Chapter Fourteen
"I'm sorry, sir, Mrs. DeWitt Bukkater has already left on her trip." Trixie said into the receiver. She will be gone for quite a while."
"Well, dammit, where the hell is she going?" Cal demanded from the other side of the line.
"Madeline Force's summer house in Coney Island." Trixie replied, "She should be there tomorrow afternoon if you have to talk to her that badly."
"It's very important." Cal asserted.
"If you say so." Trixie said, dismissively.
...
Rose looked out the window at the passing countryside. They were steaming South towards Richmond, Virginia. She leaned her head against the window, letting the bucking train take her away. Her mind continued to go back to the incident with Cal and Nathan. The craziness of running into them still haunted her. She felt as if she could never escape him. The thought of his bony fingers crawling along her skin made a bile churn in her stomach. The acid burned the back of her throat. A feeling she felt too often when she was with Cal. She hated feeling him grip her elbow, enabling her to walk freely. His hot breath, his piercing eyes. She remembered him on top of her. Her skin puckered with goose bumps at the thought. Remembering Cal's brutality beneath the sheets. The very way he held her wrists.
"Rose." She nearly jumped when Jack touched her cold bumpy skin. "Whoa, are you alright?"
"What?" Rose's eyes were fully open and alert. "Yes. I'm fine."
"I'm not so sure." Jack shook his head. "What is it?"
"Nothing..." Rose sat back, "I was just thinking... about Cal... I was scared Jack."
"I was a little nervous myself." Jack admitted as he settled an arm around Rose's shoulders. The train let out a big buck. But they quickly resettle. "I didn't know what to expect. Every time I've been confronted by Jack, it's either with police patting me down, or him trying to blow my head off through yours." He let out an airy breath, "But, at the same time, I wasn't scared. He had nothing, didn't you see? All he had was his dad. And he was wearing the same wrinkly suit he wore the night the ship went down. He had no entourage, no money, and no power."
"You're right." Rose agreed after a moment of realization. "What's to become of Cal?"
"Nothing good, that's for sure." Jack said with a smile. "Just think of that incident as closure."
...
May 1st, 1912
Coney Island, New York
There came a gentle rap at the door. Ruth looked over her shoulder from settling her trunks onto her four poster bed. The view was grand. The whole room was grand. Marble floor and finely decorated wallpaper. She had a fireplace with a mantle made of mirrors. She had two nice mahogony side tables that matched the wood finish of the beds. Two comfortable egg white chairs with ottomans, her own personal marble bathroom, and a personal bar near the white paned french doors with sheer white curtains that overlooked the poolside with its white and red striped umbrellas, and ultimately the beach that lapped up the crystal sand feverently with squaking seagulls.
"Come in." Ruth gently called, smoothing out her dress. In came Madeline Force wearing a light pink dress. It graced the floor gently as she walked. The sleeves were long and lacey and overhung her wrist, making her porcelain hand appear even smaller. Her brown wavy hair was done up in a bun with a white bow to make it neat and girly. Ruth was shocked to see her that way. "Madeline, dear... are you not in mourning?"
"John wouldn't like me to be." Madeline dismissed with the wave of her hand. She approached the french doors and threw them back dramatically, allowing the sheer white curtains to wrap around her still slender figure and finally settle to sweep across the marble floor to their rightful positions. She took in a deep breath, raising her shoulders in the process, "Don't you just love the smell of salty sea air, Ruth?" She looked over her shoulder with a smouldering smile complete with her pearly teeth and ruby red lips. "Coney Island is an absolute dream land!"
"Yes." Ruth nodded, folding her hands together and joining Madeline at the doors to listen to the crashing waves, "Coney Island is quite nice. My own husband and I came here years ago. If I had remembered I would have brought pictures from our trip. I remember enjoying Coney Island very much." Ruth nodded, following the horizon of the blue water.
"Life in Coney Island isn't like life anywhere else." Madeline said, watery, like in a dream. "I want to stay here forever. I want to raise the baby here."
"Madeline, you can't." Ruth shook her head, "This is a vacation destination. You must go back to your home in Rhode Island and raise the baby there. This is simply not the place to raise a child."
"Where did you raise Rose?" Madeline asked and Ruth could see her innocence in the question. She saw that weakness within Madeline's eyes. She was rich, widowed, and expecting and she herself was just a meer child about to bring another one into the world. Ruth could see she was ultimately utterly lost. And maybe that's why Ruth was here. Maybe that's why Madeline wanted her to come for the summer before the baby was born.
Maybe Madeline Force Astor needed help becoming a mother.
...
Richmond, Virginia
"Try out the diving board, Rose!" Jack called from sitting on the edge of the community pool. His hair was wet, but drying in the somewhat sweltering heat from the southern sun. He was wearing a black swimsuit that started as a tank and went into shorts mid-thigh. A very stylish swimsuit for the time. He was kicking his feet around in the crystal blue water of Richmond Community Pool.
Rose was near the diving board. Her hair was free, curly, and raging, the wind pushing it over her shoulder. She was wearing a black and white striped bathing suit that gave her a very appealing look. She giggled and looked up at the diving board, "It's too high!" Rose called back.
"I'll jump with you." Jack stood up, leaving wet foot prints on the pavements. Some children near by screamed as they jumped in together. Most of the women were wearing swim caps. Rose was the only one not and was getting weird glances. "Come on!" Jack beamed as he began climbing up the ladder. Rose quickly followed in suit. "One..." Jack put Rose in front of him, pressing his hands into her shoulders, "Two..."
"We're jumping together, right, Jack?" Rose asked, looking over her shoulder at him. "You jump, I jump."
"Three!" Jack called, bending his knees. Rose jumped and Jack flew over with her, "You jump, I jump!" He shouted as they neared the water. Rose smiled and let the water engulf her. She felt at ease in the pool. It was the perfect temperature. It was the perfect day. And she was with the most perfect person. She opened her eyes in the water and through the bubbles of her splash came back, who pressed his lips to her. They then surfaced, laughing hysterically. Rose swam to the edge and pulled herself up, leaving her feet to linger in the refreshing pool. Jack did the same.
"I love Richmond." Rose told him with a big grin. "It feels so cozy here." Jack agreed with a nod and then stood up. "Where are you going?" Rose called after him.
"Be back in a jif!" Jack replied, kneeling in front of their pool bag. He then withdrew the camera, "Smile for me, Beautiful!"
"Oh, Jack!" Rose turned pink, "I look awful!"
"You could never look awful." Jack grinned over the top of his camera, "Now smile for me! I want to capture our life!" Rose leaned back on her hands and smiled. She then looked up into the sky with the most serene smile, so Jack quickly took a shot of that while he had a chance.
"Excuse me, Lad." Jack looked over his shoulder to see a middle aged man. He was a thick man with brown hair that was beginning to gray and a beard to match. He had a twinkle in his green eyes. "Would you mind taking a picture of me and my wife?" He gestured over to the shy thin woman in a swim cap near by. "We're on our first vacation ever without the kids, and well, we'd like to cherish this moment."
"Ah, sure thing." Jack agreed. Rose wrung her hair out and then approached the group, "Oh, this is my wife, Rose. And I'm Jack Dawson." Jack reached out and shook the man's hand and then his wife's frail feeling hand. Rose did the same.
"My name is Wally Deere and this is my wife Frieda. It's a pleasure." Wally said with a chuckle. The couple then backed up in their swimsuits. Wally wrapped his arm around Frieda's shoulder. She resorted to clasping her hands in front of herself.
"Smile!" Jack teased as he held the camera up. The couple did beam as Jack took the picture. "I'll probably attempt to develop these tonight at the hotel we're staying in." Jack told Wally as he tapped his camera. "I think the closet there is perfect to develop pictures in."
"You a photographer?" Wally asked, arching one eyebrow quizically.
"No." Jack shook his head.
"But he's a very talented artist! He could very well become a photographer! You should see his drawings!" Rose said, excitement taking over in her voice, "He's a man of many talents!"
"Funny you should say that," Wally said with a good natured grin, "I'm an editor and writer for a photography magazine. I own it, in fact. Ever heard of Dazzling People, Nature, and Art?"
Rose gasped, "Yes!"
"I created it." Wally pat his chest gently, "You know, Jack, we're looking for photographers for our magazine. We recently lost two. And I can see you have talent and a steady hand. Whaddya say? Want to become a photographer?" Jack's mouth dropped open.
"A photographer?" Jack stammered, "You're offering me a job?"
"Why don't Freida and I take you two out to lunch?" Wally asked, "We can discuss the details there and you two can tell us a little bit about yourselves." Jack looked at Rose who was nodding with great excitement.
"Alright." Jack nodded, giving off a little shrug. "Lead the way."