It was the next morning. Jack, Rose, and Josie were on the train, sitting and talking. Josie was reading, Rose was looking at a magazine, and Jack was drawing. Finally, Josie stopped and looked at her parents.
She desperately wanted to ask Jack and Rose about Titanic and how they met. She didn't know how to ask. She knew that she didn't ask when she was little, because she didn't want to force Rose to think about her father.
She just had to ask. After all, she would have to ask at some point. Why not now? "Um, can I ask you guys something?"
Rose looked at Jack. "Sure," they said in unison.
Josie took a deep breath. "And if you don't want to answer, you don't have to. Or if it makes you uncomfortable or anything. You don't have to. I don't want to upset you guys. But I do want to ask."
"Okay, Josie, I'm hitting the fast forward button, sweetie," said Rose.
"Okay," said Josie. "Can you guys tell me how you met? About Titanic?"
Rose looked at Jack, then back at Josie, and smiled. "Of course."
Josie was taken aback. "What?"
"I agree," said Jack. "You deserve to know."
"I… I just always avoided the topic because you seemed so upset whenever it came up. I didn't want to make it worse."
"Listen, as bad as it was, it was still where I met your dad. And regardless of how Titanic ended, I owe everything I have to Titanic," said Rose.
"Do you want to start, or should I?" Jack asked
"I can," said Rose. She took a deep breath. "I can still smell the fresh paint. The china had never been used. The sheets had never been slept in. Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams. And it was. It really was... to everyone else. To me it was a slave ship, taking me back to America in chains."
It took a while to go through the whole story. Jack and Rose explained her mother, her evil fiancé, and how she met Jack. Then, they talked about walking around the deck, the first class dinner, their talk in the gymnasium, their conversation at the bow and their first kiss, and how Jack drew Rose while she was wearing the Heart of the Ocean (Rose had, of course, censored the story and left out the nudity and the Renault). Finally, Rose told her about the sinking. By the end, Josie couldn't believe it. She felt like she was seeing her parents completely differently now. After the story ended, they sat quietly for a few minutes. Josie was the one to break the silence. "Where's the Heart of the Ocean now?"
Rose sighed. "I have it. One day, It'll be yours."
"So what happened after you got to New York?" Josie asked.
"I stayed with Aunt Rachel, and when you were born, we moved to California. And… you know the rest."
Josie wiped away a tear. "Thank you for telling me."
Rose kissed Josie's forehead. "Of course, sweetie."
Finally, the train pulled into the station. "Here, let's go," said Jack. He stretched out his hand, and Rose took it. They exited the train and walked to Jack's house. "This is my apartment."
The three of them entered the apartment. Rose took a look around. It was a beautiful apartment, very modern, but bare. "Wow, this is so not what I pictured," said Rose.
Jack chuckled. "What did you picture?"
"I don't know, more clutter?" Rose said with a chuckle.
"I don't really have much… stuff," said Jack. "I'll take you to the rooms so you can shower, do whatever you want."
Josie smiled. "Perfect."
"And while you're doing that, I'm going to go talk to my mother, let her know we're here."
Josie was in her room, and Jack had taken Rose to his bedroom. Rose jumped on Jack and kissed him. "What was that for?" Jack asked, his arms around her waist.
"That was because I love you," said Rose. She looked into his ocean blue eyes and sighed. "I love you so much."
"I love you too," said Jack. He kissed her again, slowly and deeply. "I'll be back soon."
Jack left and went over to his mother's house. He rang the doorbell. Jack's mother, Evelyn, opened the door. "Jack?"
"Hey Ma," he said. "I'm home."
Evelyn ushered Jack into the house. "I'm so glad you're home. How was your business trip?"
He sat his mother down on the couch, and sat next to her. "It wasn't a business trip. Do you remember when I told you about Titanic? About Rose?"
"Yes, of course. Why?" Evelyn asked.
"Well, she's been alive all these years. I just didn't know it, and she didn't know I was alive. When I was at the dentist, I picked up a magazine that had a picture of her inside, and I went to find her. That's what this trip was."
"Oh my god," said Evelyn. "I can't believe it. You thought she was dead all these years."
"Yes, I did. Thank god I found her, though. And when I did find her, I found out she was pregnant after Titanic."
"You have a child?" Evelyn asked.
"A daughter. Her name is Josephine, Josie for short. She's fifteen, and she's beautiful," a tear trickled down Jack's cheek. "I missed her whole life. I mean, how the hell did this happen?"
"I don't know. But you need to try to move forward now, not backward," said Evelyn, and she hugged her son. "Are you back together?"
"We're getting married," he said. "I brought them with me, and I would really like you to meet them."
"Of course," said Evelyn. "I can't believe I'm a grandmother."
"Well, we'll be over for dinner," said Jack. "I'll see you then."
He returned home, and Rose was reading on Jack's bed. "Hi, how did it go?"
"She wants to meet you both," said Jack. "I told her we would go over for dinner."
"Okay," said Rose. She pulled him onto the bed and wrapped her arms around him. She giggled and kissed him. Jack put his arms around her waist and kissed her back. "You know, I never thought I would be this happy."
"Neither did I," said Jack. "I love you more than anything."
