Chapter 36

Monday, April 3, 1848

Ed: Day 15 of the Boston to St Joseph trip

The area we were traveling through had some hills, but the traveling was easy. It was also easy for us to talk.

"Ed, how did you end up with four wives, with one of them being a black woman?" Tina asked.

"Cassie looked at me and asked, "Can I tell it, Ed?"

"Go ahead, love."

"Ed and Sam were together first. They were just traveling around, exploring the country. I had been having trouble with my father's second wife, so I had run away from home. I was living in a park when Sam and Ed found me."

"They saved you?"

"Sam got me to talk to her. I was afraid of Ed."

Tina giggled.

"They bought me a big meal and asked if I'd like to come back to the inn they were staying in so I could clean up. After I was clean, Sam asked me if I'd like to go with them."

"To go with them as Ed's wife?"

"No, to go with them as a friend. It took me a while to convince Sam she should share Ed with me and even longer to convince Ed."

"That explains you and Sam. What about Kate and the other girl?

Cassie explained to Tina about us buying Delia and her family at the slave auction, then she told her the story of how we met Kate. Tina cracked up about Kate being sitting on the side of the road, naked.

"And it's funny you're thinking it is?" Kate asked. "Let me strip you naked and leave you out for the world to see and see if you're thinking it's funny."

"I guess it'd just depend on who was seeing me," Tina said. "Obviously you didn't mind for Ed to see you naked."

"Oh, but I did. I was angry with the darling man for staring at me."

"Were you really staring at her, Ed?" Tina asked.

"As I told Kate, I'd look at a beautiful rose even if I had a garden full of them at home," I said.

"Kate is beautiful," Tina said.

"Why, thank you, Tina," Kate said.

.oO~Oo. We were maybe twenty miles inland from the lake, but were paralleling it today, heading southwest. I figured it'd take about a week before we left Lake Erie behind us completely. We made good time today, and I figured we made around thirty-three miles.

Sam: Day 29 of the Dayton to St Joseph trip

Well, it's back on the road again today. We crossed one good sized creek right after we left this morning and we ended up crossing three more before the day was over. The hardest part of crossing large creeks is getting the wagons across. The cattle take them in stride.

We kept the traveling down to around sixteen miles today. We found a nice place to camp with plenty of grass and water for the cattle. I hadn't been paying much attention to Delia all day. She helped me out with Becky as she always did, but she didn't have much to say.

While we were watching Mina and Maddy get supper ready for the family, I noticed that Delia looked like she had lost her best friend. I had Becky in the carrier on my chest, so I moved over beside Delia. I put my arm around her and asked, "Is something bothering you, honey?"

Delia looked me out of eyes that were brimming with tears. "I just miss Ed and Cassie and Kate," she said.

"I miss them too, honey. I'd say it's only about three or four more weeks until we see them." I hugged her to me and she laid her head on my shoulder.

"I know I'm just being a big baby, but I miss them so bad. I love all three of them."

"They love us too, you know. I'm sure that they're missing us just as badly as we're missing them."

"Do you really think so?" Delia asked.

"I know so. We're all going to be one happy family when they get back."

.oO~Oo. I hadn't had sex of any kind since about a week before Becky was born. Later on, in our tent, we got Becky to sleep, then I told Delia to get undressed. She looked at me a little strangely, because we had been sleeping with our clothes on most of the time.

When we were both naked, I pulled Delia in and gave her a tender kiss. The tender kiss quickly heated up and we started caressing each other's breasts.

Before either one of us quite realized what we were doing, we were locked in a classic 69. I lost count of how many orgasms we had before we collapsed in each other's arms.

Tuesday, April 4, 1848

Ed: Day 16 of the Boston to St Joseph trip

We stayed in a nice inn last night, but tonight we were going to be forced to camp out. To make things even worse, it started raining about the middle of the afternoon. It wasn't a heavy rain, just a light drizzle. It was enough to soak us through though and enough to get any firewood we might have gathered thoroughly wet.

We were a miserable bunch when we finally gave up on finding a place to stay for the night. We pitched our tent and crawled inside. "Off with the clothes," Cassie said and started removing hers. Kate and I weren't far behind her.

Tina just stared at us for several seconds, then she started undressing too. When everyone was naked, we cuddled under our blankets and chewed on some jerky. It wasn't much of a supper, but it would have to suffice.

Our clothes were wet and we had no way of drying them. The only saving grace was that we did have dry clothes we could put on in the morning.

We talked for quite a while. So far, Tina had been holding up, but I knew she had to let her grief out. I thought maybe that if she talked about what happened it would help.

"Tina, did you know any of the men who killed your mom and dad?" I asked.

"I knew all of them. At least I'd seen all of them at one time or another. I only knew one of their names though. He was Hiram Bostwick. They called him Hi though."

"Did they live around you guys?"

"No, the only place I ever saw them was in town. That was about ten miles away. You'd see them hanging out around the feed store."

"Which one shot your mom and dad?"

"I don't know his name, but I'll recognize him if I ever see him again." Tina started sobbing. It broke my heart, but I knew she had to get it out.

Tina was between Kate and Cassie and both of my wonderful wives cuddled her close. I reached across Kate and took Tina's hand. I thought she was going to break my fingers, she squeezed it so hard.

When she started to calm down, Tina started talking. "My mother was a wonderful woman. She taught me so much as I was growing up. She taught me to speak Shawnee and how to use sign language. She was a smart woman and she taught me mathematics. She spoke perfect English and she had beautiful penmanship.

"Dad taught me to speak French. We had some really strange conversations around the dinner table. We'd switch from English to Shawnee to French without breaking. Mom also taught me about honesty and integrity. Dad told me to never make a promise unless I was willing to pay whatever it cost to keep that promise.

"My Shawnee grandpa taught me how to hunt and fish. He taught me how to make snares and how to make bows and arrows. He told me of the Shawnee beliefs and traditions. I never had a formal education. I never attended school, but my family taught me about life and living. They taught me how to love."

"It sounds like you had a wonderful family, Tina," I said.

"Yes and now they're all gone," she started sobbing again. My wives held her until she went to sleep.

Sam: Day 30 of the Dayton to St Joseph trip

Delia and I did a lot of grinning at each other during breakfast. Once we got on the road, Delia and I were the only ones in the coach. Delia was driving and I was sitting on the driver's seat beside her, feeding Becky.

"Delia, when we were messing around last night, did I look okay down there?" I asked.

"You looked just fine, Sam. Are you worried you'd look different because of having Becky?"

"Yeah. I want Ed to still want me when he gets back."

"Well, you look, feel, and taste just fine," Delia grinned. "When I put my finger up inside you, you felt just as tight as you always have."

I know I had to be blushing when I said, "I never thought I'd be having a conversation like this with another woman."

"I'll bet you never thought you'd call another woman your wife either, did you?" Delia giggled.

"No," I had to agree with her. "I did mess around with another girl before I met Ed. It was fun, but it was never as intense as it is with you and Cassie and Kate."

"When you're a slave, you see all kinds of things. Mama always tried to keep Dalia and me close, but we'd sneak out and watch other people. We'd seen two women go at it and we'd seen two men go at it. I never thought I'd ever want to do something like that."

.oO~Oo. We crossed two more large streams today and camped on the banks of a third. It sure seems like there are a lot of streams in this part of Missouri. We made around seventeen miles for the day. We could be moving a lot faster without hurting the cattle, but since Ed won't be there for a while, we're not in any hurry.

Wednesday, April 5, 1848

Ed: Day 17 of the Boston to St Joseph trip

Tina seemed to be feeling better when we woke up this morning. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. The firewood was still wet though, so we had a cold breakfast before we got on the road. At least we had dry clothes.

We spread out our wet clothes over the tops of the packs our mules were carrying and tied them on. It was a little before noon when we reached a north-south road. At the crossroads was a tavern. We went inside and had a very nice lunch. The hot stew we ate really warmed us up.

Tina talked all morning about her parents and about her grandfather. When we stopped for a hot lunch at the tavern, she continued talking. Sometime during the afternoon, she talked herself out. "Thank you," she said at last. "I guess I really needed that. I feel like I've put them to rest now."

"I expect you did, Tina. There are stages of grief we go through. I don't remember what they are, but I know they start out with denial and end with acceptance. Now that you've reached the final stage, things will start to get better," I said.

"Ed, I know the God the white man believes in says that vengeance belongs to Him, not to me, but if I ever see any of the four men who killed my parents, I'll kill them on the spot."

"Tina, if you ever see any of the men who killed your parents, our whole family will help you. We really liked your parents. No one should be killed because of their race."