Chapter 10

I”m exhausted a week later.Lucas had been sick with a bad cold, which had kept both of us housebound, and then Thomas caught it. I insisted he move into Rose Cottage while he was sick so that I could care for him as well. Then, two days ago, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling yucky and sick, so Thomas took over as nursemaid because he was feeling better. Of course, Lucas tried to assist, but he kept getting in the way.

After missing the ocean for the past week, all I want is a walk on the beach. I”ve also missed Rose and Jacob because I”ve been too tired and then too sick to pick up the diary while playing Florence Nightingale. I never expected to miss a story so completely, but I did. I”d hoped to enjoy Rose”s writing.

Throwingoff the covers, I climb out of bedand quickly dress in a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and consider whether or not to wear a sweater, but after being sick, I decide one is required.

Standing in the doorway, I observe Thomas and Lucas interact. They appear to understand what the other wants without saying anything. It”s sweet.

”You”re awake, Auntie Mack. We”re making you breakfast... You were supposed to eat it in your bed.” Lucas doesn”t seem impressed.

”Well, I”d love to eat your breakfast, but I”ll sit here with you and Thomas. If that”s okay with you? Then, after breakfast, we could go for a walk along the beach. I need to get some fresh air.”

“Yeah!” Lucas yells as he sprints around the kitchen.

With the racket he”s making, I have to put my hands over my ears.

”Lucas, please be quiet now. Your auntie is getting a headache from you.” Much to my relief, Thomas” words manage to silence him.

They”d made my favorite pancakes, which I eat with a little butter and maple syrup. I happen to glance up as I put the first piece in my mouth and notice that both Thomas and Lucas are staring at me.

I pause in the middle of chewing.

”I dropped an eggshell into it.” Lucas is beaming with delight.

“Oh.”

Thomas begins to laugh as I continue to eat cautiously.

I clear my plate while only eating a few pieces of the shell. ”That was delicious. Thank you very much.”

”She really liked it.” Lucas is overjoyed.

”Thomas, are you going to walk to the beach with us?” Iaskas whileclearingthe breakfast dishes from the table.

”No, Mack, I don”t think so. I”ll accompany you all the way to my cottage.”

Lucas”s face sinks. “I don’t want you to leave, Thomas. Are you unable to stay?”

Lucas is dragged onto Thomas” lap. “I’m only two minutes away. The problem is that I require my own space. I haven”t lived with anyone in a long time, and while it”s been nice staying here, I need to go home. I am grateful for everything you and your auntie have done for me. In fact, I”m sure your auntie will invite me to dinner if she feels like it.”

”Think of yourself as invited. Now Lucas, you go and wash up and bring a sweater down with you. I don”t want you to get sick again.”

I turn to face Thomas and give him a good look. He appears pale, but in better health than he had been. ”Are you sure you”re feeling, okay?”

He laughs. ”I”m perfectly fine. Tired. Unless I”m in my own bed, I don”t sleep well.”

”I understand what you mean. I”m a little like that, but for some reason, I”ve had no problems here. Perhaps it”s the fresh air and proximity to the sea.”

”Auntie Mack, I”m ready,” Lucas announces as he enters the kitchen.

I turn to face Lucas, who is dressed appropriately in a sweater and sneakers.

”Come on, let”s go. And no playing in the tidal pools today, Lucas. You”ve been ill.”

”This isn”t going to be any fun,” he complains.

I smile and lead him out of the cottage before taking his hand in mine. We begin walking along the beach path with Thomas.

When we arrive at Thomas”s cottage, I join him on the porch, while Lucas relaxes in the front lawn lounge chair.

”Thomas, may I ask you a question?”

“Go on.”

”Are you, JT?”

Thomas abruptly stops what he”s doing and sits down on the porch swing. ”I haven”t called myself that in a long time.It was her nickname for me, switching my initials around so no one would know she was talking about me,” he explains as he wipes his brow with his hand. ”Of course, it didn”t take long for everyone to realize she was referring to me.”

”Thomas, if talking about Rose is too painful for you, we can just leave it.I don”t mean to cause you any problems,” I express concern.

”She hated me,” Thomas says quietly.

”Who?” I ask, surprised. ”Rose?”

He gives a nod. ”Yes, I was always trying to get her into trouble.” He shakeshis head.

”No, Thomas. You”re mistaken. She wrote in her diary that she adores you. Wait a second.” I quickly pull the diary from my purse and locate the relevant section. “This was written on March 20, 1947. ”JT is also known as Thomas James,” Rose says. He”s twelve years old, and no matter what he thinks, I adored him.” Thomas, that”s what she wrote in here.”

”I never knew,” he says, almost in tears.

He gets up and unlocks his front door after a few moments of silence. ”Don”t worry, Mack. I”ll be fine. I”m glad you discovered her diary and informed me. It means a lot to me.” He attempts to reassure me. ”You go have fun with the boy, and I”ll see you both later for dinner.”

Thomas shuts the door as I turn to face Lucas, who is patiently waiting in the garden. I hope Thomas is okay; after all, it must have been a shock to discover his sister”s words.

* * *

Lucasand I had both napped after returning from the beach. Despite feeling better, the long walk collecting clamshells and smooth bones had been exhausting.

I am obsessed with shells and have them all over my apartment. Lucas has painted some and stuck them to some sort of clay item that he”d made for mybirthday for the past three years. I smile as I recall the flowerpot, vase, and coffee mug he made for me. They”re all useless, but they mean more to me because Lucas took the time to make them. I knew I”d cherish them for the rest of my life.

After we”ve finished eating, Thomas decides to stay while Lucas takes his bath so he can read him another Our Gang story before we go to bed.

I”m drinking coffee in the living room with Thomas and hoping he”s decided to talk about Rose.

”What exactly do you want to know?”

”Tell me something about your sister.”

”Oh, she was incredible. So full of life.” He takes a deep breath and pauses. ”I was with her the first time she met him. Does she write about it in her diary?”

”She does, indeed. You dragged her away from him, she claims.”

As he recalls, Thomas laughs. ”I did, indeed. Our father was a connoisseur. He would have made her life hell if he”d known she was interested in someone who wasn”t wealthy. He barely allowed Rose to work at the library, but she refused to leave and stated that she needed to earn her own money. I don”t think she enjoyed working there, but it was her chance to be free. It probably made her happy that she was going against Father”s wishes.”

He needs a minute. ”I caught her sneaking off to meet him once or twice, so she could bribe me with ten cents to buy Our Gang comics. To keep me quiet, she went out and bought me the April 1st edition. It was our little secret because Father had told Mother I couldn”t have that issue for misbehaving. I sometimes think that if I had told my father about what she was doing, she might still be alive.”

I look at him, wondering if I heard him correctly. ”What exactly do you mean?”

Thomas returns my gaze with a glance out the window. ”She died on April 14, 1947, the night she was fleeing with him. She”d gone to meet him, to marry him, I suppose. That was my last encounter with her.” Thomas wipes away his tears.

”How did she die?” I inquire.

”That”s something I really don”t want to talk about.”

”Do you happen to know if she met up with Jacob?” I can”t stop asking questions.

”No, she didn”t make it. I overheard my father talking to my mother a few days later. It turned out to be about Jacob. I overheard him telling her that Jacob had called the house and asked for Rose. He informed Jacob that she’d married Richard. He stated that Jacob sounded very upset and then hung up on him.”

”Oh my, so if he”s still alive, all this time Jacob thinks Rose changed her mind and didn”t love him,” I cry. ”That”s so heartbreaking, Thomas. I need to contact him and tell him what happened to Rose.”

”If he is still alive, he will be older than I am. When I overheard my parents talking, my father mentioned that he was three years older than Rose and thus...” Thomas”s voice trailed off as he calculated, ”around ninety, I think.”

”I have to give it a shot, Thomas. You can see and feel how much she loved him if you read her diary, and if his feelings were the same as hers, he has to know.” I still have tears streaming down my cheeks. ”If he is still alive and remembers her, which I believe he will, he has the right to know the truth.”

”I think you”re right.” He is getting ready to leave.

”Thank you for sharing that with me, Thomas. Knowing how their love ended breaks my heart.”

”You have a tender heart,” Thomas says as he kisses my cheek.

”Will you be okay walking home? It”s completely dark out there.”

”I”ve been walking home in the dark since I was five years old,” he chuckles as he walks out the door.

”Then good night. Why don”t you come to breakfast with us? Pancakes, eggs, and sausage,” I offer as an enticement.

”I”ll be right there at eight.”

“Goodnight.”

I stand on the doorstep, watching Thomas walk home. Rose and Jacob occupymy thoughts; their story is heartbreaking.

I lock up the cottage for the night and go upstairs to shower and change into my pajamas.

Back downstairs, I prepare my usual hot chocolate and pull Rose”s diary from my purse before retiring to bed with a heavy heart. Knowing how it all ends brings tears to my eyes, but Rose”s story is so bittersweet that I can”t put it down.