Chapter 26: Stance

“Hope, come here! I have some wonderful news!”

“Yes, love?” Hope asks, coming towards her husband. Owen grins.

“My last issue did better than anyone could have hoped.”

“That’s wonderful, dear,” Hope says, still not fully understanding.

“Remember how last month, they passed the Compromise of 1850, and I wrote that article on it?”

“Yes... Owen, what is this about?”

“I sold thousands more copies than usual. We might not be rich, but we do have enough money for a little excursion.”

“Oh!” Hope exclaims. “Oh, yes, that is wonderful.”

“I was thinking,” Owen says. “Maybe... we could travel to the South together. See the rolling hills. I've heard that they have very temperate weather, even in the winter.”

“What about the children?”

“I’ve made arrangements with Mother, Diana, to take care of them. It’s just for the weekend. Besides, there’s a lot happening in the South right now. Even if we find the landscape unfulfilling, I’m sure I will have some inspiration for my next article. Maybe it will do even better than this one.”

Hope smiles.

“Well, you’ve really thought everything out,” she says with a light laugh. “I’m sure we will have fun. And I’m sure the children will be happy to spend a few days with Grandma Diana.”

“See? Exactly. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve gotten all the details figured out.”

“Then this weekend,” Hope says. “This weekend, tomorrow, we’ll go and enjoy ourselves.”

“Of course, m’lady,” Owen says, smiling and offering her his hand.

From another room, the kids listen in. Of course, the parents had no idea. Samuel and Maria have gotten very good at spying. Maria is better, but Samuel says that girls can’t be spies. To which Maria says “yet.”

They are, of course, excited to see their grandma. Like their father, Owen, she always smells like ink and paper, and to them that is the best smell in the world. The smell of home. The smell of safety.

Besides, Grandma Diana always gives them presents. It’ll be almost like an early Christmas!

****

“You be good to your grandma,” Hope says, kissing Maria and Samuel on the forehead.

“We will,” the children chirp in unison.

Diana smiles.

“I’m not so sure I believe you two,” she says. “You’re always up to something.”

“We’ll be good! We promise!”

“Oh alright,” says Diana. She takes their hands, trying to ignore the slight trembling as she does so. Lately even simple things have gotten hard to do, but she doesn’t dare trouble Owen with it. He has enough on his plate. Besides, his business is going well. His marriage is beautiful and stable. He has two young, adventurous kids. His life is perfect, and Diana doesn’t want to take away that sense of peace. She knew that peace once, too, back when her beloved Tyler was alive...

But such things are in the past. For now, she has two little grandbabies to play with.

****

The path to Virginia is long, but once they get there, Owen and Hope are not disappointed.

“The South really is beautiful,” Hope says. “Funny how it hides the ugliness of slavery so well.”

“Hush,” Owen says. “Let’s focus on the good for now.”

“You are right,” Hope says. “There is much to be happy about.”

They wander, hand in hand, enjoying the scenery with no urgency to find a place to stay.

And that peace stays until they hear screams, and gunshots.

Before she can protest, Owen goes running for the sound, and against her better judgement, Hope follows.

That man, she thinks. He’s always had the nose for a story. And, though she likes to say she’s the practical one, Hope rather enjoys being on the front lines of the future, as well.

They expect to find a story. What they find is a showdown.

Five black men with pistols are attacking an equal number of white men, a father and his five sons, by the looks of things.

“Hey!” Owen says. “Hey! What is the meaning of this?”

“These slaves decided to run away from me,” snarls the father. “They stole my guns, attacked my wife, and... Hell, why am I explaining anythin’ to you? Get outta my way!”

“No one needs to die today,” Owen says. “Here, let’s just—”

“Get outta the way! Don’ tell me you one of those abolitionist folks!”

“Listen, Owen,” Hope says. “Let’s just get moving...” She knows her pleas are fruitless. There’s only one thing Owen values more than a good story, and it’s justice. “Please, dear, come on...”

“Listen to your wife, son,” the father says. One of the slaves sees it as an opportunity and bolts. But not fast enough— he gets a bullet in the leg.

“Owen, come on,” Hope says, outwardly sobbing now. “Think of the children.”

But Owen is honed in on the situation now.

He leans over the fallen man, ripping his shirt and tying it around the bleeding leg.

“Well damn,” says the father. “That ’uns no use to me now.”

“Thank you, sir,” says the man on the ground, addressing Owen. Hope bends over. They’re in the pits of slavery. This man will never be able to get the help he needs. He will die. She knows it. Owen knows it. And now Hope feels the same anger that Owen feels. It’s not right. It’s not right. This can’t be right.

"What is this?" says the father. "A white man helping slaves? What has this world come to?"

"You're a monster," Owen says, standing face-to-face with the man.

"They're the monsters."

Owen sighs.

"People like you," he says, "They only care about violence. They only listen to violence."

"Don't talk to my daddy like that!" yells one of the younger boys.

"Listen," says the father. "I think it's time for you to leave. Just give me my property and you'll be on your way in no time."

"I can't do that," Owen says.

"Owen," Hope says. "Come on. We have a family to think about. We—"

"These people have families, too!" Owen yells, red-faced now. "Or they did once, before people like you took away their lives!"

"Owen—"

"Now listen here, you—"

The farmer cuts himself off as his gun goes off. In his wild rage, he pulled the trigger, bullet going right into Owen's heart.

"You monster." Hope growls as Owen hits the ground. She's so angry that she's scared to even breathe. Scared to move. But she chokes out those two words.

"Now listen here," says the man. "It was an accident. I didn't mean to."

"No. You listen here," Hope says "You leave these men alone and get out of here, and I won't tell a soul what you've done."

She's lying, of course. She'll tell everyone. But not here. Not in this place. If these people knew how Owen had died, protecting slaves, he would be lynched. He'd be desecrated. She couldn't take that.

"Now listen," says the father. "I have the gun here. I have the power. If I find out you tell anyone, anyone in this entire country, I will find you, and I'll kill you myself. You stay quiet, okay? Everyone. Your mama, his mama, if they even still alive, your kids, your grandkids. Not a darn soul. You tell no one."

The four other slaves can’t even find the strength to run. Their friend, and the leader of their rebellion, is dead. They don’t know what to do, but more importantly, they don’t know why they’re doing it. But this much they do know: this woman and her husband just saved their life. And at a great cost.

One of them, a short man with the beginnings of a beard and young, clever eyes comes up to Hope. He says nothing, but puts a hand on her shoulder.

The four remaining slaves and Hope part ways as soon as possible. There are no hard feelings, but Hope doesn't want to know them. It's not fair, she knows it's not fair, but she sees them as a reminder of what she lost. Besides, she can tell no one. She knows the farmer is cold, dangerously violent, and maybe smarter than he lets on. He will find her if she tells the truth. And she can't put her remaining family at risk. She's lost too much already.

“A dead slave and a dead man,” says the father. “At least it’ll be easy to explain away. They did it, not us, got it?”

The four sons nod, shouldering their guns.

They leave the bodies right there in the street. People will form their own conclusions. This is Virginia, after all.

****

When news of Owen Possibility Kincade’s death reaches Diana, she convinces herself not to cry. She has to stay strong. For the children. For Hope. She is all they have left now.

It has been a year since it happened. Hope still refuses to talk to anyone. She's silent. As if every word could kill her. Diana does not ask what happened to Owen. She merely bears her weight in silence.

There’s no greater grief than a mother having to bury her child.

But what’s worse is having to tell his children. Tell them that they were shot in a slave rebellion.

If they were just equal, Maria thinks, this would never have happened.

If they would just stay down, Samuel thinks, this would never have happened.

****

Meanwhile, a girl named Anna thinks of a boy named William. She tries not to think of him, but he keeps creeping back into her thoughts. It was just a meeting, she thinks. He has no right to keep following my thoughts the way he followed me that night.

She wonders, will having a husband inhibit her dreams of fighting for women’s rights?

A little ways away, a boy named William thinks of a girl named Anna.

Maybe he was a little too awkward. Maybe he should have done thinsg differently. Maybe if he’d just had a little more confidence...

She was bold, she was free, and William didn’t want to hold her back. He didn’t want to trap her. He wanted to help her fly, no, that wasn’t right. She could fly just fine on her own. He wanted her to help him fly, so they could sail the skies together.

Yeah. That’s it.

The next time he would see her (and he was sure there would be a next time) he knew exactly what to say. And he wouldn’t mess it up.