Title: One Year Anniversary
Author: Stress
First written: April 18, 2002-May 12, 2002
Edited and replaced: August 9, 2005
Summary: Part III of the Soul Mates Series; When Jack and Stress reach their first year anniversary, Stress tells a friend the story about how they almost didn't get together at all.
. August 7th 1899 .
Bottle Alley Lodging House
Early the next morning, even before the sun had come up, Stress woke up and quickly wrote a note. Creeping around quietly so that none of the girls would wake up, she left the note on her pillow. With one last look around the bunkroom, she sighed and left.
Bottle Alley Lodging House
About an hour after Stress had left the Bottle Alley Lodging House, there was another person up and about. Carrying a single rose that he had "borrowed" from a street vendor, Jack snuck up the stairs to surprise Stress. He figured that if he woke her up in bed then she might be more susceptible to listening to his side of the story of what had happened the night before, and maybe, just maybe, be willing to forgive him.
He tiptoed ever so quietly into the bunkroom, thinking about how much trouble he would get into if Mrs. Cook found him in the girls' bunkroom that early in the morning. Jack paused, looking for her bunk - the first top bunk on the right - and let out a gasp of shock upon finding it empty with only a note on her pillow. He frantically grabbed at the note, his fingers unable to work. After a few failed attempts at picking up the piece of paper, he snatched it and brought it up to his eyes, using the moonlight that shone through the window to read her writing.
Dear Everyone,
Please don't feel hurt but I no longer can live here with you guys. This life has just gotten too complicated for me. I've decided to just go over the Bridge for once and for all. And I'm sorry, so sorry, to be leaving you all. Goodbye.
Stress
P.S. Please tell Jack I'm sorry. I wish I could have the nerve to do it myself, but I don't.
Jack fell to the ground next to Slash's bunk as his knees buckled beneath him. He looked up as Slash's eyes opened slightly. "No, Jack. What are you doing here, in me dream? I only dream of Dutchy," she mumbled as she rolled over and went back to sleep.
Jack barely noticed that she had said anything at all. According to the note that he was clutching in his hand, Stress was going to jump over the side of the Brooklyn Bridge. He knew how terrified she was of bridges and it was a common joke that she would never go to Brooklyn alone because she needed support to get her to cross "the Bridge" in one piece. He knew that it was extremely serious if she was using the Bridge to end the complications in her life. "I've gotta go after her!"
Picking himself up off the ground, Jack placed the note into his pocket and placed the rose on her pillow. Without stopping to think, he ran right back down the lodging house stairs, hoping to find Stress before she did anything drastic.
The Manhattan Side of the BrooklynBridge
Stress looked apprehensively over at the Bridge that stood towering before her. She had left the lodging house hours ago with the intent to cross over the Bridge and start fresh in Brooklyn. Unfortunately, her immense fear of bridges kept her grounded on the Manhattan side, where she had been sitting since she had arrived. She had been working on getting the nerve to cross the Bridge for the past hour but found herself unable to move.
Staring at the water underneath the Bridge, she let her thoughts wander. "I know I should just stay here and not run away from me problems. Me father is probably rolling over in his grave to see me running away. I should just go back to the lodging house and just forget about Jack. I hope he's happy with his new girl," she said as she tossed a few pebbles into the water, sulking as she mulled over her dilemma.
Meanwhile, as Stress sat there facing the Bridge, Jack was quickly approaching the foot of the Bridge. He hastened his pace, praying he had got there in time. He wasn't sure how much of a lead she had had leaving the lodging house that morning, or how quickly she had walked to the Bridge.
As he got closer to the Bridge, he saw a lone figure watching the sunrise. When he got closer he noticed it was a girl with brown hair and when he got closer still, he recognized her - it was Stress. He let out a silent whoop of joy and began to run toward her. When he was only a few feet away from her, he slowed down and snuck right up behind her.
Once he was able to sneak up right behind her without her noticing, he just stared at her back for a moment. He composed himself, and, extending his right pointer finger, he tapped her on her shoulder. He was so relieved that Stress hadn't left him that he could only think of one way to say hello properly.
Stress was startled out of her stupor when she felt someone's presence behind her. Worried because she felt someone tap her on her shoulder, she slowly turned around.
As soon as Jack saw her begin to turn around, he wrapped his arms around her upper body and started to kiss her, like he had that night in their secret spot. Just like last time, he felt her resist his advances at first but she relaxed slowly as she became lost in his kiss. Yet, as if she just realized what situation she was in, Stress broke away from his embrace before she could totally melt into his arms.
As she wiggled out if his arms, she stopped to face him with tears filling her eyes. "Why do you hafta keep playing games with me heart? I hate you, Cowboy! I hate you!" she screamed as she turned and ran in the direction Jack had just come from.
Jack stared after her in shock as he watched her storm off from him for the fourth time in two days. "Well, that wasn't the reaction I expected at all."
Back at the Bottle Alley Lodging House
"Hey, girls," called Midnight as all the Bottle Alley lodgers were getting ready to go to the distribution center to buy their papers, "had any of you seen Stress today? She ain't in her bunk, only this here rose is," she added as she waved the red rose that Jack had brought.
While all of the other girls had responded with No's, Slash looked up thoughtfully. "I ain't seen Stress, but I think I saw Jack here early this morning. Or that might have been in me dream. I ain't too sure."
"Oooooh! You're dreaming about Jack! I'm gonna tell Dutchy!" taunted Blaze.
Slash responded to Blaze's teasing by throwing her pillow in Blaze's direction. She missed and hit Wish in the face, instead. Wish retaliated and threw her pillow, bypassing both Slash and Blaze and hitting Gip in the chest. All of the girls then picked up their pillows and started throwing them around the room, until Mrs. Cook's voice could be heard over the entire racket they were making.
"Girls! Those papers aren't gonna sell themselves, ya know! Let's go!"
As the girls all dropped their weapons and hurried to finish getting ready, all thoughts of anything amiss promptly left their minds.