Titanic Bound by Destiny

Chapter 1: Embarkation

 April 10th, 1912. (10:15 AM)

Nicholas sat on a bench in a peaceful green park away from the crowded Southampton streets, his eyes wide with anticipation as his trip on the Titanic loomed before him, a giant of steel about to carry dreams across the ocean. He nervously tapped his foot on the grass beneath him. Nicholas Goodwin was born in 1895, just five years before the turn of the century, during a time of consistent change and development. When he was just six years old, President McKinley was assassinated in america in an event which would change america. Yet, here in England, they felt no actual ripple; for the young six-year-old, Nicholas was more bothered about his books than he was about the goings on in the world around him. Now, he was seventeen and paid more attention to the world. For example, it seemed that man would soon conquer the skies as they had the seas, for only nine years ago, the first flight had taken to the skies. So much was changing, and it was hard for the young teen to keep up.

Nichola's father was Arthur Goodwin, born in 1863 in a growing Yorkshire town called Wakefield that the second Industrial Revolution would soon grip. From a young age, Nicholas's father had worked as a shopkeeper. A job he would keep for many years. His mother was Mary Sinclair, who was descended from an Irish family. Her grandfather had moved to Yorkshire when he was 24. She was born in 1869. Her future was uncertain, but she eventually took up work as a school tutor. She met Nichola's father in 1888, and he married just one year later. Soon after came the children. Mary, Edward, George, Elizabeth and then Nicholas himself. He was the youngest of the Goodwin family and the most protected. He always had his brothers to protect him when he was younger, especially since he felt more introverted than the rest. Rumours that dared to surface about him were always squashed rather quickly.

Growing up, Nicholas appeared closed off, struggling to find friends or connect with many people. His family feared for his future. Yet, growing from childhood to teenagehood, he became more outgoing in certain areas. He became rather fond of politics and history, often stealing his father's newspapers to read, which usually led to discipline, though deep down, he did not mind the scolding, for he still got to read the newspaper. One thing was sure: Nicholas never felt distant from his family, nor did he feel pressure from his parents, though his claims that he would become a Lawyer amused the family immensely. As he entered school, Nicholas soon found he was expected to help his father in the family shop. Something he endeavoured to do with great effort.

Ever since he was born, he had lived in the same town in the same home. He remembered the house vividly. It had a facade of red brick accented by lighter sandstone around the windows and doors. Inside, the family had three decent-sized bedrooms, which, because of the size of the family, always gave off a warm, inviting ambience, with bay windows letting in the morning sun that rose across the dales. The heart of the home, however, was the parlour, which featured a brick fireplace where the family would gather in the evening. Adjacent to the pallor was the kitchen, which always seemed alive with some activity; recently, they installed a gas stove, so long gone were the days of cutting wood to feed the flames. Out the back was his mother's pride and joy; the garden was surrounded by fragrant flowers and a small vegetable patch. Nicholas loved this home and hoped to live in it forever, but that was not the case.

An opportunity arose in America, a distant land Nicholas knew very little about. His father had been offered a job in a larger company by a man Nicholas only knew as Hershey. Nicholas, however, was not as thrilled as the rest of his family. The thought of leaving behind everything he knew for a new foreign land so far away filled him with a mix of anxiety and uncertainty. The family would move, and that move was brought forward when it was discovered his mother was once more pregnant with another child. Faced with the reality of bringing up a child in a home that was losing space, the choice was made for them. Their time spent sitting by the fire at night reading in England was soon over. It was not all doom and gloom for the young Nicholas, though, as essential exams loomed for him. After much debate, his father agreed to let him stay behind with his aunt to attend his exams and join them in New York afterwards. So, when the family departed on Lusitania, Nicholas was not with them. Instead, he was with his aunt.