Hearts That Survive Part 46

"Oh, they'll be along." That's what concerned Caroline.

They sat a small table near the flower bed next to the house. Caroline needed to get some unpleasant news out of the way. "Lydia," she said softly, "Armand's cancer has returned. He doesn't have much longer."

"I'm so sorry."

Caroline nodded. "We've had a good life. No," she corrected, "it's been exciting and fulfilling."

"I know," Lydia said. Of course she did. "I will be here whenever you want me, need me."

Now she would bring up a proposition she'd had in mind. "Why don't you move out here with me? Joanna will be gone, and you know we have plenty of room."

"Be careful what you ask for. That has crossed my mind. Children and grandchildren are going their own ways. I'm just rambling around in that big place." She laughed. "You and me and Bess. Wouldn't we have a time?"

"Haven't we already!"

"We've survived . . . a lot."

"And become the best of friends through it all."

As if on cue, Bess came to the back door. "It's time."

Yes, time to find out if their friends.h.i.+p would survive this. Would this devastate Lydia? There was only one way to find out.

"What's going on?" Lydia demanded.

"You'll see."

They led her into the living room. Joanna, wearing Harriett Sylverson's unique creation, looked as skeptical as Caroline felt. When Lydia stepped into the room, a cry escaped her throat, and her hand covered her mouth. Tears streamed down her face. "How is this possible?"

"In the Waldorf Astoria, you handed it to me in a paper bag and said do whatever I wanted with it."

"And you kept it for almost fifty years?" she whispered.

"Until the time seemed right to let you know. Is this right? Or wrong?"

"It's . . . it's perfect. I've never seen anything so beautiful." She touched the wedding dress she'd worn when she married John and walked down that grand staircase. The past had come alive for her.

"Are you going to be married in this?"

"That's your decision," Joanna said.

"I would love for you to wear it."

Caroline wiped at her tears, seeing that the surprise had not brought a sense of devastation but lovely memories.

Two weeks later Caroline's granddaughter and Henry George Stanton-Jones's grandson would take their vows. At another wedding Caroline had been matron-of-honor for a fairy-tale wedding on a s.h.i.+p of dreams. That's when she'd vowed to love William, though never got the chance.

But she got a chance to love Armand. And now their granddaughter, the beautiful girl in her white gown, was escorted down the aisle by her father, who would also perform the ceremony. The handsome man at the front of the church watched her with love in his eyes and with a smile that dimpled his cheeks. When she came up to him, his hand reached for hers and they turned toward David and the cross.

As long as they kept facing the cross, they'd make it.

They said their vows.

Armand's voice wasn't as bold as it used to be, but the heartfelt words were touching, reverent.

Our Father.

Who art in heaven.

Hallowed be thy name.

Quiet, beautiful.

From the heart.

Thine be the kingdom, and the power, and the glory.

Caroline felt a nudge and looked down, and Lydia handed her a tissue for her tears. She wiped her eyes as Armand held the note forever . . . forever.

Lydia wasn't sure what emotions might well up inside her. Her friends knew that. Beau knew that, and he stayed beside her. They watched as the bride and groom danced the first dance in the fellows.h.i.+p hall while guests observed and applauded, and then joined them.

"Amazing," Lydia said to Beau. "You and I were on that s.h.i.+p with your dad, Joanna's grandmother, and Alan's grandfather."

He blew a quick breath. "Now that's movie material."

"It's life," she said and he nodded.

"Speaking of movie material," Beau said, "my wedding gift is a new contract for Alan to sign. No reason why we shouldn't begin filming Once Upon, even while they're on that honeymoon."

Before the couple left for London, there was one more planned activity for the t.i.tanic survivors and the descendants of victims.

They went out in the yacht with carnations that they would toss into the water that would be taken out to sea. This was a symbol of what the ocean's depth took from them, and what it brought to them.

Beau threw his. Lydia thought he threw it in memory of his dad who survived the t.i.tanic's sinking, and the one who didn't.

She thought of both. Craven had been best man at two weddings. Without him, life would have been . . . worse.

At the end of John's poem, the last thing he'd written was Psalm 23.

They quoted the psalm.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil.

I will dwell in the house of the Lord . . . forever.

Lydia threw her carnation. It danced and swayed as it caressed the surface of the water. "John," she whispered.

Her love for him had survived.

As if in reply, her son, John's son, slipped his arm around her shoulders. And she knew John was holding her, as she was him.

In their hearts . . . forever.

Epilogue.

G.o.d brings men into deep waters.

not to drown them but to cleanse them.

John H. Aughey.

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

Jesus (John 14:27).

Discussion Questions.

Do you think the sinking of t.i.tanic was an act of G.o.d or of man? Why?

One intelligent, logical character describes another as a dream, as if that were a failing. Which is of greater importance in the world in which we live? Are they of equal importance?

A character concluded that he must not only avow his love but also show it. Do you find that essential to a relations.h.i.+p? How does one show what he/she avows?

John asked forgiveness for himself and Lydia. He professes to be a Christian. She doesn't. Is she forgiven? Can someone be forgiven for their personal sins if they ask but are not a Christian?

Do you think Lydia's and John's sense of guilt for having been intimate before marriage is because they felt it was against G.o.d's commands, against the culture of the day, or because her pregnancy would be a sign of what they'd done? At what point do most people feel guilty? After doing wrong or after being caught?

Could you ever lie to your husband about the fact that you were carrying another man's child? Or, have you ever raised your spouse's illegitimate child? Should you tell that child his true parentage?

How do you feel about Caroline wanting to be ordinary? What does ordinary mean? How does wealth affect who we are? Should it? If we are born to wealth, it does seem to have something to do with making us the person we are. Can/should we try to change that?

How does being involved in a national tragedy change the way a person grieves? Is there comfort in knowing you're not alone in your grief, or is it diluted because you are just one among many?

Have you ever been in a situation where your own grief (or another emotion) made you forget that someone else was suffering too, the way Caroline suddenly realized that Bess was also grieving?

People freezing and dying in the ocean were calling out for G.o.d and Jesus to save them. Do you think Jesus would say to them, as he said to the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in Paradise"? Would this be like a deathbed conversion, or would it be too late for those who had previously not believed in G.o.d and Jesus?

The character, Craven Dowd, is an enigma. Do you think he is a believer in the Christian faith or not? Why or why not?

Culture gave the characters the status of first-, second-, and third-cla.s.s pa.s.sengers. Did the surviving characters in Hearts That Survive change their personal definition of cla.s.s? How does today's culture define the status of people? How do you define a person's worth?

Bess had her own unique definition of friends.h.i.+p. What is yours? What should determine who we choose as a friend? Is friends.h.i.+p conditional?

When one of the characters is dying, he is described as one moment being plunged into painful darkness. The next instant he is in the presence of serene light. Do you believe that is the experience of death? What do you think the moment of death is like?

How do you feel about Lydia keeping secrets? Can we judge if she was right or wrong? Why?

Alan says he can't live up to JoAnna's standards. JoAnna replies, "Neither can I." What does she mean by that?

In 1912 men were expected to die for their wives, to give up their lives for the women and children. Do you think the same concept is alive and well today? Would men still abide by the "women and children first" unwritten rule? Would it be selfish for a woman to want men to sacrifice their lives for them?

Are we any safer with our feet on the ground than in a s.h.i.+p on the sea? Do you think people would change their way of living if they really thought they were subject to disaster at any time?

Can you identify with any of the characters? In what way are you most like one of the characters? most different?

Were the survivors of t.i.tanic saved by chance or was it G.o.d-ordained? If you were one of few survivors of a tragedy such as the t.i.tanic sinking would you think it was chance, coincidence, luck, or G.o.d-ordained?

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