Disclaimer: Quotes in italics are from Charles Dickens' A tale of Two Cities and Samuel Beckett. Samuel was only 6 years old in 1912, but we won't let miner details get in the way of a good story.
###
A Titanic Tale - Chapter 2
By 7 am the following morning, the McInerneys couldn't wait to get out of their cabin. It had been a trying night. Mrs. McInerney complained the whole time, as if complaining would miraculously improve her situation. Shane had had enough.
She decided she was going to spend the entire day out of the stinky cabin and there was no way anyone would convince her otherwise. Alex had already left the room. Her mother was no invalid, so she could look after herself.
Shane suspected Alex had found a crowd to play poker with. As long as she wasn't gambling away the little money they had, Shane didn't care what she did. She picked up a few books, put them in a bag and made her way out.
She found a reclining chair near some of the lifeboats. It wasn't the prettiest of areas, but it was somewhat sheltered from the northerly wind and lower temperatures.
She picked up "A Tale of Two Cities". "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…"
Shane wondered why she identified so much with the opening phrases of the book. She did feel tremendous hope moving to America to start over, but she also felt defeated in some ways.
By the time her mother was her age, she already had two daughters and a stable marriage.
She had hoped Steve was the one. She did love him, at least for a while, until she realised she couldn't compete with his job. Steve was already married to his career as the political editor of the Irish Times, the biggest and oldest newspaper in Ireland. She was always going to come second in his life. She felt sad. He had asked her to stay, but she knew even if she agreed to stay and marry him, she'd be a lonely, unfulfilled woman. No! She was convinced she had done the right thing. He didn't fight for her like a man in love. He simply let her go without a fight.
"Good morning." She jumped up in her seat.
"Mr. O'Toole! You've got to stop doing this."
"Doing what?" Oliver dragged a reclining chair next to her and sat down.
"You scared me."
"Did I? Why?"
She shook her head. "No, I mean, you didn't scare me. I was just… far away… reminiscing."
"Reminiscing about what?"
"Well, you know, this and that."
"No, I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"
She looked at his beautiful blue eyes and remembered his promise. "No, no, no, no, no!" She said, shaking her finger. "I have your promise that you would tell me about yourself today."
He laughed. "I didn't promise you that."
"Yes you did."
"I promised I'd answer your questions but I didn't say when."
"Minor details, Mr. O'Toole! C'mon! You need to keep your end of the bargain."
He smiled at her. "I can see your curiosity is eating you alive."
"Yes! It is, but enough about me. Please tell me why you're going to New York without your wife."
He breathed in and out deeply, and then he looked at her sadly. "Because she's already in New York."
"How's that possible?"
"She left me, Miss McInerney. She left a message on our dining table one day, which I found when I came home from work. It said she couldn't stand her boring life anymore and she was tired of being married to a government official. She was going to New York, as that city was the only exciting place for her."
"Oh Mr. O'Toole, I'm so sorry." She touched his forearm. He looked at her hand and she quickly moved it, as though it was burning.
"How long ago was that?"
"Two years in June."
"Have you heard from her?"
"No! Not yet."
"Are you hoping to find her in New York?"
"I am. But honestly I don't know if I want to reconcile with her anymore. It has been so long. I've been waiting for answers for so long. Now I just wonder if God has somebody else out there meant for me instead of Holly."
He looked at her with his piercing blue eyes. She blushed.
"God is not cruel, Mr. O'Toole. Sometimes we go through what we go through because of poor choices we make in life. What we go through may not always be God's plans for us. It may just be consequences of our own actions, of the choices we make."
"That's true. But I also believe God works a lot with what he has. He makes his plans work despite our choices and actions."
"Absolutely! I agree. So, what are you going to do?"
Oliver looked out to sea and nodded, as if he had made a decision. "I'm going to try my best to find her and see where our marriage stands. I have a lot of questions that need answers. I won't be going blind, Miss McInerney. I have done that once already. I won't be doing that again."
"Well, I wish you luck, but let me return you the favour. I think Holly is an idiot."
"You do?"
"Yes, I do. We should introduce Holly to Steve. They would get on like a house on fire."
He smiled at her. "You're amazing, Miss McInerney. Whatever happens, I'm glad to have met you. I hope you find somebody better than Steve."
"Oh, me too. In fact, I'll be starting interviews for the position very soon."
It was obvious Shane was done with the serious talk and she wanted to lighten the mood.
"Oh you do, do you?"
"Indeed, I can distract them while you inspect their bank accounts."
He laughed. "Me? Why should I get involved?"
"Well, you just said you wanted the best for me, didn't you?"
"I did, but that doesn't mean I want to do any work. I just want to sit here and watch them fight over you."
She laughed. She then looked one way and then the other. "I think you'll be sitting here for a long time. I don't know if you've noticed, but there isn't a line of candidates forming to fight over me."
He then looked both ways. "Well, they are all idiots."
They both laughed. "Well, maybe there are simply no available men left. I might have to reserve a 12 year old now and wait for 15 years."
"Well, maybe you can reserve somebody now and wait 6 months."
They looked at each other. No words seemed necessary. Oh Oliver, I would wait for you a lot longer than that, she thought and felt heat creeping up her face. How was it possible she was already so infatuated with him that she was fantasising about a future with him? She had known him for less than 24 hours, for goodness sake! She thought to herself, irritated.
Oliver cleared his throat and asked. "What are you reading?"
"A Tale of Two Cities."
"Good choice. What else have you got?"
She opened the bag and showed him the books. "Our Mutual Friend", and "Mansfield Park."
"Oh no, not "Mansfield Park".
"What? Don't you like Jane Austen?"
"I don't dislike Austen, but I'll take Dickens every day of the week."
"Yeah! I'd take you to be a Dickens man as well. "Our Mutual Friend" it is then." She grabbed the book and extended it to him.
He grabbed it. His fingers touched her hand lightly in the process. They both felt the jolt of electricity. She gasped and looked at him. He stared at her.
"Oh there you are!" Alex said, breaking up the charged moment and grabbing a chair to sit in next to Shane. Both Shane and Oliver looked as if they had been caught doing something naughty.
"I can see you're making friends." She winked at Shane.
"We're just reading Alex. Would you like a book? I have "Mansfield Park". Shane said trying to hide her annoyance.
"Oh God, no. Spare me!" She got up again. "It's too cold out here. I'm going inside." Without waiting for a reply, she disappeared through the double doors.
Oliver looked puzzled. "How are you and your sister so different from each other?"
"I don't know. We just are."
"Shall we get a cup of coffee to warm ourselves a little, Miss McInerney? Then we can come back here or stay inside where it's warmer."
She smiled at him. "Yes, let's do that."
Being with him seemed to be the most natural thing in the world, as if they were old friends and this was just another day. Going for coffee was just another comfortable, common occurrence in their daily routine. Once again, Shane wondered how they had gotten so accustomed to each other so quickly.
###
Inside they met with Joe, Sharon and Alex who were sharing a table. Joe and Sharon seemed to be getting along well. They didn't seem to notice anybody around them. The only one fidgeting was Alex.
Shane and Oliver walked to the tea and coffee station. The coffee was definitely not the best, but it was hot. Shane was immediately, in a most natural fashion, helping Oliver with adding sugar and milk to his cup. He didn't seem to think this was wrong or unusual. They laughed together all the time. They looked like an old established couple. They returned to the table.
Alex had left again, only God knew where to, and Sharon and Joe were deep in conversation. Oliver leaned over and whispered in Shane's ear. "I think our parents like each other."
She shivered with his mouth so close to her, but she composed herself quickly. She smiled and whispered back. "Well, they are free. Why not?"
He nodded. They opened their books, but reading proved to be a lot harder than they anticipated. They kept glancing at each other and often caught themselves looking at each other. Eventually Oliver closed his book. "Miss McInerney, would you like to go for a stroll around the deck?"
"I'd love to, Mr. O'Toole."
He offered her his arm and she held on to it. Outside, the wind had picked up a bit more. She adjusted her coat collar and snuggled a little closer to him.
He grabbed her hand resting on his forearm and started caressing the back or her hand, her palm, her fingers and feeling for her pulse. His touch was wonderful and making her daydream about things she had no business dreaming about.
Shane was having trouble focusing on anything. She needed to do something, say something to bring both of them out of this predicament. There was no better topic than his wife.
"Mr. O'Toole, tell me about your wife."
He stopped walking. "Why do you want to know about Holly?"
"Well, she's part of you… and I'm kind of… fascinated… by you... and your dad... of course"
He raised his eyebrows; he smiled and then looked at her intently, as if trying to decipher a code. Then he started walking again. He kept hold of her hand. "She's a beautiful woman; 25 years old… like you. She's smart and sweet... when she wants to be."
"How did you two meet?"
"I met her when I was delivering a letter in a remote village. Her horse had thrown a shoe and she was stranded in the rain, in freezing temperatures. She'd have died if I hadn't come to her rescue. I put her in my postal carriage and kept her warm until she felt better. I was infatuated with Holly immediately."
"Do you still love her?"
Again he looked at her piercingly. "When a man is abandoned by his wife, his love for her takes a hit, Miss McInerney. I need to find her, not necessarily because I still love her, but because my life is on hold until I do."
She nodded. "How long were you married for?"
"8 months." He sounded bitter.
"How long did you court her before you married her?"
He looked down and seemed embarrassed. "Not long enough."
Shane understood the implication of his statement. However, she smiled at him and tried to lift his spirits. "Ever tried. Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." "Samuel Beckett!" They both said at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled. She dropped the subject of Holly.
They spent the entire day together. Reading and quoting authors, they realised, coincidentally but not surprisingly, they loved the same ones. They continued walking the deck, eating, and drinking substandard coffee until quite late into the evening when they had no other option than retire to their separate cabins for the night.
They would arrive at Southampton the following day and board the RMS Titanic, which was beckoning them to follow their destiny.
