by G. F. Frost
“I know that my grandmamma loved Mrs. Marie, and she loved the doctor too. She said that he was a fine, fine gentleman. He didn’t work his laborers like slaves and he never talked mean to anybody. He tended to whites and blacks just the same. You know Mrs. Marie was from a fine Creole family herself. Grandmamma put me to bed every night as a child with stories of the doctor and Mrs. Marie. I still remember.”
Mrs. Purdue motioned for Amelia to come close, and she whispered into the child’s ear. Soon the girl returned with a cup of sassafras tea for Massey and her grandmother. Massey took a sip and nodded approvingly to the girl. The pretty, young girl smiled widely and sat down at her grandmother’s feet.
“Now let’s see.” Mrs. Purdue began again. “I remember Grandmamma telling me that Mrs. Marie had a child that died real soon after it was born. She said that Doctor Joseph tried everything in his power to save that baby, but it was breech and it was too weak to make it. Poor little thing lived about a month or so though. Mrs. Marie nearly died too, but he sent for another doctor from way up in Saint Louis or somewhere to come help him with her. Grandmamma said he paid the doctor a small fortune to stay at Lovesong for almost a month. He helped saved Mrs. Marie.
“Doctor Joseph never cared about anything in life more than Mrs. Marie. He loved her like no man ever loved a woman. He held her hand everywhere they walked, and he took her with him every time he went to see sick people, unless he thought it might be dangerous for her. Grandmamma said that the doctor would kiss her cheek and her hand every time he saw her. He would buy her the finest jewelry and dresses in New Orleans. He never left her side the whole month she was in bed when that baby boy died.
“Grandmamma said that she thought he couldn’t breathe without Mrs. Marie. She loved him back, too. I remember something about a locket that she wore. It had a piece of his hair and a picture of him in it. I never saw it though. I heard she wore it every day, every day until she died. Grandmamma said that Mrs. Marie had the prettiest voice. She had learned how to sing and play the piano in that fine school she went to in New Orleans. She would sing love songs to him every evening. You know that’s where your house got its name. On their honeymoon, Mrs. Marie started singing to him and she never stopped. She would sing for him every night. That’s why he built her a house and named it ‘Lovesong House.’ Yeah, they were so much in love. Grandmamma said that she didn’t believe she ever knew two people who loved each other so much.” Mrs. Purdue took a deep breath and a sip of tea as she paused.
Massey felt a chill as she listened to the tale. Her eyes never left Mrs. Purdue. She could hardly stand the silence. She wanted to know more. She sat near the edge of the rocker and set the cup of tea on the gray floorboards.
“What else, Mrs. Purdue?” Massey blurted.
“Hum, well, my momma worked for Miss Totti Duseau. At least that’s what we called her. She was Mister Joseph’s sister. Her real name was Tattienne, but we all called her Miss Totti. You know that rich white lady never married. Momma went in every day to cook for her, and I spent my whole summers there. I played in that big yard and climbed those old oak trees. Sometimes I would get a quarter for helping wash the clothes for a week. That’s funny, a whole weeks washing for a quarter. It sounds funny when I say it now, but back then, it bought a lot of candy. She was a kind lady too. She always patted me on the head and sat watching me play in the yard while she did her needlework. I think I still have a piece or two of Miss Totti’s needlework here somewhere. Momma said Miss Totti wasn’t all there sometimes. She would tell Momma her secrets. She said that she could hear singing in the night and she kept all the mirrors in the house covered or hid in the attic. My momma thought a lot of that lady though, and she must have thought a lot of my momma because she built this house for us just before she died. Her will gave Momma this land and the house too. Yeah, she was a good lady.” Mrs. Purdue took another breath before speaking again.
“What about Joseph and Marie, Mrs. Purdue? What happened to them?” Massey asked impatiently.
“Oh, well, there are so many stories about what happened to them, but Grandmamma knew the truth because she was there. She never told anyone but her family though, because she was scared. I didn’t know the truth about the doctor and Mrs. Marie until after my grandmamma died. My momma told me one day when she’d had a couple of toddies. Momma said that one of the men who worked on the Duseau’s land was a lowlife scoundrel. He was always messing around with bad men in New Orleans, and he’d take tools and stuff from the doctor’s barn. The doctor would threaten to let him go, but he never did.
“One evening the doctor sent for that old piece of white trash. That bad man had been trying to abuse a young mulatto girl from town. She was as pretty as a peach, and all the boys were after her, but she wasn’t old enough for courting. She came home from school one day all beat up and said it was that farm hand that worked for the doctor. She wasn’t ruined, but he’d tried. Momma said that Doctor Joseph was furious and gave a good sum of money and a job to the young girl’s daddy. Doctor Joseph, being the gentleman he was, would have never allowed anyone to dishonor a female, especially someone who worked for him. I think he was even more sensitive to the whole situation since Mrs. Marie was Creole. He probably saw a lot of his own wife in that pretty little girl. I don’t think it would have mattered anyway, he would never let that man get away with something so wrong.
“He planned to call in that sorry man and fire him, but when the farmhand found out, he went that night to Lovesong, and he’d been drinking heavy. He called the doctor out on the porch, and they started yelling at each other. When the doctor told that sorry man that he should hang him for hurting that girl, Momma said that the man pulled a gun and shot the kind doctor right there on the porch. Grandmamma and a doctor from New Orleans worked and worked to save Doctor Joseph, but infection took his life a few days later.
“Grandmamma told momma that nobody could calm Mrs. Marie down. She would not let go of him. She wouldn’t let them take him from the bed the night he died. After asking to be left alone with him, she took a sharp letter opener and cut her own wrists, both of them. She lay right down beside him, and when Grandmamma checked on her, she found her dead with him and the bedclothes soaked in Mrs. Marie’s blood. They buried them both on the same day in the cemetery at Lovesong. Grandmamma cried every time she talked to Momma about it, Momma said. Every important person from the South came to their funeral. They were respected by high people near and far.”
Massey sat on the edge of the rocker with her mouth slightly open. She had never imagined such a story. It was so tragic and sad. She imagined what Marie must have felt to lose a man like Joseph. Massey thought of Theo. She looked down at her note pad, and the page covered in scribbled writings. She hoped it could be deciphered when she got home.
“What happened to the monster that shot him?” Massey asked.
“Now Momma told me that nothing ever happened to him. He jumped on a boat in New Orleans and went up north somewhere. Jenkins who worked for Miss Totti told my momma that he knew the man had come back though when he saw him in the cemetery years later kicking down some headstones. When Jenkins ran out there and recognized him, he chased him down the driveway. For some reason, Miss Totti never let anyone go back out there to fix those stones. I guess they are a mess by now. Momma was always scared that crazy man would come back and kill Miss Totti or her one day, but he wound up dead in the river.” Mrs. Purdue was tapping her foot and rocking back and forth as she spoke.
“Now let’s look in my box,” Mrs. Purdue said as she pointed to the worn cardboard box at the end of the room.
Massey got up from her chair and brought the large heavy box to Mrs. Purdue’s feet. Massey sat down on the floor and unfolded the lids. Her hand was numb from the note taking, but she was enthralled with it all. Mrs. Purdue picked up the chain around her neck and pulled the attached glasses to her eyes.
On the top of the stack of items was a group of pictures. They were blac
k and white pictures of people working in the cotton fields, and some were of children standing in front of Lovesong House. They were dressed in long white lacy dresses and black hose. The little boys wore knickers and stockings and caps.
“You see that swing on the big oak tree?” Mrs. Purdue pointed out a wood and rope swing to the left of the picture. Massey nodded.
“I used to swing and swing on that,” Mrs. Purdue said with a smile.
She slowly pulled the pictures into her lap and one by one named all the people she could remember.
Underneath the pictures lay a folded shawl. It was crocheted and spotted with age. Massey pulled it from the box and carefully unfolded it. She held it in front of her and handed it to Mrs. Purdue. She ran her wrinkled hands across the wrap and closed her eyes.
“I can see Momma wearing this,” she said. “Miss Totti gave it to Momma for her birthday. She made it with her own hands just for her, and my momma only wore it for special days, and sometimes on Sunday.” Mrs. Purdue opened her eyes.
Massey smiled and rubbed her hand gently across the shawl. She could almost feel the warm heart of Miss Totti as she touched it. She thought of the long hours of work it took for her to make the gift. She looked back into the big box. There were other pieces of crochet work lying in the bottom, doilies and collars of the most intricate lace and needlework. Most of them had yellowed through the years. She handed each one to Mrs. Purdue and listened as she told the story of them all.
“Now, there is supposed to be a safe somewhere in your house with more things in it. Momma said that it was locked because it held things belonging to Doctor Joseph and Mrs. Marie, and Miss Totti never wanted them disturbed, but she didn’t tell Momma where they were before she died. I never saw a safe, but Momma did. She didn’t see what was in it, but she saw it when she was doing the spring cleaning one year. Now, if you could find that, you might have a real treasure chest on your hands,” Mrs. Purdue said laughingly.
“I don’t know how to thank you for all the information you’ve given me. It sounds like you had and have a wonderful family, and I think the Duseaus were lucky to have your mother and grandmother in their homes,” Massey said gratefully.
“Now, I don’t remember much more right now, but if I think of something, I’ll get Amelia to give you a call on the telephone, dear.” Mrs. Purdue smiled at Massey.
Massey thanked the small, lovely old lady again and reached down to shake her hand. Mrs. Purdue lifted both her arms toward Massey and motioned her to come nearer. Massey reached down and let the old lady give her a hug. Massey wrapped her arms around her frail little back and patted her. She had made a friend.
She took the teacups into the small kitchen and thanked Amelia for everything. The small girl smiled and stuck out her hand. Massey reached down and shook it. She smiled.
“She’s not my grandmother, she’s my great grandmother,” Amelia said in a bragging manner.
“Well, that’s even better, isn’t it? I know she appreciates what great care you take of her,” Massey replied as she patted the girl on the top of the head. Just as she did it, she thought of Totti and Mrs. Purdue. It was a sweet thought.
Chapter Six
Massey began her drive home, and she thought of all Mrs. Purdue had told her. She pictured Mrs. Purdue’s mother and grandmother, Miss Totti, Joseph and Marie. She smiled about the swing that Mrs. Purdue remembered. Massey thought that she would have liked the Duseaus. They seemed like a nice family. They seemed like they were kind and virtuous. It was heartbreaking that Joseph and Marie died so tragically and so young and that Totti never married and lived in that huge home all alone. Somehow, Massey was beginning to feel a connection to the Duseaus, and to Lovesong House.
She made it just in time to get a good dinner going before Theo came home. She knew he would ask her about her day with Mrs. Purdue, but she also knew that he wouldn’t ask her too much. He would listen to what she had to say and then he would be satisfied. He would never push for more. Sometimes Massey wished he would. She was sure he had his reasons though.
As predicted, Theo wanted to know about her day, but he didn’t ask any more questions. He listened carefully as Massey went over her notes. He commented on the deaths of Joseph and Marie and on the story of the tombstones, but he asked no questions. After Massey told him all she could recall from her day with Mrs. Purdue, Theo looked at her and said one word, “Interesting.” Then, he reached for the remote, and Massey knew her talk with Theo was over.
After her evening soak in the tub, Massey climbed onto the bed with the notebook. She carefully read over her notes from the day. She added things that she had not written down at the time, and she circled areas that interested her most. As she read over the words, she stopped on the notes about the safe. She wondered if it was true, if there could possibly be a safe on the property that had belonged to Joseph and Marie. She shook her head thinking that someone would have found and opened such a safe decades ago. They may have even discarded the contents as if they were trash. The thought made her sad. Gathering up the pages, Massey went downstairs. Theo was sitting in his favorite spot on the sofa. His head was propped lazily to the right and his eyes were closed. He was breathing deeply and slowly.
Massey tiptoed up to him and kissed him on the nose. He opened his eyes and smiled at her. Pulling her into his lap like a little child, he began to kiss her forehead, nose, and cheeks over and over again until she laughed hysterically. Theo belted out a loud, deep laugh and pushed her onto her feet.
“That’ll teach you to kiss my nose!” he said as he swatted her bottom.
Massey stuck her bottom out again as if she wanted another swat and dropped down on the sofa beside him.
“Baby, have you seen anything that looks like a safe around here, maybe in the barn or the cellar?” Massey asked.
Theo looked at her.
“There are a few trunks and a lot of crates out in the barn that I haven’t looked in, and some old cabinets in the cellar, but I haven’t run across anything that looks like a safe, hon. Sorry.” He patted her leg in his sweet way.
Massey looked down at Theo’s hands. They were large and strong. They didn’t look like the hands of a man who worked in an office every day. They had that groomed, but tough look to them. They showed that he liked to work with his hands on his days off. They looked like the hands of a man. Massey loved his hands. She put her hand on top of his and patted him back. He smiled and pushed his shoulder next to hers.
She didn’t want to go on a search of the attic or cellar that night. She had taken her bath and knew it would be a dusty and dirty search. She also knew she’d be chomping at the bit to look for it in the morning though. As the TV shouted the local news at them, Massey sat beside her husband on the soft sofa and imagined what could be in the safe. Theo placed his hand on Massey thigh and rubbed slowly. She knew what that meant; it was time for bed, but not just sleep, sex.
Massey loved sex with Theo. He was gentle and slow and sweet with her. He could always convince her, no matter how tired she was. He had a way with his caresses and kisses that melted her every time. Theo was one of those men who made a woman feel loved and precious, even after all those years. Massey laid her head on his shoulder, then took his hand and led him upstairs, just the way he wanted her to.
Theo never needed a sleeping pill. He could sleep through a hurricane, and after sex, he was asleep before Massey could fluff her pillow. Tonight was no different. She could hear his slow, deep breathing in the darkness, and she knew he was out. Why couldn’t she fall asleep that quickly? She tossed and turned trying to find the right position. She flipped the pillow over to the cooler side and buried her head in it. Mrs. Purdue’s stories were still swimming through her mind. Eventually, she dozed off.
* * * *
The dreams were stranger than ever that night. No veil, but the two dark figures floated slowly towards her, silently coming closer as she tried to move and speak. She could do neither. This night, howeve
r, they came much closer. Massey could see the figures. It was Joseph and Marie. They were holding hands and looking forward with their eyes fixed on hers. They never spoke, but as they reached her, they stopped. There was a very melancholy feeling about their expressions. No smiles, no words. Joseph placed his arm around Marie and she laid her head on his shoulder as a tear rolled down her pale cheek. Their eyes were dark and empty, but Marie was young and beautiful, her dark hair curling around her forehead. She stretched an arm forward, reaching for Massey, but Massey could not move her arm to reach for Marie’s.
She awoke. Instead of being covered in sweat, she trembled with a cold chill throughout her body. Massey felt a tear running down her cheek and reached to wipe it away. She looked towards the mirror. Nothing. Turning on her side, she moved closer to Theo and pushed herself against his warm body. She was trembling. She closed her eyes and slept without another dream that night.
* * * *
Massey had thrown Theo’s lunch together and put it in his lunch bag before she even realized what she was doing. She didn’t put much time or thought into it that day, a ham sandwich, an apple, and some nuts, done. She handed the bag to Theo and kissed him. He slapped her bottom and gave her wink. He smelled so good. She was glad that his secretary was an older woman, or she thought she may have to make a stand. She laughed at the thought of it.
No makeup today, just sweats, sneakers, and hair up in a ponytail. There was a lot to do. She had every trunk, cabinet, and drawer in the barn, attic, and cellar to explore. No exceptions. If there were a safe on the property, Massey knew that she would do all she could to find it. She knew the odds were against her. It didn’t matter though. Sometimes the hunt is more interesting than the treasure. She was going to give it her all.
