Overprotective
Chapter IX
My heart was aching. I know that a few days is not enough time to fall in love, and I was not in love. I had an attraction to James, and I had feelings for him. There was certainly potential for it to have turned into a love, if he were not dead now.
I stayed in my room for the remainder of the voyage to New York. Iris came in with tea, and with more borrowed clothing. We didn't speak. Aunt Gwen would try to talk to me, but I would shoo her away. Harold and Spencer dropped in occasionally over the two days to sit with me, but I wouldn't converse with them either. I just wanted to be alone.
Aunt Gwen walked into the room, and pulled back my blankets. Iris was following her. "Come on. Get up, Meredith. We can see New York."
I sat up. "What day is it?"
"It's Thursday. April 18th. You've spent the past two days locked in here. Now it's time to leave. You can't stay cooped up in this room forever."
Oh but I wish I could. Aunt Gwen left, and Iris stayed to help me get ready. She helped to dress me in a long sleeved white blouse and a black skirt. She pulled my hair back into a neat ponytail and let it flow over my left shoulder. My eyes looked dead and puffy, so Iris lightly applied make up to my face to make me appear more alive than I felt.
Aunt Gwen entered, "Are you ready?"
"Yes, ma'am." I spoke softly, and followed her from the room.
"Iris returned the clothing we've borrowed and thanked them for you, and the outfit you're wearing now they said you may keep seeing as you'll be disembarking in it."
The three of us made our way to the top deck, only to find it was raining. I could see land ahead of us. Something I hadn't seen in a long time.
"Ugh, this weather is disgusting." My aunt complained, staying indoors where most of the people were. I walked out into the rain. "Meredith. Get back inside." my aunt hissed.
I ignored her, and took a few more steps before stopping. I could see the most beautiful thing I think I've seen in a while. It was what I heard was called the Statue of Liberty. My friend's brother sent a letter home about how he first saw it on his way to America and to him it was a beautiful maiden of freedom, welcoming him into the land of opportunities. He was so excited about his new home, until he came down with a fever, and an illness followed that killed him.
The statue was inspiring, reaching her torch to the heavens. She was entirely green, clad in a flowing robe, and a pointed crown was upon her head. It was a lovely sight. A sight that I don't think I could ever forget.
"She's a beaut', isn't she?" I heard and looked to my side. There was Spencer, looking up at the statue just as I had been.
"Yes, she's magnificent." I responded, and he smiled to me. I grinned back, and we both continued to stare up at the statue in awe, like two fascinated schoolchildren.
"So are you feeling any better now?" he asked, moving his eyes to me.
"Yes, I suppose. Not entirely, but of course who out of anyone here could feel completely well and normal yet?"
"I know I'm not better yet at all. I'm hurting pretty bad inside, but I'm just hiding it better, I guess."
"Things are going to be very different."
"Change is a part of life, as is death. It's things we just have to deal with, and we have to keep on living."
"I already knew my life was changing from the moment I heard my aunt discussing with my parents that she wished to bring me to America with her. But I had no idea I would make friends and lose friends in such a short amount of time. I didn't know that my heart would be torn in so many different directions so quickly."
"Put your heart at rest. Things should calm down. I hope."
"I hope so too. I wish I were back home in Wales, in my own bed, listening to my mother's knitting needles click together to a steady beat."
"If you'd like, I could stay up and tap some knitting needles together for you." he said jokingly.
I couldn't help but smile at this attempt. "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll be fine." I looked to the statue again, "So this is really New York?"
"Yes. Your new home."
"Our new home. You're staying with us for a while, remember?"
He nodded. "I think we'll be getting off of this ship soon."
And he was right. Soon enough we were nearing the pier. There were flashbulbs in every direction as reporters took photographs and shouted questions. How insensitive could the media get? There were literally thousands of people awaiting the arrival of the Carpathia. I've never seen so many people in one place at once. It was almost hard to believe there could be so many people in one city. This certainly wasn't going to be anything like home.
Spencer followed me inside to my aunt, and I saw Mrs. Welch beside her, looking ill.
"Mother, are you feeling alright today?" Spencer asked, taking her hand.
Her colorless lips moved as very little as she answered emotionlessly, "Yes, dear. I'm fine."
"That's good." he said, not actually believing her, but taking her answer anyway.
"Spencer, do go fetch your father and Adam for me. We're going to be leaving soon I hear." she said in a voice that suggested she was mentally far away.
"Katharina," Aunt Gwen hesitated for a moment, and then explained, "Vernon and your son are gone."
"Where have they gone off to?"
"They've perished, ma'am. They went down with the Titanic three days ago." I blurted out, hating to be the one to say it now.
"Oh…. That's right…." Trina Welch sniffled. "My boy… My baby, Adam… I was terrible to him the last time we spoke. I hope he knows I love him."
"He knows." Spencer answered.
Trina grabbed onto her son's shoulder and cried into it, and he wrapped his arms around her gently. She was so thin and frail looking, that she looked almost like a child in Spencer's arms.
"And that girl. She died too, right?" she asked, with her face still pressed into her son's shoulder.
I gulped, "Yes. Clarissa is dead."
Mrs. Welch seemed to be in denial. She didn't want to believe any of it, so she made herself forget. I wished I could forget, because I too didn't want to believe any of this. I wished it was never real.
I saw my brother walking through the door from the deck.
"Merry," he came to me, "Are you feeling any better? You've been shut up in that room for days. I missed you."
"You've been away for fifteen years. I don't think you could have missed me too badly after only two days."
"I did miss you, Mer. And now that I have you back in my life, I don't want to lose you."
"You won't. Will you be staying in New York for a bit with us?"
"There's rumors circulating around the crew of a possible US Senate inquiry. I might be forced to stay in the country for a while. If so, I'm probably going to be in a hotel."
I turned to my aunt. "Aunt Gwen, what's your address?"
She asked a man for a slip of paper, and Harold pulled a pen from his pocket so she could write it down for him.
"Thanks, Gwen." he folded it carefully and placed it in his pocket.
"Come visit me, please." I begged him.
"I'll try to."
"I'm going to be in a strange city, with people I've only known for days. I don't even know Aunt Gwen that well."
"It'll be fine. I'll visit as often as possible."
"Good." I hugged him tightly.
"Meredith, I've wired your parents a two days ago to let them know we're safe." Aunt Gwen said, "Also I've arranged for somebody to come meet us here when we dock."
"Who?" I asked curiously.
"You'll see when you disembark." she smiled.
I nodded and turned back towards my brother. "Have you ever been to New York before?"
"No, actually. The Titanic was the first time I've ever been on the North Atlantic route between Europe and New York. So this will be both of our first times here."
"We're Lowe's. We can do anything. We'll take this city by storm."
He chuckled. "Yes, we will."
Soon enough, the ship stopped at the pier, and first class passengers were told to prepare for disembarkation. Trina Welch, Spencer, Aunt Gwen, Iris, and myself all stuck together closely as we were all let to the gangway. As soon as the gangplank was attached, we were told we may leave. There was no pushing or shoving. Everyone was solemn and quiet as they walked one by one down the gangplank into the curious mob. I could see it was a sea of flashbulbs and spectators. As the first survivors disappeared into the crowd, I heard a barrage of reporters' questions, more flashbulbs, some crying, and some sighing of relief.
Spencer put his hand on my back, "It's our turn." he said softly, and led me down the gangplank behind my aunt, her maid, and his mother.
Strangely everything seemed like slow motion, yet at the same time it was all a blur. We stepped off the gangplank and entered the crowd.
"Miss, are you a Titanic survivor?" one man with a notebook yelled at me.
"Excuse me, sir," another yelled to Spencer, "How did you survive?"
"Ma'am, have you lost anybody?" another reported yelled to Mrs. Welch.
We all ignored the reporters and pushed our way through.
"Miss, would you please answer a few questions?" a reporter was asking me, following me with a notebook as I walked. "Miss?" he asked when I didn't respond.
"No." I answered softly.
"Please, it would only take a moment of your time-"
"She said no, alright?!" Spencer turned to him and yelled. "Now please, leave us alone. Good day." and we continued on.
We made it to the edge of the crowd to an area where hundreds of cars were parked.
"Oh, I do hope we're able to find him…" Aunt Gwen muttered worriedly.
"Find who?" I asked, and soon enough my question was answered. I saw a dark haired man approaching. His facial hair was dark and full, and he held onto the hand of a small five year old girl whose hair was also dark, and her eyes were brown like her fathers. I recognized them immediately and ran to them. "Arthie!" I threw my arms around him, and he hugged me too.
"Hello, Meredith." he smiled.
I bent down and hugged the girl. "Jenny, you've gotten bigger again I see."
"Yes. Daddy says I'm going to be tall like him one day, Auntie Merry." she responded cheerfully.
Aunt Gwen, Iris, Mrs. Welch, and Spencer joined us a few seconds later.
"Hello, Arthur, dear. How are you?" Aunt Gwen asked.
"I'm doing very well, Aunt Gwen."
"That's good. Trina, Spencer, this is my nephew, Arthur Lowe. He's Meredith's eldest brother. He's been in New Jersey with his wife and daughter for a few months now, and I've arranged for him to meet us here and drive us back to my home."
"Nice to meet you." Spencer said, stretching his hand towards him, and they shook. Mrs. Welch stayed silent.
"This is his daughter, Jenny." Aunt Gwen introduced the young girl standing beside her father, once again clutching his hand.
I bent down and picked her up as she giggled.
"Oh, Jenny, I've missed you!" I raised her up and spun around in circles.
"Auntie Merry, it's only been seven months since we moved to America." she said in the typical cute childlike voice.
"Yes, but that's much too long for me to have to not see your faces, dearie." I set her down.
"We should probably get out of here. It'll be madness trying to get out of here." Aunt Gwen announced. "I've arranged for two of my cars to be sent for us."
"They're right over here." Arthur led us to them.
Spencer, myself, Arthur, and Jenny climbed into one, and Aunt Gwen, Trina Welch, and Iris climbed into the other. We were soon on our way through the crowded New York streets.
"How long are you going to be here?" I asked my brother.
"Jenny and I are planning to leave tomorrow night. We have to return to our farm."
"Oh, yes, how is the farm?"
"We've got cows!" Jenny said excitedly which caused me to laugh.
"Cows? Really? What are they like?" I asked her.
"They're white with black spots and they eat grass and go moo!"
We all burst into laughter. I loved my little niece. I used to play with her everyday when my brother and his wife still lived in Wales.
"Arthur, how's Sarah? I haven't seen her in so long."
"She's doing well. She's befriended a lot of women in the town, so she's hopefully not too lonely with Jenny and I gone right now. And I've actually got some good news. She's pregnant." he smiled broadly.
"Oh, Arthur, that's wonderful! How far along?"
"She's about six months. We should be expecting the little one in July." he explained.
Then Jenny, smiling, said "I'm going to be a big sister!"
"You'll be a wonderful big sister, Jenny." I said assuringly.
"So who is he?" Arthur asked, pointing to Spencer.
"This is my friend, Spencer Welch. He and his mother are coming to stay with us for a bit while they recover from…" I stopped, remembering.
"The sinking?" Arthur asked, trying to finish my sentence.
I nodded.
"I lost my father and my younger brother." Spencer explained solemnly.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Arthur sounded sincere. "Meredith, you didn't lose anybody, right?"
"I made five new friends. Four of them are now dead." I replied softly, staring at my lap. "I also found Harold. He's fine. Not sure where he's going though."
"I know about that. And I think he and the crew are spending the night at a hotel for seamen here in the city. I'm going there tomorrow to have a word with him."
"May I go with?" I asked. I wished to be part of this small reunion.
"Sure. We'll go right after breakfast."
The ride to Aunt Gwen's took about a half house, but soon enough we pulled up to two tall black metal gates which were opened and we drove slowly up the driveway until we reached the house. This didn't even look like a house to me. It seemed more like a castle. The walls were grey stone and it stood about three stories high. I'd never seen a house this large back in Wales. And to think, this was going to be my new home.
We all hopped out of the car, and climbed the few steps to the front door. It was opened by a meek looking maid. "Welcome back, Ma'am." said the frail middle aged woman stepping aside as we walked in.
"Thank you, Janice." Aunt Gwen responded, and then ushered us into the sitting room. "Iris, you have a week off to recuperate."
"Thank you kindly, Ma'am." she curtsied and left.
"Janice," Aunt Gwen called and the meek maid appeared, "Please take my niece, her friend, my nephew, and his daughter upstairs to the guest rooms and help them with anything they need."
"Yes, Ma'am." Janice motioned for us all to follow her up the stairs.
Once upstairs, Janice pointed to three doors.
I picked the first, Spencer chose the one next to mine, and that left Arthur and Jenny with the third. Mrs. Welch, whenever she came up, would end up with the fourth room.
I shut the door behind me and laid down on the bed. I had nothing to unpack since I hadn't any possessions left. I had lost my journal, all my new clothes, and every item I had brought with me. I'd be starting over again in a new city with none of my old things. I was a new person. Nothing tying me to the past except for my memories now. I fell onto the bed, my face against the sheets. The silence was welcoming, but it once again sent me back to the thoughts I had attempted to push out of my mind for a bit. James, Clarissa, Adam, and Emma were all gone. No more good times laughing with Adam or Clarissa, or having heart to heart discussions with Emma. And no more secret meetings with James that would make my heart flutter wildly. I began to cry at the thought.
The door was opened and Janice entered, noticing my tears, "Oh, dear, Miss. I'm sorry. I'll just leave you be. I brought you some extra blankets, and I came to see if you were in need of anything. Anything I can do for you before I go?"
I still had my face pressed into the sheets, so my reply came out muffled. "No, I'm fine. Thank you."
I heard the door slowly shutting when I popped my head up and called, "Janice! Wait!"
The door opened fully again. "Yes, Miss?"
I wiped at my tears with the palms of my hands. "Could you ask that young man in the room beside mine to come here for a minute. I wish to speak to him."
"Surely." Janice answered and then left.
I didn't want to be alone right now. I needed someone to be here. Even if we didn't speak. Just having somebody sit here who was in the same, if not worse, pain than I was.
"She wishes to speak to you, Sir." I heard Janice whisper outside my door, and the light coming from the hallway was once again blocked by a body. I looked to see Spencer standing in my doorway. His eyes were puffy and he looked like he'd been crying just as heavily as I was now.
Without speaking, he approached me, and sat down on the side of my bed. I swung my legs around to the side of the bed and sat beside him.
He wrapped his arms around me, and began to cry on my shoulder. He was hurting, and this was something I understood all too well at the moment. We shared a sort of silent understanding. I knew his pain, and he knew mine. I wished with every piece of me that I could take it away.
"Meredith…" he said softly and lifted his head off my shoulder to look at me.
"Yes?" I turned my face to him.
"You're pretty much all I have right now." I was silent as he went on, "I don't have my father. I don't have my brother. I don't have a wife or children. My mother is probably never going to be the same as she was. All of my other family is way too far away. I didn't have too many close friends. I've felt pretty alone these past few days. Except for when I've been with you. I don't feel so alone. You're my best friend, Mer. You're all I got."
"You're my best friend too, Spence. I'm in a completely new place with completely new people. And I feel like out of everybody, you probably understand me best. Nobody else in this house knows me like you do."
"Please don't leave me alone, Mer. I can't stand to be alone." I could feel his hold on me tighten.
"I won't leave you alone, Spencer. You can stay in here if you'd like. You can take the bed and I'll sleep in the chair in the corner."
"No, I'll take the chair. I'm the gentleman, and that's where I want to be. I'm just happy to not be alone tonight." he kissed me on the cheek. "By the way, that was a friendly kiss. In case you were wondering." he smiled innocently.
I smiled back. "Now let's get some sleep." He went over to the chair. I made sure the door was wide open so it would in no way seem improper. I took one of the extra blankets Janice had brought in for me and I draped it over him. He was seemingly asleep, but I saw his eyelids open slightly and then quickly close as he saw me looking at him. He was awake, and just pretending.
I went to my bed and pulled back the sheets gingerly before crawling between them. It felt so good to lay down again. It wasn't long before I fell fast asleep.
Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than the others. They are all now in New York at Aunt Gwen's house. Arthur is Meredith's oldest brother, as was mentioned, and Jenny is his daughter. In case anyone missed that. Thank you for reading chapter 9. Chapter 10 will be up as soon as I finish writing it. Please review. It'll make me very happy. Thanks. -Kell.