Chapter 2 – Advices

Disclaimer:

Still the same.

Rose awoke with the first hint of sunlight. When she looked outside, the horizon in the east was coloured in different shades of orange, red and very light pink. The still dark blue of the remaining sky showed clearly that it would be a sunny day. Of course it was still February, so it would be cold, but as long as it wouldn't rain all day, Rose was content.

Yawning a bit, she sat up in her bed. With still heavy eyelids, she looked around, taking in her surroundings. After the sinking of the Titanic, she needed to make sure every day that she was safe so this daily check had become a deeply ingrained habit. By the time she had grown accustomed to the light in her bedroom, her gaze fell once again on the letter laying on her nightstand.

Suddenly, everything came crashing down on her. Cal's apologies and explanations, her confusion about it – everything.

Rose jumped out of bed, grabbed the letter and headed downstairs. Once there, she read the whole thing again while waiting for her tea. She still couldn't believe what had transpired the previous evening. It seemed a miracle to her that Cal had gone to so much trouble to find her address just to apologize. At first, she had wondered if it had been really Cal who had written the letter or maybe it was someone else who wanted to have some fun. But then she had realised that there were details in it that no one except Cal and her knew.

Completely lost in her thoughts, Rose forgot about her tea. When she remembered it – and the fact that she hadn't had breakfast yet – she couldn't drink it anymore. Sighing, she poured herself a glass of water, placed a piece of bread on a plate and sat down at the table.

When Rose exited her house to get a little fresh air, she found out that Cal's letter had indeed reminded her of her past. Normally, she enjoyed the scenery as she walked along the road near her house, but today it troubled her. The beautiful blue of the Atlantic Ocean looked the same as that night in April, 1912. For the first time in years, Rose began to wonder what had happened to her mother, if she had found another way to get her money back. Although she had tried to make herself believe otherwise, she still cared for her mother. Maybe Ruth hadn't given her enough love, had demanded too much of her, but she had always taken care of her daughter.

Rose shivered. Sometimes, she felt as if she was in the icy water again, feeling the cold creeping up her spine. She shook her head, trying to get the sounds of the screams and all the other terrible memories to disappear.

Almost an hour later, after she had spent some time at the beach, listening to the surf, Rose decided she needed an advice. Since she had left the house, she wondered what to do about the letter she had received. Now, finally, she admitted defeat.

Sighing in frustration, she walked along the road until she reached her best friend's house. Capricia was an Italian actress Rose had once worked with. Afterwards, they had kept in touch with each other and had become close friends some time in the past two years. Capricia was the only one whom Rose had ever told about the whole Titanic tragedy, so it was logical to turn to her.

Rose knocked at the door, hoping her friend would be at home. Just seconds later, a dark-haired, small woman with almost black eyes opened the door to reveal an anxious looking Rose standing on the stoop.

"Good Morning, Rose. May I ask what you are doing here?" Capricia smiled.

"I'm in need of an advice. Do you have time?" Rose asked.

"Of course, come in," the other woman answered. Once they were seated in the living-room, her curiosity got the better of her. "Is anything wrong? What has happened?"

Rose sighed, then she began.

"Do you remember what I told you about the Titanic, especially about the fiancé I had?"

"Oh, yes. How could I ever forget that?"

"Cal… I received a letter he wrote to me several days ago," Rose stated, curious how her friend would react.

"What?" Capricia exclaimed in shock. "You need to hide somewhere! It is easy to imagine what he will do now that he has got your address!"

Rose laughed.

"I also thought that when I opened the envelope and read his name. But, strangely, he seems to have changed. He apologized for his behaviour towards me aboard the Titanic. He also told me about the way he lives. He has a six year old son…"

"I don't know what kind of advice you need," Capricia replied, not sure what was expected of her.

"I don't know what he expects of me. Shall I write back or would it be better to just throw his letter away?"

"Do you have any idea about what you want to do? Sometimes you feel those things."

Rose looked at her friend, surprised by her question. Until now, she hadn't thought about what she wanted to do, she had only tried to figure out what Cal expected of her. She hesitated, wanting to give an honest answer.

"I don't know. A part of me wants to forget about everything, another part of me says I should react to his apology. Maybe you could tell me what you think about my situation."

"Of course. I just don't know if it will help you," Capricia mused.

"Just tell me about it… I suppose I will be able to decide if your advice helped me."

"If that is what you truly want. If I was in your situation, I would first try to find out if I could trust him. After all he did to you, you have to read an apology carefully, you can never be sure if Cal wants to repeat what he once did. I would only write him a letter if I was really sure he meant what he said. But what I would never do is catch the next train and visit him. With a letter, he can't do something harmful unless he comes to visit you. If you're with him, in his home, he can do whatever he wants and no one will know. That's my opinion."

"Sounds reasonable," Rose admitted.

"Was I able to help you?"

"Yes."

"If I may ask one question… What are you going to do, Rose?"

To be continued