by Janie DeVos
“I’m sure he’ll understand. Just tell him I delayed you. So, please, tell me about these tax lien certificates. What are they exactly?” I had a sinking feeling I already knew. Working at the newspaper had enlightened me on quite a few subjects I hadn’t known much about beforehand.
David impatiently sighed and sat. I sat across from him. “Eve, as I’m acquiring property for hotels, as well as for the expansion of the railroad, it’s necessary to purchase properties that are sometimes owned by other people. Without that property, the building of the hotel can’t be undertaken in the desired location, or, in the case of the railroad, the tracks have to deviate from a straight-line route. That adds a lot of hours, labor, and costs to projects, not to mention headaches. So, we try to buy these properties, and most of the time, people are willing to sell. But if they’re not, and if they owe any back taxes, then we buy their tax liens.”
“And you don’t give them a chance to pay you before you call in the debt, is that it, David?”
“No, Eve! That is not it! Granted, we do charge a much higher interest rate than they originally paid, but if they’ve fallen into arrears, then whose fault is it really if they get into a bind and can’t make payments?”
“And that bind would be paying you an exorbitant amount or you foreclose on the property. Right?”
“Eve, this is business! It’s the way it’s done. It’s legal, and it’s—”
“Heartless,” I finished for him.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Eve! If it were left to small-property owners to bring progress to this country, then a hundred years from now the landscape would look exactly the same. It would be a rough, snake-infested wasteland, with just a few antiquated steamboats huffing and puffing down the rivers, past a few pathetic weed-ridden gardens and rickety homesteads every now and then!”
“Is this what our life is going to be about, David? Seeing how fast we can bulldoze little nuisances out of our way so that we can get ahead of everyone else in order to have the biggest house or the best table at the country club?”
“What do you have against success, Eve?”
“What it takes for some folks to achieve it, David. I don’t want to turn into one of them. I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and like the person looking back. If this is how we’ll afford living the kind of life you have planned for us, it will make me want to smash every mirror in the house.”
“Aren’t you being overly dramatic, Eve?”
“Maybe from where you’re standing, David, but not from where I am. I see a whole other side of it. I’ll tell you what.” I stood. “I’m going to forget about the jeweler’s and dinner tonight and just head on back to the boardinghouse. I’m really not very hungry.”
“You’re being ridiculous, Eve!” David was standing now, too.
“Maybe so, but at least I know I’m not letting my own spirit wither away.” I turned and walked toward the door.
“Excuse me? What the hell does that mean?”
“Never mind, David. It’s just an old Indian expression.” I walked out, closing the door behind me.
Chapter 45
On the River Again
“Are you sleeping standing up?” I heard a familiar voice ask. I opened my eyes to a glaring sun and immediately put my hand up to shade my eyes. Standing in front of me was my brother Joseph. “I didn’t wake you, did I?” He moved around to stand beside me at the bow railing.
“No, no. I just closed my eyes for a minute. This breeze is wonderful, isn’t it? I do believe there’s a touch of fall in the air.” I looked out at the St. Johns and watched a large anhinga break the water’s surface with a fish in its mouth. His long neck gave him a snakelike appearance.
“Well, it is September, so it should be gettin’ cooler. Nice, isn’t it?”
“Mmmmm,” I said as I lifted my face upward again. “Are you on a break?”
“Yeah. I’m gonna get some dinner. You want to eat with me?”
“Shoot! I just ate. If I’d known, I’d have waited.”
“No problem. It wouldn’t have been a leisurely dining experience anyway. I’ll be shoveling it in so that I can get below deck to make sure the men are shoveling coal into the furnace,” he quipped. “We’ll be in Palatka in about thirty minutes. Do you know what boat you’re taking from there?”
“I’m not sure. When I bought my tickets, the clerk wasn’t sure which one was runnin’ the Palatka-to-Lake Weir route. But whichever boat it is, I pray Papa isn’t on it.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that, Eve. From what I’ve heard, he never leaves the house anymore.”
“Have you seen them at all since this thing happened with Ivy?”
“Just that one time I told you about. I got the last of my things out of the house and told them I wouldn’t be coming back. Lord, God, but Mama wailed like I’d just died.”
“Well, in a way you had—and James, too. I got a letter from him, you know, and he told me he’d written a letter saying he could never forgive them for what they’d tried to do to Ivy. He told me he was just going to stay in Athens instead of coming home for vacations. Said he had a nearly-full-time job now, and between that and his studies, he was pretty well stuck there. Said he probably would be until he graduates in a few years. And when he does, his plan is to go straight from the university to Atlanta or one of the bigger cities. Sad we had to cut all ties with our folks, Joseph.” I sighed.
“They brought this on themselves, Eve. Hell, I wish I could go back home every now and then, too, but it’s out of the question after what they did. Speaking of letters, have you heard anything from Ivy?”
“I’ve had one letter from her, and she said she’s gettin’ as big as a barn with the baby. Said it wouldn’t surprise her if she had twins. Lord, I think one set in the family is plenty enough,” I laughed. Though the truth was that if my sister had twins, I’d be tinkled pink—or blue, or both.
“Not to change the subject, Eve, but I wanted to ask you about your own plans; if you’re planning on going back to Jacksonville, or what? And are you sure you don’t want to see David again?”
“I’m not due back at the paper until Tuesday, so that gives me four days off. And as far as seeing David again, no, we said all we needed to say.”
“I’m sorry y’all had to break off the engagement.” Joseph hugged me hard. “I was really hoping this would work out for you.”
“I know.” I was touched by his brotherly concern. “But things always turn out for the best. David and I had a good talk, and we parted as friends. That was really important to both of us, I think. We just had to be really honest with each other—and ourselves. We were mismatched from the start. He wants one thing out of life, and I want another. He wants to reshape Florida into something glittery and gold, while I like the natural green- and blueness of it. I think we would have butted heads throughout our entire marriage, and he saw that, too. We had breakfast together yesterday, and it was nice to be able to say a proper good-bye to him. He’s a good man, but he’s far too aggressively ambitious for my liking. I’m sure he’ll swoop some woman off her feet before too long, though.”
“Probably,” Joseph said. “And so, dear sister, you’re headed for Lake Weir now?”
“Yes. That was part of being real honest with myself. You know I have to see Max, Joseph.”
“I know,” he said as he ran his hand down the hair on the back of my head. “I heard he bought a good-sized grove there, somethin’ like twenty acres of orange and grapefruit trees. That’s pretty nice,” he said as he pushed himself away from the railing. “And I’ve heard he’s still huntin’ some and sellin’ the meat at the dock. If he’s not there when you get to Lake Weir, someone will know where to find him. Okay, I better go.”
“I’ll see you later,” I said. Then I turned back to face the river and pray to whoever was up there listenin
g that Max Harjo wanted to be found.
Chapter 46
Stepping through the Door
I always found that when I was faced with the unknown, it was a comfort seeing a familiar face. And such was the case when the May Breeze pulled into the dock at Palatka. I could see Emmitt Hailey’s broad smile beaming at me from the pilot house. I don’t think I’d ever been gladder to see him because as this final leg of the journey to Lake Weir was getting underway, I could feel my anxiety and uncertainty rising along with the tide.
After handing my satchel to the steward, who, I was relieved to see, was not my father, for safekeeping, I climbed the wooden steps up to the pilot house and poked my head through the open doorway. Captain Dial was down on deck, leaving Emmitt alone for the time being, and he stood and invited me in when I appeared.
“Well, Miss Eve, if you ain’t a sight fo’ sore eyes, I don’t know who is!” He pumped my hand up and down as enthusiastically as if he was working the handle on the water pump of a nearly empty well. “Here, have a seat, have a seat!” He indicated the vacant chair next to his. “We ain’t leavin’ for another fifteen minutes or so. I want to hear what all you got goin’ on and why I have the pleasure of havin’ ya on board today!”
“Emmitt,” I laughed as I sat. “You’re the one who’s a sight for sore eyes. I’m sure glad you’re doin’ the piloting today.”
“So what brings ya all the way from Jacksonville?” He turned his chair toward me and sat.
“A fool’s errand, I’m afraid,” I said with a smile.
“Oh, pshaw, Miss Eve! I ain’t never known ya to do a foolish thing in your life. I have a feelin’ you’re worryin’ more about the outcome than about whether or not you should be doin’ it. So, what is it you’re a-doin’?”
“Goin’ to see Max Harjo.” I looked down at my blue-and-white paisley dress, not wanting to see the judgment in Emmitt’s eyes.
“Well, I wondered when you’d get ’round to doin’ that.”
I looked up and saw that comforting, familiar smile of his, and his eyes weren’t filled with judgment or disapproval, just a warmth and a kindness that I needed as badly as a drowning man needs air.
My eyes welled up. “Have you seen him?” I whispered.
“A few times,” Emmitt softly replied, almost conspiratorially. If it was possible, the twinkle in his eyes seemed to grow even brighter. “When I seen him, he ain’t had a whole lot to say. Been lookin’ real serious-like. Maybe it’s ’cause he’s got a lot on his mind—like the new grove ’n all. Sometimes a man’ll just throw hisself into his work to escape some other ghost a-ridin’ his back. I seen many a man with that haunted look in his eyes, and it always comes down to one thing causin’ it, and that’d be a woman.” He beamed at me, as though he was just plum tickled with what was going on. “And the cure for that world-ain’t-a-bit-o’-good look in his eyes is when that woman happens to come around again. Then it’s like the good Lord washed away every problem that man had a-weighin’ his poor ol’ shoulders down. Just lifted ’em right off! Amazin’ thing, really.”
Just then, Captain Dial signaled to Emmitt from the deck below that it was time to depart. When he noticed me sitting next to his pilot, he smiled and made his way up the stairs to the house, and I stood to greet him.
“Stay where you are! Stay where you are,” he insisted, though I remained standing. “How are ya, Eve? I swear. It’s been too long! I’ll tell ya one thing, you keep gettin’ prettier every year!”
“Thank you, Captain Dial.” I laughed. “It’s surely been a while. It’s good to see you.”
“How’s Hap doin’?” he asked, losing his smile.
“Honestly, Captain Dial, I couldn’t say. Last time I was home, things weren’t goin’ so well.”
“I bet,” he said as he patted me on the back. “The dock’s a small place,” he went on apologetically. “People talk.”
“I know, Captain, and it’s okay. Probably most of what you heard was true anyway.”
“Well,” he said as he inhaled deeply, “we’re sure glad you’re on board today. And I hope it’ll be more often.”
“Thanks, Captain. Really…thank you.”
“All righty then.” He smiled broadly and looked over at Emmitt. “Let’s start gettin’ to where we’re goin’. And you stay right where you’re at, Eve. I’m sick o’ that ol’ man’s company, anyway.” He chuckled. He stepped through the doorway and started down the steps.
“You ’bout ready to step through your own doorway, Miss Eve?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be, Emmitt.”
“That’s plenty ready enough,” he assured me.
We arrived at the Lake Weir landing several hours later, and the place looked just the way it had the last time I’d been there, which was much like Silver Springs, with its general store and busy docks. I scanned the area off to the right of the store, where some meat racks were set up, but saw no sign of Max. As if he was reading my mind, Emmitt told me not to worry. “If he ain’t here, Miss Eve, we’ll see about gettin’ you a ride out to his—Wait, now,” he said, interrupting himself and craning his neck over to the left. “Yeah, there he is!” He pointed.
I looked over to the left side of the general store, and sure enough, there was Max. He was leaning against the building with his left leg bent at the knee and his boot braced up against the wall behind him. His hat was pulled down low over his eyes, and he smoked a thin cigar. The way he looked at that moment reminded me of the day I bought the deer meat for Mama but was short on money.
Emmitt blew the steamboat’s whistle to indicate he was pulling into the dock, and when he did, Max lifted his black felt hat ever so slightly to see which boat was coming in and then lowered it again.
“It’s now or never, Miss Eve.” Emmitt smiled encouragingly.
Wishing I felt half as confident as he looked, I took a deep breath and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, Emmitt—for everything.”
He looked a little shocked at my open display of affection, but he looked pleased, just the same. “Why, you know you’re welcome, honey. Anything. Anytime. You just let me know. Now, you go on and get out there. You got a future to start.”
I started for the door but a thought stopped me. “You know, Emmitt,” I said, turning to look at him. “With Ivy and Moses bein’ married ’n all, and with the baby on its way, that makes you and me kin now.” I smiled.
“You know,” he said with a little awe in his voice, “I never thought about it like that, but that’d be ’bout right, wouldn’t it?” He looked both amazed and pleased at the same time. “Well, now, ain’t that somethin’?” he said. “Ain’t that somethin’!”
Chapter 47
Our Two Worlds
I walked down the dock among a good many people who had just come off the May Breeze as well. Being surrounded by a small crowd gave me a chance to watch Max for a few moments without his realizing I was there. At one point, he tossed his cigar away, pushed his hat up a tad to see who was coming off the boats; then, spotting nothing of much interest, he drew it back down over his eyes.
Suddenly, his head snapped up, and he pushed his hat away from his eyes and immediately locked gazes with me. He watched me, without moving another muscle, until I got closer, and then he pushed himself away from the building and walked over to his racks to wait for me.
I stopped in front of him. “Hello, Max,” I said as I awkwardly shifted my satchel from my right hand to my left.
“Eve,” he said in his low, deep voice and then said nothing more.
I had known this wasn’t going to be easy, but I hadn’t realized how extremely difficult it would be. I didn’t know what to say. I just knew what I felt. “I-I…um, I was…”
“Yes?” Max seemed a bit amused at my obvious discomfort and, from the looks of it, wasn’t about to make things any easier for me. “You here for a v
isit?”
“Well, I guess…In a way.” I was completely at a loss.
He suddenly sounded a little impatient. “Why are you here, Eve? What did you want to see me about?” There was no fooling him that I’d come for any other reason.
“I wanted to thank you for the tiger pendant,” I blurted out as I lifted if up from the front of my dress to show him I was wearing it. My excuse sounded pathetic.
“You sure came a long way to thank me for a wedding present when you could have sent a note, especially since I know you never let yourself run out of stamps. Anyway, how’d the wedding go?”
“It didn’t,” I said, letting the pendant drop.
“And why’s that?” Max asked flatly, though I could see in his eyes that my answer had sparked his interest.
“Because a person shouldn’t marry someone they’re… Oh, damn it!” I said, both tired and frustrated. “Never mind! I should never have come here. Just forget I did.” I swung my whole body and satchel around to head back to the May Breeze for the return trip.
“Hold up, little kaccv hokte.” Max laughed.
Out of everything that he could have done to irritate me, laughing at me one was the one thing that was sure to get my dander up like nothing else. “Never mind!” I shouted as I swung around again, nearly hitting him with my satchel.
“Here, give me that thing! You’re dangerous with it!” Max snatched the bag out of my hand; then taking me firmly by my upper arm, he pulled me to the side of the general store. “Sit!” he said as he maneuvered me over to an old tree stump that had been polished by enough derrieres that the top was as smooth as glass. “Talk.” He stood in front of me with his arms folded, watching me hard.
“I…I just miss you.” I lowered my head so that my chin was nearly touching my chest, and though I bit my bottom lip hard trying to fight back the tears, I began to cry. Max rattled off a string of words, but because they were Muskogee, I had no clue what he was saying. And the fact that he was talking in a language that I couldn’t understand—and perhaps berating me in it—frustrated me. I pushed myself up from the stump.