Distant Waves (18 page)

"But you doubted your prediction enough to get on the ship," I pointed out.

"I thought about it long and hard," he agreed. "When my ticket came from President Taft for this particular ship, it was as if the time had come for my great test. I sensed it. Perhaps the test is of my faith in the supernatural. Maybe it is in my ability to enact a change for world peace. Either way, I couldn't say no simply because I was frightened. Not to go to this conference would mean I failed to attempt to work for peace."

"You could have taken another ship," I said.

"Julia has predicted my death by ice. On the other ship, I might have slipped on a dropped ice cube and hit my head. There is no sense trying to outwit fate."

I admired his courage. "My sisters are dreaming they will drown," I told him.

"Maybe they will -- thirty years from now. Maybe they are simply afraid of the ocean, and this anxiety finds its way into their dreams."

I remembered how the twins disliked the ocean. "I think that must be it."

After we left Mr. Stead, I sensed that Emma felt better. On her way back, I suggested to her that Amelie might even have gotten upset at the sight of Tesla because some buried childhood memory of the terrifying earthquake had reawakened at the sight of him.

"That does make sense," Emma agreed.

We would try to put the whole thing out of mind ... if we could.

***

A
fter that, everything became about planning Mimi's wedding. It was scheduled for Sunday night. It was the only time Captain Smith was available, since he was obligated by tradition to sit with the most elite of the first-class guests during dinner.

In the next two days, I lost a lot of the animosity I'd felt toward Ninette because she included me in planning the spectacular reception that was to follow Mimi's wedding ceremony. The ship's kitchen was already at work preparing a sumptuous dessert buffet and a three-tiered wedding cake.

On Thursday night, Ninette pulled a straight white crochet dress with a dropped waist from her wardrobe closet and, claiming that she had never worn it, handed it to Mimi, who proclaimed it "Perfect!"

But Ninette disagreed. "Not nearly good enough. Last night I dined with Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon and his wife, Lucy. Lucy is a dress designer with shops in New York and London. She's designed for the royal family! I'll commission her to design new gowns for all of us. She told me 
she's got yards and yards of gorgeous fabric in the cargo hold. She's bringing it to her store in New York, but now it will be all used up by the time she gets there. Oh, well; she can get more. Of course we'll have to invite Lord and Lady Duff Gordon. You don't mind, do you, Mimi? They're not bad company."

"The more, the merrier," Mimi agreed happily. Ninette and Mimi discussed the color and decided on a pale lavender for the bridesmaids, who would be Emma, Amelie, Blythe, and me.

"Jane, as maid of honor, you'll need a special dress," Ninette said.

I looked to Mimi to check if this was true. She hadn't mentioned it. Maybe she wanted Ninette to take that spot. "Really?" I asked her.

"Of course, really," Mimi said. "You're my closest sister, aren't you?"

My eyes misted up, but I didn't want to make a big fuss. "Won't all new dresses cost a fortune?" I asked, quickly wiping my eyes.

"Ha!" Ninette hooted. "Benjamin has ten fortunes. He'll never miss it. And Mimi will look like a goddess in a dress designed by Lady Duff Gordon."

"But who will make the dresses?" I asked.

"Cherie!"
she cried, laughing at my naiveté. "Third class is teeming with seamstresses and tailors who would die for the chance to make the extra cash."

"Can they work that quickly?" I questioned. "Of course they can!" Ninette said confidently, "There are hundreds of them down there."

***

By our third day out at sea, Emma, Amelie, and I were finally relaxed that no one would question our presence aboard the ship. In fact, the stewards had gotten so used to seeing us in Blythe and Mimi's rooms that they greeted us with friendly nods when we passed them.

Mimi sent an invitation list that included Mr. Stead as well as Colonel Astor and his wife, "Imagine the wedding present you'll get from them!" Blythe cried when she heard they were coming.

Besides the Astors and Duff Gordons, the list also included many other wealthy friends of Ninette and Mr. Guggenheim's, including a Mrs. Brown, whom some called "vulgar" behind her back but who I thought was a lot of fun, always telling funny stories and laughing at them louder than anyone else in the room. They also invited a very sweet elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Straus, who had started a magnificent department store called Macy's that I remembered passing on the way to the Waldorf-Astoria.

"And we must invite the movie actress Dorothy Gibson," Ninette insisted.

"Why must we?" I asked. 

"Oh!" Ninette cried. "Because she is famous and beautiful, and vivacious --
très jolie!
What a reception this will be!"

Li was also invited, and so were the LaRoches. I didn't see much of Tesla, so I extended his invitation through Thad. By the afternoon before the wedding, I still hadn't heard if he was coming. I needed to know; since he was a vegetarian, I wanted to make sure they served something he would enjoy eating.

"Has Tesla told you if he plans to come?" I asked Thad.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you," Thad replied as we walked along the deck. "Yeah, he'd like to come, but he and Astor will have to duck out so Tesla can demonstrate his next invention to Astor."

"Does it have to be that night?" I objected.

"Apparently so; that night the ship will be in the perfect location for Tesla's demonstration."

"Why?" I pressed.

"Tesla has been spending a lot of time in the telegraph room. He's driving the operators mad wanting to know about every message received from other ships at sea. They've thrown him out more than once, but he just keeps coming back. He's determined to know if the ships are sending any warnings."

"Warnings about what?" I asked. 

"Ice. He's demonstrated to Astor that his machine can shatter a vase, but Astor wants to see if it can really break up an iceberg."

"Does Tesla expect we'll have a problem with ice?" I asked.

"He's hoping so," Thad replied.

***

Thad was supposed to spend the rest of the day working with Tesla but Tesla had one of his spells that forced him to lie silently in his darkened cabin. Thad immediately came and found me in Li's room. "Jane, come out. We can spend the day together," he called through the door.

I answered with a hot curling rod in my hand. I had been making a futile attempt to make curls in Emma's fine hair. "I can come back later," he said when he saw the rod and Emma seated on a stool, her hair down around her shoulders.

"No, Jane, you go out with him," Emma offered with a resigned sigh. "My hair was just not meant to curl. I'm going to give up on this and go find Amelie out on deck."

I gave her shoulder a quick pinch of thanks. She knew how much I wanted to spend the time with Thad.

I noticed he was wearing a blue wool pea jacket. "Is it cold?" I asked.

"There's a cold wind. Wear a coat," he advised.

He and I hurried together up to the first-class deck. The sky was a field of blue with fat clouds rolling lazily in it. Thad took hold of my hand. "Is this all right?" he checked.

Smiling, I nodded. It was more than all right. To be walking hand in hand with Thad on the deck of the
Titanic
was perfect happiness. A brisk breeze whipped past, pushing us forward. A woman's feathered hat blew past us like a great winged bird sailing by. Thad leaped for it, snapping it out of the air.

A woman laughed and clapped in delight. "Well done, young man. Thank you ever so much." It was jolly Mrs. Brown.

Thad handed her the huge hat.

She returned it to her head, jabbing a long, pearl-headed pin into it, attaching it to her mountain of hair. The boa of black feathers at her neck ruffled in the wind. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea to wear all these feathers in a stiff wind," she said with a chuckle. "Don't be surprised if you see me airborne off the bow of the ship."

This image made me laugh. "I hope not," I said, smiling.

"Aw, don't worry about me. Nothing ever happens to me. I was born under a lucky star," she said good-naturedly.

"Do you think there is such a thing?" Thad asked her.

"I'm sure there is, young man," she replied. "I can tell you're lucky."

"How can you tell that?" Thad asked.

Mrs. Brown threw her head back and let out the most raucous guffaw I'd ever heard. "Could it be more obvious? Look at this lovely young woman at your side! Don't you see the stars in her eyes when she looks at you? Could you be any luckier?"

I was beginning to blush, but then I noticed that Thad was red as Mrs. Brown's hat. Smiling broadly, Mrs. Brown thumped him on the back. "Isn't love grand?" she said as she began to walk off. "I hope you enjoy every second of it, kids."

We couldn't help but laugh.

"It is grand," Thad said more seriously once our laughter had subsided. "Love?" I asked.

He nodded and stepped closer to me. "I love you, Jane."

Peering into his blue eyes, I tried to read his expression. Was he telling the truth? It took only a second to decide that he was.

I rested my hand on his sleeve. "I love you, too."

He lowered his head and I tipped my chin up to meet his warm kiss. This kiss felt different than yesterday's kiss. This kiss was like a promise, tender and heartfelt. It was slow and deep.

There was something flowing between us. Was it energy? Electricity? Spirit? Whatever it was made me feel so connected to Thad in a way I had never felt with another person, not even my sisters.

When we were done kissing, he kept his arms around me. My cheek rested against his chest, enjoying his warmth. "I feel like such an idiot when I remember that I almost let you get away from me," he said softly. "Mrs. Brown is right. I'm so lucky to be on this ship with you."

"I don't know if it's fate or luck," I said. "I'm just so happy to be here with you. I never want this trip to end."

Thad took a folded white piece of paper and a pencil from his pocket. Opening the paper flat, he began to write. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"You'll see." On the paper he wrote these words:
Thad loves Jane.

Then he began creasing the paper. I quickly realized he was making another of his paper gliders.

With a quick pitch, he launched it over the side of the ship. A current of wind instantly snapped it up, whirling it in a circle before it leveled out straight.

Thad loves Jane.
How wonderful it sounded.

"It's out there now," he said, putting his arm around my waist. "There's no taking it back."

***

O
n the morning Mimi was to marry Victor, I met Thad for breakfast inside the dining salon. "So, this is the big day for Mimi," he said.

"It is," I agreed, smiling. "And for Tesla, too." Dropping my head, I checked around for any sign of the thug in the derby hat. Thad had caught a glimpse of him the day before, but he'd ducked out of sight before Thad could get a hold of him. When I was sure he was nowhere near, I whispered to Thad, "Has Tesla heard any more about the ... you know ... ice?"

Nodding, Thad spoke in an equally low tone. "Last night at ten thirty a ship called the
Rappahonnock
sent a severe ice warning."

"I hope it doesn't disrupt Mimi's wedding," I said.

"Don't worry -- Tesla will have his device ready to bust up anything that gets in our way. That thing can crash buildings and take down bridges. What's a little ice?"

I remembered well what Tesla's earthquake machine could do and felt less worried.

After breakfast, we strolled on the first-class deck once again. Sometimes at the back of the boat -- the stern -- we would look down at the small outside deck given to the third-class passengers. It was called the "poop" deck. It was often crowded with children or men playing soccer.

That morning, there were only a few children playing. "Where are they all?" Thad wondered.

"Probably inside, putting last-minute touches on the dresses for the wedding," I guessed.

"Jane," Thad said seriously, "we have to figure out how we can see each other once we get home. I've been given a second chance with you and I don't want to be stupid again. I couldn't stand to be without you."

"I don't want to be away from you, either," I replied. The very idea of it made me heartsick. "We live miles apart but... I just had a thought. It's crazy...."

"What?" he asked eagerly.

"Oh, I was just thinking ... if my article on Tesla wins, I'll be living in New York City. I'll probably hear one way or the other when we get home."

He grasped my hands excitedly. "That's it! You'll win. You
have
to win," Thad said. "It will solve the entire problem."

"It would be wonderful, but we can't count on it," I cautioned.

"It's a sure thing! Once Tesla sells his inventions to Astor tonight, there will be a huge amount of interest in 
him and the invention. The timing on your article is phenomenal. It's bound to win!"

"You're pretty sure Astor will like what Tesla shows him?" I asked.

"He'd be crazy not to! It'll make his fortune even bigger than it already is."

I looked out at the choppy, white caps of the ocean and imagined Thad and me together in the city -- on our own and wildly in love. I could almost see us kissing on the sidewalk, in restaurants, in museums -- arm in arm and kissing endlessly.

And then that annoying part of me that felt fearful when everything seemed so perfect kicked in. "What if I don't win the contest and Astor doesn't want to fund the inventions?" I asked.

Thad was undaunted. "I'll get a job with Westinghouse Company in Buffalo. With references from Tesla, they'd be sure to hire me."

"You'd leave Tesla?"

"I'd convince him to move. He likes Buffalo. But, if I had to, I'd leave him -- for you, I would."

"But you want to design planes," I reminded him. "Does Westinghouse do that?"

"Westinghouse invests in new inventions. It will be all right."

Being with him like this was everything I had always dreamed it would be.

Thad pulled me into his arms. "Jane, I can't be without you," he said, his voice filled with passion. "I don't ever want to be apart again. Do you feel the same?"

"See the ocean, Thad," I said. "That's what my love for you is like."

Don't ask me how I could be so sure after such a short time together that I would love Thad for the rest of my life. But I was absolutely certain of it.

Mr. Stead thought all of us had the potential to be psychic and predict the future -- at least a little. Gazing up at Thad, I saw my own future.

"We could be engaged when we get home," Thad offered. "It could be a long engagement, if you don't feel ready for marriage. I don't care, really."

I reached up and kissed him with all the passion and love I felt.

"Does that mean yes?" he asked.

Tears of happiness swept into my eyes. "Yes! Yes!" 

***