THIRTEEN FOR DINNER

Eighteen

EIGHTEEN

       Church was hot and boring. I am making good use of my fan, taking away some of the discomfort. The hard wooden pews however are unmoving and sturdy and I can’t seem to get comfortable. Sweat trickles down my neck and legs, irritating those damn chigger bites again. It’s when I shift for the millionth time that Quillan notices my bare feet. He closes his eyes and shakes his head softly. I almost laugh out loud but I bite my lip to suppress my humor.

            We’ve just finished singing, Amazing Grace, when the pastor steps up to the podium. Emily taps my hand and slips a crumpled piece of paper inside.  Quietly I unfold the mysterious note. In her perfect penmanship were the words, Feign morning sickness dear so we can make our escape. I move the note to my side and silently nudge Quillan in the leg with my bare toes. Tapping the note softly I draw his attention to Emily’s plan.  He gives me a slight nod.  Eager to leave, I cup my hand over my mouth and tap Emily on the shoulder. She immediately picks up the pretense and fans me with her fan while helping me up. I excuse myself and slip out of my pew. Emily and Quillan follow me down the aisle and out the door.

            I can tell Emily is disappointed Quillan followed us out. Her plans for us did not include him. Quillan is smart and picks up on it as well, launching into a pretense of his own.

            “Avery dear are you alright.”

            “I think I will be,” I continue the charade. “It was just so stifling in there. I think I need a bit of fresh air, I wouldn’t want to show everyone what I had for breakfast.”

            Emily giggles at my uncouth way of saying things.

            “Well if you’re alright…”

            “I am more than able to take care of her,” Emily smiles pushing Quillan back towards the building. He gives me a lingering look and the concern I see in his eyes is not doubt that I will mess things up but genuine concern for my well-being. Neither one of us are sure of what Emily’s plans entail. My stomach does the flip flop thing and suddenly I do not want to leave his side. “I’ll be okay,” I give him a reassuring smile before Emily whisks me off in our carriage.

            “So what’s up?” I ask her in my very modern teen voice and she laughs. “You have the funniest way of saying things.”

            I smile and we exchange glances and she sees into my pretense.

            “Are you clairvoyant?” she asks. “I have a feeling you know things. I can sense it. Like what you said to daddy at breakfast. You said things will change, and it was like you knew something we didn’t. I think momma and daddy felt it too.”

             I shrug, still not the time to tell her I am a time traveler. “I guess I have some insight on things, maybe more than some people. Things do change though Emily, you know that. Nothing ever stays the same.”

            My own words haunt me and I think of the fact that I only have a month here with Quillan. Two days of that time has already passed. Soon it will be over and if we succeed Quillan will be born into the 1800’s and I will return to my time. If we fail, he will cease to exist. I lose him either way. My heart plummets to the ground and suddenly I want to cry.

            Emily doesn’t head the carriage towards the house, instead she takes a detour and soon we are bumping along where there is no established road. She’s quiet, maybe she picked up on my sudden remorse or maybe both of us are in deep thought contemplating the loss of the one we love. Suddenly I feel close to her, she is the friend I have never had and the thought of her taking her life adds to my sorrow.

            “Avery,” her southern drawl stretches my name into three syllables. “I feel as if I can confide in you.”

            My heart skips a beat; my chance at counseling her is coming up. I hold my breath.

            “Sure,” I perk up. “I can keep secrets, what is it.”

            “Well dear, I have another errand to run and I don’t want momma or daddy to know. Can you keep this between us?”

            Damn it, I feel used. “Can I come with you on your errand?” I decide to make this hard on her.

            We stare at each other, both well aware of the charade we’re playing. She thinks I am clairvoyant so I decide to add to her suspicion.

            “Are you going to see Lunar?”

            She nearly falls off the carriage. Her fragile hand covers her mouth and her eyes widen in fear. She’s speechless so I continue, taking advantage of her silence.

            “I know you saw me fall in the river yesterday. You were with Lunar. It’s alright Emily, I understand and I won’t reveal your secret.”

            “How do you know this?” she asks me.

            “I saw you hiding in the trees,” I lie.

            “Do you think I am bad?” she asks like my opinion really matters.

            “Not at all,” I say.

            She sighs in relief, “I figured you to be an abolitionist.  No one would ever figure I am working with the Underground Railroad. It’s a perfect cover though and I do have all the townspeople stumped. They give out vital information right in front of me never once suspecting I am the abductor and station master in these parts.”

            Now I am the one shocked. I thought this was about her and Lunar being lovers, sneaking off on their own. I never once thought her little rendezvous were illegal.

            I’m stumped now and have no idea what to say next. It doesn’t matter though; we have arrived at the edge of the woods. She stops our carriage. “We’re on foot from here, we must hurry before church lets out.”

            I follow her through the woods. There is no forged path for us; understandable such a road would give the secret hideout away. Instead, we are forced to blaze through the wild overgrowth hurdling fallen trees, and dodging low lying branches. I pull my dress high again and I see Emily do a double take before she smiles and follows suit. “You’re a bad influence Miss Avery,” she drawls out and we both laugh. Before long we, stop at a small dirty hovel much like the one Quillan and I slept in on our first night. Emily gives a coded knock at the door and takes a step backwards. A few seconds later the door opens and I see Lunar peer out; one look at me and his expression changes.

            “She’s with me.” Emily raises her hand to stop his verbal onslaught. “She’s an abolitionist same as me and sympathizes with our cause. She is willing to help us and we are going to need it.”

            The door opens wider and four guys built like Lunar step from the little shack immediately surrounding me.  Their eyes are dark and ferocious, sizing me up, no doubt contemplating whether or not my life matters or if I will be missed. They stare at me, obviously riled at my presence.  I swallow hard; there is no need for an introduction. I know who these men are and what they are capable of.  Suddenly I wish I was with Quillan at church and not standing face to face with the hatchet slinging brothers of Lunar Wilson.