The Gallant South- Part Two

Chapter XV- July 4-13, 1913

        Cora had prayed, and she'd gotten lucky. July 4th came upon them with no issue. And of course, the fireworks began at dusk. When it was that time, Cora phoned Alice and told her to wait at the end of Lovelace. Alice asked why, and Cora told her it was a surprise.
        "Where are we going?" Alice asked when she got in the car.
        "I already told you, it's a surprise," Cora replied.

        Cora drove quickly through the roads of the city until she reached the area where buildings were more squashed together. She parked her car on the street and the two women got out. Cora walked into an alley and began climbing up a fire escape on the side of a 6-story building. Alice followed, extremely confused.
        Cora was praying that the fire escape would go up to the roof, and to her delight, it did. She pulled Alice up onto the roof and looked around. They were up high in the sky, and had a clear view of the entire city. And just as they reached the top, a giant set of fireworks exploded across the sky in a rainbow of colors right above them, with more going off all throughout the city.
        "Woah," Alice whispered.
        Cora undid the straps on her shoes and shook them off. She nodded for Alice to do the same. Alice, confused, took off her shoes.
        "What are we doing?" Alice asked. Cora grinned, thankful for all of Millie and Bettirose's training. She looked at Alice before running towards the edge of the roof and jumping off. There were only about four feet in between the two buildings, so Cora landed safely on the other roof. Alice gasped.
        "Now you do it!" Cora called to her. Alice ran as fast as she could and took a running leap off the building. She landed on her feet on the other side, shock all over her face. Shock and excitement.
        "Come on!" Cora shouted. She took Alice's hand and they ran across the roof to the other side, and jumped off, landing on yet another roof, running across it.
        The next roof was two stories higher. Inhaling, Cora ran and jumped off the roof, and reached out, grabbing onto the side of the fire escape. Alice took off her gloves and threw them into the sky before copying what Cora had done. She landed safely on the other side.
        They climbed up the fire escape and onto the roof, where they had an even better view of the fireworks and city. Cora ran across the roof, spinning around as she went. Alice followed, but without the spinning. They jumped from building to building, never worrying about falling. They only ran and jumped and got higher up in the air, and every time fireworks went off, they stopped to marvel at them.
        On top of one roof was a large water tower. Cora grabbed one of the pipes holding it up and swung around before taking a running leap off the roof and landing on the side of a fire escape. At the next fire escape they came to, there was a group of kids standing on different floors of the fire escapes attached to the sides of two buildings, and they were tossing a ball back and forth. One of them saw Alice and tossed it up to her. She caught it in her hands and threw it to Cora before jumping to the other roof. Cora caught the ball and threw it back down to the kids.
        She and Alice ran and jumped until they were out of breath, and then they lay there on the roof, looking up at the sky above them, which was filled with fireworks.
        "That was amazing," Alice exclaimed. "Oh my God!"
        "I've never done that before!" Cora replied,
        "Neither have I!" Alice laughed. "That was breathtaking!"
        "Did you see the fireworks?
        "I've never been that close to them before!!"
         Cora jumped up and climbed down the fire escape. It was even darker now, so they could be seen together. They walked back to where they'd parked and Cora started the car.
        "What about our shoes?" Alice asked.
        "Meh," Cora shrugged, jumping into the driver's seat. She drove Alice back to Lovelace and dropped her off before going back to watch the fireworks from the front verandah with the others.

        Meanwhile, the Society was almost finished. The basement had needed more repairs than the rest of the building, but now they were all done. The speakeasy was still in the basement, but now the first floor was as well. The second floor held meeting rooms, and the top three floors held more rooms for people who needed them. The former rooms in the basement now held boxes and boxes full of supplies that they would give out if needed. The walls and floors of the entire building had been replaced, and everything had been painted. The walls and ceilings had molding, and some of the floors were patterned. Nothing made Nielsen and Colby angrier than the fact that it was back and better than ever. Colby exposing them had caused irreparable harm, but had also allowed them to stop carrying on in secrecy. The only thing they had to do was pretend that every colored person there was working for them, and not a parton. There was still a segregation law, and Nielsen would gladly arrest them if they broke it, even despite the scandals and cover ups on both sides.
        In the Society, now that they had much more room, Cora requested a large room be given to turn into a sort-of museum. A small one, about the history of the Society. She'd put Mary-Ruth's dress there, along with the few things left from the other founders. Cora didn't have Mary-Ruth's death or birth certificate, but she had Mama Elsie's death certificate, so that went in a frame on the wall, along with a newspaper clipping Mama Elsie had saved from when Mary-Ruth had been killed. There was a section on how it had started, along with sections on the history of it, the background of the 5 founders, and of course, the recent attack. Cora had the newspaper clipping in a large frame where everyone could see it. They were back, thriving, and better than ever.

        A couple days later, it was finally quiet at the Heiler estate. The attacks had stopped, and the news had died down. No longer did Maddie have to guard the house, rifle in-hand. Cora and the others could finally enjoy peace and quiet.
        One night, Cora was outside in the garden by herself. The others were inside drinking and playing cards, and Eveline was upstairs sleeping, or at least trying to sleep now that she'd been cut-off from the drugs she was using to help her sleep.
        The air was cool but humid, saying it would probably rain again soon. There was a hint of nostalgia in the air, and a light breeze that carried loose strands of Cora's hair. The air smelled of the mountains and lush flowers in the garden, and it was a scent Cora loved more than any other, even the autumn woodsmoke. It was a quiet and peaceful night with no clouds, so one could see all the stars sprinkled across the sky, and the moon that lit the parts of the garden that the fountain lights and hanging lights didn't reach. Cora was sitting alone on one of the stone benches in the hedged-in fountain alcove in the back corner of the yard. It was her favorite place to sit and think, and of course, she had quite a lot to think about.
        First off, Kit was doing better. Her new house wasn't fully complete, but she'd already moved in. And what a grand house it was. It was modern, very modern, with a curved marble staircase and stained glass windows, which had been her favorite thing about her old house. She'd gotten her business back to normal, selling her old building, the one David Stockton had tried to burn down, and buying a larger one with a white side and colored side, which unfortunately, was mandated by the law. There were separate entrances and everything, but both sides were equally as nice. It angered Colby to see Kit doing so well, but there wasn't much he could do about it.
        They'd finally gotten a letter from Clara, and it was one of the most alarming things Cora had read. Clara spoke of having only one true friend, and the fear of being caught. She wrote about the nightmares that plagued her every night, as well as the flashes and memories of the asylum that seemed real. She wrote about how she wanted to tell a doctor about it so she could get medicine, but she couldn't because she'd be turned in. Cora and Eveline had written her a very long letter back, as well as sending her more money. After writing the letter, Eveline announced that Clara probably wouldn't make it to the end of the year.
        "Whatever do you mean?" Cora demanded, alarmed.
        "That's the thing about 'escaping' asylums. You don't. Not mentally. Not many people that escape asylums live to tell the tale. Most of them die by their own hands. I figured that was a possibility with Clara," Eveline said in a voice devoid of emotion.
        "That's a horrible thing to say," Cora had whispered, shocked. Eveline had only shrugged. "I'm being realistic. Clara's fate was sealed the moment her parents committed her."

        Ever since their stunt with the fireworks, Alice had seemed much happier. She spent more and more time with Cora, mostly in secret, and if Colby ever found out, Alice made no mention of it. She was always covered in bruises, but that was normal. Colby didn't spend as much time at his house anymore, he was always out on "business," as he put it.
        What was worse, was that the mayoral election was coming up at the end of July, and everyone at the Society was dismayed to discover that Joseph Nielsen was running for mayor, with Colby as his main supporter and sponsor. All of them were praying that Nielsen would lose, although they didn't get their hopes up too much. Emery and Caroline had made a contingency plan to move to Baltimore if Nielsen were to be elected. Some other families had talked about moving out of the city as well. Which was exactly what Colby and Nielsen wanted.
        Nielsen was highly favored among voters, because of his political views. Signs and posters for different candidates had started popping up all over the city, and Cora had laid eyes on one of Nielsen's one day. It had read: