Chapter Eight

 

 

Two weeks later, on the evening of Friday, May 27, Anna greeted him as he came in from the fields and asked if he would drive her into town the next day.

“Into Davidsburg? I’d be happy to, Miss Anna,” he replied, following her into the kitchen.

She set a plate of victuals in front of him that had been warming in the stove. Famished, he wasted no time shoveling food into his mouth.

“No. Harrisburg.”

He glared at her and shook his head. “I don’t reckon it would be wise for me to go to a town the size of Harrisburg.” He had never been there and didn’t know what to expect. “Can’t Miss Sarah travel with you?”

“I want you to go with me, just in case Alphie throws a shoe or a wagon wheel breaks.”

He looked down at his plate and resumed eating.

She sat watching him, waiting patiently until he was finished. “Would you like more?” she asked.

He shook his head, so she took the empty plate away.

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he relented. “All right, Miss Anna. I’ll go with you. But can I jist wait in the wagon whilst you tend to your business?”

She smiled at him. “Of course.”

Early the following morning, they set out together in the farm wagon and rode for several hours through the Pennsylvania countryside. Along the way, Anna commented on how beautiful the trees were, how everything was coming to life, and how the wildflowers were blooming alongside the road.

David said very little, but smiled cordially, even though he was once again in a position where he thought he could be discovered. The prospect made him increasingly uneasy. He watched her pull several paper notes from her drawstring purse, each stating “Merchant’s Bank” across the front. She repeatedly asked him if he thought she had enough currency, but he couldn’t give a precise answer since she hadn’t really discussed what she intended to buy, and he had no idea what things cost up North. She requested to see his hat, so he graciously removed it and handed it to her. Anna inspected it closely. A passing vehicle caught her attention.

“Oh, we’re here,” she said, seeing they were approaching the outskirts of the city.

She handed back his hat, and he replaced it on his head. They rode into town. Pulling Alphie to a halt in front of the mercantile, David climbed down, tied the draft horse to a hitching rail, and helped Anna to the sidewalk.

“I’ll be waitin’ here till you git back,” he assured her with a smile.

She scurried into the mercantile. Climbing back up onto the seat, he softly whistled “Cindy” to himself as city folk passed by. He stared at the ground to hide his face under the brim of his hat. The street sounds aroused his curiosity, so he looked up to gaze around. People in every form of attire, but mostly in work clothes, bustled along the narrow sidewalks. Wagons, carts, and single riders passed each other on the roadway. Union soldiers in uniform swarmed like flies. He saw some whose military careers had been abruptly cut short due to their injuries. Several had lost their limbs.

Signs hanging above store fronts advertised their wares: a millinery, several hotels, the general store where Anna had gone, a few mourning stores specifically selling funeral items and black mourning clothes, a jewelry store, a wainwright, and a candy shop. He saw a few Chinese workers, or as his comrades called them, celestials.

I wonder what that great country must be like, he thought.

He remembered reading how China was also waged in a civil war. Their war had already gone on for over a decade. He hoped the same wouldn’t be the case for America. As far as he was concerned, the terrible, bloody war had already gone on far too long and could easily be resolved, if only Lincoln would allow the South to secede.

Half an hour later, Anna emerged from the mercantile. He jumped down to assist the storekeeper. They loaded her purchases into the wagon: two new brooms, a rope, several bags of flour, a pottery crock for churning butter, a mop, and a box full of various small, glass bottles. Anna thanked the storekeeper, scurried off down the street, and vanished into the millinery.

David decided to check Alphie’s legs for hot spots. Looking up, he saw Anna walking toward the wagon with a box. She handed it to him.

“Here. This is for you.”

Quizzically raising an eyebrow at her, he opened the round box. “It’s a hat,” he said, extracting the slouch hat from its container. “It looks jist like my old one.”

“I didn’t want to choose something you wouldn’t wear, and I knew I couldn’t persuade you to go into the shop with me,” she said, her face beaming with delight.

“Why, Miss Anna, you really shouldn’t have spent your money on me,” he modestly said.

“Nonsense! It’s in appreciation for your coming with me today.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, I really must go. I’ll return shortly.” She scampered off toward the dress shop.

Pulling off his old ragged felt hat, he tossed it into the back of the wagon and placed the new one on his head. He wished for a looking glass to inspect his reflection. The slouch hat fit perfectly. Turning it on his head, he cocked it to one side, removed it to examine it further, and repeated the motion. Anna returned twenty minutes later carrying several bolts of fabric and some Butterick patterns. With a wide smile, she assured him she was almost finished and shuffled off to another store.

He sat on the wagon bench and waited patiently while observing his surroundings. A loud noise rumbled behind him. A woman down the street screamed.

“It’s a runaway,” a man yelled. “Make haste!”

David turned to see a cart barreling down the thoroughfare toward him. At the reins was a small boy, his expression that of sheer terror. Obviously, he had lost control. Without hesitation, David jumped from the wagon seat just as the boy’s cart passed and hurled himself onto the horse’s back. He pulled the animal to a halt. The frightened creature tried to rear, but his restraints prevented him. David jumped down, brushed the horse’s long neck with one hand, and held onto the bridle with the other.

“Whoa, boy, good boy,” he reassured the gelding, whose harsh breathing gradually slowed.

“Thanks, mister,” the little boy said from atop the cart.

“Did you see that?” A woman on the sidewalk asked. “He jumped on that horse and stopped it.”

“He saved that boy’s life,” An elderly man declared.

David looked up at the boy and said, “If I were you, I’d put blinders on your horse from now on.”

The wide-eyed tike nodded.

David returned to his wagon. Some of the townsfolk followed him.

Anna arrived, holding two small bowls. “What’s going on?” she asked, noticing the small crowd congregated nearby.

“Let’s high-tail it out of here,” he said, untying Alphie.

He lifted Anna up so quickly she let out a yelp. Striding around the wagon, he sprang up onto the seat and slapped the reins. Alphie lunged forward. They passed by the crowd. Some of the people pointed at them.

“He saved that little fella’s life,” a young man hollered as they rode down the thoroughfare.

She glared at David. “You did what?”

He glanced at her, more than anxious to leave before his identity was discovered.

Once they had ridden to the edge of town, she handed him a bowl. “Here,” she said. “This is for you.”

He glanced down at it, noticing a white mound that resembled snow. Leading Alphie to the side of the road, he pulled him to a halt. “What is this?” he asked.

“Why, it’s ice cream. Haven’t you ever tried it?”

He shook his head. “No, miss, although I’ve heard tell it’s mighty good.”

Anna smiled and handed him a spoon from the basket she had brought along. “Taste it,” she said, dipping a spoon into her bowl.

He took a small bite. Sampling the sweet, cold vanilla on his tongue, he decided it was the most wonderful thing he’d ever indulged in. He shoveled spoonful after spoonful into his mouth.

“Oh, not so fast,” she said.

But it was too late.

An intense pain struck him behind his left eye. He dropped the spoon into the bowl and groaned, holding his hand over his eye.

“I’m sorry,” she said, slightly giggling. “I should have warned you not to eat it too quickly.”

Moaning, he held his head for a few moments and squeezed his eyes shut until the horrible, blinding pain finally subsided. “Here, you can have the rest,” he said, handing her his bowl.

“Are you sure?”

He nodded and slapped the reins.

She shrugged and consumed both bowls.

They continued on their journey home. By mid-afternoon, they decided to pull over to a shady spot under a cluster of willow trees. Climbing down from the wagon, they carried a blanket and the basket of food over to a lush patch of grass. Anna spread the blanket out beneath the largest willow. They sat down upon it and made themselves comfortable. A cool, fragrant breeze softly surrounded them. Water from a nearby stream trickled by, sparkling in the sunlight. Birdsong filled the air.

“Oh, it’s so beautiful here,” she sighed, and pointed out tiny blue butterflies fluttering around the edge of the stream. She handed him a piece of cold fried chicken from the basket. He reached for it with his left hand, but winced from the sharp pain in his shoulder. Pulling back, he placed his right hand over his old wound.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“It’s nothin’,” he replied.

She cocked a suspicious eyebrow at him. “Why were those people following you?” she asked. “Did they figure out…?”

“No. They were jist interested because, well, I saved a li’l feller with a runaway horse. Whilst you was shoppin’.”

“You saved a boy?” She gaped at him in surprise.

He modestly nodded, reached over with his right hand, and took the piece of chicken from her.

“Wonders never cease,” she said under her breath. “Did you injure yourself in the process?”

“I’ll be fine.” He took a bite out of the chicken leg. “I reckon this is the most delicious chicken I’ve ever tasted,” he said.

She smiled at him.

When they had finished eating, she leaned back against the bole of a tree, and David reclined on the blanket, his stomach so full he began to feel drowsy. His eyes started to drift shut.

“Don’t fall asleep on me,” she said.

He looked at her, smiled, and pulled himself up. “I won’t,” he responded groggily. He could barely restrain himself. More than anything, he wanted to embrace her and taste her lips, but he reminded himself of the danger it presented and how her aunt had warned him to resist his attraction to her. Anna gazed into his eyes. Completely smitten with her, his resistance waned.

“Miss Anna,” he said, drawing closer to her. He noticed she didn’t move away. “I, uh.”

“What is it?”

He wondered why she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. In a way, he wished she could, so he wouldn’t have to confess to her outright. “There’s somethin’ I’ve been meanin’ to tell you.” He looked into her eyes, those blue-green eyes that drew him in deeper every time he gazed into them. It was like looking into the crystal clear ocean.

“Does it have something to do with the farm?” she asked.

“No.” He looked away, embarrassed he’d nearly told her how he felt about her.

“Is it about your plans after the war?”

“Uh, well…it…”

“I just assumed you would go back home,” she interrupted. “Aren’t you responsible for your family’s farm?”

He nodded. “Yes’m. It ain’t like I have a choice.”

“What do you mean?”

He looked back at her. “It’s jist, well, I don’t want to be a farmer for the rest of my life.”

“You don’t?”

He shook his head and gave her a crooked grin. “I always wanted to go to college and see the world. Maybe go out West. I dunno.” He gazed up at the clouds. “It’ll be quite a spell before I can save enough money to do either one.”

Anna snickered. “I think it all sounds very exciting,” she remarked. She let out a deep sigh. “I would like to travel too, someday. If I ever get the chance.”

He smiled at her. “Where would you go?”

“Oh, everywhere, but I’d start with New York City.”

“What’s in New York City?”

“Why, everything, that’s all. I have yet to see the museums and the ‘blood and thunder’ dramas they perform at the Bowery Theatre. And when I’ve seen that entire city, I’d like to travel to Europe. London, Paris, Italy, Spain,” she counted on her fingers. “And from there, possibly the Orient. And then, perhaps the North Pole!” She laughed.

His heart fluttered at the sound of her lilting laughter. He couldn’t help but chuckle along with her.

“Have you ever seen the ocean?” she asked.

“I did once when my pa and I went to Mobile. It was like the sea stretched out to the edge of the earth.”

“Did you see any slave sales?”

He bit his lower lip, trying to remember. “Yeah, I reckon we did,” he replied.

“And did that bother you at all?”

“Miss Anna,” he said with a frown, “ain’t we already discussed this at least twenty times?”

“Perhaps. But you still haven’t given me an answer.”

He glared at her for a moment. “I reckon it bothers me some, but it ain’t for me to decide. Dixie relies on slave labor. Our economy would collapse without it. But if I had the opportunity to own slaves, I’d do without.”

“Oh.” Anna said thoughtfully, “So you think all Negroes should be free, then.”

“I didn’t say that.”

She scowled at him. “Well, which side of the fence are you on?”

He snorted. “Could we please change the subject?”

“All right.” She laid her hand on his arm for a moment. The thrill of her touch distracted him. “Tell me about the battles you were in,” she said.

Shocked by her sudden inquiry, he replied, “Oh, Miss Anna, you don’t want to know about that.”

“Yes, I do, or I wouldn’t ask.”

“Well, I can’t discuss it with you.”

“Why not?”

“It ain’t what a lady should hear. I jist can’t talk about it.”

She stared at him for several moments. He faintly smiled before looking away.

Leaning in, she softly spoke into his left ear.

“What did you say?” he asked.

She smiled. “I said someday you’ll tell me, when it isn’t so painful.”

He gazed at her, wondering what she meant by her comment.

Anna looked away and stared out at the water drifting downstream. “When you return home, I suppose you’ll marry Callie.” She sighed.

The smile vanished from his lips. He hadn’t thought about Callie for several weeks, and Anna’s remark caught him off guard. “Oh, no.” He chuckled. “I ain’t fixin’ to marry her.”

“But didn’t you tell me you made her a promise?”

“To look after her is all.”

Anna frowned. “When you make a promise like that, any girl would assume you intend to marry her.”

He gawked at her, dismayed Callie might have misunderstood his noble gesture. “Well, I ain’t fixin’ to, and she’ll jist have to accept it. I won’t marry a gal I ain’t in love with. It wouldn’t be fittin’ for neither one of us.”

Anna held her gaze on him without uttering a sound.

“The first chance I git,” he added, “I’ll write to her and tell her how I feel.”

Rising to her feet, she said, “We should be going now.” She gathered the picnic paraphernalia.

David picked up the blanket and followed her to the wagon, his heart weighing heavily with disappointment. Their encounter hadn’t gone at all like he had hoped. He had daydreamed about it on many recent occasions. In his imagination, they had fallen together like blossoms off a flowering tree. Try as he might, he couldn’t overcome his shy awkwardness. He wanted desperately to reveal his feelings to her, but he couldn’t. The opportunity had presented itself and had passed; he was only left with self-ridicule. To his dismay, instead of being attracted to him, Anna had pointed out his flaws, as well as their differences.

For the rest of the return trip, he noticed she only made small talk by showing him the dress patterns she had purchased and the fishing hooks he’d requested. Two miles from home, he broke the uncomfortable silence.

“Miss Anna, I didn’t mean to say anything to offend you.”

She smiled. “You didn’t.”

“But I don’t reckon you understand about Miss Callie and me.”

“Oh, I understand.”

He grunted in frustration, wanting to confess to her it was she, not Callie, whom he was drawn to. She had stolen his heart. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Clenching his teeth, he was thankful she couldn’t read his thoughts after all.