Falling into the Ship of Dreams (Jack Dawson love story)

Going overboard

Brock and Bodine were watching Mir Two being swung over the side to start a dive.

"She's a goddamned liar!" Bodine exclaimed. "A nutcase. Like that... what's her name? That Anastasia babe."

"They're inbound," Buell said. Brock nodded and the three of them, with a quite silent and slightly reluctant Avery, headed forward to meet the approaching guests.

"She says she's Rose DeWitt Bukater, right?" Bodine said. "Rose DeWitt Bukater died on the Titanic. At the age of seventeen. If she'd've lived, she'd be over a hundred now."

"A hundred and one next month," Brock chimed in.

"Okay, so she's a very old goddamned liar," Bodine pressed. "I traced her as far back as the she was working as an actress in L.A. An actress. Her name was Rose Dawson. Then she married a guy named Calvert and moved to Cedar Rapids. Now Calvert's dead, and from what I've heard Cedar Rapids is dead."

They were silent for a moment, as they kept walking, when, suddenly, Avery decided to speak up, almost scaring the daylights out of the three men.

"It was a traumatizing event in which she surely lost someone very dear to her. Maybe that was what had pushed her into changing her name, which evidently changed again when she got married," she said calmly right before the noise surrounding them started to amplify.

The Sea Stallion approached the ship, forcing Brock to yell over the rotors. "And everybody who knows about the diamond is supposed to be dead..." he said. "Or on this ship. But she knows about it. And I want to hear what she has to say. Got it?"

In a thundering downblast, the helicopter's wheels bounced down on the helipad. Avery, Brock, Buell and Bodine watched as the helicopter crew chief handed out about ten suitcases, and then an old lady was lowered to the deck in a wheelchair by Keldysh crewmen. A younger woman in her forties, ducking unnecessarily under the rotor, followed her out, carrying the Pomeranian dog. The crew chief handed a puzzled Keldysh crew member a goldfish bowl with several fish in it. The old lady sure did not travel light. It was almost hard to believe as the little old lady looked impossibly fragile amongst all the high tech gear, grungy deck crew and gigantic equipment.

"S'cuse me, I have to go check our supply of Depends," Bodine muttered, excusing himself before leaving. Avery was next t excuse herself, feeling a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She sat there on her berth, staring at the portrayal of the handsome young man she had drawn the previous day.

Why had she drawn him? Who was he? And why did he look somewhat familiar?

Shaking her head, she closed her sketch book, got up and left to meet Bodine, her brother, who were surely with the newcomers, holding her book tightly to her chest.

Lizzy was unpacking Rose's things in a small utilitarian room. Rose was placing a number of framed photos on the bureau, arranging them carefully next to the fishbowl. Brock and Bodine were in the doorway.

"Is your stateroom alright?" Brock asked. Rose looked up and smiled kindly at him, her eyes twinkling in a strange way when they caught sight of Avery joining her brother at the door. The second their eyes locked together, Avery instantly looked away, her heart pounding hard against her chest in shock. They shared the same strange blue-green eyes.

"Yes. Very nice," she said gratefully. "Have you met my... adoptive granddaughter, Lizzy? She takes care of me."

"Yes. We met just a few minutes ago, grandma. Remember, up on deck?"

"Oh, yes," Rose replied with a small, soft laugh.

Brock glanced at Bodine... oh, oh. Bodine rolled his eyes. Rose finished arranging her photographs. Avery subtly stepped forward to get a glimpse of those photos. They were usual snapshots... children and grandchildren... well, adoptive ones, and her late husband.