I don't understand why Jack has been so bored the past couple of days. He's been just sitting around and watching television. Has he really seen all there is to see on this ship? This ship is absolutely huge! He probably didn't even get to see half of the original Titanic, and now he's turning down the chance to get to see it all? Well, I probably shouldn't be talking too much, I haven't exactly been touring the ship every single day like I used to do. No, I've been doing the exact same thing for days.
At the start of my day, I get up before Jack and go down to the dining saloon to get some breakfast. Usually at breakfast James is there, but once or twice he hasn't been. In that case, I ate with whomever invited me to their table first. All in all, there are some very charming and witty people on this ship, a pleasant change from the deranged lunatics who keep badgering me for autographs and photos and my underwear. Yes, I've had a girl ask if they could have my underwear! I told them no, and then proceeded to slip away when they weren't looking.
After breakfast, I would go to the third class area on the deck. Much like the original Titanic, this place is always packed! Children running around, ducking under benches and hiding behind poles while the adults all sat around, talking with each other or doing other activities. There was a piano there, and my new found friend Madeleine played ragtime tunes on it all day long. I would sit on the bench closest to her and while she played we'd talk to each other about all kinds of things! I never felt I could open up to anyone like I opened up to her!
Yesterday was our last day together though, today we're docking in New York and we have to go our separate ways. She wrote down her address for me, saying "Write to me". When I get settled down someplace write I shall! I wonder if mail travels faster in 2016, I hope it does! I don't think I have a romantic future ahead of me with Madeleine, I'll never do that to Helen, but she's still a very good friend.
"Thomas, have you ever been to New York?" Jack asks me as he drags his suitcase out of his bedroom. I nod "I was there for a little while after Olympic's maiden voyage. I didn't really sight see, I stayed on my ship. Have you?" I asked. He nods "Lots of times! I bet it's really different now! But I've seen the Statue of Liberty more times than I can count, and I believe it'll still be there waiting for us! Come on, let's go up on deck and see!" he says.
The two of us walk up to the boat deck, where everybody on this ship must be! They're all looking at New York, cheering wildly and yelling at the people who are on shore. We manage to push our way to the railing, the Statue of Liberty is still there just as it was before! However, the city that greets us is much different than what once was. For starters, the buildings are absolutely huge! All of them hundreds of feet above our ship! My grand ship, the largest moving object in 1912, is dwarfed by the city! And there are other ships in the harbor that are just as big as my ship, one looks even bigger! How could that possibly be so?
As we get closer to the dock, people on shore begin yelling louder and louder. Is every citizen of the city standing there? I can't even see the street there are so many people! Cameras flash, and people hold up banners that say 'Welcome Titanic'. There are people with megaphones yelling questions from barges in the harbor. I watch as we pass by Ellis Island, don't immigrants have to go there anymore? Well it's probably for the best that they don't have to, I didn't like the looks of that place when I first laid eyes on it in 1911.
"Mr. Thomas Andrews and Mr. John Phillips please disembark immediately after the ship docks!" someone orders over a megaphone. I can't help but shake my head, of course we're not going to disembark immediately when the ship docks. Do they think us to be stupid? We'll be mobbed! And besides, we have to wait for the delinquent! She has to stay on the ship with the rest of the crew until everybody is off the ship! As the ship begins docking I grab Jack and we push our way back inside, heading back down to our stateroom. It's rather quiet in the hallways now, which is a relief! It means we're officially safe, for now!
Back in our stateroom, I begin getting the animals ready to get off the ship. Killian is easy enough, I just clip his leash on, and Ramin is even easier than that! I just have to set his cage next to our things! Thomas however, puts up a hell of a fight, and a chase, before letting me stuff him into his carrier. And once he's in there he meows pitifully, I won't fall for his tricks again though! He's in that cage and he's staying there!
As we get the last of our things ready to go James comes in the room "Well Thomas, Jack, did you enjoy your maiden voyage on the new Titanic?" he asks. Jack nods "Was much more enjoyable than the first voyage that's for sure!" he says cheerfully. We talk for a few more minutes before he tells us he has to go speak with the press. With a final few goodbyes he disappears down the first class corridor, and leaves us to go look for our delinquent.
Jack and I head down to her cabin, only to find the door wide open but with no delinquent in sight. That's odd, we continue our search. She's not on this deck at all, we comb through a few more decks before we finally hear something coming from the third class general room. Opening the door, we're met by the wildest, yet most historically accurate, party I've ever seen in my entire life! It's like those parties I used to hear about the third class throwing on the original Titanic, with the music and everything! The only thing different here is, it's not the steerage passengers that are partying, it's the crew!
The ruffian stands up on a table, a beer bottle in her hand "Oh my GOD! Look who decided to show up!" she calls. Everybody in the room cheers excitedly and suddenly I regret coming in here! But maybe it won't be so bad, I mean, at least the music is lively! Jack is immediately swept onto the dance floor by his half drunken fiance and I manage to slip over to a table where some boys are playing a round of poker. One of their players however is taken away from the game by a blonde maid. They look to me "Mr. Andrews, how about a round or two?" they ask me, what have I got to lose? I sit down "Let me show you boys how a real man plays" I tell them.
I must say, I'm thoroughly enjoying myself. The whole atmosphere is lively, yet relaxed at the same time. I manage to win a few games of poker before the boys decide to switch to arm wrestling. I decide not to partake in that, mostly because my shoulder is still healing and I'd rather not hurt it again. I scan the crowd and see Jack and the ruffian sitting at a table across the room. Well, Jack's sitting at the table, the delinquent is sitting on his lap kissing him passionately. I roll my eyes, they need to get a room! If they take things a step farther their clothing will be flying off!
Oh my dirty mind, I've been hanging around these modern people for too long. They've put my perfectly innocent thoughts right into the gutter. I remember when I used to think about boat davits, and what I was going to have for dinner! I'm drawn out of my thoughts by someone tapping me on the shoulder "Tommie, when did you show up?" they ask. Oh thank goodness! It's Madeleine! I smile at her "Not too long ago, Jack and I came to see if his fiance was ready to get off the ship, I can see she's not" I tell her. She looks over at them and laughs "Oh, well let them have their fun. Here, you want to dance?" she asks. I take her hand "I should be the one asking you to dance" I tell her. Once again she giggles "This is the 21st century you know, things are a little different". I make a mock shocked face "Really? I had absolutely no idea!" I tell her.
She gives me a funny look "How much have you had to drink?" she asks me. I think for a moment, that poker game was all sort of a blur because I was really determined to win, I'm pretty sure I only drank a bottle though! Maybe that's why my mind is a little bit off. I begin leading Madeleine around the dance floor in time to the music "Why aren't you guys listening to 'modern music'?" I ask her curiously as we dance. She shrugs "Well because it's more fun to have a live band! And this music is easier to dance to than the stuff in first class" she explains. Oh, well I suppose that makes sense!
Who knows how much time passed, but by the time the crew have finished their party and have picked up the mess, it's dark out! Gabby and Jack stumble alongside me as we disembark down the ramp. There's not a soul around the harbor at this hour waiting for us! Even though I'm sure she's drunk out of her mind, she manages to get a taxi and tell them where to take us. When we arrive at the hotel she tells us to stand near the door with our luggage while she gets a room. Jack looks to be falling asleep on his feet, and his speech is slightly slurred as he says "This place is nice ain't it?". I merely nod and say "Yes Jack, it's lovely".
Finally she returns and we head up to the room. I'm not drunk, not as drunk as Gabby and Jack though. Looking at the clock on the wall in our room, it's nearly 2 in the morning! Gabby flops onto the bed "I think Imma go to sleep now" she tells us. Jack nods and hops into bed with her, I clear my throat and he whines "Oh come on Thomas! We aren't going to do anything I swear!" he tells me, holding his hands up. I don't really believe him for some reason, but considering the girl is already knocked out, I suppose they probably won't do anything tonight.
I take my shoes off, but don't bother changing any further than that, I'm too exhausted to unpack my suitcase and look for sleepwear! Crawling under the covers, I'm just about to drift off to sleep when Killian jumps on me and decides to curl up on top of me. Alright, that's fine I suppose. I begin drifting off again but then Thomas the cat jumps up onto my bed, gets on my head, and begins clawing my scalp. I sigh, I'm really not in the mood to deal with this. Ignoring the cat tearing my head apart, I finally manage to fall asleep. I just hope the hotel doesn't charge us extra over the bloodstained pillows.
Short chapter for 2 important reasons. One, my wifi is being completely unreasonable and stops working every other minute. And the second being, today is a very, very important day. It's the 1 year anniversary of an event simply known as 'The Flood'. Now you're probably wondering what exactly 'The Flood' is, well, I'll tell you!
Basically, 1 year ago today, Hurricane Irene swept through the eastern United States. I'm sure you heard about it, but what you probably didn't hear about was the chaos and destruction it caused to upstate New York, which is where I live. The hurricane caused the creek that runs through our valley to flood, and this is what destroyed the place that I live. Now, let me give you a few facts.
-After the flood, there was $30 million worth of damage in my town alone. And this isn't exactly what you'd call a big town either. This town is so small, if you blink you just might miss it! Right after the 'now entering' sign is a sign that says 'now leaving'. No joke!
-Why so much damage? Well, 80% of the town was under 4-8 feet of water during the flood
-Many homes were completely swept away, and my mom just admitted to me today that she loaned a friend of hers WW1 diaries hand written by my great grandfather, with drawings and everything. Museum worthy pieces, well that guy's house got swept down the creek and the diaries were lost. They were priceless and cannot be replaced, similar things happened to other people.
-A historic landmark, the Old Blenheim Bridge, which had the longest span of any surviving single-span covered bridge in the world, was completely wiped away in the flood. This bridge was also one of only 6 of it's kind, having 2 lanes in it.
Now why are we celebrating today, I mean, that sounds like a horrible tragedy! Well for starters, nobody died! Huzzah! And the other reason we're celebrating is, well everybody is still here! All the businesses in town have reopened or are in the process of reopening. We've pulled through the crisis, and everything is almost back to normal when we were all so sure, that things would never ever be the same again! Of course, there are some things that will never be the same. Houses that were torn down, priceless things that can never be gotten back. But those are material things, we still have each other, and in fact the flood helped us all join together and we've become an incredibly close, tight knit community! So, that is why we celebrate today!
As always, please review! Today in the gift shop we have a remote control Titanic (The 1912 version). You can drive it in your pool, your lake, the ocean, where ever the heck you wanna drive it! But you only get one if you review! SO DO IT PEOPLEZ! Or don't, whatever makes you happy! Thanks for Reading! And thank you for your patience! Due to the whole wifi thing, new chapters will take a little longer than usual!