by Ginny Dye
Janie shuddered as a cold blast of wind swept under her coat, but she was sure the shudder was equally due to the realization the dreaded disease was once more perched off the New York shoreline. Was there to be no end to the suffering America would endure during this decade?
“Watch out lady!”
Janie jerked her head up when a nearby man hollered, stepping back onto the sidewalk just in time to miss a collision with a wagon. The driver scowled at her and shook his head. She turned to thank the man who had yelled at her, but he was already hurrying down the sidewalk, his head bowed against the cold. Shaken, she scolded herself to pay more attention. Thoughts of cholera would have to wait until she got home. Forcing her eyes and her thoughts to focus, she walked faster.
The next voice she heard was more familiar. “Janie!”
Janie raised her head, realizing she was almost to the restaurant. A broad smile lit her face. “Sadie Lou!” Eddie’s seventeen-year-old daughter was becoming a beautiful young woman. When she became best friends with Moses’s sister Sadie their shared names caused quite a bit of confusion, so now everyone called her Sadie Lou. “It’s wonderful to see you!”
“You, too. Let’s go inside and get out of this cold,” Sadie Lou said quickly.
Janie frowned when she realized how thin Sadie Lou’s coat was. Her gloves and hat didn’t seem to be much better. “You should have more clothes on,” she admonished.
Sadie Lou only shrugged. “I’m younger than you are. I don’t get cold as easily,” she said impishly, though the glazed look in her eyes refuted her casual words.
“Right.” Janie took her arm and pulled her into the warmth of the restaurant, both of them gasping in relief when the heat from the woodstove reached out to them. Janie stood still, allowing the heat to thaw her face, aware of sensational aromas pouring into the room from the kitchen.
“Janie!”
“Opal! I understand there is a sweet potato casserole with my name on it,” Janie said, taking Opal’s hands and squeezing them tightly, using the opportunity to stare into her eyes. Alice was right. Opal’s round face had a warm smile on it, but her eyes were heavy and burdened.
“There always be a sweet potato casserole with your name on it, Miss Janie.” Opal responded. “You girls enjoy that apple pie last night?”
Janie rolled her eyes and patted her stomach. “It was like manna from heaven,” she murmured. “Opal, have you ever heard of mulligatawny soup? I had it for the first time last night.”
Opal sniffed. “I’ve heard of it.” Her eyes showed her disdain. “I’ve even had a bowl, but there’s just nothing like good ole southern cooking. I know people from all over the world got to eat, but they need to come south if they want to learn how to cook!”
Janie laughed and allowed Sadie Lou to lead her to a table in the back corner. Her eyes lit with pleasure when she recognized the two sitting at the table. “Susie! Zeke! It’s wonderful to see you both.” This was the first time she had gotten to see Eddie’s eldest daughter and her husband since she arrived.
Susie patted the chair next to her. “Sit yourself down, Janie. Amber and Carl will have your sweet potato casserole out in a few minutes.”
Sadie Lou pulled off her coat as she turned away. “I’m going back into the kitchen to help Opal. Enjoy your lunch, Janie.”
“Impossible not to,” Janie replied. “I’ll see you soon, Sadie Lou.” Pulling off her winter clothing, she sank onto the rustic chair with gratitude. She looked around and realized the restaurant was full of people talking, laughing, and eating. Most of them were black, but there were a few whites who came because the word was spreading about Opal’s cooking. “The restaurant is doing so well,” she murmured.
Susie nodded. “Daddy and Opal have worked hard.” She paused briefly, her eyes bright with memories. “Mama would be so proud.”
“That she would,” Janie assured her. She had not had a chance to meet Opal’s cousin Fannie before she was killed in an explosion at the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond during the war on the very same day Eddie was arrested for espionage and sentenced to prison. Carrie had helped Opal return to the plantation with the couple’s four children, where she cared for them until after the war.
Susie’s eyes followed Opal as she bustled in the kitchen. “She’s good for my daddy. I’m glad they fell in love after the war. They both needed a new beginning.”
Janie nodded. “Carl and Amber seem happy as well.”
Susie grinned. “My brother and sister are amazing. Being in school has been wonderful for them, and they actually love working here at the restaurant. They say they are warmer than any of their friends.”
Janie frowned. “Your home?” Susie tried to shrug off the question, but Janie saw the truth in her eyes.
Zeke reached over to squeeze his wife’s hand. “We’ve been through worse,” he assured Janie. “It will take a couple years to get the restaurant really making good money, but Eddie is already making plans to build a better house. Being free to make our own decisions is worth whatever it takes,” he said firmly.
Janie nodded again. “You’re right,” she said immediately, but she couldn’t help feeling guilty that she lived in such splendor while they struggled to stay warm. If there had been room, she would have asked them all to move in.
“Get that look off your face,” Susie said sternly.
“Look?” Janie murmured in confusion.
“Yes. The look that says you should be able to change our situation. I know you would have us all move in with you if you could, but Daddy and Opal wouldn’t do it anyway. They are determined to make it on their own. Daddy may have technically been free while he was in Richmond, but he never had a chance to truly live that way. His years in prison made him even hungrier for freedom. Opal has dreamed of this since she was a young girl on the plantation.” Susie gazed around at the simple tables covered with red and white checkered cloths, at the glowing candles on every table, at the woodstove shooting out warmth. “This is their dream. They want to live close to it, and they want it to create a life they can be proud of. They know suffering. At least now they have control of their lives.”
Janie considered her words. She knew Susie was right. She also knew that as much as she tried to understand, her years of privilege as a white woman from a wealthy background made true understanding impossible. She would have to settle for compassion.
Susie covered her hand. “You just keep coming down to buy food. Keep sending your friends. That will give them the life you want them to have.”
Janie peered at her more closely, seeing something in her eyes. “And you and Zeke?”
Zeke sat up straighter in his chair. “When I was a slave down in Mississippi, I heard about people going west. I’ve been wantin’ to join them ever since.”
“West?” Janie echoed.
Zeke nodded firmly. “The Oregon Territory. Folks don’t care so much about color out there, and I hear it be real beautiful along the Pacific coast.”
Janie looked into his bright eyes full of excitement before she turned to Susie. “And you want to go?”
Susie nodded. “I do. I don’t think being black won’t matter at all, but everything I’ve heard says it won’t matter as much. Zeke and I want to have kids now that the war is over.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t want them growing up in the South. Philadelphia is better, but I’m already sick of being so cold. Daddy and Opal don’t need me. Amber and Carl don’t need me. I’ll miss them like crazy, but Zeke and I want to start a new life.” She reached over to take Zeke’s hand, continuing as she interpreted the look in Janie’s eyes. “We already know it will be tough. It will be tough getting out there, and it will be tough getting started.”
“But it ain’t gonna be no tougher than what we already lived,” Zeke finished.
“Do Opal and Eddie know?” Janie asked, trying to absorb it and wondering how much to tell them about the cholera.
Susie nodded. “They know. They’re sad to
see us go, but they understand we want to have a new start.” She smiled slightly. “I think Opal would go with us if she could. She loves the restaurant, but this cold seems to be eating right through her.”
“When are you planning on leaving?” Janie asked.
“This spring,” Zeke said promptly. “We’re saving up money for our wagon train fare.” He stopped when he saw the quick look of alarm on Janie’s face. “What’s wrong?” His eyes darkened with concern.
Janie searched for words. “Do either of you know anything about cholera?” she finally asked.
“It’s a disease,” Susie responded, confusion showing in her eyes. “Does this have something to do with us?”
“I’m afraid it could,” Janie said slowly. She explained what she had learned in school that morning. “Close to twelve thousand people died on the wagon trains back in 1849,” she finished somberly.
Zeke spoke into the silence. “I don’t know anything about cholera. What’s it like?”
Janie knew she couldn’t soften the news. They deserved to know the truth. “It’s horrible. The primary symptoms are profuse diarrhea and vomiting of clear fluid. People with cholera are known to produce three to five gallons of diarrhea a day. About half of them die,” she finished grimly.
Zeke grimaced as he exchanged a long look with Susie. “You said it’s still on that boat in the New York harbor. How’s it gonna get on our wagon train?”
“They’re still trying to understand exactly how it spreads,” Janie admitted. “There are a lot of different opinions.”
“But because no one is really sure, they don’t know how to stop it,” Susie added heavily.
“I’m afraid that’s true,” Janie agreed. “All they know for sure is that it spreads. It started in New York seventeen years ago and then spread all across the country.”
Zeke thought hard. “So that means we be as likely to get it here in Philadelphia?”
Susie eyed her husband and then turned back to Janie. “How many people died in Philadelphia back in 1849?”
“A little over a thousand,” Janie responded. “Philadelphia wasn’t as hard hit as New York and other cities.”
“Why?” Zeke asked keenly.
Janie hesitated. “I’m just learning all this. They’re not positive, but they think it has mostly to do with cleanliness. Philadelphia’s water system is better. Cholera always hits hardest in the areas that have a lot of filth.”
“Like the really poor areas in New York,” Susie said. She smiled at Janie’s look of surprise. “You don’t have to go somewhere to read about it in books.”
Janie flushed. “Sorry. You’re absolutely right. Yes. Although it spread into most of the areas of New York, the poor areas were the hardest hit.”
A long silence fell on the table as Susie and Zeke absorbed the news.
Zeke was the first to break it. “I reckon I had a better chance of getting killed during the war than I have of getting cholera. I didn’t let fear stop me then. It don’t seem right to let it stop me now.”
Janie understood his thought processes, even if she didn’t agree with the conclusion. “You were fighting for your freedom during the war. You didn’t have a choice of when the war happened or when you had to fight in the battles. You have a choice of when you go out west. I’m just suggesting it might be better to wait until next year.”
“They will have it under control by then?” Susie asked sharply. “Are you certain of that?”
“No one is certain of anything,” Janie admitted. “But it always seems to run its course and go away.”
Zeke shook his head. “So they don’t know where it comes from, and they don’t know why it leaves?”
Janie shrugged. “So much of medicine is still unknown,” she murmured. “Advances are being made every day, but I don’t know that we’ll always have all the answers.”
Zeke took Susie’s hand. “Me and Susie got to talk and think about it,” he said finally. He managed a weak smile. “We sure appreciate your telling us about it, though.”
“Janie!” Amber’s voice broke into their conversation.
Janie pushed aside her heavy thoughts and summoned up a bright smile for the excited little girl. “Hello, Amber!” She waited until Amber put down the plate she was carrying and then pulled her forward into a tight hug. “Are you sure you’re only thirteen? I declare, you get bigger every time I see you.”
Amber giggled. “And smarter too,” she proclaimed. “I’m the best reader in my class,” she said proudly. “And I’m even making sense of arithmetic.”
Janie lifted up the little girl’s chin so she could gaze into her eyes. “That’s wonderful. I’m so proud of you.”
Amber nodded. “Daddy and Opal are too,” she said happily. “I like making them happy. And I really like going to my Quaker school. Everybody be so nice.”
“Everybody is so nice,” Susie corrected gently.
“Right. Everybody is so nice,” Amber said, her grin spreading across her face. “Pretty soon, I will be able to speak just like you and Carrie and Rose, Miss Janie.”
“And me?” Susie asked, pretending offense.
“Well, of course, you,” Amber retorted. “But you don’t count, ‘cause you’re just my sister.”
Susie chuckled as she shook her head. “I get absolutely no respect here.”
Janie laughed as she pulled her plate of sweet potato casserole closer to her, leaning down to take a long sniff. “No one makes sweet potato casserole like Opal,” she said happily. She took a bite, savoring the explosion of flavors as she chewed and then looked at Amber. “Will you ask Opal to fix a whole casserole for me to take home? I know my housemates will love this.”
“You bet!” Amber responded. “Sadie just got here from school. She and my sister are working on more of them right now. I’ll tell her to make one for you special.”
“Tell her she doesn’t have to cook it,” Janie added quickly. “I’ll put it in the oven when I get home.”
Amber nodded, gave her a quick grin, and dashed toward the kitchen. She was only halfway there when the front door flung open.
“Fire! The roof is on fire! Fire!”
There was a moment of horrified, stunned disbelief that held everyone in place. It quickly dissolved as yelling and high-pitched screams filled the air. Everyone jumped from their tables and pushed toward the door.
Janie remained frozen in place. A loud crackling sound caused her to gaze upward. Sparks from the woodstove had ignited the roof. She stared, fascinated, at the orange flames beginning to lick through the wooden roof.
“Janie!” Zeke hollered, reaching over to yank her out of her chair. “Get your coat. We have to get out of here!”
Zeke’s voice pulled Janie from her fascinated trance. She had heard about the terrible fires down in this part of the city, but she had never dreamed she would see one first hand. Another glance at the ceiling told her the fire was spreading quickly. She reached for her coat, but Zeke had already yanked it from the hook beside the table.
He grabbed her hand and began to pull her through the restaurant. Many of the patrons had already spilled out into the road. Gusts of cold air blowing in through the door fed the flames. They roared more angrily as they consumed the roof and began to work down the back wall. Angry crackling mixed with the hiss of the flames.
Janie gasped as the cold air hit her. It was suddenly all real. She turned toward the door and realized how many coats were still hanging on hooks. She had a quick vision of terrified people freezing on the sidewalk. She jerked away from Zeke’s hand and began to grab coats as quickly as she could. “Help me,” she cried. “Those people out there will need these!”
Zeke’s eyes were wide with fright as he stared at her and then glanced back at the gaping door leading to safety.
Susie pushed him in the back. “We have enough time,” she yelled. “Help her. I’ll go in the back to make sure Daddy, Opal, and the kids get out. Hurry!” she yelled over her sh
oulder.
Screams and calls continued from outside as the last people pushed through the front door.
Janie flashed through the restaurant, horrified as she watched pictures on the back wall be devoured by flames, their bright images dissolved in an instant. When her arms wouldn’t hold any more, she turned and rushed to the front door. She stepped outside, dashed far enough away to safely dump her load, and then looked around frantically.
Opal, Eddie, and the kids were nowhere to be seen. Janie and Zeke exchanged a terrified glance and then turned as one to dash back into the building, ignoring the screams of the patrons telling them to stop.
Just as they stepped into the building, they saw Eddie and Opal run from the kitchen, their hands full of pots and pans. Susie was right behind them, pulling Amber and Carl with her.
“Sadie and Sadie Lou?” Zeke hollered over the flames as the back wall caved in on itself and began to devour the wall behind the kitchen.
“They were right behind me,” Susie cried. She whipped back around, pushing Amber and Carl toward Janie. “Get them out of here!”
Janie grabbed the terrified children’s hands and pulled them toward the door. She knew there were only minutes before the flames reached the huge vats of frying oil. What was already a nightmare was about to get worse.
Zeke plunged into the kitchen with Susie.
Janie plowed into Eddie and Opal just outside the door as she emerged with the children.
“I have to go back inside,” Eddie hollered. “The Sadies are in there!” His eyes bulged with terror.
Janie blocked his way, pushing him and Opal away from the building as she pulled Amber and Carl with her. “You will do no such thing,” she said firmly, trying to swallow her own terror. “Zeke and Susie will get them out of there.” She could only pray she was right.
Two men ran forward and wrapped a coat around the children. Another man grabbed Eddie’s arm and pulled him further from the building. Two women, tears pouring down their cheeks, took Opal’s arm and hauled her away from the flames.
