by Ginny Dye
Amber walked along easily, contentment flooding her body as All My Heart’s head bobbed against her shoulder. She could still hardly believe this beautiful filly belonged to her. She was at the barn every morning as soon as it was light, her pockets stuffed with ham biscuits her mama left out for her every night, and with fresh carrots. She would settle down with All My Heart under a tree, and they would each crunch their treats. Most times, her filly would curl up right next to her on the ground while she talked to her. Clint said she was spoiling her, but All My Heart would do anything she wanted, so she suspected he was just jealous. Robert was overjoyed with the filly’s progress.
She took a deep breath as the breeze cooled her body. Late September had brought an end to the unbearable humidity, but it was still plenty warm. She smelled the rich, freshly cut tobacco mixed with the pungent aroma of curing tobacco and wood smoke. The furnace blazed in the drying barn all the time now. She had thought the mountains of firewood cut that summer would surely go to waste, or be used in the big house over the winter, but they were dwindling before her eyes every single day. She had even heard Moses asking some of the men to cut more.
Amber had finished her work for the day, but an uneasy, guilty feeling swept through her as she gazed at all the men working in the fields. She stopped for a moment and watched as several of them used a machete knife to split the stalk three-quarters down, and then cut the plant off above the ground.
Other men were standing by, holding a big stick they had cut from five-foot-long pine logs. Once five or six of the plants had been placed on the sticks, they would carry them on their shoulders to the drying barn where they would hang them to dry. Other men would quickly take their place. There seemed to be a constant stream of workers heading toward the barn. Moses had said it was a good crop this year. It must be, because all the men looked tired, but they also looked happy.
Robert and her daddy had warned her to stay away from the drying barn. She was only too happy to comply. Her life was in the stables. She didn’t want anyone getting the idea that she should also help with the tobacco. Just the thought was enough to make her keep walking. This was her last night of freedom before school started, and she knew her mama would make her come home early to study every night. She would still help in the stables after school, but she wouldn’t have nearly as much time with All My Heart.
“Come on, girl,” she murmured, her heart leaping forward to the river. Tomorrow would come, but she still had today. Her mama was always telling her not to waste today by pining away over what might happen tomorrow. “I have a surprise for you, little one.” All My Heart nickered and nudged her shoulder as if to hurry her. Amber walked faster, her feet kicking up little spurts of dust.
She could feel the river before she could actually see it. The air cooled just a little, but it was the smell that told her they were close. Amber didn’t know how to explain the smell of the river, she just knew it had a special rich and earthy smell all its own. To her, it carried the aroma of life itself. It didn’t matter if she could explain it. As she took a deep breath, the unspoiled, pristine, pure aroma gave her a heady feeling.
All My Heart snorted and pranced a little, her delicate head lifted high and her ears pricked forward as she gazed down the trail. “You can smell it, too, can’t you girl?” Amber asked. She broke into a run, All My Heart floating along beside her. Moments later, they were standing on the bank of the river.
All My Heart stared, her ears twitching back and forth as she swung her head to take it all in.
“This is the James River,” Amber told her. “It starts way up in the mountains and goes all the way down to the ocean. I don’t know if you’ll ever see the ocean because I haven’t even seen it, but I’ve read about it in books. It sounds wonderful. I will see it one day,” she vowed. Stroking the filly’s neck, she watched the shimmer of the setting sun on the calm, smooth waters. She wasn’t eager for the sun to go down, but she drew a sharp breath of appreciation when the glowing orb transformed the clouds, turning them gold and purple, shafts of sunlight bursting through like a halo.
“Ain’t it beautiful, All My Heart?” she murmured. The scene unfolding before her made her heart catch. “I reckon we be in the best place in the whole world right now.” Amber was glad no one was around to correct her English. She wanted to learn how to speak correctly, but sometimes she just wanted to open her mouth and have words come out without having to think about them. When she was alone with her filly, she felt like she was in her own little world where no one else could touch her.
All My Heart snorted more loudly as she bobbed her head and pulled against the lead line to get closer to the water.
Amber walked forward. “I brought you to a smooth bank so you can go in.”
The filly moved forward slowly, staring wide-eyed at the vast expanse of water that reached as far as the eye could see. A distant line of trees could be seen on the far bank, but glistening water was the only thing visible to the left and right. All My Heart edged closer, stretching her neck out until her velvety muzzle touched the water reflecting back at her like a mirror. She jerked and stared when a fish jumped in the distance, but nickered again and moved closer until she was actually standing in the river. Snorting loudly, she lifted her right front leg and began pawing at the water.
Amber laughed with delight as droplets of water exploded, catching the sun like tiny, dancing diamonds. She laughed even harder when All My Heart started bobbing her head as she pawed the water. Soon the filly was standing chest deep in the water, her head swinging as she gazed in each direction. The look on her face was easy to read—she loved the river.
Amber rolled up her pants and walked out to join her, sighing in ecstasy as the warm water wrapped around her legs. She went still at the same moment All My Heart did, both of them alerted by a sound in the distance. Side by side, their eyes to the sky, they watched as a large flock of geese flew overhead in a perfect V, their loud honking signaling the imminent arrival of fall. “Other than the day Robert gave you to me, I think this be the best day of my life,” Amber whispered as she stared up at the sky. All My Heart lowered her head to rest it on Amber’s shoulder. Amber stroked her muzzle, her heart almost bursting with joy and love.
The two stood quietly until the sun dipped far enough below the horizon to signal they had to return home if they didn’t want to incur someone’s wrath. “We’ll be back, girl,” Amber promised. “We’ll be back many, many times.” Her heart pulsed with anticipation as they navigated the shadowed trail back to the road. “And one day I will be riding you!”
Rose cuddled Hope close as she watched Moses and John walk from the barn toward the house. She was sure she would never grow tired of watching her husband and son together. John ran in circles around his father, waving his arms excitedly as he talked about something Rose couldn’t decipher. Moses’ booming laugh lifted toward her through the still evening air, telling her all was well.
Annie appeared on the porch beside her. “Give me that little girl.”
Rose kissed Hope’s warm, pudgy cheek before she handed her over. “She just had dinner. She will be fine until I return. I think she’ll go right to sleep.” She prayed she was right. John had been such an easy baby. Hope was much fussier and demanding, but her smile, when it burst forth, filled Rose’s heart every time.
Annie smiled down at Hope’s toothless grin. “My grandbaby will be just fine. If she gets hungry, I have some fine porridge I can give her. I can’t believe this baby girl already be eatin’. It seems like just yesterday that she was born.”
Rose smiled. “Almost nine months old. Can you believe it?” She smiled but felt a flicker of sadness. “I so wish Sam could have seen her.”
“Sam be up there lookin’ down on our little girl,” Annie said. “You can count on that. He probably went home that same night so he could look down on this baby and take care of her the same way he took care of you all those years. He knew he was too old to chase after her down he
re on earth.”
Rose smiled, the image creating warm comfort. “I think you might just be right,” she murmured.
Moses had drawn close enough to hear. “Don’t you know my mama is always right?” he teased. “At least that’s what she has been telling me all my life.”
“You learned things the right way,” Annie said. She reached for John’s hand. “I got dinner waiting for you, little man.”
John gazed up at his father. “Are you coming, Daddy?”
Moses knelt down to look into his eyes. “Not tonight, John. Remember that I told you I was going on a picnic with your mama?”
John’s eyes flooded with disappointment before they took on a hopeful glint. “Can I come too?”
“Not tonight,” Moses said with a chuckle. “I told you this is a special time for just me and Mama.”
John’s face crumpled. Annie swooped him up before he could begin to cry. “Come on now, John. You can't be eatin’ none of my fine blackberry cobbler if you be cryin’.”
John’s tears vanished before they had even begun to fall. “Blackberry cobbler? For dinner?”
“For after dinner,” Annie said. She winked at Moses and Rose. “At least that’s what I got to tell you while your folks be listening. Once they leave…” She let her voice trail off.
John’s eyes widened with quick understanding. “Maybe you and Mama should go ahead now, Daddy.”
Rose mouthed “thank you” to Annie as Moses picked up the picnic basket and hoisted it easily.
Annie grinned, took the hand John offered her, and disappeared into the house with Hope snuggled in the crook of her other arm.
“She’s an angel,” Rose said thankfully.
Moses nodded. “We spent too many years apart,” he said gruffly. “We’re all making up for lost time.”
Rose took her husband’s hand and smiled into his eyes. “That’s what I’m doing, too,” she said. She knew she couldn’t expect much until the end of harvest, but she was determined to claim this one night before the classroom swallowed all her time again. Moses was gone from sunup to past sundown every single day. She was thrilled with how well the crop was doing, and she was grateful to be able to snuggle up beside her husband every night, but she missed him. She was already longing for the barren, cold winter that would give her more time with him.
“I’ve missed you, too,” Moses answered, reading her thoughts perfectly. “One more question, and then tonight will only be about us.”
“Felicia is in the library,” Rose said promptly as she anticipated his question. “The courier from town arrived today with all of Thomas’ magazines and newspapers. She is like a kid in a Philadelphia candy store. I’m sure I’ll have to drag her out of the library when we get home.”
“Did she get a letter?” Moses asked.
Rose stared at him. “How would you know anything about a letter?”
“Does that mean it came?”
“Yes, but Felicia wouldn’t tell me a thing. She just got a smile on her face and ran upstairs with it.” Rose stopped walking. “Do you know what was in that letter?” she demanded.
Moses shrugged innocently. “I might, but I’m not really sure.”
Rose stamped her foot. “Moses Samuels!” She had been dying of curiosity ever since it had arrived.
Moses laughed loudly. “I’m sworn to secrecy.”
Rose hated the little twinge of jealousy and hurt.
Moses read her look instantly. “She wants to be the one to tell you, Rose, but she doesn’t want to talk about it until she knows for sure.”
Rose stuffed aside her hurt feelings. She knew she was being small and petty, and she also recognized Felicia and Moses shared a special bond because he had been the one to save her in Memphis. She and Felicia had become closer since their time talking in the library, but the little girl still kept her at arm’s length. “I’ll look forward to her news,” she said, “but that is enough about our children. As much as I love them, I love their father just as much. Tonight is ours.”
Moses lifted her chin and kissed her lips. “Where to?” He looked around. “Are we walking or riding?”
“Walking,” Rose answered as she headed toward a trail down to the river.
Moses looked suspiciously at the basket. “This isn’t big enough to have a blanket in it.”
Rose blinked. “We need a blanket?”
Moses opened his mouth to protest, but quickly read the look in her eyes. “Lead the way,” he said willingly.
Rose walked briskly, glad for the last remaining vestiges of light that made the path barely visible, although she knew the woods on the plantation as well as she knew the back of her hand. She’d had to.
“Remember the night I met you?” Moses asked quietly. “You led me through the woods to your secret school. I thought I was certainly going to die that night. I didn’t believe you could get away with teaching. I was terrified.”
“I remember,” Rose answered. “What I remember the most though was being scared to death I was going to fall in love with you.”
“It hasn’t been so terrible, has it?” Moses probed.
“It’s been the best thing in my life,” Rose said happily. Moments later they broke out onto a secluded beach along the river.
“You’ve been busy,” Moses murmured, his eyes bright with appreciation.
Rose moved forward to light the fire she had built earlier. The blanket was already laid out. She shooed a frog off the edge of it, reached for the picnic basket, and motioned for Moses to sit down.
Moses stared hopefully at the basket as he lowered himself to the blanket. “Is some of my mama’s fried chicken in that basket?”
Rose chuckled. “Along with potato salad and deviled eggs.”
“And some of her cookies?”
“Cookies, and warm bread with butter,” Rose confirmed. “Along with a jug of cold tea. I knew you would be starving.”
“It’s good to have a wife who knows her man,” Moses said happily, patting his stomach as he reached out for the plate she handed to him.
Rose ate, but mostly she just watched Moses devour enough food for three men. It never ceased to amaze her how much he could eat, but she also realized it must take a lot to fill up someone so tall and strong.
“What are you thinking about?” Moses asked as he reached for another cookie.
“That I hope we’ll be able to feed both you and John one day. If he eats like his father, we could be in trouble.”
“Guess his mama better make good money as a schoolteacher,” Moses replied.
“And his daddy better make good money as a lawyer,” Rose shot back playfully. “But that’s not all I was thinking about…”
“No?” Moses gazed at her, pushing aside the picnic remnants from the blanket.
When he reached for her, Rose jumped up. “Wait!” She hurriedly lit the fire, knowing it would keep the mosquitoes away. She waited a moment to make sure it was going to burn easily, and then turned back to Moses. The look in his eyes made her catch her breath. All her efforts and planning had been worth it.
“Come here,” Moses commanded, his eyes never leaving her.
Rose went willingly, her heart melting as he pulled her close and claimed her lips. She reached up and cradled his face. “I love you so much,” she whispered.
“Just how much?”
Rose smiled. “I’ll be happy to show you.”
The fire had died down to glowing embers before Moses stood and added wood. Minutes later, crackling flames illuminated the night and shot sparks high into the air. The breeze caught them and carried them over the black water that reflected back their glimmering dance before they floated into their watery grave.
Rose lay where she was, afraid movement would break the magic. She gazed at his broad shoulders outlined against the night sky, and then gasped with delight. Moses swung around to look at her, but she merely held out her hand to him. When he was settled down beside her again, she pointed east.
The moon, full several days earlier, was now perched on top of the tree line, its silvery glow bringing the woods to life.
Moses, sensing her desire for closeness, pulled her tightly to his side. They watched as the moon slowly slid up in the sky, wispy clouds scuttling across its face as the wind picked up. Soon it was high enough to illuminate the ripples on the James River. Bullfrogs and crickets sang a welcome, while fireflies darted through the grasses and the trees surrounding them.
Rose smiled, her heart full. “This has been a perfect night,” she whispered.
Moses pressed his cheek against her head. “Thank you for making it happen,” he replied. “The only thing more beautiful than this night is my wife.”
Rose sighed with contentment as she stared up at the silvery orb. “The moon is such a mystery.”
“It looks like it’s sitting right in the Big Dipper,” Moses observed.
Rose pulled back to stare at him. “The Big Dipper?”
“It’s a constellation,” Moses explained. He pointed toward the sky. “See, it looks just like a big ladle. That’s why they call it the Big Dipper. During the spring and summer, it is much higher in the sky. Now that it’s almost fall, it’s lower on the horizon.”
“And you know this how?” Rose asked, completely surprised by his knowledge.
“Felicia told me.”
Rose chuckled. “Of course she did. Let me guess. She found it in some of Thomas’ books.”
Moses nodded, pointing again. “That’s the Little Dipper. The brightest star is the North Star. Sailors have used that to navigate ever since they started using boats.”
Rose stared at the sky with fascination, eager to know more about the mysteries it held. “When did Felicia teach you all this?”
“When she told me about the letter that might be coming,” he confessed. “Don’t ask me any more questions. She wants to tell you herself.”