War's End,1865
Copyright© 2026 by happyhugo
Chapter 3
“You mean our children are well, don’t you? I only saw Maybelline once when I was home last. I understand the Lord saw fit to bless our Union with the creation of another child at that time?”
“He did, James. We need at least one more child to make us a happy family. I wouldn’t be adverse if it is two or more.”
“Muriel, I intend to live out my life here with you and our children at our side.” Tears came gushing forth, and I swept my wife into my arms. Maybelleene was staring up at us, puzzled at our action. I leaned down and gathered the child into our arms.
“You made mama cry.”
“No, he didn’t, dear, these are tears of happiness.”
“Let me down, I don’t like you.” I was at a loss, having never been around children before. I set the child down.
“That’s okay, Jim, she isn’t used to you, and maybe a little jealous seeing me kissing you. She’s a good girl and will come to love you as much as I do. Pick up James and see what he will do.”
The boy was waving his arms around, wanting to be picked up. I did, and he gave me a slobbery kiss before I kissed him. I hugged him, wondering at it all. I may not have created him, but I was going to father him. He was close to my namesake, after all.
Muriel looked at the babysitter. “Prissy, please take the children and feed them. It is past their dinner time.”
I wondered. “Where is Gaylord?”
“He has been watching from the open window where you couldn’t see him.”
“Am I safe here?”
“Yes. Tante Marie is with him.”
“Tell me about Tante Marie?”
“Jim, Maybelle sent her to help me when I was in trouble. She has taken over as Gaylord’s charge de affairs. Sometimes he isn’t aware. You won’t even have to talk to Gaylord if you don’t wish to. He may ignore you anyway. In fact, he never mentions you. Tante explains it as him thinking you were killed in the war. I’m not sure what her plans are because she hasn’t said. They make a strange pair, but she has been a boon to me, though, and has Gaylord totally in her control.”
“Will they be at the table tonight?”
“Yes, there will be just the four of us.”
“Good, I hope it is soon. I only had a sandwich when I first reached Maybelle.”
“It is ready to be served. I’ll have the cook announce it to Tante. You do want Gaylord at the table, don’t you?”
“Yes.” The intimate dining room was set for four. The children were in the next room when we sat down. We could hear them, and they sounded happy. “Muriel, I think the children should dine with us from now on. It will give me a chance to know them, and I am their father.”
“Jim, tomorrow night they will be with us.”
It was said before Gaylord and Tante Marie came in. I was introduced to Tante Marie, and she came to me and took my hand. For a few seconds, it was much like holding any other woman’s hand. Suddenly, I wanted to yank my hand back. I had never had this feeling before.
I felt I had to counter it, for I believed this woman was evil, and I had to look away from hers. I turned her hand over as if to kiss her palm. It would have been a sign of obeisance and far from what I wished to convey. Instead, I kissed her wrist, and warmth returned to her hand. I looked into her eyes, and now they held warmth again.
“Mr. Giffords, I’m pleased to meet you. I must ask if my work here is nearly finished. I want to leave within two days. Will Mrs. Prentice be here before I leave?”
“Yes, she will be here on the morrow, in the morning, I believe.”
“Very good.”
Gaylord was already sitting, but seemed not to notice what was going on. He hadn’t even acknowledged me, and I was his brother. “Tante Marie, what of my brother?”
“I shall urge him to leave with me if you wish. I can imagine how you feel about him. I know I’ve told him there are prospects in Haiti for someone like him, and he has shown interest. I will inform you in the morning. As this will be the last night or two here, may he sleep in the bed in his apartment?”
‘Of course. An observation: my brother acts somewhat deranged.”
“Yes, I know. I think Gaylord will recover if he is to leave. This has been an unhappy place for him. He was terribly disappointed not to receive a command during the war. Not only did he believe you were killed in the war, but he became fixated on your wife. She rejected his advances as improper. If you examine your wife’s wrists and ankles, you will see where she was at one time restrained. In no way was your wife responsible for the tragedies that occurred.”
“I have never doubted my wife. It has been a shock to me to learn of this recently.”
“Very wise of you. Gaylord, tuck your napkin in so you don’t get soup on your blouse.”
“Yes, Tante, of course.”
I kept my eye on Gaylord during the meal. He handled the meal well, just never entering the conversation, which there was little of. I questioned Tante Marie about her life. She seemed willing to share. “My mother was a gypsy and moved around Europe every so often. She met my father in Flanders, who was sailing under the Dutch flag. He was a sea captain and quite taken with my mother. She came aboard and traveled with him for several months.
“He sailed into Haiti, and my mother said she couldn’t go on as the sea made her too sick, being pregnant like she was. He promised to return for her after her child was born. She never saw him again. Two months later, she bore a sickly child. It only lived a short time.
“I never knew who my father was. Needless to say, it wasn’t a good life through my younger years. Finally, Mother made her way to a plantation and bound herself to the owner, working as a field hand.
“One day, while walking into the village, two older women met us. One stopped and put her hands on my head. “This child is special! May I have her? I’ll educate her, and she will find her place in life. She will become more than a field hand.”
“My mother asked if she could see me, and of course she could.”
“How old were you?”
“I was ten. I was soon dressed nicely and went to school with other children. In the evening, though, this woman would take me down to the outskirts of the Plantation, and I would be taught a different kind of education. It consisted of spells, potions, and how to control people with my mind. Much of it was hypnosis and autosuggestions, and I have had some success with these teachings. Maybe it was one education working against another. Or maybe it was just me believing there was something special about me.”
“So what happened to you? You are much older now?”
“Oh, I concentrated on the formal part of my education and stopped practicing the other. It really is tapping into the dark side of a person’s mind. I do go back to it occasionally.”
“Do you have children?”
“No, although I have a husband. It is the longest I have been away from him. We needed the money, so when I chanced on someone I heard was out of control, I contacted Mrs. Prentice. I have made no promises to her, but I feel I have helped your wife not be so afraid of her brother-in-law. I will take Gaylord with me if you wish because I can feel you do hate him, and I am somewhat fond of him.”
I felt this was an easy answer to Gaylord living here, in my face. I hesitated before agreeing with Tante. “You won’t just take him someplace and leave him in strange surroundings, will you? I don’t think I hate him that much. What I see of him, I don’t think he could cope with the misery of leaving the home he was born in.”
“No. I won’t do that. That’s a promise.”
“Fine, we can talk it over when Maybelle arrives in the morning. “Have a good evening.”
I turned to Muriel, “May we bring the children in. I want to get to know them.”
“Of course, I believe you are going to make a good father. I am so relieved you are here, and I can turn the Plantation’s operations over to you. I will be easier in my mind now that Gaylord will be gone.”
“Do you have any special plans for the Plantation now that I will be in charge?”
“No, I just want it to return to normal as fast as possible.”
“Maybelle is bringing an attorney with her tomorrow. He will make suggestions so we will have control without Gaylord’s interference for the rest of his life. I wish Gaylord had left before I arrived. I don’t really know what to think of this Tante Marie, either. I don’t trust her very much.”
“Don’t worry about either Gaylord or Tante tonight. Let’s get the kids and cuddle with them until it is time to put them to bed. Then it will be our time. Jim, I’ve missed you so. I’m glad Gaylord is way in the other end of the house. I’m not really happy about him being in the house at all. It has been almost two years since Maybelle banished him from the house, and he had to sleep in the quarters.”
“Come then, we will get the kids.” The kids were nervous when I lay down with Muriel. I tickled Maybelleene, and Jim Jr. thought this was great fun. They soon were tired, and Prissy came and got Maybelleene. I carried Jim into the children’s room. I kissed my daughter, and she smiled, but didn’t speak. Jim was wet and maybe more, so I handed him to Prissy.
I entered our apartment. Muriel had disrobed, standing there waiting for me. I said, “Just a few minutes, Sweetheart, I’ll freshen up.” When I came back, she lay on the bed in full display. Foreplay was minimal, and our coming together didn’t last long. Then we snuggled with me spooned against her.
“Oh, I love this, it has been so long. We are going to have a wonderful life from now on. I just know it.”
I didn’t go to sleep right away. I could hear noises coming from the colored quarters across the yard. I guess Corporal Jack and the men were royally entertained. Much different than at night and troops in the field.”
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