A Date

“Are you feeling all right, Miss Carrie?”
The sound of Hannah’s voice brought Carrie out of a daze. How long had she been staring out at the ocean, thinking about Robert? She couldn’t say, but she hoped she’d see him again soon. Surely, he hadn’t decided to go back into service for the likes of Victor Anderson. When she’d suggested to Robert that he hear his former employer out, she hadn’t hoped that he would actually take the job back. She’d only been trying to be diplomatic.
Not that Victor Anderson deserved such respect.
“I’m just fine, Hannah.” Carrie managed a smile, which wasn’t too hard as she looked down at the young lady. “I’ve just been looking for dolphins again, that’s all.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. She’d been staring out at the ocean hard enough that she might’ve seen a dolphin if any wandered by, though it might not have registered since she was so lost in her thoughts.
Hannah took hold of the railing next to her. “I heard a rumor at lunch yesterday. Quite a scary one.”
Carrie arched an eyebrow and looked over at her as she rocked back and forth from the tips of her toes to her heels, unable to stand completely still, which seemed to be the case for most young people, in her experience. “And what was that?” Carrie couldn’t help but ask, even though she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“I heard a gentleman saying that the Germans are going to send a big, explosive torpedo right into the heart of this very ship, and it will rip Lusitania right in half. All of us will either be blown to bits or fall into the ocean.” Hannah spoke with such enthusiasm, it was as if she were telling a tale from a storybook, not retelling one man’s interpretation of what might happen if the newspapers were correct and the Germans did send a torpedo at their passenger liner.
“Oh, well, I really don’t think that’s something we need to worry about.” Carrie caught the eyes of Hannah’s governess, who was sitting in a deck chair nearby, close enough to hear Hannah’s energetic voice. She only rolled her eyes and opened the book she held in her hand. “I think we will be just fine.”
“Do you think so?” Hannah moved down the railing a little bit, her eyes peering out at the ocean. Now, Carrie wasn’t sure if she was looking for dolphins–or torpedoes. They were still too far out into the Atlantic for that, Carrie assumed. At least, she hoped so.
“Yes, I do think so,” Carrie reassured her. “I’m not worried in the least.”
“About what now?” Jonathan came up behind Hannah and tugged on one of her pigtails, making the girl laugh. “Are you looking for an enormous whale out there, one big enough to pick this ship up out of the water and swallow it down whole?”
“Like Jonah?” Hannah asked with a giggle. “No, we were talking about the torpedoes, that’s all.”
Jonathan gave Carrie a quizzical look that morphed into something a bit more sinister.
“It’s nothing really. Only some silly man talking at lunch,” Carrie assured him.
Jonathan nodded. “That’s right. I’m sure everything will be just fine. If something were to go wrong, well this ship has plenty of lifeboats. You’ve seen them, during the drills.”
“Yes, I did see them, but I’ve never been inside one before. Have you?” Hannah’s eyes were wide with curiosity as she stared into Jonathan’s face.
Carrie saw the silent shutter that went down his spine as his eyes stayed placid, almost as if he’d slipped into a trance for a moment. She could only imagine the visions that sprang before his eyes.
After a moment, he cleared his throat and nodded. “I have been in one before.”
Hannah gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. “What happened? Was it a terrible wreck at sea? Did your boat collide with another ship?”
“No, no, nothing like that.” It was clear he was trying to play down the ordeal. Carrie knew how he hated to talk about Titanic almost as much as Charlie and Meg. “It was just a bit of a problem with the ship, that’s all. We got on the lifeboats, another ship came, and we got off. Simple as that.”
“Oh, that must’ve been so exciting.” Hannah clasped her hands together.
“Well, at least she’s not frightened,” Carrie mused under her breath. She’d thought she’d have to talk the girl out of worrying about a torpedo causing a problem, but now it seemed she was actually hoping for a bit of excitement. Unusual, considering her parents’ demise, but then, Hannah was a world traveler. Perhaps that was part of the fun for her, looking for the next adventure.
“How long did you have to get aboard the lifeboat before the ship sank?” Hannah asked Jonathan, still clasping her hands before her.
Eighteen minutes…
Ruth’s voice echoed through Carrie’s head, and that spine-tingling sensation she’d imagined her friend experiencing only a few minutes ago sent her heart racing. No, that was silly. Of course, Ruth couldn’t predict something like that.
“We had a couple of hours,” Jonathan replied, his tone nonchalant, as if he’d just leisurely strolled over to a lifeboat, got in, and sailed across the ocean to a waiting Carpathia. “No, I really don’t think it’s a matter to concern ourselves over in the least.”
“Can we go look at the lifeboats?” Hannah pleaded, practically bouncing up and down.
“If it’s all right with your governess.” Jonathan turned to look at Mrs. Smythe who gave a dismissive wave of her hand. Hannah squealed in delight, and Carrie took her hand to walk the short distance to the closest lifeboats. She imagined it would be a good idea for her to listen to Jonathan talk about them as well since she had been a bit distracted during the muster.
For about thirty minutes, Jonathan talked to both of them about how lifeboats operated, what was in them, what to do if they should ever find themselves in one, and why it was important to keep a level head on one’s shoulders when faced with an emergency. All Hannah could talk about was how exciting it would be to ride the large waves of the Atlantic in such a tiny boat.
Something else Ruth had done came to mind and made Carrie ask a question before giving it too much thought. “What happens if the boat is listing?” Visions of Ruth holding that train, making an exploding sound, filled her mind.
Jonathan lifted his face toward hers. “What do you mean?”
Thinking perhaps she shouldn’t ask such daunting questions in front of Hannah, Carrie considered dropping it, but the girl was walking around the lifeboat, running her hand along the outer surface, clearly lost in a daydream where she was coasting along the top of white-tipped waves out on the open ocean.
“I mean,” Carrie began, keeping her voice down. Jonathan walked a few steps closer. “If something traumatic did happen to Lusitania, or a different boat, were to be… severely injured, how would the lifeboats manage to get off without… tipping?”
“Tipping?” Jonathan dragged a hand down his jaw, his eyes wandering over the mechanisms that lowered the boats into the ocean, the boat itself, and then over the side of Lusitania. Finally, he shook his head. “I’m honestly not exactly sure, Carrie. If the boat was listing that badly before the lifeboats could get off, well, there probably wouldn’t be too many people even capable of getting in them. The lowering system is sound. It should be able to do the trick under most circumstances–if the crew acts quickly.”
Carrie nodded, swallowing hard. He had basically told her that if a torpedo hit the ship hard enough to make it list before the boats got away, there wouldn’t be anyone left to get into the boats. It was a sobering thought.
“Hannah!”
Mrs. Smythe’s voice cut through her negative thoughts. All three of them turned to see the governess standing about ten feet away, beckoning with her arm.
Hannah let out a sigh. “I don’t know why we have to go in so early. I’d much rather visit with the pair of you than go back to the room and watch Mrs. Smythe read a book.”
As she passed by, Carrie ran a hand lovingly along her shoulder. “Maybe you could read a book?”
“Maybe.” Hannah let out another breath. “See you both tomorrow?”
“I hope so.” Jonathan’s cheerful smile brightened Hannah’s face–until she turned around to look at her governess, and her shoulders sagged again.
“That one… I do feel sorry for her sometimes.” He shook his head, shoving his hands deep into his pants pockets and rocking back and forth in the ocean breeze.
“I do, too.” Carrie watched Hannah and her governess walk away, hoping everything worked out well for the poor girl. Then, she turned to Jonathan and asked a question she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer to. “Did Ruth know?”
He raised an eyebrow as his eyes fell on her face, as if he was trying to work out what she wasn’t saying in the vague question. It only took him a moment to work it out, though. Nodding his head, he walked a few steps away from the lifeboat. Carrie followed. “I think she may have.”
A chill ran its way down the length of Carrie’s spine. “I’ve heard her say some odd things over the years. Like telling Henry it’ll only hurt for a minute a few seconds before he bonked his head or saying she’ll get a towel before her mother spilled her tea on her gown.”
He chuckled, but she could still see the shadow behind his eyes. “I never heard her say anything specific last time, but later, her mother and Meg both mentioned that she’d said something about getting on a new boat, and something else about God being able to sink that ship.”
Carrie noted he wouldn’t even say the name–Titanic. “Well, I hope she was just being silly this time. I’d hate to think….” Now, she was the one who couldn’t speak.
“What did she say?” Jonathan turned toward her, even more concern in his expression now.
She studied him for a second, noted how the fine lines around his eyes and nose were more defined when he was worried.
“She said this time we’d only have eighteen minutes–and she made an exploding sound. She tipped this toy train at an odd angle. I honestly don’t know, Jonathan. She’s a little girl who was playing with toys at the time.” Carrie forced a laugh. “Children have such vivid imaginations.”
“That they do.” He nodded. “That they do.” After a moment of awkward silence, he cleared his throat. “Well, I think we’ll arrive just fine, but if something happens, we just have to trust that our time comes when it’s meant to.”
While she didn’t particularly like the thought of that either, Carrie found herself nodding along.
“Now, I have an idea.” His smile brightened his whole face, making him look years younger.
“What’s that?” She couldn’t help but smile back at him.
“I know you’re not a fan of the First Class dining room, and since Robert isn’t allowed to eat there, why don’t the two of you dine in the room? I’ll arrange it.”
Excitement bubbled up inside of Carrie, and she felt like Hannah had at the notion of seeing the lifeboats. “Really? You can do that?”
He laughed. “I can do anything.”
She knew that to be true. Not worried one bit about whether or not it was appropriate, she said, “That would be lovely.” Thoughts of spending the evening in Robert’s company had her practically giddy.
Whatever would she wear?