Jack and Amélie - An encounter to Remember

Hello dear readers, today I bring you the following article where I imagine a special meeting between Jack Dawson and Amélie Poulain. In my story some facts have been changed in order to emphasize the romantic plot. I hope you enjoy it.

After the events occurred in 1912, where the Transatlantic and imposing “Titanic” sinks, suffering a huge tragedy, and where several crew members and passengers lose their lives in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a large number of people managed to survive, among them, Jack Dawson; a young man in his twenties, of lower-middle class, although unfortunately he has lost his best friend Fabrizio de Rossi, and his beloved Rose Dewitt Bukater, a young upper class woman, whom Jack admired very much, he was deeply in love with her. But by fate, or chance, they have been separated forever.

Thirteen years have passed since that event, Jack managed to rebuild his life. Today he is thirty-three years old, and although he has had some attempts to meet someone, form a marriage, get married and have children, he still follows his solitary path, he has not had much luck in that aspect. He decided to follow his dreams, and even though he managed to have a better economic position than he had before, the truth is that today he lives on a small income thanks to his trade, and in part to what he loves, drawing. Jack lives in Wisconsin, his hometown, and works in mechanical maintenance services, but at the same time he works hard on his artistic creations that he sells in a square.

His days are routine, that's how he makes a living, between doing mechanical repairs and his dedication to painting, his great passion. But every now and then he tries to get away from the daily routine, Jack is a young adult and adventurous, he always tries to take a trip, visit friends, he often goes to see Elena, Fabrizzio's mother, she likes to talk to Jack, her company brings back beautiful memories and moments of her son.

One day Jack, walking towards his humble home, crosses paths with Theodore, his neighbor, a bit grumpy, both cross paths, but as Theodore never says hello, Jack passes by, until Theodore, tries to tell him something, finally Theodore yells at Jack and stops him. Jack, astonished, approaches him and they have a conversation. There, Theodore tells Jack that he saw in a newspaper, that in France (Paris), in the next two months, an exhibition and sale of art paintings would be taking place, and in one of the sections a very well known contest called “Horizons Artistiques” (Artistic Horizons), where the ten best works from each continent are pre-selected, and only three of them will be put up for auction before a group of multimillionaires.

Who would have thought that this would change the course of Jack's life. As soon as Jack heard the news, he thanked Theodore and ran off to take some time to think. And so it was that Jack did not hesitate for a minute, this was the opportunity of his life, so he began to work day by day, selling some of his drawings, at the same time he spent time in maintenance arrangements to raise money for the trip, but by midnight he put all the effort, creativity and energy to paint his favorite artwork, which he would apply in that contest in Paris.

And so it was that after two arduous months of work, Jack finished his artwork, got enough money to fly to France, and in the middle of April he left for Paris..

Jack being humble, was already used to live in small houses, without too many luxuries. There he rested from an exhausting day, and the next morning he went to drop off and post his artwork at the renowned “Louvre Museum”.

Jack's stay in Paris was a week and a half, he arrived on Monday, April 14, 1925, in the middle of spring. The days went by and after visiting several places in Paris, he arrived on Friday and decided to make a last excursion to a small village called “Montmartre”, 2 km away from Paris. Jack rents a bicycle to get to know the neighborhood, its culture, gastronomy, and try to learn some French.

One day he decides to have a coffee, he randomly finds a corner of a bar/café called “Café des Deux Moulins”, when he enters he sits down at the first table he sees.

Jack sits down, and begins to look around the place looking for someone to serve him, a lady of about 60 years old comes out of the cash register and approaches him with a small notebook in her hand, she approaches him and asks him what he wants to drink or eat, Jack answers that he wanted a coffee, and something to eat, but he did not know how to say it. The lady realizes that Jack is a foreigner, understands that he wanted a coffee and immediately asks him to wait a moment. The lady heads back to the bar and enters the buffet. Jack pulls out some of his little sketches of drawings, next to an art book, begins to read and organize the drawings while he waits for the coffee.

After a few minutes, a waitress comes out of the buffet, a young girl, about 30 years old, short dark hair, with a small tray, coffee and a croissant, as she approaches, the waitress observes the drawings in depth, she is astonished, Jack looks up and they both look at each other, they have the following dialogue:

- Waitress: Excuse me (in French)

- Jack: No problem!

- Waitress: Are you a foreigner (in English)?

- Jack: Oh, yes... do you know how to speak English, because I understand very little French?

- Waitress: Yes, I can speak English very well, sorry for the intrusion, it's just that I like your drawings.

-Jack: Good, thank you... What's your name?

- Waitress: Amelíe (in a shy tone).

Jack takes one of his pencil drawings, which shows a little girl looking out the window with a kitten, at the end of the drawing he writes the name “Amelíe” and gives it to the waitress. Amelíe is surprised, retracts her gaze, shrugs her shoulders, her face shows affection for Jack's gift. Jack looks at her and smiles, then looks down at the coffee tray that Amelie still holds in her hand. Amelie apologizes again, realizing that she is still holding the tray with the coffee, she quickly puts the tray on the table, with some napkins, and leaves quickly with a crestfallen look, Jack stops her, thanks her, Amelie stops, nods her head and hides blushing and enters the buffet.

Jack sips his coffee, looks outside, in just five days he would be leaving back to the US, he is pensive. When he finishes his snack he approaches the cashier to pay, he rings the buzzer, but the lady comes out, Jack shows her the money and pays, the lady signals him that he is leaving more money than the coffee costs, Jack leaves it as a tip, telling her it is for Amelíe. Jack waits a few seconds to see if Amelie comes out, but that doesn't happen. Jack leaves, gathers his drawings and things from the table, opens the door and leaves, waving to the lady.

After a few seconds, Amelíe comes out from the buffet, at a slow pace, introverted and stealthy, she approaches the window, watches as Jack grabs his bike to leave, Amelíe tries to hit the window glass or draw attention, but it's too late, Jack leaves.

Jack returns to the hotel in Paris, the night comes and he lies down to sleep, he is pensive, he tosses and turns in his bed, he has memories of that sad night at the ocean, he remembers some moments with Rose, and at the same time he remembers Amelie's face, finally he ends up turning off the night light and proceeds to rest.

After the weekend, Amelie finds herself cleaning the table for the diners, while the lady at the bar watches her attentively from the bar:

Madam: Child, today you are quieter than usual, what's wrong?

Amelie: Nothing, Mrs. Marguerite...

Marguerite: Mmmm, I know what's wrong, is it that young foreigner who came the other time?...

Amelie remains mute, raises her mischievous look, and keeps on cleaning...

Marguerite: I bet you didn't even ask for his name...

Amelie: Oh wow, I missed it, but I loved the crease in her face when she laughed, it was even wonderful to see the way she dressed, so simple, she had a little spot on the top edge of her shoulder, and her hair indicated that she uses hairspray, maybe once or twice a day...

Marguerite: You can't fool me, you're in love...

Amelie: No madam Marguerite, I just wonder what would be the reason to come so far away and to a small town like this...

Marguerite: You should have asked him...

Amelie is speechless, then looks at the detail of the word “Amelie” written by Jack on the drawing, then looks outside, towards the clouds...

A week and a half has passed, everything is very quiet in the streets of Montmartre, Mrs. Marguerite asks Amelie to take care of the Café/Bar for a few hours, because Marguerite had to go shopping at a market. Amelie stays attending to the occasional customers, at one point she observes a family passing in front of the Bar/Café, with their little daughter who was crying, and the parents could not shut her up. Amelíe sees this situation, grabs a candy lollipop from a glass jar, leaves the bar and gives it to the little girl. The girl doesn't cry anymore, the parents thank Amelie, and Amelie stays to greet the little girl, who smiles a little smile. Then, from behind, Amelie hears a voice whispering her name.

Amelíe turns around and is surprised to see Jack, she gets very nervous, lowers her gaze...

Jack: Oh, excuse me...

Amelie: It's all right... ehmm, what was your name ?

Jack: Jack, how do you do?

Jack tries to give her a kiss on the cheek but Amelie shakes his hand, and the two are left in a confused situation, they laugh....

Jack: I thought that here in France they kissed each other on the cheek?

Amelie: Yes, only with close people or family members...

Jack: ok, I understand...

Amelie: What are you doing here?

Jack: I was just passing by for the last time, I liked this neighborhood, it's very quiet and familiar...

Amelie: What do you mean, for the last time (Amelie changes her expression to a more serious face)?

Jack: Tonight I'm leaving for the United States, I'm just passing by...

Jack and Amelie stay talking, Jack tells her the reason for his visit to France, he tells her that he went to exhibit an artwork that will be competing for a prize, the result of the contest would be for the middle of the year.

Jack: You want to have a coffee, it's on me... I love the coffee at your bar.

Amelie: (hesitating) all right, let's hurry before Mrs. Marguerite comes....

Jack and Amelie stayed chatting, Jack told her about his tragic event on the “Titanic”, where he lost Rose, and Amelie told him about her routine life in the bar. Amelie senses Jack's nostalgia for the great love he had for Rose. Amelie teaches Jack some French words, for example she teaches him how to say: Thank you very much! (Merci beaucoup), I am happy (Je suis heureux) among many other nice words.

A few minutes later Mrs. Marguerite approaches, immediately Amelie interrupts the chat, Jack takes the last sip of coffee, both get up from their chairs, Amelie tries to give him a kiss on the cheek, but Jack shakes her hand, both smile again, they were going to give a kiss on the cheek again but Mrs. Marguerite opens the door of the bar and interrupts them.

Marguerite: Ah, you're here again...

Jack: Yes, I liked the coffee, but I was just leaving...

Marguerite: You only liked the coffee?

Jack: ehmm, sure, but I was just leaving...

Marguerite: Stay, I'm sure that Amelie has a lot to talk to you about...

Jack: oh, I'm sorry, I'd love to, but I have to go now...

Amelíe looks at Mrs. Marguerite ironically as if to tell her not to continue talking, Jack leaves, Amelíe tries to say something else to Jack, but he does not say a word, Jack observes Amelíe's face for the last time, which is reflected in the window of the bar. They both look at each other without saying a word. Jack proceeds to leave.

As the months passed, Amelíe continued with her daily life. At night Amelie likes to go up to the terrace of her house to imagine different situations that all the people living in the city could be doing, she imagines worlds, and she imagines herself in her different ways of life, her face longs for the stars, she imagines drawings in the clouds, she sighs and hears the silence of the city. On the other side of the world Jack continues to work at his art and the mechanic's trade.

Already on the eve of July, a normal day in Paris, Amelie goes to the Louvre museum, there she walks through different art galleries, then enters a special room called “Horizons Artistiques” where 10 works of art are exhibited, one of them in particular catches Amelie's attention.

When Amelíe approaches the artwork, whose name of the work is titled “Absence”, she sees that there is a signature below, the signature says: “Jack Dawson”. Amelíe is surprised, she contemplates the image and each stroke, she sees in depth each texture, the color tone, the shadows and lights, Amelíe sees the painting with such enthusiasm that it seems to come to life in Amelíe's imagination. The painting shows the figure of a woman with long red hair embracing the shadow of a man.

The next day, while at the bar/café, Amelie tells Mrs. Marguerite that she saw a painting in the Louvre gallery that belonged to Jack...

Marguerite: And what are you going to do about it?

Amelie: Nothing, I don't know, I'd like so much to congratulate him, but he's so far away...

Marguerite: Then send him a letter...

Amelie: I don't even know his mailing address, I'll settle for admiring his artwork.

Marguerite: Oh my child, you should go out into the world more!

Marguerite retires to continue her work, while Amelie remains pensive. On the other side of the world, Jack learns from the newspaper that he has been shortlisted among the 10 best authors in the art contest in Paris. One day, on the streets of Wisconsin, Mr. Theodore sees Jack running in, when Jack approaches Mr. Theodore, gives him a big hug, then points his finger at him as he walks away and tells him that he will soon receive his reward. Theodore doesn't understand anything, and Jack with a smile says goodbye and goes on his way.

Finally it happens, at the end of July, at the Louvre museum, three works of art are auctioned out of the 10 selected, one of them corresponds to Jack Dawson. Among the crowd of bidders, there are high net worth individuals and multimillionaires from various parts of the world.

The first work of art, called “Reborn” by Vladimir Slokv, a Russian, is sold for a sum of 7 million dollars, the second work of art called “Empire under the Sun” by Alejandra Mendez, a Venezuelan, is sold for 13 million dollars, and finally and unexpectedly, the work of art “Absence” by Jack Dawson is sold at the exacerbating figure of 28 million dollars. The authors begin to pass one by one to the stage to thank the call and for the purchase of their artwork. Thirdly, Jack gets on stage, he is a little nervous, as he does not speak fluent French, for a moment he is silent, he did not even imagine the amount of money he won, still, immobile and silent, he tries to pronounce a word, he looks among the people, and by chance, among the crowd was nothing more and nothing less than the young Amelie. Jack and Amelie look at each other, Amelie smiles shyly at him, Jack seems to be stupefied, until he finally says a few words in French:

Jack: Je remercie les organisateurs du musée pour ce concours. J'ai gagné quelque chose de très précieux. Merci beaucoup. Je suis ravie! (I thank the museum organization for this great contest, I won something very valuable, thank you very much, I am happy!

These were the few words Jack learned with Amelie. And between applauses, Jack stares at Amelíe with the same look that Jack looked at Rose, the day he painted her naked.

The work of Art Jack Dawson - 1925 - USA - Wisconsin

Thank you for reading, it took me a long time to write the article, if you liked it I would appreciate your rating with “✨Points of Light✨”, thank you very much. Long live love!

Author: CultoLatino - July 2025