October 5th 1925, Santa Monica
When they heard the news about her mother there was barely a response from both of them. They just stared at each other for a long time without saying a single word. It was only ten minutes ago when the sound of the telephone echoed through the house. She stood up from her lounging chair and put her book on the little table beside it. It was still lovely outside. The autumn sun radiating it's final bits of warmth. She wrapped her scarf around her shoulders and tiptoed inside.
"Rose Dawson." She answered and smiled hearing Molly's voice coming from the other side. She had missed her friend for they hadn't seen each other as much as how they used to. Rose's smile quickly faded when she heard Molly speak of her mother. She hadn't heard from that woman nor even thought about her for over 12 years. She had turned into nothing but a vague memory.
"She doesn't have much longer, dear." Molly said.
"I am very sorry for her, truly, but I can't see her. Not after everything that has happened." She muttered and tapped her feet impatiently on the floor.
In the meantime, Jack had entered the room with two cups of coffee. Looking into her eyes, he could see a form of fright lingering in them. He decided to wait next to her. Listening to everything she said he couldn't make up a single thing from it, but it was serious, that he new for sure. Rose signed for Jack to hand her beverage and she chucked it in one go. The heat warmed her body a bit.
"I understand what you mean, dear. But the only thing she can talk about is you. Just consider it."
They shared a few more words before Rose put the horn back down. She turned her head towards Jack.
"My mother is dying."
"Maybe you should go, Rose." His words spoke to her from the darkness.
She shook her head despite him not being able to see her.
"No. Besides what am I going to tell Walter? Surprise darling, you have a secret grandmother, but not for long because she is going to die any moment."
He put on the light and turned his body towards her. She was sitting up straight, simply staring into the distance of the room. "He is too young to understand anyways, Rose." Of course he was hurt too after all the despair her mother had put them through, but at least she had a choice. A choice to make peace with the past. He searched for her hand. It was cold. Rose wanted to say something, but couldn't. She knew the topic of parents had always been a sensitive subject to him. It made her feel guilty knowing that he'd do anything to get his back. The next morning she called Molly right away.
In fact, Margaret Brown had always stayed in contact with Ruth. It wasn't much, but she would always be there whenever her mother needed it. Rose had always refused to listen to anything Molly had to say about her, but she knew she had become poor. Her lavish life had turned into nothing and no one remembered her.
It was a long and dreadful trip to get to Denver both mentally and physically. Just before their arrival Walter had finally fallen asleep in his father's arms. Rose smiled at the sight of her biggest loves. They were her world and she felt nothing but pride looking at her little family. Jack kissed little Walter's head and looked outside as they drove into the train station. Molly had sent a chauffeur to collect them and waited patiently outside her home for their arrival. She smiled as the car slowly made her way towards her and they stepped out. Molly tried to stay as optimistic as possible, but seeing Rose's facial expression she felt a form of guilt. She knew she was dreading this moment. Perhaps it was best to not have called at all.
"She is upstairs," Molly said and looked at Walter who had just woken up from his nap, "Hello sweetheart it is good to see you again."
"Hello auntie Molly." He mumbled still half asleep and buried his face back into Jack's chest. They headed inside and stopped in front of the stairs.
"You want me to come with you?" Jack asked Rose. She gently shook her head. She needed to go alone first. Taking a deep breath she could see the bed in the room where Ruth was laying as the door was wide open. The creaking of the floor made her presence known and Ruth looked at where the sound was coming from.
"Hello mother." Rose's voice sounded cold. She took a seat next to her bed and watched how her mother tried to sit up. She barely recognized her. Her eyes were sunken in and there was pain in her facial expression. Her hair was still red mixed with many peaks of grey.
"Rose," There wasn't much warmth in her tone either, "It is good to see you. I have been wanting to see you for thirteen years."
"To be fair, I didn't want to go at first. It was Jack who convinced me."
"Jack," Hearing his name falling from her lips it sounded bitter, "you are still with him?"
"Yes." she nodded, "He is downstairs. With our son."
"You have a son."
"Yes."
"And you are pregnant again."
Rose looked down at her stomach. It was impossible not to notice for she was due in about two months. Placing her hand on top of it she nodded. "Yes."
"What is his name?"
"Walter. He is almost three."
Ruth looked away for a moment and looked outside watched how a group of birds flew by. She nodded her head and told her daughter she did not only wanted to see her child, but also him. The man whom she had despised ever since the moment she laid eyes on him on that sunny day in April 1912. The way her daughter looked at him. It was a way she had never seen her look at anyone before. It was love. The door opened again and Rose walked back in followed by him. He was holding the hand of a little boy with blonde curly hair. The boy was his spitting image. Her daughter had seemed to manage it all on her own. She had built a whole life from nothing.
Rose agreed and slowly headed downstairs to fetch them. Jack gave the woman a nod of acknowledgment when he entered the room and only spoke a simple hello. He didn't want to confess the deep hatred he felt for her. She was in fact the mother of his wife, the woman he loved most in the world. She was family. Walter, who was rather confused by the situation, crawled onto his father's lap and kept staring at the woman in the bed.
"Sweetheart, will you say hello to your grandmother." It felt utterly strange for Rose to use that word. To her son it had always been the three of them with no other family except for close friends.
"You have the same hair as my mommy." He said softly.
Ruth stared at the little boy and his mannerisms. He looked happy and careless and it somehow made her feel something too. Even she was once that little with no care in the world. Sitting in her mother's lap existing in the world just how it was.
"I want you to tell me, Rose." Ruth sighed.
"Tell you what?"
"Everything I have missed about your life. What you have been up to the past decade."
She was hesitant at first and looked at her husband for reassurance. He smiled at her, nodded his head and squeezed her hand slightly. She could do it.
"Well," She started, "Jack and I married on September 21st, the first day of fall before we went to Europe where we traveled for a long time. Mainly France and Italy, working our way from place to place and even visiting Jack's old friend's hometown where we met his family and all, but I can't tell you everything we've experienced in Europe. It would be too long of a story." It was one of Jack's favorite things to meet Fabrizio's family and learn all about his life. It did hit them hard to hear about his fate, but they were thankful, oh so thankful. "It was until the war started and we decided to head back to the states, traveled and worked some more until it came closer to home and Jack enlisted for the war. I went to work as a nurse in Belgium."
"My my." Ruth did listen, but there seemed to be no emotion in her voice. Perhaps it was of her illness, perhaps it was of her lifelong disinterest.
"Anyway," Rose pretended like she didn't care, "During the war, Jack had been to some assistance to a man. His name was Mr. Mosley, one of the kindest people you will ever meet in your lifetime. He left us money after his death, since he had no other family around anymore and that was when Jack and I decided to fulfill his dream of him: To help children. So we opened an art school for those who can hardly afford it."
"Where is that school?"
"Santa Monica. We live next to it, close to the beach." Rose scratched between her eyebrows. "So that is basically all you have missed in a nutshell, mother."
Ruth suddenly started to cry and it took them both by surprise. Rose had basically never seen her mother in tears. It was a proper cry as well as if all the pain inside her had started to come out.
"The day you ran out of that church was the worst day of my life," she bawled out, "At that moment I saw my whole life crumbling down right in front of me. I have lost everything that was ever dear to me," She turned her attention to Jack. "How did you do it?"
"Do what ma'am?" He put Walter onto the ground and he headed out of the room calling for Molly.
"What all of us couldn't. You took her from us." She pointed at him.
"Oh for heaven's sake, stop it, Mother. This is the exact reason why I didn't want to come here."
"No it is all right, Rose." Jack interrupted her, "Let her speak. I want to know."
"You took my girl from me as well as my whole life. Cal left after that day in Chicago and I haven't heard of him ever since. I had to sell everything and move just over the border to Canada where I had to work as a maid. A maid."
Jack moved his chair closer to the bed and cleared his throat. He looked at Ruth, his expression calm. "I am sorry to hear how you have ended up, ma'am, but I don't regret doing what I did for one bit. I love Rose and I will continue to love her until the end. When I married your daughter I made a promise to take care of her and I think I've done a pretty good job at that. Rose takes care of me too. We are equals. And when I look at what we've been through, what we have build together and the family we now have, I feel nothing but pride and joy. So if you want to hate me for taking her from you I allow you to, but I would do it all over again."
There was nothing but silence that came after that, but Jack felt relieved that he had said those words to her. It was something he had wanted to do for a long time. Ruth waved her hand for them to leave and that was the last time Rose ever saw her mother.
What happened after that went all too fast. Soon after they had returned back to the hotel, Rose felt a sharp pain in her stomach. It was stronger than a kick from the baby and far more painful.
"It can't be, Jack. It's far too early." She whined when another wave of pain hit her body. She kept herself up by leaning against the bed frame.
Jack nodded, "I know. But I am taking you to the hospital."
Rose's heart was pounding when the nurses took over and she had to leave her husband and child behind. Sweat was slowly dripping down her face and she could vaguely hear the nurse say some reassuring things to her.
"You are going to be okay, love." She said in a think Cockney accent. Rose nodded and held her hand tightly. It was a more intense experience than when she delivered Walter, but she knew in every fiber of her body that the baby was on its way. She begged for Jack to come, but all refused the presence of a male in the room other than the doctor. The rest was all a blur of pain and adrenaline. Then there was a cry of a baby, but she felt no relief.
As she opened her eyes again a new day had already started. She looked down and couldn't help but giggle slightly. The sound of a door opening caught her by surprise and Jack came walking in. He looked tired and extremely worried, but seeing Rose doing just fine he sighed in relief. Coming closer, he raised an eyebrow.
"Darling, say hello to our son," Rose said and then lifted up another blanket, "and daughter."
"My God," Jack gasped, soon followed by laughter. They looked identical, not knowing whom was whom, Rose handed over one of them. Jack had always wondered if he could love another child as much as he loved Walter, but it was true. Looking at the two bundles of joy he felt ecstatic. "They are perfect, Rose. They are truly perfect."
"I haven't really thought about names yet." She confessed.
"Why don't I fetch Walter? Perhaps he can help us out."