It was the morning of April 10, 1912. The air was warm with a crisp breeze. The wind crept through my open bedroom window and I woke to the smell of scones coming from the kitchen, cranberry, my favorite. I looked out the window to see a million people running through the streets, some in rags and some in the latest and most expensive garment. Cars backed up as far as the eye could see. Suitcases piled on top of each other. Yes, today was the day. After 3 years of building this magnificent ship today was the day it would travel to America, its maiden voyage. The Titanic was ready. I could imagine it crisp sheets never slept in, brand new china never eaten off of, the chairs and couches never sat in. I had dreamt of this day ever since my papa had told me that he, my mother, and I would all sail aboard the brand new ship.
“Holly,” my mother called from the small kitchen, “Time to eat. We have a big day ahead! Come eat. We must leave soon!” As I took another look out the window I could see it. The smokestacks stood tall and strong and the paint was new; a new ship, a new experience, a new adventure… and I loved adventure. I quickly threw on the only outfit left out. Everything else was packed in the suitcase along with all my other possessions. Well some of them, I can’t take them all. Not enough space. I quickly brushed and braided my hair and took one last look out the window. I took a deep breath of that Southampton air and ran to the kitchen, which would be the last time I would ever eat in there. The next place I would eat would be on the ship of dreams and I bet the food was just as good as the ship.
People were everywhere… each person different, but all with the same destination. People on foot, buggies, and carts packed the street, all with some sort of chest or case with their belongings, some with more than others. Mama grasped my hand and papa the other. Mama looked me right in the eyes and said in a stern tone, “Don’t wander, you hear?” I shook my head yes. With this many people I wouldn’t dare leave her or papa’s side. Mama and Papa carried the only cases we had, which were two and I had a knapsack. Our house was still fully furnished, and clothes were still in their place. We had a limited amount of space, but I was okay because I knew Aunt Clara would take good care of everything. Papa has sold everything to mama’s sister for the sake of time and the well-being of our things.
As we neared the ship I noticed how much bigger it was. Certainly my bedroom window didn’t do it justice. As we neared the gangway, Papa looked at me and Mama said, “Don’t say anything.” He seemed a bit shaken. The man taking the tickets looked at Papa, but never asked for the ticket. He just let us through. How were we on the ship without the man having taken our ticket? Papa walked us down a hallway to a wooden door, and when he opened it, I saw many, many, many flights of stairs. We walked all the way to the bottom and when we finally got there, I saw another hallway with two doors. One was marked “storage” and the other was unmarked. Papa opened the unmarked one; there were two bunk beds, one tiny porthole window, and a bathroom, that was it.
“Papa, where are all the other people? And why are we all the way down with the storage?” He just looked at me and smiled
“Because we are special and therefore we have a special room.” That answer would do…..for now. He set our two cases on the bottom bunk of one of the beds.
“This one will be ours,” He said still smiling. “It may be small, but just think. In a week we will be in America. So the bed is a very small issue. Right, Karen?” he said, looking at my mother. She nodded and gave a little smile. I could tell she was worried about being on a ship when she was 6 months pregnant. Being easily sickened by the slightest things this would make this a long journey for her. After we spent a while of examining the tiny room and making sleeping arrangements, five men entered the room, one of them being very familiar… the ticket man who had let us through!
“Jared!” my father announced he stood up and shook the man’s hand.
“Peter!” the man said. They must have been friends. Everyone else called my father Mr.Chandley. The man looked as if he couldn’t be any older than 25. He was tall and skinny with dark brown hair. His smile lit up the room and his deep voice was peaceful and inviting. I barely knew him but he seemed like a very nice man.
“How are you?” Jared asked my father.
“Just wonderful, thanks to you!” my father replied. This was the happiest I had ever seen him.
“This is my family, my wife Karen and my daughter Holly,” My Father explained. The man walked over to where we were standing.
“Nice to meet you, ma’am, and you too, little one,” You may call me Mr. Jared,” He said as he shook mine and mama’s hand. He put a piece of candy in my palm, smiled, and then walked out the door with my papa following suit. I knew that Mr. Jared and I would get along just fine. The other men just started unpacking without saying a word; I figured they didn’t speak English. A lot of the travelers had come from all over to be on “the ship of dreams.” So we just ignored each other, sometimes exchanging a glance or two.
After an hour or so we decided we would take a walk around. So again we opened the big wooden door, walked up all those stairs, down the long hallway, and to the outside deck. The deck was as full as the streets had been just an hour or so earlier. People dressed in fancy clothes and fancy sun umbrellas. Children my age and a little older playing ball or with wooden hoops. And the crew finishing up loading luggage onto the ship. It was just about time to leave South Hampton. I couldn’t wait to be on the ocean.
While we were walking we happened to run into papa and Mr. Jared. They were discussing some sort of business agreement, which was normal my father being a business man and all. We decided we would all find a nice spot to stand and watch the ship pull out of the port. As we made our way to the railing, the ship started moving slowly. The crowd down on the city streets cheered incredibly loud, and they waved flags, while the people aboard threw confetti and waved goodbye to their friends and family. As I looked far beyond the people and buildings, I saw my little house snuggled in-between all the other buildings. It looked so small from up here, and I liked it. The boat crept along the water slowly, making its way out to sea. The crowd continued to cheer! This was a magical moment, but of course we couldn’t leave without a little dramatic exit. Just as the boat was pulling out, the displacement of the water caused two smaller boats to lift high on the water and then back down! The force could have caused the boats to snap! All of a sudden the stern of the New York lost control and headed towards the Titanic’s hull. I was all watching this unfold in front of me. Everyone gasped and the air was thin. Nobody could breathe. I was scared for the safety of the crew on board the New York. I said a prayer for them in my head and prayed to God that they would be okay. Luckily one of the crew members aboard the New York got ahold of one of the lines and swung the boat around. Being only 4 feet away from each other!
“Thank God,” I said under my breath as I watched the tiny boat speed away. The crowd then cheered again. Everyone was safe and we could continue on our way to America.
Before Titanic could make it to America it had to make a few more stops to pick up passengers. The first port of call would be Cherbourg. 70 miles later we dropped anchor in Cherbourg. Now the little port of Cherbourg was too small for the magnificent Titanic, so the passengers along with their luggage had to be ferried to the boat. When all of the passengers from this port were on board, we left again for another port. It only took about an hour and a half to load all the passengers from the tiny port. Now the boat was bound for an overnight trip to Queenstown, Ireland.
This would be my first night aboard the Titanic. I was happy and at the same time very scared. I had never slept on a boat before. Come to think I had never been on a boat bigger than a fishing vessel, so many adventures already and it had only been a few hours. Around 6:30 I told Mama I was hungry and she said she didn’t know what to do and that. Papa was in charge. So when we finally found my father- still with Mr. Jared- he told us dinner would be delivered to our rooms. I found that very strange being that I had only eaten at the dinner table- never in my room. So about 30 minutes later my father opened the door and in came Mr. Jared with covered dishes. He set a small table up in front of my mother and me and set the dishes down. When he uncovered, it revealed a nice sized- piece of fish, boiled potatoes, and vegetables. It wasn’t a 1st class meal, but it was better than what I was used to. He also set a nice set of silverware down and a glass of water. It all looked delicious and very well- plated and prepared.
“Is this all for me?” I looked at my papa. He shook his head yes and smiled.
“Enjoy,” Mr. Jared said, and he and my father left, but before they got too far, I asked them.
“What about you two? Aren’t you going to eat?”
“We’ve already eaten,” said Mr. Jared, and he smiled and walked out the door. I looked at my plate again. Everything was beautiful. I picked up the shiny new fork; it glistened in the dim light of our room. I cut the piece of fish with ease it was not tough at all and put a piece into my mouth. It melted as it slid down my throat. “This is going to be a wonderful week.” I thought to myself as I continued to eat my dinner.
That night, as I got into my night shirt, I climbed into the bed with Mama and Papa. It was so strange to be in the same bed as them, being that the last time this had happened I had been only five. Now being nine and a half it’s unacceptable to be in the same bed as your parents, but these were different circumstances, so I guess it was okay.
That night was quite rough. The boat would sway back and forth making me roll back and forth. Causing mama and papa to have to roll over, and mama being pregnant it was very difficult for her. She had to get up a few times to go to the bathroom when she got sick. I don’t think the other men in the room (whose names I still don’t know) were very happy either. I prayed for her all last night. “I don’t think she is enjoying this very much.” I thought to myself as she got up to go to the bathroom again.
When the terrible night had finally gone away, we woke to see the port of Queensland. Again, this port was also too small for the Titanic to fit. So the passengers were again ferried in. Along with the passengers on the ferry, there was also incoming and outgoing mail- and loads of it, too. After a while of gazing out the tiny porthole window, my stomach made it loud and clear that it was time for breakfast.
“Mama, when’s breakfast?” I asked, my stomach continued to make itself known.
“I’m guessing that’s where your father and Jared had gone that morning.” she said. I looked back at the beds. All of the men were gone, but I remembered them getting up for work, but I didn’t remember Mr. Jared or Papa getting up. I found it very strange that whenever Mr. Jared left Papa went, too. (They must have been very good friends, maybe they are just catching up?) I thought to myself. Just then the two came in again with covered dishes and silverware. The table was nicely set up and the dishes set in front of us.
“This morning breakfast is oatmeal, a slice of toast, and fruit,” Jared announced as he uncovered the dishes. Once again the meal was fabulous! The oatmeal was warm, the toast was buttery “which is something I don’t get often,” and the fruit was sweet and juicy. I enjoyed it, savoring every bite.
After breakfast we went to the top deck to see people coming on and off the ship with more luggage and mail. Everyone looked so busy except for the passengers, which was nice for a change- not having anything to do but enjoy myself.
The time came near where it was time for the ship to hit the open seas. All of the passengers were on board. This would be the last stop before America. I took one last look at the green, lush grass of Ireland before turning to stare at the open sea ahead of me. The sun was setting, making a picture perfect moment as the sun hit the horizon, meeting the water in the middle for a beautiful, God- created hug. I just watched the sun go further down the sky. It was absolutely amazing. I could have sat there forever, just watching the sun and the water dance together at the last moments of the day. That moment was created just for me, I could tell. The colors waved a final goodbye as they disappeared leaving darkness in their place. The moon now grabbed my attention it was bright and round and it shone bright, with its brother on the water mimicking the real moon, as real brothers do. My gaze was interrupted by my mother shaking me and telling me it was time for dinner.
Tonight dinner consisted of a nice piece of lamb, stewed cabbage, and a cheese biscuit. It seemed as if our dinner was a mixture of all the dinners put together, I mean the food was always hot and tasted delicious, but it never all went together, but me never being the one to complain, I just shut up and ate my food.
The second night on the Titanic went a little more smoothly. Mama only got up a few times for the bathroom, but she still could not get used to the movement of the boat. I hoped she would be fine, being that there were only a few more days left. I looked out the window to see ocean, and only ocean. This was the first day with no land anywhere, just water. After gazing out the window a few moments I got changed into a nice warm dress before breakfast. While mama was in the bathroom, I overheard what sounded like papa and Mr. Jared talking in the hallway. I had never been much of a snoop, but I listened even though I was invading their privacy.
“I can’t keep bringing food down here, Peter,” said what sounded like Jared. “The other crew members are starting to get suspicious.”
“Well what are we supposed to do, then!” said the man sounding like my father in a loud whisper. “We are stowaways, not accounted for! How are we supposed to get food?”
“You will have to eat like the 3rd class passengers. I’m sorry, Peter. I’ve already broken the rules one to many times. I can’t afford to get caught, let alone lose my job,” said Jared sadly. I heard my father sigh.
“I would get the food myself, but I can’t, the coal workers aren’t allowed in the kitchen.” (We are stowaways?? Papa is a coal worker??) I thought to myself (I wonder if my mother knew?) I decided to keep this newly found information to myself. If anyone found out I don’t know what would happen, and I didn’t want to find out. Just then mama came out of the bathroom, luckily she didn’t see me with my ear pressed up against the door. As soon as we both sat on the bed for mama to braid my hair Mr. Jared opened the door with a tray of food. He looked sad and not happy like he normally was. He just set the food trays down, took the lids off, and left without saying a word.
“That’s very odd of Jared” my mother said. “He’s normally so happy. I guess he must have had a bad morning.” I guess she didn’t give it much thought after that being that she didn’t say anything else about it. We just ate our breakfast again savoring every bite, but this time even more being that it might be the last time I ever eat like this.
After breakfast we went for a walk around the boat and up on the top deck. It was quite cold. We saw a few Ice blocks floating in the water. I thought to myself (I hope this is as big as these cubes get.) The wind was fierce. Being at the speed we were my hair always ended up in my face. The ocean looked a little choppy too (sure wouldn’t want to be in that) I thought.
While taking our tour of the boat we saw a swimming pool. I had never really been swimming I mean I didn’t even own a bathing suit.
“Holly, I have a surprise for you.” My mother said pulling me to the side of the hallway. She reached behind her back pulling out a bathing suit. It was a one pieced striped suit and it almost looked brand new. “It was my old one. I hope you like it.” I gazed at the suit. It looked just my size. “You may use it now if you want.” I nodded my head yes and my mother took my hand and led me to the changing room. It fit perfectly like it was made for me.
When we got in the pool area the air was warm unlike outside where it was freezing. (Who would have thought swimming inside! and while it’s freezing outside!) Mama had a new suit too. So she would swim with me and help me learn. I dipped a toe in. The water was so warm and made me have chills. I slowly walked down the small stairs making my way in. There were no other kids in the pool just a few adults. I didn’t care I was just happy to be in a real swimming pool and indoors too. Mama held my waist making sure I didn’t drowned, which would be a little ironic if you think about it drowning indoors and while on the ocean, but not in the actual ocean. Anyways we swam for what felt like an eternity but in reality was really only an hour and a half.
After we changed back into our normal clothes we continued to tour the boat. There was a gymnasium, Turkish baths, and a squash court. By the time we had admired the luxuriously ship it was time for lunch.
In our room papa was sitting on the bed. He looked very upset. His face was buried in his hands.
“Karen, I have something to tell you. I should have told you sooner but I didn’t want to ruin everything.” He continued. “We aren’t really passengers.”
“What are you talking about? We’re on the boat aren’t we?” questioned my mother. I just stood still trying not to move or say anything. I already knew, but I didn’t want to admit I had been listening in on my father’s conversation. My father stood up slowly.
“Well I didn’t buy tickets; I’m a worker, on the boat. We are stowaways”, explained my father. My mother looked confused. He mouth hung open looking at the floor.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I had everything working. That’s also why I have been with Jared so much. He works in the kitchen as a waiter and I work in the boiler room shoveling coal. He is also the reason you have food. You see we get feed a certain times during our break and Jared was sneaking food to you, because since we aren’t registered passengers we have no table. Could you ever forgive me?.” Said my father looking at my mother her mouth still wide open and tears beginning to slide down her cheek.
“You did what you thought you had too”, sniffed my mother, “but what made you tell us now?”
“Well you see Jared’s boss has been getting suspicious and he can’t afford to lose his job. So he can’t get us food anymore. So being that I can’t let my family starve I told my boss because I know he is a trustworthy man. He agreed to give me two extra meals to give to you two with no overtime.” My mother looked up to my father she didn’t seem to be sad or even angry. She just looked at my father and he nodded. The hugged each other and mama whispered to my father something. I couldn’t quite hear what it was, but I’m sure I was something to do with it being okay. Then my father came to me and bent down on one knee and apologized. I too gave him a hug and told him I loved him for being honest. Then he got up and handed us each a roll.
“There will be more later I promise” and got up and left. Mama said that she was tired and I agreed I was too so we decided to take a little nap before papa came back with dinner. We slept for about an hour or so when I heard papa come in to the room with food in his hands. Mama and I and papa all ate together which was the first time we had in 2 days. It was nice and papa said he could now eat with us all the time since now we ate on the same schedule.
After dinner papa had to go back to work and mama said she would like to take a walk around the boat and the go to bed, so that’s just what we did. We walked on the freshly waxed deck; the smells of salt and fresh paint all around, the strong frigid winds hit my face, and the sound of crashing waved against the boat. I could stay here forever. The sun was setting and the colors seemed even more vibrant than the last night. It seemed that the further into the ocean we got the prettier the colors got. It was nice not to smell smog for a change or see and cars. It makes a person feel like there are still parts of the world untouched by man and it defiantly makes a person feel closer to God. When our walk was over we went back to the small room and climbed into bed.
The next day mama and I didn’t do much we ate breakfast and then went for a long swim. Mama taught me how to float which was fun. Then papa and mama and I all ate lunch together. After that mama and I just laid around I had brought a book and so had mama and I had also brought my one and only doll. So that’s what we did all day is read and play together. Then papa came in and ate dinner with us it was nice, I mean it wasn’t as good as the other meals we had, but at least we were all together. We had biscuits, roast, and carrots, When we were all finished papa left for the night and mama and I played some more on the floor. I liked playing with mama she was good at pretending. We played for a long time till it was 10:00. Then mama told me it was time to sleep. We both climbed into bed and I snuggled close to mama and she held me tight. While I was trying to fall asleep I thought (I hadn’t seen Mr. Jared in a while. I wonder if papa and him were fighting?) Before I could finish conversing with myself I fell fast asleep.
At about 11:30 I woke to a very loud noise mama did too, but she told me to think nothing of it and that ships make noises all the time, so I went back to sleep. A few minutes later I heard someone coming in the room.
“Quick! Quick! Get up! Karen! Holly!” it sounded like Mr. Jared. He turned on the light, now I was sure it was him. He looked very scared and he was sweating.
“What’s going on?” my mother said.
“The ship, it’s sinking. None of the other passengers have heard yet I wanted to tell you first before the water gets too high. You need to get to the upper deck there you will find a lifeboat get in it and don’t look back. Put on all your clothes you will need to be warm the take these two life jackets they will keep you safe.” My mother looked frightened and I was too.
“Jared will you come with us? Please I’m scared”
“Sure little one.” He smiled and then reminded us time was of the essences. I put on my two dresses and big coat along with three pairs of socks. Over top all of my layers went my life jacket. We walked into the hallway where Jared was standing when all of a sudden water came from under the storage room door. Mama grabbed my hand and pulled me the boat made a loud creaking noise and the lights flickered. As we ran up all the stairs I asked Mr. Jared.
“What happened? Why is the boat sinking?”
“We seem to have hit an ice burg. The boat was at full speed and we couldn’t get around it fast enough or even stop so we hit it. Now there are water tight compartments and if 3 of them are filled we can float.
“Well how many of them are filled?” I asked
“Six” he looked concerned. Like there was something he wasn’t telling us. I looked down the stairwell and I could see the water following us. This is one game of tag I didn’t want to play. We finally reached the staircase now all we had to do was go to the top floor where the lifeboats were.
“We can take to elevators, come on!” Jared had a key to work them himself.
“Jared where is my papa?” I asked. He didn’t answer. His face turned white.
“I’m sure he’s coming little one.” Then he turned to open the doors. A flood of people was all I could see.
“Oh no I guess more people knew than I thought.” He looked sick again. Mama who still hadn’t let go of my hand followed Jared he seemed to know what he was doing. People were crying and hugging. I wondered why then I heard the worst sentence ever.
“Women and Children ONLY!” now I knew why Jared looked so worried. He was scared of not getting a life boat. He began looking around all the boats on this side had already left or were already filled up. He ran over to one of the workers and stared yelling at him.
“Why aren’t you filling up the lifeboats?! That one looks to only be half full!”
“Don’t tell me how to do my job bus boy!” the other man pushed back. Jared stormed off towards us. His face was now an actual color, Red. He pulled us to the other side of the boat where he hoped there would be other life boats. And there was, people pushed past us, but Jared was a strong man he pushed back harder. The band from the 1st class dining room began to play as an attempt to calm people down. When we finally reached the lifeboat #1 Jared knelt down on one knee and put a piece of candy in my hand like he had the first day we met. He smiled at me and kissed my forehead.
“Be good for your mother now.” Then he looked at my mother and kissed her hand.
“Your husband was a good man.” And then walked off never looked back just like he told us not to do. Then an officer looked at my mother.
“Lifeboat ma’am?” she nodded yes and she was helped in and a man picked me up and handed me to her. I sat in her lap that was the first time I cried and mama too.
“Lower the lifeboat #1!” The tall man yelled. And the lifeboat started to move slowly down. All of the sudden the lights flickered again and the whole crowd screamed. We continued to be lowered into the water, it looked black. Swoosh! The boat hit the water with force. The head of the boat one of the Titanic’s crew members instructed every person on the end to row. The boat moved slowly away from the boat. I watched the red flares fly high in the air signaling for help. We inched further away from the boat I could still hear the band playing. The songs they played were lovely. People screamed as the lights flickered on and off, everyone in a hurry trying to find an empty boat, others jumped into the water attempting to swim to a lifeboat. We were lowered in to the water at about 1:10am so it had to be about 2:00.
There was only one lifeboat left. Sadly it only leaves with forty people. The lights continued to flicker when suddenly the lights go out. The only light now is from the final flares going into the sky. It was hopeless no one was coming. I thought about papa and Mr. Jared and if they were ok. Then when everyone thought it couldn’t get any worse I did. Everything heavy slid to one side making one side to heavy. The boat snapped in half dragging the other half with it. Everyone was thinking that this was it. When they were spared a few more moments when half of the boat snapped off leaving one to sink and one to float. People jumped off into the water, some stayed on for their final moments onboard, and some just decided to go down with ship. We all watched in horror. You could hear the boat being sucked down into the water, like a slurping. Until it was finally down. Now all we heard was splashing and screaming. I couldn’t imagine what the water was like. The wind hit my face as a chilly reminder that I should be thankful that I was in a life boat. The lady next to me stood up,
“Turn around! All those people need a boat! We have enough space!” The crew member just shook his head. “Think of your shipmates! You wouldn’t want to be out there would you?!”
“They would overtake us! Tip the boat over!” The lady sat back down with a very sad expression on her face. I leaned over.
“That was very noble of you.” I whispered .She just smiled.
After a while the screaming stopped and everything was calm. I laid my head on mama’s lap and watched the stars. There were so many, more than there normally out. I tried to count them, but it was such a vast number I could never get close. I started to thinking about all the people onboard and how now more than half of them were in the water, dead. We were very far away, but I could see lifeboats going back.
“Hello! Is anyone out there?! Hello?” they repeated it over and over looking through the bodies. I thought about papa and Jared again. I wonder if Jared made it to a lifeboat? and what about papa? I guessed there was no hope. He was in the boiler room, the first place the water entered. I began to cry again. I would never see my papa again. And my doll my favorite doll. I had left her in our room. Everything was falling apart. I felt my pocket to make sure the candy was still there. It was. I fell asleep counting the stars and awoke to the sound of people shouting.
“Help! Help!” I lifted my head and saw a large ship. It had a huge name printed on the side in bright white letters Carpathia. We were saved from our tiny prison.
We got onto the boat. No one made a sound. The crew had brought out blankets and warm drink. A few people came around asking our names, trying to figure out who was missing. Mama leaned in to me,
“I thought you might like this.” And she pulled out my doll. I thought I had lost it forever. I hugged mama not letting her go.
“Thank you so much.” I whispered. I remember coming up to the land. The statue of Liberty stood tall and strong with torch in hand, we were in America, but the Titanic would never. Everyone awed in the sight of the huge monument. We finally docked in New York and the boat was surrounded by reporters and people. Apparently everyone already knew. This was the biggest story “Titanic: The unsinkable ship or was it” posters, flyers, newspapers everywhere! I remember being surrounded by people wanting to ask questions, but we just kept walking. We were handed a small bag with medical supplies, money, and food. This would come in handy.
“Mama where are we going?” I asked.
“To the bus station.” She replied. She began to cry again, but held back the tears for my sake. We boarded bus #19 to my aunt’s house. We had planned on staying there before, but this time we would stay there a lot longer. When we got there my aunt Sidney was crying, balling actually.
“Where is he?! Where is Peter?” my aunt asked frantically. Mama just shook her head and began to cry again and so did I. I didn’t cry a lot, I just wasn’t that type of person I normally just let it out by thinking. I didn’t bottle up emotions, but I didn’t cry either. Mama was very sad after that and she didn’t go out much anymore. Aunt Sidney did everything she cooked, cleaned, and shopped. I was taught from home now by Aunt Sidney which meant I didn’t do much either.
About 3 months after arriving at Aunt Sidney’s house mama had the baby, a baby boy. She named him after papa, Peter Alexander Chandly. It was rough having a baby in the house with mama being sad and all. Nothing seemed right anymore, but that all changed one day.
We had been living at Aunt Sidney’s house for about 6 months now when we got a letter in the mail one day. It was from Jared! It read:
Dearest Holly and Karen,
The journey to where I am now was a rough one, but now I have settled in New York and decided to tack you down. Now that I have found you I was wondering if I could visit. I have many things to tell you both and many stories. I also have a surprise.
Many thanks and best wishes,
Jared Shackley
So the next week Jared came over to the house. I was so excited. I still had that piece of candy he gave me that night. I was in my room looking at a picture of my father, mother, and I standing outside our house in South Hampton the week before we boarded. When suddenly my memories where interrupted by a knock on the door. I ran down the staircase to see a familiar face.
“Hello little one!” He smiled a came inside. I gave him the biggest hug ever. Then mama entered the room holding the baby and for the first time in six months I saw her smile, for real. She also gave Jared a hug.
“I... we have missed you so much.”
“And I have missed you both too. And who is this little one?
“His name is Peter after, well, Peter.” Explained my mother.
“I have waited a long time to see you two. I have something for you both. This is from your father.” He handed my mother a box attached was a letter. My mother opened the letter first.
Karen and Holly,
I’m always with you and I want to tell you I love you and I miss you dearly. Everything we have left is in this box with a little extra. Please take care of it and Jared too. He is a very good friend, more like a brother. So it would be my wish that you would be happy again and marry him. He will provide for you, take care of you, and most of all love you. I will forever be with you.
Love always,
Peter Chandley (Papa)
“Where did you get this?” mama asked Jared.
“I found it. It was laying on my door step one morning.” It was almost like a gift from papa while he was in Heaven. What if Jared faked the note? All doubt was erased when mama opened the box. It contained all of mama and papa’s savings, a small box, and porcelain doll.
“Open the box mama!” she grabbed the tiny box. Inside was the most spectacular sight, papa’s wedding ring. He NEVER took it off and that’s how I knew this box was indeed sent from papa.
“So Karen, will you marry me?” he got down on one knee and pulled out a ring.
“Yes I will!” and she got up and kissed Jared on the cheek and we both started crying, but this time they were tears of joy. Then I noticed Aunt Sidney standing in the kitchen doorway she was also crying.
That spring they were married and we moved into Jared’s house just a few minutes down the road from Aunt Sidney’s house. I knew this is what papa wanted, he didn’t want mama to be sad anymore and she wasn’t. I don’t think of Jared as my real father, but close to it. He cared for us and treated us like we had always been together. Something I love is every morning he gives me a piece of candy just like back on the Titanic. I do miss papa, but I realize everything happens for a reason. Jared came into our life for a reason and I love him.
Mama and Jared had a little baby girl together named Danielle which means miracle. Now we are one big happy family. I’m sad that baby Peter never got to meet his father, but I know Jared would treat him like his own. So we all lived together in our little house in New York me, mama, Jared, baby Peter, and brand new baby Danielle. We don’t talk about April 15th at all, its just a silent memory, for now.