Chapter 10

When Jack returned to the table Rose and Nancy weren't there. "There you are did you get lost on the way?" Charlie asked.

"No, I just stopped to have a chat with someone."

"That someone wouldn't have happened to have been our waitress would it?"

"What? No, believe me Charlie it's not what you think."

"C'mon John I saw the way you were looking at her, she a friend of yours, an old flame?" He said teasingly.

"Charlie its nothing, okay. Just let it go."

"Oh relax, just having a bit o' fun with you."

"Where are the girls?"

"They went to the ladies room." Charlie said taking a swallow of water. Jack nodded and scooted back to his spot by the window in the booth. Charlie waited until Jack was situated before speaking. "John, I want to apologize for my wife, I hope she hasn't offended you."

Jack waved a dismissive hand "It's fine, she's just concerned about Rose. She's her friend and she cares about her. You both do. I get why she'd be suspicious."

He smiled "You know, I've always been a good judge of character and I can sense that you're a pretty good guy. I know you are."

"Thanks Charlie, you're not so bad yourself." Charlie's smile faded into a neutral look, "However I must admit Nancy did bring up some interesting points." Jack sat quietly waiting for him to finish, "Though I've never been able to get to know you officially, you've never given me reason to think wrongly of you. Now here you are pursuing my wife's friend, I don't mind, and it's none of my business, but it's just that I too find it somewhat odd. You never mentioned anything about having a love. Whenever the boys at work mention their wives, girlfriends, or just some woman that meets their fancy, you never say anything. We've seen the way the ladies look at you. A guy like you would never have a problem in that area. You could have just about any woman you want." Charlie laughed "There are even rumors that you might be a fairy."

Jack scowled "Hey, I like women just as much as the next guy, alright."

"That's good to hear, nice to know the rumors aren't true." He said in another belly laugh.

"All I'm saying is you never mentioned knowing Rose before and I know you two didn't actually meet the way you say you did. I believe that load of crock about as much as my wife does."

"Nothing gets past you huh?" The two men laughed "John, surely you felt ridiculous telling that story?"

"Yeah I did."

"Listen. If you and Rose don't want to share how you two met then that's fine with me. What matters to me is that you be good to her."

"You don't have to worry about that Charlie."

"Oh I know I don't, for two reasons: The first being because I know you are a good man with a good head on his shoulders." Charlie took another swallow of water.

"And the second reason?"

"The second reason is if you ever did do anything to hurt her I would break your legs."

Jack smiled, the man really did care about Rose, "And I would let you."

Charlie gave a hearty laugh "I like you John. And I'm choosing to trust you until you prove otherwise. But in all seriousness Rose is a good woman. I've grown to love her like a sister. She's beautiful, talented; a woman like her deserves to be happy. And the way she looks at you…well, I've never seen Rose look like that before. Her eyes just light up." He said demonstrating with his eyes.

"It's a good change from the earlier days where she would spend her days indoors withdrawn and melancholy, especially around the month of April, never would say why. She would just sit by her window, her eyes puffy, blotchy, and red. Nancy was always there for support and would try to cheer her up but Rose just wouldn't have it. Tried to coach her into talking about it, just to ease some of the pain off of her you know?" Charlie said balling his hand into fist, showing it to Jack to stress his words.

"But all she would say is that it was something that she had to deal with on her own, one day at a time. She has the look of someone who's been through some things. I don't know how to describe it. It's like there's this hardness about her. And that can only come from someone who's experienced something life changing or just down right awful."

"I know the feeling." Jack said

"Really?" Charlie asked implying him to go on.

He nodded. Jack took a moment before speaking. He knew all too well what Rose had went through and that he was partly to blame for Rose's pain but he wasn't about to say that, instead he said something else. "When I was a boy I used to live on a farm with my parents."

"Just you and the ma and pa huh? No brothers or sisters?"

"Nah, just the three of us." Jack gave a wistful smile going back into his memory. "Ma would let me help her cook in the kitchen and Pa would have me helping him out in the fields. Then around winter when the lake froze over he'd take me ice fishing."

"I wasn't the best son though. I was a real terror. My old neighbors could vouch for that. Mrs. Williams for example, hated when I pestered her cat with a sling shot I had put together. Pa thought it was funny, but Ma…" Jack laughed, "She tore my hide."

"I had a tendency to avoid all my responsibilities. I'd leave home and go off and have some adventure somewhere, sketching small animals, swimming in the lake in the summer time with my friends."

Jack's voice became somber. "Then when I was 15 everything changed."

Charlie leaned in a little closer "What happened?"

Jack never thought he be telling anyone this story, Rose didn't even know. He took a deep breath. "I awoke one morning, Pa was yelling at me as usual because I hadn't mucked out the stables or plowed the fields. I started to do as he told me but in the end I just took off thinking I would be back to finish my work later. Ran to the lake with a few friends for a swim and just lost track of the time, before I knew it, it was getting to be sundown. I knew my father was going to kill me when I got home, only when I got back I had no home to go to. My house was completely covered in flames. There was no way of getting in. Our neighbors tried to help put it out but it was no good. When I asked where my parents were one of the neighbors told me that they were still inside."

"My father had gone back in to save my mother. I tried to do something, anything, I wanted to run back into that house and save my parents, but someone held me back. I waited and waited to see my parent's faces but they never came out."

"I'm sorry to hear that, John."

"Yeah, well it bothered me for a long time. I used to think what if I had stayed home that day and did as my father told me. I would've been there, I probably could've helped, or …or…"

"You would probably be dead?"

"I'd probably be dead, you're right."

"I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way John but maybe it was a good thing that you weren't there. Maybe it just wasn't your time to go. Life can be a cruel and funny thing sometimes but maybe the Lord Almighty had bigger plans for you and needed you alive that day."

Jack thought about Rose and despite the sadness of the memory it brought a smile to his lips "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Charlie's voice switched to a lighter tone "I was right you and Rose must be good for each other, you're both a couple o' tortured souls."

Jack laughed "So does that mean that I have your permission to pursue her?"

"By all means, now you just have to convince the misses. Speaking of which here they come now. And let's lighten the mood a bit, enough of this sad music."

"I'm way ahead of you."

The four of them all managed to enjoy the rest of the outing and Jack was feeling a little more welcome to the party. When their food arrived, Jack practically inhaled it all. He couldn't remember food ever tasting this good, all the different delectable textures and flavors bursting into his mouth. Soft, chewy, crunchy, and salty. It all seemed like a new experience for him. Like a child discovering snow for the first time. While dead he never really missed eating mostly because it was never necessary. He had long forgotten what bacon tasted like. Even the bitter taste of the slightly burned edges was a joy. The others looked on at him in astonishment. Nancy spoke up and interrupted his rapid eating.

"Um…Jonathan the food is already dead so I don't think it's going to run away."

Jack wiped his mouth with a napkin "I'm sorry" he said with a boyishly giddy grin "It just feels like I haven't had a meal in years."

Everyone laughed, even Nancy.

After breakfast the four left the diner with full bellies and broad grins. Both men proceeded to escort their women out the door. Jack and Rose walked in front while Charlie and Nancy took up the rear a couple feet back. Rose slid her arm through Jack's and looked up into his eyes. Though they were brown she could still see the same life and intensity in them that made her fall in love with him all those years ago. Jack held her gaze and smiled down at her showing off his dimples. His smile was contagious.

"Why are you smiling at me?" Rose asked

"Because you're smiling not to mention you're so beautiful."

She blushed. "But do you have to stare?"

"Yes. I'm almost afraid to blink because then I would lose sight of you. The moments I spend with you are precious to me Rose."

Rose leaned in closer against Jack and clasped his hand in hers. "Then let's make each day count."

Passing by the windows of the diner Jack had only been dimly aware of the muffled sound of a woman screaming beyond the glass and the brief image of a man collapsing to the floor. The man, Jack knew, had just suffered a stroke.