Chapter 4

The first thing Rose saw the morning of June 10, was bright sunlight pouring into the window. It was the first in a long time Rose saw the sun. It shone brighter than ever, as if it was a symbol: a new day, a rebirth.

The door opened then and her eyes showed fear as Cal came into the room and walked toward her bed. He smiled down at her.

"Good morning, sweet pea," he said, using his old pet name for her. "It's good to see you awake." He turned to the window. "The rain is finally over. We can start all over again Rose." He turned to her, smiling. "Well?"

Rose only nodded nervously.

"I want you out of bed today. Ms. Kingswood and her daughter are coming over this afternoon, and I want you to be on your best behavior. I need you to get dressed, fix yourself up, and then come downstairs and act decent."

Rose was trying to say something to him, but her voice was so weak, it was hard to say the words clearly. Finally she said it in a way Cal could understand. "I...I don't feel very well."

"Well, that's probably because you're not eating," said Cal. He sounded genuinely concerned.

Cal turned to the window again. "Let's forget about the past. We're going to start all over again." He turned to her and touched her pale cheek. "What happened before, happened. But let's not spend the rest of our lives living in the past. Let's just . . . make a new beginning. "

He looked at Rose carefully, looking for something, anything. He then sighed when he found nothing. He left the room, giving her time to get dressed.

After Cal left, Rose got up from the bed. It was challenge though, since she felt weak and nauseous. She wasn't lying when she said she was sick. She felt much older, as if she would collapse any minute. But it was her own fault. Cal was right, she wasn't eating and that was the reason why she was so sick. She didn't do it on purpose though. She just wasn't feeling hungry. But now, she was so sick, she was willing to force herself to eat, just to feel a little better.

She put her new yellow dress. It was plain, but it did show off her curves, and it made her look young. She then sat in front of her mirror and tried to make herself look a little decent. But even though she spent an hour on her hair and her face, she still looked ill and weak. Her eyes were still swollen and red from crying and lack of sleep. Her face was pale and her hair was frizzy and looked as sad looking and tired as the rest of her face. It was hard to hide it. Thank God! Her mother never saw her like this. After the incident on the Titanic, her mother became a little ill, and she took to resting most of the day. Rose was glad her mother didn't know about her depression, and she couldn't wait when her mother moved into her own little house Cal had brought for her.

After pinning up her frazzled hair and finally settling on an almost decent face, she left her room and went downstairs. This was the first time she did that in a very long time.

Cal was sitting downstairs in the living room, when Rose came downstairs, all dressed in sunny yellow, and a forced smile on her pale face. She did look very sickly, but she looked pretty to Cal. He was immediately reminded of the young gorgeous girl she was before.

"You look very nice," he said, smiling a little.

He was about to say more, when Marta, the new maid, appeared next to him. "Ms. Kingswood is here, sir," she said.

"All right," he said, "Send her in."

Marta left the room and when she came back, Ms. Kingswood and her daughter, Leila, were following her into the living room.

"Mr. Hockley," said Ms. Kingswood. "It's good to see you again!" She held out her fingertips as she said, "Surely, you remember my daughter, Leila."

"Hello, Ms. Kingswood," said Cal, shaking her fingers. He turned to Leila. "Hello, Leila."

"Hello, Caledon Hockley," she said in her sweet voice. She looked over at his new bride, who was standing on the stairs and studied her critically. She doesn't seem to be keeping up her appearances, she thought, raising a black, finely arched eyebrow at Rose's pale face, and tired eyes. She shook her head to herself, wondering why Cal took this child as a wife.

"Ms. Hockley," said Ms. Kingswood, walking toward Rose. "How are you feeling? Are you taking everything well?"

Rose nodded. "Yes, everything's fine, just fine," she said, her voice cracked.

"Good."

Cal interrupted the two women. "Ruth is in the dining room if you would like to see her."

"Thank you," said Ms. Kingswood. "Come along, Leila."

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Hockley," said Leila, as she followed her mother and Marta into the dining room.

"I'm going with them," said Rose, quietly, almost to herself, as she walked down the stairs and into the next room.

"Try to eat something," said Cal, but he wasn't sure if Rose heard it or not.

The day wore on. A little later, Cal came and joined the women, and then left for a smoke, and when he came back, the women had divided into pairs, Ruth talking to Ms. Kingswood, Rose talking to Leila. He left the room so the women could be on their own. But shortly after he walked into the living room, he heard the open and then close. He thought it was Marta, but instead he found it was Leila, standing calm and erect.

"Hello," he said, smiling.

She smiled coolly, and then walked toward him.

"Would you like to sit down?" he waved his hand at the couch.

"Thank you," she said as she sat down in a very ladylike manner. "Are you taking everything well?" she asked.

"Yes, I am," he replied as he sat down next to her on the couch.

"I'm sorry for everything that happened," she said. "What happened on that ship must have been terrible. You're brave, going through so much trauma and –"

"I don't want to talk about it," said Cal abruptly, in a voice so cold, it gave Leila shivers down her spine.

"Well . . . " her voice trailed off, and she was speechless.

Cal became too absorbed in flashbacks from that night to pay attention to Leila. But when he finally did notice her reaction to his voice, he realized what he said. And how he said it. Something he never used to do. He straightened himself.

"Sorry," he said. "Sorry about how I said that. I'm just a little tired. I'm just . . . going through a little stress right now."

She smiled. "I understand. It must be hard for you. But . . . if you need someone to talk to, I'm always around. Remember that."

At that, she placed a silky hand on his. He looked up at her, and the first thing he saw were her eyes. He studied her face and finally concluded that he liked what he saw. Her face was womanly, and mature. After spending his time with a girl with youthful features, and bright eyes, he didn't mind looking at a woman with a sensuous body and radiant hair now. He never noticed Leila before, but he regretted missing her now. He was truly intoxicated from just looking at this woman.

He stopped looking at her immediately, when he heard the voices of women coming into the living room. He stood up.

"I'll see you again, I hope, Mr. Hockley," she said, sweetly. "Remember what I said." She walked out of the room, leaving Cal in the living room to think over her.

That was the meeting of Leila Kingswood and Caledon Hockley.