Titanic

{Chapter Seventeen}

.  .  .  .  .

Jack and Rose walked side by side on the first class deck. They passed people reading and talking in steamer chairs, some of whom glanced in curiosity at the mismatched pair.

"So, I've been on my own since I was fifteen, after my folks died. I had no brothers, or sisters, or any close kin in that part of the country...no reason to stay, so I lit on out of there an' haven't been back since."

"So you don't have a home of any kind?"

"Nope. I guess you could say I'm like a tumbleweed blowin' in the wind."

Rose laughed.

"Listen, Rose, we've walked about a mile around this boat deck, chewin' over how great the weather's been and how I grew up...but, I reckon that's not why you came to talk to me, is it?"

There was an awkward pause.

"Mr. Dawson, I--"

"Jack."

"Jack..." Rose corrected. "...I feel like such an idiot. It took me all morning to get up the nerve to face you."

He looked her in the eye.

Rose took a deep breath. "I...I want to thank you for what you did. Not just for...for pulling me back. But for your discretion."

"Your welcome, Rose."

She shook her head. "Look, I know what you must be thinking: Poor little rich girl! What does she know about misery?"

Jack stopped in his tracks. Rose turned around to see him standing behind her. He looked at her seriously.

"No, no. That's not what I was thinking. What I was thinking was: What could have happened to this poor girl to make her think she had no way out?"

Rose sighed. "I don't...you see, It wasn't just one thing. It was everything! It was my whole world and all the people in it. And the inertia of my life, plunging ahead, and me, powerless to stop it."

She held up her engagement ring.

"God! Look at that thing!" Jack took her hand, getting a better look at the rock on her finger. "You would've gone straight to the bottom."

Rose was too distressed to be amused. "Five-hundred invitations have gone out. All of Philadelphia's society will be there. And all the while, I feel as if I'm standing in the middle of a crowded room, screaming at the top of my lungs, and no one even looks up!" She continued in a rush. "Last night I felt so trapped. I just had to get away...just run and run...and then I was at the back rail and there was no more ship...not even the Titanic was big enough. And before I'd even thought about it, I was over the rail. I was so furious! I'll teach them not to listen! They'll be sorry!"

"Yeah, they'll be sorry. 'Course, you'll be dead."

Rose was embarrassed. "Oh, God. I am such an utter fool."

"So, you're stuck on a train you can't get off of 'cause you're marryin' this Cal fellow. So don't marry him."

"If only it were that simple."

"It is that simple."

"No, Jack. No, no, no, no. I'm sorry, I can't expect you to understand how things work in my life."

"Do you love him?"

Rose looked at him in shock. "Pardon me?"

"Do you love him?"

She was flustered by his directness. "You're being very rude. You shouldn't be asking me this."

"Well, it's a simple question: Do you love the guy or not?"