It was the next morning. Jack and Rose were both asleep when Josie walked into their room. "Good morning!" she exclaimed.
"Josie, what time is it?" Jack asked groggily.
"Quarter to six," said Josie, opening the shades in the room to let the sun pour in. "Let's go!"
"Where are we going?" Rose asked.
"Well, we have chores to do. We have that whole long list of things that we always say we'll do and then of course we never do it." Josie stood next to Rose's side of the bed.
Rose took Josie's hand. "Josie, my baby, my life. I love you, and I'll do anything for you, but not at a quarter to six." Josie nodded and then walked to the foot of the bed. She pulled the blankets off of the bed. "Josie!" Rose yelled.
"Up please!" Josie exclaimed. Rose grumbled and stood up. "I'll meet you downstairs," Josie said with a smile.
Jack and Rose went downstairs. "Coffee," said Rose, putting her head down on the table.
"We can go to Luke's on the way to the store. I made a list of our chores."
Rose looked it over and looked at Josie. "Are you sure this is what you want to do today? We could stay home, watch movies, and eat tons of ice cream. You know, wallow."
Josie shook her head. "I don't want to wallow," she said.
"It helps. It really does," said Rose.
"I don't want to wallow, Mom," she said. She paused and looked at Rose. "Is that how you got over Titanic?" Josie asked.
Rose sighed. "Well, no. I didn't wallow."
"Hypocrite," said Josie looking down.
"No," said Rose. "It was different."
"Then what did you do?"
Rose looked at Jack and sighed. "I put myself in bed and stayed there. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, I didn't do anything. That is, until I found out about you. Then I had to start taking care of myself."
"Okay then," said Josie, crossing her arms. "Well, I'm not going to wallow."
It was a few hours later. They had found everything on her list and then returned back home, where Josie remembered that her friend from school was throwing a party.
"Mom, look," said Josie, showing Rose the flyer for the party.
"Oh, a Chilton party," said Rose, faking her excitement. "Are you going to go? It says it's tonight."
"I'm going."
Rose was unsure. She didn't think that Josie going to the party would be a good idea. "Maybe take Lane with you? So that if the party doesn't go as planned, you have your best friend with you."
Josie smiled. "That's a good idea. Thanks."
Josie left for the party, and Jack and Rose were at home. "I hate seeing her like this," said Rose.
"Is this her first breakup?" Jack asked, and Rose nodded.
"I just want to help her," said Rose, looking down.
"You are," said Jack. "You're here for her. She knows that."
Rose kissed him. "I love you," she whispered.
Jack smiled and kissed her back. "I love you too."
"Let's go out for dinner," said Rose. She and Jack stood up, and Rose took Jack's hand in hers. Jack and Rose ate and returned home after dinner, where Josie was sitting on the couch with a large tub of ice cream. "Josie?"
Josie looked up with tears in her eyes. "I'm ready to wallow now," said Josie. Jack sat across from Josie, while Rose sat down next to her and motioned for Josie to put her head on Rose's lap, which had a pillow on it. Rose kissed Josie's forehead as she cried.
Rose picked up the phone and ordered a pizza while Josie cried. Rose held Josie in her arms. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I'm so sorry."
Josie finally calmed down. "You want to ask what happened, I can tell."
"No, it's not important," said Rose. "Unless you want to talk about it."
"He told me he loves me," said Josie, looking at Rose. "And I couldn't say it back."
"Oh," said Rose. She sighed and looked at Josie. "It's okay, you weren't ready."
"It's not that I wasn't ready, I just wasn't sure if I did."
Rose took Josie's hand. "Remember Keith?"
"Yeah, why?" Josie asked.
"I dated him when I was sixteen. He told me he loved me, and I couldn't say it back," said Rose. She sighed and smiled at Josie. "Listen, I love how you're just like me in so many ways. You have my sense of humor, my love for books and music, and my coffee addiction."
Josie smiled. "Yeah, I do."
"But I don't want you to be exactly like me. I don't want you to be scared of saying 'I love you'. I want you to be able to be with someone you love and who loves you back, and be able to say it."
"I can, I just couldn't in that second. And Dean didn't understand. I mean, I had reservations," said Josie.
"What kind of reservations?" Rose asked.
"I mean…" Josie looked over at Jack. "I'm sorry, you must think I'm a freak."
"Not at all," said Jack with a warm smile.
"I mean… look at you. You had me at eighteen," said Josie to Rose.
"You don't get pregnant from saying 'I love you'," said Rose.
"Listen, I know I have no authority here," said Jack, "but if you couldn't say I love you in that moment, there was probably a reason why. Trust your gut."
Josie nodded. "You know what? You're right. I didn't love Dean, and that's why I couldn't say it." She stood up and walked to her room.
Rose stood up and sat next to Jack. "You helped. Thank you."
"Of course," said Jack. "She is my daughter, after all."
