Ch. 7: Arrival in Santa Monica (Rose's POV)
February 1913
Finally 1913 arrived. Rose was thrilled that she now had enough money to make it to California. Rose decided not to leave New York until Maggie had found a suitable replacement. After all the help that the woman gave her, Rose couldn't leave Maggie to do all the work on her own.
Maggie was perfectly content on handling the work without Rose for a while, but she did start putting advertisements in the papers when it got closer to the New Year. But Rose was stubborn; so Maggie decided to include Rose in the process of hiring her replacement. Several girls came in for interviews, but none of them met her or Rose's expectations.
It wasn't until mid-January that a young girl named Sarah walked in for an interview. Sarah had recently lost her husband, and now in dire need of work. She was as penniless as Rose had been, and only wanted the job so she could rebuild her life. Maggie and Rose smiled, knowing that they finally found a worthy replacement.
Rose stayed for an extra week to help Sarah adapt to her new job, and finally purchased a train ticket to California. Maggie was sad to see Rose go, but she gave Rose her address and they promised to keep in touch.
The journey was long and tiring, but Rose was thrilled to be finally on her way to Santa Monica. The first thing she would do was find a place to stay. Then hopefully she'd be able to find a job, and finally she would go to the pier. As she started thinking about the pier, immediately Jack came into her mind. She sighed and she wished again that Jack had lived. Jack would have been excited and probably would've shown her all the places he had been when he was in Santa Monica.
Finally the train had stopped in California. When Rose got off the platform, she was surprised how busy the train station was. She made her way to town, and she found Santa Monica to be quite charming. It was late afternoon when she arrived, so she quickly found a hotel to stay for the night. After settling in she decided to walk to the pier, just as the sun was almost setting.
As she walked on the boardwalk, the ocean looked so beautiful and peaceful. Rose was still reluctant to get any closer… being that close to the water brought back the dark memories of the sinking.
As the wind blew in her hair, she felt happy. It brought back that final sunset on the bow. She felt as if Jack was there beside her… Rose had never been quite religious, but she felt that if there was a heaven Jack must be there. Part of her had to laugh at her musings; Jack was a good man, but far from perfect. He did fall in love with an engaged woman after all. He had an uncanny ability to read people, and he saw something worthwhile in her. She will always be grateful to him for saving her. Thanks to Jack, she was now living a somewhat happy life. Rose felt that her life probably would be happier if Jack had lived, but at least she was free from that oppressive life in first class.
Thinking about her former world, her thoughts drifted to her mother and Cal. While Rose had somewhat managed to forgive her mother, she just couldn't shake free that resentment she had towards Cal. She had read in some society papers that Cal hadn't been making appearances due to mourning his beloved fiancé. She scoffed at reading that… it was overdramatic. The press would tear Cal to shreds if they knew that his former fiancé was alive and well. Part of her wanted to reveal that Rose Dewitt-Bukator was alive and tell everyone what a bastard Caledon Hockley really was.
Rose had recently read that Cal had started courting a young woman named Abigail Dawson. Rose was shocked that Cal was courting a woman with that last name…she knew it would bring Cal memories of Jack! Then she read that Abigail was a Boston Dawson…no wonder that Cal was now courting this woman. The Boston Dawsons were just as powerful as the Hockleys, and would make a powerful alliance if Cal married Abigail. She figured Nathan must be the one encouraging Cal to marry the young woman. Abigail seemed to be about Rose's age…very young and beautiful. Rose had to scoff…Cal always had a thing for young, beautiful girls. In the picture Rose saw that Abigail seemed happy, while Cal had a look that he was just going through the motions. Cal no longer had that look of confidence and arrogance. If they married, Rose hoped that Cal would treat Abigail right. Rose could care less who Cal ended up marrying, but she did want the poor girl that did not to be miserable at his side.
Rose knew her life would be miserable if she had married Cal. Her memories came back to that morning at breakfast when Cal threw the table… she was so terrified and it scared her on how cruel and possessive Cal could be. She could just picture Cal becoming a tyrant throughout the marriage…ruling their home with an iron fist. She was later proven right during the sinking when Cal showed his true colors. She couldn't be married to such a cruel and possessive person.
Jack was a much better fit for her…she wished she had met Jack before she had gotten engaged to Cal. Rose vaguely remembered that afternoon when she stormed off from lunch to get some air on the first class deck. She was so frustrated and unhappy, and only went outside to clear her head. She was staring off into the distance when she felt that someone was staring at her. She had turned to see that it was a young third-class man looking up at her. She locked eyes with him for a moment before Cal showed up; not knowing that she would meet the young man later that night.
That night at the stern Rose was in a dark and lonely place. She was so overwhelmed, and wasn't expecting anyone out on the stern that late at night. Jack took the time to talk to her and convinced her not to jump. After pulling her over and nearly getting arrested for it, Rose had to thank the man for not only saving her life, but also keeping her secret. She went and found him in third class the next day. They spent that whole afternoon talking and it lead to an easy friendship. She was amazed how open and friendly Jack was. Jack actually listened to her. He cared about her hopes and dreams; he was the only person that encouraged her to follow them. He was also the first to bluntly ask what she thought and felt about the engagement to Cal. Jack sure startled her when he asked if she loved Cal… deep in her heart she knew that the answer was no. She just couldn't admit it to herself at the time; much less to a stranger that saved her life.
She at first thought of Jack as a friend, but she had to admit that he was very handsome. Those blue eyes were something, and that smile of his! It was enough to make a woman go weak in the knees. When Jack showed up at the dinner, she was amazed seeing his transformation. She was impressed on how well he did in her world, and she had so much fun in his world. He showed her how life should be. Falling in love with Jack…it was fast and intense. She tried to fight it, but it was useless. Jack had her heart by the time of the collision…she had been planning on leaving her world right there when that ship struck the iceberg.
Rose sighed and decided to make her way back to the hotel. She had a long journey and probably should get some sleep. Tomorrow was another day, and she was happy that she was now starting her adventures.
