A/N: Time for a reality check: summer's over, guys. Like it has been for the past couple of weeks (well, for me anyway). So let me start off by saying I'm a liar and a jerk. Kay, I never meant to lie, it was my full intention to write update four times this summer, but I only did twice. I'm terribly sorry to have left you hanging but hear me out: once school was done, all I could think of was "YES. No more long assignments. . . I can sit back on the lawn chair, relax, and free my mind of worries and thoughts." So that's what I did. coughs Yeah. I'm sorry.

For those of you who would like to know, my days were spent training, napping, sun-bathing, tanning, partying, more tanning, more training, BBQ'ing, etc. . . Yeah. Fricken sweet, eh?

[Also, on a personal note… my brother got into a car accident near the end of summer vacation and I was in shock at what happened for a little over two weeks so I wasn't all "there"… The reason being is that we are very close to one another; he's like my best friend. Anyway, he's fine now (still healing though) and I'm alright too.

Anyway, I know that I ramble. So, enjoy.

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CHAPTER 11: PREPARATIONS

That Saturday, Rose spent the whole day with Bertha at the Rundell home. Not only did Bertha teach Rose cooking basics, but she gave her a recipe book and useful tips. They cooked the entire day, but they also chatted with one another. Rose found out that Bertha and Tony were only a year a few months apart; he was twenty eight and she was twenty seven. They got married when she was eighteen and he was nineteen in southern California, about eleven years ago, and later moved to Los Angeles where they had their children. She used to be a teacher but then became a housewife when she first had children. Tony had some previous experience in butchery by helping his uncle who had a butcher's shop. It was a part time job that he had at around the age of fourteen. He later took into the business, deciding to start one himself.

Rose and Nellie had prepared lunch for Jack and Tony as well as themselves and the children. Rose was as happy to see Jack as he was to see her for that short period of time. At least she didn't have to go through the whole day without seeing him at all.

At around late afternoon, Nellie came by to bring Rose downtown with her to shop for a bridal gown. Rose thanked Bertha for the wonderful time she had spent with her and told her it was a shame she could not come downtown with them. It was disappointing that Bertha couldn't go with them and have fun shopping. But Rose understood that she had young children to care for. As she was leaving, she handed Jack the recipe book Bertha had given her, telling him to bring it home for her since she and Nellie were going straight downtown. Rose already took a fair amount of money with her that morning so there was no need to return to the apartment. She kissed him goodbye and then she was off with Nellie.

They took a car to Millie's Bridal Gowns. They browsed inside the store for a few minutes, admiring the many beautiful wedding dresses. Nellie was staring in awe at the very expensive dresses meant for first class. Rose took one look at them and inwardly cringed. She could almost feel the weight of all the elaborate fabric, pearls, beads and jewellery weighing her down and closing in around her, a feeling of being trapped. Then again, this may had almost been her life if it had not been for Jack. Thinking about it now, she could not imagine how she could possibly survive with the lot, an abusive jackass for a husband. Not for one moment could she look back at the life that may almost have been hers with a single ounce of regret. She was much happier than she had ever been, with much less than she ever had, materialistically. That was something her crowd would never understand. She knew she was where she belonged: safe in Jack's embrace. She had no more fears and no regrets and she knew her future with him would hold many wonderful promises.

In spite of her old life, also for money's safe, she silently took Nellie by the arm and gently led her to the less elaborate dresses. They were all in a lower pricing range and were much simpler, yet still quite lovely in their own ways. They had been in the store already for about a quarter of an hour when finally a clerk came and helped them.

Rose asked to see a few of the cheapest bridal gowns the store possessed. She was shown a few models and tried them all on, eliminating those that were either a little too expensive for what she had in mind, those that were off-sized, or those that she was not particularly interested in. She was left with two to chose from. One of them was long sleeved with a v-neck with no embroidery whatsoever. Rose was not interested in trying it on. She didn't think it would suit her. Also, it was more expensive than her other option, which was the second cheapest in the store but happened to be quite nice. It was short sleeved, almost falling off the shoulders, and the neckline was a low straight cut. Along that neckline, there was simple embroidery with a few pearls here and there. The skirt was long and flowing giving an illusion of light-weight. She liked it and she knew Jack would too. She just hoped it was the right size because it was her only option left among the less expensive bridal gowns. Luckily enough, it was a perfect fit. She thought about getting a veil but then decided against it. She almost smirked as she pictured herself wearing a veil, seeming cooped up in a cage.

Meanwhile. . .

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Since it was a Saturday, Tony closed up early than he normally would. At five o'clock, he and Jack left the butchery and went to the men's clothing shop where Tony knew they rented tuxedos. They measured Jack and found him a proper size, keeping the style of the tuxedo as simple as possible. It was just plain black and white, very much like the one he had borrowed from Molly to go to dinner in first class.

He admired the tuxedo head to tow as he wore it in the floor length mirror. A smile crept on the corner of his mouth as he looked back at night with Rose. He had seen her crowd and understood why she had felt that way about them. It was all mindless chatter and narrow thinking. He remembered telling them about his purpose statement in life. He knew that his little speech wouldn't change much in their ways, but at least it caused them to stop and think for a bit, at least reflect on life. He remembered the third class party, the way Rose's face lit up, her smile, her laugh, the way her body felt as he pressed it against his own to dance, her nervousness at the beginning of the dance and how she yelled his name for him to stop though he knew she really didn't want him to, her sweet scent when he was able to lean a little closer to her as he twirled her round and round. . . He remembered Fabrizio and how happy he was to have found a girl of his own he could flirt with and dance with. Fabrizio had always been so happy. . .

His face was now solemn as he stared off into the mirror, still lost in a daze.

Jack had a lot of time to think about Fabrizio. He was getting married and his best friend wouldn't even be there to see him. It had never crossed his mind that he would someday settle down and get married. He thought his vagabond life would last forever and Fabrizio would always be there in his life. He was too busy with his art and his enjoyment of life that marriage seemed so distant. Now that he was tying the knot, he only wished Fabrizio was here to be his best man and share his life joys.

"Tony?"

"Hm," Tony turned, as he nodded his head in Jack's general direction.

"I gotta ask you something. Would it betray Fabrizio if I asked you to be my best man?"

"Oh boy," Tony swallowed as he placed his hand on his hip, rubbing his chin with his other, staring at the floor in contemplation. "Well, would Fabrizio want you to be gloomy on your wedding day?" Jack slightly shook his head. "Would he want you to be constantly dwelling on him over this? I know that there's nothing anyone can do to bring him back. The fact is that his memory will always remain here," Tony raised his eyebrows, pointing to his temple with his index finger, "and he'll always be right here," he concluded as he put his arm around Jack's shoulders and patted Jack's chest, over his heart.

Tony was right. Jack slowly began to smile and he lightly chuckled as he looked at him.

"Since when did you become so wise?"

Tony laughed, "I don't know. . . over the years, I guess. Lessons I've learned from living, from raising my children but mostly from my wife." He got serious again. "Just you remember this: you'll be constantly learning some of life's biggest lessons with your wife. Like the saying goes, 'you live and learn'."

Jack couldn't help but think that he had already learned a big one with Rose on the Titanic. He only wondered and looked forward to what the future would hold for them.

"So, will you be my best man?" Jack asked him, again.

"I most certainly will," Tony smiled.

In less than half an hour at the store, they were already finished and they parted ways, Tony going back to his family and Jack heading home with his tux slung neatly over his arm in a plastic bag.

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As for the women, they were giddily walking out of the store and up the street in order to hitch a ride a couple blocks ahead. As they were walking past all of the stores and restaurants, Nellie stopped and approached a large window of a restaurant, her eyes wide open. Rose was immediately concerned about her change in attitude.

"What? What is it?" she asked kindly.

Confusion and hurt was shown on Nellie's face.

"Albert. . . how could you. . ." she barely audibly whispered to herself. It was, however, loud enough for Rose to hear.

Nellie ran off and called for a cab, Rose struggling to keep up with her as she quickly hopped into the seat beside her. Nellie appeared shaken and Rose took her by the shoulders as the car started up. She turned Nellie to face her. Nellie's eyes welled up into tears.

"Oh Rose," she burst out as she pulled her in for a hug. "How could anyone be so cold and heartless?" she cried.

"Nellie, how ever do you mean?"

"I saw Albert in there, Rose," she sniffed "with another woman." Just having to repeat the heartbreaking thing she saw seemed to make her cry harder.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it. . ." Rose really tried to comfort her. "I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."

"It's okay Rose," she sniffed, rubbing a tear from her cheek, "you don't have to try to make things better. I'm just being silly. I should've known he didn't feel the same I felt for him."

Rose's heart fell at seeing Nellie so hurt. She didn't know Albert, but that was not the way to treat anyone. It was senseless.

"Wait there, how long have you been seeing him now?"

"A couple months now. . . Oh Rose! How could I have been so foolish?"

"Listen to me, it's not your fault. At all. He just doesn't deserve you if he thinks he can treat you like that." Rose didn't know the man at all or his relationship with Nellie so there was nothing much she could say. "But I don't think that is the case if you have been seeing each other for that long. It's probably all just a misunderstanding."

Nellie sniffed and looked a little bit more hopeful.

"Oh, you're probably right. I mean, it just doesn't seem in his nature to do that. At any rate, I can't be too sure."

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Jack was at the apartment when Rose got home. She made sure Nellie was fine when she escorted her to her apartment.

"What's in the bag?" he asked.

"What do you think?" Rose teasingly retorted.

"Your wedding dress? Can I see it?" he requested, outstretching his arm, about to grab the bag.

"Of course not," she said, trying to retain a serious expression as she swiftly pulled the bag away and hid it behind her back, out of reach. He just stared at her, giving her a 'you can't be serious' look and Rose began to smile, unable to help it. "Just let me put it away first, then I'll come talk to you."

She walked past him and went into the bedroom. Opening the closet door, she saw that something was already hanging in there, wrapped in a bag but she ignored it. She neatly laid the wedding dress on the top shelf making sure it was well protected from the dust by the bag.

Walking out of the room, Jack gently took her by the hands, staring lovingly into her eyes.

"I missed you," he simply murmured, looking at her longingly.

"Don't be silly, we saw each other quite a few times today."

"Do you have any idea how much it killed me knowing that you were only one floor above me and all I had to do was go up there and snatch you away?" he raised his eyebrows as he pinned her against the wall, trapping her in between his arms.

She giggled, "Was it that bad?"

He only nodded, pretending to be sad but he was gradually leaning his face closer and closer to hers as she was talking until he could feel her breath on his face.

"If it makes you feel any better, I felt the same." Her voice became quieter when she realized how close his face was to hers. Finally, he closed the space in between them and kissed her.

After a quick dinner, Rose told Jack about exactly what she and Nellie had done and where they had gone. She also told him about the incident regarding Nellie and Albert, briefly explaining who Albert was. Jack thought it was unfortunate for Nellie who was such a sweet young lady and did not deserve to get treated in such a way. While they were still in the middle of discussing with one another, they suddenly heard a commotion in the hallway.

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Nellie was calmly pouring herself a glass of wine thinking about the day's events, mostly about the situation with Albert, when she heard someone knock at the door. She lightly sighed, not feeling like being disturbed tonight. She set down the bottle and glass and began for the door.

"Yes, who is it?"

On the other side of the door, Albert was waiting, all cheerful. When he heard her voice, he told his companion to go out of sight in the hallway to wait.

"It's me, Albert."

She froze in her tracks, right in front of the door. How could he even think to come here after he had betrayed her? He was the last person she wanted to see tonight.

"You have some nerve!" she told him loudly, anger ringing in the tonality of her voice.

Albert frowned, noticing her harsh tone of voice.

"What?" he questioned. "What're you talking about?"

"How dare you come here after that!" she continued, her voice making a harsh crescendo.

Albert peered into the hallway at his companion who looked at him strangely, having heard her from inside so he shrugged his shoulders and frowned again.

"Alright, now what's this all about?" he leaned his ear close to the door before attempting to twist the doorknob. "Just open up and let me in."

"Leave me alone! I don't ever want to see you again," she almost choked up but she remained controlled.

Now Albert was really confused and slightly annoyed by this rare attitude of hers that she was giving him.

"Listen here, what do you—" he would have continued, but the door suddenly opened and there stood Nellie, seeming exasperated.

"What," she coldly demanded.

From the angle the light in her apartment was glowing on her face, he could see tears glistening in her eyes and a hint of tear tracks on her cheeks. His heart softened and he relaxed his face, ready to comfort her.

"Oh, Honey," he began taking a step closer.

"Don't you "oh honey" me!" she sharply interrupted sticking her index finger at him pointedly. "You should be ashamed of yourself. How could you betray me like that and then come over here putting on an act of innocence as though nothing happened?"

At this point, he didn't even bother saying anything, though he opened his mouth, dumbfounded and so utterly confused. He had not the slightest idea what she was talking about.

"I see you're too proud to admit it," she continued. "Then let me be the one to say it: I saw you having dinner tonight with another woman, Al!" she exclaimed.

His reaction to that was not immediate. In fact, Nellie would describe it as bizarre and unsatisfactory. He appeared thoughtful and then the next second he was grinning his teeth as though it were all a joke. That smile was the one that Nellie loved because it was one of his gorgeous smiles, displaying rare qualities that you would otherwise not see very often in most people's smiles. His smile almost threw her off but she was not in the mood for nonsense. She was the one now feeling horribly confused and nearly disgusted by Albert's reaction to what she had told him. She could only wait for him to speak; she had nothing left to say.

Albert casually leaned on the doorframe as he stood over the threshold with that smile still pasted on his face and he crossed his arms. His nonchalant manner almost infuriated her as he let out a short chuckle. He then summoned someone over to him by the movement of his arm. A beautiful woman appeared in the doorway beside him, the same woman that Nellie recognized from the restaurant and her eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"Nellie, may I introduce to you my sister, Marilyn."

Nellie's mouth popped open slightly as she stared in shock, badly wanting a trap door to open from beneath her so that she could disappear.

"Pleased to meet you," Marilyn said kindly, offering her hand to shake.

Nellie numbly responded to the shake, still not having uttered a word until the shake was over. Even then, she could only muster a "likewise" to Marilyn. She then snapped out of her small trance and felt so silly.

"Oh my. My, my, my. . ."

Albert lightly chuckled again.

"I feel like an utter fool."

"Don't say that. . . I understand how it must've looked." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I should've told you earlier but I wanted to surprise you."

"Will you forgive me?" she asked, her eyes pleading him.

"Of course I will," he said, pulling her in for a short and mildly awkward hug. Nellie was shy with him when it came to affection. She was afraid of his reaction if she were to make the wrong move too suddenly. Little did she know that it was the same case with Albert; he was just shy around her and nervous about how to take their relationship further.

"Is everything alright, Nellie?"

Nellie turned her head to where the voice came from out in the corridor. It was Jack and Rose was standing right behind him. They both look concerned. She thought to herself that what had happened had probably caused quite the scene.

"Yes," she said, swiftly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she stood closer to Albert. "Everything is alright, now," she eyed Rose who looked as though she understood what Nellie meant.

"We heard some shouting from inside our apartment and—" Jack stepped closer to them.

"Oh no, there was just a misunderstanding," she smiled at Rose. After a moment's pause she started up again. "Albert, this is Jack and Rose, my new neighbours," she introduced and they acknowledged each other, "Jack, Rose, this is Albert Finch and his sister Marilyn."

Albert smiled down at her when she said that and she let out a soft laugh. Nellie invited them all to join her for some wine in her apartment. Albert explained that Marilyn was in town visiting from Santa Fe, New Mexico. About an hour later, Albert thought it'd be best for him and Marilyn to leave now. He explained she'd be staying in his apartment with him for the next couple of days. Jack and Rose then told Nellie they'd best be heading back as well.

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That Sunday, Jack had the day off. Rose thought they should finish the wedding preparations today.

Rose sat on the sofa with Jack. She brought her legs up to her chest as she leaned back against the arm of the chair, holding a warm cup of coffee in her hands.

"I spoke to Tony yesterday about taking a week off after the wedding but he insisted on giving us two weeks."

"How wonderful of him," Rose smiled. "I can hardly wait to spend all that time with you," she said excitedly as she poked his hip with her foot.

He put his hand on her knee and patted it, "Neither can I, but we're gonna have to because it's not for another week."

"What time should the wedding be at?"

"Three o'clock seems good. Then we can go to dinner afterwards with the bunch. I'm sure that restaurant in town has some sort of reception or little room for these sorts of things."

"That sounds good to me," she agreed taking a sip of her coffee as Jack inched closer to her and laid her legs on top his lap.

He took her cup of coffee from her hands and had a drink from it.

"Where's yours?" Rose asked, putting her hand out as Jack handed it back to her.

"I didn't have one."

"Want me to pour you one?"

"Oh no, that's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep, I'm sure."

After a few minutes of silence, Rose had finished her coffee and then she spoke again.

"Should I ask Bertha or Nellie to be the maid of honour?"

"That is entirely your decision," Jack replied.

"I know, but it's a hard choice." She set down her empty cup. "I don't know either of them very well and they've both been so kind to me. I wouldn't want to be unfair to either of them," she sighed.

"I don't think you should ask Bertha. She'll have the children to look after during the wedding unless she hires a baby sitter for them to stay home. Nellie, on the other hand. . ."

"I feel a lot closer to her than I do to Bertha. And she came with me to get the wedding gown and she'll most likely be the one helping me prepare myself on the wedding day. . . I think I should ask her."

"It's your choice," he told her, putting up his hands. "If that's what you want. Anyway," Jack lifted Rose's legs from his lap and stood up to stretch. "We have a lot to do today, so shall we?"

He offered his hand to Rose who took it and he helped her up.

"We shall," she replied.

They each had their showers and got dressed for the day. The first thing to straighten out would be the reservation at the church.

The church service had just ended a half hour ago and the reverend was still inside when they got there. The reverend was busy putting away some Bibles, hymn books and folders away in his briefcase.

"Good morning, reverend," Jack greeted as Rose slipped her hand in his.

The reverend turned around and appeared to be just over the age of fifty with short black hair containing many silver strands. He wore narrow glasses, had a clean-shaved face and was shorter than Jack by a few inches. He smiled broadly as soon as he saw them.

"Hello there! How may I help you, uh. . ." he trailed off, assuming Jack would give him a name.

"Jack. Jack Dawson and Rose Dewitt Bukater." The reverend then shook their hands the way reverends normally seem to do: he used both of his hands and that made him seem as warm and as friendly as could be. "We would like to get married," Jack continued.

"Wonderful. Young love is extraordinary," he summoned them to follow him. He took out a folder from his briefcase and laid it on a table opened it up. "How old are you?"

"Twenty and seventeen, sir."

"Boy, that is young," he said quietly as he continued to browse through the pages. "And how long have you known each other?"

"Ten. . . Fourte—" Rose mumbled. "Sixteen days."

"Well, well. That doesn't seem very long."

"Well, it was love at first sight," Jack assured, putting his arm around Rose's waist.

"Hmm. . . And you are both sure you're ready for this? Do you really love each other?"

"Of course," Jack interjected, frowning a little. What right did that minister have to ask such a question? Sure they were young, but love could find anyone, even if they were from opposite ends of the world or of social class.

"I wouldn't marry him if I didn't." Rose realized how slightly ironic her statement was. She was going to marry Cal, and not because she loved him but for money's sake. She laughed inwardly at that; now, she could not see how she almost went through with that.

"That makes sense. That's what I like to hear," he said quietly. His finger ran along the columns of the page he had turned to. "Ah! Here we are! The reservations… What day and at what time?"

"This coming Sunday at three o'clock. Is that available?" Jack asked.

"Looks like it is," he said marking it down in his folder with a pen before he looked up. "Okay, so May the fifth at three o'clock. I'll see you then," he stood up leading them to the door. "God bless and good luck to the both of you."

"Thanks," they replied as they exited the building.

The next thing they did was head over to the restaurant, Kathy's, and make arrangements to have a group meal for five o'clock, May the fifth. The restaurant did not have a separate room but they would arrange to reserve part of the dining area for them as well as a few tables.

Afterwards, they walked up quite a few blocks to where the jeweller was located. They stepped inside and looked at the many rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and other jewellery through the glass windows.

They had already discussed it before they arrived at the shop. They did not want anything expensive since they wanted to save as much money as possible. They would look for the simplest wedding rings. To them, it didn't matter. It was only symbolic. They knew they loved each other to no end and a ring would not change that.

"Jack," she tugged on his hand and pointed through the glass at two very plain looking gold bands. One was thicker than the other, obviously a man's ring and the other was slender, for a lady. They both had a few engraved designs on them but were still quite simple. They were placed beside each other and there was a small tag in front of them indicating the price: three hundred dollars.

"'Scuse me," Jack addressed the middle aged man behind the counter, "are those two being sold together?"

The jeweller peered though glass that Jack was indicating before concluding that they in fact were.

"May we see them?"

"Certainly," he unlocked the glass and reached for the rings. He handed them to Jack and Rose who tried them on to make sure of the fit.

"Is it a yes?" Jack turned to Rose.

She smiled, "They're perfect."

They gave the bands back to the salesman and Jack pulled some bills out of his back pocket to pay for them. Before they knew it, they were already heading home with two small velvet boxes.

They prepared a late lunch together and talked about who they would invite to the wedding.

"So far, we have Tony, Bertha, and their kids unless they decide to hire a sitter. Then, there's Nellie and she'll probably bring Albert with her. . ." Jack trailed off as he cut his sandwich in half, licking some sauce off his finger afterwards. "That's seven."

Jack was taking a bite out of his sandwich but suddenly paused as he was chewing. Rose noticed his pause, having listened to everything Jack said, and just stared at him, waiting for him to tell her what it was he had on his mind.

"Maw-lee," he said, with a mouthful of food. Rose couldn't really understand what he was saying and she smiled at his attempt to speak with his mouth full, looking at him peculiarly. He smiled too at that, despite his mouthful.

"We have to invite Molly," he repeated after having swallowed.

"Oh yeah!" her face lit up.

"Geez, how could we forget? I have her address. Wanna write her?"

"Mmhmm," she replied, her mouth now full.

After lunch, Rose sat at the kitchen table with a pen and paper and began her letter.

Dear Molly,

Jack and I safely arrived in Los Angeles last Tuesday. Jack has an old friend there, Tony Rundell, who helped us find an apartment and he offered Jack a job at his butchery. So far, we are doing well.

Jack proposed. . . we are getting married Sunday, May the fifth. It will be a small wedding, considering we don't know very many people here, Jack doesn't have any family and as far as I'm concerned, I don't either. You're the closest thing to a family we've got and we'd be delighted if you came. Unfortunately, we do not have any room in our apartment for you to stay, I'm quite sorry. It's a fairly small apartment but it's a place Jack and I call home.

I'm sorry for such a short notice. . . I hope this gives you enough time to pack and get here without rushing. We hope all is well with you and your family. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Love,

Jack & Rose

She folded the letter and placed it in the envelope on which she already wrote the address, setting it gently on the table. She turned her head to Jack, who was busy washing dishes at the sink, his back facing her. She smiled gently to herself, admiring every detail about him. In a week from now, he'd be hers and she'd be his.

Feeling a pair of eyes on him, he turned his head over his shoulder and saw her face smiling at him. He hadn't known for how long she was staring at him, but strangely, it made him feel good, knowing that she admired him like that. He smiled back at her, a smile that melted her insides and could make her tremble in ardour. He turned his head and continued doing his work.

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A/N: I know I sometimes put in random drama so I'm gonna cut that out. Starting next chapter. Just to get to the point and not drag on, something I tend to do. I know it seems like my story doesn't really have much of a plot or purpose… but I've begun to have good ideas to add some drama! Woo hoo! I have also planned on a sequel.

You can look forward to the next chapter; it shall be quite special! I just hope I will find time to write. . . but keep reviewing all the same. It's really encouraging, like you have no idea. I love replying to reviews and talking back and forth with my readers, so don't be shy to say what you've got to say!