Ch. 5: Six Months Later (Rose's POV)
Six months have now passed since the sinking. Rose was now living a simple, but happy life in New York. She managed to keep up with the news from Philadelphia and read that her mother and Cal had held a funeral for her. She had a mixture of sadness and relief hearing that news. She was mostly relieved that no one was looking for her, but she was still dealing with her own grief over Jack's death. She has her good and bad days, but Jack seems to haunt her dreams almost every night.
Most of the time her dreams of Jack are wonderful; she dreams of them dancing at the third class party, their first kiss on the bow, when he drew her in her stateroom, when they made love, and that smile and kiss Jack gave her when she told him she was getting off the ship with him.
Her nightmares are terrifying; Jack's arrest and the betrayal she felt, the horrifying realization that Cal had framed Jack and left him for dead, Cal chasing and shooting at them, nearly drowning in the depths of Titanic's lower decks, riding the stern into the ocean and the worst one is of Jack's lifeless body sinking underwater.
Her nightmares make her wake up in a cold sweat, and her heart breaks even more wishing that Jack had survived. Rose knows that only time will help diminish the pain, but she knows she'll never completely get over losing Jack.
Maggie has turned out to be a wonderful friend. Maggie had the patience of a saint when she was teaching Rose the housekeeping skills. Now Rose could do the chores around the boarding house just as well as Maggie. Maggie had even started to teach Rose how to cook, and now Rose had mastered a few simple recipes. Whenever the boarding house was full, Rose started to help Maggie cook the breakfasts and after the work was done, the two would share a meal together and visit.
Rose was grateful that she had made a true friend and that she had a place to stay. She was grateful that Maggie would pay her for the jobs she did around the house. During the first months, she used her money to buy some clothes and pay her rent. Now she was saving her money, and it looked like she was getting closer to having enough money for a ticket to California. The first thing she wanted to do was visit Santa Monica, and ride a horse in the surf like Jack said they would do. She also wanted to travel and see the world like Jack did.
Rose decided that by the end of 1912, she was going to leave New York and start her adventures. She would have to tell Maggie that she was planning on leaving, and she knew it would make the woman sad.
After their chores were done, Maggie and Rose sat down and tried to eat something. Maggie could tell that Rose had a lot on her mind. Maggie said, "Rose, you're being very quiet today. Did you have another nightmare or a lot on your mind?"
Rose just chuckled and said, "No thank goodness, I haven't had any nightmares lately. But I do have a lot on my mind today. Maggie, you've become such a wonderful friend to me. You've helped me out, and I'll always be grateful to you."
Maggie said, "Oh, Rose. You've been a wonderful friend to me too. Let me guess, are you planning on leaving New York?" Rose said, "Actually I am. I'm staying until the end of the year. I hope you don't hate me."
Maggie said, "Oh, no. I don't hate you for wanting to leave and live your life. I didn't expect for you to stay in New York forever. I will miss you once you're gone. You've been a great help to me, and I'm grateful I taught you some skills. Now I won't be so nervous when you're out in the world on your own. Promise me one thing though."
Rose smiled and said, "What is it?" Maggie said, "Just be happy. I also want you to stay in touch with me. I'd like to see pictures of you and your future family."
Rose said, "Oh, Maggie. I doubt I'll ever get married." Maggie said, "I'm sure whoever you are grieving for would not want you to live your life alone." Rose sighed and said, "You're probably right about that. It's just much too painful thinking about love and marriage at this point. I went through too much on Titanic; I'm still trying to heal and I know only time will help."
Maggie's heart went out to Rose again. She knew that Rose went through quite an ordeal on Titanic, but Rose would clam up whenever Titanic or love was mentioned. She suspected that Rose was suffering from a broken heart, and wished that Rose would talk to get that heavy burden off her chest. Maggie knew from personal experience how unhealthy it was keeping grief bottled up inside, and she didn't want that for poor Rose.
Rose knew that she should talk about her experiences on Titanic with somebody, but it was still too raw. It was too painful to think about Jack, and it would be even harder for her to talk about him. She rather live with her memories of him, and cherish the short time that she had with him.
There were times when she was in her room that her grief and anger would overwhelm her. She missed Jack terribly…it wasn't fair that he died. If those stupid lifeboats had come back to the wreck site right away, perhaps he could have been saved. He did not deserve to freeze to death. Rose knew that he sacrificed himself so she would live! Part of her was angry at Jack for doing that, but she understood that he did it out of love. She'll always be grateful to Jack for showing her what love was really like. She remembered telling him that it wasn't up to him to save her, but he did. He saved her in every way that a person could be saved. Maybe one day she'd meet someone new and fall in love again, but it would never compare to the love she had for Jack. Jack was her once-in-a-lifetime love; a love that would never let go until she was gone.
But Rose was determined to keep her promise. After six long months…she felt that now she would be able to keep that promise. She was going to live her life to the fullest. She was nervous, but excited for the next stage of her life.
Maggie decided to change the tone of the conversation, and asked, "So Rose, where do you plan on going after you leave New York?" Rose actually smiled and said, "I'd like to go to California first. There's a place there I have to see; after that I'd like to travel the world."
Maggie said, "Goodness girl…that's an ambitious dream. You'd be considered a scandal…an unmarried woman traveling on her own!"
Rose laughed and said, "Just call me a tumbleweed blowing in the wind." She had to laugh at her choice of words…that's what Jack used to describe himself on Titanic.
Maggie laughed too and said, "Indeed…that's an interesting choice of words. Are you going to try to become an actress? I remember you mentioning it once."
Rose said, "Maybe I will in California. I'll probably stay there for a while to save extra money for my travels. I know I'll miss you Maggie. You're the only real friend that I've had."
Maggie said, "Oh, Rose…we'll always be friends. And if you do become famous, I can proudly say that I know you!"
Rose was truly grateful that Maggie understood. With her worries behind, Rose felt more than prepared for the next step of her life. Everything seemed to be falling into place for her…she was no longer the naïve, spoiled rich girl from Titanic. She was now a strong and independent woman ready to take on the world.