Stargazers : Officer Harold Lowe

Chapter One

A rustic brown automobile honked as it made its way down Southampton's White Star Dock. The young lady browsed her eyes to see thousands of people eager to aboard the ship of dreams, the Titanic. The automobile stopped and the driver got out to open the door for the strawberry-blonde girl out. Amelia joined her sister Rose and her fiance Cal, her mother Ruth not far behind. Between the mayhem going on around Amelia, she hears her future brother exclaim, "God himself could not sink this ship!"

"That is a great claim Cal, I hope you are not wrong" Amelia snapped back. She could not stand Cal and is not happy with her sister choosing to marry him. Cal gave money to someone to take care of their luggage, which annoyed Amelia even more. They boarded the ship and got shown to their suite. The first class passengers got suites and even their own deck area. The older Dewitt Bukater settled into her room and unpacked her belongings. She heard her sister unpacking her paintings that she adored.

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By the time Amelia was done unpacking, the sun had fallen and the darkness of the night had come. Amelia changed into a simple red silk gown. "Mother! I am going out to the deck!" Amelia called out.

"Amelia! You need to come to our dinner!" Ruth yelled. Ruth was not happy with Amelia. Amelia would not court any of the men her mother had introduced her to. Amelia was a free spirit who decided she was going to choose her own path, no matter what her mother said. "You do not know what men will be there! You are almost 21 Amelia and still have not been courted." Ruth wanted both her daughters to marry a wealthy man since her husband did not leave them anything.

"I will go tomorrow mother, you know I love stargazing and they look beautiful tonight. Besides, you know none of those men catch my eye."

"Fine, but do not be out late! We are meeting Mr. Andrews tomorrow! You also do not know what man could be on this ship that might catch your eye." Her mother ordered. Amelia nodded and headed out to the deck. As she reached the deck, she noticed how vacant it was. Most people already asleep or people parting to celebrate the first night on the ship. She did notice a man in a uniform sitting on one of the chairs looking at the sky.

"The stars are so much more beautiful out on the sea." Amelia stated, deciding to strike a conversation with the mysterious officer.

Fifth officer Harold Lowe jumped, he did not expect someone to be out on the deck. He figured everyone would be celebrating the first night being on the greatest ship. He turned to face the woman who spoke, his breath caught in his throat. The woman was absolutely stunning. "Why yes they are, it is one of my favorite things to do when I am not on shift miss?" Officer Lowe questioned the woman for her name.

"Amelia Dewitt Bukater." Amelia answered the officer. She finally got a good look at him and he was very handsome if she does say so herself. "It must be amazing to be able to see these stars so often. They're stunning officer?"

"Fifth officer Harold Lowe." Harold answered Amelia. Harold had seen pretty women before, but Amelia took his breath away.

"Nice to meet you, officer Lowe. Welsh?" Amelia smiled to the officer, she could spot a Welsh accent.

"Yes, I am." Harold answering, realizing that Amelia's smile was gorgeous. He knew the rules, he could not accompany a passenger. Besides, he had worked hard to get to where he is and he was not about to blow it. Something told him though Amelia would make it near impossible to not.

"So when you are not on shift you just sit out here and stare at the stars? Do not get me wrong officer Lowe that sounds amazing, but you do not get to party and have fun?" Amelia questioned, curious about officer Lowe.

"No miss Dewitt Bukater, I have to be ready for anything even if I am not on shift. It is a part of the job." Harold took his job very seriously, he would not risk it for anything.

"Please, call me Amelia and that must be so boring. No offense officer Lowe, but to not get to fully experience life to the fullest must not be fun." Amelia knew what it was like not to experience life to the fullest, that is why she decided to do what she wanted, not what her mother wanted.

"I am experiencing life to the fullest miss-Amelia. I am doing what I have always wanted to do and I get to explore the world." Harold answered.

"I guess that is fair, but not to get to experience the ship you're on to the fullest must not be that fun." Amelia argued, she knew she was right.

"And what do you know about living your life to the fullest?" Harold teased.

"Oh you do not know a thing about me Mr. Lowe. I am quite fun." Amelia teased while turning to smile at the officer. As she turned to face him, Harold was already looking at her. "See, watch this."

Harold did not know what to expect, but he did not expect to see Amelia climb over the ship's railing and stand on the rails of the ship on the outside. "Amelia! Have you gone mad? You could go overboard!" Harold was thinking of every scenario that could go wrong and none of them had a good ending. "Come back over to the deck now!"

"Harold, do not be so serious all the time!" Amelia started to climb back over the railings. As she got to the other side, one of her feet slipped and she flew backward. Harold caught Amelia with his hands around her waist. He quickly let go, not wanting anything to become of it.

"You are a mad woman Amelia!" Harold exclaimed.

"Nothing happened Mr. Lowe, no need to fret." Amelia laughed.

"But if something did happen, it would be my duty to jump in and save you and the water is freezing!" Harold was not prepared to have to save someone who went overboard.

"But nothing happened, everything is okay." Amelia was flattered that the officer would jump in to save her. "Besides, I feel like you are a good swimmer." Amelia laughed.

"It is not funny. I do not need a woman going overboard the first night." Harold explained.

"Oh Harold! Lighten up! You're not even on shift." Amelia wanted the officer to at least smile.

"Who said you could call me Harold? My name is officer Lowe." Harold said sternly while looking at the woman.

"My apologies officer Lowe." Amelia thought she could make Harold laugh, but she was wrong.

The officer broke out into a grin. "I'm joking Amelia, of course you can call me Harold. See, I can be fun."

"If that is your idea of fun then you are hopeless." Amelia said laughing. The officer joined in on the laughter. "Well there is a laugh! It is good to laugh officer Lowe, it keeps the soul happy. It is my duty while on the Titanic to show you true fun."

"I am an officer Amelia, I do not get to have fun while I am on the ship." Harold explained, even though he did want to see what fun she would bring him.

"I am still going to show you fun, even if it is the last thing I do." Amelia found herself almost attracted to the officer, which scared her. She knew the officers were most likely off limits, but she still wanted to try.

"We shall see Amelia, but I do see it is getting late ." Harold did not want to end the conversation with Amelia, but he wanted to get sleep before his next shift.

"I suppose it is." Amelia did not want to end the conversation either, but she knew he needed to sleep and so did she. They started to walk towards the first class suites.

"Goodnight Amelia." Officer Harold said as he walked with her towards the rooms.

"Goodnight Harold, I hope to see you again." Amelia turned her head as she walked down the hall to her room. As she went inside, she got ready for bed in a good mood. She laid down and could not get a smile off of her face.

Harold Lowe did not know what came over him. He knew he could not risk his position for a woman, but this woman might be worth it. He wanted to experience the fun she wanted to show him, but he did not want to loose his job. He worked hard for this position and wanted to keep working. He decided that is what he was going to do, not let a woman interfere with his job. He did not know if he could keep that promise to himself though.