Chapter 33
Jock
Somewhere in the Atlantic
April 15, 1912

Jock was amazed how he continued to play in tune despite the bitter cold. The orchestra had been playing for over an hour. Wallace, John, Clarke, and Jock were playing as one, each picking up on the other's musical intuitiveness, crescendoing and decrescendoing in together without saying a word.

While he had played, Jock had thought of Mary. What would she think upon hearing the Titanic sank? What would she tell their son if Jock didn't survive? And then there was Violet…

He wasn't sure what to think. Violet had been just a bit of fun, just like Ethel back in Jamaica. But he had felt something for Violet, different from all the other women he had been with. He knew he loved Mary and he knew that he would marry her when he returned to Dumfries. But he had felt something spark within him when he had been with Violet on this voyage. Perhaps he had spent so much time away from Mary that it was difficult for him to picture what their life would look like together.

It was easy to tell how desperate the situation was becoming on deck. The lifeboats had all disappeared one by one, Jock watching as wives were separated from their husbands, families split apart.

Callen and Leana had barely made it on one of the last lifeboats. Shortly after Jock had spoken to Nellie, he had been shocked to see Callen and Isla standing in a crowd nearby to board a lifeboat nearest him. The crewmen were waving pistols above their heads, demanding only women and children be let through.

"Where's Isla?" Jock had demanded upon seeing Leana empty handed. Leana had merely pointed to the black ocean, where a small lifeboat was quickly rowing away from the ship.

"There was no more room aboard," Callen said. "We had to beg an officer to take her with them. She's with a stewardess. She'll be just fine."

"Just fine?" Jock couldn't believe what he was hearing. Nellie was somewhere near the stern with a man from steerage, his baby niece was floating in the middle of the ocean in the care of a stranger, and Callen and Leana were still on this goddamn ship. This was exactly the opposite of what should be happening.

Leana grabbed onto his uniform, accidentally popping one of his buttons off. "What are we supposed to do? This is the last boat on this side of the ship!"

"Get on board," Jock said, roughly grabbing her by the arm. He unapologetically elbowed his way through the crowd of men, holding his violin high above his head so it wouldn't be damaged. "Women and children here!" he cried, pushing Callen and Leana in front of him.

One of the crewmen grabbed Leana and nearly threw her into the boat. Jock pushed CAllen forward, but an officer held out his hand. "Children only, lad," he said gruffly.

"But he is a child!" Jock said, horrified. He wasn't going to let his nephew be denied a space on this boat. It wasn't Callen's fault he was tall for a boy of thirteen, making him look older than he was.

The officer grunted. "How old are you?"

Callen swallowed hard, briefly glancing at Jock before saying, "Eleven."

Good lad, Jock had thought. The boy had heeded his advice from earlier that evening. The officer looked from Jock to Callen to Leana before giving a brief nod. He probably didn't believe Callen's lie, but who would be so heartless to let a thirteen year old perish in the water with grown men?

"Find Isla and Nellie when we're rescued," Jock called to them as the boat descended. Callen and Leana were looking up at Jock with worry, understanding that this might be the last time they would see one another. Jock was clutching his violin and bow so tightly to his chest that he had to crack his knuckles for relief when he at last saw their lifeboat row away.

That had been nearly half an hour ago when Wallace, John, Clarke, and he had still been playing lighthearted sets they would normally play at the first class dinner. But as passengers began to panic and the water was coming closer, their tunes became more somber. The tension from their earlier conversation in Jock's room resurfaced as each man looked at each other knowingly.

They weren't going to make it. Their job was now to comfort themselves and those around them with this knowledge.

Wallace paused after they played one of their many hymns they had performed just earlier that morning at Sunday service. "Our time is drawing near, lads," he said, nodding to the water which was quickly approaching. "Let's save ourselves while we can."

The four quickly shook hands, bidding one another farewell. Clark took off running, clearly the most frightened of the group. However, as Jock turned to leave, he saw John still sitting in his chair, his cello still in between his legs. "John?" Jock asked.

John looked at him, tears brimming in his eyes beneath his glasses. "I'm not leaving," he said, his voice wavering. "What's the point? The boats are gone. I'd much rather play during my final hours."

He brought his bow to his cello's strings, closing his eyes as the melody of "Nearer My God to Thee" rang out. Jock was desperate to find Nellie, not knowing if she had been able to find a way off the ship. But John, who had filled the role of a brother these last couple of years, was right. Wouldn't he rather spend the last moments doing what he loved most rather than running about in fear?

Jock took his violin back out of its case, not even bothering to put more rosin on his bow before joining in. He let his case hang empty, slung over his shoulder, closing his eyes as John and he played together in harmony.

A second violin joined in, making the melody even more haunting. Jock didn't need to look to know that Wallace had come back. Clarke had also come back to the trio, carefully balancing his double bass on the tilted deck floor. Everyone knew he was afraid, he had been the only one in the band to speak of the ridiculousness of playing while the ship was sinking. But he surprised them by coming back over and adding the bass line, making the string quartet complete. Each of the players opened their eyes to look at one another, knowing this would be one of their last acts together before the inevitable struggle that was to come.

Violet.

Mary.

Nellie.

It was starting to dawn on Jock that these might be his final moments. As he played this hymn, he could only pray to God that Nellie, Callen, Isla, and Leana would all be reunited. He thought of Violet, but knew that she would be fine. She was the sturdiest sailor he'd ever known. But as the water came closer and closer, he could see Mary. Her dark hair and her clear eyes staring through him, her lips turned up in a smile. He thought of her with a large belly, carrying his child, and a sob almost escaped his lips.

As the quartet played the final chord, Jock looked up into the night sky with the stars twinkling all around them.

Take care of my son, he prayed.

I purposefully diverted this scene away from what was depicted in the movie. The movie did an EXCELLENT job with this scene, but I tweaked it to better fit the direction of this story.

Btw... Jock and Violet's relationship is HEAVILY dramatized. They were friends in real life, but nothing more.