Doomed Destiny

As Danny sipped on his morning tea he looked out across the fields towards Southampton and as the fog cleared with the morning sun, he could see the four stacks of the Titanic towering above the buildings as she got ready for her maiden voyage to New York. His full name was Donald Finnigan, but everyone that knew him just called him Danny. Yesterday, he went down to the White Star Line to see about getting a job and they said they would let him know if anything came up. That evening he got a telegram saying that he had to report to the Titanic in the morning and let them know he was replacing Richard Parsons, who was in a fatal accident. That was the evening of April ninth and the Titanic was set to leave at noon the next day. So, here he was now, making his way to the docks of Southampton to start his new career.

Danny walked up to the ramp where an employee of White Star Line was checking in the staff and Danny walked up to him,

“Donald Finnigan sir, reporting for duty,” he said with a smile on his face,

“Hold on there now, I don’t see any Donald Finnigan here on the manifest,” the employee said,

“I’m sorry,” Danny said, “I’m here to replace Richard Parsons, he had a fatal accident, and I was called to replace him. Here is the telegram they sent me last night,” he said while handing the piece of paper to the employee.

“Very well, I see everything is in order. Please report to the second-class saloon for your assignment. Carry on now,” he said, and Danny grabbed his belongings and made his way up the ramp. As he was making his way to second class, he came across a young woman who was having a bit of trouble with her luggage.

“Excuse me madame, could I offer you a hand with your luggage?” he asked with a smile,

“Oh, yes please, I shouldn’t have taken so much with me,” she said.

“No problem whatsoever, my name is Donald Finnigan, but everyone calls me Danny,” he replied.

“It is very nice to meet you, Mr. Finnigan, I am Amelia Brown,”

“Please, call me Danny. My father is Mr. Finnigan, and I will call you Amelia or Miss Brown if you prefer,”

“Amelia is fine,” she said with a smile. “So, I assume you are employed here?” she asked,

“Yes, I will be working in the second-class saloon, I’m a last-minute replacement,” he replied. “I’m on my way to the saloon now to find my arrangements,”

“I’m also on my way there, I’m a second class servant and I must report there as well,” she said as Danny helped her with her luggage as they carried on their way, making small talk as they walked.

When they arrived, there were ten or fifteen other employees standing around and chatting when one of the senior officers came into the saloon. He then promptly started giving out the job duties to the other servants that were there when he came up to Danny.

“Richard Parsons, I presume?” he asked,

“No sorry,” replied Danny, “I’m Donald Finnigan. I’m a last-minute replacement for Mr. Parson, who was in a fatal accident. Here is the telegram I got from White Star Line,” he said as he handed the paper to the senior officer. “Everyone calls me Danny, by the way.” The senior officer looked over the paperwork and then assigned Danny his cabin and told him to report to the second-class saloon once he got settled.

After he got settled into his cabin, he made his way up to the saloon where he ran into Amelia, who was also on her way to the saloon.

“Fancy meeting you here, I guess we will be working together,” she said with a smile and Danny just turned red and turned away.

“Are you serving the drinks or working behind the bar?” she asked.

“I guess I’m helping the bartender, like an assistant making drinks, so we will probably see each other often,” he replied with a smile as they continued their conversation as they walked to the saloon.

The Titanic left Southampton shortly past noon and made her way towards Ireland, where they had a port of call in Queenstown for passengers and supplies. As the passengers got settled away, the saloon slowly started to get busy as they came looking for their lunch and drinks. Danny and Amelia had little time to see each other during their shift, only for a moment till lunch break came and they met up in the galley. Finding a small table in the corner, they sat and ate their meal while enjoying each other’s company, till the time came and they went back to work once again. The day went by quickly with the excitement of the day coming to an end and the passengers settling in and relaxing, Danny finally had a chance to rest and looked around for Amelia, who had just finished and looked exhausted,

“Wow, what a busy day, I thought it would never end,” she said with a smile, but Danny knew she was tired and should rest.

“I think it was a long day for all of us, and it starts all over again tomorrow. We should just retire for the night and I will meet you for breakfast,” he said as he held her hand. Amelia just look at him and then embraced him and kissed him on the cheek.

“We will spend some time together tomorrow,” she said as she turned and went to her cabin, leaving Danny standing there dumbfounded. He then came to his senses and went towards his cabin, wondering what had just happened when a smile came to his face when he realized he had a date in the morning.

Danny was sitting in the galley drinking his tea when Amelia came in and sat down with him. They sat and talked for a while and when they finished breakfast, they went to explore the ship before they had to report for duty. They made their way through various passageways before they came to the deck and rested against the rails. Danny smiled as he looked at Amelia as the wind blew her hair, her cheeks had turned rosy with the cool morning air,

“What is it? Is there something on my face?” she asked as she rubbed her cheeks,

“No, there is nothing on your face but a beautiful smile and your enchanting blue eyes,” he said as he held out his hand and then embraced her in a warm hug. They just stood there holding each other, looking out across the Atlantic as the Titanic glided across the water.

“Oh my, look at the time!” Amelia said. “We must get going, we have to get ready for work,” she continued and left for her cabin, but not before kissing Danny’s cheek and telling him she will see him after their shift ended.

The day was busy, and it wasn’t long before they were sitting in the galley once again having their lunch and chatting before they had to go back to their shift once again. Slowly the afternoon passed by as most of the passengers were out on the deck enjoying the nice weather. Danny was just finishing his shift when Amelia came up to him and invited him to a party the staff was having below deck.

As they made their way down to the section where everyone had gathered, music and laughter could be heard as everyone danced and sang as they drank to their heart’s content. The young couple danced and drank the night away when they finally found a quiet corner where they could talk.

Danny held Amelia in his arms as they sat and listened to the soft melody the band was playing,

“I think that I have fallen for you,” he said as he kissed her cheek and she turned and looked into his eyes,

“And I for you,” she whispered as she kissed him on the lips as he held her in his arms and swayed to the music. As the night was ending, he took her by the hand and led her to the bow of the boat, “Close your eyes, I want to show you something,” he said as he led her outside and stood behind her, “Now open them.” As she opened her eyes, the rays of the sun were beaming from the horizon as the sun crested the edge and appeared to be coming out of the water.

“It’s so beautiful,” she said as he held her in his arms,

“It is, but we must be going, our shift starts in a few hours and we need sleep,” Danny said.

“Will you come with me to my cabin?” she asked. “I don’t want to be alone,” Danny said he would and took her by the hand and then they retired to her cabin, where they made love before falling to sleep in each other’s arms.

They woke up a couple of hours later, still tired, but they had to report for their shift, which dragged on ever so slowly. Break time arrived, and they met up in the galley, where the young couple chatted and had their lunch before having to go back on duty. As they departed, she gave him a quick kiss and was off. He turned with a smile on his face as he went back to the saloon to continue his shift.

The day passed quickly as the passengers were all in a good mood cause they would arrive in New York the next day. This was their last shift till the Titanic returned to Southampton in a couple of days, and Danny was glad to see it end. He met Amelia in the galley, where they grabbed a quick snack and then returned to her room. Both were still tired and as he held her in his arms they drifted off to sleep only to be wakened by a loud bang and a terrible noise.

“What was that?” Amelia asked Danny, who was now out of bed and looking into the passageway, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Quickly get dressed, we got to see what has happened,” he said as he pulled on his trousers, and then they were out in the passageway with the other employees trying to get to the deck as quickly as possible. As they reached the deck, Danny asked one of the other workers what happened and he said they thought they hit something, but they were not sure. He then turned and looked at Amelia and could see the fear in her eyes,

“We will always be together, I’m not leaving your side,” he told her as he kissed her and held her in his arms as the passengers now appeared on the decks rushing by them,

“We should make sure the passengers are warned and help where we can,” Amelia said, and Danny took her by the hand and they headed for the cabin areas. There was a weird sense of calmness as they went through the saloon and passengers were just sitting around chatting, not taking in the situation's seriousness.

“Why are they just sitting there?” Amelia asked as they made their way to the cabins.

"I don’t know, my sweet, but we have to warn as many people as possible,” he replied, looking back at her and smiling. As they walked by the cabins, they began knocking on the doors and making sure the passengers knew of the situation when there was another loud bang and the ship began to take on more water as the bow sank under the water. “Let’s go, we got to move to the back of the ship,” he called out as he grabbed Amelia’s hand, making sure she was always by his side. They made it back to their saloon, which was now empty, as everyone rushed for the lifeboats.

“Why didn’t you go to the lifeboat?” Danny asked as he tried to catch his breath,

“I didn’t want to leave you, this has been the happiest that I have ever been and if it ends here tonight with you, I will die a very happy woman in love,” she replied as tears streamed down her cheeks. Danny then embraced her and kissed her when they began to slide through the saloon as the bow of the boat was being dragged under. Then the ship cracked in half and the young lovers were never to be seen again as the mighty Titanic sank to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean.