocked.
"Rose. . . I'm sorry. . ." he said, slowly stepping in and pushing the door silently shut behind him, all the while keeping his eyes on Rose.
". . . I'm so sorry." Jack repeated. His eyes shining as he looked to be on the verge of crying.
There was an awkward pause as Jack waited anxiously for Rose's reaction. He sincerely hoped she wasn't too mad at him or that he had hurt her in any way. Her eyebrows were wrinkled upward in a worried manner and her eyes seemed to glisten more than usual. It was then that he realized she was tearing.
"God, Jack," she began as she stepped close to him, to his relief. She placed a trembling hand to his tear-stained cheek. "You had me so worried."
Jack shut his eyes to prevent the tears from beginning to fall again. He couldn't hide it in any longer. It was tearing him up inside ever since he got on the Carpathia. He was always asking himself if Fabrizio had perished in the awful tragedy. And now he knew. He was really sorry to have left Rose like that but he was also terribly devastated with the death of his best friend.
"I'm sorry," was all Jack could whisper again as he reached up and swiftly wiped away a tear that had managed to escape his shut eyelids.
Rose saw that. She saw his pain inside that single teardrop. He opened his eyes and she suddenly felt his warm hand on hers as he took it and slowly brought it to the level of his lips, tenderly laying a small kiss on one of her knuckles. He made an attempt to smile, but then his face fell again and Rose could see that he was trying to be strong in front of her, that he didn't need to cry. But he was wrong.
He turned and walked towards the bed and sat down on it. His palms were on his forehead and fingers were intertwined through his hair. He had his back facing Rose which made it almost seem as though he was hiding from her. Then, she saw his back heaving and she heard short, quiet gasps escape his lips. He was crying. For the first time, Rose was seeing Jack crying. And she was standing there like a fool when he needed her!
Rose rushed in front of his sitting form and knelt. His elbows were resting on his knees and his hands were still up where they were: covering his face. Rose reached up and gently took his hands as she lowered them away from his face. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and his face was contorted into one that had been sobbing. He looked away because he was embarrassed.
"It's okay to cry," Rose said, slowly coming up to sit beside him.
Jack glanced at her before squeezing his eyes shut again then pulling her close to him, hugging her tightly. Rose felt him cry some more against her and she encircled him with her arms. He needed her right now and she was going to be there for him. It was her turn to be strong for him. It was her turn to do the comforting. It wasn't as though Jack had never cried before or would not ever. Rose just hadn't expected it because she thought he'd always be the one to guide her and to take care of her and someone to rely on. She realized how foolish it was of her not to think that there would be times, such as these, where she'd have to be there for him.
Jack felt as though he were reliving the past, when his parents died. Only now, he had someone to turn to. It was then that he realized he would now have someone to help him up when he'd fall flat on his face. Rose would be there for him. Rose would be that comforting hand pulling him out of the misery and darkness in times like these. He couldn't help but love her even more.
His sobbing eventually settled down. He rubbed one eye after the other with the palm of his hand and looked at her.
"Rose, I'm a wreck. I can't even call myself a man," he said with a hoarse voice, breaking the silence.
"What are you talking about?" Rose questioned, looking into his eyes.
"I just cried like a baby. You don't want someone as weak as me."
"How could you say that about yourself?" Rose asked, welling up in tears. It pained her to see Jack thinking such things. She didn't want him to believe any of it and she wouldn't stand hearing it either. He wasn't what he was calling himself at all. "Jack, don't you dare think that!" she choked up, "You're the kindest, most caring, charming, loving, good-hearted and honest man I know. You're more of a gentleman than Cal could ever be or any one of those so-called first class 'gentlemen'," she assured him truthfully. "There isn't possibly any other man out there that I'd want but you."
Jack looked deeply into Rose's eyes and felt her sincere honesty. He began to smile genuinely, his earlier sufferance practically forgotten. He drew his face to hers and kissed her cheek, lingering there for a few seconds, and then trailed to her soft, warm lips where he lingered even longer. He pulled away and hugged her, pressing his cheek to hers as he breathed in the sent of her hair then whispered "I love you" in her ear.
He pulled away and held her chin between his thumb and forefinger, admiring her with love.
He gave her a quick peck before getting up and going towards the couch.
"Where're you going?" she asked, holding a hand over her mouth as she yawned.
"Going to sleep. Just moving so you can have the bed to yourself."
"Oh, no. Jack. . . you don't have to. I really don't—" she began fumbling for words. "I mean, you're too much of a gentleman. I'd rather share a bed with you than sleep alone."
"Alright," he said, grinning.
Jack plopped down onto the bed in a more-or-less upright position and he crossed his legs straight. Rose watched him as he stretched his arms and sighed before resting them behind his head against the backboard of the bed, trying to act casual. With a small smile, she only shook her head and let out a short laugh, muttering something like "you're too funny".
"What?" Jack asked, having noticed Rose's remark.
"I hope you don't mind," she began, ignoring his question, "but I'm going to go change into my nightgown now, so please—"
"I've seen you before," Jack simply stated, cutting her off. It was a teasing remark.
"Jack!" Rose replied blushing. She continued in a rather hurried and shy tone, "Will you please just—"
"Okay, okay," Jack said putting a hand up as though to calm her. "I'm only joking."
Jack lied on his side, his back facing Rose. It was for courteous reasons, even though Rose knew he had seen her fully unclothed before and had quite a long while to stare at her. It wasn't that she felt uncomfortable for Jack to see her naked, it was more an issue of feeling awkward because you were being watched as you were changing.
"Almost done?" Jack asked.
"Almost," she replied as she managed to remove her dress.
He sighed loudly, pretending to sound impatient and Rose let out a giggle.
After a few more seconds, Jack peeked over his shoulder just in time to see Rose pull the gown over her bare chest and she pulled it down faster as she caught him. She shot him a scolding stare.
"Alright, alright. You got to see. Are you happy now?" she said as she laid the dress out on the sofa and made her way back to the bed.
"Well, you said 'almost' so I waited a little longer," he replied laughing as he propped himself on his elbow so he could face her. "You're not mad at me, are you?" he asked.
"I have to think about that one. . ." she said, appearing thoughtful. She knew he was only teasing her and she didn't mind. She sank under the covers before looking up at his waiting face and she smiled. "Nope."
"Ha, I knew it," he said as Rose pulled his face to hers for a kiss.
Jack reached his arm out to shut off the light on the nightstand and then draped it around Rose's waist, pulling her body close to his. They said goodnight to one another and muttered some 'I love you' s before falling asleep.
The following morning, they woke up at around the same time they did the previous morning and started packing for the long train ride to Los Angeles. They filled up all the suitcases they had purchased the day before. They were each dressed in the appropriate clothes they had bought the previous day meant for the travel. Rose arranged her hair into the same style she had when he was talking to Jack on the deck before dinner with him on the Titanic: in a somewhat loose bun, perfect for the travel. Jack had even shaved off his rather slow-growing stubs of facial hair and looked fresh with a slightly younger appearance then he had when his hair grew in.
They finished packing at around ten o'clock and went for a nice breakfast at a diner nearby the hotel. They made sure to eat a good meal because of the long trip they were going on. Afterwards, they went for a long walk, hand-in-hand, since there was still some time to kill and then they returned to their hotel at around twelve thirty. They gathered their things and made their way to the lobby, Jack carrying a valise in each hand and Rose following him.
"Leaving so soon?" Mr. Thomson asked when Jack put down the suitcases to reach into his coat pocket and hand him the key.
"Ah, I'm afraid so," Jack replied reaching into his pocket for some cash. "How much do we owe you for yesterday night?"
"You know what," Mr. Thomson began, "Don't worry about it. I know I said only the first night would be free but in consideration of your short stay, you don't owe me anything."
"Oh no," Rose said, "you don't have to do that."
"You're sure?" Jack said as he hesitated putting the money back into his pocket.
"Absolutely. Call it an act of generosity. It's the least I could do to lend a helping hand."
"Mister Thomson, thank you so much. You're much too kind," Rose said.
He only flashed a warm smile on his aged face.
"Safe travels," he said as he shook Jack's hand and then hers. Just as they were walking out the door, he added, "And you take good care of your lady."
"Don't you worry," Jack replied, smiling, "I will." Forever until forever meets no end. "C'mon, Rose," Jack escorted, holding the door open for her in spite of the two suitcases he was holding.
It was one o'clock. They needed to hitch a ride to get to the train station because they didn't want to have to lug two suitcases with them considering it was quite some ways away. To add on, they were still pretty tired from all the walking they had done the previous day.
They hitched a ride on a cab. It reminded both Jack and Rose of the one in the cargo hold of the Titanic in which they had slept together. It was a bittersweet memory that was forever to be cherished by each of them. This cab was not as fancy as the Renault, but it was still fairly similar.
"Where to?" the cabby asked through the open window that separated them.
At that, Rose bit her lip and looked away. Jack could see her attempt to stifle a smile and that made him break out into a grin as he looked back at the driver.
"To the train station, please!" he said enthusiastically, which made Rose let out her laughter.
The cabby looked at them questioningly before turning around and rolling his eyes, muttering to himself, "Don't know what they're laughin' 'bout. Only asked them where they wanted to go."
Jack slid the window shut while Rose was still laughing. Then he turned to her, his hands still on the frame of the window.
"I'm sorry, were you going to tell him where to go? The stars, for instance?" Jack teased.
Rose's eyes went wide and she turned red, slapping Jack on the shoulder.
"As if I'd say such a thing!" Rose exclaimed, through giggles.
Amused, Jack pulled her close to him and she settled down just as he had done that.
They arrived shortly at the train station shortly and were well ahead of the departure time. They hung around for awhile until the conductor announced the boarding. The train station wasn't overly crowed but was still fairly busy.
"Jack, this is so exciting," Rose was giddily saying as Jack s swung their suitcases over onto the platform of the train. "We're actually doing it. . . We're heading out for the horizon. . ." Rose continued on dreamily, while Jack lifted her up onto the train and climbed on, himself.
"What, you didn't believe I meant it?" Jack smiled, as they were walking through the isle and then opened a door into an empty booth.
"Of course I did," Rose wrapped her arms around Jack when he set down the suitcases, "but it seems so. . . I mean, nearly a week ago I was with my mother and engaged to be married. In fact, the engagement gala would have been about now and I would have been with—" she was speaking quickly when she mentioned her mother and Cal and she stopped herself from going on with those ancient issues. "I never would have dreamed to be where I am right now, heading for the west coast with someone who my mother entirely disapproves of," Jack chuckled and that. "You're. . . a dream come true. Truly," she softly kissed his lips for a moment.
They both sat down.
"If you think I'm a dream come true, do you think that I ever thought I'd come this close to a first class girl, that is, before I saw you?" Jack asked. "I still think about it now and I'm still as blown away as I was before just by the thought of it."
Rose smiled.
"Come here," he urged, pulling her hand.
She scooted over closer to him on the bench and he put his arm around her. Their faces were mere inches apart.
"We'll do all sorts of things in California. You're going to love it there," Jack whispered, "trust me."
"You know I do," Rose replied, starring into his deep blue irises as her lips inched closer to his, only apart by an inch. He closed the space and kissed her slowly. They were disappointed to have to separate when they heard the compartment door slide open and mildly embarrassed. They acted inconspicuous as Jack crossed his legs and ran a hand through his hair to put the stands drooping in front of his face back in their usual place. Rose flattened out the skirts of her dress with both hands.
Jack put his arm back around Rose's shoulders after introducing himself and Rose to the elderly couple that had stepped into the booth. Rose was looking out the window, starring past the train station at New York City.
"You ready?" Jack murmured through her curls and into her ear.
She turned her face to his, smiled and nodded.
Wednesday, April 24th, 1912
It was three o'clock. A bright and sunny afternoon with clear blue skies and a few streaks of clouds here and there. Warm weather as well. It beat by far the freezing hell hole they would have preferred to block from their minds right now. They had just stepped off the train and onto the boardwalk. Sunny California, he thought to himself as his picked up a valise in each hand, it's great to be back.
The train had steamed right across the United States only stopping a few times to drop of passengers and to board a few more. A train ride from New York to Los Angeles would have definitely not have been a direct one. It was much too long a travel. The train steamed past Pennsylvania and Ohio, making a stop in Louisville, Kentucky. Afterwards, it traveled through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and made another stop in Wichita, Kansas. Through the plains, through the Rocky mountains and into the southwest, they halted in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Onward through Arizona, they made a last stop in Phoenix and headed for the east coast. They arrived in Los Angeles, California, their final destination, on Tuesday at three o'clock pacific time, while it was actually six o'clock in New York. It was a long travel and Jack and Rose were thankful they had finally arrived.
They hitched a ride on a cab and Jack instructed the driver to go to East Los Angeles, Hubbard Street to Tony's Butcher Shop.
"I know someone who can help us," Jack informed Rose.
It was only a fifteen minute drive from the train station to where they got dropped off. The butcher shop was one of about two dozen other shops, stores and boutiques in that area. They all had an apartment overtop the store area where normally the store owner lived with their family. There were people walking around here and there. A woman was standing out of her shop, hitting a rug with a broom that was draped over a railing. There was a bar not too far away where a few people stood outside chatting. People walked in and out of stores. It was a perfect little area to settle in because it wasn't too busy and there were nearby conveniences.
The butcher shop, as Jack last remembered it, still looked the same, only it seemed to have a new coat of white paint and a nicer looking sign with bigger letters. The window was as clean and well organized as it has always been, except it had "FRESH MEAT" newly printed on it.
"When I lived in L.A., I met man named Tony Rundell. He helped me out for the short time I lived here," Jack explained. "I must've been seventeen-years-old—Tony was twenty-five. He's a great guy. . . a hard working family man," he turned to her and smiled, "I'm sure you'll like him and his family."
Jack picked up the suitcases and opened the door to the shop and Rose followed. There were some customers at the front desk. There were some shelves and counters against the walls with products stacked on them. On the front desk, there was a curved glass displaying meats that were being kept cold in containers filled with ice. Some had metallic lids covering them. There were also hooks on the ceiling where sausages hung from. Behind the counter, there was a large, heavy looking door with a little window. It led to the cold storage room. Along the wall on either side of the door there were crates stacked up. To the right of the counter, there was a corridor with a flight of stairs at the end of it which Jack suspected led to the apartment upstairs. There was also a door on the side of the corridor which led outside, to the alley. There was a rectangular carpet beside the door with a few pairs of shoes on it.
Jack looked back at the front desk. Past all the heads, he saw a familiar, scruffy looking face with a thick black mustache and about three days worth of an unshaved beard. He looked busy and he didn't even notice Jack come in. Or maybe he had but didn't recognize him. Jack just watched him, in anticipation for Tony to look straight at him. And Tony did, once a he finished with a customer and the gentleman had stepped out of his field vision, he had a clearer view of his shop. And that's when his eyes crossed with Jack's. He starred at him for a short bit at first, without even noticing the next customer waiting for service. His eyes narrowed as he seemed to think where he had seen the familiar looking man before. His eyes grew wide as he smiled broadly. That was thing Jack remembered most about Tony; he had one of the largest smiles Jack had ever seen. Jack smiled back and waved a hand through the air.
"Jack Dawson!" Tony hollered with his deep, booming voice. He signaled for his employee to take his position as he walked past the counter and over to Jack, giving him a friendly hug.
Jack noticed how Tony had grown stalkier since the last time he had seem him. He was about the same height as Jack, maybe even a little taller, and was squarely built. His hair was also shaved to about the length of half a centimeter in comparison to his vibrant curly black hair he had before. He had lively olive-brown eyes and a square jaw.
"It's been a long time!" Tony continued, giving Jack large claps on the back before pulling apart from him.
"Too long."
"Where've you been? Probably everywhere by now, I suppose?"
"Just got back from Europe, actually."
"Europe!" Tony exclaimed. "Jack, you're a real trooper, you know that?"
Jack only smiled humbly but then, he cleared his voice and indicated Rose to Tony by movement of his eyes.
Tony turned to her and was very much aghast at what he saw—to put it in simple terms, it was an angel. She was gorgeous and Jack Dawson had reeled her in. He smiled friendlily.
"Looks like you've got yourself a lady, Jack," he said and then turned back to her, "and a pretty one, may I add."
Rose slightly blushed and Jack wrapped his arm around her, a hint of pride in his face.
"Rose. How do you do," she introduced herself, giving him a friendly smile. They shook hands.
Tony must've thought they were married. It must have seemed obvious because a man wouldn't be traveling around alone with a woman he wasn't married to. It would have been out of the question. They may as well be considered married; Jack and Rose had gone through things together that no one could imagine and they had experienced love to no limits. Besides, they were already fiancées. . . only the ring was missing and that problem was soon to be fixed. Jack would tell Tony that he wasn't married to Rose and in time, he would tell him their story. He owed it to him after all the help Tony gave him in the past.
"Well, what brings you here?" Tony asked.
"We're looking for a place to live. . . we're trying to start a life." Jack responded.
"You're finally settlin' down, aren't ya, Jack?" Tony gave him a warm smile and put a hand on his shoulder. "And I know just the place for you two. It's actually beside the house where a nice friend of my wife's lives."
"Oh, how is Bertha, by the way? And how about the kids?"
"Fine, fine. First, let's get the both of you settled in. You look like you've had a long day." Tony turned around and hollered back at his employee, "Danny! I'm taking an hour off! You think you can handle it?"
"Yessir!" came the loud reply.
"Alright then, let's go."
Tony let them out the door first and then went afterwards.
"Oh, here," he began, "Jack, let me help you with one of those."
He was indicating one of the suitcases and Jack gladly accepted.
The trio walked past the shop for three blocks and then they made a right on a street and continued on for about two small blocks.
"It's not too far away from my shop," Tony was saying. "It's been up for rent for nearly two weeks now. The elderly gentleman that lived there passed away. From what Nellie told me, she's my wife's friend that lives next door, he was sorta antisocial, you know. Didn't go out often. She said that the apartment was much too big for him to manage and he should've been living with someone to help him out." Tony sighed. "Anyhow, this street is a residential street. You got apartments lined up on each side. It's nice and quiet here, 'cept for the few kids that come running around playing on this street every once in awhile." Jack and Rose just listened. Then, Tony smiled and nodded, "There it is."
They stood in front of a long, two story, red brick building. There was a staircase in front of each door that led to the sidewalk. The way the building was designed was that there were three windows separating each main door on the first floor. On the upper floor, there was a window overtop each first floor door and a bay window for each separate apartment. The whole apartment block had about six apartments on the lower level and six on the upper one. On each end of the apartment block, there was a rather wide alley separating that apartment block from a different one. There was an access door from both alleys to the apartment which led to a corridor. This corridor permitted access the lower level apartments as well as a staircase to the second story corridor for the upper level apartments. Everything appeared well kept.
"I think this is where the landlord lives," Tony said, leading them to the door of the apartment on one of the extremities of the apartment block.
He knocked on it and while waiting, he quickly explained to them that this landlord was new. He was the nephew of a grouchy old businessman who was strict about the rent, having it at an unfairly high rate. The nephew took over a couple of years ago when his uncle became ill with tuberculosis and passed away not long after.
"At any rate," he quickly added, hearing footsteps from inside the house, "this young man changed the way things were going here. He lowered the rent and turned out to be much friendlier than his uncle."
The door then opened and there appeared a man in a tidied navy blue suit with a bowtie and a pocket watch attached to his vest. He was a sharp looking man with dark hair neatly slicked back and a cleanly shaved face.
"Hello, Tony! How may I help you?" he asked kindly.
"Hey, Nick. I have a couple here that would like to rent that apartment," Tony replied.
"Ah yes. . . I see. I'm Nicolas Sedgwick."
He stuck out his hand and Jack took it, introducing himself and Rose to him.
"Well, let me show you that apartment, now."
He led them out around the building and into the side entrance where they took the flight of stairs leading to the upper level. They met another corridor and they stopped and the second door down, numbered "11". Nicolas inserted a key into the lock, unlocking the door and twisting the handle to open it.
The apartment was dark for a few seconds until Nicolas opened the blinds. It was now illuminated by all of the sun rays beaming through the bay window. The walls were cream colored and there was a band of floral wall paper running about a foot below the trim on the ceiling.
To their right was what appeared to be a living room. The apartment was already furnished; there were two sofas, one that could sit two, and the other that could sit three. The larger one was lined up against the wall and the smaller one faced it, with a coffee table in between the two. In front of the bay window, there was an oval wooden table with four wooden chairs and right beside that, there was a quaint little kitchen with a stove, a counter, an oven, and a fridge. (A/N: Let's pretend they had fridges back then… I know for a fact that they actually only appeared in homes in the late twenties.)
To their left, there was a wall with two open doors. The nearest one led to the bathroom and the one furthest away led to the bedroom. Its walls were a deep burgundy. It was already furnished with a double bed, a night table on each side with a lamp and an armoire. There was also a window and a small closet.
Though the apartment may have appeared to be a little small, it was a perfect size for the two. Rose found it to be clean, cute and cozy. Jack was still analyzing the room when Rose held Jack's arm and gently tugged it, looking up at him. He looked at her when she did this and her eyes seemed to say, "This is the one, Jack."
"What's the rent?" Jack asked, turning to Nicolas.
"Twenty-two fifty a month."
Jack looked around the apartment again, contemplating it. He looked back at Tony, then at Rose as though searching for silent approval. There was a spark in her eye and he knew that she absolutely adored the place.
"That's pretty fair. . . We'll take it."
Nicolas smiled and Jack noticed that the man had boyish dimples. Under his sophisticated suit and classy appearances, he was just a young second class man.
"Alright," Nicolas said, still smiling, revealing a set of beautiful pearly white teeth, "here is your key. I hope you enjoy the apartment. The former tenant passed away not too long ago without any close relatives and that's why the room is very much furnished. If there is anything else you need—absolutely anything—just knock on my apartment door. . . You know where I live." He began walking out the door but swiftly turned around to add, "By the way, you may call me Nick. Or Nicolas, whatever suits you best."
When the door shut, Tony slapped Jack's back and said, "Alright. Good choice, Jack m'boy. Hope you don't mind, but I'm going to use the bathroom."
Jack sort of ignored his last statement; he was busy watching Rose, waiting for a reaction. As soon as he shut the door behind him, Rose jumped into Jack's arms.
"Whoa!" was Jack's reaction.
She gave a number of quick pecks on his mouth. She then pulled his head to her shoulder, hugging him tightly.
"Thank you!" Rose kissed his head.
"Thank you," came Jack's muffled reply and Rose giggled. He set her down.
Tony came back out of the bathroom just then.
"Say Tony, do you need any extra help at your shop?" Jack asked, holding Rose's hand and shoving his other in his pocket.
"I can use all the help I can get."
"Would you hire me?"
"Well. . ." Tony pretended to be thinking deeply about it, then smiled and let out a boisterous laugh. "Of course I will, ol' pal!"
He slapped Jack on the back who jerked forward a little bit. It was quite a habit Tony had of doing and Rose laughed at the interesting relationship they shared.
"You can start tomorrow at eight o'clock. Oh, and I almost forgot! The both of ya's—especially you Rose—have to meet your next door neighbour, Nellie Jennings. She's a swell girl. Good friend of my wife's too. . ." his voice trailed off as he walked into the corridor.
Jack and Rose were still in the apartment, facing the doorway. He looked down at her who looked up at him and they both smiled, the way they had smiled at each other when Jack kissed her hand at dinner, at Tony's one-of-a-kind character. They walked out together and followed Tony to apartment number ten.
Now that they were settled together, in a cozy little apartment, a place they could call their own, they could begin a life. This was something new to Rose and though it may not have been a luxurious lifestyle like the one she once had, she loved it and honestly preferred it to the absurdly and pointlessly large mansion she used to inhabit. She didn't care, as long as she was with Jack, the one she loved. That's all that was important to her. Not only that, but she found this new way of living exciting and adventurous. She was an adventurous type of person. She wanted to do something with her life. Now that she was free, with Jack, she could do anything she wanted.
As for Jack, he was finally settling down after all those years of living unstably and rampaging here and there. Bohemian Jack had found love and commitment. For this matter, he needed to live stably, now. That didn't mean his adventures weren't over—oh no, they were far from being over. He was in an all new adventure and a far more exciting one. He opened a new chapter in his life as he stepped into the endless adventure of love. He would share this adventure with Rose.
A/N: Wow, I'm really dragging this story, aren't I!? Ha ha ha! Yeah… it's fun. I did speed it up a little thought at one part. You know, after skipping those three train ride days. I realized that if I follow their life day after day, which is exactly what I noticed I have been doing, this story will go nowhere.
Just a little something I wanna say about that smoking part at the beginning of the chapter:
I heard from somewhere that if you try a cigarette even once or twice and don't like it, you won't get addicted to it. Is that right?
I know that Jack is a smoker because we see him smoke quite a few times in the movie: poker table, lying under the stars (before he meets Rose) and with Lovejoy after the meeting with the master at arms and the infamous Caledon Hockley.
But, I can't really see Jack as a smoker because we never see him with a cigarette in his mouth for the rest of the movie. I personally think that he was too preoccupied with Rose to even think about his own needs. But that's just me. You can differ with me on this subject if you'd like by means of reviewing! X)
HOLY CRAP. Do I talk too much? Fo' sho'! Review! Please! implodes