Chapter 15

Rose and Delia went back to the shelter to gather the few belongings Delia had brought with her from her voyage on the Carpathia. Rose's demeanor had changed entirely since receiving the telegram from Jack. As Delia gathered a few loose articles of clothing and rearranged the contents of her small suitcase, Rose spoke incessantly of him and how they met and described every moment they had spent together in vivid detail, including their rendevous in the Renault. She did not mention anything to do with the sinking but Delia imagined that even with the good news that Jack was safe, it was still a most horrifying evening she would rather forget.

She also learned more about Rose's mother and Cal and the roles they played in Rose's decision to leave it all behind. She imagined if she were in Rose's place she might have done the same. She sensed from her own meeting with Cal that he was controlling and intimidating but now she knew that he had been violent toward her too. Delia wondered if Rose's mother had known this would she still have insisted she marry him but from Rose's portrayal of her mother, she gathered her mother would blame her for it happening. It seemed Rose's mother blamed her daughter for most of her problems.

Delia finished packing her things and sat down on the edge of the small cot she had slept on the night before. She glanced over at Rose who was sitting sideways on the foot of the cot. She looked radiant. She hadn't stopped smiling since receiving the telegram earlier and every so often she would pull it out of her coat pocket and read it over and over again, so frequently that the small slip of paper was already showing signs of wear. Delia wanted so desperately to be happy for her friend, and from the outside she appeared nothing less, but she had an uneasiness about it all she couldn't explain.

Delia watched in awe as Rose pulled something else out of her pocket this time. The necklace she had seen her with when they were pulling into the dock. She knew it had to be the Heart of the Ocean, the necklace that Cal had given her and that Jack had drawn her wearing as a "gift" for Cal. Rose had mentioned it was a diamond. Delia had never seen a diamond that big, let alone a blue diamond.

Rose glanced over and noticed her friend's dumbfounded look. "I found it in one of the pockets of the coat, along with this," with that, Rose drew out the large bundle of cash which she found tucked inside another pocket.

"My goodness!" Delia exclaimed excitedly. Realizing the attention the excitement in her voice had drawn to them, she reduced her voice to a whisper. "There must be a thousand dollars there."

Rose nodded, "Two to be exact. I counted it last night while you were sleeping."

"Wow. There's plenty there for us to get by!" Delia thought more carefully about what she just said. "I'm sorry, I don't mean us necessarily. I mean you. I mean...forgive me. I didn't mean to assume that I would be benefitting from your money."

Rose giggled at her friend's unnecessary embarrassment. "Don't be silly. We're in this together. My money is your money but there's only one problem."

Delia looked at her friend curiously. "What's the problem?"

"Well... this isn't my money. It's Cal's. I know you must think I'm mad but I don't want to live off his money. I couldn't respect myself if I did. I've decided to keep a small amount of it because we can't go off with nothing but, just enough to get by for a little while We can find jobs and make our own money."

"I don't know Rose. Maybe you should keep it. You never know what might happen. And getting a job isn't all that easy."

"You're right but it'll be far easier for us to find work than it will be for her." Rose nodded in the direction of a young mother, now widowed, attempting to keep after her four small little girls, the oldest of which couldn't be older than seven. Though she put on a brave face for the sake of her children, any knowing adult could see the worry and sorrow in her eyes, hidden behind a stoic smile. "We're young and capable and single. I realize it's going to be difficult, I do, but at least I only have me to worry about. I don't know about you, but I'm out to prove that there isn't anything that I can't do."

"You amaze me Rose," Delia said admirably. "I hope you realize what you're getting yourself into. It's no fun to be poor. Believe me, I know."

"It's not about being poor! You've just never had any fun!"

"That's easy for a rich girl to say!" Delia challenged her playfully.

"Why I never!", Rose declared placing her hands on her hips, putting her nose into the air with feigned dignity.

"Well you should!" Delia shot back and the two girls collapsed into a fit of giggles.

It felt good to laugh again for the both of them but something was still plaguing Delia. First of all, the telegram from Jack just seemed odd. Too good to be true. For Rose's sake, she hoped it was. The thing that bothered her the most was that according to the papers and the clerks at the White Star office, all survivors were on the Carpathia. Delia knew for a fact that Jack wasn't. There was no way that they wouldn't have found him if he was. Perhaps it was possible there was another explanation, but it would have to be sensational and if it were so, surely the press would be all over it. That was their livelihood.

Then there was issue of her own future. What would happen to her if it really were true? Would Rose run off with him and forget all about her? Would she no longer be welcome to join Rose in this life-altering journey? She decided to subtly find the answer.

"So, what are we going to do when we meet up with Jack?"

Rose pondered the question carefully for a moment before responding. "Well...I don't know. We never did have an opportunity to discuss it in detail. I suppose somewhere along the line we'll end up in Santa Monica. You know, to ride the roller coaster and go horseback riding in the surf. That was the one thing we vowed we would do." Rose smiled again as she vividly recalled the afternoon they had spent on the boat deck discussing it. Noticing the semi-concealed look of disappointment in Delia's face, Rose realized what Delia was getting after. "Of course now it will be the three of us. You know what they say. The more the merrier," she continued with a reassuring smile.

"They also say three is a crowd."

"Well, let them say what they want. I still say the more the merrier."

"Are you going to marry him?"

Rose was dumbfounded by the question. She couldn't answer yes or no. She knew that she loved Jack, even though she knew so little about him which sometimes puzzled her. She knew she planned on spending the rest of her life with him so she guessed that it was a "yes", but she hadn't thought of the possibility of marrying so soon. What if he asked her now, soon?

"I don't know. I honestly don't know. He hasn't asked if that's what you're asking."

"I'm sorry Rose. It's none of my business really. I guess I'm just afraid of getting left behind. I don't..." but Rose interrupted before she could finish.

"No one is getting left behind. We never talked about getting married. It's almost as if everything were understood. It's difficult to explain. The way I see it is that I fully intend to spend the rest of my life by his side. I guess marriage would be inevitable but I don't think it will happen so soon. We both have dreams to fulfill and though I can honestly say we love each other now, that love needs time to mature. We're still young, all of us. There's plenty of time still for marriage and children. I think we all need time to figure out who we are before we can settle down. It's time now to have some fun."

Delia smiled with relief. "Ok, let's go get Jack and have some fun!"

"Oh gosh! What time is it?" Rose turned around and glanced at the clock on the wall behind her and frowned when it read only quarter to three. They still had a little more than 5 hours before it was time to meet him. Time never seemed to move more slowly than it was right now. "I suppose we should get on our way and find lunch somewhere. I don't know about you but I'm famished!"

Delia groaned putting a hand over her stomach. "It's been so long since I've eaten a proper meal I think I've forgotten what food tastes like."

"Me too. I think I've lost about ten pounds too. Come on, let's get out of here."

With that, the two girls gathered their few belongings and prepared to leave. There was still one bit of unfinished business. Rose took the bundle of cash from the pocket of her coat and began to divide it up into smaller bundles. On the way out, she discretely took one of the smaller bundles and tucked it into the bag of the young mother she had pointed out to Delia before. She left her five hundred dollars alone, a hundred dollars for each of them. The remainder of the money, with the exception of the small amount she decided she would keep for them for emergency use, she divided up among the other widowed mothers' and their children, abiding by the hundred dollar apiece allowance she had determined.

On their way out the door, members of the Women's Relief Committee, which oversaw the care of the survivors until they were able to straighten out their lives, urged Rose and Delia to stay until they could help them figure out what to do. Rose and Delia insisted they were fine and that they were going to stay with Delia's relatives but the women insisted they at least accept some money and clothing. Rose flatly refused the money and asked for their share to be divided among the others, but graciously accepted a bag of clothing and a cup of coffee for each of them for the road.

The two girls walked out inside into the open air and were greeted with warm rays of sunshine and a pleasant, cool breeze. It was a perfect day. For the first time since the sinking Rose felt warmth though it was still a slightly chilly sixty degrees. Everything had been going so right today, it was almost as if nothing at all could go wrong. Almost.