The Long Journey Home

The Way Across

With a promise to write as often as possible, Dewy hugged Catherine and Lawrence Monroe one last time before mounting Bess and riding away. Goodbyes had always been difficult at best for Dewy and leaving the Monroes had put a serious damper on his demeanor. They had become close friends, always confident in their Lord and in themselves, and never afraid to rebuke in love; much like his mown parents. 

A few days had passed since he’d said farewell and headed west once again. Not too much longer, and he’d be facing the biggest river in the East: The Mississippi. To avoid sinking into a lonely depression, his mind went into planning and plotting how to cross the giant flow. No doubt it would be too deep for Bess to cross on foot. He’d have to find a way. With little money, and not knowing what was accepted in the area, he wasn’t sure he could hire a ferry boat. But, no other solutions came to mind off-hand either.

“No sense in borrowing trouble.” Dewy said aloud, but mostly to hear a human voice instead of the whinnies and neighs provided by Bess. He passed another homestead, but kept moving. He wanted to make it as far as possible before sundown. He would stop in the heat of the day under trees and near water, if possible. Bess needed water and rest. She was good about eating the grass nearby and seemed a very low maintenance horse. He urged her into a slow gallop, not wanting to expend her energy too early in the day. Bess complied with his command of two clicks of his tongue and went faster.

A sad song seemed to come from nowhere, and with no one but Bess to listen, Dewy began to sing; slowly and quietly at first, but then louder and with more confidence as the song built in his heart. How he missed evenings on the porch with his brother, Philip, a harmonica, a banjo, and a fire blazing. “Good times,” his voice echoed in his head. He continued singing to ward off the melancholy that came with the thought of his brother as he and Bess moved ever closer to the river.

~~~~~

He did have a destination, Philip Montgomery told himself as he ambled away from his small home towards town. He had a small errand to run before heading to his parents’ place for a visit. He was worried about how them and the whole “Dewy” situation.

The tune he whistled forced him to remember all those nights during the summer when he and Dewy would entertain themselves, and many of the other youth from the surrounding area, with music, singing, story-telling, and even dancing. Violins and guitars accompanied them every now and again, and the ladies loved to laugh and flirt with the boys under the stars. Their parents were always nearby as proper chaperones for the young ladies, and many a love match began right in the Montgomery’s front yard. Those were the days.

Now the bitterness of Dewy’s defiance left a bad taste in his mouth, and he spit into the dirt as if doing so could rid him of the memory. He just couldn’t get past the final blow: Dewy waving and boarding the train while his Maw cried and anger set onto his Paw’s face, causing lines to draw his normally happy countenance into a lasting frown. Then the image of Miss Emma Jenkins crying by herself as her intended and her brother boarded the train with him. He could still smell the acrid smoke from the locomotive and hear the whistle as it took them closer to their deaths. Philip found it hard to believe that those events had taken place more than three years ago. And while Dewy was off playing soldier, this town had refused to breathe in hopes that the native sons would return from war to their loved ones.

Philip released a ragged breath at the vivid memory of what he considered his brother’s betrayal: How he’d torn the family asunder by one bold act, hurting his Mother’s heart the way he had. And now? Now the boy wanted to come back and make like nothing had happened. How dare he? Had he not yet figured out that his actions had consequences? That he’d hurt everyone he loved and those who loved him? Philip wondered if those thoughts had even crossed his younger brother’s mind.