Overprotective
Chapter X
"Spencer!" I woke up to the shrill scream of Mrs. Welch. "Where's my son?!" I could hear her going down the hallway. "Spencer!"
I jumped out of bed and made it to the doorway just as she did. "Meredith, have you seen my son? He's gone and I can't find him!" she said so quickly I could barely understand her.
"He's-" I began to say until she interrupted me.
"I need my son!"
"He's right here, Mrs. Welch!" I said a tad irritably, stepping aside.
Spencer was still in the chair, looking like he'd just woken up. "Mother? What's going on?"
Mrs. Welch pushed me aside and ran into the room. "What on earth is going on?"
"I didn't want to be alone, so Meredith kindly allowed me to sleep in the chair." he explained.
"The door has been open the entire time and he stayed in the chair just as I stayed in my bed. Nothing improper occurred at all."
"I must go lie down." Mrs. Welch said and left.
Spencer stood up and hung the blanket over the back of the chair. "I should go."
"Yes, you probably should." I said softly.
He headed for the door, "Thank you."
I smiled at him, and he left.
I turned on the lights and sat down on my bed. In the corner was a dark wooden wardrobe and the door was opened slightly. Last night it hadn't been. I went to it cautiously, and opened the door to find a few lovely dresses and some simple outfits. I knew Aunt Gwen must have arranged this.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in." I called as I was too busy admiring the different colors and fabrics.
I turned to see an older woman. "Good morning, Miss. My name is Tracy. Your aunt sent me up here to assist you in getting ready."
She helped me into a simple dark blue dress and she put my brown locks up into a bun. She went very light on my make-up, which made me look very natural.
"Thank you, Ma'am." I said while staring at myself in the mirror.
She quickly left as soon as she was finished, and I decided to go downstairs. Once in the main hall I had no idea which way to go. Janice, the maid from last night, was passing by with an arm full of laundry. "Excuse me," I tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to me with a frightened expression, "Which way is the kitchen?"
"The kitchen is down the hall to the left, but I believe you're looking for the dining room. Only staff belongs in the kitchen. That'd be the room right next to it." she pointed.
"Thank you." I went down the hall and to the left and saw two doorways, only one covered with a door. The doorless room was the dining room which I entered to see Aunt Gwen sitting there, enjoying a cup of tea.
"Oh, Meredith, dear. Good to see you up. What was all that screaming about upstairs?" she asked while lifting her cup for another sip.
I took to a deep breath and walked around the table to the chair beside her. "That was Mrs. Welch. She couldn't find Spencer and she was becoming frantic. She can't imagine losing another son. The thought absolutely terrifies the poor woman, I can tell."
"And where was the boy?" she asked.
"Well, last night we were talking. He didn't want to be alone, so I allowed him to sleep in the chair in my room." I watch Aunt Gwen's facial expression turn to an angry one. "He stayed in the chair, and I in my bed. The door was open all night as well. Nothing inappropriate happened at all. Please, believe me Aunt Gwen." I explained in a fast, begging tone.
"I believe you. Just don't let it happen again." she then gestured for a maid in the room to come to her. "Please get a cup of tea for my niece. Meredith, how do you like it?" They turned to me.
"With a lemon. That'll be fine." I answered, and the maid nodded, proceeding to fetch my tea.
"So I hear you and Arthur will be going to visit Harold today?"
"Yes. He would like to see him before he leaves for New Jersey tonight."
"Very well. Just do not be out too late, and please be careful. You haven't even been in the country for a full day."
"I'll be very careful, Aunt Gwen. Plus I'll have Arthur with me, and I'll probably drag Spencer with me as well. Plenty of protection."
The maid reappeared to place a steaming cup in front of me, and then went back to the kitchen.
Spencer appeared in the room and took a seat beside me. "My mother is too ill to come down. She'd rather stay in bed."
"If that's what she wishes, that is alright with me. I'll sent someone up to check on her later." Aunt Gwen stated.
Arthur came down next, carrying Jenny up high like she was flying. He even made a few whooshing noises for him, and she was giggling uncontrollably. He set her down by the table. "Mer, we'll go in a little bit. I asked Aunt Gwen if we could borrow one of her cars to get there. Are you ready?"
"Yes, I am." I turned to Spencer, "Would you like to join us?"
"I have nothing better to do." he answered. We rose from the table, and I took one last sip of my tea before we left the dining room.
Arthur led us outside to the driveway and there was a large garage as big as my house back home was. We entered and saw the same car as yesterday. The driver walked in, and promptly opened the door for me, taking my hand to help me up. He did the same for Jenny, and Spencer and Arthur entered on their own. Soon we were off, into the city, and down by the pier where we were just last night.
There was a five story tall brick building. It was unmarked, except for a broken sign in the front that said "All Sailors Welcome!"
The four of us entered, and saw a receptionist who looked insanely busy and frazzled. We approached her just as she hung up the phone. "What do you want?" she asked rudely.
"We're looking for the Titanic's crew. We heard they'd be staying here." Arthur explained.
"Yeah, you and everybody else. We have senators, reporters, and curious citizens wandering in here asking to see the crew. The phones are ringing off the hook. I can't take any more of this." she rambled irritably.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am. I only wanted to see my brother, Harold Lowe. He was the fifth officer." Arthur said, and smiled kindly at the lady. "Please let me see him."
"Alright. Go ahead. They're on the second and third floors. Go check there." she pointed to the stairs to the right of the desk.
"Thank you." her muttered and we all headed up to the second floor and scanned the room. There were hundreds of cots in lines, and the room was crowded by sailors everywhere, looking disheveled and bored.
After searching for about fifteen minutes, we decided to check the next floor. It was the same scene there, and we made our way through the crowd. I held onto Jenny's tiny hand so she wouldn't get separated from us.
"I'm the fifth officer, for Christ's sake! I think I deserve my bloody pay!" I heard a familiar voice yelling. I turned towards the voice and saw my brother yelling at a man in a suit.
"There he is!" I pointed and gestured for everyone to follow, and we approached.
"Listen, Mr. Lowe, we cannot pay you until your return to England. I am sorry. It's company policy." the man explained.
"I don't understand why the White Star Line offices right here in New York can't just pay me my salary. I did my duty, and I deserve my money." I could easily see my brother was becoming very irritated.
"There is nothing I can do. You'll have to wait for the end of the inquiry to return to England and get your money." the man calmly explained. "Good day, Officer Lowe." he then walked off.
"Harry!" I called, and he turned around, and instead of seeing me, he came face to face with Arthur, and he appeared frightened.
"Hello, Harold." Arthur said calmly.
Harold studied his face for a moment. "Arthur?"
"Correct, little brother. How have you been?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms.
"I've been better." Harold answered skeptically. "You aren't going to hit me, are you?"
"What? Why would I?"
"Well, our beloved little sister here slapped me when she first saw me again."
Arthur turned to me. "You hit him?" he sounded shocked. I nodded. "Good work!" he clapped his hand on the back of my shoulder.
"Why must everybody congratulate her for this?" Harold asked bitterly.
"Who else has congratulated me on that, Harold?" I asked.
"James told me Murdoch bowed to you for it." he laughed. "Those crazy guys." his smile gradually faded. "Damn, I miss them."
I stayed quiet and looked down. Spencer, who had been standing behind me, placed his arm around my shoulders.
"How about we go get something to eat?" Arthur suggested. "Come on, Harold."
"That sounds fine, but I have no money, as you may have heard."
"It's on me. I'm buying you lunch." Arthur put his arm around Harold in a friendly way. "Let's go, Harry." he smiled.
We all left and walked down the street to a small restaurant. The room was half full, and we settled into a booth in the corner.
"So, how's mum and dad? I haven't seen them in months." Arthur asked me, while reading a menu.
"They're fine. A little sad that all of their children have left home though. Probably been frantic the past few days. I don't really know. I haven't seen them in nearly three weeks."
"Well I haven't seen them in over seven months."
Harold interjected, "Excuse me, the two of you, but I haven't seen them in over fifteen years. I can barely remember what they look like!"
"They shouldn't be too upset to have an empty nest right now. Edgar still lives right down the street, doesn't he? And George is in the next town."
"I think it's more about the fact that all of their children are grown up and don't need them so much anymore." I explained.
A waitress stopped in front of our booth. "What can I get for you all?"
I ordered a salad, and zoned out at everyone else ordered. I thought I had left my family behind in Wales, but I felt a lot more comfortable that I had family members I hadn't seen in a while here in New York with me, at least for a little while.
"So how did you manage to find each other on such a large ship?" Arthur's question was directed at Harold and I.
I thought back to that first day. "Well, I saw a few men in uniforms ahead of me on the deck. One of them looked familiar, and I asked somebody about them. They confirmed it was Harold, so I went and slapped him."
Arthur laughed.
"That hurt, you know." he commented to me, and then looked to Arthur, "She's stronger than she looks."
I smiled mischievously.
"If you don't mind me asking, what was the sinking like?"
Harold, Spencer, and I all froze and looked at each other. Who would be the one to explain it?
"It was a very tough and confusing event, Arthur. At first, we didn't know what was going on. Then as time went by and the ship listed more and more, everyone understood the Titanic was dying." I explained. "Harold told me about it, and I fought with him about filling lifeboats. It was so stupid." I laughed to myself without even meaning to, "I went to go find Spencer, and this man who did not like me very much locked me in a bathroom with Spencer. Eventually we were let out, and followed my friend Emma below decks." I forced myself to continue speaking even though the thought of the last time I saw Emma was killing me. "We lost her, and were stuck behind a gate, Spencer and I. They made me leave him." I looked to Spencer with tears in my eyes, "And I didn't want to. If he died, I would have felt responsible. I-" I couldn't keep explaining. I didn't want to remember anymore.
"Meredith, it's alright. You don't have to go on." Arthur said sympathetically.
Spencer put his arm around me. "Would you like to go out for some air?"
I nodded and then sniffled. He slid out of the booth and then took my hand to assist me in standing up. We walked out to the sidewalk and I leaned against the wall of the building.
"I'm sorry, Mer." he said while leaning on the brick wall right beside me.
"For what?"
"For making you leave me down there. It was all I could do, and it worked out fine. But I didn't mean to upset you so bad."
"It's fine. I was just so scared. The decks were sinking beneath our feet, and I had no idea where my friends were, and I had no way to help anyone. I didn't help anybody. I lost everyone."
"You didn't lose me. Or Harry. You did save somebody too. Remember that baby? She's alive now, thanks to you."
I smiled at that. "I miss everybody so much. It doesn't feel right that I'm walking around uninjured, and they're all dead. Why did I live, when their lives were much more meaningful than mine? Clarissa was going to have a baby, and she and Adam were going to run off and be married. I know it. Emma had siblings to support back home, and a dying mother to care for. And James… he was supposed to end up with me…"
"You lived because you are strong. You're meant to do great things. I'm not sure why they all died. But, I do know they are all watching us. They'd want you to be strong, Mer. You survived. Don't live your life in mourning."
"I'll try. But it's too soon, now. I need time to mourn, and then I'll begin to live again."
"We'll help each other to heal. That's what friends are for, right?" he held out his arm.
I linked arms with him, "Yes. That's what friends are for." and we walked back inside.
"So, she and this boy were having a fling?" I heard Arthur ask, and Harold nodded.
"He perished. So she's definitely going to be a bit off for a while. I've been worried about her for days."
I cleared my throat and they both looked up at me.
"Meredith! I-" Harold began to speak, but I turned away and crossed my arms.
"Save it, Harold. I'm fine, and you don't need to worry about me."
"Mer, just sit down. Please." Arthur pleaded. I sat down, and Spencer slid right next to me. I ate my salad in silence. Nobody else spoke.
How dare Harold talk about me to Arthur. How dare he just call this a fling. That makes me sound like an ignorant lovestruck child. They don't need to worry about me, because I am perfectly fine.
We dropped Harold off and returned in the car quietly back to Aunt Gwen's home. It was about five o'clock.
"How was your visit?" Aunt Gwen asked as we all walked in. I ignored her and rushed upstairs.
"It was alright." I heard Arthur answer. "I need to go pack. Jenny and I need to board the train in an hour." he, carrying Jenny, walked up the stairs behind me. I could also hear Spencer's footsteps ascending as well.
I entered my room and fell onto my bed. I gathered the sheets up around me and cried again, just as I had every night. Perhaps I was a bit off... But I didn't want any of them to know that...
Thanks for reading. I know this chapter is shorter than the rest. I have much more planned for chapter 11 which I hope you'll read as soon as I am able to post it. This has been a pretty awful week, and I just had no will to write half the time, but I did when I could. Sorry if this isn't much. I'm working on Chapter 11 right now, and will have it up soon. Thanks. Please review. It'd really cheer me up. -Kell.