Chapter 2
This chapter is in honor of Mr. William Ernest Carter, a first-class passenger who was also the owner of the 1912 Renault Type CB Coupe, and is among the very lucky ones to survive Titanic. The characters' interactions between each other are fictitious, as my character learns all he can about the car. Unfortunately, that car would be lost under tons of debris and the crushing weight of the Atlantic. RIP Mr. Carter.
The ship's horn broke through the smoke-filled pub, as four men sat around a table and are engaged in an intense game of poker, as it is underway. The two Swedes argue in their native language. Across the pub, Eric tries his best at flirting with a girl he had met just minutes earlier, then he eyes his new found friends across the smoke-filled room. He told the pubkeep that he only wanted one drink, before returning to the girl.
"Jack! You are pazzo! You bet everything we have." Fabrizio says, thinking they might lose the poker game. Jack takes the cigarette out of his mouth.
"When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose," he reassures his nervous Italian friend, then he puts the cigarette back in his mouth, and soon after, his poker face returned.
Olaf (Swedish): "You stupid fishhead! I can't believe you bet our tickets!"
Sven (Swedish): "You lost our money! I'm just trying to get it back! Now shut up and take a card!" Jack then looks at Sven.
"Sven?"
Sven Gunderson mumbles something under his breath, then hands Jack a card, who then quickly slips it into his hand.
...
Meanwhile Karl and Jesse finally find their cabin that was located towards the bow of the ship, after getting lost in the many corridors, and nearly getting into a scuffle with another third class passenger, after that passenger was thinking the friends were going through his belongings. Together, with a few other men in the room, they chased the kids out of the cabin, then slammed the door in their faces. Once at their cabin, Jesse was the first to check out the room. This cabin was indeed small, but enough to barely fit four adults, since he and Karl were skinny enough to maneuver around in. Jesse opened a door to his left, which led to a tiny wardrobe closet that was of no use located just before the door, only to find lifebelts at the very top shelf, nothing else.
Inside there was one passenger sitting on the bed, as he turned his attention to the young men, who were still checking out the room, then slowly lifted his leg to put his boot on. He groaned as he bent down to tie the heavy-looking boot. Thinking he must be their roommate, Jesse greets him, then Karl, who are both engaging in Finnish conversation, while the man still laces his boot up. Afterward Karl excitedly throws his belongings on the bed, then hoists himself to the top bunk, laughing and smiling, while Jesse sighs as he ran his hand through his hair. He wasn't in any mood to fight for the top bunk; the beds were too lumpy for him anyway, and he was very tired. He puts his sack on the bed and sits down, putting his hands on the small of his back and rubbing it.
"Ooh, my back." He groans, after that long and tiring walk through the crowded corridors, and fighting off crowds. He tries to arch his back, to crack it. He sits back on the edge of his bunk and looks around at the small room once more. Between the bunk beds, on one end was a small communal basin and towels, and on the other end was the entrance where they came from. Jesse turned his attention to the ceiling, where a single incandescent light bulb illuminated the entire room in a yellowish, white glow, and if he squinted, he could see the filaments glowing in the clear globe. The walls and floor were iron, painted white, and he could see every rivet holding in the pieces of the ship. There was no porthole, and this room was cramped. This was indeed a different world compared to being in the first class cabins that he had been on both the Olympic and Mauretania months prior. Jesse gets up from the bed and goes to the door. He peers his head out the crowded corridor once more, trying to look for any sign of Eric. He shakes his head in disgust, before closing the door.
...
Back inside the pub a pocket watch ticks on the minutes as the men continue on their game. Jack takes his cigarette out of his mouth once more.
"Alright. Someone's life's about to change. Fabrizio?" Fabrizio looks at Jack, then slams his cards on the table.
"Niente?"
"Niente!" He turns to Olaf. He also puts his cards down.
"Nothing!" says Jack. He then turns to Sven.
"Sven?" Sven coolly puts his hand down. Jack looks at the cards. Jack sighs, "Uh oh. Two pair." he turns once more to Fabrizio.
"I'm sorry, Fabrizio."
"Que sorry! Ma va fa'n culo! Do you bet all our money...!" Fabrizio yelled, as Eric could hear, then turns his attention to the woman again.
"I'm sorry, you're not going to see your mama again for a long time." Jack slams his hand on the table. "'Cause we're goin' to America! Full house boys!" The table erupts in laughter and cheers, and Eric could see the excitement, then shakes his head, smiling. He had already paid for his tickets soon after arriving to Southampton.
...
Back in the deep bowels of Titanic Jesse finally snaps back to reality. Knowing the man in front of him knows no English, Jesse waves his hand at the man, then points to his wrist, as if to indicate what the time it is. The man took out a small, dainty pocket watch from his shirt pocket and looked, then showed both Jesse and Karl that it was almost noontime.
"Hey Karl. What do you say we go up on deck for the send-off?" he says, even though he knew it felt weird; but here they were, on the Titanic, going on its maiden voyage, and he had a new friend to bring along. They both knew they were also the first passengers to use the room for the very first time, as everything was all brand new. Jesse puts down his sketch pad, Karl jumps from the top bunk and both head up deck for the send-off. The man looked at the two young men, as they left the room, especially at Jesse, as he shook his long bangs out his eyes, then closes the door behind them.
...
In the excited pub the men are still celebrating their victory over the Swedes, and Fabrizio kisses the tickets. "I go to America!" he yells happily. Just then the pubkeep interrupted on their fun.
"No mate! Titanic go to America! In five minutes." he indicated on the clock, then laughs at the stupidity of the men.
"SH- Fabri!" they frantically grab their winnings off the table and shove them into their bags.
"Eric! Where are you?! Come on! We're leaving!" Jack yelled, then shoves Fabrizio out the door, and Eric was saddened he had to leave, as he slowly lets the girl's hands go, before hugging each other. He grabs his hat and puts it on, before slinging his sack over his shoulders, and joining his friends, and to find Jesse and Karl, not knowing they had already boarded hours earlier.
Jesse and Karl had a hard time finding a place at the rail on deck, as it was already flocked with people who are excited. Karl finds an open space on the deck. He is even more amazed, being up so high above all the people below, then he joked he was king of them all.
"Do you know someone here?" Karl asks.
"Just my boss. There, I can see him" Jesse points to a crowd, while Karl is amazed his new friend can spot someone out in an immense crowd as this one. "I don't know if he can see me, but I'll try my best to wave harder" he laughs, and knows he will be getting a telegram to come back to Europe again soon. Out of the corner of his eye he sees three people running towards the back of the ship, as if they were late. One had dirty blond hair, and the other two had dark hair. All three of them carried sacks over their shoulders as they ran past the crowds and up to a gangplank as it was being removed.
Good thing that wasn't me, or I would have waited until next week. he sighed, hoping Eric made it on board, and not one of those three last minute stragglers. Unbeknownst to Jesse, his friend Eric was one of those last minute stragglers, as they excitedly hurried through the crowded corridors down below the ship.
"We're the luckiest sons of bitches in the world, you know that?!" Jack yells excitedly. Eric, still winded and flushed, left his happy new found friends as he made his way to the opposite side of the ship.
The ship makes its final horn blast as the entire vessel starts jolting slightly, bringing with it a slight breeze as the ship slowly moves away from the dock. A cool breeze blows in their faces, and Karl, overly excited, waves with both arms, and Jesse, pointing to his boss as the ship leaves port, waves for the last time. The entire ship population continues to wave as it leaves Southampton harbor, which was getting smaller and smaller, as Titanic, the Ship of Dreams, steams her way to America.
As the ship continued to steam past the harbor full of cranes, both Jesse and Karl were astounded. They couldn't believe the distance they had to walk the day before, as they begin to pass a moored ship, one of which they could recognize; the other was tied directly next to the ship. As they passed, Jesse could read on the ship's hull S.S. City of New York very clearly. People were leaving the decks, leaving the friends at the deck, until Karl saw at the corner of his eye. He quickly nudged his friend's arm, then pointed. Jesse couldn't believe what he was seeing. The stern of the New York was beginning to turn, towards Titanic, as she passed.
Up on the bridge, the captain was notified, as he walks over to the cab wing. He leaned over, looked back, then quickly returned to the bridge.
"Full astern!" the captain ordered, as the engine telegraphs ring. Down below, Jesse and Karl watched on, horrified as the New York ever slightly inched towards the Titanic's stern. Soon, a tugboat came to the rescue, and in a nick of time, quickly pulled the New York back, averting the collision.
...
After seeing the people of Southampton off, and witnessing a near-collision, Karl scanned the rest of River Test, then towards the English Channel, hoping to see anything that would be of interest. He saw a small sailboat, then excitedly pointed with Jesse as the Titanic passed. The giant ship engulfed the sailboat, beginning with the shadow, followed by the giant prow of the black liner, completely dwarfing the sailboat. Jesse smiled, before they made their way back to their cabin, as out of nowhere, a steward bumps past Jesse.
"Sorry, sir."
"No. Its entirely my fault." Jesse says, brushing himself off, then blowing his wispy hair. The steward looks at him, making Jesse uncomfortable, then says "You're a mechanic, are you?" Jesse looks at him, raising an eyebrow. The steward continues "There's a first-class passenger up on higher deck looking for a mechanic on board, because he brought a car on board and wants someone to…uh...inspect it or something" he says. The steward then leaves, leaving Jesse to wonder.
How the hell did he know… he thought, as he scratched his head, then blows his hair from his eyes. He shook his head, and decided to go back to his cabin.
Once he arrived back to his cabin, Jesse sees Eric bent over the sink, and was panting very hard, as if he had completed an Olympic event.
"You're late again, are you? At least you got lucky..." He says, crossing his arms. He then remembered seeing three men running to the ship, that's when Jesse puts his finger and thumb to the bridge of his nose, then shakes his head. Eric proceeded to talk, but Jesse abruptly interrupts him, palm out to him. "No, no, I don't want to hear" He then puts his bag on the bed and starts digging.
On the opposite side Jack and Fabrizio make their way through the crowded corridors, trying to look for their cabins. The come across a closed door, then opens it. Inside, there were about six men to that room, where earlier, Jesse tried to enter the first time around. One of the gruff man walks to the door, and slams it in Jack's face. Jack and Fabrizio looks at each other, before realizing their cabin was just around the bend. They entered, and two Swedes already had settled in as well, as they were waiting for their brothers. One of them was surprised, as he had an American as his roommates, and the other, whom he assumed would be of Mediterranean origin. Jack held out his hand.
"Hi, I'm Jack Dawson." Jack says, then walks over to the man over the basin. "Jack Dawson, nice to meet you." However, they didn't understand one word this young man was saying, as they looked at each other, puzzled. Fabrizio had taken the top bunk, as he took advantage of Jack while he was not looking.
"Who says you get top bunk, huh?" Jack playfully punches Fabrizio, as the men continued to look at them, with perplex expressions, especially at Jack. The other soon gathered his composure, and asks his brother, in Swedish.
"Var är Sven?" The other person snapped out, before shrugging.
Digging in his "bag of goodies" as he likes to call it, Jesse pulls out his clothes, four sheets of papers that needed to be telegrammed before the ship docks, and a small bag that contained small amounts of money and jewelry. He reaches in even further to retrieve whatever tools he could carry in that sack for he might need it later on. The three men watch Jesse put his items in reverse order after pulling out his tools, then refolding his clothes before putting them back in the sack.
Later on, while the ship is docked at Cherbourg, the owner of the Renault touring car and Jesse are down in the cargo hold, along with a steward who bumped past him earlier. The steward gives Jesse suspicious glares, while the owner indicated what needed to be looked over and possibly worked on before it is unloaded off the ship and driven in New York and Pennsylvania, as it is his personal car, for him, and his family. The man wanted to give Jesse a cigarette as a token of payment, but he declined politely.
"Okay, very well then," the man says, gave a lighthearted chuckle, then pats Jesse's firm shoulder, before turning to leave the cargo hold with the steward.
Once the man and the steward leave, Jesse looks over at them, then rolls his eyes and shakes his head with a slight tsk! He begins brushing his hair from his eyes before rolling his sleeves to get to work on the car. He places a light a steward had given him into the engine bay so he could see better. Unlike many of the cars he's worked on, this one was different, and he was limited on tools. Plus, he needed an assistant in case if things went wrong. Jesse decided he would have to wait until later, as he began to pack up his tools again, and was about to turn off the light, until he decided he had a much better idea. Since he brought his sketch pad with him, he drew the car and the engine bay in rough form, for he will complete and study it when he needed to work on the car again.