by Londyn Skye
For Mary Jo, though, her visits with James were no laughing matter. While the secret best friends were laughing at her expense, Mary Jo was lying in her bed daydreaming about what her wedding day with James would one day be like. While Lily had James in stitches imitating her frilly little walk, Mary Jo was picturing the children she would one day have with him. While James was mocking Mary Jo’s high-pitched voice, she was thinking about how sweet he had been to her while she was there.
James was simply making the best of the miserable position his father had put him in. He did not realize that the kindness he was forcing himself to show Mary Jo was creating a monster, one who had developed serious feelings for him. Mary Jo wanted James Adams in every way possible, and she was willing do and say anything to acquire him. For Mary Jo—a spoiled, self-entitled, daddy’s girl who rarely heard the word “no”—it was not a question of if she would have James, it was only a question of when. And as Mary Jo stood outside of Albert’s General Store watching James walk across the road, she was about to attempt to have that question answered.
When Mary Jo heard that James was back in Fayetteville, she had been on the prowl like a lioness ever since. She was always coming up with some excuse to go into town, dressed up, made-up, and hair perfectly done, hoping to “accidentally” bump into him. Unbelievably, all her efforts were about to pay off. While she blended in amongst a group of her friends, her eyes coasted up and down the man she had been dying to sink her claws into for years. Mary Jo had lain in wait for long enough, and now she was finally about to seize the moment to pounce on her prey.
“James? James Adams? Is that you?” Mary Jo asked from behind him, as he collected a few things off the store shelf and put them into a wicker basket.
James was still lost deep in thought and did not hear a thing. He did not come out of his trance until Mary Jo tapped on his shoulder. Startled, he turned around and was greeted by the last face he had hoped to see in town.
“James Adams! What a surprise to see you! I had no idea you were back in town,” Mary Jo lied.
“MJ?” he replied, sounding surprised after noticing how overdressed she seemed for a leisurely trip to the store.
“Why yes, it’s me.” Her bright tomato-red, lipstick-stained lips stretched into a wide smile. “You haven’t forgotten me, I see.”
“Of course not.” But I’ve certainly tried, James thought to himself.
“One would think so. I sent you several letta’s while you were away at university.”
“You did?” James replied, trying to sound surprised. “I neva’ received any letta’s,” he lied.
“You mean you neva’ got a single one?” Mary Jo whined.
“No, not a one. I certainly would’ve written you back had that been the case,” James fibbed once again. He had read the first few lines of two of her letters and tossed them into the trash. He never bothered to open the ones that followed before tossing them too.
“All that effort for nothin’. I put all my heart into those letta’s.”
“I’m so sorry, MJ. I have no idea what could’ve happened to ’em. Maybe you just used the wrong address.”
“But I got the address directly from your fatha’.”
“Well, all I can say is that I neva’ received ’em.”
“I s’ppose there ain’t nothin’ we can do ’bout it now, can we?” she asked rhetorically, forcing the fake grin that James hated so much.
“I guess not.” There was an awkward silence before James resumed picking up items off the shelf. All the while, he was hoping Mary Jo would disappear, like the ghost she reminded him of. Much to his dismay, though, she found something else to talk about.
“Speakin’ of your daddy, he’s invited my fatha’ and me to anotha’ business dinna’ at your home soon.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s right! This comin’ Saturday, I believe,” she announced excitedly.
“Well, I’ll be travelin’ for a while, so it looks like it just might be the three of ya’. Or maybe my brotha’s might show up and keep ya’ company.”
“It’s been six long years, James!” Mary Jo exclaimed, momentarily exposing her snotty attitude before calming back down and trying to sound sensual. “I’s certainly lookin’ forward to seein’ you there, and hearin’ all about your time away at school. I thought perhaps we could even reminisce about all the good times we used to have togetha’ when we’s young,” she smiled, touching him delicately on the shoulder.
What good times? “I wish I could, MJ. But this is a trip that I absolutely have to take. I’m sorry, but there’s no gettin’ out of it. It was good seein’ ya’ again though,” he said, infusing a lie into the last part of his statement. James turned around and resumed his shopping, hoping Mary Jo would get the point and leave him be. But the porcelain-colored princess was nowhere near finished trying to seduce the man she had missed for years.
“Well, how about you and I celebrate your return before you depart? Just the two of us? I could make you a great home-cooked meal. I’m sure you could use that afta’ bein’ gone so long. And my cookin’ is far betta’ than that house slave ‘a yours, Leela…”
“Lily!” James quickly corrected her.
“Whateva’.” Mary Jo dismissed his correction with a wave of her hand. “It’s much betta’ than hers. So, what do ya’ say? I can make your favorite … fried chicken and mashed potatoes.”
That was not James’s favorite. He suddenly felt a headache coming on, the kind with the strength to bring even the toughest man to his knees. “Listen, maybe some otha’ time MJ. I have a lot I need to take care of before my trip.”
“Maybe when you get back then,” she insisted.
“That’d be nice. I look forward to it,” James lied, saying anything he could to cease listening to the sound of a voice that was inducing a migraine.
Another broad smile stretched across Mary Jo’s pale face. As giddy as she suddenly felt at the prospect of spending an evening alone with James, one would have assumed he had just proposed to her. “I can’t wait to see you when you return then. It’ll be an amazin’ evenin’.” She looked at James with hunger in her eyes. “I promise you won’t regret it,” she said in a seductive tone, as she glided her finger down his arm.
It took every bit of James’s strength not to groan aloud. He let out a frustrated breath instead. “Bye, MJ,” he uttered coldly. He then quickly turned around, ignoring the hungry look in her colorless face and the lust in her headache-inducing voice, knowing that he had zero intentions of spending one minute alone with her.
James stopped at two other shops before loading up the satchels on his horse and eagerly riding out of the town square. He had only been back a short time, but already some of the people in town were making him wish that he had never returned. He had tired quickly of all the long-winded conversations, of being questioned, and passively propositioned by multiple women that he had no interest in. He wanted to be polite as they welcomed him back to Fayetteville and asked him questions about his time away at school. But he was feeling oddly angry about the way people had treated Gideon and his wife, despite all the years he had spent selflessly serving the community. It didn’t help that Mary Jo had his temples throbbing in unforgiving pain.
James remembered that he had always felt as if he did not fit in, in Fayetteville. His brief interactions since his return reminded him why. As he rode hard and fast out of the town square, he found himself already looking forward to escaping the place that had brought him so much misery as a boy. More than anything, he was eager to avoid dealing with Mary Jo and the vomit-inducing migraine she was sure to bring him again at his father’s business meeting.
James galloped back onto the farm and headed for the stalls to feed and water his horse, and to begin preparing his wagon for his journey. However, his attention was drawn to another matter that suddenly became urgent to him. In the distance, Henry, a strong older slave on the plantation, was away from his duties in the
field. James looked at his pocket watch and realized it was time for one of the two meals the slaves received daily. But Henry was not eating. He was having a leisurely conversation with another slave who James felt had no business being over there with him. They were tucked away behind the barn looking for a little privacy while they talked, but James could see them easily from where he stood.
“You’ve been lookin’ so down the last few days, Lily. You ain’t been smilin’ that pretty smile like usual. That ain’t like you,” Henry said, in his baritone voice.
“Ain’t got much to smile ’bout no mo’,” Lily confessed, looking down at the empty clothes basket perched on her hip.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m gonna be leavin’ here soon, Henry. That’s why I wanted to come and say goodbye to you,” she told him, placing her free hand warmly on his arm. “You’ve always been so kind to me.”
“Jesse ain’t sellin’ ya’, is he?” Henry asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
“Truth be told, I wish that was the case.”
“I don’t unda’stand. Don’t tell me you’s runnin’ away.”
“No, masa’ James decided he’s gonna take me to a breeda’.”
“My God Lily, I’m so sorry,” Henry replied, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“It’s okay, I…”
“LILY!” James interjected. He had heard and certainly seen enough. She and Henry jumped back with fear dancing in their eyes. “Looks to me like you done finished hangin’ them clothes on the line, so you wanna explain to me why you’re still out here, ’steada tendin’ to your duties in the house?” he barked, all the while staring Henry down.
“Sorry Masa’ James,” Lily replied flatly.
“Don’t be sorry. Just get back to mindin’ your work. And you too Henry, if ya’ know what’s good for ya’,” James threatened, still staring intensely at him.
“Yessa’,” Henry nodded.
Lily walked away hastily with anger in each step. She could feel the heat of James’s eyes on her back as she made her way up the plantation house steps. She busied herself in the kitchen, hoping that he would go on about his business and have nothing further to say about her conduct. Much to her chagrin, James leaned up against the frame of the kitchen door with his arms folded, letting his silence speak first.
“My fatha’ informed me that you were pure, which is what I told the man who plans to breed you. From the looks ‘a you and Henry, I’d say you done went and made a liar outta me.”
Lily was appalled by his statement. She felt such a thing was none of his business. As much as she wanted to tell him to go to hell, she kept her wits about her. “May I ask why that makes a difference … masa’?” she asked, her irritation seeping into the last word.
“I can’t present them with a slave that’s already with child, Lily!”
Lily kept her eyes on the vegetables she was chopping and did not immediately react to the sudden anger in James’s voice. She was calm and purposely delayed her response, which allowed more time for the visions of Henry having his way with her to graphically replay in James’s mind. “No need to worry, masa’,” she finally answered, never looking up from the vegetables in front of her. “I ain’t made a liar outta you.”
Her response finally returned James’s heartbeat to a normal pace. But the brief visions of Henry lying on top of Lily had surprisingly destroyed his appetite for the rest of the day. “We’re leavin’ tomorrow mornin’,” he mustered up the strength to say, while trying to force the images in his mind to subside. He retrieved a satchel from the parlor and tossed it onto the kitchen table. “Fill this with food and whateva’ belongin’s you have. Be sure it’s enough for about two days ‘a travel.”
“Yessa’.”
James then turned and headed to his room to gather his belongings. Before getting far, though, he turned back around and watched Lily from a distance for a moment. He knew she had to have overheard what was to come in only a few short days, yet he never once saw fear or tears in her eyes. He was amazed at her strength but wondered if those attributes would fade in the face of reality. He then turned and finally trotted up the stairs.
After James had left, Lily did as she was told and gathered canned goods, fruits, vegetables, and bread for their journey. She then went into the slave quarters to gather what little she had. There were no fancy shoes, nor shoes at all for that matter. There were no beautiful dresses or even ugly ones to change into; no pretty hats, expensive jewelry, or any other frilly things fit for a lovely lady. One scarf and an extra apron were all that lay next to her makeshift bed. She stuffed the extra scarf into the satchel, and her packing was complete.
Lily then walked over to the secret storage spot in her run-down room that still housed the socks and blankets that James had so kindly brought to her and Auntie on that cold night over a decade ago. She pulled out Auntie’s blanket and hugged it tight. It still had her scent on it. As Lily inhaled, she began to think about all seven of Auntie’s little babies and how they had been stolen from her, including baby Sarah. It made her wonder if she would ever get to see the faces of any of her own children, or know their genders, or be the one to name them. She wondered if maybe it was best to have them snatched away so that there was no chance to form a connection to them at all, no chance to be tortured by the memories of their names, their scent, the softness of their skin, and their petite faces as they lay snuggled in her arms. Either way, Lily realized she was about to leave the Adams farm with a filthy scarf and return with nothing but the same. Soon Auntie’s blanket was covered in the moisture of her tears. The torture had already begun.
Chapter Four
Slave Code
Article III Section II
Slaves are forbidden from leaving their owner’s property, unless accompanied by a white person, or carrying a license or letter showing he has authority from his master. If any be without either, they shall be considered as a runaway, and to suffer such penalties provided against runaways.
Lily sat in the back of James’s covered wagon with her knees drawn up to her chest, watching her “prison” get further and further out of sight in the morning sunlight. It was the farthest she had been off the Adams plantation since her life sentence there began. While confined there, all Lily had known was the same miserable daily routine of serving her warden, a man she wished would return to his rightful throne next to Satan. Escaping her prison warden for a while was bittersweet. She was happy to be relieved of the irritating sound of Jesse barking orders at her all day but sickened by what that would shortly be replaced with.
Despite where she was headed, Lily was trying to enjoy the two days of freedom she had before her ex-best friend delivered her to hell. She prayed that James would not utter a word to her during their travels. She wanted to get lost in her own thoughts and pretend that she was on a journey to see her mother again for the first time since being tortuously dragged away from her. Thoughts of her mother only sustained Lily for a little while before the tears began to fall, collecting on her blood-stained dress. Every clip-clap of the horses’ hooves reminded her that she was closer to being violated by some strange man and then experiencing the loss of her child, the way her mother and Auntie had. It was for those reasons that Lily lay with her head on her knees, crying silently, and begging God for infertility.
An hour into their journey, Lily turned and peeked through the wagon cover. She quietly stared at James in disgust as he tipped his hat to a passerby in another wagon. The lack of expression on his face reminded her of Jesse. It had been years since she had seen James smile. She missed that smile and the tender man it once belonged to. She once believed that James was the sort of caring man who would have fought tooth and nail to save her from the sickening things that were about to occur. She was now finding it difficult to come to terms with the fact that he was now callous enough to drag her to the wolves himself.
As Lily stared at James, she began to reminisce about her old f
riendship with him, just as she had many times since his return. She found that every time a negative thought of him crossed her mind, it was preceded by a fond memory of them together. Every lovely memory made his current transgression against her hurt even more. Lily became angry with herself for not being able to let go of the past. She constantly had to remind herself that the James she knew as a girl was dead. Despite feeling that way, though, the fond memories were far too strong and full of happiness to let dissolve. They played on in her mind along with her piano music, soothing her just as her beautiful melodies had the power to do. This time, she recalled an occasion one summer when they were sixteen …
James had been sent away to work on his aunt and uncle’s plantation in a neighboring town. He and his brothers were only gone for about two weeks during their summer breaks, but every time James left, Lily remembered feeling like each day dragged on for months. She was never sure when James was due to return, which made his absence even more intolerable. This particular summer, her heartache was far worse than usual; that fact was evident by her music. By the third day, Lily’s loneliness presented itself in the form of a beautifully composed piano piece. She played no other song during James’s two-week absence; it comforted her the entire time he was away.
After days of misery, Lily woke up one Sunday morning and found a gift that had been placed at her bedside in the late-night hours. Her face lit up the moment she saw it. Based on what it was, she knew instantly to go to the old oak tree in her playground paradise near the creek. Lily sat impatiently on a blanket at the base of the tree, gazing appreciatively at her gift. She suddenly turned her head to the right when she heard leaves crinkling in the distance. A brilliant smile illuminated on her face as she watched James dash quickly from tree to tree. Lily stood as he approached. James slowed his pace as he got closer, taking time to absorb the sight of a young woman who had dominated his thoughts while he was away, a young woman that he had missed beyond his capacity to express with words. James and Lily’s smiles faded when they were within feet of one another. There were no words exchanged, just an intense gaze that they held for a moment … and then a hug. It was a hug that dissolved any need for James to verbally express how much he desperately missed her. The length and strength of his embrace conveyed those words for him. He hugged Lily in a way that said, please forgive me for leaving you here so long alone. His arms easily proved to Lily that his misery and loneliness had been equal to hers. The warmth that radiated through her made her wish that James would hold her like that for a lifetime.