Georgia and JoBeth stowed the bags and packages in the back of the car while Vanna got Charlie into his car seat. “Thanks, Mom,” Vanna said from the back. “That was an awesome place.”
“It was my pleasure,” JoBeth said, blinking rapidly. “I’m so glad we went there. Together.” Was she going to cry, Georgia wondered?
“I need to change Charlie and feed him lunch.”
“And I’m starved,” Georgia said.
They stayed on the west side of the Mississippi and found a sandwich shop on the outskirts of Keokuk. The waitress brought a high chair for Charlie. After he was settled, JoBeth asked, “Isn’t there an old fort around here?”
“Yes ma’am. Fort Jefferson.”
“Is it worth a visit?”
“Well, people dress up in costumes, and you see what life was like two hundred years ago. My boys like the soldiers and muskets.”
“Great! I can take some pictures,” Vanna said. Her interest in graphics encompassed photography, and she was taking it seriously.
“Well then, Let’s drive over after lunch,” JoBeth said.
“Charlie will probably be ready for a nap,” Vanna said.
“He can sleep on the way,” JoBeth said.
“How did you know about this fort, JoBeth?” Georgia asked.
JoBeth flipped up her hands.
“You were doing due diligence, weren’t you? You had this trip all planned out.”
“What’s ‘due diligence?’” Vanna asked.
“Research. Lawyers do it to get background info on people or places for their cases.”
“And PIs?”
“And PIs,” Georgia smiled.
JoBeth smiled too, then bit her lip. She turned and gazed out the passenger window. Charlie fell asleep in minutes as they drove over to the fort. Billed as the Midwest’s oldest military garrison on the upper Mississippi, a sign proclaimed it became famous during the war of 1812 against the British.
“Can you believe that was over two hundred years ago?” JoBeth murmured. They climbed out of the car and started walking around.
A sign said the outpost had carried on a lucrative trade with the local Indian tribes of the area, after the Indians ceded land to the United States.
“Figures,” Georgia pushed Charlie’s stroller. “We take their land, then sell them things they don’t need.”
Vanna was snapping photos on her cell of the costumed soldiers and Indians. A placard said most of the Indians had fought with the British.
“You see?” Georgia motioned to the placard. “They figured out what a raw deal they were getting and went over to the other side.”
When her mother didn’t reply, she looked over. She could have sworn she saw a tear in JoBeth’s eye.
“You okay?” She asked.
Her mother nodded and swallowed again. “I’m just happy. Let’s go back across the river. I could do with a little lie-down.”