Chapter 7

Mia sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What do you mean?" All of a sudden, her face went from one that was content or even smiley to one that was somber, as she realized that this wasn't a joke. "Where are we going? What about Father? What about everything?"

I touched her soft cheek, realizing that this would hurt her. Maybe not now, because I was only planning on telling her later, but eventually I would hurt her. There was nothing I could do about it. "I'll answer all of your questions, I promise," I began. "But listen, you have to get dressed so we can leave."

"Answer me first," she said, arching an eyebrow. She knew she had me beat, and I knew she wouldn't let this go. "What about Father? Does he know about this?"

"No," I answered finally. "He doesn't know about this, and he can't." She looked like she was deep in thought. Ordinarily I would've given her time to adapt to this idea, but we really didn't have time. "Listen, I promise you everything will be okay." I smiled, trying to show her that everything would be alright. I'm not sure if I convinced her. "We have to go, though."

Mia finally got out of bed and sat in the spot where I usually dressed her. It was the foot of the bed, the closest part to the closet. I couldn't explain it, but I loved the way Mia looked when she had just woken up. She was still sleepy, her hair was in pigtails, and she was wearing her nightgown. She yawned, shutting her large blue eyes tightly. She scrunched up her nose as she woke up, and she rubbed her eyes with her tiny little hands. "So we're not coming back… ever?"

I sighed, pulling her nightgown over her head and putting a dress on her. She pulled her arms through the little sleeves, and I put my hands on her cheeks. "Not for a very very long time," I told her. She wouldn't be coming back, but unfortunately… I would be. Finally, she was dressed, and we were ready to go. "Okay, it's time to go." I lifted her and placed her on the ground, taking her hand.

"Wait!" She whispered. She let go of my hand and ran back over to her bed, the small auburn ringlets bouncing. She picked up her stuffed bunny rabbit wand held it close to her chest. "We can't leave Bunny here, Mommy!"

I laughed. "Okay, Bunny can come with us," I whispered, taking her hand again. Together, we walked out of her room, down the hall, down the stairs, and out the front door. We walked out the front door and turned back to face the house. I knew I'd be back there, and that hurt me, but Mia would escape. That's all that mattered. I looked down at her and found her looking back at me. "Are you ready?" She looked up at me and nodded. "Let's go, sweetie. We have a train to catch."

The walk to the train was a difficult one. I had two bags, one of which kept digging into my shoulder while the other one just slowed me down. The hardest part of this journey was jumping over the fence: since the Hockley estate had security guards at all exits, we needed to jump over a part of the fence that didn't have any protection. Mia climbed over first, I passed her the bags, and then I climbed over. We walked together to the train station, relieved to find that no one was awake yet.

We got on a train, and I watched as it pulled away. This was real. We had left, and although I knew I would be back, it felt like I wouldn't be. I couldn't explain the strange feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I just felt like I was happily saying goodbye to Pittsburgh forever. Really, I was saying goodbye to Pittsburgh, knowing full well that I'd be back here, even more upset than I was now. Mia would be gone (though safe, which was something at least), Cal would be getting ready to hurt me, and everyone else would be marveling at my idiocy.

"Mommy?" Mia said. She was sitting next to me, wrapped up in my arms. I hadn't been paying attention to her, I'd been too busy looking out the window, lost in my thoughts. I looked down at her, smiling. "Where are we going? You still haven't answered my questions."

I smiled. She was relentless, I knew I couldn't escape her questions for long. "We're going for a little trip," I told her, trying to make it sound like an adventure. "We're going to Colorado, where one of my friends lives." I smiled, trying to convince her that it would be fun. Mia looked up at me, arching an eyebrow. I laughed, wrapping my arms even tighter around her. "Oh, come on. Don't give me that look. It'll be fun."

"But I don't understand," Mia shrugged, looking at me. She was far too smart for me to be hiding details. She just always knew what was going on. "Father doesn't know about this, and he'll be angry. He's gonna yell at us!"

I sighed, pulling her onto my lap. "Your father's never going to find us."

•••

November 22, 1920

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

Mia was asleep on my lap. We had been on the train almost an entire day. It was early in the morning, and we were about to pull into Chippewa Falls. I decided that it was a safe place for Mia and I to stay for a night or two on our way to Colorado. It wasn't a big city, Cal wouldn't think to look here, and it was one of the first places that came to mind. Of course, Jack was born and raised there. I knew it was a nice town, one that would be safe.

We pulled into the train station, and I smiled once I saw the town. It was foliage season, and the leaves were red, yellow, and brown, and they painted the streets. I looked down at Mia. She was resting her head on the right side of my chest. My right arm was wrapped under her back, supporting her, and my other arm was free. I didn't want to wake her, but we had to leave the train. "Mia, sweetheart," I whispered, stroking her cheek. "We're here."

Mia yawned and rubbed her eyes, looking at me. "Where are we?" She asked. She grabbed one of my curls, playing with it in her fingers. Mia loved playing with my curls. I never understood why, but I knew she loved just wrapping it around her fingers and holding it.

I smiled, holding her close to my chest. "We're in Wisconsin," I explained. "We'll be here for a night or two, and then we'll go to Colorado." I put her down and reached up to get our bags. "Come on, baby, let's go find somewhere to stay."

She nodded, taking her little bag as I took mine. I reached out and took her hand, and we slowly exited the train. I slowly looked around, looking for an inn or hotel. "Look Mommy," I looked down at Mia, who was pointing to an inn down the street. "There's a place we can stay!"

"That's true," I said. I knelt down to her. "Listen, it's very very important that you don't say anything in there, alright? I know you'll have questions, but you can't say anything until we're alone. Alright?" Mia nodded, and I took her hand, leading her over to the inn. It was a brownstone, narrow building. It looked nice enough for us to stay in for a few nights. I was nervous about Mia: she never lived without money. I hadn't really either, but I did for a short while after Titanic. I knew I could do it again if I ever had to.

I slowly opened the door, walking up to the front desk. Standing there was a girl around my age, maybe a few years older. She looked up at me, then down, noticing Mia. She smiled brightly at us. "Well, hello," she said cheerfully. "Looking for a room?"

"Yes, please," I smiled back, taking Mia's hand for comfort. I knew how these things worked: I needed to explain why I was without a man and alone with a young girl. For that reason, I left my wedding band on. "I recently lost my husband, and my daughter and I are going to stay with some family in Colorado for a while. Anyhow," yes, I used the word 'anyhow'. My mother hated it because it was too casual and not a high-society word, which is why it was perfect for me to use. "We'll be in Chippewa Falls for a night or two before the next train ride."

The woman smiled and nodded. "Well, of course," she took out the reservation book and a pen before looking back up at me. "What is your name?"

I paused for a moment. I couldn't use the word Hockley: it was far too well-known, probably even here. I couldn't use the name DeWitt Bukater either. Both names were too easy to track if Cal searched for us. There was only one other name I could think of. "Dawson," I said finally. "Rose Dawson."

I looked down at Mia and smiled, trying to keep her at bay. I knew she'd immediately ask me why I used the name Dawson. Why didn't you give your real name, Mommy? Is it so Father doesn't find us, Mommy? And the most painful of all: who's Dawson, Mommy? "Huh, must be a popular name," the woman said. My heart sank as I remembered that of course they would know the name Dawson, that Jack and his family had lived here. I wondered if they knew that he was gone. The woman looked up at me finally. "Any relation to Jack Dawson?"

My heart sank. "Distanced relatives, actually," I sighed. "Jack Dawson and I spent some time together a very long time ago." I wondered if they knew that Jack was gone. No one knew that he was on Titanic. They all probably thought he was just gone for a very long time.

"Oh, what a small world!" The woman smiled brightly. "My brother was friends with him when they were kids. They were the same age. He spent plenty of time at our house when we were little. I know him rather well." The tone in her voice suggested to me that she had no idea that Jack was gone.

"Listen, I don't know how to tell you this," I looked down, putting my hair behind my ear. "Jack… he was in a terrible accident, and… he's gone." I held back the tears, not wanting to let on that Jack and I were quite close.

"Oh, that's terrible!" The woman gasped. I had the same reaction. Even though many years had passed, I still felt the same way about Jack's death. He was a perfectly innocent, wonderful man, who deserved so much better that that. "God, I saw him only two days ago!"

I looked up then, feeling my knees start to give out. "You saw him two days ago?"

The woman nodded. "I ran into him at the market. He was rushing, as he always did, to go to the park and sketch. He carried that portfolio under his arm, promising that he'd come by my family house for lunch sometime soon." She looked at me and realized how sick I looked. I could tell my face had turned pale white. "Say, you alright?"

I tried to nod convincingly. "Absolutely," I said finally. "Sorry, I was told quite a while ago that Jack had passed. I must have been misinformed." Was Jack alive? He must have been, since this woman had seen her only a few days ago. I had to go see him. I had to find out if it was true. He must not have known I was alive. I didn't understand. I needed answers. "Would you mind pointing us in the direction of his house?"

After getting directions from the woman, I took Mia's hand, and we began walking towards where I was told Jack's house was. "Mommy, who is Jack?" I was dragging Mia along, her short little legs unable to keep up with my quick pace. I was determined to get to Jack's house soon. Jack's house. What a strange thought. Jack was dead, as far as I knew until now.

I tried not to get my hopes up as we walked, though it was useless. My hopes were up. My heart was racing, excited to find the man I loved while my mind was actively trying to find any way Jack wouldn't be alive: I watched him die, I watched him sink, the woman at the inn must have been confused. "He's a man that I used to know," I said simply.

"Okay," Mia nodded. "Why did you tell the lady that your name is Dawson? Is it so Father doesn't find us?"

I sighed, looking down at her. "Yes," I said finally. "We need to make sure your father doesn't find us. If he does, it won't be good." I hoped that my answer didn't frighten her, but I needed her to know how important it was that no one found out who we were. "And now, we're walking to find Jack. Because he's an old friend."

"Okay," Mia seemed satisfied with the answers I had given. She continued to walk, skipping as she did so. She kept me grounded as my body felt like it was going to collapse. "You looked scared in there," she said suddenly.

"Well, I was quite scared," I said finally. "I haven't seen Jack in a very long time. Before I married your father, before you were born. A very very long time ago." We finally reached a house. It looked like a cottage, though it was larger. It had two floors, a classic midwestern home. I could see Jack as a small boy growing up there, running up the stairs at the end of the day, where his mother would be sitting on the porch waiting to ask him how his day went.

I took a deep breath, gripping Mia's hand tighter. We walked up the stairs, and I knocked on the door. Please be alive, please be alive, please be alive, I begged. Finally, I heard heavy footsteps approach the door before it swung open. Standing in front of me was Jack, alive and well. He looked a little older, seasoned and wise, as he looked into my eyes. His blue eyes made feel dizzy instantly. "Rose?" I could tell I caught him off-guard.

I took a deep breath and sighed. "Hello, Jack."

A/N: Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thank you so so much for reading! Have an amazing (socially distanced) day!