Gentry's Gallery of Angels

by Stephy Smith

  “Just because our men haven’t returned to us does not give us reason to disregard rejoicing with the other families whose men made it home.” Izella’s voice cracked, and then faded. She dragged her feet to the door and disappeared inside. “Always remember, girls, ‘When the bells ring, the angels sing.’”

  Amanda thought about what Grandmother would do if she were in her shoes. She knew the answer; she would rejoice and be happy for those celebrating the anniversary of their loved ones’ return. Now she must adhere to her wishes, just as Izella would have if she were able.

  “Always remember Grandmother, when the bells ring, the angels sing,” she whispered in the wind. How many times over the course of her life had Izella uttered those words? Odd how those words were the last ones that had slipped from grandmother’s lips. She never realized how powerful those words could be until now.

  It had been fifteen years earlier at the ending of the Civil War. Amanda and her parents returned to their plantation. Things were good at Gentry’s Gallery of Angels Plantation despite the hardships of rebuilding the South. Until her grandmother took ill, she supposed she had an easy life.

  A cool breeze whistled through the boughs of the large oaks lining the long drive to the main house. Giggles and squeals from her younger sisters and a few cousins filtered over the gardens. The lesson they were about to learn concerning life and death hung in gray clouds over her.

  Her heart shrunk with the knowledge today would be spent without Grandmother. She would rest at Sanders Cross Plantation unaware her plans were followed through. Her memories of the place held some good times and desperate times for the family. At the time, she didn’t know just how bad or sad things were. She wished her grandmother would wake up to spend the day with them.

  Her thoughts returned to the time when the men in her life returned. She was thankful her sisters didn’t have to experience what she did that day in 1865 at Sanders Cross.

  Her mother, grandmother and aunts fiercely clutched to the men’s necks. Tears slid down the men’s faces, and became buried in the women’s now mussed hair.

  Amanda continued to scream, hoping to draw the men away from biting the women. On her hands and knees, she crawled across the floor and grabbed one of the crutches. She reared back her little arms and waited. The men and women were hopping in circles. Muffled cries came from both sides.

  “Amanda! What are you doing?” Her mother’s voice penetrated the group. The chaos stopped. All eyes fixed on her.

  “I’m going to save you, Mama.” Her voice broke.

  “There is no need to save us. This is your father, grandfather and uncles. They’re on our side.” Izella bent over and removed the crutch from her hand.

  Amanda stomped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest. “Then why were you trying to strangle them?”

  The group gathered around her. Lifting her eyes to the men, a pair of calloused, cracked hands reached for her. A deep voice flowed softly from his mouth and moisture pooled in his eyes. “I’m your daddy, Amanda. I’m your daddy.”

  Every year at Thanksgiving, she remembered that scene as they gathered around her grandmother’s table for a feast. She rejoiced in the blessing the family received for the safe return of the men. She smiled as she recalled the whole affair, knowing she would donate her blessings again without question. The memories seemed like only yesterday, and here it was 1880, and she was a young woman about to be married.

  The horse hooves clomping on the hardened ground and the creaks of the carriage drew her from her reverie. Tilting to the side, she gazed at the shiny black conveyance turning into the drive. She jumped from the fence and ran to greet her Aunt Grace and Uncle Josiah.

  “I don’t want to go. It doesn’t feel like I should be celebrating with Grandmother lying in her bed,” she whispered in Grace’s ear as she hugged her tight.

  “Me either. But we will hate ourselves forever if we don’t go. Mother has thrown this feast since 1865. I guess we owe it to her to see it through.” Grace lifted her hand and lightly brushed Amanda’s face. She leaned down for a hug and kissed Amanda on the cheek.

  Maggie ran from the house and wrapped her arms around Grace and Amanda. The three women huddled and swiped at the tears rolling down their cheeks. Robert and Josiah rounded up the children and loaded them into the carriages to make the short journey to Sanders Cross.

  Robert leaned on his cane and limped to Maggie’s side and slipped his arm around her to guide her to their wagon. He helped her in and then turned to assist Amanda.

  “Do you want me to drive, Daddy?”

  Robert nodded to her and she took up the reins. He climbed in and held Maggie to his chest. The wagon lurched forward. Her mother’s soft sniffles tore at her soul. Nothing she could do would stop the anguish from accosting her mother’s heart. It was the first year Grandmother would stay in bed and not join them at the table.

  Josiah’s team fell in behind them. She tried to shut out the devastation of her mother and Aunt Grace’s sobs. She focused on her most precious memories of her grandmother.

  Amanda thought for a moment; for years, she wondered what was in the wooden box. Her grandmother told her one day it was full of the most precious gold she received during the war… letters from her Lewis. Izella’s gray eyes would sparkle as if she had a treasure trove of beautiful jewels hidden within their protective barrier.

  Amanda tightened her grip on the reins. Her eyes were fuzzy with tears; her cheeks burned from the constant flow. The sunbonnet she wore hid her pain from the outside world. Pulling on the inside rein she turned the horses into the drive of her grandparents’ home.

  Climbing down from the wagon, she caught all of the younger kids and gave them stern warning they had best behave or she was going to thrash them good. The kids quietly ran off and scattered across the grounds. Looking at the top floor gallery, her grandfather sat at his favorite table. Two coffee mugs and a platter of bacon and eggs rested in between. She entered the mansion and made her way up the stairs.

  Pulling up a chair, she sat in between him and the empty seat. She rested her hand on his thin arm. “How are we doing today, Grandpa?”

  “Fine, Amanda. Grandmother isn’t well enough to join us. She sends her love and said she would see us soon.” His eyes glazed over.

  “I want to stay with you until my wedding, and help take care of Grandmother. Will that be all right with you? I’ll tell Nick we will have to postpone it for a few weeks. He’ll understand.”

  “You know you’re welcome to stay any time you desire. If you’re staying because you pity an old man, then don’t. The best years of my life lay in that bed down the hall. I’m thankful I can still rest beside her. I’m old, tired and worn out, Amanda. One day you will understand how it is when you get old. Now is the time you should be living and not worrying about an old fool such as me. If you postpone the wedding, you best prepare for a tongue lashing to set your world on fire. When Grandmother wakes and finds out you let her determine your happiness, she will set you straight young lady.” He picked up the coffee cups and the two plates and toddled down the hallway.

  She shook her head to fight back the sinking depths of her heartache. She reached for the platter and followed behind him. How could he be so calm on a day like today? Who knows when we will see her full of life or relish in her loving embrace again? “No Grandfather, I don’t pity you. I just want to be close to her.” Her whispers never caught up with him. Footsteps neared but stopped short. She glanced toward the staircase where they came from.

  Nick rushed to her side, his arms outstretched as he neared. The gleam in his eyes caught her attention. Her heart swelled with pride. He clasped her shoulders and pulled her to him. Gently he placed a kiss on her cheek.

  “Thank you for coming, Nick.” Her tone flowed smooth and low.

  “Your Uncle Sam sent for me to help him set up the tables for the feast. I’m sorry your grandmother isn’t going to be joining us. I would like to see her later
, if I may.” He crossed the short distance, and she placed the platter on a nearby table. Nick once again pulled her into his massive chest and held her.

  She wrapped her arms around him and let the sobs flow as naturally as she would have with her mother and father. His protective embraced soothed her as if she were wrapped in a blanket of security.

  “Grandmother was always the first one up and the last one to go to bed at night. It’s hard to see her hunkered down in that bed day in and day out.” Amanda wiped the tears from her face. “I am expected to face all these people with a smile on my face. I don’t know if I can pull this off.”

  “It’s time for the party. Sam sent me to get you.” He kept one arm at her waist and guided her to the staircase. “I’m here as long as you need me, Amanda. I’ll always be here for you.”

  She smiled up at him as if she were seeing him for the first time. Heat caressed her cheeks. “Thank you, Nick.”

  At the bottom of the landing, she moved closer to him. The crowd packed in the foyer making it difficult to maneuver. He tucked her behind him keeping his hand clenched around her wrist until they were free of the throngs. They met with the rest of the family behind the white tables trimmed in gold streamers, with mounds of food on platters.

  The guests moved from the house to line up in front of the long tables set for the feast. The simple celebration Grandmother arranged every year in memory of the men who fought in the war moved at a slow pace. Men, women and children sniffled and swiped at their cheeks. Amanda tried to stay strong, but her knees grew weak and Nick tightened his grip around her. His touch gave her strength, his nearness re-enforced the courage she wasn’t sure she possessed. She drew from him what he willingly gave.

  After the plates were filled, the crowd stood over their chairs and waited for the blessing Izella always gave them. Nick stepped up and addressed the crowd. “Mrs. Sanders sends her regrets that she couldn’t attend your celebration today. She is happy to have you in her home and her wish was to make this party as happy and delightful as it has been in the past. In the best interest of my future wife, Amanda, and her grandmother, I would like to announce we will postpone our wedding a while longer…”

  Lewis hurried to his side. “You will do no such thing! Do you know what such a course would do to that woman? I will not permit you to interrupt your lives as much as I would like to for the one person on this earth who would insist your plans remain intact.”

  Heads nodded along the table. Lewis continued after the mumbles died down. “I recall hearing about a selfless prayer from a three-year-old little girl fifteen years ago. We returned that day from war. Amanda requested all of her blessings be spent to bring us home for her mother, grandmother and aunts. I now would like to follow my granddaughter’s example and send my blessings to my wife and those around us who need them. As I sit by Zell and read to her, I have found notes slid between the pages of books. She wrote down the names and dates of everyone here, your needs and desires. Not one time in all the notes did she once ask for anything for herself. Now is the time I can give back to her, by honoring her wishes and sending my blessings to my sweet Zell.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Sam, how bad has Mother’s illness affected Amanda?” Maggie leaned on the railing of the porch next to her brother.

  “I suppose as bad as it would have the rest of us if we hadn’t known. It was quite a shock to her, but she suspected something was wrong for a while now. She is blaming Victoria and me for not telling her. She doesn’t know all of us kids knew.” He gazed across the gardens.

  “During the war, Mother used to come out here and watch the road. She was waiting, almost daring you men to walk up to her,” Grace said as she stood behind their father.

  Maggie’s sister, Grace, was one of a kind. She abhorred politics with a passion. Grace always stood back and watched as the others participated in lengthy conversations. But one mention of politics and she didn’t mind making her stance on the matter clear to everyone within hearing distance. She married an admirable man when she sunk her claws into Josiah Fuller.

  “She did the same thing when each of you kids married and moved to your own house.” Lewis glanced at the faces as they turned to his voice. “Her nurturing style never left. She would get up in the morning and insist on making my breakfast. I didn’t have the heart to stop her. I guess I should have.”

  “No, Pa. She wanted it that way. She never wanted any one to fret over her, that’s why she made us take that silly oath to act as if nothing were wrong.” Mittie’s voice cracked.

  The youngest of all Maggie’s siblings was Mittie. She had allowed Amanda to climb trees when she thought the other women weren’t looking. They would pick peaches and wander further from the house than they were supposed to. She shook her head and wondered how many times Mittie had caught her own daughter perched in a tree and climbed up to spend a little girl time with her.

  Mittie’s husband, Earl Ingraham, proposed a challenge for Mittie when he ignored her flirtations until she won his heart. One day his head snapped her way and it hadn’t swayed since.

  “I know it was the hardest thing I ever had to promise. Even when we left for the war, I felt I was abandoning you women. But, when she made us swear not to pamper her, it ripped my heart out.” Tom shook his head as he spoke.

  Maggie’s brother Tom was the youngest of her brothers. He had been a youngster when he left for the war. It just about tore her mother’s heart out when her baby boy left to do his duty for the South. Her mother would have sworn Tom would stay at the plantation had it not been for his shy little bride, Priscilla. Her outlook on life brought his lifeless eyes back to sparkle and shine as if he had never went to war.

  Lewis chuckled. “I endured a lot of those promises over the years. You kids don’t know how many squabbles that woman and me had because of y’all. William’s staying on with the cavalry was the first major argument. She wanted me to go fetch him home. Maggie taking Amanda to their home, why that woman wanted me to kidnap Amanda and bring her back. Samuel moving to town to open his practice set her off. I had to remind her it was the day for you kids and not about her for a change. She went into a fitful rage when Grace said she was planning to wed here on the plantation instead of the church. Thomas informing her he didn’t want part of the plantation set her tears to flowing and Mittie running off to get married.”

  They all stared at him in disbelief. He smiled. “She loves you kids. I reckon she had reason to become protective of us all after the war. We piled a lot on that woman’s shoulders during that time.”

  The family on the porch fell silent. All had faded into their own memories of their mother. “Maggie, Amanda wants to stay and help me until the wedding. I don’t mind her staying, but if you need her, I will be all right taking care of your mother by myself.”

  “I think she wants to be here to ease her mind you will be all right.” Sam pointed to his dad.

  “She acts more like Mama every day.” Mittie closed in on Maggie.

  “Yes she does.” Robert spoke softly. “That she does.”

  Nick stood in the corner of the porch and listened to the discussion. “She’s a vibrant and enchanting woman. Any man who catches her heart will be a lucky man.”

  All eyes turned to him. “Do you have anyone particular in mind, son?” Sam was the first one to speak.

  “Are you discarding our little angel already?” William’s eyes sparkled with amusement.

  William was Maggie’s oldest brother. She’d adored him when they were young. Everything he did she’d tried to copy. He joined the cavalry when the men went to war. He stayed in for a while. Two years earlier, he’d met Arletta at one of the forts, finished his time and married her. They’d settled down out west, and he had joined the ranks of a farmer there.

  “You know Cody has his sights on her. Many others would like to get in on the quest. They’re too afraid to step up. I hope they don’t swoop down on her while she is dealing with all this.
She needs her time to sort out her feelings before dealing with a new man who isn’t willing to wait until she is ready.” Nick turned his gaze to Cody who had taken a stance by Amanda’s side in the garden.

  “Are you willing to wait?” Robert neared the young man.

  “No sir, Mr. Gentry. I already have a date with her for the rest of our lives.” Nick set his glass of lemonade on the table. “I’m going to rescue my future bride from the vulture. I’m sorry for your troubles, Mr. Sanders. If you need anything at all, supplies delivered, anything you can think of, let me know. I pray Mrs. Sanders wakes up soon.”

  He sauntered to Amanda’s side. Cody tossed his hand across her shoulders and pulled her close to him. “What do you want, Nick?”

  Amanda shoved Cody’s arm from her shoulders and linked elbows with Nick. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “I came to speak to my future wife. You were invited to the wedding, weren’t you?” He narrowed his eyes at Cody.

  Maggie held her breath. She didn’t know Nick had it in him to face down a rival. She watched with amazement at how much he was like Robert.

  “Thank you for coming to my rescue. You have been a great comfort for me today. You were my strength…”

  “It was my pleasure. If you or your grandfather need anything, you can send someone to our future home. I’ll be here to help any way I can.”

  “One thing before you leave, will you walk with me to the cross?” He nodded. “Grandmother’s maiden name was Cross. She had Grandfather make this and put it here when they first moved in. She told me how a gallery of angels watched over the place and they would guide our men home at the end of the war.”

  “She was a smart woman who held to her faith.” He stopped and gazed at the cross. From the porch it looked small but significant with its angel hanging in front. Standing next to it pronounced the love of a family who believed in one another. The simple white cross greeted every soul that entered the plantation with the sincerity of an angel.