Chapter 64: Guess Who's Coming to the Wedding?
"No Sybil!" Emma says, taking back one of the envelopes her little sister had grabbed and trying to put into her mouth.
The two couples who would be the stars of the upcoming wedding are sitting at the kitchen table preparing wedding invitations. Sybil sits with them, but is becoming antsy and grabbing anything within her reach. Jack is checking off the guest list, Rose is handwriting them since she had the best penmanship, Emma is addressing them and Peter is posting the stamps.
"So your mom is definitely coming?" Jack asks.
"She always told me she would never miss my wedding ever, even though now I'm not marrying the man she wanted me to," Rose says
Jack leans over and kisses Rose's cheek. She turns to meet his lips.
"Save it for the wedding you two," Emma jokes.
"We can't exactly help it," Jack smirks.
"Let's try to keep the illusion that you haven't had your wedding night yet," Emma says.
All of them burst out laughing since Rose was almost six months pregnant and was definitely showing a baby bump.
"Maybe this time you won't have to do it in the cargo hold of the Titanic and in the back of Renault," Peter adds.
Both Jack and Rose turn red.
"I thought Peter and I were supposed to have a wedding night," Emma says.
"So who else do we have?" Rose asks, trying to keep everyone focused on the task.
"My parents," Peter says. "They will definitely be coming down from West Virginia. They wouldn't miss this for the world."
There's a slight air of sadness at the mention of parents since Emma's and Jack's had both passed away tragically. Neither would watch their beloved children get married or in Emma's case, give her away to Peter. Additionally, Rose's father would not be there to give her away either. It would be slightly upsetting, but Emma believed that all those who had passed on would be watching from above and would give each of them their blessing.
It was not a total loss as Peter's father agreed to give Emma away and Carl even offered to give Rose away. Rose was on the fence about it, but her mother had also suggested that Mr. Calvert give her away, but no one thought this was a good idea since this was the man who had been tasked to find Rose for Cal and had to do a lot of research about their lives. Rose was okay with Mr. Calvert being at the wedding with her mother, but to walk her down the aisle, it would be like admitting that he was going to be her father. She wasn't ready for that just yet.
"Obviously, Holly, Carl, and Thomas will be there," Emma says confidently. All three of Peter's relatives were technically in the wedding party and were already involved in the wedding planning. Carl might be giving Rose away, if she wanted, Holly as a bridesmaid and Thomas would carry the rings for both couples. Emma's face lit up very happily at the thought of her soon to be nephew coming down the aisle in a little suit, rings on the pillow.
"Then my brother, Jake and his wife, Melanie from Boston and then Holly's twin sister, Halley and her fiancé."
Rose's eyes go wide and she nearly drops ink on the invitation she's writing. "I didn't know Holly had a twin?!"
"Yeah it's the family's best-kept secret," Peter says. "They sure don't act like them that's for sure, but technically the two are a year apart."
"How does that make them twins if they're a year apart?" Jack asks, raising his eyebrow.
"Holly and Halley were born on New Year's Eve," Peter explains. "Holly came at two minutes to midnight and Halley came three minutes after the New Year. They do look alike, but if you want to get official, Holly is older by a year."
"That's so strange," Rose says. "But very interesting, I've never met twins before."
"Not even in high society?" Emma asks curiously.
"Not even then. It's considered a rare occurrence and almost alien. Most people would children one at a time in order to determine who the heir will be, with twins it would be much more complicated."
"Holly and Halley were just lucky in general, multiple births are hard to deliver without losing one of them," Emma adds.
"So where does Halley live?" Jack asks.
"She lives down in Texas, she's marrying the heir of a wealthy oil tycoon," Peter says.
"Sounds like the kind of person my mother would approve of," Rose mutters.
"Who else?" Emma says, looking at some of the envelopes.
"A few people from work, including your secretary, Felicity," Peter says. "Mr. Jamieson and his family of course."
"My cousins from up north," Emma adds.
"How far up North are we talking?" Jack asks.
"Ontario Canada," Emma says happily, proud of her British/Canadian background. "They have a summer home by Hudson's Bay, hopefully, you can visit it someday, it's very beautiful."
"What about you Rose, any distant family members you want to invite?"
"I don't exactly like any of my cousins. My father only had one brother and he lives in India with his wife, while my mother also had a brother, but he and his wife are now deceased. My cousins are as stuck up as my mother usually is and I'd rather not see their disapproving faces as I walk down the aisle."
"Well, is there anyone else, friends from school?"
"I never liked them much either," Rose sighs. She wishes that Trudy was still around because technically Trudy was her one true friend. "Wait! Wendy!"
"Your maid?" Emma asks.
"Yes, she and I became good friends after the disaster. She's the one person who could make me smile in that month before I found Jack again."
"Do you know where she lives?"
Rose's face falls in disappointment. "I don't. She and I parted the day after we were all reunited. I let her go with a man she'd met and let her chase her dreams of becoming a writer. We haven't been in touch since." Rose begins to fight back tears. Wendy was another true friend that she was so happy to have. She was glad that she had taught the maid to read and write so that she could chase her dreams of being a famous writer. Wendy had been reluctant to take a risk and leave service completely when Rose showed up with Jack. Rose had encouraged Wendy to go off with the nice man who had saved her from Cal's attack on her and pursue what she wanted. It was the same kind of speech that jack had given her on Titanic and Rose was so happy to see her friend goo off into the world and see where the wind took her.
"I don't know where to look for her," Rose sighs heavily.
Jack puts his arm around her and squeezes her gently. He suddenly looks at Mr. Calvert's name and gets an idea.
"Wait," he says. "Do think Mr. Calvert might be able to track her down?"
All three look at Jack like he might've lost his mind.
"Here me out, this guy is great at finding people, he found us in less than a few weeks, maybe he could find Wendy?"
Rose bites her lip as she thinks it over. "It might work," Rose says thoughtfully. "I really do want Wendy to be at this wedding."
"I still have his business card," Emma adds. "Or Jack can go and talk to him on Monday."
"Are you sure you want to find her Rose petal?" Jack asks, wanting to make sure he got his fiancée's full approval before going to a private investigator.
"Yes," Rose says. "It would mean a lot if she was there."
"She could also bring that man she met too," Peter adds.
"Okay, so Wendy should come. What about you Jack? Anybody, you want to invite?"
Jack swallows hard. Tommy and Fabrizio were his first choice, Fabri as his best man and Tommy as a groomsman. Both would have loved to see their best friend get married and drink as much free alcohol afterward, but tragically they were gone. Cora and her family would be nice too, but yet again, the Titanic had claimed them. He wanted desperately for his friends and parents to be alive for his wedding, but unfortunately, fate had intervened and left him with very few friends or family. He did have Rose and their child, Peter, Emma, and Sybil, but Jack had not found anyone at work or beyond that he liked or would consider a friend. He felt a little uneasy about this, but he felt that it was a consequence of being a drifter for so long, as well as an only child, he didn't have a chance to establish roots and lasting relationships, except with his parents and Tommy and Fabrizio.
There was Father Bill, Jack still had his contact information, but he was going to officiate the ceremony, so he was technically already invited. He, Rose, Emma and Peter had all gone to see him a few days back. Jack felt so happy to see the priest again. A man who had mentored him and taken him in when he was desperate. None of them had to ask the man twice before he eagerly agreed to marry all four of them. He didn't seem to judge that Rose had a baby bump. He was willing to do whatever he could to help Jack and his friends have that happily ever after.
Jack looks down at the list and no names come to mind.
"What about Molly?" Rose suggests, coming to Jack's rescue.
"Molly Brown? As in the Molly Brown?!" Emma asks, very excited.
A smile forms on Jack's face. Molly was a good choice to invite, she was the one who had found Jack again and had thrown the party that reunited him and Rose. Molly had also helped Jack on the Titanic with the dinner party and had always approved of Jack and Rose's relationship. She would never object to being invited to Rose's wedding, she wouldn't be snobby about being with second-class people and surely she would be the life of the party afterward. Molly had touched Jack and Rose's life in the best way possible, sometimes unknowingly.
"Yes that Molly Brown," Rose says with a smile. "What do you think Jack?"
Jack's smile becomes very wide. "Yes, I definitely think Molly should come."
"Do you know her address?" Emma asks.
The four of them continue with the invitations until the last one that remained was Wendy's.
"I'll take these down to the post office tomorrow," Rose says beaming. Despite the slight sadness that surrounded the friends in terms of the people who couldn't come to the wedding, this was going to a happy day and all four of them were excited toe share their special day with those that they loved.
At this point, Sybil begins to shriek in impatience. Emma scoops her sister up from her high chair.
"Who feels like going out for dinner?"
…
The following day, Rose carries the bundles of invitations down to the post office, with Sybil in her stroller. She can't stop smiling as the excitement of her special day with Jack approaches ever so quickly. She had the dress, they had the hall, the church, and priest, the flowers and cake. Obviously, there was much more to do, but Rose was excited about it all. This was her wedding and she was going to plan it the way she saw fit. She was also marrying the man of her dreams and she knew that this was going to be the best day of her life.
As she hands over the envelopes to the clerk at the desk, she doesn't notice a man lurking in the background. He pretends to be looking for newspaper and a few postcards, but he watches the redhead carefully as she hands over the money needed to pay for the invitations and leaves with the baby.
The man waits while the clerk goes to get a few more stamps and leaves the stack of invitations on the counter. The man grabs one of the envelopes, opens it carefully and copies down all the information he needs on a notepad, including the date, time and locations of the ceremony. Once he's accomplished this, he replaces the invitation back into the envelope and then goes to find the nearest phone.
"What is it?" a voice says on the other line.
"I've got what you need sir," Riptide says.
"Good, there will be a few uninvited guests to this wedding."