Amendment

{Seven} Election Day

 Just as I suspected, I barely slept a wink. As soon as the girls began to rise, I leaped to my feet and was dressed before Betty could even consider asking if I needed help. In the end, she insisted on straightening my outfit up and put my hair up as best she could. Apparently I looked a little slobbish when I got ready myself. But who cared? I was going to see Russ today! All night I had been psyching myself out, trying in vain to not get too excited. The world was just too big a place to even contemplate Russ not being at the election festival—or whatever the hell it was. I didn’t even want to think about the possibility that he may be in another time.

  Cap, I noticed, kept shooting me wary glances. My excitement was apparent and it was making everyone awkward. It was obvious they wanted to warn me that he may not be there, but in the same breath they didn’t want to be stuck with my any longer. So much for southern hospitality! I kid a lot, but I was more grateful to the Hatfields than they would ever know.

  While Cap, Johnse, and Robert followed behind on their own horses, the rest of us crammed together in the long wagon…even Jim Vance. He’d started the day off early with a bottle of foul smelling ale, which was already on its way to staining his natty beard. I sat as close to Betty as possible and far away from her disgusting uncle.

  The ride there was unbearable and long—like hours long. If I only had a freaking car…I could’ve been there like forever ago! I’d known from the start it was to be a long trip. But when you were already patient, it was practically torture. Again, I was filled with the sensation to just pick up my skirt and run. Knowing my awful sense of direction, though, I’d end up in Illinois or someplace.

  And then, finally….there was noise. Not too far ahead I could make out the unmistakable sound of crowds of people chattering endlessly to one another. I don’t know how I stayed in that wagon, but I managed it for the few extra minutes it took to finally reach the lot where the ‘part-aay’ was at. It was just a field with a bunch of kiosks, really. There were jars of preserves and such along with other gadgetry. Nothing unlike the booths that were at Russ’s beloved reenactments.

  Devil Anse settled the horses and wagon next to the others and we all began piling out in a desperately low fashion. Damn my disgust for Jim Vance! I hadn’t even thought that by hiding out all the way at the back of the wagon, I’d be stuck being the last one out. And I was. Out of sheer politeness, I allowed everyone else—which consisted of Nanny and Betty—to go ahead of me.

  I was so focused on not tripping out of the wagon that I didn’t even realize whose helping hand I’d grasped until I was out. I looked up graciously, finding myself smiling broadly up at Cap. He shared a tiny smirk, reaching up to tip his hat slightly. I fought a giggle at the sight of it. Would you look at that—Cap had some gentleman qualities in him after all. I wanted so much to spend the day with him alone, but I knew I couldn’t. Girls and boys just didn’t mix back then like they did in my time. If it happened that I had to stay here longer than I wanted, I certainly didn’t want to be looked down on as some sort of hussy.

  And yet….There was something in Cap’s eyes, in the way he was looking at me, that mirrored my own thoughts. He wanted to spend the day with me, too. My heart kicked at my ribcage, which startled me, to say the least.

  Ohh, not good, Josie, girl, I thought warningly. How the hell do you think this is going to end? No. Better just not start something that’s never even a possibility. You are just a few decades older than him, after all.

  Funny, in my time it would be him who would be decades older than me!

  Luckily, I didn’t have to contemplate that girl-likes-boy feeling for more than a second, because Betty reached up to tug insistently on my free hand. It was only then that I noticed Cap still held my other. Oh, so that was why my entire body was tingling…huh.