by Linda Wright
“Hey Darcy you fixing to cross the stream in that dress of yours?”
“Well it’s the only way I can get across Nathan; I don’t want to be late for church.”
He took off his shoes and stepped into the stream and made his way toward me. He slowly made it to the other side and toward me.
“Nathan Gower what do you think you’re doing?”
“Now girl just get on my back. I’m gonna carry you across wrap your legs around my waist and your arms around my neck.”
I climbed on his back and clung to him as we started across.
“Are you sure you can do this? My ma would wop me good if I miss service, not to mention get my clothes dirty.”
“Just hold on Darcy. Don’t worry I won’t drop you my pa would wop me if I did.”
Slowly he made his way to the other side of the stream. Once the other side at last he put me down and I began to put my shoes on. Nathan went back to his fishing pole and sat down.
“Thank you Nathan.”
He gave me a smile,
“See you in school tomorrow.”
“Yea see you tomorrow.”
I continued my way to church and got there just in time. As I entered the doors I saw my parents and grandma sitting off to the left and walked over to them. Grandma was the only one who seemed to notice my braids were slightly at the bottom, but then again they were half way down my back. Through the whole service I kept thinking about Nathan still fishing by the stream. Ture I wished I could be there with him, but I knew if I had stayed my pa would wop me good. As the service ended I was ready to head back to the stream when my father stopped her. He noticed I had taken my shoes off as I left the church.
“Are those your shoes I see around your neck Darcy?”
“Well sure pa I always take them off when I leave church.”
“Are you telling me Darcy Christine Meadows that you do this all the time? Walk the streets of this town bare footed like some homeless waif? You get in this wagon and not another word until we get home.”
“ But pa.”
“ Not another word.”
I knew that asking to walk home was out of the question now. I knew the only thing to do was to just sit and wait to get home. It was my ma who tried to calm my father down.
“John she hasn’t done anything wrong. She only takes them off to spare them. It’s not something wrong.”
“Mary she was walking barefoot! I can’t believe my child walking in the streets of town on a Sunday bare footed. Why it’s. It’s so wrong. Makes it looks like I can’t afford to put shoes on my daughters feet.”
“ Oh hush John you’re making a scene. No one is thinking that of you. Half the children go around barefoot and no one thinks anything of it”
For the next half hour ride back to ranch no one said a word but I could feel my grandma’s eyes on me as I kept my head down.
I never knew that Nathan had waited for me to come back until he told me the next day at school. It soon became a regular meeting place on Saturday afternoons. Since I had church on Sunday mornings and I had to go in with the family since pa caught me with my shoes off. Nathan liked to fish and I found it a place I could relax and read. It soon became known to us as our stream. A special place for best friends, and that’s what we were best friends. It was a secret place that only we shared and I always felt that whatever happened Nathan was there to be by my side.
As the clouds rolled by so did the years and soon we were not those young kids anymore. We were growing up and facing adulthood in Virginia had its drawbacks. That Nathan and I who had been friends for years now it was looked down upon. It wasn’t Nathan it was me. Well seems my grandma’s great grandma was the daughter of a Cherokee warrior a chief he was. Well t seemed that something like that even all those years back was still frowned upon. Well in society that is. I asked my grandma once about that and she told me this.
“Darcy, when I was a young girl, my mama told me a story about a young man who was found half frozen in the woods by this tribe of Cherokee. Seems he was a hunter and somehow got lost in the storm and just seemed to wander until poor young fella was completely lost. Well you know how cold it gets in the winter well he was half frozen when my great grandfather took him to the village. Not many of the women had seen a white man before and they thought his beard was rather strange. I suppose I would too if I had never seen a white man. “
“Why did they find his beard so odd grandma?”
“ Well you have to remember Indians don’t have beards dear. Anyway back to the young man. He stayed with my great grandfather my grandmother helped nurse him back to health. If it wasn’t for my great grandfather finding him that day I wouldn’t be here. “
“ Grandma you mean it was your grandmother who…?”
“Yep my grandpa was a white man the same white man who almost froze to death that winter.”
“ Was he handsome grandma?”
The old woman looked at her granddaughter and smiled.
“Oh I suppose you’d call him handsome. My mother always said he had a smile that would charm the spirits but it was a nice smile. She always said that’s why she fell in love with him. Oh I know it sounds silly but I do believe it was love at first sight, and I think it he fell in love with her the same way. They came from such different cultures yet he loved her and they were married by the chief. Their marriage lasted thirty years and she bore him three children yet only I made it through infancy the others died before they could walk. He was killed by a drunk one Saturday night. He had gone into town to sell some of his firs, he was heading out of town when some cowboys were in town celebrating they were shooting their guns and well grandpa was in the wrong place at the wrong time. They never even saw him they were just shooting what they though was in the air. No one knew which gun really was the one that shot him but grandpa was dead in any case.“
Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she continues.
“He never got to see me grow up, he would have been so proud. The only memories I have of him are what she told me. I was just a baby when he passed.’’
It soon became a weekly thing as I would come down to the stream every Sunday and Nathan would carry me across to the other side and she would then go off to service. After Sunday service I would return to the stream and both of them would enjoy lazy afternoons just enjoying each other’s company. They spoke of hopes, dreams, and just watched as clouds roll by. It was one afternoon while we were watching the clouds Nathan looked over to me and told me he loved me. We were best friends and as I thought best friends loved each other, maybe he didn’t mean it but it was the first time he said it. But it would not be the last time. I remember I answered him with that I loved him too and I would love him always and forever. From that moment always and forever became a saying just for us and we meant it then and the years that followed.
The year I turned fifteen things began to change, gone were the braids and it was replaced by my hair just hanging down my back, mind you it was almost to my waist. The awkward young tomboy was blossoming into a young lady and Nathan liked his what his best friend was turning into. The biggest social event of the year was going to be the spring dance. It was what every girl in town was not only talking about but was going to. Miss Ackers the seamstress was busy trying to keep up with all the orders. She had asked my ma to help her with all the dresses. It was extra money for the house and it was Miss Ackers who gave ma the material to make my dress. Well she had asked my ma if I was going to the dance and when my ma said I didn’t have a dress it was Miss Ackers who picked out the material and gave it to my ma to make it for me. I couldn’t believe my eyes when ma came home with this material. It was the most beautiful material I had ever seen. It was a coppery silk with gold thread inter twined in the material. No one would have anything like it. I stood in front the mirror just admiring the dress as grandma and was finishing up the hem of the dress.
“Oh ma it’s so beautiful.”
I swirl
ed around and the gown just floated across the room with me. Grandma’s eyes sparkled as she watched me smile at my image.
“So Darcy are you ready to have all the men ask to dance with you?”
I looked at her then reality hit.
“I don’t know grandma I’ve never been onto have men flock to me.”
“Don’t be silly Darcy, why you’re beautiful, you have the prettiest dress and no one has one like it, what man wouldn’t ask you to dance with him? Why I even will say you are prettier that your mother was at that age.”
“Well we’ll see about that, and I think ma was much prettier. I could never be as pretty as her.’’
I didn’t have the heart to tell grandma I didn’t know how to dance. Never seemed something I needed to learn. I never thought I would ever be going to a dance. I quickly took the dress off and headed for the stream. I wanted to tell Nathan about my dress. When I got there I saw him under the tree. No matter how many years had passed I always knew Nathan would be there waiting for me under that tree. I took off my shoes and rolled up my pants and like the first time Nathan would carry me across the stream and we’d sit on the other side and spend the afternoon enjoying each other’s company. I looked at the fishing pole and smiled back at him.
“Hey Nathan did you get any fish?”
“No, but I wasn’t really trying. I was just sitting here waiting for you to show up.”
I looked at him
“You seemed pretty sure I’d be here weren’t you?”
“Well seeing the look on your face I’m glad I am here. What wrong Darcy?”
I looked at him I was hoping I wouldn’t have to tell him but since he was the one to bring it up I decided to tell him.
“Well there’s this dance in two weeks.”
“I know everyone is talking about it are you going?”
“Well yea but I well I have a problem ...”
“Oh I know you need someone to take you. No problem I’ll be happy to take you.”
I looked at him with a glare in my eyes.
“Nathan! Can you just let me finish the sentence? I can’t dance.”
“You can’t dance?”
I looked at him and his question seemed to hurt me more than if he had laughed.
“Oh if that’s the only problem I’ll teach you.”
“You would?”
He put his arm around my shoulder.
“Heck you know I’d do anything for you Darcy. Ever since that first day I took you across the stream I knew you were something real special and always will be.”
I turned and looked at him and suddenly he leaned forward and kissed me. It was a tender almost gentle kiss but a kiss just the same. I opened my eyes and there he was smiling at me.
“Don’t forget you’re my girl and you can ask me anything. I’ll never let you down.”
“When can we start?”
“What about now?”
He got up and held out his hands to help me up. He looked at me and smiled.
“Now remember is real easy. I’ll start you with a waltz. Now watch my feet one, two, three, one, two, and three.”
He placed my hands in his and he proceeded to move and count.
“See I told you it wasn’t hard.”
I had to agree he did make it seem so easy, and we spent the rest of the afternoon dancing or practicing how to dance. I wasn’t totally ignorant to the subject I had seen people dance before. I remember seeing my parents dance at a wedding two years ago. Oh my mother was like an angel floating across the floor as pa swirled her around. She was the prettiest woman there.
Every afternoon after school I would meet Nathan at the stream for our dance lesson. It seemed I was doing nicely and with the dance only two weeks away I thought I could pull it off. I often wondered what if someone had gone by and saw us dancing there near the stream, but then again we were only dancing and having a good time but it would seem differently to someone else. A class mate Etta Mae Collingsworth followed me home from school one day. She had always liked Nathan and she had a feeling that he was interested in Darcy. Now that was not possible, after all everyone knew Darcy’s family lived on the wrong side of the tracks and also Darcy’s grandmother was part Cherokee. Well she followed Darcy to the main road and then noticed she turned off to a large tree stump that lead her to the stream. There she saw Nathan give her a hug and they preceded so sit and talk. All Etta could think of was what would Ms. Leta think when she told her this. Her Nathan with that lower class Meadows girl, oh she just had to go and tell her right away.
Etta wasted no time to get the Gower farm. It was in the living room; Etta saw Ms. Leta and the Col. She proceeded to tell them both of the rendezvous that Nathan was having with the Meadows girl. It seems they were meeting down by the stream that cut through both properties. Etta continued to say that they had been dancing and she stated she saw the Meadows girl hug Nathan. It was Ms.Leta who was totally shocked and stood up from her seat.
“Well we thank you very much Etta for bringing this to our attention. Matters like this should be nipped in the bud and I intend to get to the bottom and also stop this type of behavior as soon as Nathan gets home.”
“Well I better get home my mama has to get the final fitting on my dress for the dance in two weeks.”
Ms. Leta walks her out to the front porch and waves as Etta heads for home
“Good bye Etta and thank you very much.”
As she leaves Ms. Leta goes back into the house. She walks back into the living room where the Col. is still sitting and sits across from him.
“Well I hope you’re happy Carter. Your son feel he has to go behind our backs and be with this this…”
“Her name is Darcy Meadows and she happens to be a lovely girl.”
“Oh you would think so.”
“Now what is that supposed to mean?”
“Oh don’t tell me you think its fine for our son to go around with do you realize he could end his chances for getting into West Point. After all there has always been a Gower at the Point.”
She begins to sob and for the life of him the Col. has no idea what all the sobbing is for. The boy is friendly with a young girl as far as he knew it’s been happening since the beginning of time. He saw nothing wrong with the friendship and liked the girl as far as he knew about her.
Leta had to realize her little boy was a man and it’s time for her to see this.
Chapter Two
By the time Darcy had gotten home Ms. Leta had send a note to the Meadows home as to what their daughter has been doing. It was the cold stares of her father and mother that Darcy faced as she walked into the house. It was my pa who spoke first.
“Where have you been girl?”
“Nowhere special just walking.”
“I’m only gonna say this one more time, where have you been all this time?”
“I’m telling you I came from the short cut across the stream. You all know I’ve taken that short cut for years why are you asking me about it now? ”
John Meadows looks at his wife then back to Darcy.
“You mean to tell me you were not at the stream with the Gower boy?”
I knew he caught me someone had found out . Well I might as well come clean,
“I was down at the stream with Nathan he was teaching me to dance.”
My pa looked as though he would take a swing at me but walked the other way. It was
My ma’s turn now.
“Darcy, dear why did you have Nathan teach you how to dance? You could have asked your father there was no need to have a stranger do it.”
I looked at her
“Nathan’s no stranger ma he’s my friend. Why we’ve been friends for years. He’s my best friend. If you can’t ask your best friend to do you a favor who can you ask? Didn’t you always tell me a best friend is worth more than gold?”
My father looked at me and gave me my punishment.
“You are never to see the Gower boy again and yo
u are not going to the dance that is my final ward on the subject.”
“But pa.”
“My final word Darcy, I’m sorry but I’ve made up my mind. Now go to your room.”
I looked at all three of them and then headed for the stairs and up to my room. I still didn’t know what was so bad about what we were doing. It was only two people dancing. There was a gentle knock on the door and grandma’s soft voice