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Dorothy sighed as she got off of the lifeboat and walked with the others along the deck. The next morning, another liner called The Starline, came along and picked up the survivors of the Titanic disaster. Dorothy didn’t want to be on another boat but what could she do? She was ushered into a room that was filled with cots and blankets. She sat down on one and she was handed a hot cup of coffee. She sipped it slowly. Lots of people around her were asking where lost loved ones were, but most didn’t know. She wanted to find Abraham but she didn’t have the strength.

“Dorothy?”she heard someone say.

She turned around, wanting and hoping that it was Abraham. It wasn’t.“Lucas?”

“Ohmygod….I was so worried about you”he said as he hugged her close to him

Dorothy pushed him away,”You? Worried about me?”

“Yes! I mean I know that you staying with those lowlifes would have killed you, but I see that you were smart. You got rid of them somehow”Lucas said

Dorothy slapped him hard across his face,”They are not lowlifes! They are good people unlike yourself. You are the one that left me! You didn’t care if I died!”

“Because you don’t even realize that Im alive! And that Abraham was a distraction….but…..Dorothy, baby you didn’t actually think that I meant that did you?”

“Don’t touch me Lucas. You are dead to me”she said as she turned away from him

“Fine……you’ll regret saying that….good luck getting back home”Lucas said cynically and stalked off.

Dorothy sighed as she sipped on her coffee. Just wanting this ongoing nightmare to end, she just wanted to wake up.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“Look, theres one”a man said

“Is she alive?”another asked. They rowed the boat closer and he put his hand on her neck to feel her pulse,”Very weak but alive”

“Ok….pull her in with the others”another said. They picked her out of the water and got the briefcase along with it.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

All day, Dorothy watched as new groups of survivors from the Titanic walked into the room that was reserved for all of them. But none of those groups had Abraham, Salomi or Vernon. Every group that she saw made her even more depressed. After awhile, she laid under her blanket, not wanting to see anyone. She sighed as she pulled Abraham’s jacket close to her, it still smelled like his cologne. This was all she had of him.

Then she heard someone crying. Sounded like a little girl. She looked up and now saw that the cot in front of her was occupied. A little girl was sitting there, she was laying in a fetal position on the cot and she was crying. Something told Dorothy to get up and go to her.

“Its alright sweetheart, you are safe now….”she said as she walked up to the girl and then realized who it was.”Salomi?”

Salomi looked up,”Dorothy?!”she said and then pulled her toward her and hugged her and cried into Abraham’s jacket.

“Oh thank God, you are alright”Dorothy said as she hugged her, but her eyes were looking around for Abraham.”Its alright sweetheart”she said as she stroked her hair. But then she stopped, why was she crying? She pulled away a little and wiped her face. “This has been one of the worst nights of your life huh?”she asked her. Salomi only nodded. “Wheres….”then she stopped, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear it.

Salomi started to cry even more, then she said,”He’s gone”

“Who?”Dorothy asked, and then instantly regretting it. She didn’t want to know.

“His jacket”Salomi cried as she smelled it.”It still…..smells like him…..”

Dorothy felt tears come to her eyes,”Salomi?…..he’s not…..he cant be…..”

Salomi nodded,”My father’s dead”

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Will I lose my dignity?
Will someone care?
Will I wake tomorrow?
From this nightmare?

Gabriel sighed as he sang that to himself over and over. That’s all he could say. This was all a nightmare and he wanted to wake up. But he knew it was real because when he tried to sleep, visions of Adam falling to his death would replay in his mind. He wrapped the blanket around himself and started to walk again. He could never sit for too long. He walked along the deck like a zombie, humming that song to himself, bumping into people every now and then, but he didn’t notice. He just kept walking.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“I’ll take care of you. Things happen for a reason and….since Vernon is gone too…I know your father would have wanted you to be taken care of”Dorothy said. She and Salomi cried for hours once she heard the news.They both then wrapped each other up in Abraham’s jacket and cried themselves to sleep. They then went to the cafeteria and tried to eat and they made their way back to the cots.”I mean unless you don’t want to…”she said to her,”I’ll give you time to think about it”

Salomi only nodded as someone bumped into her, but she didn’t even notice. Dorothy turned and saw a blonde boy walking by them. He didn’t really notice just like Salomi. Dorothy didn’t want to think of how many orphans came as a result of the sinking. She knew of one. She wrapped her arms around Salomi as they laid in her cot together. Soon Salomi fell asleep in her arms.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Dorothy woke up out of her sleep and sighed. She knew that she wasn’t going to have a good nights sleep for a long time. She then saw something move toward her and she looked up. Tears came to her eyes,”You’re alive!”she gasped

Abraham shook his head,”No…..great….this was a mistake…..”

“Wait….what?…..Im going crazy?”

“No….you’re not”he said,he walked over to Salomi,”God….thank God, shes ok. Shes been crying all day hasn’t she?” Dorothy nodded,”You too?”he asked her. She nodded again. “I just…..I don’t really have anything important to say….just….if she ever forgets….tell Salomi that I love her. I always will”he said

Dorothy nodded,”She knows”

“You said that you will take care of her? Will you?”

“Well I….I told her that she could think about it”Dorothy said, then she started to cry,”Abe I miss you”

“I miss you too. I didn’t want to leave….but it was God’s will”he said,”But you just have to remember that things happen for a reason. People come in and out of your life on purpose. God makes no mistakes…..it was his plan all along”he said and sighed,”God what a way to go”

“And just remember that you’re better off? Your better?”Dorothy asked. Was he?
Abraham smiled and nodded.”You found her?”she asked him

“Yes, she was there right after it happened. She’s been helping me get through this”Abraham said,”I’ll never stop loving my wife….”he said,”But I’ll always have a place in my heart for you….and she knows that…and I hope you know that too”

Dorothy nodded as she closed her eyes as tears fell down her face. She then felt a small gust of wind wipe away a tear and she opened her eyes. He was gone. Dorothy laid back down and cried. She wanted to understand why life was so cruel and unfair?

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Early the next morning, the Starline docked in New York and the whole world knew about the sinking of the Titanic and that some of the survivors were on the Starline and some were on the Olympique, which would dock the next day. Southstreet Seaport was packed with loved ones that were passengers on the Starline, surviving family members of the survivors and there was press everywhere.

Dorothy sighed as she saw all of the reporters. She didn’t want to speak to any of them. She saw the cab that came to pick her and Salomi up,”Alright, lets hurry up and get out of this madhouse”she said to her. Salomi nodded.

They walked down the ramp and Dorothy saw Lucas hamming it up to the reporters and cameras.”Oh it was a tragedy. Something that I will never forget. I tried my best to help in any way I can. No one ever saw this coming and I hope it will never happen again”he said

Dorothy rolled her eyes. What a liar. “Dorothy Gibson! Dorothy Gibson!”someone shouted. She sighed, great. Salomi turned away and covered her face.

“Dorothy Gibson, how does it feel to have survived? How does it feel to witness the sinking of the unsinkable Titanic?”

“It was horrible”Dorothy said as she pulled Salomi through the crowd, she opened the door to her cab and a bell boy put their bags in the trunk,”So horrible that I don’t want to talk about it”she said as she helped Salomi in the cab. She then got in and shut the door on them.

“Just one more question Dorothy!”
“Who is the girl with you?”
“Is there a romance brewing between you and Lucas?”
“Was the Titanic as beautiful as it has been described?” were more questions thrown at them. But they both ignored them as the cab drove off through the city of New York.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Gabriel sighed as he walked down the ramp. He pushed pass the many happy families and reporters. He saw many newspapers that read,”THE UNSINKABLE TITANIC SINKS”

He had to get out of here. He still needed to get home to Tennessee. He would give anything to see his grandmother at that moment. But the big question was, how was he going to get there. He was still poor as dirt. He walked to the train station and saw that a train that was stopping in Nashville was leaving in 30 minutes. He had to stow away once again. He looked around and slipped onto the train. He ran into the nearest bathroom and locked himself in. He would stay there until they reached Nashville.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Dorothy opened the door to her apartment in Manhattan. It was just how she left it. Clean and orderly, filled with the finest things in life. She sighed. The last time she was here she was leaving for London, pretending to be happy about the opportunities that the city would bring. She turned to Salomi,”Now you can stay here as long as you like….whether you have made a decision or not. If you want to go back to California, just let me know”

Salomi shook her head,”I cant go back there. All I had there was Daddy and Uncle Vernon…..it would just be….memories”

“Alright, that’s fine”she said to her,”Now I only have one bedroom. But I have this big comfy sofa here. I got it in Italy”she said and smiled. That was a great trip. Maybe she should go back.

“Its nice”Salomi said with a sigh, still holding onto the briefcase.

“Do you want me to take that?”Dorothy asked her

“No”Salomi said quickly. Dorothy couldn’t know about what her father and Uncle Vernon used to do. She might not like her anymore. She’ll probably get scared that she would get caught too and throw her out.”Im fine”

“Alright”Dorothy said and nodded. She reluctantly took off Abraham’s overcoat and hung it up. “Do you want something to eat? Soup? A sandwich? Are you thirsty?”she asked her.

Salomi shook her head,”Im not hungry”

Dorothy nodded,”Well if you do, I will leave some for you”she said as she started to boil some water for some soup. She didn’t like how Salomi didn’t eat. She didn’t know if she was supposed to make her eat or not. She’s never taken care of anyone before. Especially a child. However, she tried to remind herself that Salomi lost the two most important men in her life and she obviously had no one left. She was mourning. She, of all people, knew how mourning could be.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

“Ever since that Titanic ship sank, that’s all the papers ever talk about”Abby’s mother said from the kitchen as Abby laid in bed. Abby obeyed Vernon’s orders and didn’t get out of bed. She laid in bed all day, waiting for him to come back.

“It must be a big tragedy you know?”Abby said as she stared out the window,”A lot of people must have lost their lives”

“It sure looks big”her mother said. She then brought in a tray full of food.”Lunchtime”

“Im not hungry mother”Abby said as she shook her head.

“Abby, you need to eat. That isn’t going to be good for the baby either”her mother said sternly

“I ate like a pig the last few times that I was pregnant and see what happened? Anyway, Im only going to throw it up. Its just a waste”Abby said. She had so many theories on why she had those miscarriages. Was it because she ate too much? Too little? Was it because she was always on her feet? Or was she just sick?

“Huney believe me, I ate like a pig when I was carrying you and you turned out just fine”

“You didn’t have a problem though mother, you arent deformed like me”Abby said

“You arent deformed huney”her mother said,”But you will be if you don’t eat. That child is relying on you to take care of it. If you don’t eat, they don’t eat. At least put something in your stomach”

Abby sighed and took the mug off the tray and sipped on the tea.”You happy?”

“Almost”her mother said as she set the tray down on the nightstand beside her,”If you change your mind”she said to her. Then she remembered something,”Oh…something came in the mail for you earlier while you were sleeping”her mother said as she went into the kitchen and picked up a piece of paper.”It’s a letter……from London”

“London?”Abby asked. It must be from Vernon! “Give it to me”she said to her as a huge smile spread across her face. This was the first time that she smiled in days. She hasn’t heard from Vernon ever since he left.”Thank God”she said as she ripped it open. Her mother smiled and left the room, letting her daughter enjoy this moment.

“Oh his handwriting….still so sloppy”Abby said to herself as she unfolded the paper and started to read:

My Dear Abby,
This trip has been one of the wildest trips ever! I have good news. We took the train all the way from California to New York, it took a few days. New York City is a gorgeous city, you will love it. The next time I come back, you are coming with me. I talked to Dr. Livingstone, yes I met him in person! He has offered to take a look at you and help us have this baby. What news! We are leaving for New York tomorrow morning. We are going to travel on the Titanic, its supposed to be a legend. She’s taking her maiden voyage and she is unsinkable! We will be amongst its first passengers! We will be home on Thursday night, no day later. I want us to get to New York as soon as possible. Get packing. I want to leave Saturday morning so that we can see Dr. Livingstone first thing Monday morning. I can take you anyplace you want to go until then. I cant wait to see you, to hold you, to kiss you. Im coming home babe. I love you.

Vernie

Abby smiled, thank God, hes coming home! She was so ecstatic that she read it over again. Then she stopped. The Titanic? Thursday? She jumped out of bed.

“Huney!? Stay in bed, what do you need!?”her mother asked in shock.

“What day is it?”Abby asked anxiously as she picked up the paper.

“Its Saturday-“her mother asked,”Why?”

Abby picked up the newspaper and read the headline,”THE UNSINKABLE TITANIC SINKS!”

Abby gasped and then she screamed and fell to the floor holding the newspaper and the letter to her chest.

“Abby! Huney! Whats wrong!?”her mother asked her as she got on the floor and held her in her arms,”Abby! Please! Tell me whats wrong!”she pleaded

But Abby couldn’t answer. All she could do was scream and cry. Vernon was dead. He went down with the ship. Why! Why him!? Why did God have to take him away from her? Why couldn’t she see him one more time? She wanted him to come home like he promised in his letter.He couldn’t leave her, not now. Not when his baby was on the way. She couldn’t do this alone. She couldn’t live without him either. What was she going to do?! “NO!…..VERNIE!……WHY!”was all she could scream out as her mother held her in her arms.”VERNIE!……..VERNIE…….”

*______________________*









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