April 10th, 1912 - 4:45pm
Melinda and Katherine left the deck just after James came up for some fresh air as the Titanic had made its last stop off the coast of Queenstown, Ireland.
"I can see the Statue of Liberty already," James told them before stepping away from the railing. "It's very small of course," he added with a laugh.
James was from New York. That reminded her of when her sister had begun to tell her about the man she was falling in love with a few years ago. He'd come to England for school and had blown her sister away with his knowledge and love for books. Melinda was the librarian at his favorite place to study, mostly because then James got to see her. There was always a twinkle in her sister's eye when she'd said that to her.
Melinda and James married a year after they begun to see each other. When their mother died, Katherine, who was only fourteen at the time had moved to live with them.
"Katherine?" James' voice pulled her away from her thoughts. "Where did you go?"
"Nowhere," she whispered, shaking her head. "Don't worry."
James knew about all of this, of course, he was there. Melinda was his wife, after all. Neither of them talked about their mother much, but he just understood.
They followed the wave of our fellow third-class passengers to the lower decks. She learned that there were over a thousand of us, just traveling in third class. She couldn't imagine how many people the ship was carrying total. This ship was massive, there had to be at least a few thousand.
"Should we try and find something to eat?" He paused for a moment as he thought. "I heard some people talking. There's a bit of a get together in the general room. People celebrating."
"Well, let's go celebrate," Melinda said to him eagerly, ready to do something fun.
Navigating through the halls was nothing short of daunting. The passageway was extremely narrow with people littering both sides of it, trying to move their parties inside their cabins. The general room was full of people ranging from lone travelers to young couples to full families, the children chasing each other and playing games at their parents' feet. People from nearly every edge of Europe crowded in the inside of this ship.
And she could hear it in the confusing hodgepodge of accents and saw it in the host of differing features. As she was sweeping the crowd in front of her, she eyes caught on to a man staring at her and he grinned once he saw she'd noticed. The man was tall with wild red hair and a scruffy beard. Her heartbeat picked up just a bit when he started to make his way towards her, two tall glasses of amber liquid in his hands.
She didn't know what to say. She was almost old enough to drink. Almost. Her eighteen birthday was in the summer months.
Katherine looked at James over her shoulder and saw he'd noticed the man's advances as well, he crossed his arms over his chest and she rolled her eyes at his response. He was like her father, sometimes. Melinda distracted him was usually about to distract him before he got too involved, this time she positioned him to sit down on a stack of boxes as she claimed his lips in a kiss.
The man smiled when he finally made it to her, handing him one of the glasses and she just eyed it distrustfully once it's in her grasp. "Hello, miss." His accent was thick, Irish. "The name's Daniel."
"Hello. Is this any good?" The man was kind of handsome she supposed but in a lazy sort of way. It looked as if he just threw his clothes onto his frame and ran his fingers through his hair when he got dressed this morning, declaring himself ready for the day.
"Is that a French accent I hear?" He asked, nodding to the drink. "Try it. My thoughts won't do you any good."
"It sure is," she blushed, taking a small sip. It was good, not her favorite but definitely good. "It's good!"
"Tell me, how is it there in France? My mum was from Paris, but she met my pop and never looked back." He shrugged, finding a few boxes to pull over for them all to sit on. "Is it like everyone says?"
She hesitated for a minute. Knowing that Paris wasn't perfect, but she didn't want to smash the dream he's probably had for years since his mother mentioned the beautiful city to him. "It's beautiful, crowded… but very beautiful," Once she saw the simple, happy smile that graced his features Katherine knew she'd said the right thing. "You should definitely go see it one day." She took another sip of the beer in her hand.
"Are you harassing this lovely lady, Danny?" Another man came from behind him and threw an arm around his shoulders and she could hear Daniel groan even over the noise in the room.
His friend was conventionally attractive and she could tell he knew it by the smug smile on his face. He had bronze hair and from what she could see, his eyes were as blue as the ocean.
"Feel free to walk away at any time," Daniel said to her.
"Don't scare her away now," the bronze haired man said happily.
"Oh trust me, if she's still around now this girl is tough as nails," Daniel smirked at me and she could hear James snort from her side.
"Like her sister!" James shouted with a laugh, raising his own beer in agreement. Melinda immediately swatted him from where she sat on his lap before playfully kissing his cheek. "Aye! Watch the beer…:
"I'm Henry," the other finally said, reaching a hand out to Katie. "You'll find that I'm much better looking than my friend here."
"Yes and much more married." At the exact time Daniel chose to say this, Katherine was taking another sip of the beer and choked on it. Even if she had only known this bronze haired man for a few seconds, she would never have guessed this development.
"Annie knew what she was getting herself into," Henry guffawed. "She also knows that she has my heart."
"Yes, my little sister is obviously a little messed up in the head to willingly deal with this." Daniel gestured to Henry, but his words were directed at her. Neither of them looked crossed or annoyed so she could tell that this banter was something that the two had to share quite often.
They stayed in the general room for a few more hours. Eventually, James abandoned his overprotective attitude and stopped standing like a soldier over her shoulder when her sister wanted to dance.
She grinned once she noticed he had finally loosened up. Katherine met Annie, Henry's wife and she was just the polar opposite of her husband. Quiet and reserved where her husband was boisterous. Her hair was a softer red than her brother's and her eyes were blue like her husband's. Her frame was slight, making the small bump of her belly stand out even more. She's pregnant with her and Henry's first child.
She met back up with Melinda and James after at least half an hour to say she was going to go up to get some air.
Melinda noticed the change in her disposition, but she waved her protective sister off and made her way towards the door of the general room. She knew her sister could tell something's wrong, but she just stared at Melinda, pleading silently with her eyes that she just needed some time alone, some space to get her thoughts together. When Melinda finally nodded as she understood, Katherine sighed a breath of relief.
The hallway was much less crowded than it was a few hours ago and Katie was thankful for that. But it still felt stuffy and as if the hall got narrower the farther she traveled down it. Katherine was not sure exactly when or how she ended up back on the deck, but this time she was near the stern of the ship. It's dark out, so it's completely deserted.
She was grateful for the silence and the ocean air. Katie wrapped her fingers around the railing and for the first time, she noticed that her heart was racing and no matter how many breaths she tried to take in, it didn't slow. She realized the deep breaths she thought she was taking in resembled hyperventilating more than anything.
She couldn't stop thinking of the last thing her mother had said to her. She never lost hope watching her lay there in bed even as she got worse. She held her hand when the pains of coughing would attack her body and she hugged her when she cried because the fever hurt so much.
She could see it in her eyes that her mother knew that she wasn't going to survive this. She tried to be strong and felt her mother brush away her tears as if it were still that day.
"My always beautiful little girl," her mother had choked out as she smiled at her. Her soft hand touched her face and cupped her cheek. "I love you so much, Katherine." Melinda was by her other side and their mother turned her older sister. "Take care of her for me… she'll need you."
Melinda nodded and kissed her warm hands, but by the time they both looked back up, she was gone. At first, neither of them broke down, not right away. They both went up to the roof and had a cigarette with James. He tried to talk to Melinda, to comfort her, but she just brushed him off. Katherine went to the lege. She'd thought about jumping, but she'd gone back to the apartment before she'd done anything too rash.
Katherine didn't break down until a few days later when she came home and her sister wasn't there to help her through the day with one of her bright smiles. She went back up to the roof that day trying to get away from that feeling, but she couldn't shake it.
Her eyes burned from the tears and her face was red and she just remembered pacing up and down the length of the roof wishing that it was her. She should've died, not their mother.
She felt all of that now and brushed her fingers over the locket on her neck. She knew inside there was a picture of her father. She wished she could really see him again. To talk to him.
She was only six when he died. She was fourteen when her mother died. Melinda had been twenty.
Looking over the edge of the railing, Katie didn't know why but she could finally feel my heartbeat slow. She thought of her parents and how peaceful it would be to join them again until someone bumped into her and startled her.
Supper was a horrible experience for Ned. Not the food itself, of course, as he was served ten courses, each one delicious. But the social aspect of supper was terrible.
Ned and his mother were seated with several other rich families of all shapes and sizes. His mother seemed to especially perk up when they met a family with a daughter who was near his age.
Her name was Claire. He supposed she was pretty and she was even kind, but he couldn't find himself attracted to her at all. His mother had him sit next to her during dinner. He tried to make conversation with her, but she hardly responded. Maybe she was shy or was nervous.
He could understand that. He was nervous about saying the wrong thing. No one would never guess that just a few short months ago his mother wasn't even part of the upper class. She fit right in like she'd always been one of them. She proudly spoke of her plans and conveniently omitted his father's previous bakery business.
Ned felt his anger rise upon the realization of just how ashamed of their old life and his father, his mother really was.
After some time, the men rose from their seats. Claire's father looked at him and invited him to join them for some brandy and a smoke. Ned cast a side glance at his mother who begged him to accept with her eyes.
He happily agreed and found himself in a hazy, dimly lit room. The men, with their fine suits and bulging bellies, began discussing politics, a subject he never had any interest in.
However, Ned decided to listen and learn as much as he could. With a future in business, he assumed it would not be very productive to be completely ignorant on the subject. He truly tried to pay attention. He was able to for a little while until they began to talk about how they took whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it.
Then he found himself thinking about being on the top deck. He wished he could feel the wind in his hair and smell the salt in the air. He wished to hear the waves rushing by as the ship sped toward New York.
Ned couldn't wait any longer.
He begged the gentlemen's pardons, claiming he was feeling ill. That seemed to be a believable excuse. Seasickness was fairly common. The gentlemen all nodded their heads at him and wished that he feel better as he made my way to the top deck.
Once Ned was on the top deck again, he took a deep breath of the salty frigidaire, riding his nose and lungs of the cigar smoke and smell of brandy. He made his way to the stern when he noticed a scene playing out before him.
It was that same beautiful girl he'd seen earlier, in the same green dress. He watched as a man walked toward her, obviously inebriated. The man bumped into her and she gasped, walking away from him. "You should watch where you're going, sir..." Her voice was soft when she spoke. The man grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. "Let go of me!" He could hear her voice wavering and see her lips trembling. He didn't notice until now that she was crying.
"I'm not being that rough with you, stop yellin'!" The man turned her around and his smile grew as he looked over her.
Ned knew that voice. He was the right-hand man to Mr. Williams, Marvel, his eldest step-son."You're a beautiful young lady," the man moved her away from the railing and leaned her up against the railing. His hands moved over her waist. "You must be a very curious girl. To wander up to this deck at night by yourself, so far away from your kind." A sly smile crossed over his lips when he looked at her.
"What exactly is my kind?" She spat back, his hands moved up to her neck, squeezing just enough to startle her.
"Oh, you know, third class." The man spat out the word like he was swearing at her. He pulled her closer to him, biting his lip as he looked over her. "Shouldn't you be below deck with the rats?"
"I'd rather be with the rats than any man like you." She replied, spitting in his face and shoving him away from her.
Ned nearly laughed out loud, but instead, urged himself to get closer. He had to do something. "Hey! Leave her alone," he yelled and Marvel turned to see him.
His face almost brightened, happy to see a familiar face as he wiped the spit off his face. Marvel rose an eyebrow but turned his gaze back to Katherine. "What is it, Ned? She's vermin and she knows it." He rose a hand to her face, but hovered it there near her cheek, not actually touching her. "You should learn to watch your mouth, bitch. You wouldn't want me to ruin that pretty face of yours, now would you?" He shoved away from the railing and fixed his coat as he spat on the ground. "Thanks for nothing, Ned."
The girl looked like she wanted to take the opportunity to slip away. She was shaking, tears freely rolling down her cheeks. Her hair had come loose from her braid and she flinched as he went to touch her forearm. "What are you doing?" She gasped, her eyes filling with fear. "Who are you?"
He retracted his hand immediately and stepped back. "I am so sorry. I just wanted to see if you were alright." He sighed, leaning against the railing.
"Rubbing up with the third class, are we Banks?" Marvel chuckled as he lit the tip of his cigarette.
But with one look from Ned, Marvel slithered away as well.
"Marvel… can be, well… Marvel." He huffed and turned back to look at Katherine. "Are you alright?"
"You saw all that?" She tried to catch her breath and walked over toward the railing. She looked out onto the water and sighed.
"Yes," he whispered, touching her shaking shoulders.
He couldn't blame her, especially after what he'd just saw happen to her, but he didn't want her to leave.
It's then that the girl turned her head around and her eyes finally meet his. They're different at night, dark brown pools that he could fall into instead of warm, honeycombs in the light. She let out another breath and faced the water once again. "Yes, I'm fine," she replied and nodded. "Just leave me be. You don't even know me..."
"I can't. I'm involved now. I saw what he did," he said, squeezing her hand. He may mean well but his presence was serving no purpose but to grate on her nerves. The quiet serenity she once felt up here was gone. "I'm sorry. No man should treat a woman like that. That's what my father taught me."
"I don't think it's the best idea or us to be alone like this," she whispered, shaking her head. "I'm not one of your kind like your friend said."
"Marvel is no friend of mine and I am not concerned about that, miss," Ned reassured her and rubbed his hand on her shoulders as her skin pebbled. "Are you cold?"
"You should be worried," she corrected him and looked over at him. "What if someone saw us? I suppose I'm a little chilly."
He unbuttoned his coat and placed it around her. "Why would I care about that?" He asked, chuckling. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pleated pants. That would keep them warm for now. "To tell you the truth, I'm a lot more concerned about if you're actually okay because you still haven't answered my question." She didn't reply. Her eyes were still focused on his hand that sat on top of her shoulder. "Have you ever been up in the mountains? It's just a drive from London. They have some of the coldest winters up there." He explained, chuckling as he looked out at the water. "I went there with my father, some of the best memories I have."
"Your father?" She asked, finally turning around to look up at him. "Was he kind like you?"
"Yes, he was. Would you like to hear more about him?" He replied. She didn't know why, but she nodded anyway. "He was a baker. Not professionally, but I'm sure if he had his way he would have been. I'm the youngest of three boys and once my brothers grew up and moved away, we got really close. Even before that though, I've always wanted to be like him so I attempted to bake a batch of his favorite bread. I burned it black." He laughed at himself. "But he said it still tasted the best. He was a great man."
There's only one word she latched onto through was his anecdote, however. Was. "When did he die?" She asked, turning back around to hold onto the railing. She wanted to jump. She wanted to.
"About two years ago," he said.
A beat passed before she chose to speak again. "My dad died when I was very young."
"I'm sorry to hear that," he whispered.
"My mum as well, but after. I was older, but it still hurt just the same," she said. "I miss them. Sometimes I think about going to be with them…"
"What was her name?" He asked.
"Elizabeth," she touched her locket, bringing it to her lips.
"That's a beautiful name," he said. "But do you really think that what your parents would want you to hurt yourself?"
"I'm not sure what they'd want me to do." She whispered.
"They'd probably want you to live. So there's someone left to remember them." He reassured her. "So you can make the most of your chance at life." She was silent for a long time and she realized she'd forgotten about his hand holding hers until he squeezed them in his grasp. "What's your name?"
"Katherine," she looked up at him again, almost feeling good enough to let go of his warm hands. "What's yours?"
"Nice to meet you, Katherine." His voice was softer, in her ear. "I'm Ned."
"It was nice to meet you," Katherine let go his hands and he resettled his hand on her arm and put the other around her waist. "Would you like to walk about the boat?"
"I would love to," he said before he carefully moved his coat around her shoulders. "After you, miss."
Her heart was racing again but for a completely different reason. One she'd never come across before.
"Thank you, Ned." She whispered and pulled his coat around her.