by Caryl McAdoo
It would be a long trip to Tennessee, probably as far as from home to Jefferson, or even farther. Then certainly farther from there back home again. Such a long journey. Should she even drag the children all that way if he refused straight up to be saved?
What if her father had passed or moved back east? What if he hated her and slammed his door in her face? He’d never answered any of her letters. But then, had he actually received them? Ten years was a long time. If he wasn’t there, the journey would be for nothing. She’d wanted to go visit, but the years had slipped by.
Maybe she should talk to Henry about all that. Would he still be willing to risk going? There’d be no need if he wouldn’t repent and accept Christ. Oh, she wished she could just go to sleep. She closed her eyes and tried not to think anymore.
She could send a letter now. From Jefferson! It’d be more likely to get there, but how long might that take? If she wrote and told her daddy about her life in Texas and how much she loved Henry, she could ask him to forgive her and please bless this marriage.
But what if she never got an answer back? She didn’t want to wait forever to marry Henry. But the vow could not be broken as long as her father lived to give his blessing. But also, it didn’t hinge only on the blessing. She’d made the vow, and she’d keep it, but blessing or not, she couldn’t marry an unbeliever. She would never take such a chance with Henry’s life.
She rolled onto her back and stared at the bottom of the wagon.
Why borrow trouble? She would speak with Henry and see what he said. She didn’t want to mull all the negative what-ifs. She only wanted to think of the man she loved and how wonderful he was and how he loved her, too—enough to ask her to be his wife. He chose to forgive her ill behavior and stubborn streak and see through all that ugliness to her heart.
Isn’t that what the Lord did?
He always knew her heart—the only salve to her wounded spirit when she failed to hold her temper. Only God could manage Henry seeing through all her faults, and she thanked Him profusely as she finally drifted off.
The next morning, she woke with a smile and the aroma of brewing coffee. Today was the day! As had become her custom, she rolled from under the wagon and pulled herself up using the wheel. Henry’s team stood waiting, already harnessed, and it looked like he was helping Levi get her mules ready. The gunsmith’s wife had her own Dutch oven already sitting out of the coals and ham in her frying pan.
“Good morning.” Sue pushed a stray curl back into her braid, retrieved her cup, and then made her way to the fire. “The coffee smells wonderful.”
“Rough night?” The woman she’d thought a gypsy looked up from the cook fire.
“Yes, ma’am. Had trouble getting to sleep. Too much on my mind.”
Henry walked up finishing a biscuit, then nodded toward her wagon. “Best we take your team up the hill first.”
“Good morning.” She placed her hand on his face and smiled, looking into those deep eyes she loved so much. “You in a big hurry today?”
He laughed. “Sue Baylor, you’ve been in a hurry ever since we left the Red River Valley. I mean to get you to Jefferson today.” He faced Levi. “You keep the other one down here, get ’em all set to go. Once we get your aunt Sue to the top, ease them on out.”
That suited her fine. She liked being in the lead anyway.
Levi grabbed another biscuit with ham. “Yes, sir.” He turned to the cook. “Thank you, ma’am. That porker’s delicious.”
She smiled and nodded. “My pleasure.”
Becky crawled out from under the wagon, came straight over to Henry, and tugged on his shirt. “Don’t forget it’s my turn to ride with you.” She rubbed her eyes, then grinned. “I want to hear all about it.”
“How could I forget my best little miss?” He tousled her hair. “You should get something to eat. We’re leaving pretty quick. I’m going with your mama right now, but I’ll be back. You stay with Levi.”
“Yes, sir.”
The visiting lady grinned. “Your children certainly are polite. Here, darlin’.” The woman handed Becky a biscuit with a slice of ham in it.
“Thank you very much, ma’am.”
Sue accepted a biscuit with ham, too, smiling at the gunsmith’s wife. “You are such a blessing. I pray our paths will cross again one day, and I can repay your kindness.” In love with life, she hugged the woman, then climbed aboard. “Ready when you are.”
Henry jumped up beside her. “Then let’s see if we can pull this grade.”
“Hey, now!” She waved the reins against the animals’ backs and clucked. They pawed the ground and threw themselves into moving the load. Wood creaked; leather stretched; and metal rings and chains clanged. Sue waved good-bye to the family staying behind and left the last camp before Jefferson.
She prayed for God’s favor and blessings, with Henry’s salvation heavy on her heart.
As they neared the base of the hill, he jumped off. “Don’t stop; let them take it at their own pace.” The wagon passed him.
As soon as the team hit the incline, the mules slowed, but they never quit moving along, higher and higher. The closer to the top, the more all four strained, but they kept pulling. “Come on, Dex; come on, Mil. Y’all can do it. Get up, Daisy! Good mules, almost there.” The wagon slowed to a crawl nearing the top. It barely moved at all, but the wheels kept turning.
She couldn’t believe how easy it was going, with four mules to the wagon, thanks to Henry. She was so, so blessed!
Then they were there. At the top. With a long, easy descent in front of her, she reined the mules in, set the brake, and jumped down. “We did it!”
Henry joined her, breathing hard. “Yes, we did.”
“Henry!” She put her hand on his chest. “Were you pushing the whole way?”
“No, just the last bit, when it looked like they might stop.” He turned and took a step down the hill back toward camp.
She grabbed his hand. They were alone. She should say something, tell him she couldn’t marry an unbeliever. “Wait, catch your breath.”
“I’m fine.” He looked north. Levi waved. The other wagon pulled out of camp. “Best beat him to the bottom.”
She watched from the hill’s crest, hoping the second wagon would make it as easily as hers. And just the same, the team pulled it straight to the top without any problems. “Yay! We made it! God is good!”
The second hill before reaching Jefferson wasn’t as bad as the first and didn’t pose one bit of trouble. Before noon, she drove the team up under a shade tree and set the brake. She kept wanting to tell someone Henry had proposed; she’d been tempted to say something to Levi all day, but decided that she should tell Henry about her reservations first, get him saved, and then break the good news to the children together.
She couldn’t stop smiling though.
While the men grained and watered the animals, she and Becky prepared dinner, bringing out Henry’s honey for the biscuits. After all, a celebration was in order, even though a small stretch of trace remained to navigate. It was the last stretch and all downhill now.
Then she was there!
Coming into Jefferson was like entering another world. People milled everywhere. She asked directions and made her way to the wharf, with Henry following behind. She immediately spotted the Howletts in line next to a big wooden dock. She set the brake, jumped down, and ran to them.
“Are they still buying?”
“Sue!” Shannan opened her arms wide. “What are you doing here? I thought you sold your lint to Littlejohn.”
Sue hugged her good friend tight. “He turned out to be a weasel and a thief, but that’s a long story. What’s going on? I heard they were paying six cents a pound!”
“Nothing is happening. We’ve been waiting all morning, but haven’t had our turn yet. They’re supposedly counting now. The steamboat captain will only let them carry sixteen hundred bales, and they think they might already be at their limit.”
“Oh, no. What will y’all do?” Sue shook her head and looked up and down the wharf at all those still waiting. “Y’all? Oh, dear, I meant what will we all do!”
“Trust the Lord, I say.”
Sue smiled. That’s the way her friend was and one of the reasons she loved her so. Sue faced her and took both her hands. “I’m in such a tither, Shannan. I’ve got good and bad news. I need you to pray in agreement.”
“What is it, Sue?”
“I’ve fallen in love again, and he loves me. Henry Buckmeyer has asked me to marry him, and I was so excited that I said yes. Please pray with me that God will draw him to salvation.”
Shannan moved Sue’s hands together and drew them to her chest, looking her in the eyes. “Susannah, are you sure? I loved his mother, but—”
“I know, I know. Everything you’ve heard about him isn’t true, though, except that he isn’t saved. I’ve prayed, and I know he’s going to accept the Lord. I just know he is. God is the one Who brought us together—I hired him to help me get my cotton here. Henry’s no layabout, I can tell you that without reservation. Those old biddies back home are nothing but gossipmongers, and their scuttlebutt, nothing but lies.”
“But, dear one, you must not marry so long as he’s a heathen. You do know that, right? Not to unequally yoke yourself? Assure me that you are not thinking of going through with any marriage until he is saved.”
Sue dropped her chin to her chest and stared at the dock’s boards. Yes, she knew; of course, she knew. Raising her gaze to meet her friend’s eyes, she smiled. “Yes and no. I won’t wed until Henry’s a born-again, bona fide, baptized follower of Christ.” Tears welled and blurred her vision. “But I love him so, Shannan, and he loves me—and Becky, too. She wants him to be the daddy she’s prayed for. I wasn’t looking for a husband. Will you pray?”
Her friend pulled her into a big tight hug and whispered in her ear, “I will, and I’m so glad for you. God can do all things. Praise the Lord; but, Sue, what about—”
“As soon as we sell the cotton, he’s planning on going to Tennessee so he can ask my father, but I don’t know if we even should if he isn’t saved. I’ve got to tell him, but the time hasn’t been right. He thinks Daddy’s blessing is the only thing standing in the way.”
Her friend hugged her again. “Well it’s true, you do; I’ll pray for the perfect time and for his heart to be receptive. I’m so happy for you, and don’t worry. If God is in this, it will all work out. If He isn’t, you don’t want it to anyway.”
Sue could always count on her friend for wise counsel. She confirmed that Sue should proceed only by the book, the Good Book. She and Shannan chatted, exchanging stories until a man with a foghorn appeared.
He spoke from the steamboat’s high deck. “Folks, thank you for waiting. I regret to inform you all that the boat is indeed full, and we cannot take on even one more bale of your fine cotton. If you care to wait, we’ll return in nine days, Lord willing.”
* * *
NINE DAYS? Henry didn’t want to wait nine hours, much less nine days. He locked the brake and then jumped down. “Stay with the wagon, Blue Dog.” He glanced at the hound, winked at Rebecca, then trotted to the other wagon. Sue stood beside it with her chin on her chest and tears rolling down her cheeks. Levi looked lost.
Henry lightly touched her hand. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.”
She looked at him. “And why not? Didn’t you hear what the man said? Nine days! We can’t stay here for nine days! That would cost a small fortune!”
“And we won’t. Listen, we passed a livery a ways back, and I noticed on a side street after that, there’s a nice looking boardinghouse.” He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out several coins. “You and Levi take the teams and stable them, then get us two rooms. This should cover it.”
She held her hands out, palms facing him. “I can’t. You’ve already spent too much.”
He reached and took her hand, then placed the money in it and wrapped her fingers shut. “Take it. See to the teams, pay extra to put the wagons inside, and get us two rooms.”
She nodded. “What are you going to be doing?”
“If I can, I’m going to fix this, but I’m not sure I can. Please, do as I ask. And leave Blue with the wagons. I’ll be back directly.”
* * *
SUE WATCHED AS HE SPOKE with both the men from Sulphur Fork who hadn’t sold their cotton, then hurried down the street. She lost him when he turned a corner.
“Come on, son; you heard him. Let’s see to the mules.” Levi hopped down and went to the second wagon.
Sue remembered passing the livery and traced her way straight back to it. While Becky played with a Shetland pony penned at the end of the hall, Sue negotiated stalls for the eight mules and a roof for the wagons, but insisted she and Levi would see to graining them. After all, she had her own oats Johnny on the spot. She did buy hay for them and had Levi toss it in each stall after getting the mules grained and watered.
Becky gave Blue Dog a big hug. “You’re staying here, but we’ll be back, so don’t worry. Just guard the honey, Blue!” He settled down with his chin on his paw. “Aw, look, Mama. He thinks he’s done something wrong.” She hugged the hound again and kissed his face. “You’re a good dog, and I love you! We’ll be back, I promise.”
He barked twice.
Sue left with a bag that carried a change of clothes for her and Becky, then turned back and got Levi a clean shirt. From directions the livery boy gave, she made her way to the boardinghouse, a lovely brand-new two-story with a large porch all the way across the front and even down the side. When Sue walked inside, the plush furnishings and richness brought memories of her childhood home flooding back, except everything was so new and fresh.
“Mama, it’s so beautiful.”
Arriving at the front desk, Sue almost fainted at hearing what two rooms would cost. She paid from the coin Henry had given her but was not happy about it. She didn’t fuss though; it seemed all her spunk had leaked right out after she heard the buyers would be leaving without her cotton. She opened the first room.
Levi walked through the door and took the place in. “Now, Aunt Sue, I’ll be staying in here with Mister Henry. I’m getting too old to bunk with the womenfolk.” He stretched himself out to his full height, now well above hers. “I figured on heading on back to the livery to keep an eye on things there. Matter of fact, I may even spend the night with the wagons. Wouldn’t want our cotton to disappear—or Mister Henry’s honey either.”
“Well, I suppose you’re old enough to do that if you want.” She wrapped her arms around him. Not only was he taller than she was, but thicker than she remembered—becoming a man. “And here, I brought your shirt thinking you might want to bathe while you had the chance. Promise to stay out of trouble.”
“Won’t have any problems, Auntie.”
His calling her auntie like he did when he was a little boy always made her go soft inside. She couldn’t love the boy more if she’d birthed him. Where had all the years gone? He’d soon be a man and already stood a head taller than her. She and Becky went to the second room, and first rattle out of the box, her energetic daughter went to bouncing on the bed.
“Rebecca Ruth! We do not treat other people’s furniture that way!” She surveyed the accommodations. She could certainly put the washbowl to good use. “Now come here, and let me get some of that grime off you.”
The child obediently hurried to her. “I’m sorry. I thought this was our room now.”
Sue poured water from the ceramic pitcher provided into its bowl. “Only for tonight. Mister Henry was kind enough to pay the owner of the room so that we could all have a bed to sleep in. Isn’t he wonderful?”
“Yes, he sure is. So, Mama, you got anything to tell me about?”
What a little fisher she was. But Sue wanted to speak with Henry before saying anything. “No, nothing except I’ve never seen you so dirty!” She stripped Becky to her slip and bloomers, then went
to work with a washcloth and a perfumed bar of soap the boardinghouse had provided.
The girl wrinkled up her nose and sniffed. “Mmmm. It smells so good. Could you wash my hair with the soap, too, Mama?”
“That sounds like an excellent idea.” Sue smiled and had her daughter hang her head over the bowl. Pouring more water to wet her hair, she lathered it, and the whole room smelled sweet, like lavender and honeysuckle. After a good rinsing, she wrapped a towel around her daughter’s head, rubbed it good all over until Becky giggled with glee, then started combing out the tangles.
“I can’t wait for Mister Daddy to see me all clean and smelling so nice.”
“Maybe I’ll clean up as well.” After she braided her daughter’s hair, she went to refreshing herself. Oh, it felt so wonderful to wash her face and arms, be clean again.
Becky fell fast asleep on the bed, so Sue used the time to wash all over. That invigorated her so that she decided to wash her hair, too. She redid her braid, then twisted and pinned it into a bun at the nape of her neck. She put on her change of clothes, pinched her cheeks, then sat by the window and waited for Henry to come and for her daughter to wake up. So many folks scurried here and there along the dusty streets of the river town, but she never caught a glimpse of her betrothed.
Once Becky woke up, she and Sue ate a bite in the dining room, then went to sit on the front porch in side-by-side rocking chairs and passed the time watching for Henry. Like her daughter, Sue couldn’t wait for him to see her all clean and smelling so sweet. But wait she did. She waited and waited the afternoon away.
What could be keeping him? She wanted Henry back with her. Had he run into trouble? Or someone he knew? Maybe an old flame? Or perhaps he’d met a new one. He’d said he’d be back directly. She huffed and rocked faster, tapping her foot on the floor and getting more upset by the minute.
The daylight sunk into the horizon, leaving a pink, purple, and golden sunset that would usually take her breath away, but she was too irritated to give it proper attention. Not much after night’s cloak fell, the streets darkened, mottled with dim lights cast from coal oil lanterns that sat inside nearby windows.
