by Ginny Dye
“As if there was any doubt,” Aunt Abby snorted.
“Perhaps not, but it will certainly be handy to have you both in the same place,” Carrie said smugly. “And now perhaps we should join the party,” she continued. “Opal and Annie are fixing a very special celebratory dinner. We’re going to have a grand picnic on the lawn so that everyone can attend.”
“Oh, Carrie,” Aunt Abby murmured. “I never thought I would have a family again. Now…” her voice thickened as she looked toward the porch where Thomas was standing, smiling as he watched them. “I have Thomas. I have you. I have Rose, and Moses, and John. And Jeremy…”
“All blood-related,” Carrie said softly. “You are marrying into quite a colorful family,” she teased.
“I can’t imagine anything more wonderful!” Aunt Abby said happily.
Carrie started toward the house and then stopped. “What should I call you now? I can’t exactly call you Aunt Abby. And Rose and Moses can’t call their half-brother’s wife their aunt,” she murmured.
“I’ve thought about that already.”
“And…?”
“I think everyone should just call me Abby.” She laid a hand on Carrie’s face. “I’ll be your friend…I’ll be your mother…I’ll be your partner in flaunting tradition,” she added with a laugh. “We are going to have a most wonderful time!”
“I do believe you’re right…Abby,” Carrie said, suddenly throwing her head back in another joyful laugh. “Let’s go have a party!”
******
There was not a crumb of food left on the tables when the sun sank behind the trees. Amber, finally convinced she must let Robert get some rest, had played so hard she was now sleeping contentedly in her father’s lap. She and eight-year-old Carl had immediately become friends, running around the yard with shouting laughter. There was some confusion about another child with the same name as Eddie’s eleven-year-old Amber until Eddie solved it by insisting they call his little girl his nickname for her — Sunny.
Gabe was deep in conversation with Eddie, and Polly had bonded instantly with Annie and Opal.
Eddie suddenly stood and walked to the center of the yard. “I reckon I gots an announcement of my own,” he said solemnly.
“I was wondering how long we would have to wait,” Abby said.
“What you be knowin’?” Eddie asked with wide eyes.
“Only that I can tell someone with a secret when I see one,” Abby replied. “Also that I can recognize someone in love when I see them,” she teased, a broad smile on her face.
Carrie turned to gaze at Eddie. “In love? What have I missed?”
Eddie grinned shyly and stepped over to pull Opal to her feet. “Miss Abby be right. Opal and me are getting married.”
He waited until the cries of congratulations faded away and then held up his hand again. “But that ain’t all,” he said, his eyes shining with determination. “We’s won’t be here much longer. Me and Opal taking the kids up to Philadelphia to start a restaurant,” he announced proudly.
“That’s wonderful!” Abby cried. “Opal, you’re such a fabulous cook. I know it will be a success.”
“We’re sure hoping so,” Opal said shyly, her eyes shining with excitement.
“May I invest?” Abby asked.
Carrie wanted to leap up and hug her. No one had asked how Eddie and Opal were going to start a restaurant, but she knew it had been in everyone’s mind.
“Invest?” Opal asked.
“Why, yes,” Abby answered casually. “I’ve been wanting to invest in some black businesses in Philadelphia, but it’s important to be careful. Not everyone has what it takes to succeed in business. I pride myself on being an astute businesswoman. I believe investing in your restaurant would be a wise business decision.”
Carrie exchanged a look with her father, knowing he was thinking the same thing she was. Abby was offering to help in a way that preserved Eddie and Opal’s pride and self-respect.
Eddie nodded slowly. “We would like that, Miss Abby. We’ll make you proud.”
“Oh, I’m absolutely sure of that,” Abby responded confidently. “We’ll figure things out in the next few days.”
“We’re planning on leaving in a couple weeks,” Eddie said. “We want to get there and get things established during the summer.”
Abby nodded again. “If you don’t already have a place in mind, I have some suggestions for where a restaurant may be most successful.”
“We’d welcome any of your help,” Opal replied, her eyes shining.
Moses’s little sister Sadie stood suddenly. “I’m going with them,” she announced.
Moses and Annie looked up with startled expressions on their faces.
“What’s that you’re sayin’, girl?” Annie asked sharply.
“Mama, I know you be happy here on the plantation,” Sadie said earnestly, “but it ain’t what I want. I’m almost eighteen. I done been a slave on a plantation all my life. Whether I’m free or a slave, it still feels the same to me. I want to go north and live in Philadelphia with Eddie and the rest,” she said firmly. She turned to Moses. “Please tell Mama I’ll be okay.”
Moses turned to Eddie with a question on his face.
“She’s welcome to come with us,” Eddie assured him. “She done tole me what she wanted, but I tole her she have to talk to you and her mama. She and my Sadie Lou be as close as sisters. We’ll take good care of her.”
Moses turned to his mama and waited quietly, understanding the mix of pride and sorrow on her face.
Annie nodded slowly. “I done had you all these years, Sadie. I knows you have a heart and mind too big for a plantation. I’ll miss you somethin’ fierce, but I reckons you should go to Philadelphia.”
Sadie gave a cry of gladness and flung herself in Annie’s arms. “Thank you, Mama!”
Carrie watched quietly.
“What are you thinking?” Rose asked, leaning closer to hear what she said.
Carrie looked at her with a smile. “Just thinking about how things always change. Life is nothing but change…” She looked toward the woods. “And I’m thinking about something your mama told me during one of the countless times I was afraid of the future. She asked me how I could possibly know what I was capable of if I didn’t embrace the unknown.” Her eyes misted over. “Her words gave me the courage to move forward.”
“All of life is an unknown,” Rose agreed. “Even when I think I know where I’m going, suddenly the road shifts and I’m going in a different direction. The only way I can make sense of it is to plunge down the new road and make the most of it.”
Carrie narrowed her eyes. “Has something in your road shifted?”
Rose laughed and pressed her hand. “I’m glad I like it that you can see right through all my secrets. Otherwise, you would be quite annoying.”
Carrie smiled but waited quietly.
Rose took a deep breath and stood to her feet. “Eddie and Opal aren’t the only ones with an announcement,” she said.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Moses smiled and moved to stand next to Rose, his eyes glowing.
“Moses and I are going to have another baby,” Rose announced, quickly holding up her hand to stop the congratulations. “I’ve also decided to start a school right here. Thomas has agreed to donate some land out on the main road, and the American Missionary Association has agreed to send supplies. The school will be ready before the end of the summer. I’ll teach all the kids and adults on Cromwell, but it will also be open to everyone on the other nearby plantations. My goal is to make sure every black person has an education,” she said firmly.
Carrie jumped up and grabbed her in a tight hug. “I’m so excited for you,” she said. “And so very proud! And at least this time I get to see you pregnant!” she laughed.
“One more,” Jeremy said, standing beside Rose. “As long as everyone is telling their plans, I guess it’s my turn.”
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?”
Rose asked sadly.
Jeremy nodded. “Yes, but I’m not going far,” he assured her as he turned to everyone. “Thomas and Abby have asked me to run business operations for the new factory. I have accepted. I’ll be moving into the city in the next few weeks to oversee the building of the new factory, but I’ll be back for the wedding,” he said firmly.
Rose joined in the congratulations, but Jeremy pulled her aside as soon as things settled down. “What’s wrong?”
Rose frowned. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to spoil your happiness.”
“You’re not spoiling anything. I just know when something is bothering you.” He led her over to the edge of the woods. “Talk to me.”
“I’m worried about you,” Rose admitted. “You were already fired from your job. What if people decide to make it hard for you?”
“Then I’ll be one of many,” Jeremy said quietly as he took her hand. “I’ve thought about it, Rose. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. I can’t run from trouble any more than you and Moses can.”
Rose opened her mouth to say that wasn’t true but closed it again. Jeremy had made the decision not to deny his black heritage. All she could do was stand with him. “I understand,” she said softly. “I’m proud of you. The new factory is going to make such a difference for so many people.”
Jeremy’s eyes glowed with excitement. “Yes, I believe it will. Change is coming, Rose, whether people want it or not. My father used to tell me that change is hard for people because they overestimate the value of what they have, and they underestimate the value of what they may gain by changing.”
“And they almost always hate the messenger of change,” Rose said ruefully. “Even if the change is a good one, people seldom are appreciated when they are introducing a new order of things.”
“You’re one to talk,” Jeremy stated. “Do you think the white people in this area are going to embrace a school for blacks on the main road?”
Rose shrugged. “They’ll have to get used to it,” she said bluntly. “So we’re both doing the same thing,” she acknowledged. “I still get to worry about you.”
“And I get to worry about you,” Jeremy responded playfully. His eyes became serious. “All we can do is walk the path we are given to walk. You’ll be creating ripples of change in one area. I’ll be creating ripples in another. Hopefully the time will come when all the ripples join together to create a world better than the one we are living in.”
******
Thomas found Moses standing next to the big oak tree staring out over the fields. “Is everything all right?” he asked quietly.
Moses nodded and took a deep breath. “Just trying to settle everything in my mind,” he replied. “There are a lot of changes happening all at the same time.”
“Does that bother you?”
Moses shook his head firmly. “No. All of life is about embracing change. Sometimes you just have to take a moment to let your heart catch up with all of them.”
Thomas smiled and then sobered. “Has it caught up enough to take on another one?”
“What do you have on your mind?” Moses asked.
“Care to join me for a walk?”
Moses fell into step beside Thomas, catching Rose’s eye and nodding to let her know everything was all right. He remained silent, choosing to let Thomas take the lead to reveal what he wanted to talk about.
Thomas waited until they had walked well into the fields. He stopped on the raised road of oyster shells and looked out over the undulating green of the oat and wheat sprouts.
“They’ve grown a lot in the two weeks I’ve been gone,” Moses said, his heart surging with joy as he looked at the evidence of all their hard labor. “You’re going to have a good crop.”
“We’re going to have a good crop,” Thomas corrected him. He swung around to look into Moses’s eyes. “You know I’m going to be going into Richmond when Abby and I marry. We’ll build the factory together. I’ll always come back, but, at least for now, Richmond is going to be my home.”
Moses nodded but continued to wait quietly.
“The plantation is going to be left in your hands,” Thomas said.
Again, Moses just nodded.
“Does that bother you?”
Moses smiled now. “Should it? The better question might be, does it bother you?”
“Not a bit,” Thomas said firmly. “You’re a competent farmer, you understand how to care for the land, and you’re a capable leader. I couldn’t leave Cromwell Plantation in better hands.”
“I’ll take care of it like it was my own,” Moses assured him.
“That’s good, because half of it will be.”
Moses took a step back now and stared at Thomas. “What?”
Thomas smiled. “That’s what I brought you out here to talk about. I want you to take over complete management of Cromwell Plantation in exchange for half-ownership.”
Moses stared at him, unable to find a single word in his head that would make sense if it came out of his mouth.
“There will be a lot of things to take into consideration, but we’ll figure them all out. The first one is that neither of us can sell our half to anyone else, and if you ever decide to leave, your half will revert back to me.”
Moses could still only look at him, trying to make sense out of what Thomas was saying.
“You are a competent farmer,” Thomas continued, “but you will need training in business and management practices. Carrie handled the books before. I will want you to do that now. I will use the next six weeks to mentor and train you, and then I will be close enough to give you help moving forward.”
The words began to seep through Moses’s brain, but the best he could do was begin to smile.
“Should I assume your smile means you are pleased?” Thomas teased, his blue eyes dancing with fun.
“You can assume that,” Moses said, grateful he still remembered how to talk. He took a deep breath. “That’s a big decision, Thomas.”
“Yes, it is,” Thomas agreed. “You can be sure it was not one I made lightly. The world is changing. I am changing. My life is changing.” He paused. “The plantation will always be in my family, but I will not be here to oversee it. Carrie is here for now, but I know the time will come when she will follow her passion to be a doctor.”
“I hope so,” Moses murmured.
“It’s just a matter of time,” Thomas said firmly. “Robert is going to get better. When he does, I know he will encourage Carrie to follow her dream.”
Moses frowned. “Why not Robert?” he asked. “He grew up on a plantation. He knows how to run them. He’s your son-in-law.”
Thomas nodded thoughtfully. “That’s true,” he agreed, “but Robert is not a farmer. He is a horseman. I hope the day comes when Cromwell once more has a strong lineage of horses, but that will remain separate from the plantation itself. My hope is that, when that times comes, you and Robert will be able to work together,” he added firmly. “But that will be a choice you will have to make.” He turned to gaze out over the fields. “Abby has told me of the history you and Robert share. You’ve had a chance to deal with it, but is it true Robert still has no idea it was your father who killed his father when you were boys?”
“It’s true,” Moses said heavily. “I had hoped to talk with him after the war, but his illness has made that impossible.”
“Yes,” Thomas murmured. “We’re going to let time play it out. My gut tells me everything will be okay, but Robert still owns Oak Meadows. When he is well, he may decide to return there.”
“Does Carrie know?”
Thomas nodded. “Yes. I told her today after I told her about marrying Abby.” He answered the question in Moses’s eyes. “She’s thrilled.”
Moses finally allowed the smile dancing in his heart to explode on his face. “You won’t be sorry, Thomas,” he said.
“I already know that, Moses, or I wouldn’t have made the decision,” Thomas replied, an answerin
g smile on his face. Then he sobered. “I also realize things may change for you. If they do, we’ll talk it out and determine a solution.”
“Change for me?”
“Rose is like Carrie,” Thomas stated quietly. “She has huge dreams. Right now she is choosing to be content teaching at a school here on the plantation, but do you really think that will satisfy her forever?”
Moses blew out his breath. “No.”
“Abby has helped me understand a lot of things. Our country is changing, especially for women. Or maybe I should say that women are changing.”
“Have changed,” Moses stated.
“You’re right,” Thomas admitted. “I fought it for a long time, but having Carrie as a daughter has made me face things most southern men are not willing to even think about. More and more women are going to go to college. They are going to want careers.” He paused. “They want freedom to vote and have a voice in the United States.”
“That’s a ways down the road for me and Rose,” Moses said, “but I’m in complete agreement that women should be able to vote.” He reached down and picked up a handful of oyster shells from the roadbed, watching as they dribbled through his massive fingers. “I know Rose won’t be content here forever,” he admitted. “But since she’s about to have another baby…”
“You’re hoping she’ll be all right with staying here for a while.”
Moses tossed down the rest of the oyster shells and looked Thomas in the eye. “Rose and I have been apart far more than we have been together over the last four years. The same is true for Robert and Carrie. All I want is time to be with my wife and have a family. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want my wife to have everything she wants — just like she wants the same for me.” He turned to stare out over the fields again. “Running this plantation is everything I’ve ever wanted, but that isn’t more important than Rose having what she wants too.”
Thomas put his hand on Moses’s shoulder. “You’ll figure it out because you love each other,” he said firmly. “Both of you are going to have to bend. Learning to bend almost broke me,” he said ruefully. “I’m counting on you being smarter than me.”