Dear wife, I have done what I can for Virginia, and now I turn to my God—and wait for you.
Alex
Andrea opened a second envelope and removed a beautiful gold locket engraved with the letter H. With trembling hands, she opened the clasp and gasped at the image of Alex in uniform, his skin bronzed, his eyes penetrating hers from beneath the glass, just as she had remembered them. On the opposite side was a lock of one of his brown curls. She turned the locket over and ran her finger across the engraved words:
To Andrea from her husband
You are all to me
1865
Although Andrea had thought they had said all they could say to one another, Alex’s words from beyond the grave moved her. Now, when her grief turned inconsolable, as she knew it would, there would forever be his words on paper to comfort her, and his loving keepsake to soothe her.
Mattie knocked on the door and entered. “Is you all right, Mistis?” She knelt down beside Andrea and threw an arm across her shoulders.
“Yes, Mattie.” Andrea held the letter and locket close to her heart and whispered a thank you to her husband. “I think I’m going to be all right.”
Chapter 33
“Those we love never truly leave us. There are things that death cannot touch.”
– Jack Thorne
Eight months later
Andrea stared at the baby in her arms, his face so perfect and innocent it overwhelmed her with emotion. Before she could blink the moisture in her eyes away, a tear slid down her cheek and landed on the infant’s forehead.
“Now why you gotta do that?” Mattie took her thumb and blotted away the moisture. “You gonna go drownin’ the poor babe.”
“I can’t help it,” Andrea said, her gaze wandering over the baby in amazement. “It’s like a Christmas miracle, a bundle of hope. He’s so beautiful.”
“The most beautiful baby evah bawn.” Mattie nodded her head in agreement.
“And an impatient one,” Andrea commented as she laid her head back on the pillow. The baby had come a month earlier than expected, but holding the infant in her arms was the best Christmas present she’d ever received.
Closing her eyes, Andrea’s thoughts drifted back to the other life-changing event that had occurred in December—the tragic death of Daniel after the Battle of Fredericksburg.
“A life extinguished and a new one born on the same day.” She looked up at Mattie. “Alex seemed to know. How—”
“Now, don’t go trying to figure out the mystifications of the Almighty.” Mattie scolded her as she bent down and stared at the tiny face. “Little Daniel be a blessing to us all.” Then she quickly wiped a tear from her own eye. “He a little bit of stardust blown off the hand of God. A link between the angles and earth.”
The two studied the baby in silence then—as they’d been doing just about every minute since the minute he’d been born.
“Is he awake?” The door burst open and Izzy bounded through, joining the other two in staring wide-eyed at the baby. “He looking at me,” she said excitedly, leaning down even closer.
“Of course, he looking at you.” Mattie exhaled with vexation. “He wondering who making all that clamoration.”
“He so tiny.” Izzie reached out and tentatively touched the small fingers that were curled into a fist.
“You was tiny too,” Mammie said. “Big as a loaf of bread you was.”
“Really?” Izzie stood up straight. “I’s taller than you now.”
“Dat’s right. You sprouted right up. Just like this baby boy gonna do.”
Izzie leaned down again with a serious expression. “He just like a little Ol’ Him.” She looked up, her dark eyes more glossy now. “So small, but he fill my heart right up to the top.”
Daniel yawned then and closed his eyes, as if the conversation bored him.
“Awww. He going to sleep.” Izzie’s face dropped with disappointment.
“Dat what little ones do,” Mattie said. “They eat and sleep.” She held out her arms to take the infant. “You best get some rest too, Miz Andrea.”
Andrea brought the baby up close for a last squeeze. “I hope I’m up to the task of being a good Mother.” She looked at Mattie as she placed the baby in her waiting arms. “There is so much to teach him.”
“You only gotta worry about two things,” Mattie said, rocking the infant gently. “You got to give him roots. And you got to give him wings.”
After Mattie gently laid the infant in the bassinet, she and Izzie stood over him in silence, both smiling wistfully for a few long minutes, before tiptoeing toward the door.
“Thank you, Mattie,” Andrea said when they reached the threshold.
Mattie stopped and turned around. “For what?”
“Everything.” Andrea leaned against the pillows with a joyful smile on her face. “You told me once that if I kept pushing through the storm, there’d be a light on the other side. Do you remember?”
Mattie nodded. “Yes. I ‘member.” She looked toward the cradle where the little boy lay sleeping. “Now you knows what I was talking about.”
“Yes, now I know.”
The door clicked shut, and Andrea leaned back, saying a prayer of thanks for her many blessings.
Thank you dear Lord. You gave me nothing that I asked for…yet everything I could hope for.
Sweeping her gaze around the room, Andrea sensed Alex’s smiling presence more than ever.
And so she fell asleep with a heart overflowing, dreaming of the baby that filled her with wonder and joy, and imagining the man he would someday become.
***
I hope you enjoyed the Shades of Gray Trilogy!
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If you prefer a happily-ever-after ending, try NOBLE CAUSE. It’s the original Shades of Gray with a different ending.
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About the Author
Jessica James’ novels are inspired by her love of the land, her belief in everlasting love, and her curiosity about the past.
She is a four-time winner of the John Esten Cooke Award for Southern Fiction, and has won more than a dozen other literary awards, including a Readers’ Favorite International Book Award and a Gold Medal from the Military Writers Society of America. Her novels have been used in schools and are available in hundreds of libraries including Harvard and the U.S. Naval Academy.
Jessica loves to write about the historical places she visits on her blog Past Lane Travels. When not on the road, she can be found in her own 200-year-old house in Gettysburg that has a new Sycamore tree in the yard.
OTHER BOOKS BY JESSICA JAMES
WOMEN’S FICTION/HISTORICAL
LACEWOOD
AWARD-WINNING SUSPENSE
PRESIDENTIAL ADVANTAGE
DEADLINE (Book 1 Phantom Force Tactical)
FINE LINE (Book 2 Phantom Force Tactical)
FRONT LINE (Book 3 Phantom Force Tactical)
MEANT TO BE
AWARD-WINNING HISTORICAL FICTION:
DUTY BOUND (Vol 1)
HONOR BOUND (Vol 2)
GLORY BOUND (Vol 3)
COMPLETE SHADES OF GRAY TRILOGY (Vols 1-3)
THE LION
OF THE SOUTH
NOBLE CAUSE (Book 1 Heroes Through History)
(An alternative ending to Shades of Gray)
ABOVE AND BEYOND (Book 2 Heroes Through History)
LIBERTY AND DESTINY (Book 3 Heroes Through History)
Glory Bound (Shades of Gray Serial Civil War Trilogy Book 3) Page 16
