Chapter 76

March 24, 1913

Jesse carefully stretched his back in the couch, as per the doctor's careful request. The doctor places his hands on the young man as he guided Jesse how to stretch himself more. A week has since past that he had injured himself, and is now undergoing a sort of therapy session with the doctor, as Jack watched on. The pain in his lower back had improved, and he was able to return to his normal routine once more, although with less frequency now than he did before lugging around Fabrizio's chest on his back. Later, as the doctor left Jack's house, both Jack and Jesse swam in the lake that afternoon, where they splashed water at each other. Jack got out of the water first, before wrapping a towel on himself, then Jesse was the last one out.

"Cold!" Jesse yelped, as he quickly dried himself with the towel. He knew the water here was nothing compared to being out in the Atlantic, and that night made it even worse. Jesse shakes his hair, then Jack did the same, after watching his friend. With a towel wrapped around, Jesse sat on the log, as he puts on his pants, then his socks, before lacing up his shoes. He put a shirt on, then buttoning up his overshirt, before getting up from the log to adjust his belt. Jesse looks up, and sees Jack staring at him, contently. Jack shakes his head, before continuing to put on his shirt as well, and lastly, he tied his suspenders.

Jesse remembered what the ship looked like, before he boarded the Titanic, when Jack asked him what it was like in there. The Titanic had similar designs as on the Olympic, although at the time it was a basic ship, while the Titanic had more luxurious amenities, such as more restaurants, the B decks were enclosed, like one of the rooms Rose had stayed in before. He wasn't sure what it was like now, since he had heard the Olympic and similar ships like it were being refitted, to prevent another disaster similar to the Titanic. Both ships had the Grand Staircase, and both were furnished similarly, and they had the same first-class staterooms, although Jesse preferred the Titanic more, since it featured carpeted flooring than in the Olympic, which had linoleum flooring. Jack was looking forward to being married to the girl of his dreams once and for all, and to do it on the ship he had never been on, and he hoped they would be the first to marry on the R.M.S. Olympic.

Jesse and Jack stood on the edge of the water, as they fished throughout the afternoon. They only managed to catch small fish, before they headed back inside. Jesse prepared the fish, as Jack looked in the newspapers that Fabrizio had left behind. Jesse removed the scales from the fish before he placed the skins on the pans, as they began to sizzle in the heavy grease. He puts the rest of the fish away in the new refrigerator, and returns to his cooking.

Jack spices his fish, then turns them over, before Jesse could say anything. Jack knew he needed some items from the general store, but Jesse had already gotten them, a day before, as he hiked nearly 5 miles to the general store, and had brought back some of the items he needed for that evening. Jack looks in his new refrigerator, and finds his beer in there, as Jesse grabs out his Coca Cola bottle from there. Jesse removes the fish from the stove, as Jack grabs his spicy one, and puts on his plate, then shakes his hand as he removed the fish that was still hot off the stove. Jesse grabs his plain fish, and puts it on his plate. He puts pepper on his fish, before taking a huge bite of the skin. Jack and Jesse ate their supper in silence, as crickets began their chirping outside. Jesse felt out of place, as he was many miles from his home in Albuquerque, and Chippewa Falls felt different than where he was used to. Jack lets out a belch, then they both laughed, as the place was too silent, and it had gotten dark outside.

Jesse sat outside, as the moon broke from between the clouds. He still had his bottle of Coca Cola, sitting next to him on the porch, next to the bench he sat in to recover from his back injury. Jack's heart beats faster, as he looks at Jesse, who was admiring the views of his surroundings in the moonlight. Jack turns out the lights in the living room, then breaking out the kerosene lamp for the living room. Jesse eventually goes back inside, before trying to find the deck of cards on the bookshelf. Jack prepares to turn in for the night, when he hears something being flipped, and realizes Jesse was playing cards by himself. He slowly makes his way down the stairs, and sees Jesse playing solitaire on the small table. Jack clears his throat, as Jesse looks behind him, and Jack comes down the stairs. He offered to play Jesse's card game, as he shuffled the deck, and made sure there was enough kerosene for the lamp this time. Jack looks over his hand, as Jesse slid a card, face down, and grabs another. Jesse peeks over his hand, as Jack sips a beer from a little cup. Jack puts down another card, and asks Jesse to hit him. Jesse hands him a card, then scratches his head. He began to wonder what was in Jesse's hand; what was going on in his mind, so he wouldn't be caught off guard once more. He looks over his hand, at Jesse, who had his hair slyly covering one eye.

"I'm in. Let's see your cards." Jesse shakes his head to move his hair away from his eyes, as he lays out his hand. Jack leans closer, then throws his cards on the table. Jesse takes a closer look, then smiles, as Jack became nervous. He didn't say what the actual game was, but he assumed he lost the poker game. Jesse goes up the stairs to turn out for the night, as Jack puts away the table and chair, before he goes to sleep for the night as well.

The crickets continue their chirping throughout the night, as Jack slowly wakes up sometime during the night. He lays there, as he folds his arms under his head, then looks up at the ceiling of his house. He had thought long and hard about Rose, and how he missed her; her scent, her body. Jack turns over, as he tried to go back to sleep once more. Finally, after what seemed like many hours of tossing and turning, he gets out of bed, then he fumbles his way through the darkened house, and nearly loses his balance at the top of the stairs. He grabs ahold of the banister, then slowly makes his way down the stairs, and into the kitchen. He turns on a light, then goes over to the counter for a cup, before putting it under the sink. He takes a huge gulp of water, before going for another cup of water, then puts the cup back on the counter. He turns out the light, as he makes his way back to the stairs. Along the way he stubs his toe on a table leg, then crashes down with it, cursing aloud, then his hands goes to his mouth, hoping he didn't wake anyone in the house. He rights the table, then goes to the stairs, holding once more to the banister, to help him guide his way back up. He goes back to his room, and lays on his bed once more, as he tried once more to go back to sleep. He noticed the house was too quiet, and he began to wonder if Jesse was even in the house as well. He got a sudden, sad thought that this might truly be a dream after all; that Jesse really did perish back on the Titanic, along with those lost souls who had also perished. Jack knew Jesse was truly one-of-a-kind, and that he would never find someone like him ever again. He slowly got out of bed once more, wipes his tears from his cheeks, took a deep breath, and musters all his strength to go to Jesse's room.

He slowly opens the door. The beautiful sight of Jesse laying there, not making a sound, as he slept peacefully, greeted him. Despite the room being a little cold Jack could see Jesse had his blanket rolled on top of his stomach, and the top part of his shirt was unbuttoned. Through the slightly open window the moon casts a soft gray-blue glow through the gently fluttering lace curtains as Jack slowly entered the room, by carefully tiptoeing his way to Jesse. He slowly sat on the opposite side of the bed, being extra careful; he didn't want to wake Jesse from his deep sleep, for he wanted to see Jesse's beautiful and youthful face by the moonlight. Jack could barely see the boy's chest heaving up and down to the rhythm of his breathing, then he places his head on Jesse's chest, to listen to a slow, rhythmic beating of his heart. He sits back up, as he began to have butterflies in his stomach. He turns his attention back to Jesse, then takes a long, good look at his beautiful, delicate face, and his long, slender neck. Jack could see Jesse's unbuttoned shirt had shifted in a way so that it revealed his collar bone, and part of his shoulder, while a necklace was wrapped around his neck, then disappeared between his head and pillow.

Jack soon notices tiny details about Jesse, something he never noticed since they were back on the ship. In Jack's eyes, Jesse not only looked more feminine than ever, especially in his sleep, but that he could tell Jesse was well ahead of his time. His slender, slightly upturned nose, small mouth, cheekbones, earrings, perfectly shaped eyebrows, even his hair made Jesse look even more feminine, for Jack has never seen someone like him ever. Jack carefully rubs his fingers on the boy's long lashes, as Jesse moved about slightly, snorted loudly, then smacked his lips, before closing his mouth. Jack flinched, and quickly withdrew his hand. He began to do something he would never, ever dream of doing, but he had wanted to ever since he laid eyes on Jesse back at Southampton. He took Jesse's hand, his fingers interlocking with Jesse's firm, hard-working hands, then leaned over. With his other hand, he gently strokes the boy's face, before brushing his soft hair away from his forehead. With his blond hair brushing the sides of Jesse's cheeks, Jack plants a long, passionate kiss on Jesse's soft lips, as his heart beats even faster, and his head was spinning…

Jack wakes up, as the sun peaked through the curtains, and the sounds of birds chirping outside. He tries to remove the blankets, but they were tightly wrapped around him, as if he were wrapped up like a warm, toasty cinnamon bun. He finally removes the blankets, while he sits up on his bed, then rubs his eyes, as he looked about in his room. Jack blinks a few times, as he tried to remember if that was a dream, as it looked too real, or he actually did kiss Jesse, and was somehow brought back to his room. He shakes his head, as the smells of breakfast wafts throughout the house. He turns to the edge of the bed, when his foot began hurting. He winced, then realized he had tripped on a small table.

But what about that dream? Jack thought to himself, as he got out of bed, and to get ready to head back to New York, with Jesse. He stretched, before leaving his room, then made his way to the room Jesse had slept in. Inside, the bed was neatly made; the sheets were neatly tucked and folded, the pillows stood next to the headboard, and the window was closed. He closed the door, then slowly made his way down the stairs, to meet Jesse in the kitchen.

Jack yawned and stretched, when he entered the kitchen, as Jesse was trying to scrape at the remaining sausage links that were burnt into the pan. Unbeknownst to Jesse, that was the same pan Jack had burnt his food in, as he was daydreaming when Jesse was slowly recovering from his back injury, amongst the chaos of the men who worked on putting the finishing touches of Jack's house. With Jesse setting up the table for breakfast, Jack's heart began to beat faster at that thought once again, then blushes, before shyly turning away. Jesse brought two plates of food, then furrowed his brows as he set them down on the table while looking up at Jack, then shrugs it off, as if it were nothing. While doing so he licked his fingers, then sat down to eat his breakfast. Jack nervously made his way to his seat, then plays with his scrambled eggs, as he tried to take his mind off of that realistic-looking dream, while Jesse wolfed down his food, before taking a sip of coffee, and reading the local paper, all at the same time. Jesse puts the paper down and gets up, then goes to the refrigerator.

"Coffee or juice?" Jesse manage to ask even with food still in his mouth, which startled Jack from his thoughts. He looked at Jesse, whose cheeks were puffed like a chipmunk, and a little dribble of coffee ran down his chin.

"I'll take the co-juice, please." Jesse grabbed the glass of half empty orange juice, then pours it for Jack, before he sat down and continued to read the paper. Jack could see Jesse was beginning to mimic his father. Except for the messy eating on his part.

"A-anything good in there?" Jack was slightly nervous, but Jesse didn't take a hint. He tried to cast his mind to Rose, and the marriage they would have on the Olympic, which was fast approaching now. Jack hoped he was nervous about that, and not about that realistic looking dream, which kept replaying in his mind once more.

"Nope. Just some farmer offering a hefty cash reward of $500 to anyone who had any information of the whereabouts of his cattle. Another saying an escaped inmate is on the loose from the Madison jail, and everyone must be on a lookout. Otherwise, this is the same stuff we have back in Albuquerque. Now I know what's it like to be like my father, as he had always said, there's nothing worth reading in here." Jesse says, running his hand through his hair before reaching for his cup, then takes a sip of his coffee, then folds the paper and puts it on the table.

"Well, I guess it's time. The train will be leaving in about an hour. New York, here we come." Jesse gets up, then goes to his room to pack his suitcase. Jack also did the same, but he wanted to pack his trunk, as he decided he would board in the lowest first-class rooms, hopefully as a neighbor to Jesse.

Jack wished he brought his car home, as they packed too much for their trip, and the train station was four miles from their house. Luckily, that same man with his horse buggy came around, and offered the boys a lift.

"How's your back, son?" He asks Jesse, who was the last to hop onto the rear of the wagon. The man gently nudges the horse with his lead rope.

"It's been better. Thank you." Jesse replied, as he rubs it gently. At the train station, Jack and Jesse boarded the train, after their luggage were loaded in the cargo. Jack sat across from Jesse, as he looked out the window, to people who were waving to loved ones and friends that were in the train. Jesse brushes his hair from his eyes, as a woman with a small umbrella catches his eye. He wasn't sure if she was smiling at him or Jack, or to another passenger sitting in either seats of the men. Jack also caught her attention, and was clearly showing her interest to Jesse, as she waves with a hint of flirt, and she winks at him. Jesse also smiles back, then gave a knowing wave, as the train departed from Chippewa Falls, bound for New York.