Okay this is a little short and I am not entirely happy with it but I just needed to include Fabrizio and Maria into the story again :D I couldnt just leave them in Paris could I :) anyway hope you like this.
Chapter 37 - A Surprise
September 3rd 1913
Santa Monica, CA
Outside the post office, Jack ran through the several pieces of mail he had received. There were usual bills until he came across one addressed to both himself and Rose with a stamp from Paris. He smiled, Fabrizio had replied to him finally. Jack had written to his friend months ago and it was only now he had received a reply. Continuing his walk home, he breathed in the sea air. The beach was full of young children playing in the late afternoon sun which would be setting soon. He would open the letter when he reached home so that he and Rose could read the letter together. Since arriving in Santa Monica over a year before, he had opened a very small but successful gallery on the sea front showcasing most of his own work but also some other unknown artists. On summer days, he would sit outside his shop and draw portraits just like he did when he was here in 1910. The move had been good for both himself and Rose, they enjoyed their life here and finally felt complete. Rose had found work at a small theatre something which she was paid very little for but she enjoyed it. Since the day Cal had been shot, Rose's mother wrote often and she now worked as a seamstress for a large company injecting what she knew about fashion and bringing it to life with her own creations. It turns out that perhaps Rose had inherited her creativeness from her mother. Humming a tune to himself, Jack opened the front door to the small home which he and Rose rented. It was tiny with just two bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room with a bathroom outside. The garden was small and manageable because neither of them had time to mow the lawn often although it was neat and tidy and Rose had planted several varieties of flowers beneath the window the summer before in an attempt spruce it up.
'Rosie I'm home darling.' Jack called throwing the rest of the mail on the dining table in the kitchen but keeping Fabrizio's letter in his hand. Rose came running in from the bedroom wearing a floral dress and her hair was pinned up neatly, she seemed breathless.
'Oh good. Sorry, I was just changing in time for dinner.' Rose touched her hair to make sure it felt neat and no strands were hanging out.
'You don't need to make an effort for me, you look lovely whatever you wear.' Jack pulled her towards him and kissed her gently. Rose touched Jack's face glancing up to his hair which he had had shaved and cut days before and was almost a skin head, something she wasn't used to seeing, usually it was overly long and hung in his face making his appear much younger. But now he appeared more manly and mature, he would be 21 in just a few weeks.
'I have mail from Fabrizio its addressed to us both.' Jack took a seat at the small dining table.
'Its about time we wrote to him many months ago.' Rose smiled, sitting at the table too. She spied the other envelopes and thumbed through them quickly to see if there was word from her mother but she found nothing. Jack ripped open the envelope and began reading out loud.
Dear Jack and Rose,
I am so happy to hear you finally settled in Santa Monica just as you always hoped of doing. All is well here, in fact I do have some news of my own. On March the 22nd of this year, Maria and I married in Italy in front of my family back home. Mama was surprised you wasn't there but I wish you could have been Jack but we had to leave Paris for a while although we are back in Paris now. We also have some other news, Maria is six months pregnant and we have been told to expect twins as Maria's bump is so big. We have decided to come to America to live, to give a better life for our children. We would love to see you all again it is almost two years since we last met. Please write back in good time so we can board a ship and come to where you are.
All our love,
Fabrizio and Maria Di Rossi
Jack dropped the letter on the table and glanced upwards to Rose who was also silent but a smile appeared on her face. 'Fabrizio and Maria? Married?' He burst out laughing in pure shock.
'Oh my.' Rose shook her head. 'And pregnant too.'
'That's a huge surprise. I never saw that coming.' Jack scanned over the letter once again to make sure he wasn't mistaken.
'Well they seem to be in love, with twins on the way.' Rose felt happy for them, after the hard times Maria had endured, settling down with a nice caring young man like Fabrizio was good for her.
'I didn't think Fabri had it in him to conceive twins.' Jack laughed. 'Should we write back? Tell them to come stay with us for a while?'
Rose glanced around the place, it was small. Herself and Jack just fitted here but with Fabrizio and Maria and if they twins were born here too. But they couldn't let their friends down at all. Jack and Rose had Doris and Larry to help them out when they moved to England and they were so grateful to them so they had to do the same for Fabrizio and Maria. 'Yes, tell them to come. We would have to make room but it will be so great seeing them again.'
Jack found some paper and a pen, quickly he dipped the nib into some ink and began to write his letter back to them.
Dear Fabrizio and Maria,
First I would like to congratulate you both on your wedding and the pregnancy, we do hope things are progressing well for Maria. Rose and I would love you to come and stay with us for a while until you are settled over here. We live in Santa Monica and it is beautiful, the perfect place to raise your children. The news surprised both Rose and I but we couldn't be happier for you. Please write back with details on when you will arrive here and I will meet you at the station.
Jack and Rose.
Jack placed the pen back in the inkpot and waited for the ink to dry. Things really were looking up, he had opened the gallery and Rose had found a job she loved and now his friends were coming to live with them for a while.
'Twins is going to be a lot of work for them both.' Rose broke the shocked silence.
'True, but they are going to treasure their children so much. Fabrizio would work all hours God sends to support his wife and children I know that much, he is like me.'
Rose felt Jack touch her hand, and her stomach turned a little, he still made her feel weak at the knees from a single touch. 'I know he would. Maria and I are lucky, we found two amazing husbands.'
Jack stood from the chair and came behind Rose, he kissed her hair gently. 'And I have got a beautiful wife.' He whispered to her, and she smiled. 'Who knows maybe one day we'll have a couple of kids ourselves.'
'I'd like that.' Rose attempted to picture her and Jack's children. At the moment though she was just nineteen and didn't have plans of becoming a mother just yet. 'Its your birthday in a few weeks.' Rose pointed out and Jack walked towards the stove and opened the oven door, he didn't know what to make for dinner.
'I know that. At 21 I will be getting old.' He winked to Rose and she smiled.
'So what do you want to do to celebrate?'
'Well hopefully by that time Fabri and Maria will be here so we can all celebrate together. Maybe go dancing, go on the rollercoaster and drink beer all day.'
Rose laughed hard, it sounded like a very good plan but Maria was pregnant, she couldn't exactly do any of those things. It was hard to picture Maria a married lady with children on the way when two years ago she was one of the best known prostitutes in Paris and was earning a fortune daily. Rose wiped the thoughts from her mind knowing that she had to concentrate on their future now.