by Loni Lynne
Camden welcomed the opportunity to slip away from his parents when Tonya suggested they stake out a spot for the family to congregate and view that part of the battle. Tonya would need to be there to make sure things went all right with Jared. There were no guarantees that any of their hopes would come to fruition. All of their plans of sending Jared back to his time was based on assumption. For all they knew, he was trapped forever in the present.
Helping Tonya spread out the large lawn blanket and set up the folding chairs and canopy for the rest of the group when they arrived, it was his moment to relax. Tonya offered him a bottle of water from the cooler they’d brought along with picnic foods while the waited for the others to dwindle in from town.
“Thanks,” Camden took a swig of water, emptying nearly half in one gulp. “I needed that.” He recapped the water bottle and sighed as he sat in one of the canvas sport chairs.
Tonya looked uncomfortable. The ride up had been kind of quiet. They’d recapped what had happened at the tavern last night, well the fight that Jared had gotten into anyway, but the real issue was still waiting on edge.
“Did you talk with your folks last night?”
There she’d asked. What she really wanted to know. “We talked and then I went back to the apartment. I figured with Vickie keeping Jared and Joshua for the night, I had the place to myself.”
“And?”
“I tried. As you can tell last night, talking to him does me no good. My dad won’t listen and my mom isn’t strong enough to stand up to him. I have no choice. I’ll be leaving next week for football training.”
She had no clue what that was like. He’d put up with being the obedient son for so long. He’d been in every athletic club his parents supported since he was in T-Ball and paraded around as Mark Phillip’s son at every fraternal function his father was a member of. He was tired of being the golden boy and just wanted to be his own person. William & Mary was far enough away from South Carolina without being half way around the world, a good place to start. Nobody there knew him from Adam…even if his father was trying to influence the coaches and athletic boosters there with his money.
“So that’s it? Are you going to just lay down and join the football team? I thought you were set on winning the scholarship?”
“It’s yours.” He sighed, opened the bottle, and finished the drink. He recapped the empty, thin plastic shell and crushed it in his hand. He knew in the end nothing he said mattered. His dad held all the strings to make things better or worse for him. “I might as well accept the fact I’ve never been great academically. Hell, I had to have someone write my papers because I couldn’t put a coherent sentence together even though I knew the answers to all the questions. I’m just not meant to be a scholar. You on the other hand…”
Tonya stood up in a huff. “I can’t believe you. You’re going to let your father dictate what you do for the rest of your life? Aren’t you?”
Was this a hypothetical question? No. She appeared to be waiting for his answer.
“Really? Do I have a choice right now? I don’t have two cents to rub together…”
“Neither does anyone else when we start out. You’re going to live on your father’s hand-me-downs? Or are you going to make a name for yourself?” She continued. “And what about Jared? Are you going to forsake all the work and research you’ve done on him just piss it away because daddy wants you to report to football training next week?”
“Look, I don’t see you making choices on your own. Don’t be putting all of this on me. You’re still living with your father and keeping under his rules, and those of everyone else in Kings Mill. Was it your suggestion to take on the scholarship to William & Mary or was it April’s recommendation?”
“Apples and oranges, Cam. We aren’t talking about different college majors. We are talking career choices and the rest of your life.” She threw back at him.
He knew she was right, but he didn’t want to accept the fact she was right…and that he was afraid to do anything about what he wanted. No, he was afraid of breaking out of his mold.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’ll do what I have to do to get through college at least. My mind is made up.”
“No. Your dad made up your mind long ago. You’re just playing his puppet.” Tonya walked away from the tent.
“Where are you going?”
“For a walk…because I can.” With that she sauntered over the shallow ridge at a fast pace, away from him.
Damn her! Didn’t she think he wanted to walk, too? But yeah, the more he thought about it the more he knew…he was afraid to stand on the edge of uncertainty and take the first step away from everything he’d ever known.
#
By the time Tonya had returned his folks, Tonya’s dad, and the Wilton Women had arrived. Camden had been thankful for the buffer of the rest of the group, so he didn’t have to discuss details of next week’s day trip back to Myrtle Beach before heading to Williamsburg for varsity football orientation. It would be coming sooner than he hoped anyway.
He took the time to play some catch with Joshua while they waited for the battle to take place nearby. This gave him more excuse to stay away from the rest of the group. Tonya appeared a bit weary from her walk but that was her problem. He didn’t tell her to take an hour hike in ninety-eight degree weather in the hottest part of the day. But he noticed the occasional looks she gave his dad at times when his father spoke with someone in the group. Was she judging? Was she going to explode and go toe to toe with his dad?
Tonya helped set up the folding tables and lay out the picnic lunch the women had packed. Camden really didn’t want to get anywhere near her or his folks for fear of something setting either one of them off. He didn’t want to be trapped in the middle of any battles other than the upcoming reenactment. Truthfully, Camden didn’t know which one would be more volatile.
He sat with Joshua as they ate fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, and washed it all down with Root Beer. The kid had been a great deterrent from the rest of his issues at hand, even in the evenings lately, though truthfully Jared and Joshua were closer.
“Will we really be able to see Jared and his brigade from here?” Joshua asked as Camden took him closer to the upcoming battlefield.
“Sure will.” He pointed towards the crop of skeleton-like peach trees. “See that area over there? They’ll be coming up from the west, into the orchard where they’ll attack the Union troops.”
“Will Jared’s troops win?” the boy asked hopefully.
The glow of pride in Joshua’s gaze hit Camden in the chest like gunshot. The ache in knowing the final outcome of the whole war, the massive amounts of deaths this battle alone produced on both sides, he couldn’t say it. As it was, Joshua really didn’t know the truth about anything going on. They weren’t really sure he knew he wasn’t in his time or place.
Camden ruffled the kids head and tried for a happy smile. “I don’t know. We will have to see, won’t we?”
#
Tonya couldn’t eat much. As time drew closer to the hour of the battle of the Peach Orchard and Rose Farm the nausea grew in her stomach. The walk she’d taken earlier was for her benefit more so than to get away from Camden. He had his problems but she had hers.
The echoes of battles long fought had begun their tattoo into her soul. She knew it was real. More and more her senses picked up the remnants of time. Not just everyday time but eras and moments of stress and strife. Those periods when souls were at their weakest. She knew that now. Vickie had taught her what she was about. It was up to her to deal with controlling it.
She’d walked to the orchard waiting for a sign to tell her Jared had made it to his scouting point. This time, she couldn’t…no, wouldn’t interfere. If even a morsel of his spirit remained she had to leave him be.
In reality, he was with the troops, awaiting orders to scout ahead. She wouldn’t know if he made it back until the ghostly souls of Andrew or John reported ba
ck to Vickie upon his return to the squadron. Then, there might be a possibility of time correcting itself…a slim, unknown possibility, one based on faith more so than science or history.
What was she going to do if nothing happened? What if Jared never returned to his proper time? She would lock herself up, as far away from anything historical as possible so she didn’t interfere with another past soul for as long as she lived. That’s what she intended to do.
Until she heard about Jared’s return to his regiment, she couldn’t stop worrying. Every glance at her watch as the minutes slowly ticked by, every furtive rolling of the eyes and shake of Vickie’s head, made her stomach clench in sickening dread.
By three o’clock she was a mess. The heat and her own feverish fear had her wanting to throw herself in the fake fray that was taking place over just north of them at Devil’s Den. She could hear the gunfire, the faint screams of the actors. Now she was even doubting the ghost soldiers ability to get away to communicate with Vickie. Surely by now there would be a sign.
Moments later Vickie stood up and Dotty went with her to the edge of the fencing separating the great field from the old Emmitsburg Pike. In the haze of summer heat, Tonya wasn’t sure if she saw the figures of two Confederate ghosts or not but both women appeared to be talking to each other and possibly another figure or two secluded in front of them.
They stood there for a while, what seemed to be hours but in reality was only a few moments. But Vickie took her time walking back through the sparse, dry grasses to their picnic site. She glanced at Tonya briefly and gave her a smile and subtle nod. Tonya felt the weight of one hundred and fifty years fall from her shoulders. Jared had returned from his scouting trip. History was now left to fate.
Walking to the edge of the field, she smiled down at Camden. He smiled back, sharing in the good news. Holding out his hand, she clasped onto it as he helped her down onto the slight ridge of ground to watch and wait for history to repeat itself.
#
Joshua situated himself in front of Camden, eager to see his friend Jared charge into battle. They weren’t sure where to look because they weren’t sure where in the unit he would be.
Bugles sounded the call to arms off to their left. General Longstreet’s brigade was about to go into action. Off to the right, down the road a ways, there were a line of dark blue Union troops ready, the ones closer to them would be waiting behind the lines, and over closer to Rose Farm…but it was time.
Suddenly the scene erupted in cannon fire. The sounds of artillery blasting every few seconds in between continuous pops of musket fire and the rebel yells and whoops of brave men charging forth onto the field to attack the end hook of the Union troops.
At first the chaos and cacophony of sounds rattled and shook the hallowed ground as the reenactors went into full production. Tonya could feel the intensity of the moment just by watching it transform but there was more…
She saw it all. Like a scene in slow motion the atmosphere around her changed. A building pressure in which she alone was encapsulated. So focused on the act in front of her she didn’t notice Vickie sit down next to her, wrap her arms around her, hold her as if to keep her from exploding from the environmental change going on.
The actors’ portrayal was joined suddenly by extras being added to the scene…emerging from the battle scene itself…wisps of shadows changing into uniformed men, charging into the fray. Residual ghosts trapped in the same moment, over and over, playing the same characters. Overwhelmed, Tonya nearly missed hearing Joshua yell out, ‘there he is, next to the flag bearer.’
Sure enough Jared led the way, charging across the field shoulder to shoulder with his fellow brethren of the south. Camden and Joshua eagerly cheered him on, trying to yell over the din of action. But all Tonya heard was faint echoing and she realized she was trapped somewhere between the present and July 1863, watching history unfold.
The Confederate flag wavered, slowly dropping towards the ground. The color guard had been wounded. Without missing a step, Jared grabbed the vivid banner and charged forward, yelling for his comrades in arms to carry on. Marching proudly he faced his foe…this wasn’t a man to desert his friends, his country. This was a leader among men.
Camden and Joshua high-fived each other as the men of South Carolina forcefully made their way across the orchard to face the enemy head on. The scene was seamless. Tonya didn’t know where the present ended and the past began. There was a collective gasp all around her as, once again, the blue cross of stars on the red linen cloth wavered and fell. Seconds later, it rose again and Jared lay buried in the fray of others continuing their march forward.
Her heart stopped. She wanted to rush out there and see if he was okay. Was he wounded or had this been a mortal blow? Either way, he’d been trampled over like a pile of leaves. The stampede might have killed him. Vickie held onto her, holding her back. Could she see what she was witnessing?
Running feet and Camden literally screaming broke her out of the fog she’d been immersed in.
“Did I just see that kid disappear?” Camden’s dad asked among the voices of the rest of the group, all asking what had just happened. “What’s going on here?”
Camden turned to her, his face ashen, his eyes wide, frightened and glowing with unshed tears as he looked from her to Vickie, silently searching for answers to why Joshua was no longer sitting in front of him. The boy had just vanished into thin air.
Chapter Sixteen
Tonya couldn’t focus. Nothing helped. Not the coffee, the long talks with Vickie, or her dad deciding to stay home with her and work from home at Kenneth’s insistence to get her through everything that had happened in such a short time.
Camden’s parents had not been amused when the Wilton Women explained the truth about what they had witnessed. Neither one believed the whole ‘ghost’ phenomenon or Tonya’s ability to ‘touch the past’. Now she knew where Camden had gotten his attitude. His father had been a real piece of work, insisting that he would make everyone who’d influenced his son in such a negative way, pay…and pay dearly.
Tonya had taken Camden back to his apartment after the reenactment to recover from his father’s vicious blow out in Gettysburg. Mark Phillip’s had informed his son that he was to pack his bags and they would leave as soon as they got back to Kings Mill. They weren’t going to stay another minute around the crazy, ghost worshipers.
The man had been unreasonable, narrow-minded and at moments, just nasty…to everyone, mostly her for influencing Camden to believe in all the hocus pocus crap. When they had reached his apartment complex, all Camden was worried about was what had happened to Jared and Joshua…his father be damned.
“They’re gone. All I know is somehow I was able to get Jared back to his proper place in time. According to Andrew, he thought he saw Jared’s soul cross over when he’d been struck down by the musket ball to his chest on the battlefield.”
“What about Josh? Where the hell did he go?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a part of him was tied to some outcome of the battle. After all, he was a child of the Soldiers Orphanage. Maybe seeing the battle set him free?”
They’d sat quietly on the couch. Tonya hadn’t known what more to say and Camden had become quiet and distraught. He’d withdrawn into himself trying to come to terms with everything.
“Maybe you should get packed. You’re parents said they’d come to get you as soon as they checked out of Millie’s. I don’t want your dad to…”
“Fuck my dad!” Camden exploded. “He has no idea…none! Not about me, what I want, or what’s happened to me since I’ve been here.”
“What’s happened? Other than you now believe in ghosts…and time travel.” Tonya laughed, trying to make light of the awkwardness.
“I’ve learned there are bigger things in life than the high and mighty Phillips’ name. Hell, even Kenneth Miles isn’t as power hungry or a control freak as my father and he’s an international billionaire.”
/> “Everybody is different. Truthfully, I think your father cares about you. It’s just he doesn’t know how to show it.”
“No. You don’t understand. My dad wants me to be NFL material because he couldn’t be. His living his dream through me. Always has. It’s always been about Mark Phillips…the prestige, the perfect wife, perfect son, perfect job…playing the part of the perfect family.”
Tonya had seen that but tried to find a positive outlook.
The doorbell rang, and at first, Camden had no desire to answer it. He knew it was his folks. He reluctantly opened the door and his father barged his way in.
“Where are your bags?”
“I’m not going with you.” Camden folded his arms across his chest. “I’m twenty-two, I can make my own decisions as an adult.”
Mark walked over and stood toe to toe with his son. “You don’t want to make a scene, Cam. Get your stuff and we will discuss this later…when you are in a rational state of mind and not being influenced.” The slur was intentional. The hatred on his father’s face towards her was palpable.
“The only thing Tonya has influenced me with is to learn what an ass I was when I came here. She taught me to care about something and someone bigger than myself, which is something I think all of us can take a lesson in.”
Tonya cringed. She knew Camden had pushed the limit with his father when the bulging vein in Mark’s forehead stood out in relief. He man’s perfect jaw hardened even more so as he flexed and unflexed his fists at his side.
“You have five minutes to put your stuff together, son.” His voice was deadly calm and straight forward.
“Count away. I’m not leaving.” Camden stood his ground.
The forceful slap echoed around the apartment before Camden was literally slammed up against the wall, his father’s forearm across his throat.
Tonya and his mother gasped at the same time.