Chapter 35

June 10, 1912

It had been a little over a month and a half since the sinking as Jesse and Jack finally arrived at the train depot. Jesse had forgotten to send the telegrams a couple of weeks prior, as he wanted to get his life in order, after the tragic accident, and so did Jack.

Jesse pays for both his and Jack's tickets for their trip to Philadelphia, then asks for a slip of the telegram to be sent to his father's old garage. The operator gives him the paper and a stub of what's left of a pencil, which Jesse looks at with eye brow raised.

"Where are you sending that to?" Jack asks, after getting their luggage from the car, then notices Jesse's disgust to the tiny pencil. "You know; you were an artist…"

"I'm sending this to my father's garage back in this small town in New Mexico, telling them I'm alright and alive. And by your look; I can't write with this, much less legible than those pieces of papers that went down with the ship." Jesse says, showing him the pencil. Jack looks at the pencil, then raises an eyebrow, thinking Jesse might have a point. Jesse hands the telegram and money to the operator, then puts back what's left of the pencil on the counter.

They make their way to the platform, where the train is just now pulling up next to the platform. The steam escapes as the train comes to stop. Jack's heart was racing as he stepped up the steps to the train, his mind beginning to spin, thinking about Rose. They place their luggage down on the floor, then slid it under the table. They take their seat in front of a table, sitting across from each other. Jesse looks out the window, at the crowds waving to them from the platform. He felt a pang of sadness, as it had reminded him of being back at Southampton, and they were waving to the passengers on Titanic which was two months prior now. Jesse closes his eyes, feeling a single tear rolling down his cheek. Just then he heard "All aboard!" that snapped him back to reality. The train whistled, then the air brakes released their grip, jolting everyone on board, and the train started to clack on the tracks. Jesse remembered the daring rescue with Rose, and now Jack is doing the same, rescuing his love, from the clutches of tyranny and oppression that would be Caledon Hockley.

...

June 12, 1912

Jesse could see the Philadelphia skyline from where he was sitting, as the train approached the city. It had grown the last time he was here; his father brought him as he got that new job being a business associate with Cal's father, running the same steel factory together. He had never heard of Caledon Hockley until he got into a scuffle back on the Mauretania, just his father; he was a steely, burly man who hardly had any emotions in him. All he cared about was the planned marriage between Cal and the red head, so that he must provide an heir to his company. Jack looks at Jesse, as if he was caught in a daydream. He pushes his hair away from his eyes as the train nears the platform.

As they disembarked the train, Jack was becoming more nervous than ever.

"Hey, got any more smokes?" he asks Jesse.

"That's your last one. You've pretty much smoked the entire trip away." Jesse says as he hands Jack the last stick. He smelled of stale cigarettes himself as he stepped off the train and onto the platform. Jack had tried to get Jesse to smoke. Jesse tried a drag, only ended up coughing and nearly throwing up on the train. He never liked smoking, or drinking for that matter, as he wanted to truly live life to the fullest. Jesse hailed a cab after they left the station to find a hotel for the night.

"So, what do you want to do?" Jack asked as he set his belongings on the floor, then sat down on the bed, and Jesse flopped on the couch. He took a long look at the bed.

"Well, before we go, you can have the bed tonight. But keep in mind this quite a large city; how do we start on finding Rose in a place like this?" Jack hadn't yet formulated a plan on how to find Rose, but he wanted to go to a local tavern and try his lucky hand at poker. Only his deck of cards went down with the ship, so he asked Jesse to go with him and explore the town. They went to a nearby general store, where Jack bought his deck of cards and a fresh pack of cigarettes using Jesse's funds, while Jesse looked at trinkets and food items on shelves. They walked out of the store, with new merchandises in tow; Jack with his cards and smokes, and Jesse, a bottle of Coca-Cola and a bottle opener, and a Hershey's chocolate bar, which he shared with Jack.

Soon, Jack walked up to a machine in front of a drugstore Jesse had never seen before. It had what appeared to be eyepieces mounted crudely on a solid box-like object, and it reminded him of a player piano he'd seen somewhere in Arizona. Jesse was a bit frightened of the contraption, as Jack excitedly grabs him by his shirt sleeves.

"Put your eyes here," Jack says excitedly, pointing to the eyepieces.

"What am I looking at here?" Jesse asks, with a hint of nervousness in his voice. Inside the drugstore the shopkeeper and a few customers looks towards the men coming in their direction, as they made their way to the drugstore.

"You'll see," Jack takes a nickel from his pocket. Eventually, Jesse walks over to the machine, slowly. Jesse swallows nervously, then pushes his hair away from his eyes, and hesitantly puts his eyes to the goggle-like pieces, as Jack puts in the nickel. Soon, the contraption slowly whirred and clacked to life, while the shopkeeper keeps watch on the two young men standing in front of the contraption.

"This won't blow up in my face, will it?" Jesse asked, still looking into the contraption, as the screen slowly lit up inside the machine. Soon, he saw 'moving pictures', something he had never seen before. Jesse laughed for a full minute as the entire movie played. Soon, the film ended, and Jesse was in tears, before he doubled over in laughter. He slapped his thigh for the last time before collecting his composure. It was the first time he'd ever watch a 'moving picture.' He had never seen something like that in his life.

"They call that there machine, 'nickelodeon.' There's lots to watch, from romances, to what you just watched, laughs, and something in-between." Jack says, clearly pleased with himself for bringing his new friend to experience something new. The shopkeeper and the customers watched in amazement as the two handsome men left the place, before walking alongside the busy Philadelphia traffic.

After the nickelodeon, Jack and Jesse toured the rest of the town, on foot for the whole day, until they decided to rest in a tavern located near a rich part of Philadelphia. They sat at the booth seat, while Jack looked around at the patrons, who are starting to come in, from a day's work. Jack decided to try his hand at poker once more, and luckily, one of the patrons accepted him in their group. Jesse watched Jack pull out a cigarette, then shakes his head.

He must be going through that pack like crazy. He thought, then saw Jack furiously trying look for a lighter; the lighter he bought from the store earlier. Jesse pulled out the lighter, trying to aim it at Jack, and threw it at him across the room. He caught it, then lit it; finally throwing it back at Jesse.

There was huge crowd gathered where Jack and his little poker group played. There were now five people in his group, all playing for a top prize; $600 cash and coins, all pooled in from the group, some jewelry, a pocket watch, and even a free round of drinks, on the house for the winner and his group, since the bartender had seen the intense game unfold for a while now. The pub was hot and stuffy as Jack is intensely focused on this card game, just like he was back in Southampton, before missing the ship.

Meanwhile, a drunk patron came up to Jesse, who was still sitting at the booth, as he had mistaken him for a female.

"Is anybody sitting here?" he slurred. Jesse flinched a bit, then gets a look at the man. His clothes were in rags. Whatever hair he had remaining on his head was unkempt and balding, and he had a glass that was tipped, spilling his alcohol on the floor. He was also missing a shoe on his right foot, and the other his boot had a hole where his toe would be. Jesse cringed as the man tried to lean forward, only to fall and land on Jesse's stomach, and ended up spilling his drink on him. Jesse tried to crawl away, but the man had Jesse in a hug and was trying to keep him from escaping. The man tried to go for a kiss; the stench of the alcohol and the man's body odor was too much for Jesse, as he tried not vomit, but instead retched at the foul smell.

"HEY! Get off of that man!" the bartender shouted, as nearby patrons got up and pried the man off of Jesse.

"Get him off!" another yelled. Other patrons began trying to loosen the man's grip from Jesse's body. Meanwhile Jack was too intensely focused on his poker to notice the commotion that was going on across the room, as his friend had been attacked by a drunk patron. They finally managed to get the man off of Jesse.

"Get out of here, you…!" the bartender says, then focuses his attention to Jesse.

"Hey, you alright son?"

Jesse quickly covers his mouth as he gets up from the booth and goes outside; the stench from the man was too much. On his way out he nearly bumped into a couple of men who were entering the stuffy tavern. The sound of vomiting could be heard before the door closed once more. Once outside Jesse finished mopping his mouth before going back inside the tavern. He looked down at his clothes, and looked like he had gotten himself in a bar fight, with a nasty beer stain on his chest.

Ah great! he thought as he looked down at his clothes, then sighed as he rolled his eyes. He walks back in the tavern, only to find the two men sitting in his booth seat now, as he made his way to the back to clean himself up.

Jesse came out of the dingy restroom, still wiping his shirt with a rag until someone challenges him for a round of pool. Having never played pool in his life, he got a crash course on the rules and advice to play. After learning the rules, Jesse sets up the triangular rack on the table, before the man break shots the balls first. Two balls go in the basket; a striped and solid color ball. "You're next." The man told Jesse. "It's still open." Jesse watched the man earlier as he leaned over the table, his cue aimed at the cue ball. He tried his best to mimic the man, and manages to hit the solid one in a basket. The man motions Jesse to continue. He walks over to the other side of the table, and points his cue at the ball again. He hits, the ball itself teetering over the edge, when there was cheering. It had come from Jack's table. He had been ecstatic he won the poker game again, like he did back at Southampton. He gathered his winnings when someone yelled. "Hey! There's a game going on here." as they rushed to Jesse and the man, playing pool. He had only managed to play a couple of turns before everyone gathered around. Even Jack tried to look over the heads of the people, to see who was playing this time.

Jesse was very nervous; he had never been in a crowd where everyone watched. He did his best to contain his composure and play. He walked over again to where the ball sat. He was lucky enough he didn't lose the cue ball in the basket, as it rolled a bit from the ruckus. He aimed his cue as if to shoot the ball to its intended destination. He hit the ball; it hit the side of the table, before going to strike the ball on the side, and ended up losing a turn from the "scratch". The man pulls the ball out and positions it. He randomly strikes the ball, only for them to fall in the basket like a train of colors, earning him another "scratch" too. The patrons laugh, and some clink glasses as Jesse rubs chalk on his cue, then positions himself over the table. He hits the cue ball, and two solid colors go in, leaving the cue ball rolling to the middle of the table. He then aims his cue stick to the side, before striking the cue ball there, hitting another solid into a basket. The final ball left was the infamous eight-ball. Jack finally pokes his head as Jesse was about ready to hit the eight-ball.

Jesse calls the hole the eight ball would go in, then positions himself over the table. He hits the ball at an angle, just barely enough to hit the eight ball. The eight ball slowly spins to its called shot. The pub was quiet as the ball slowly made its way to the hole. The ball suddenly stopped, then teetered over the edge for a few seconds, before falling in the pocket. The crowd exploded in cheers as Jesse won the round. People began patting Jesse on the back, some even rubbing his head as he puts down the cue sticks.

"Come on. Let's play." Another man yells, but Jesse declined politely. It was too much excitement for him for one night. Just then he saw Jack, sobbing at the booth seat; the same seat they had sat in earlier.

"What's wrong?" Jesse asks.

Jack looks up, tears coming out of his eyes. "I give up. What if Rose thinks I'm dead? This is a large city and I'll never be able to find her." He continued to sob. "I never should have tried this in the first place." He puts his head down on his arms again, his body heaving with every sob he makes.

"Hey, hey. Come on now. Listen to you." Jesse says, trying to give Jack some hope of finding Rose, even in a large city as Philadelphia. "We've made this far. You can't give up now. Besides, your life will be a living hell as you spend your days, or even years wondering about this wonderful, young woman you met on the ship, even if it was just for a few days. You've got to see this to the end, even if Rose thinks you're dead. But if you don't find out, well, you know about what living life like hell is."

Jack looks at Jesse. "I guess you're right. I did come out here, and I'm not giving up."

"There. That's the spirit. Come on, let's look for Rose."

They left a tip for the bartender as they walked out. Jack and Jesse walked in the darkness not too far from the tavern when they saw a shadowy figure walking in the distance. Jesse pushed Jack in a darkened alley, and he followed.

"Shh!" Jesse shushes Jack before poking his head to where the figure was. He told Jack to stay put, then went to where the shadowy figures were standing, as Jesse tried to stay in the shadows himself. He listened long enough to recognize a familiar voice. He had been saying they were continuing with the wedding plans with Rose, and that she was holed up in the house since they arrived from the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. They bided farewell before the familiar shaped profile of the man walked in the opposite direction he came from. Then he knew; Cal! Jesse looked to where Jack was, and motioned him to follow. They followed Cal until he came to a large house, located in front of a huge park. Cal walked through the gates before entering the house.

"So, what's the plan" Jack asks, now anxious.

"We wait until morning, hopefully she will be out and about. If not, then we wait until nightfall. But even that will be slim." Jesse says, remembering he had seen a group of women hanging around the part of town they were in, before the drunken bum overcame him. He thought he seen a red head among them.

"Until then, let's keep it low." Jesse says, before they made their way in the dark back to the hotel. Back at the hotel, Jack sat on the bed, as Jesse got ready to turn in himself. Jack watched, as Jesse peeled his shirt off, before making his way to the bathroom. He laid down in the bed, while hearing Jesse behind the closed bathroom door. Soon, he emerged, shirtless, and drying his hair with the towel before proceeding to dry his ears. Jack looked up, as he saw Jesse's toned body. Then he blushed. He finally thought more about Rose, and where she possibly was.

"'Night, Jack." Jesse says, then shook his hair, before putting on his shirt again. Jack watched as Jesse turned in the couch, then slowly drifted to sleep. He was a quiet sleeper, as no sound emerged from the boy.

He dreamed, that finally, the red-headed woman he saw back at the tavern would be saved, and then brought back to Jack. He knew that red-head was indeed Rose, along with the other women in the crowd.