by Ginny Dye
Robert shuddered as he remembered the long nights spent freezing in the trenches around Petersburg. He forced himself to smile. “The best thing about this Christmas is that we’re all together in a warm place.”
Rose stepped up beside Carrie and wrapped her arm around her waist. “Abby promised me last year that we would all be together for Christmas. I could hardly believe it, but she was right.”
Abby stepped up on the other side of Carrie. “One day you girls will realize I’m always right,” she said lightly. “Except for those rare times when I’m terribly wrong,” she added impishly.
Thomas frowned. “What? I believed you when you told me you’re always right. Do I need to reconsider my marriage vows?”
“Not if you expect to receive Christmas gifts,” Abby retorted. “They could be exchanged for a bag of coal at any time.”
Everyone laughed as they continued to watch the snow. Plans were made for the fun they would have in the morning when the sun came out on what they knew would be a winter wonderland.
******
Carrie was up early the next morning, already sitting by the fire when Rose walked down the stairs. She smiled and pulled the other chair close to hers. “This feels like the last Christmas we had together here,” she said when Rose settled next to her.
“Except we won’t have to worry about hiding all the missing slaves from your father, and Ike Adams won’t be showing up,” Rose reminded her. She thought back to how worried she had been when Moses and some of the other men rode off to stop Adams from meeting Carrie’s father and revealing their secret.
“We’ve been through so much,” Carrie said softly, reaching over to take Rose’s hand. She smiled when she looked down at her friend’s bulging stomach. “You shouldn’t have to wait much longer.”
Rose nodded. “I’m so glad you’re home. Polly assures me she is an excellent midwife, but I just couldn’t imagine having this baby without you.”
“And there was no way I was going to let you,” Carrie said firmly. “I missed little John being born. I wasn’t going to miss this one. My calculations say this one will arrive in the middle of January.”
Rose smiled, but there was a shadow in her eyes. “I see you looking around here like you’re compiling memories. You’re starting medical school soon, aren’t you?”
“In April,” Carrie told her, understanding when tears filled her best friend’s eyes. “I struggled with the decision for so long, Rose. I wanted to wait longer. I didn’t want to leave so soon. I will miss you so much.” She looked around the room glowing with warmth and holiday cheer. “I will miss everything so much,” she whispered. “But when I got there…”
“You knew it was where you belonged.”
“Yes,” Carrie admitted. She struggled to explain. “I met other women who are doctors. I met women who are changing history. I met strong women who have had the courage to do whatever it takes to make their dreams come true.” She paused. “I was afraid to say yes,” she confessed. “I almost didn’t, but then I saw your mama…” Her voice trailed off.
“And she told you there ain’t nothing wrong with your fear unless you let it stop you,” Rose said with a sigh. “She told you God has big things for you to do and that you gots to stare down them fears and go do what you gots to do.”
Carrie chuckled, tears filling her eyes as she nodded. “Yes.”
“I know you have to become a doctor, Carrie. I know it takes going to school to do that. But I’m not going to lie and say I won’t miss you every second,” she said fiercely. “I hate the war that kept us apart for so long, but I can’t hate your becoming a doctor.” She shook her head. “Maybe it’s just that you’re leaving first.”
Carrie looked deeply into her eyes, not needing Rose to tell her she wanted to go to college and become an educator. “It’s coming, Rose.”
“I believe you’re right,” Rose agreed as she stared into the flames. “I just wish I could see into the future and know when it will be.” Then she shook her head and laughed. “And if I had a crystal ball that lets me see into the future, I would probably be so terrified I would never get out of this chair.”
Abby walked in just as Rose was finishing her statement. “I think that is quite true. I’m grateful that life takes me one day at a time. Most of the time I think I can handle that much. Then there are the times I’m quite sure I can’t!” She looked between the two of them. “Carrie told you she’s starting medical school,” she guessed.
Rose nodded silently.
Abby settled into a chair. “You girls have something time and distance will never change,” she said gently. “Life pulling you apart now doesn’t change the fact that for most of your lives you grew side by side. Your roots will always be tangled. Your hearts will always be meshed. You will always know when the other is sad or happy. That bond carried you through four years of war when communication was impossible. Two years of medical school when you can visit and send letters will seem like nothing after what you’ve endured.”
Carrie smiled. “You’re so right, Abby.” She looked at Rose. “The last four years have made us afraid that every time we are apart it will be for a long, long time. But that’s not true. I’ll be back every chance I get. Robert is here. You are here. Moses is here. My family is here.”
“You’re right,” Rose finally said, tearing her eyes away from the flames. “But that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it,” she said defiantly.
“No,” Abby chuckled, “You certainly don’t have to be happy about it, but I’m looking forward to taking you and your two children to Philadelphia as soon as the little one is ready to travel. I’m thinking summer would be about right.”
******
Everyone had been banned from the parlor while Amber marshaled her troops to decorate the Christmas tree.
Suddenly she appeared. “I need you, Robert,” she said imperiously. “It’s very important.”
Robert hid his smile and nodded seriously. “Is there a problem?”
“Nothing that your long arms can’t take care of,” Amber said confidently. “Please come with me.”
Robert winked as he followed her obediently out of the room. Carrie smiled as memories of other Christmases floated through her mind. “I had Moses carry down all the boxes of ornaments,” she said, “but I do believe Amber gathered just as many from the woods. I haven’t seen what she and the children have created, but I know they carried in bags of acorns, pinecones, and dried flowers. I’m glad Moses cut such a huge tree.”
“I’m quite content to just sit here,” Rose said lazily, staring out the window at the bank of snow nestled up against the tree line. The flash of red cardinals and vibrant blue jays was the only color in the black and white scene spread out before her. “It made me tired just watching all of you play out there today. John and Simon are sound asleep already, though they made me promise to wake them up when the tree is finished.” She laid her hand on her stomach. “I loved watching the snow, but my little one and I are content to wait until next year to play in it.”
Abby smiled. “It’s been a very long time since I built a snowman. The streets of Philadelphia aren’t exactly conducive to playing in the snow.” She sighed with contentment. “I even made a snow angel!”
Amber raced into the room, her black eyes snapping with excitement. “It’s time!” she cried. “It’s time!” She danced in place, her pigtails bouncing on her shoulders.
Rose smiled and walked into the next room to wake John and Simon. They were still yawning when they walked out holding her hands, but their eyes were wide with excitement.
Robert appeared behind Amber and scooped her up onto his shoulders. “Lead the way, oh Mistress of Tree Decorating,” he said solemnly.
Amber giggled, holding her head high as they all created a processional into the parlor.
“Oh!” Carrie gasped, staring in wonder.
“Pretty!” John cried.
Simon stared up at it, his eyes w
ide with awe. “Christmas tree!”
The ten-foot-tall Christmas cedar was beautiful. The children had started by using everything in the attic to decorate the tree. It was dressed with cotton balls, gilded nuts and berries, paper garlands, colored pieces of glass, and white lace. But then Amber had taken it from beautiful to spectacular by adding tiny sculptures the children had created from pine cones and nuts. Swatches of pink, white, and blue dried flowers nestled in the branches. To finish it off, she had directed the placement of hundreds of tiny white candles that were gleaming and twinkling in the otherwise dark room.
Everyone stood silently, stunned by the simple beauty, and then they broke into loud clapping for the twenty children who had decorated the tree. They were lined up against the far wall, their faces split with smiles as everyone applauded their work.
Thomas reached up, plucked Amber off Robert’s shoulders, and whirled her in a slow waltz around the room before he brought her to a stop in front of the fireplace. “You, Miss Amber, have created the most beautiful Christmas tree I have ever seen.” He bowed to her deeply. “Thank you.”
Amber giggled, her eyes wide. “You’re welcome, Mr. Cromwell. I reckon you’ve given me the best home I ever had. I be real grateful. I ain’t had to be afraid for even one second since I been here. And I got all the people I love best right here around me.”
Thomas stooped down to look her in the eye. “I feel exactly the same way, Amber. I have all the people I love best right here around me.”
Carrie’s eyes filled with tears as she exchanged a long look with Rose. She knew both of them were feeling the warm love pulsating through the room, wrapping around them like a warm cocoon and transforming them from the inside out — preparing them for whatever was ahead.
Thomas stood and cleared his voice. “I believe it’s almost time for the dance down in the barn.”
Carrie looked at Rose and then back at her father. “Are you going?” Her father had never gone near one of the Christmas dances.
“Yes,” he said simply. “I won’t stay long because I don’t want to hamper anyone’s fun, but I do have an announcement I want to make.”
Carrie shook her head when Rose looked to her. She had no idea what her father was going to do, but one glance at the excited gleam in Abby’s eyes told her his wife certainly did. She was certain of it when Abby refused to look at either one of them.
“You folks go on down,” Sam said as he slipped into the room quietly. “I’ll put out all the candles on this very beautiful tree,” he said. “You did real good,” he told Amber proudly.
Amber beamed and skipped over to take Sam’s hand. “I’ll stay here and then go down to the dance with you, Sam.”
Sam shook his head. “Not this time, Amber,” he said lightly. “I believe I’ll be staying up here. I’m just going to look at this purty tree and rest a little while.”
Rose looked at him sharply. “You’ve never missed a Christmas dance, Sam!” she protested.
Sam smiled. “Why, that ain’t true, Miss Rose. This be the first Christmas dance in four years. These old bones just don’t want to go out in the cold tonight.” He kissed Rose on the cheek. “You go down and dance with that fine husband of yours. I’ll keep an eye on the boys in case they wake up.” He looked down at them. “If I don’t miss my guess, they’ll be asleep in the shake of a lamb’s tail.”
Rose tried to push down the uneasy feeling in her heart. He had spent more Christmas Eves dancing than she had living. She just didn’t want to admit how old he was getting. Sam had been her rock for her whole life.
Carrie pressed up against her side. “We’ll come back and check on him after my father makes his announcement.”
Rose nodded reluctantly. “And you really don’t know what your father is going to say?”
“No idea.” She looked up at Robert as he brought her coat. “Do you know what father is going to announce?”
“I haven’t a clue.”
Moses overheard the last of the conversation as he walked up. “I don’t know either,” he confessed, “but I sure am curious. Let’s get down there!”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Music was already swirling through the barn when they arrived. Banjos, fiddles, and harmonicas were beating out the spirituals that had sustained black people during their long years of bondage, and would continue to sustain them in the years ahead. The barn was bulging with families from the plantation and with friends they had invited to share the festivities. Matthew and Jeremy had already arrived and were deep in conversation.
Thomas stared around the barn when they walked in. “I had forgotten others would be here,” he said.
“Is that a problem?” Moses asked.
“Of course not! This is their home. They are free to invite others to join us. It’s just…”
“That you wanted to tell them in private,” Moses guessed. He could tell by the light in Thomas’s eyes that whatever he had to say was important.
“Yes.”
“Will it take long?”
“No more than a few minutes,” Thomas assured him. “Abby and I would like to tell them together.” He glanced at Carrie and Rose. “I would like both of you to join us.”
“I’ll gather them in Simon and June’s cabin,” Moses said promptly. “Just the men?”
“Yes. They can tell their families afterwards.”
Carrie and Rose were as curious as the men who had all gathered by the time Thomas and Abby opened the door and walked in. No one said a word while they walked to the front of the cabin next to the fireplace and gazed at everyone in the room.
Thomas cleared his throat. “I want to begin by saying thank you. If all of you in this room had not been willing to work for so little in the spring, I doubt Cromwell Plantation would have had a crop at all. Because you were willing, we have had a surprisingly good year — certainly better than other plantations in the area.”
Carrie watched as proud smiles lit the men’s faces. She knew how much their share of the profits had meant to them. She knew they all hoped to own their own land someday and were glad for a chance to earn the money for it.
“I’m aware our government made promises to the black population they are not going to keep,” Thomas continued. “Families that thought they would have land and a home of their own have discovered that is not true and will not be true.”
The men nodded somberly.
Thomas smiled. “I spent years in politics. I could make this long-winded, but I won’t.” His silver hair shone in the firelight as everyone chuckled. “There are ten families here on the plantation. Mrs. Cromwell and I have set aside four hundred acres on the north edge of the plantation. It will be divided into ten equal portions. Each of you will receive forty acres and enough lumber to build a house and a barn.” His gaze swept the room. “Though I sincerely hope all of you will continue to work for me for years to come, I want to make it clear this land is yours. You’ve worked hard and you’ve earned it.”
Shocked silence met his announcement. The only sound in the room was the crackle of the fire.
Thomas’s gaze swung to Moses. “I suggest you allot a number to each forty-acre plot and write them down on a strip of paper. Each man can pull a slip out of the bag in order to keep it completely fair.”
Moses’s eyes were as wide as everyone else’s as he nodded. Suddenly he found his voice and walked forward to grip Thomas’s hand firmly. “Thank you.” He paused. “I know I’ll think of more to say when the shock wears off, but thank you is enough for now.”
One by one, the men — some with tears in their eyes, and all with joy exploding on their faces — came up to shake his hand.
“Thank you, Mr. Cromwell.”
“Merry Christmas, sir.
“This means the world to me, Mr. Cromwell.”
Shock still hung in the air when Thomas smiled broadly, took Abby by the hand, and walked from the cabin. Everyone stared around the room until the reality of what had happene
d truly sank in.
Carrie laughed when the joy finally erupted. She didn’t know what was happening in the barn, but there was surely a lot of dancing happening in the cabin. She was so glad she was here to see it. The pride and love she felt for her father expanded her heart until she was afraid it might explode.
Moses grabbed Rose and swirled her around the room gently, his face almost splitting from his grin. “He couldn’t have given them a better Christmas present,” he said hoarsely, leaning down to speak into her ear.
“Indeed he couldn’t have,” Rose agreed happily, thrilled beyond measure that these men who had led such hard lives, and paid such a difficult price for freedom finally had something they could call their own.
Simon bowed to Carrie and spun her into a wild dance of celebration. Suddenly he broke away. “I have to go tell June!”
Within seconds all the men were heading toward the door. “We have to tell our wives,” they called back.
Moses, Rose, and Carrie followed them more slowly. They were almost at the dance barn when Abby appeared out of the shadows.
“Carrie!”
Carrie tensed, somehow knowing what she was going to say before she said it. “Sam?”
Abby nodded. “He was collapsed in the parlor when we got back.”
Carrie and Rose were running toward the house even before she finished her sentence. They knew Moses would make sure Abby got back safely.
Thomas had carried Sam into the downstairs bedroom when they arrived.
One look told Carrie he didn’t have long. She took his hand tenderly. “Hello, Sam.”
“Hello, Carrie girl,” Sam gasped, his breath labored. “I ain’t feelin’ so good.” He peered into her eyes. “You done always told me the truth, Carrie girl. I ain’t got long do I?”
“No,” Carrie said gently, grief making it difficult to talk. This gentle man had been part of her family for her whole life. He had protected her and kept her out of trouble. He had covered for her when she was doing something he knew her mother wouldn’t want her to do. His great heart had finally given out. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
