Chapter Four

Arriving at home, I opened the front door. The smell of cake fills my nose. This cake is different from what people usually eat. The eggs and milk were replaced with ingredients easier to obtain, like raisins, apples, pears, nuts. 

"How did it go?

"Good."

He smiles. I see Ruth sitting at the table with her slice of cake.

"I got $2 for that painting."

I know Jack would have taken Ruth into town, and they would have sold the painting together, then afterwards he would have bought her a piece of candy from the corner store. She would have felt so proud, because getting candy during the Great Depression was something the children have not been doing. 

"I made three dollars off this photo shoot." 

"That's great." I see the encouragement on his face. I know that he's proud of our achievements, and so am I. He's a known painter and I'm a known actress in our community. Our family appears to be doing well.

"But I gave a dollar away to a homeless person."

He rolled his eyes. "I am glad you have a pure heart, but I've already warned you that you have to be careful right now and not approach homeless people, Rose." I hear his voice getting a little high-pitched, so I know he's a little bit angry. I know it wasn't about helping somebody, but putting my own safety at risk. 

I nod. "I know."

"Because if something happened to you, something would happen to me. Remember, you jump, I jump."

I smile, remembering the moment Jack saved me from jumping off the boat. He saved me from myself, yet again in a different way than he saves me now. 

"Did you get candy Ruth?" 

She smiles with her whole face lighting up. "A peppermint one shaped like a heart."

"A heart."

She nods. 

I smile and sit down at the table, and Jack hands me a piece of frosting less cake. As a child, I would have never eaten this cake, but I know we're in a great depression, and things are different. I close my eyes, remembering all the fancy desserts served to me as a kid. The vanilla and lavender cake was certainly one of my favorites. But the memory is always interrupted with a painful one. I see my mom correcting me and how to properly put a napkin into my lap. How to properly hold a teacup, and which a spoon is correctly used for dessert. I am certainly happy that Ruth will never have to go through proper etiquette. She can just be my perfectly imperfect kid.

I smile, listening to Jack sing Come Josephine in My Flying Machine to Ruth, as she is nicely wrapped in warm blankets in her bed. The song was a reminder of my time on the ship, but also a symbol that we both made it through. It was by a rare chance that Jack found two wooden debris from the ship. One that supported my weight and another miracle that supported his. Many people were in the freezing water, and we were lucky to find something to stay afloat. I don't know how it happened or why it happened to me. It was just a lucky miracle or a gift from God.

"Are you ready for bed?" I hear Jack say, leaving Ruth's side. I know she has fallen asleep. 

His hand feels warm in mind as I take it and walk to our bedroom. 

"I love you Jack," I say as I climb into my side of the bed. 

"I love you Rose." I feel his breath on my face as he kisses my forehead. 

Life is made of choices. And each choice you make leads you down a different path. If I would have stayed in the Lifeboat with my mother, I may have still survived, but would I have truly been living? I am glad I chose a path that led me to become Rose Dawson.