Jack and Rose stepped out of the small train station and into the cool spring air. Jack led Rose down the small dirt road that went straight into the heart of Chippawa Falls. Not much had changed since he was there last. There were a few new houses and shops, but for the most part everything was the same.
"I wonder if anyone remembers me." Jack said as they walked down the main street. "Hey, that's Mrs. Carlson over there. She was my teacher in grade school." He chuckled then continued. "I gave her a real run for her money. I can't believe she put up with me for so long. Let's see if she remembers me." As she walked by, Jack coolly greeted her "Hello Mrs. Carlson!"
The woman just nodded politely at first but then stopped dead in her tracks. She turned around to face him and she carefully studied him. Shock ran throughout her face as she looked at the familiar young man. "Is that you Mr. Jack Dawson?"
"It sure is. And you thought you'd never have to deal with me again!" Jack said with a chuckle.
"My Lord! I remember you! You're the little troublemaker who always was playing pranks on everyone. You and that Johnston boy. Samuel Johnston. You know, I have your sister Sarah in my class now. You Dawsons are all alike! She seems to be following right in your footsteps. She's always getting into some kind of mischief. Anyway, I'd better be going. I have to go deliver these seeds to Mrs. Martin. Good day." Mrs. Carlson said as she started to walk away. She obviously wasn't exactly thrilled to see him.
"Hey…a… Mrs. Carlson? Does Sarah still live with her god parents?" Mrs. Carlson barely even turned around to answer him.
"All that I know is that she is now living with your Uncle Henry."
"Oh, thanks. It was nice talking to you Mrs. Carlson." Jack shouted as she made her way down the street. Mrs. Carlson just waved her hand to acknowledge him.
Jack turned around to Rose after Mrs. Carlson was gone and said, "Well, that was Mrs. Carlson. She's always hated me. Sam and I would pull all kinds of pranks on her. We were constantly being yelled at for running over her flowerbeds or breaking the glass in her windows with baseballs. Hey, she was just asking for the baseballs. We had a baseball field right next to her house and of course everyone would go over there after school. We'd do other things just to make her mad, like putting frogs in her desk at school or starting food fights at lunch. As much as I would get punished for it, it was all worth it. She deserved every bit of it."
Rose was now laughing. To think that her sweet, innocent Jack would ever do a thing like that made it even funnier.
"Anyways, I guess we'd better find out where my Uncle Henry lives. When I was still here, he lived out in Iowa." Jack said as he led Rose into a nearby coffee shop.
There was a man in his early 40s standing behind the counter. He looked up at them and smiled. "What can I do for you two?"
"Oh, I was just wondering if you would know where a Henry Dawson lives."
"Henry? Yeah, he lives about a mile down the road. Near the lake. Big Yellow house can't miss it. Are you familiar with these parts?"
"Uh, yeah…kinda. It's been a while but I think we can find it. Thank you."
"Well, my lunch break's comin' up. It's kinda a long walk. If you'd like, I can take you there in my auto."
"Well, if you wouldn't mind, that would be great."
"Swell! Hey a… you look familiar. Have I seen you before?"
"Well, I grew up here for a while. You probably wouldn't remember a Jack Dawson would ya?"
"Jack Dawson?! Of course I do! You practically grew up at my house! My, this is a surprise! So you finally decided to come on back did ya?"
"Well, for a little while. It's nice to see you again Mr. Johnston. How's Sam been doin'?"
"Sam? Oh, he's been doing fine. After you left, he was devastated. Everyone in town was. Well, except for Mrs. Carlson. She was as uppity up as ever. But you know how she is. Anyway, come back to see Sarah, huh?"
"Yeah, I promised her that I would come back someday and you know I never break a promise."
"That's great. Well, ya ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be."
The car rumbled up the old dirt driveway. At the end stood an old yellow house. There were trees all around it, providing shade during the summer. Mr. Johnston parked at the top and let them out.
"I have to get going. You say hi to everyone for me. Take care of yourselves." Mr. Johnston said as he got back in the car and drove off.
Jack took a deep breath and looked at Rose. She smiled and nudged him to keep walking. Jack knocked on the door and a young man came out. Jack didn't recognize him at first but soon realized that it was his cousin John. John was about the same age as Jack, maybe a little younger.
"Can I help you?" John said as he looked curiously at them.
"Hey John, is your dad home?"
"Ja…Jack? Is that you?"
"Yeah it's me. How have you been?"
"This is wonderful! So you finally came back huh? This is great! DAD!!!"
A muffled voice came from up stairs and then a large figure came down the stairs looking rather annoyed.
"John! How many times do I have to tell you? Don't bother me when I'm…" His face suddenly grew pale as he saw Jack and Rose, still standing at the door. "Jack? Is that really you?"
"Hey Uncle Henry."
"Oh, well! Don't just stand there, come in and give your old Uncle Henry a hug! My you've grown! Look at you! The last time I saw you, you were about… 12, maybe 13 years old? It sure has been a while. And who is this you're with?"
"Oh, this is my wife Rose."
"Well! Sure has been a long time. Look at yourself, all grown and married. It sure is nice to meet you Rose! You make sure he keeps himself out of trouble."
"I'll try." Rose grinned as she shook Henry and John's hands.
"It's nice to see you all again, but I was kinda hoping that I might be able to see Sarah." Jack said with a more serious look on his face.
"Oh, she'll be pleased to see you! Yeah… uh…John, where is she anyway?" Henry said as he tried to think.
"Uh, all that she told me is that she'll be 'out and that she would be home when she felt like it'. She wasn't exactly in a good mood." John said. Then he turned to Jack and almost in a whisper said, "She got sent home from school again for getting into a fist fight with Benny Roberts."
"You serious?" Jack said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, unfortunately. She sure doesn’t let anyone push her around. Tough girl she is." Henry said with a sigh. "But she's probably where she always is- at the old Dawson house. She just sits there for hours on end."
"Well, I'd like to go see her if you don't mind."
"Oh, sure! Go right ahead, we'll be here."
"Thanks."
Jack and Rose walked the short distance to the old house. There wasn't much of it left- just a barn and what was left of the old, burnt house. There was still a swing hanging from the tree and still some old, rusting toys scattered around the yard.
A flood of old memories came back to Jack. Most were of his childhood. He remembered helping his dad put the swing up in the tree and he remembered sitting outside with his sister, eating fresh watermelon in the summer or making snowmen during the winter. Then he remembered the fire, his parents, and making the hardest decision of his life- to finally leave.
"I haven't been here since the fire." Jack said in almost a whisper, almost as though he didn't want to disturb their peaceful surroundings.
Jack looked around. There was no sign of anyone. It was just them and the cool breeze that swept across the deserted yard.
"Sarah? You here?" Jack shouted.
There was a rustling of branches then a girl about 13 years old, hopped out of the tree. Jack was startled at first but then he looked at the girl more closely. It WAS Sarah! Jack could hardly speak. Sarah just looked at him.
"Sarah? It's me."
"Jack?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"Oh God Jack!" Sarah ran into Jack's arms crying. Jack picked her up and swung her around like he always had, although it was a little harder this time. Rose stood back, watching them. She was so happy for them. " I thought you'd never come back…but you did, you came back. God I missed you Jack! Why'd you have to leave?"
"I'm so sorry Sarah! I just had to go. You know me. Too many bad memories here, that's all."
"You kept your promise though."
"Sure did. You know I wouldn't break a promise."
"I'm glad your back! Are you staying? We could go out to the lake this summer and camp in the tree house like we used to. It'd be just like old times huh?"
Jack looked down at the ground. He tried desperately to fight back the flood of emotions that was overcoming him. He took a deep breath then answered, "Sarah, I'm not staying. Things are different. I'm not the same person who left six years ago. I'm married now. Rose and I are moving out to California. We just wanted to visit on our way out there. I'm sorry, but I don't think I could ever live here again." Sarah's eyes started to fill with tears.
"So you're going to leave me again? You'll go move off to California and I won't see you for another six years? Is that how it's gonna work?"
"No, that's not how it's going to work. Yeah, I'm moving to California, but we'll still come out to visit. You know I'd never leave you again. Sarah, listen to me. If I could have brought you with me, trust me, I would have. I didn't want you to go through that though. I wanted you to stay in school and I didn't want you to have to grow up that fast. If you had gone with me, you wouldn't have had much fun at all. I worked my way from place to place. I didn't just run off to have a grand old time. It was hard work and I knew that you deserved better than that. Nothing has changed between us and it never will. No matter where we are, we'll always be together, right here in each of our hearts." Jack wiped the tears off of her face and gave her a hug. Rose was just about ready to cry. It touched her heart like nothing had before. To see the love that he had for her was incredible.
"I understand Jack. Promise me that you'll still come to visit though."
"I promise."
"Thank you Jack."
"Don't mention it. Besides, there's someone I'd like you to meet." Jack looked over at Rose. "Sarah, this my wife Rose. Rose, this is Sarah."
Sarah forced a smile on her face through the tears. She shook Rose's hand politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you Sarah. Jack's told me so much about you."
"It's nice to meet you too." Sarah said meekly.
Jack, Rose and Sarah made their way back to Uncle Henry's house later that evening. Uncle Henry had refused to let them stay anywhere else but with him. His house was large and had plenty of extra space, so they gratefully excepted the offer.
They stayed in Chippawa Falls for the next week before heading out to California. The separation of Jack and Sarah had been tough and full of tears, but Jack finally convinced Sarah that they would see each other again soon and that he'd write her once they found a place to live.
They finally arrived in Los Angeles, California on Monday, April 28th, 1913. The California sunshine welcomed them with open arms as they made their way into a new life.
