A New Beginning

Chapter 57: Ruth's Choice

Chapter 57: Ruth's Choice

Ruth's mind has stopped. She had tears in her eyes. She re-reads the letter once more before beginning to cry. Tears had been a common feature on her ageing face the past little while, so this was nothing new, but this time the tears were of confusion, not grief.

Her daughter had finally been found, or rather gotten in contact with her and demanded that Ruth gives up everything she knew for her to be a part of her daughter's life. Not only that, but she was engaged to that third-class boy...something Dawson and she was pregnant with his child...

Ruth's mind was overwhelmed with questions. Why was her daughter doing this? Didn't she care at all about the family name? Who were these friends that she was staying with? How had Mr. Dawson survived? Is what she said about Caledon true?

Ruth takes out a handkerchief and dabs her eyes, pulling herself together a bit. She was so confused and so distraught that she wanted to go home and think. She also wanted to find her daughter and hug her again. Rose had been missing over a month and a half and Ruth missed her little girl. Although they never got along that well, Rose was too much like her father, hot-headed and passionate; it was one of the reasons that she pushed Rose into the marriage with Caledon. All Ruth wanted was for her daughter to take care of and their lives would go on undisturbed. It had been sad when her husband passed on, but it only seemed to be getting worse afterward. If Mr. Hockley had not come along, Ruth would've surely died on the street of stress and grief and Rose would be forced into a life of scandal and most likely prostitution. No mother ever wanted that for her child. She knew Mr. Hockley offered the safety they needed and Rose would live a prosperous life...but now she pondered what Rose's letter said about her wanting to end her life and her foolish pursuit of a lower-class man that almost got her killed. And then she selfishly ran away weeks before the wedding with the same man and was living in this big city with strange friends and causing her a lot of grief and worry. Ruth's health had taken a nose dive and she had to go see a doctor, plus the news of Rose running away could not be hidden for long. The whole Philadelphia society was in an uproar, causing scandal and the smearing of their already precarious name. One of the reasons Ruth was hiding in New York was to avoid the scandal and find her daughter... She had faith that the private investigator could bring Rose home where she belonged, but now it was clear, she didn't want to, not ever. She was living a new life without her mother.

And even though everything that Rose had done to cause Ruth grief, she was still her daughter and every mother loved her child unconditionally and missed her when she was gone. There was a hole in her heart that could only be filled by seeing Rose again.

Ruth folds the paper neatly and places it in her pocketbook as the private investigator comes back. Ruth wipes her eyes once more before turning to face the man with a cloud of smoke over his face.

"Are you alright Mrs. DeWitt Bukater?"

"I...I suppose dear sir..."

"I can tell that this is not easy for you, finding out your daughter ran away..."

"It certainly is not..." Ruth sniffs.

"My sympathies ma' me and if I can say for you, I do hope that your daughter reconnects with you. I am no parent, but I know every child should have a mother in their life..."

Ruth stares at the man for a long few moments. She had always felt uncomfortable that this man never showed his face as he smoked those cigars and kept his identity from the world around him. Perhaps it was his own disguise...or perhaps it was a shield to hide from the pain of others.

"How can I be sure that you are sincere, I can't see your face and clearly all you would care about is the money you get," Ruth blurts out. She immediately regrets her choice. She was so overwhelmed by her situation that this man offering her sympathy when it was he didn't have any made her quite upset. She was acting like Rose. "I'm terribly sorry sir, that just slipped out."