“And boys, lots of little boys that look just like their father, please Peter. I just can’t wait to get to Savannah and start on that house. ”
“I’m going to bless you and those babies far beyond anything we have ever known. I just know this is the will of God. I just know we will have a good life down there.”
“You deserve a good life Peter. And I intend on being a huge part in it. I just love being a part of your life my dear husband, my best friend. Let’s stay busy in life, prosperous in all we do, and have lots and lots of joy, together and for always.”
He loved this girl so, her joy of life, and depth of spirit. Her love for God, the same God that Mabria loved and taught him to love and depend on. This God, this God would help them along their way. Finally, life and life more abundantly, he just knew it. “I want to be their covering Lord, as you are mine,” he spoke as they fell asleep in each others arms below the stars that night. The roaring fire next to them helped to encourage them for their rest tonight and their long journey ahead.
Journeys
The night sky seemed so endlessly hopeless to Boaz this evening. How could they just leave? How could they just pick up and leave, especially when he needed Peter now. Who would he talk to about such things?
Boaz locked up the General Store. His parents had left earlier; they said they had some business to do with Joshua. That was fine; Boaz was used to taking care of the duties at hand, whatever they might be.
Life without Peter and Naomi seemed unbearably bleak. His two best friends in all of the earth really. Well there was Nate, but this thing with Lucy had turned them into rivals and back to friends of course. But the hurt was there. Why did it have to hurt? If she loved Nate, well then why not just say so. If she didn’t love Boaz, well then go ahead on to somebody else.
Ma had a favorite saying, “You have a choice. Complain about what you don’t have, or be thankful for what you do have.” Boaz smiled as he could almost hear her saying it now, even though she was a few doors down. He loved his mama. She was so passionate about serving God.
“Its settled!” he spoke to no one there. Well he thought no one was there, until he heard the sound on the steps behind the store. And then someone run down the alleyway. “Who is that?” he wondered. Then he dropped the broom and took off after them. Up through another back alley, and up the rear stairs, and a slam of a door. Boaz was right behind them in hot pursuit. He banged loudly on the door, but no answer. He banged again and the door slowly opened. Just a crack mind you.
“Well, look who’s sneaking around tonight. What are you up to Julia? You scared the life out of me. And what are you doing in here, and dressed like a boy?”
Julia was scared; she really didn’t want to be noticed. And she knew she shouldn’t be in this room this evening, her master had stepped out to the saloon across the way for some dinner. He told her to wait outside the saloon doors for him. She had run home and stole some clothes from another at the house. Then she took off for the adventure of her life. Or so she thought. But when she ran in this door, she was just hoping no one was here. Turned out to be empty and swept clean.
“Don’t pay no never mind to me Boaz. I’m just out for a walk.”
“Julia what are you up to,” he asked the young black slave girl. He looked at her funny because he just couldn’t believe she was dressed like a boy tonight. She was only 14 or so, close to Boaz’s age.
“Ok, might as well tell ya. I’m running north. I’m running north tonight, and no one is going to stop me Boaz. Not even you! Now let me go!”
As Julia tried to shove past him, Boaz grabbed her by the arms and swung her back into the small room. He smiled at those bright beautiful black eyes dancing in the moonlight as he noticed, she’s a girl alright. “Julia, you know Joe, he’ll whoop your hide. Come on let me get you back home. We’ll think up something to tell him.”
“No I can’t Boaz. You know how he treats me. The only time I eat more than a slice of bread and that soup with no meat is when you or your folks sneak it to me. I sure do appreciate that Boaz. And then when he is drunk he… well he…,” she was stammering but Boaz fully understood. He had found her beaten and compromised many a morning at the front door of the general store, unable to speak what had happened to her the night before. “But I can’t ...,” she straightened her small frame up, and she almost looked like a different person, and spoke with firmness. “I just gotta go north. This is over. I got to be free. You will never understand Boaz. You just can’t.”
“Ok Julia, come on to the store. Let’s make ya something to put in a bag and help you on your way. It’s a long way you’re going to have to go. Probably all the way to Canada. Joe will be chasing you, I am sure of that.”
Just then the sound of Joe, drunk as usual, was screaming Julia’s name.
“Julia, dag blasted kid, get over here. Where you at? I’ll tan your hide!” Then Joe fell out right in the middle of the road. Dropped right there. Some folks from the saloon came and picked him up and carried him on back to his place. Julia and Boaz froze in place as they witnessed the men drag him down the alley and to his back door, just a few feet below from where they stood
Thirst
“These mountains, these endless mountains,” Naomi thought as they drove on. She had seen them in the distance but Peter had not said anything about them except how beautiful they were. She sure hoped after the last range, they would not see any others. However, there were more. The poor beasts, she thought. Few roads and long climbs. It seemed they didn’t make much more headway than the stagecoaches they saw along the route. The only difference for them was they camped out under the stars and decided not to stay right inside the towns along the way. Peter had told her this morning that Savannah was the next town they would get to. He was excited because they were well on their way. They had not saw one Indian, which seemed to make Peter nervous. He said they were sneaky savages. If you don’t see them, that means they are staying hidden, and that could mean they are more dangerous, was his thought. He attempted to stay near stagecoaches and along their routes on the way. For the safety of the roads, and the comfort of knowing someone else was not too far away should some trouble with Indians arise. Naomi had tasted dirt for almost a month now. Certainly the town of Savannah would offer some refreshment. Peter had a friend there, who knew his great grandfather. He would be accompanying them on the way to the plantation. He said he would like to help Peter find the place.
Peter decided to pull up to the stream they had been traveling along for a rest, “for man, woman and beast,” he said with a weary smile.
As he pulled up near the stream, Naomi could feel her thirst surge. They had plenty of water that they carried, but oh, the freshness of the cool streams. She jumped down the opposite side of the wagon, not waiting for Peter and heard the sound of the rattler before she hit the ground. Fear gripped her, but thank God, Peter heard it too. She didn’t move a muscle. Peter climbed back in the wagon and crept over her side. “Boom,” came the shot from behind her.
“Can you believe I got that with one shot?” he whooped with delight as Naomi fainted in spirit. She was so scared she hadn’t realized how shaky she was. “Come on Naomi, let’s get in this stream. You need a bath, girl.”
“Peter! I cannot believe you expect me to get in that water after a snake right there. Right there right next to me. There is no way I am getting in that water. No way!” she was exasperated.
Peter stripped his clothes right down to his knickers and jumped off the huge rock on the bank. “Come on!” he yelled while splashing in the water, laughing at her fears.
“I will not.”
“Suit yourself, the water is great. I’ve already checked. Not a snake in sight. Come on Naomi,” he teased throwing water at her from the stream.
But moving in the early evening shadows was someone who was not a snake by name, but was definitely trying to move like one today. He moved quietly, and carefully, attempting not to make a noise in t
he woods. Slowly he made his way around the wagon. Noting that the rifle was far away from the young white man and his wife, he saw what he wanted and had every intention of taking it. Quick as lightning he grabbed for it, but quicker than that, the whip struck him in the back. Over and over and over again, the lash came down. Screaming and hollering came the young man’s voice. Naomi was so struck by the scene that she ran and fell, no jumped; right into the stream with her husband Peter for what she thought was her only protection from this violence.
“Get back up that hill you dirty no good boy. What makes you think you can outsmart me. You know you can’t.”
The young black man looked with pleading eyes at Peter and Naomi. Haunting eyes that Naomi did not think she would ever forget. The sound of the screams and the sight of a bloody battle that Peter knew he would never forget.
Without even an acknowledgement, the men made their way away from Peter and Naomi. The young couple began to hear the dogs howling, the whip continuing to lash. Naomi lay in her husband’s arms, shaking, for what seemed like a long, long time. Finally, Peter coaxed her back to the wagon, he dressed quickly, and they began back on the road to Savannah.
They did not speak for what seemed to her like hours. She was still soaking wet, but at last, Peter broke the silence and asked, “You ok?”
Naomi broke, she cried and cried and through sobs said, “Peter, please don’t keep the slaves. Please release them from the estate.”
“Not a problem, my dear. The lawyer has already drawn up the paperwork. Some have asked to stay on as servants. Others have already left with money in their pockets and freedom papers in their hands. I could not do that any other way.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you. I shall love those servants with all my heart. With God as my witness, I will teach them of His love and mercy.”
Hope
“Boaz,” came the shout of his father.
Boaz slowly motioned to Julia to follow him. The two made their way slowly and quietly down the stairs and out to the front porch of the general store. There had grown a crowd around the man’s back door. Someone said he needed the doc. Boaz’s father was waiting just inside the door.
“Boaz, what’s going on?” He asked as he looked Julia up and down. “Julia what on earth are you up to?”
“She’s leaving pa. She can’t take it no more.”
“Well ya may not have to. I think he’s dead. I was just in there. The doc is going to be checking him out.”
Julia felt a joy flood her veins. But that joy soon was replaced with a hopelessness that made her come back to reality.
“No sir. I’m leaving tonight. It doesn’t matter. They’ll just sell me again.”
Pa took a deep long sigh. He understood the pain. Well he thought he did, as well as any outsider that was not actually enslaved himself. He had seen the evidence of the things the man had done to this young girl since bringing her up from Mississippi years ago. However, God spoke clearly to him. He waited just a moment in the silence of the moment.
“Julia, go into the back room. There you will find a new shipment of dresses and some night gowns that just came in. I want you to put one of the gowns on, and lay out a dress for tomorrow. Bed down there tonight. No one will come looking for you here. They trust me. I’ll take care of this in the morning.”
“No sir. I’m leaving tonight.”
“Boaz, come on. We need to go home, ma is waiting. She’ll be worrying.”
“But Pa..” he stammered.
“Come along son. God has this all under control. It’s not our place to make these decisions right now. Julia, rest in the back room. You are safe for the evening. Do not, under any circumstances, open these doors. Do you understand me?”
Julia looked for a few moments at the kind older gentleman that had helped her so many times in life. She trusted him as well. She let out a sigh and tears began to fall from her eyes. “How can I? I’m so close. I must go north. It’s freedom sir.”
“Freedom is an amazing thing, Julia. But freedom through Christ, as I have told you so many times before, is the only freedom that matters at the end of the day. Take time and pray tonight. He took a bible off the shelf and handed it to her. Take time to read as well.”
Pa took Peter by the shoulder and the two of them left the store. As the key turned, Boaz felt a fear grip him. However, Julia felt the spirit of God grip her. She did as the man had directed her to do. She found the garments that fit her. She laid out her dress for the next day, smoothing out the wrinkles as best she could. Now it was time, time to rest. She climbed into the bed that was in the back room. She had rested here so many times before, where Mabria had nursed her back to strength. Oh, never all the way. The master would never allow that. But the kindness of this family and the prayers over her many a day, she felt safe, and she felt at home. A comfort in this bed, oh that she would dream of sometimes at night as she slept on the bit of straw at her master’s home. She opened the bible and her eyes fell to a familiar passage that Mabria had so many times read to her, ‘come unto me all ye who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ She took time to come to her knees right next to that bed and prayed as Mabria had taught her. She asked forgiveness for the hate she held in her heart for that master. She felt it flood through her and out through the tears that stained her new garment. She felt Christ’s Spirit, like she had before, only this time, this time; it was just Him and her. A presence of God that she would never forget fell on her this night. She climbed back into the bed, pulled the covers up over her face, and as she tried to hide, she realized, she needn’t hide any more. God was in control. She would face whatever it was she needed to face in the morning. This time, freedom through Christ, was what was going to carry her. No more fear, no more pain, with Christ by her side. She had confidence in that and as she closed her eyes, it seemed only moments when the bright rising sun through the window and the banging on the door woke her from her rest.
Strangers
Savannah was bustling and busy. Naomi wasn’t so sure about this place. There was lots of noise and lots of people. Being out on the road, she had become accustomed to not being around folks for a few weeks. She all of a sudden wasn’t so sure about this trip south.
“The lawyer’s place is just over here next to the Sheriff’s office. We can get down there and stretch a bit before going in,” Peter spoke interrupting her thoughts.
“Peter, I’m a bit scared of this place.”
“Its alright, it’s from being on that road. We’ll be fine.”
Peter jumped out of the wagon and tied it near the back of the buildings. There was a trough nearby for the horses and he wanted to make sure they had a chance to drink and rest as well. He helped Naomi down and while she was getting used to standing up again he took the burden off the beasts. It felt good to get out of that wagon. He was beginning to feel stiff. He noticed the post office nearby.
“The post office was the hub of home. Probably is here as well Naomi. Why don’t you go introduce yourself, while I go take care of this business?”
“I think I’ll wait for you Peter if you don’t mind. I really feel scared here.”
“Come on in with me then Naomi. We’ll be fine. You’ll be used to this place in no time at all. That post office will be where you come to stay in contact with back home.”
Naomi moved along the streets with Peter. But she just wasn’t so sure about this place. She was now a stranger in a strange land. “I must pray,” she thought. “I must draw closer to God through this.”
Freedom Longings
The bangs on the door kept coming. Julia laid stock still, frightened that the door would break in at any moment. When she heard Don’s voice outside it seemed to calm her. He was yelling though, and there was an argument.
“Now Don, I’ve been told Boaz snuck her in here last night. A very reputable source said it. You need to open up and let us have her.”
“Boaz was with me last night. You need to move
along. This is my establishment and I open when I open and you won’t be coming in here looking for anybody.”
Then the back door from the alley creaked open. Julia slipped quietly behind a barrel in the room and hoped that she would not be seen.
“Julia,” came Mabria’s whisper.
Julia ran into her arms and wept softly. Mabria stroked her hair and her slender back and attempted to soothe the poor child as she had so often done. “Its ok girl. Trust God. He has a plan. Trust Him.”
“I should of ran last night Mabria. I should of ran.”
“No, you did right. Joe is dead. He died last night.”
“Dead? Oh Mabria? Now what? What will they do? They’ll sell me to another for sure.”
“Stay still. Shhhh. Don is seeing what can be done. He has the lawyers working on it.”
A Book of Ruth Page 2