Rose and Jacob

by Lexi Buchanan

Richard was a really good-looking man; tall, blond hair with blue eyes, but he had more interest in tinkering with cars than he did with me, or anyone else for that matter. I actually found him boring. On the two dates I’d been on with him, I couldn’t wait to get back home. I’d only agreed to go on them to stop my parents from bothering me about him.

  Today, I was lying in the hammock in the garden in an attempt to hide. Mother had allergies for just about everything you could get an allergy for, so despite her love of the garden, she never actually went into it. She certainly wouldn’t risk getting all blotchy to find me. At least, I hoped she wouldn’t.

  “Rose, you in here?”

  “Richard?” He nearly had me falling out of the hammock. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’ve come to see you, isn’t it obvious?”

  Why did that reply make me feel nervous?

  He helped me out of the hammock and led me over to the bench inside the newly built gazebo.

  “How have you been, Rose?” He shuffled his feet and gazed, nervously, around the garden.

  “I’m fine now. Thank you for asking. How are you?” I really hated polite conversation.

  “Good, good.” He started to pace back and forth in front of me.

  “Richard. Please stop. You’re making me dizzy,” I said as I watched him. “Whatever is the matter?”

  He stopped pacing and said the one word I didn’t want to hear. “Marriage.”

  When I heard it, I shot up off the bench and stood in front of him. “Please do not ask me to marry you! We don’t even know each other,” I begged.

  “It’s what our parents want.” He moved away from me and sank to the bench before he looked out at the sea, obviously deep in thought.

  “Richard, do you love me?” I stood to the side of him, awaiting his reply.

  He looked at me. “No.”

  I sighed in relief. “I don’t love you either, and when I marry, it will be for love, and not because of our parents. That’s what you should want as well. How do you expect to be happy if you’re not in love with your wife?”

  He took my hand and pulled me down beside him onto the bench. “Oh, Rose, thank you for being so frank with me. I agree with you. I’m not interested in settling down in marriage just yet. In fact, perhaps it’s time I start leading my own life, rather than being dictated to all the time. I would dearly value your friendship, though.”

  I smiled up at him. “Yes, that would be great.”

  Chapter 4

  W

  alking to the beach the following morning, Lucas had insisted on going via Thomas’s cottage to see if he wanted to go with them. Mack tried to talk him out of it, but Thomas was his new friend and had to be invited.

  Lucas ran off ahead of Mack once Thomas’s cottage came into view. She just hoped Lucas didn’t badger him. Once Lucas got a bee in his bonnet, it was difficult to bring him around to something else.

  Mack climbed the four steps up to Thomas’s porch where they were waiting for her. “Morning, Thomas. Sorry to barge in, but I’m afraid Lucas has something to ask you.”

  He put his head back and laughed. “Oh, I know that.” His eyes twinkled. “Lucas asked me if I wanted to come to the beach with him to watch you,” he coughed, “skinny dip.”

  Mack had just taken a sip of her water, which ended up down her top. “He never?” She looked at Thomas, and then at Lucas, who looked rather angelic. “Did he?”

  Thomas nodded his head.

  She narrowed her eyes. “Lucas Cartwright!”

  “Granny goes skinny dipping,” Lucas said in his defense.

  Mack quickly glanced at Thomas, who looked ready to burst into laughter. She sighed. “Okay. Lucas, we’re leaving to go to the beach. Thomas, would you like to come with us?”

  He looked from Mack’s blushing face to Lucas’s hopeful one. “I think I will.” Then he winked at Lucas and added, “Providing your auntie keeps her clothes on. Might give me a heart attack at my age.”

  Lucas started to giggle. Mack continued to blush.

  Once Thomas appeared in his lightweight jacket, Lucas took hold of both their hands and let them lead him to the beach. Once there, Mack guided them over to a shaded area. “Let’s sit here so we don’t fry like a lobster. I’ll still be able to watch you, Lucas, so don’t think you can get away with anything.”

  Thomas chuckled as he watched Lucas run off to play in the small tidal pool close to where they were sitting.

  “He sure is a handful,” Thomas commented, sitting beside Mack on the blanket.

  Mack laughed. “He sure is. I think he listens to his granny too much.” She sat with her legs pulled up, and she rested her chin on her knees. “It’s lovely here, Thomas. I’ve never been to Cape Elizabeth before, which is unbelievable, considering I’ve lived all my life in Boston. It’s so quiet and peaceful here.”

  After a few minutes, Thomas glanced at Mack then back to Lucas. “I’ve never lived anywhere else. When Janet, my wife, was alive, we traveled to Europe, Canada, and Australia over the years we were together, but since she passed away, I haven’t been anywhere. I don’t need to travel after seeing what I have, and having this in my backyard . . . why bother?”

  “It’s paradise, Thomas.”

  “That it is. Why don’t you have a boyfriend?”

  Mack quickly glanced at him. That question was unexpected!

  He laughed. “You’re a pretty young woman, Mack. I might be old, but there’s nothing wrong with my eyesight.”

  “I date, but—”

  “No one ever lit the spark?”

  “That about sums it up.” She sighed.

  While she enjoyed the silence, Mack mulled over the last date she’d been on, at her mother’s insistence. He’d been fifty-five and a friend of her parents. In fairness, he was handsome and looked younger than his years, but he had three children, two of whom were older than she was, and he couldn’t stop talking about his wife. His soon-to-be ex-wife. After the date, Mack had actually told her parents that she gave him five months and he’d be back with his wife.

  “Auntie Mack?” Lucas joined them on the blanket and cuddled into Thomas.

  “Yeah? Are you tired, Lucas?” He looked really sleepy and he rubbed his eyes as she watched him.

  “I think I’ll have a nap as well,” Thomas added as he spread out beside Lucas.

  “Well, if you’re both napping, I’m going to read.” She watched them both settle down before she retrieved Rose’s diary from her purse.

  Mack moved back and rested against a small rock. She gazed at a yacht far out at sea, until it disappeared from the horizon, and then opened the diary to the bookmarked page.

  Chapter 5

  March 11, 1947

  We meet again…

  I’d been busy over the past three days since I last wrote in my diary, thanks to Jayne. One night she took me to a dance at her office to celebrate a big contract they had been awarded. I danced with a few of the single men Jayne worked with, which was nice, but I was still hoping to see Jacob again. I couldn’t get him out of my head.

  Two nights ago, Jayne and I went to the movie theater to watch, It’s a Wonderful Life, which was late coming to Cape Elizabeth. I really liked James Stewart. The movie was long and, walking home, all I wanted to do was drop into bed because I was so tired. Jayne made me laugh, though. She flirted with the movie attendant and ended up having a date with him last night, which actually gave me a night off.

  Today was my day off from the library and I was so looking forward to meeting Jayne in town. Ever since meeting Jacob, I’d been spending more time worrying about my appearance, just in case I should see him again. It has been seven days since our first meeting; everywhere I went, I looked for him. I so hoped he hadn’t left Cape Elizabeth.

  It was thirty minutes past twelve as I approached ‘Belle’s Tea Rooms’ to meet Jayne. Belle was from Cornwall and moved to America after the war to be with her husband, whom she married while he was stat
ioned over there. She made the most amazing scones and cream cakes, and I was so looking forward to indulging this afternoon, our monthly treat.

  “Rose,” Jayne shouted from behind me. I slowed down so she could catch up.

  “Jayne. I’m glad you’re not late again.” Whenever I arranged to meet Jayne, she was always at least ten minutes late and kept me standing around waiting for her like a bump on a log.

  “Let’s get inside. I haven’t had lunch yet.” Jayne not eating lunch before coming here was nothing new. She made up for it with the cakes!

  I opened the door and walked in to be greeted by the most delicious aroma. As I looked around, I froze. Across the room, also frozen, his eyes locked on me, was Jacob. Jayne, not realizing I had stopped, walked straight into me and pushed me toward Jacob, who had walked across the room to me and took hold of my hands.

  “Rose. I can’t believe . . . Rose, you’re here?” he said, not letting go of my hands.

  “Rose. Who is this?” Jayne asked.

  I had completely forgotten Jayne was with me. “Jayne, this is Jacob. Jacob, this is my best friend, Jayne.”

  “Nice to meet you, Jayne,” Jacob replied without taking his eyes or hands from mine.

  “Please join us?” Jacob invited, and before I could reply, he was leading us across the room to his companion. I hesitated slightly when I saw the other woman. “She’s my sister,” he whispered to me with a twinkle in his eye.

  “Eleanor, I would like you to meet Rose,” Eleanor raised an eyebrow, “and her friend, Jayne. This is my sister, Eleanor.”

  After shaking hands, Jacob pulled a chair out for me and then, remembering his manners, for Jayne. If I was to be asked later what I ate, I wouldn’t be able to answer; I was so completely caught up in Jacob. While Jayne and Eleanor chatted away, Jacob and I gazed longingly at each other.

  “Are you really sitting in front of me?” Jacob whispered.

  “I thought I wouldn’t see you again. I thought maybe you had left Cape Elizabeth.”

  He lifted his hand as though to caress my face, but then he remembered we were in public and pulled back. “I couldn’t remember where you worked.” Then he started to laugh. “I tried so many places in town looking for you.”

  I took his hand. “I work at the library. I’ve been looking for you as well.”

  Before I knew it, we had finished our tea and cake. As we headed for the reception room, Jayne and Eleanor headed toward the powder room while Jacob took my hand and pulled me into an alcove behind a really large, potted plant.

  “Please tell me you’re not marrying that other fellow?”

  “No,” I replied, shaking my head. He shocked the life out of me by kissing me on the cheek, tenderly.

  “Can I see you again?” He moved closer.

  “Yes.”

  His lips came down on mine. I was sure I could see stars. I couldn’t think, my whole world had tipped on its axis. He pulled his mouth away from mine, and I finally came back to myself. He just grinned at me.

  “Um . . . I think we need to practice that.” I blushed at how forward I was being.

  I reached up and pulled his head down to mine. Fireworks exploded in my head. I wasn’t usually so forward, but this felt right . . . this was Jacob.

  We both pulled away rather breathless. “Can I see you tonight?”

  “Oh, yes,” I replied excitedly.

  I told him where I lived and we quickly arranged to meet at ten on the beach.

  All the way out of town, Jayne did nothing but go on and on about Jacob and how much my parents would disapprove. I pointed out to Jayne that it was my life, and I would see Jacob if I wanted to. She walked off in a bit of a huff. From now on, I am going to keep him my secret. I certainly didn’t want to have my parents finding out about him before I knew him better.

  My father was a snob and, in his eyes, anyone who wore anything other than a suit to work was not worthy of his only daughter. He actually hated me working at the library, which was all the more reason to do it!

  Later that night I brushed my hair until it shone. I slipped on one of my new dresses, which was pale pink with white piping around the neck and sleeves. I applied my pink lipstick and slipped my feet into my pink shoes.

  My stomach was full of butterflies with excitement as I sneaked out of my room and down the stairs, through the kitchen, then out the backdoor.

  With a deep breath, I walked around Mother’s rose garden and between the gaps in the hedges to be able to walk down the path to the beach without being seen.

  Five minutes later, I turned the bend in the path and could just make out Jacob and the smile that spread across his face at the sight of me.

  Jacob started walking toward me as I sped up my walk, and before I knew it, we stood facing each other.

  He reached out with his hands and caressed my face before he touched his lips to mine in the sweetest of kisses. The kiss went on and on, and by the time he withdrew his lips from mine, my knees were so weak, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk.

  “I can’t believe you’re here in front of me. That I have my hands on your face. I feel as though I’ve known you for years and that it hasn’t only been a few days since we met,” he confessed.

  I had tears in my eyes. “I know what you mean. I feel it too, Jacob.”

  He seemed to pull himself together before he stepped back and took my hand in his. “Come, Rose. Let’s walk along the beach before it gets too dark.”

  “I’d like that.”

  We strolled down the sandy beach wrapped in each other’s arms. My arm was around Jacob’s waist and his was around my shoulders, holding me tightly. He felt delicious against my side, and all I wanted was for him to stop walking and kiss me senseless.

  I had been on dates with other young men in the past . . . we had held hands, walked down the beach and through town, but no one had ever felt as good beside me . . . no one had felt so right.

  Was I falling in love with him? I honestly felt so happy with Jacob.

  As we walked along the beach, he told me all about his sister, Eleanor, and how close he was to her.

  She was ten years older than him but growing up, they had been as thick as thieves. She had been engaged before the war, but her fiancé had been killed in France. Apparently, she hadn’t been the same since and she still missed him dearly.

  It brought home to me all the people who had lost loved ones during the war. My family included.

  All too soon, it was time for me to head home before I was missed.

  Jacob walked me part of the way home, along the footpath.

  “Rose, I don’t want to let go of you. How is that possible after only a couple of meetings?”

  “I feel the same,” I whispered as I buried my face into his chest.

  He placed his hand under my chin and lifted my face so he could place a gentle kiss to my lips.

  “Will you meet me at lunch tomorrow? Near the rocks.”

  “Yes.” I turned quickly and started running toward my house before I remembered that we hadn’t arranged a time. Turning back, I shouted, “One o’clock.”

  “I’ll be there,” he shouted back.

  March 12, 1947

  I can’t wait for lunch…

  I’d spent all morning watching the clock creep very slowly to one o’clock. Why did the time always drag when you were looking forward to being somewhere else?

  “Rose?”

  Mr. Young.

  “Yes?”

  “I have been talking to you for the past five minutes, but you appear to be here in body only. Are we keeping you from something?”

  “Not really. Is the meeting over?”

  I made a quick exit, ignoring Mr. Young’s flustered expression. I grabbed my jacket and purse from the staff room before I left the library to go and meet Jacob.

  I was so excited as I ran along the sidewalk toward the beach and the few rocks where we would be meeting. I still couldn’t believe how much he had started
to mean to me. I even pinched my arm once or twice to make sure it was real and not a figment of my imagination. There he was, pacing back and forth, before he stopped to look around him, then he would start up again. Was he nervous? Worried that I wouldn’t turn up?

  He lifted his head again and spotted me. He stilled and a huge grin spread over his face.

  I ran toward him and threw myself into his arms. He hugged me real tight and then sealed his mouth to mine.

  Being in Jacob’s arms with his lips locked to mine made me tingle all over, even in places that I hadn’t tingled before, and it sure felt good.

  “Rose, I’ve been really looking forward to seeing you again. I couldn’t concentrate on anything this morning for thinking about you.” He caressed my face, and then his fingers slid down to my neck and shoulders.

  “I’ve been watching the clock all morning,” I confessed.

  Jacob smiled, took my hand, and pulled me down the steps to the beach then over to a large rock. He helped me to get comfortable before he put his arm around me.

  “I only have about twenty minutes. We don’t get too long for lunch.”

  “I’d rather have twenty minutes with my Rose, than none at all.”

  I rested my head against Jacob as we just sat and gazed out to sea. My eyes found a trawler out on the horizon, which I watched until it disappeared from view.

  I could sit with Jacob all day in silence and yet still be more than aware that he was sitting with me. That was how comfortable I felt being with him.

  If I was to sit at home with my parents, I would be twitching and desperate for an escape within five minutes, but not Jacob.

  “Rose, will you tell me a bit about yourself? About your family?”

  I quickly glanced at my watch and realized fifteen minutes had past while we’d both been lost in our own world. “I’m not sure we have time, but I’ll tell you that there is my brother, JT, and my parents. We also have a housekeeper who tries her best to keep JT in line, but she tends to fail more often than my parents would like.” I grinned. “I think we need to make a move.”