Her name was Marguerite Annabelle Pearce and her father was a solicitor who farmed about 1000 acres of sugar cane and another 500 in cotton and corn. He was in politics and spent lots of time in Baton Rouge with Governor Moore, also an attorney and plantation owner. Mr. Van supported Moore for Governor in the 1859 election and attended his inauguration in January, 1860, where he met Pearce. A few weeks later, Van received an invitation to Pearce's daughter's début, an event that occurred later in her life than customary because she wanted to finish college before she got presented.
Mr. Van found out about Miss Marguerite's age and college education at the party. They was lots of eligible young ladies who seemed to take an interest in him even though he was near the age of some of those girls' fathers. He told Maureen he danced with all of them womens who was there but, for some reason, he couldn't take his eyes off Marguerite Pearce.
He said he axed himself what was it about her, but couldn't put his finger on it until he danced the last dance of the night with her. He told Maureen he liked the way Marguerite felt in his arms, the grace with which she followed his lead, how she held her head back, a little tilted to the side so she could look at him or look away without turning her neck. He liked her laugh; it wasn't giddy and nervous like some of the other girls.
But it was her intelligence he admired most; somehow she seemed more mature than her twenty-one years. Besides her beauty, "her long, dark hair pinned up on the sides with the back flowing in curls to her waist, the large dark eyes framed by thick black eyelashes that curled up towards perfectly-shaped eyebrows, wide pink lips that turned up on the sides while the bottom one pooched out in a permanent pout, and a perfectly straight nose that hinted at a pug," he told Maureen.
Mr. Van said that Marguerite seemed worldly; she'd traveled abroad. She'd got herself a bachelor's degree in history and English from Newcomb College in New Orleans, where she graduated with honors. Mr. Van said he had never met a woman with a college degree since he'd been back in the United States.
He wondered how serious she was about Gerard Laborde from Big Bend.
The dance ended and so did the party. Mr. Van waited until the crowd thinned and when he reached the Pearce family who stood at the door to say their good nights, he took both of Marguerite's hands in his, looked her in the eye and said, "I'd like to see you again. May I ask your father for that occasion?" She seemed surprised and paused a moment before she responded.
"Yes, Mr. Van," she said. She looked directly into his eyes. She didn't blink. "I'd like that."
"It's Gordon, Miss Pearce. Not, Mister Van, okay? Don't make me feel old," he laughed. She couldn't hold back the smile that broke through. He told Maureen that Miss Marguerite's smile captured his heart. Mr. Van could be real charming when he wanted to really turn it on. That charm probably came through his blue eyes and wide grin and caught that girl off guard.
"Okay, Gordon," she said. He later learned that she was enchanted, too. When Mr. Van shook hands with Mr. Pearce he asked whether he would be welcomed as a suitor for Marguerite.
"I understand there may already be someone of interest, but if there are no commitments, I'd like to throw my hat in the ring," Mr. Van said.
"If my daughter has no reservations, I have none," Pearce said.
"Thank you, sir," Van said. "I should like to call on Wednesday late afternoon if that suits your schedule." Pearce looked at his wife who stood next to him and had overheard the conversation. She nodded gently.
"That will be fine, Van," Pearce said. They shook hands and Gordon Van walked through the front door, then turned back to see Marguerite watching him leave. He winked at her. She blushed and turned away. Van said he laughed as he entered his coach. "Let's go home, George." He shut the door, leaned back, and slept a shallow sleep on the ride to Jean Ville.
The courtship was sweet and quick. Mr. Van called on Marguerite every week for three months, then asked for her hand. He was smitten and it showed when he was at Shadowland. He whistled and hummed all day and Maureen said she'd catch him daydreaming. The slaves all got a big kick out of that.
The wedding was the social event of the year, held over at the newly built Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Moreauville, which had replaced St. Paul's in Hydropolis. It was a mini-cathedral and had been filled with flowers and candles for the wedding. It was the first wedding held at Sacred Heart, one of two Catholic churches in Toussaint Parish. The other one was in Mansura, five miles south of Jean Ville, only three miles from Shadowland, but it was too small for the wedding, so the Peace family and friends traveled eighteen miles from Evergreen to the magnificent church in Moreauville.
Mr. William was there, and he told George that the pews were stuffed with friends and family and the bridesmaids dressed in pink gowns that Mrs. Pearce called “dusty rose.” Mr. William got a big kick out of that. He said the bride walked through an archway of lilies and hydrangeas and was like a fairy queen in her white, lace gown that dusted the new aisle.
Maureen and Mr. William helped Mr. Van plan the honeymoon in New Orleans, which included a riverboat cruise to South Padre Island, Texas, with a side trip to Galveston. Two weeks later, the bride and groom took a train to Mansura from New Orleans where George met them with the buggy. George said that Mr. Van and Miss Marguerite, now Mrs. Van, kissed and touched each other constantly on the long trip home, as if they knew that once life began for real, they could never recapture their innocent love and affection. Maureen told my granny about a time just after the Vans got home from their honeymoon.
Mr. Van rang his bell after he met with Mr. William one evening and asked Lizzie to fetch Mrs. Van and said that lady “glided into the study, a vision in a pale-pink gown with a plunging neckline that revealed the tops of her ample bosoms.” Lizzie would laugh when she'd talk about Mrs. Van but she was scared to death of that woman. She said Mr. Gordon shut the door and reached for his wife. Lizzie listened at the door in the hall and could tell that he pulled his wife down on the sofa and they went at it. They was newlyweds, after all.
Lizzie said she heard the latch flip on the door to the hall where she was crouched with her ear against the jam and that Mr. Van and the Missus was panting and laughing.
"Our first night in our home, Mrs. Van," Lizzie heard Mr. Gordon say. Lizzie said they was making out in there and she could hear the whole thing. She heard Mr. Van say he never wanted a woman so bad as he wanted Miss Marguerite. And that the Missus just laughed at him. He said he could do this all day and night. Lizzie heard him say that the Missus was his muse, whatever that is, and that he was her prisoner. He told her he liked it that way. Then it was quiet for a while and Lizzie was about to walk away when they both screamed out, then they screams was muffled like they had put they hands over each other's mouths. Next thing, Lizzie say, they was laughing. She heard the Missus say she needed to get herself straightened up 'cause he messed her legs and such.
"We're newly married," Mr. Gordon said. "We are expected to have these moments."
"I can't face anyone with my thighs stuck together and my petticoats wet with your… well, you know." They both laughed. "And, I hope this is not because we are newly married. I hope it will happen until we are old and grey."
"It will, my love," Mr. Gordon said, and Lizzie said she could tell they was kissing again.
"You are asking for trouble, Mr. Van," Miss Marguerite said, breathless.
"I hope so, Mrs. Van," he said, and it started over again.
Finally she heard Mr. Van axe the Missus what was for dinner and she said, no idea. Lizzie ran down the hall to the kitchen and told Miss Bessie that she thought the Vans was about to come to the dining room so Bessie got dinner hot and ready, but it was another hour and Bessie had to reheat that dinner two more times. She was fiery mad at Lizzie for not getting it right.
"Now Mrs. Van," Catfish would say and shake his head side-to-side. "She was something else, turned this plantation upside down for a while. She took on the jo
b of redecorating the plantation house while Mr. Gordon operated the business side.
"Everyone on the plantation knew Mr. Gordon Van was taken by his wife," Catfish said. "And when I say 'taken' I mean he was ate up with her. He was head over heels. He would agree to anything she wanted, and she wanted a lot."
I thought about how we would sit on Catfish’s back porch and he would tell me these stories, then nod off with his straw hat pulled down over his eyes, his feet pushing softly on the floor to move his rocker back and forth ever so slowly. I missed Catfish. I had Emalene, Joe, and Lilly, but no one could ever replace Catfish.
Or Rodney.
Part Two: 1975
Chapter Nine
***
Vietnam
After Rodney was drafted into the army, I read every newspaper article about the conflict in Vietnam with deep interest. The war itself had ended on January 23, 1973 with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, which called for a complete ceasefire and US troop withdrawal, taking place four days later. All US POWs were released and North Vietnam was allowed to retain the territories it had captured. President Thieu of South Vietnam was not happy with the agreement because he still had his own rebels, the Viet Cong, to contend with. As an enticement to sign the accord, President Nixon offered Thieu US airpower to enforce the peace terms and some army troops remained in the country.
The US elected Richard Nixon based on his campaign promise to end the war, but it dragged on for another four years. Between 1969 and 1973, more than 20,000 US soldiers were killed while a peace accord was negotiated at a snail’s pace. Finally, at its end, everyone breathed a sigh of relief as their fathers, husbands, and sons came home. There was a feeling that the end of the war was the beginning of a new world, and a new era of the country.
Christmas Eve 1974 was on a Tuesday, and Mr. Mobley let us off early that day. I went home to gather my gifts for Lilly, Emalene, and Joe, who had invited me to spend the night at their house so I could be with them when Lilly got up to see what Santa brought her the next morning. When I walked in the door of my apartment, the phone was ringing. I dropped my purse and keys on the table in the foyer and picked up the receiver on the kitchen wall.
"Hello!" I was breathless and unfocused.
"Susie, it's Rod." I couldn't talk. "Please don't hang up." The last time I'd heard his voice was in May, and he was the last person I thought would be calling me on Christmas Eve. "Are you there?" I opened my mouth but no sounds came out. "I hear you breathing so you must still be on the line." I slid to the floor and held the receiver so tight that my fingers began to tingle.
"Uh, yes. I'm here."
"I know it's a shock hearing from me. It took an Act of Congress to get your phone number from Marianne. Please don't be mad at her. I needed to be the one to tell you something important."
"Uh. Okay."
"Are you listening?"
"Yes. I'm here."
"I'm being shipped out… to Vietnam."
"Vietnam? I thought the war was over."
Rodney explained that he was being assigned to the embassy in Saigon, that there were still thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of Vietnamese sympathizers trying to fend off the North Vietnamese Army. He said they needed JAG personnel, which were lawyers in the Army who could decide the fate of defectors. He said that these military lawyers also try court-martials, advise commanders on military justice procedures, and deal with other legal problems.
"It's Christmas," I said.
"They don't care. There's a war going on over there and even though we pulled our troops out last year, we are still hoping to keep Ho Chi Minh and the communists out of South Vietnam. I learned a lot in training but I still have a lot more to learn." He was talking as though we'd been in touch all these months, like we talked every day and he was keeping me updated. I inhaled deeply and tried not to be angry. I settled for hearing his voice but knew that I now would have to spend more months trying to forget him all over again.
"I was hoping we could write to each other while I'm over there, Susie." He had a catch in his throat and he hesitated, gulped, and tried to speak but couldn't seem to push the words out. The silence between us was deafening, but I held onto it because, well, he was on the other end of the line and I could hear him breathing, and that mattered.
I felt alive for the first time in months.
"Okay, Rod." I couldn't say anything else. "We can."
"Will you send me your address?"
"I guess so, if you want me to."
"Susie…"
"Please don't say it, Rod. It will only make things harder."
"Okay. But you know."
"I'll write. And I'll pray for you."
"Thanks. I don't deserve it after what I've done to you."
"Please don't go there. We always knew…"
"Yeah. I guess." We didn't say goodbye. We didn't talk anymore. We just listened to each other breathe for the longest time and finally, I hung up because the urge to cry was so strong I couldn't hold back the tears any longer. I sat on the kitchen floor and sobbed. I'm not sure how long I sat there before the phone started ringing. I thought it was Rodney calling back so when I picked up the receiver I didn't say "Hello."
"Susie, are you there?" It was Emalene. "Susie?"
"Yes. I'm here, Emma."
"We're so worried about you. Are you still coming tonight?"
"What time is it?"
"Eleven."
"Oh, God. I'm so sorry. Something came up. I mean, something happened. Is it too late?"
"You can still come. Lilly is asleep but I know she would be glad to see you in the morning."
"I'm so sorry, Emma."
"Are you okay?"
"No, probably not, but I'll pull myself together."
Christmas morning was magical. Emalene and Joe's living room was awash in Christmas smells, sounds, and colors. They'd put the Christmas tree up the previous weekend and I'd helped them decorate it. Under the thick, fir branches were piles of beautifully wrapped gifts, mine among them. Next to the sofa was a new tricycle, a stuffed Winnie the Pooh about two feet high, and a miniature kitchen, complete with refrigerator, stove, sink, and cabinets. Lilly jumped up and down, clapped her hands, and ran from her mom to her dad, then to me, and hugged us. I sat on the floor near the tricycle and watched her move from toy to toy, draped in delight and surprise. It was a full hour before she settled down enough that we could open the gifts under the tree.
"We wanted to open these last night, Susie. We waited for you," Joe said. I could tell he was perturbed with me and I felt bad for ruining their plans, especially since they bent all their traditions to include me.
"I'm so sorry, Joe. I don't know what to say."
"It's okay," he said, but I could tell it wasn't okay. I had no excuse for forgetting Christmas Eve with this family who treated me like one of their own. I'd been selfish and had forgotten about everyone but me.
I watched Lilly tear paper off boxes and wondered how I had failed to put her first. I would have been a terrible mother, I thought in that moment. I was so grateful for Emalene and Joe, who had stood in for me and Rodney. We were two selfish people who couldn't see past our love for each other.
I opened a set of pink pajamas, a tube of Revlon lipstick in a mauve shade, a new wallet, and a large barrette for my hair. Emma and Joe seemed pleased with the new pressure cooker that was advertised as a time-saver for working families, the black leather belt Emma told me Joe needed, and the pair of fake pearl earrings for Emma. I knew about the little kitchen for Lilly so I'd bought her sets of pots and pans and dishes, and declared we'd have lots of choices when we played tea party. I also bought her a frilly nightgown and mittens with a matching knit cap that had a small beak, all in pink, of course.
Eventually, we sat at the table and Joe carved a golden turkey while Emma piled on mashed potatoes, dressing, and brussels sprouts. I thought of the dirty rice, pork roast, s
weet potatoes, and green bean casserole my Mom would be serving and almost got nostalgic, before I remembered I missed only the food and my siblings.
Lilly took a nap, and Joe picked up paper and boxes and burned everything in a barrel in the backyard while Emalene and I cleaned the kitchen and put the leftover food away.
"You want to tell me what happened?"
"What do you mean?" I couldn't look at her. I was wiping off the table.
"It's not like you to forget something as special as Christmas Eve. And I think I know you well enough to tell that you're preoccupied today."
"I'm so sorry, Emma. I was selfish. I didn't mean to forget. I let my emotions control me."
"What happened, Susie?"
"Rodney called."
"Humph. Well, then…"
"I know. That's what I'm trying to say. I shouldn't have let it get to me. I couldn't stop crying and I lost track of time; of everything."
"Anything you want to tell me about the conversation?"
"He's being shipped out."
"Shipped out?"
"Vietnam."
"Oh, Susie. I'm so sorry."
"I told him I'd write to him."
"Of course."
"I'm still sorry I got all tied up in my emotions and let the time slip. I feel like I ruined Christmas for everyone."
"We adjusted. It's fine."
"Yeah. I guess." But I knew it wasn't fine. I didn't feel any better about what I'd done.
*
Fighting in Vietnam continued in defiance of the peace agreement, so President Thieu publicly stated that the Paris Accord was no longer in effect. The situation worsened after the beginning of 1975. President Richard Nixon resigned due to the Watergate scandal. Then came the passage of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1974 by Congress, which cut off all military aid to Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. This opened the door for North Vietnam to attack, and Phuoc Long Province fell quickly, compelling the North to storm through the South and threaten Saigon.
Lilly Page 11
