It was the next morning. Jack woke up suddenly to the sound of an alarm clock. He turned it off and looked over at Rose, who was sound asleep. "Good morning, Rose," he whispered, kissing her lightly.
Rose slowly opened her eyes and smiled. "What a nice way to wake up," she whispered back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
"I don't want to get up," Jack whispered.
"Neither do I. It's warm in here. It's a cocoon," Rose smiled.
"We have to get up," Jack said. He reached for the blanket, but Rose pulled him back.
She leaned her body against his. "Don't get up," she pleaded.
Jack smiled and kissed her. "I won't get up."
Rose sighed. "No, we have to get up."
They both finally managed to get out of bed, and go downstairs. "I can make breakfast," said Jack.
"You can?" Rose asked, surprised.
"Yes, I can," said Jack, and he kissed her.
"I'm going to wake Josie," Rose said with a smile. "Do you want to come? It'll be fun."
Jack chuckled. "Why will it be fun?"
"Because she fights me every morning about getting out of bed. Come on, it'll be fun."
Jack sighed. "Okay then."
They went upstairs to Josie's room. "Josie, time to wake up," Rose said sweetly.
"No," Josie groaned. She put a pillow over her head.
"Come on, sweetie. Time to get up," Rose said again. Josie still refused to get out of bed, so Rose gripped the blanket and ripped it off the bed.
"Die," Josie groaned.
"I brought you coffee," Rose said, waving it in front of her. "And I'm putting it just out of reach so you have to get out of bed."
"Die twice," Josie said.
Jack and Rose went back downstairs. "You're right, that was fun."
Josie appeared in the kitchen. She put her head down on the table and yawned. "Nighty night," she said.
"I have something that might wake you up," said Rose.
"What is it?" Josie asked.
Rose smiled. "Our annual trip?"
Josie suddenly picked her head up. "Where are we going?"
Rose looked at Jack. "Well, I was thinking we could go to Wisconsin."
Josie was perplexed. "Wisconsin? What's in Wisconsin?"
Rose looked at Josie, then back at Jack. He understood. "That's where I'm from."
"I was thinking we could take a train there, and then just… hang out. See where you lived," said Rose.
"That sounds good, said Jack with a smile. "So when are we going?"
"There's a school break next week, so we can go then," said Josie. A honking noise came from outside. "Bus. I got to go."
"Bye sweetie. See you later," Rose gave her a kiss on the cheek and Josie ran out the door.
"I have to tell you something," said Jack.
Rose smiled. "Is this a serious thing?" She looked at Jack's face, and saw his grim smile. "Oh, it is."
"It's not a bad thing," said Jack. "It is a serious thing, though."
Rose closed her eyes and took his hand. "Just tell me, okay?"
"I left someone in Chippewa Falls," Jack began.
Rose interrupted him. "Oh my god. You're married. Or… or you're with someone. You asked me if I was with anyone but I didn't ask you."
"No, no, no," said Jack, and he took her hands in his. "Rose, I'm not with anyone. Frankly, I haven't been with anyone in sixteen years. I was talking about my mother."
"Really? Oh, thank god. But I thought she was dead," said Rose.
"No, she's not," he said. "My dad died, and when he did, parts of my mom died too. I never really understood it until I lost you. But she slowly became herself again. She took care of me when I couldn't take care of myself. And I'd like you and Josie to meet her."
"Of course we will. Does she know about where you are? About us?" Rose asked.
Jack sighed. "I told her that this was a business trip. I didn't know what I was going to find, if you were going to be here."
Rose smiled. "That doesn't matter anymore. We'll go see her. And hopefully she's better than my mother."
Jack laughed. "She is. Speaking of, what happened between you and Ruth?"
"I never went back to her house. I told her I was alive, that she was a grandmother, and I gave her my address. We have almost no relationship, but we go there for Thanksgiving and Christmas."
"I'm sorry," said Jack.
"Don't be," said Rose. "Besides, I'm sure your mother's better."
"I'm not sure about that, but she is great. She'll love you and Josie."
"I hope so," said Rose. "She'll be my mother-in-law, after all."
"Yes, she will," said Jack. He leaned in and kissed her. "What do you want to do today?"
"I could give you my version of the town tour."
"I would love that," said Jack.
Jack and Rose left the house and started walking around the city. Rose pointed out different places in the town. Finally, they got to the inn. "And as you know, this is where we found each other again."
Jack smiled and kissed her. "Yes, I remember."
"Well, anyway, this was our home for a long time. I came here after Josie was born, and we lived here for a while." She led him outside, where there was a toolshed. "This is the old potting shed. Josie and I used to live here."
Jack frowned. "Really?"
"Yeah. There's really pretty rosebud wallpaper on the walls, and we put a curtain around the tub so it was like a bathroom, and we used to sleep on the bed together, and at night we used to sit outside and watch the swans in the lake." Rose smiled at the memory.
"I'm sorry, Rose," Jack said.
Rose smiled. "I'm not." She took his hand and led him back into the inn. "I want to introduce you to my friends, my colleagues."
"I would love to," said Jack.
They went through the lobby, into the kitchen, where two people were standing and arguing. "Michel, I need my scale back!" The woman yelled.
"No! I need to weigh my turkey," said the man with a French accent.
"Why is Michel weighing his turkey?" Rose asked.
"Well, scientists started cutting rats' diets, and the rats lived twice as long. So the scientists started cutting their diets just like the rats. So I figure, if I do this and live twice as long, they will have cured death by then. Then I will live forever."
"Like in that Nickelodeon?" Rose asked, and she cracked a smile.
"That's what I said!" said the woman.
The frenchman crossed his arms. "One day, when we cure death, I will be sitting with the leading scientists of the future and we will talk about you and we will giggle like little girls." With that, he stormed out of the kitchen.
"He did say 'giggle like little girls', right?" Rose asked.
"I'm focusing on you now," said the woman. "Who's this?"
"Sookie, this is Jack. Jack, this is my best friend, Sookie," said Rose.
Sookie waved her hands in the air. "Wait. Jack as in…"
"It's nice to meet you," said Jack.
"Oh my god, are you guys back together?" Sookie asked. "Have you met Josie? Oh my god, Rose! You've been holding out on me!"
Rose smiled at Jack and kissed him. "We're getting married," she said.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you guys!" Sookie exclaimed. "Who's catering?"
"You are, obviously," said Rose.
"Great. So how far have you gotten in planning?"
Rose smiled. "This far."
"Okay then," said Sookie. "So, Jack, where are you from?"
"Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin," said Jack. "I lived there until last week."
"How did you find out Rose was alive?" Sookie asked.
"The magazine with the article about the inn. I found it and saw the picture of Rose, and came here," said Jack.
"That's amazing," said Sookie. She saw how Jack and Rose looked at each other. They really loved each other.
