Ice & Iron (Titanic)

Chapter 12

Sunday, 14th  April 1912

Apparently, I now had a shadow. In the formation of a boy. A boy named Joe Davis.

From the moment I stepped out of the suite this morning to go to breakfast, he was outside the door. Mother had already gone ahead of me. I had slept in. It had taken a long time for me to fall asleep last night, the thoughts of Joe's kiss on my mind. When I was actually asleep, I still dreamed about it. How does a kiss do that to someone? I couldn't concentrate on anything around me and often zoned out, staring off into the distance, whether that be the ocean, a wall or another person.

But when Joe turned up at the suite this morning, I was caught by surprise. We still had three days left on the Titanic. Was it going to be like this all day, every day? And what would happen when we docked in New York? He would go off with his family and I would go off with mine. I was understanding him more and more with each passing day and looking past my previous feelings towards him.

"Any plans for breakfast this morning, Stacey?" he asked, bowing slightly. He took my hand and pressed a soft kiss to it.

"Ah," I stuttered, caught by surprise at the offer. "No. Mother has already left."

"Come eat with me," he said, holding out his arm.

After locking the door, I took his arm and we walked side by side down to the dining saloon. As we were walking down the Grand Staircase, something clicked into place for me. Last night was when I really started to trust Joe. Maybe it was because of the kiss, but maybe it was because we'd spent so much time together over the past four days. I planned to tell him about Murdoch today, hopefully he would take the news in a good way and not be angry. He hadn't talked about Murdoch in a couple of days, so the topic would be fresh. That was probably the best way to tell him.

"What do you want for breakfast?" asked Joe, leading me towards the buffet.

"I'll just have some fruit," I replied.

"I'll have that as well," he said.

We were given our plates of fruit and looked around, surveying our seating options.

There was a small table for two at the edge of the room, looking out onto the decks. "Let's go over there," I said.

"Sounds good," he said.

We walked over to the table and set our plates down. Soon we were sitting down and eating.

"After we finish breakfast, I'm going to go to the bridge and say good morning to my stepfather," I said.

"I'll come with you," Joe offered.

"That won't be the best idea," I said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"First Officer Murdoch is going to be up there," I replied. "I've just been under the impression that you don't like him very much, especially after hearing you talk about him last night at dinner."

"That is right," he admitted. "Okay, you can go and say good morning to your stepfather and we can meet up later."

"Great," I said. "I can show you around the suite. Maybe come by in a couple hours?"

"Sounds like a plan," he said.

I finished the last of my fruit and stood up. "I'll see you later."

I quickly walked out of the dining saloon and onto the deck where I followed it to the officer's quarters. After I climbed the stairs, I walked through the wheelhouse to Father's usual standing spot. He wasn't there.