What Is A Legacy?

Chapter Thirty

Slowly, the Reynolds Pamphlet became a thing of history. But like all history, it always ends up in the books for people to read. While Jefferson worked his way up to campaign again for President, Hamilton sat by trying to fix his damaged reputation. Jefferson had to hand it to the man, he worked hard for it.

He was somewhat relieved to hear that Eliza and Alexander were on better terms, after months of tension between the two. There were rumors circulating about a possible divorce, Eliza separating and moving across the sea to stay with her sister. But Angelica had made it clear over the months that she was in the city to stay, and it wasn't uncommon for someone to see the woman walking the Virginia streets. And Thomas was also glad that Eliza and Philip were staying. For obvious reasons.

While Philip slowly began to warm up to Alexander, Thomas would often find the boy walking up his front steps in the afternoon. He sometimes brought books and school work with him, and he'd quietly sit with Thomas in the study while he worked.

He didn't mind, he enjoyed the company. But there came a point where Thomas had to put his foot down and send the boy home earlier than the day before. He knew the reason Philip frequented his office was to avoid his father and the conversations they needed to have, and even though he enjoyed the time he spent with Philip, he wasn't about to keep that relationship broken.

Tough love was sometimes hard to receive, but later Philip had thanked him for it, as it had helped him face his father and rebuild their relationship. Eliza only came around once, and that was after an especially bad fight between Angelica and Alexander. She had stood in the foyer telling Thomas about how they had screamed at each other, scaring her children, and leaving her at her wits end.

"Thomas, she did what I didn't have the guts to do. She slapped him." Her hand shook as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Well, don't get me wrong, you can be pretty feisty sometimes," Thomas had told her. "And I'm not going to say that Alexander didn't deserve that slap, but you shouldn't feel ashamed that it didn't come from you."

"It's not that I feel bad for him, I know he deserved it. It's the fact that the situation has only escalated. It's tearing my family apart."

"What do you want? Without thinking, tell me what you want."

"I want to forgive him!" Eliza burst out. "I want to love him, and him to have me again. I want my husband back. I want the father of my children back."

"Then fight for it, Eliza. Remove Angelica from the situation if her presence is only making things worse. I know she means well, and she is your sister, but this is between you and Alexander. No one else."

Eliza had let out a frustrated sigh. "I just wish this never happened. I shouldn't have gone upstate, I could-"

"Hey. We're not having any of that," Thomas told her. "If my time in France all those years ago taught me anything, it's that you can't regret everything. Believe me, I have scrutinized and thought about every little thing that happened to me in that country, wishing I had done this and wishing I hadn't done that. And it didn't help, it only held me back. Do not let your doubts hold you back."

Eliza had then nodded, and Thomas didn't think to do anything else than hug her again, in an act of comfort. She hadn't cried, Thomas figured she'd done enough of that. But her arms around him were tight, and he'd looked forward to the day where she would wear her perfume again.

When that day came and went, it was when Thomas went around campaigning for his Presidency, four years after the scandal was released. He was running against Aaron Burr now, a former member of Washington's cabinet. He was once an old friend of Hamilton, but now they didn't have a positive relationship/ It was mainly due to the fact that Alex had stepped on Burr all throughout their time in politics, using him as an unwilling launching pad to push Alex towards his goals. Thomas figured with Hamilton out of the picture, it'd be easier for Burr to go for what he wanted now. That included the Presidency, and Thomas had to admit that he was a challenging candidate.

But such challenges pushed him to travel from estate to estate. From Virginia to New York to Pennsylvania, and to other places. Thomas rarely saw Monticello now, and he had to admit, he was lonely. So when Philip came home after graduating, he saw this as an opportunity to extend an invitation to the boy to come with him to New York. His excuse to his parents was for Philip to become more engaged in politics, but really, he just wanted to make up for lost time with him.

Hamilton, with his hair turning grey and glasses balanced on the edge of his nose, had raised an eyebrow. "And why would he need to go with you?" he had asked. There was no spite, no caution in his voice. Just a pure and plain question.

"Philip's on summer vacation now," Thomas reasoned, "and I know you want him to fill your shoes, to continue to carry your family name into politics. Why not start now, with a Presidential candidate? Besides, the boy needs a break after being in Virginia for months."

Hamilton had sighed. "I guess there's no reason to keep Philip here, I suppose." He shrugged. "I'll talk to Eliza, and if she agrees, I'll offer it to him, and tell you what he says."

Thomas was surprised. He thought Hamilton would have put up more of a fight, put up more of a sturdier wall between them. But the man was tired, weakened after his political downfall. He appreciated how Alexander thought to check with Eliza first, how he was slowly gaining back her trust by putting her first before any decision he made.

But he knew what Eliza would say, what Philip would plead. And sure enough, the following evening, Philip had shown up at his front steps ecstatic about going to New York with him.

And Thomas would be lying if he said he wasn't excited, too.

They jumped from state to state, Philip sitting through many speeches. They weren't always boring, though, with the names Thomas and his rivals threw at each other. At some point when a candidate was chewing Thomas out, he'd sneak a glance over to Philip sitting in the front row and roll his eyes, making the boy grin.

On one such occasion, Jefferson was about at the end of his rope with the moderator of the debate. Thomas would have loved to shut him up, but he knew it wouldn't win him any sort of popularity in the state. "You, sir," he said after a seriously aggravating note the moderator made, "are uncouth."

The moderator frowned. "What's 'uncouth'?"
"Your mother."

There was silence for a second, and then someone snorted. Thomas glanced towards the front rows, where Philip was nearly bent in half, laughing so hard you couldn't hear him. A few people grumbled, calling Thomas out for his comment. But most of the spectators took after Philip, chuckling and laughing amongst themselves. Not a bad way to end a debate.