Ch. 2: The Carpathia (Cal's POV)
Cal could hardly believe that he survived the sinking. He also felt like the lowest human being in the world. He let his jealousy turn him into a vindictive, yet spineless coward. He even used a small child to get his place in the lifeboat. As he sat in the lifeboat, his social status didn't matter now. He will never forget those words that Officer Murdoch told him "Your money can't save you any more than it can save me." He also won't forget Rose calling him an unimaginable bastard. Yes, he truly was an unimaginable bastard that night.
He was now huddled among people that he once thought inferior to him. A worker covered in soot offered him a flask to drink, which he took a sip out of. He was surprised by the kind gesture. Soon it was daybreak, and a ship came into the horizon. The lifeboat immediately started rowing to the rescue ship.
Cal was one of the last passengers to get off his lifeboat; the women and children on the boat were the first to get off. The lady that helped him with the little girl agreed to care for her, and would try to see if the child's parents survived. If not, the lady was more than happy to care for the child. Cal didn't have any money left on him, but promised to give the lady money once they arrived in New York. It was the least he could do.
Once onboard the Carpathia, he made his way to the first class area of the ship. He found Ruth with Molly Brown. Ruth had a look of relief on her face when she saw him. Ruth walked up to him and said, "Caledon! I'm so happy to see that you survived. Where's Rose? Where you able to find her?"
Cal sighed and said, "It's my entire fault. Rose took off from the lifeboats because of me. She went after Jack! I tried to stop her and she spat in my face."
Ruth was shocked and replied, "No…she went down into that sinking ship to rescue that good-for-nothing man! A common thief who betrayed her trust! Rose was always naïve…I bet she even fell in love with that scum!"
Cal bristled and said, "That man is a better man than I'll ever be! I framed him because I was jealous! He loved Rose! He protected her from me!"
Ruth was stunned and said, "What do you mean by that?" Cal said, "I let my jealousy turn me into such a vindictive bastard. I found Jack with Rose again at the lifeboats. Rose refused to leave the ship without Jack. I lied to her saying that I would use my arrangement to save myself and Jack. I figured that would be the only way to convince her to board a lifeboat. Jack went along with it because he wanted her safe too. It almost worked, but she jumped back onboard to be with Jack. I was so shocked and brokenhearted seeing them together that I shot at them. I was aiming at Jack, and I chased them back into the flooding lower decks."
Ruth said, "My god Cal! How could you? Rose was going to be your wife. I would have straightened her out." Cal said, "No, despite that I loved her, Rose was never in love with me. There is nothing that you could have done about that. Now thanks to my actions, Rose is most likely dead." Ruth said, "Please Cal, I know that Rose wasn't faithful to you, but she's my only child. Please find her or at least let me know if she didn't survive. I need to know." Cal said, "I'll try. I really hope she is alive… and I hope she can forgive me."
It was later in the afternoon when Cal made his way to the stern where the third class passengers were staying. A steward took a look at him and said, "You won't find any of your people down here, sir. It's all steerage." But Cal ignored the man, and started searching for Rose among these third class passengers.
It seemed fruitless… none of these people were Rose. Suddenly he saw a flash of red hair! He saw it was a young woman, and he rushed to this woman's side. He touched the woman's arm and cried, "Rose!" His voice had a mixture of happiness and relief; something that surprised him! He wasn't one to show his emotions on his sleeve. But as the woman turned to him, it wasn't Rose! It was a different woman. He had no idea that Rose was only a few feet away from him. Cal walked away from the woman and felt his heart breaking. He continued to walk around the deck, hoping that at least he could find Jack. If he found Jack, then he could find Rose. But there was no sign of Rose or Jack anywhere. Cal had to come to the heartbreaking conclusion that Rose died with Jack in the sinking. He would check the survivor lists later, but he had a bad feeling that he would not find their names on the list.
Cal knew he had an expression of regret and grief on his face; he really was letting his emotions take over him. But he had to be strong to let Ruth know the heartbreaking truth that Rose didn't survive.
He made his way back to Ruth, and Ruth could see it all over Cal's face that Rose was nowhere to be found. Ruth walked up and said, "You couldn't find Rose. I can see it written on your face." Cal sighed and said, "I searched practically everywhere on deck and there was no sign of her. I even looked for Jack. Ruth, I am so sorry. I truly think that Rose died with Jack during the sinking." Ruth said, "Maybe Rose is just hiding. We must check the survivor lists later."
Cal spent the rest of the voyage in first class with Ruth. If Rose was dead, Cal would have to start canceling the wedding once he returned to Pittsburg and start planning a funeral for her. Ruth solemnly agreed with him, and said she would return to Philadelphia after all the arrangements were done. Cal also had to make sure to get a copy of the survivor and deceased passenger lists in order to prove that Rose was dead or alive.
Once the ship arrived in New York, Cal asked the officer in charge of the lists if he could check the survivor lists. The officer said, "Mr. Hockley, if Miss Dewitt-Bukator is not on these lists, I hate to say that it is most likely that she didn't survive. We are docking tonight, and disembarking tomorrow morning. We will try to cross-reference names as passengers disembark, and post the names at White Star Line's New York offices."
Cal checked the first class passenger lists first…there was only one Dewitt-Bukator on that list, Ruth. He decided to check the third class passenger list. There was no Rose Dewitt-Bukator; he decided to look for Jack's name. He indeed found one Dawson, but it was a woman's name. There was no Jack Dawson; his worst fears were confirmed. Rose had indeed died with Jack that night! He felt his heart breaking again knowing that the woman that he loved was now gone forever. He was now full of grief and sorrow again. He truly regretted not treasuring Rose and realizing too late on how much he had loved her. He wished he had handled things differently. Now he had to deal with the grief of losing Rose, and having to pick up the pieces of his shattered heart.
Luckily I had time after classes to post this second chapter. This was a bit hard for me to write from Cal's point of view (I mentioned in one of my previous stories that Cal was not one of my favorite characters). I hope that I'm not making him too out of character, and I am trying to make him regret his actions. Hope you enjoy!