Cordia took a deep breath and tried to decide how to explain her feelings about marriage to this man who’d been her friend her entire life. “Jaris, I’m not saying ‘no.’ I’m just saying, I know you, and I know if there is any chance that you can go enlist in an army and fight for what you think is right that you will do it. You’ll do it in a heartbeat, regardless of what I think. And what if we had children? What if we had little ones left at home while you were off fighting? I just don’t think it’s a good idea right now.”
He spun to face her. “Cordia, what if we did?” he asked, his arms flailing out in exasperation. “That would be wonderful. You and your family could raise them for a little while. Heaven knows my mama would be there, more than you could ever wish to see her, at the idea of grandchildren. I’m not saying that if there is a war that I won’t go fight. But even if there is—and that’s a big if, in my opinion—it’s bound to be a short war. Everyone is saying so.”
She could not help but throw her head back in a sarcastic “Ha!” before continuing. “Yes, everyone is saying so. Everyone who wants good men such as yourself to enlist for the duration. This is an issue thousands of years old. I do not rightly think that it will be decided in a battle or two. It hasn’t been decided by old men deliberating and discussing it for over two hundred years. It sure won’t be decided by young men dying much faster.” The passion in her voice and the glint in her eye made him realize that this was something she had spent many hours thinking about. It was amazing for him to consider that a woman would put so much thought into issues like war and slavery. But then, Cordia Pike was no usual woman. And that is why he finally decided to let her have her way.
“All right, Cordia,” he began. “Just what do you believe we should do then?”
She had spun around at the end of her speech so violently she was shocked to hear him speaking so calmly. She put her parasol down, point resting on the ground, and turned to face him. She cleared her throat. “Well, I think that it would be in our best interest to wait until after the war. If there is a war,” she added, before he could even open his mouth to throw that idea in. “If they do get all of this decided peacefully, and South Carolina does not secede—which it will,” she commented quietly, more to herself, looking at the ground. She looked back up at him, “Then, we can plan an earlier wedding. But if there is a war--and I don’t see how there is anyway there won’t be—and you enlist, then I propose we wait until your safe return before we carry out our wedding plans.” She was looking him straight in the eye now and she could see that he was beginning to accept the fact that, though not under his most choice circumstances, she had, in fact, agreed to be his wife.
Jaris nodded. “Yes, ma’am,” he agreed, a smile beginning to grow across his face. After all, when you were asking someone like Cordia Pike—and there weren’t too many women like Cordia Pike in this world—to be your wife, you had better reckon on something not going directly as planned.
“Do not call me ma’am,” she said, eyes open wide, only half kidding. This was a little game they had been playing for about six years, ever since the day that Jaris realized he was infatuated with Cordia and wanted to marry her. He would call her ma’am because he knew that it irritated her. Eventually, he knew that she would hit him, which had been about the only way that Cordia Pike was likely to touch a member of the opposite sex. He would take what he could get.
He smiled at her and she could not help but smile back. “Oh, I almost forgot,” he said, digging around in the pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a small gold band with a very tiny diamond adornment. Cordia gasped. She had forgotten all about a ring. Likewise, she was surprised to see it included an actual diamond. “This belonged to my great-grandmother, Helen Teal Adams. My ma said it should belong to you because you are just as strikingly beautiful and just as prone to fits of reason as any woman she has ever known since.” Cordia’s eyebrows rose at these last comments. His mother thought that she was difficult. “Cordia,” he continued. “You shouldn’t be surprised that you have a reputation as a strong-willed woman. My ma meant it as a compliment. She will be extremely happy to hear that you have accepted my proposal.” He thought, but did not admit out loud, that his family would have a hard time accepting an indefinite date for a wedding. Cordia wasn’t so sure that calling her strong-willed was a compliment, but she stuck her hand out for him to take and he slipped the ring delicately onto her finger.
“Now it is official,” he said, proudly. “Someday, we will be married.”
She laughed and actually reached over and put her arms around him. “Jaris Adams, you are something else.”
“So are you, ma’am,” he said, turning to walk back toward her house where his horse was waiting.
“Don’t call me ma’am!”
“Sorry,” he started, but couldn’t help but add, “ma’am.”
Cordia balled up her fist and punched him in the side. He pretended that it hurt and doubled over in pain. “Help, my wife-to-be is beating me!” She laughed and pulled him back up.
“Stop it! People are going to start looking at us,” she said quietly.
Jaris spun in a circle. There was no one in sight. “There ain’t no one around, Miss Cordia. But don’t you already know that people can’t help but look at you, the prettiest girl in town.”
Cordia actually felt herself blushing. She’d never had a young man say anything quite like that to her before.
“But, I reckon you had better be careful about hitting me,” he continued. “You know, once you are my wife, I will be able to hit you with a stick, so long as it’s no wider than my thumb.” She knew he was teasing, and when he started to laugh that confirmed it. Still, the very idea that he would have control over her once they were married was a little alarming to her. He saw her eyes widen and stopped, turning her around to face him. “Cordia,” he said, no longer laughing and with a very serious look in his eyes, “I can promise you that I will love you until the day I die.”
She looked deeper into his eyes. Yes, she could see that. He would love her always, until the day he died. She did not know if she could say the same. “I know you will,” she admitted. And then, Jaris Adams did something he had wanted to do since he was 14 years old. He leaned over and kissed Miss Cordia Pike right on the lips.
April 1861Will Tucker was startled. He sat up in bed quickly; sure that he had heard something. Not quite sure what it was. And then he heard it again. It sounded like the thump of horses’ hooves moving through the woods just in front of the Tucker cabin. His brother, Nolan, must have heard the noise, too. Will could see him standing at the window, his rifle in one hand. Will sat up and pulled on his pants and boots as quickly as possible. In the moonlight, he could see that Nolan was already dressed. His sister, Julia, was still asleep on her cot across the room.“What is it?” he whispered, crossing to the window to join his brother.“Not sure,” Nolan replied. “Thought I heard branches breaking, hooves. Maybe three or four horses. Don’t see anything though.” Just then, Julia began to stir. Will glanced back over to see his sister pulling on her robe.“What’s going on?” she whispe
Will was not interested in listening to the dirt-covered bandit’s pleas. “Yeah, I had a brother once,” he said, his face void of all emotion. Then, the marauder, seeming to understand his fate was sealed, began to weep, his face turning from an expression of hope, a pleading look of distress, to wide-eyed terror, as Will raised his newly reloaded gun and blew the scoundrel’s brain matter all over the trees behind him.The horse whinnied loudly and tried to buck the lifeless rider from its back. Finally, the corpse’s grip slipped from the reins, and he fell to the ground, what was left of his head hitting first. The horse slowly began to trot out of the woods, stunned, but aware of his freedom. Will Tucker turned his borrowed horse around and headed back to the cabin he used to call home.As he entered the yard, a realization of all that had just taken place began to creep at the corners of his consciousness. He pushed it aside, knowing he
On April 13, 1861, Jaris Adams turned 21 years old, just a few days after Fort Sumter fell to the Confederacy. Of course, word of what had happened so far east traveled slowly and it was unclear to the residents of Lamar just exactly what had happened. Still, the townsfolk knew there would be implications that would affect all of them.It was a cool spring Saturday afternoon, and his parents had invited over many neighbors for a birthday celebration out in the yard beside their house. A fine hog was roasting, his mother bustling around readying all of the other fixin’s. His brothers were setting up tables and chairs and carrying on like young men do.As of December of 1860, seven Southern states had seceded from the Union, South Carolina being the first to do so. Texas was the latest, seceding in February. Since then, there had been lots of speculation as to whether or not the so-called Border States would follow in the Deep South’s footsteps. Missouri and
Within a few minutes, several more carriages, wagons, and horses had shown up at the Adams Farm, and many of the women were helping Margaret set the food out and make sure everything was in place, including Cordia and her best friend, Susannah. The men were sitting around, several smoking pipes, sharing news about their families. Finally, someone dared to bring up the topic of Fort Sumter and even secession. It seemed that, just like the county in general, those attending the party were split down the middle, fifty-fifty, half for Missouri leaving, half against. Jaris and Carey, who had arrived shortly after Cordia, looked at each other, wondering if this would be a good idea to announce their enlistments. Carey’s mother had died when he was born, but his father, an older, more rigid man, was present, and was sure to support his son in his decision to go off to fight. Just as Jaris began to open his mouth, his father stood up, looking over his shoulder toward the road.
Cordia’s eyes widened in horror as she thought about what Jaris’s cousins had been through. Their brother had been killed? How awful! Though she didn’t know these people, the thought of what they must have just gone through was inconceivable to her. She dropped the bucket of water, a small portion of its contents splashing her leg, and ran to Jaris, who still looked a little stunned himself. “My goodness!” she exclaimed, grabbing her betrothed by both hands. “How terrible. What happened?”“I’m not exactly sure,” he replied. “Will doesn’t seem to want to talk about it, and Julia is too out of sorts. They lived ten or fifteen miles from the town of Nevada, no other towns close by, just some neighbors here and there. Pretty close to the Kansas border.”“We are pretty close to the Kansas border,” Cordia exclaimed.Carey actually laughed at her, causing her to turn her head and
Finally, the finishing touches were done, and Margaret picked up the triangle, to ceremoniously call everyone to eat, though it wasn’t really necessary as they were all gathered relatively close together. The men made their way over and Rev. Jacobson, who had come along with his wife, said a short prayer, not only blessing Jaris on this occasion, but praying for the welfare of his extended family and for his beautiful young wife-to-be, which caught Cordia by surprise. She opened her eyes and looked at Jaris, who just happened to be looking at her. She blushed and closed her eyes again, feeling like a little kid who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, though in all fairness, he had his eyes open, too.As the others dug into the bountiful feast that the Adams family had spread before them, Cordia wandered off toward the horse corral, too much on her mind to eat just now. Jaris’s horse, a big appaloosa named Sam, came over to greet her, and she absent-mi
Will had cleaned himself up, as had Julia. He had even considered going outside and being sociable, as he was sure that is what Nolan would expect him to do. But he was not in any mood for introductions, nor was he ready to tell anyone about the ordeal they had just been through. His aunt had brought him in a plate of food—which he had devoured. Julia’s sat untouched, waiting for her. He was hoping that she would sleep awhile. She could use the rest.Eventually, he had wandered outside, hoping the fresh air would clear his head a little. But he did not dare venture into the crowd of strangers. It was hard enough for him to talk to a group of people he didn’t know, and the events of the day would make doing so even more difficult. He stood on the porch for a few minutes, looking around the farm. His uncle had some good land here and had done a fine job of clearing it and turning it into food and profit. He sat down on the porch rail, looking out beyond the fa
Jaris came running over to help Cordia into the wagon seat as she walked away from her friend Susannah outside of the church. “I guess you know we won’t be seeing you for dinner today,” he said as he took her hand and helped her up.She did not know that. She looked at him with a blank stare, expecting him to continue, which he did. “My ma wants us to have a meal with my cousins, just the family today. Kind of a remembrance.”Cordia nodded. This must be the first time in nearly two years that their two families had not met for dinner on Sunday. “I see,” she stated. “Well, Frieda was going to gather up some dresses of mine for your cousin. Julia, is it?” He nodded, and she continued. “I was thinking perhaps I would bring them by later, maybe see if there is anything that I can do for her.”“Cordia, you’re one of the sweetest people I ever did meet,” he said, still clutching her ha