by Ginny Dye
Moses stared at the weathered sign attached to the dilapidated fence, most sections sagging to the ground. He refused to put words to what he was thinking.
Jeremy did it for him. “It looks deserted,” he said quietly.
“Only one way to find out,” Moses said shortly, knowing Jeremy was just trying to prepare him for more disappointment. “I’m sorry,” he said immediately.
“No need to apologize,” Jeremy responded. “You’ve been waiting for this a long time.”
Moses nodded, unsure how to say what he was thinking. Yes, he had been waiting for this day for a long time. He so wanted to see his mama and Sadie again. But it was more than that. He had carried the feeling of responsibility for so long. His mind flashed to the day he watched his daddy hang limply from the noose in the clearing, the flames from the bonfire licking at his feet. Moses knew then that he was the man of the family. It was up to him to take care of things. He had labored under the burden for so long. He had suffered so much when he was helpless to keep his family from being ripped apart. Finding his mama and Sadie would fulfill his responsibility. He hoped it would release something in him.
Jeremy gripped Moses’s shoulder and turned the wagon down the overgrown, rutted road. They sat silently as the mid-afternoon sun beat down on them. The only sounds were buzzing insects, chirping birds, and the jangle of their horse’s harness.
Moses knew Jeremy understood his feelings. Even if the hunt for his family was unsuccessful, he would always treasure these days with his brother-in-law that had brought them so close. No topic of conversation had been off-limits. They had forged a bond that would not have been possible without these days together.
Moses was silent when they rounded a curve and found the burned-out hull of a plantation home. Knowing they were in the path of the Shenandoah Valley destruction, he had anticipated this. Most of the places they passed had been burned.
Jeremy turned the wagon down another narrow road. The Union Army had not burned the slave quarters. They tried to talk all the slaves into leaving, but they made sure any that remained behind would have a place to live.
Moses held his breath as they broke out into another clearing ringed by wooden cabins. A quick glance didn’t reveal life, but that didn’t mean anything. “Hello!” he called loudly.
The only response was a more explosive chatter of squirrels.
Jeremy pulled the wagon to a stop and they both stepped down.
“Hello!” Moses called again, his hands clenched tightly as he battled the disappointment rising in his stomach like bile. He would not give up hope.
Jeremy gazed around and began to walk rapidly. “There’s a garden back here, Moses,” he called.
Moses joined him, looking down at the carefully tended garden. The rows were laid out perfectly and were clear of weeds. “Someone has to be here,” he said hopefully. “Hello!” he called again. Only silence echoed back.
He stared around again, noticing that one of the cabins had a different air than the rest of them. He strode over to inspect it more carefully. “Jeremy, there is a rope here for a clothesline,” he said excitedly. Something stirred in him…
“It could be anyone,” Jeremy cautioned.
Moses nodded but the stirring continued. “I’m feeling something,” he finally murmured as he stared out into the woods. “It’s like I can feel my mama.” Four years had not diminished the vision of her strong, loving face. He could still see her piercing eyes that could always see into his heart.
He stepped out into the clearing, cupped his mouth, and hollered. “Mama! Sadie!”
A sudden rustling in the woods behind him made him spin around.
“Moses?” A bent figure stepped from the woods. “That really be you, boy?”
“Mama!” Moses ran forward and grabbed her in a hug, quickly alarmed by how fragile she felt. He bit back his dismay when he felt how thin she was.
“Moses…” his mama whispered. “I knew you would come.” She turned around and called into the woods. “It be safe, Sadie. You’s can come on out!”
Moses gasped as Sadie limped from the woods, her eyes wide as she stared at him. She’d been twelve when they were separated. Now she was a beautiful seventeen-year-old woman.
Sadie was the first to break the silence. “Sure ‘nuff took yo time gettin’ here!”
Moses laughed loudly and leaped forward to grab her in an embrace. Suddenly both of them were crying and laughing, their joy ringing through the woods.
Jeremy stood to the side and watched them quietly, a wide smile on his face.
Moses finally stepped back from Sadie. “Why were you two hiding in the woods?” he asked.
Sadie cocked her head. “We tell ya, buts you gots to tell us when you done started talkin’ so fancy?”
Moses smiled. “We’ve got lots of talking to do. I promise to tell you everything.” He turned to his mama. “Why were you hiding?”
“We been hidin’ for the last year or so,” she replied. “Eber since dem soldiers came through and burnt eberthin’. Her eyes darkened. “They’s took de rest of Master Jake’s slaves wid dem. But not us,” she said firmly. “No sirree, dey not take us.”
“Why not?”
“I already knew you gonna have a right hard time findin’ us,” his mama said. “Weren’t gonna make it no harder.” Her eyes shone with pride. “I known you would find us, Moses. I known you would come get us. I aimed to be here when you did. Ain’t no soldier gonna take us away.”
Moses stared at her. “Have you and Sadie been here all alone for the last year?”
“Sho ‘nuff!” Sadie said. “We been doin’ just fine. I’s gettin’ a little tired of what we’s eatin’, but it ain’t so bad,” she said brightly. “They’s burned the house, but they didn’t touch nothin’ in the basement. The Jakes left most of it behin’ when dey ran away. We figured we would help ourselves.”
“We didn’t want to do no wrong,” his mama said anxiously. “You think we did wrong, Moses?”
Moses grinned. “I think you’re the two smartest females I know,” he replied. “Well, next to my wife, of course.”
His mama peered into his face. “Yo’ wife?”
“Prettiest, smartest woman you ever laid eyes on,” Moses said proudly. “I also have a son.”
His mama gasped. “My boy done got a boy?”
“Yes. You’re a grandmama,” Moses said. “Actually you have two grandbabies.”
“You done got two fine babies?” his mama asked, her voice almost breathless.
“No…”
“What you talkin’ bout, boy?” his mama demanded. Then her eyes grew wide and her lips began to tremble. “June?” she managed to whisper.
Sadie grabbed his arm. “You done found June?”
Moses laughed as he nodded his head. “I found her two years ago,” he admitted. He told them briefly how his captain had given him a break to go find her. “I knew I couldn’t make it up this far, so I had to settle for finding June.”
“And she have a baby?”
“His name is Simon,” Moses said. “She was so anxious to have it, she had him right on the side of the road in some bushes while I was helping her escape.”
His mama laughed, wiping away her tears. “Dat girl was always sho ‘nuff in a hurry to do eberthin’!”
Sadie turned around to stare at Jeremy. “Who dis be, Moses?”
Moses smiled and took Jeremy’s arm to pull him forward. “This is my brother-in-law, Jeremy Anthony. Jeremy, I’d like you to meet my mama. Her name is Annie. And this is my sister, Sadie.
“It’s wonderful to meet both of you,” Jeremy said warmly.
Silence fell on the clearing. Sadie was the first to speak. “Dat be a white man,” she finally said. “You done marry a white woman, Moses?” Her voice was disbelieving.
Moses laughed. “No. That’s quite a story too. I told you we had a lot of talking to do.”
******
The sun was sinking down
below the horizon before any of them took a long breath. Stories had flown through the golden afternoon, wiping away the pain of the long years of separation.
Moses stood up finally, stretching his long legs. “We’ll have lots of days to talk. Jeremy and I will sleep in the wagon tonight, and we’ll leave in the morning.”
“How long it gonna take us to get down south?” Sadie asked, her voice trembling with eagerness. “I sho ‘nuff ready to leave dis place!” she announced.
“It should take us about five days,” Jeremy said.
“And you’s gonna be our old owner?” his mama asked.
Jeremy smiled. “Just if anyone stops us. Moses and I decided to play that little game on the way up. We let people think he is my devoted slave who couldn’t bear to be parted from his master, even though he’s free.”
Sadie snorted.
“My sentiments exactly,” Jeremy said with a grin, “but it got us out of some tight spots. We decided we could be right, or we could just do what needed to be done to find you. We’ll go back to fighting for equality when everyone is safe on Cromwell.”
“What eber you say, Master Anthony,” Sadie said demurely.
Jeremy laughed loudly. “You didn’t tell me your sister was so spirited.”
“Who knew?” Moses asked, staring at her. “She was only twelve when I last saw her.” He shook his head with amusement.
Sadie tossed her head. “It’s only my leg that don’t work,” she reminded him. “Not my brain.”
“And certainly not your mouth,” her mama said, pride shining in her eyes. “It done be a real good thin’ we be free now. I think Sadie wouldn’t have made such a good slave.”
Moses laughed again and then sobered. “I wish Daddy could see us all now.”
A solemn silence fell on the clearing as they thought of not just Sam, but of all the slaves who had gone before them, paying a mighty price that had resulted in their freedom.
“I think your daddy knows,” his mama said softly. “Dere ain’t a day dat goes by dat I don’t talk to your daddy about his chillun. I think he be right here wid us…”
******
“You done lived in dis house, Moses?” Sadie stared up at Thomas’s huge brick home. Her eyes had been wide as saucers ever since they reached the outskirts of Richmond, but now they were practically bulging. “And you wasn’t no slave?”
Moses shook his head. “No.” He had told them the whole story of his relationship with the Cromwells, but Sadie was having a difficult time accepting it as truth. He understood why. She had no point of reference to imagine any relationship between a black and white except as slave and owner. That would change, but it would take time.
Miles opened the door and stepped out on the porch. “Well, ain’t y’all a sight for sore eyes,” he called. “What you doin’ back in Richmond?”
Moses grinned and jumped from the wagon. “I’ve got some very special people I want you to meet, Miles.” He made the introductions quickly.
“You said you was goin’ to find them, Moses,” Miles said admiringly. “I reckon you did.” He held the door open and beckoned to them. “Y’all come on inside, Miss Annie and Miss Sadie. May just pulled some cookies out of the stove. I figured she and I would eat them all, but I reckon I’m willin’ to share with Moses’s family.”
Everyone laughed, but Annie hung back at the bottom of the stairs.
Moses turned back to her. “What’s wrong, Mama?”
Annie stared up at the house. “I ain’t neber walked in de front door of a white man’s house,” she said fearfully. “I don’t aim to start now. Where de back door be?”
Moses took her arm. “I know it’s going to take some getting used to, but things are different now. You’re free, but it’s more than that. The Cromwells are family,” he said soothingly. He could tell by the frightened look in her eyes that she wasn’t convinced. “Mama, don’t you trust me?”
Annie looked at him then, obviously absorbing strength from what she saw in his eyes. She nodded slowly. “I do trust you, Moses, but…” She stared at Miles. “You be a slave here?”
“No, ma’am,” Miles said promptly. “I sho ‘nuff used to be, but I’s be free now.”
“Then what you still be doin’ here?” Annie asked suspiciously.
Miles straightened himself proudly. “Mr. Cromwell told us we could leave. May and I decided not to. At least for now. We like it here. We have all the food we need, and we gots a fine house to live in all by ourselves.” He grinned, his white teeth flashing against his dark face. “Why would I want to go and leave somethin’ like that?”
“You go in and out the front door?” Annie asked.
“No, ma’am,” Miles answered honestly. “But that’s because I work here. You be comp’ny!” He held the door open and beckoned to her again. “Things ain’t like they used to be, Miss Annie. You hold your head up high and walk through this door. You’re comp’ny!”
Annie stared up at him and then lifted her head high. “Thank you, Miles,” she said graciously, her eyes full of wonder as they all walked into the foyer.
May bustled out of the kitchen, her face flushed from the heat of the stove. She stopped short when she saw the group in the foyer, but her face flashed into a grin when she identified Moses and Jeremy. “Welcome home!” she called. “I didn’t know you two was comin’. Don’t you know you’s supposed to let a body know?”
Moses laughed and made the introductions again. “We weren’t sure we were going to stop,” he explained. “Mama is getting tired after so many days in the wagon. We decided soft beds and some of your good cooking would get us the rest of the way to the plantation.”
“Hmph.” May sniffed and gazed at Annie. “That boy of yours always known how to get his way?”
Annie smiled, relaxing even more. “Eber since he was old ‘nuff to talk,” she agreed. “My man used to say our boy had a golden tongue.”
“He was right,” May agreed. She waved her hand toward the parlor. “Y’all go right on in there. I’ll bring out some cookies and lemonade.”
Annie moved toward the kitchen. “I’ll help,” she offered.
May stepped in front of the door. “I’ll be happy to let you in my kitchen sometime,” she said firmly, “but right now you are guests of the Cromwells.” She smiled and pointed toward the parlor. “Go act like guests,” she commanded.
Annie acquiesced, a look of wonder on her face. “Guests in a white man’s house,” she murmured, her eyes shining. “I reckon things are really a changin’.”
Jeremy pulled Moses to the side. “I’m going into town to get the news,” he said quietly.
Moses nodded gratefully. He, too, had seen the increased tension on the faces of the black people they passed. He saw the fear shining from their eyes, and he could feel the strain in the air. He was glad his mama felt safe at the Cromwells, but he knew all was not well.
******
Annie sat back in her chair with a sigh. “A body could get used to eatin’ like this eberday,” she said.
Moses smiled. “I’m going to make sure you have a place where you and Sadie can eat like this every day, Mama. It may take me a little while, but I’ll make it happen,” he promised.
“You also gonna decide to tell me what’s botherin’ you?” she asked casually. She laughed when Moses just stared at her. “You think I didn’t see you and Jeremy take off together when he got back? You think I couldn’t see how your eyes got all tense after the two of you talked?” She smiled, but her eyes were serious. “It may have been five years since I done seen you, but that don’t mean a mama forgets her boy — even one that grows up to be a giant.”
Moses took her hand. “I don’t want you to worry, Mama.”
Annie laughed and raised her eyebrows at May who had just come in with a hot pot of coffee. “Ain’t that just like a man,” she scoffed. “Dey ain’t no good at hidin’ things anyway, and then dey think we’re too stupid to see what’s dere.”
&nbs
p; “I don’t think you’re stupid,” Moses protested.
“Good,” Annie replied serenely. “Then why don’t you quit playin’ your little game and tell me what’s going on? Me and Sadie been takin’ care of ourself a long time. A little truth ain’t gonna kill us.”
May chuckled as she set the coffee down. “I do like your mama, Moses,” she said decisively. “You and Mr. Jeremy done look worried ever since he done got back. Since I’m sure it’s trouble for the black folk, I do believe me and Miles will listen in iffen you don’t mind?”
Moses looked at Jeremy and shrugged. “I told you they would know,” he muttered.
Jeremy nodded. “You were right.” He took a deep breath and turned to everyone. “There’s trouble,” he admitted.
“Boy, life be about trouble,” Annie said. “What kind of trouble there be now?”
“The white folks here in Richmond are afraid of how many freed slaves are pouring into the city.”
“They just be lookin’ for a living,” May protested. “They’s free now!”
Jeremy nodded. “That’s true, but the city just doesn’t know what to do with them. It was already overpopulated. It’s getting worse. The freed slaves are coming because they believe there is opportunity, but there aren’t enough jobs for everyone.”
“What dey expect dem to do?” Sadie demanded. “They’s free now.”
“I heard a lot of talk,” Jeremy responded. “I may have lost my job, but I’m still white, so it’s easy for me to listen.”
“Handy,” Miles commented laconically.
Jeremy chuckled and then continued, his eyes worried. “The plantation owners are afraid they won’t have any labor to put their new crops in if all the freed slaves come to Richmond.”
“Seems to me if they’s givin’ out jobs with pay dat plenty of us will want to work,” Annie observed. Then her voice sharpened. “You still ain’t tellin’ us what’s really goin’ on. You tellin’ us what it be about, but you ain’t saying what kind of trouble there be.”
Moses shrugged. “She was always smarter than me,” he said. “Tell them what is going on, Jeremy.”