Boston to Birmingham Ch. 06

Melissa grabbed Jimmy and gave him a quick little kiss. Hardy thought Jimmy might pass out.

"Get used to it, son. You're with a Wilkes now, and no man alive has figured out how to handle them. I'm proof, I've been trying for years."

Melissa and Gwen glowed with pride. Jimmy just glowed.

"Dad! Watch the grill. something might be burning."

He gave both a quick kiss.

"You're right. Something is heating up."

He turned back to the grill, while the kids who had watched the whole thing erupted into giggles and snickers. Gwen grabbed Melissa and fled into the kitchen.

After they composed themselves they returned, bearing platters. The tables were set, and soon the hungry teens were devouring burgers and hot dogs as fast as Hardy could get them off the grill.

The girls helped gather the dishes, while the boys helped pick up the mess. It was getting dark and a little cool, so everyone changed into jeans and tees while Gwen and Hardy started the fires.

They had bought four portable fire pits and had arranged them across the yard. Soon the sweet smell of cherry wood filled the air, and marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers appeared, along with other snacks. Melissa made a point of joining every group, with Jimmy in tow.

Hardy and Gwen sat in the shadows, watching. A couple would fade into the night for a quick kiss, but return before someone came looking for them, careful to obey the rules. Melissa and Jimmy wandered by, and she gave a quick wave.

"Did they let go of each other long enough to eat?"

Gwen laughed.

"Just barely. I think they were hungry for something else."

Gwen watched closely as Melissa pulled him behind the huge oak at the corner of the yard. Two minutes later, when they walked back to the fire, you could have hit Jimmy over the head with a two by four and he would have just smiled.

She left him long enough to kiss Gwen and thank her for her advice. She seemed to have found her date for the Cotillion.

By ten everyone was gone but Jimmy. He was allowed to stay until eleven while they cleaned up. He offered to help, but they shooed them into the house, saying they could handle it.

"What do you think they're doing now?"

asked Hardy as he took the last trash bag to the bin.

"If I had to guess, I'd say they were verifying the fact that they both have their tonsils still."

said Gwen laughing.

"Come over here honey, I want to show you something behind this oak tree."

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Greg was still there, he seemed in no hurry to return to Boston. When Hardy got shot, he took an indefinite leave, turned the business over to the partners, and came down immediately. He seemed to be gone a lot lately, and when Gwen asked him about it he said he was going for long drives, enjoying the countryside. His drives lately had extended to overnight excursions.

After verifying Hardy was going to survive, he paid a surprise visit to Roy.

"Know who I am?" Roy nodded.

"Something I can help you with?"

"I hope so. I need to find Ronnie Wilkes."

Roy's eyes hardened.

"Don't concern yourself. This is family business, we'll take care of it."

Greg exploded.

"That was my daughter he almost got killed!

Hardy is like a son to me, and now he's lying in a hospital bed shot to ribbons! They're my family too, so it is my fucking business. Now, you gonna help me, or do I have to hire outside the family?"

Roy and Harry, who happened to be there, was awed by the feeling of raw power that radiated from Greg. The man was pissed.

"No offense, there. We're just used to handling things ourselves."

"I intend to let you. Anything you want, and I mean ANYTHING, you let me know. Money? No limit.

Legal services by the best money can buy if you need it. Just one thing I ask. I'm there when you get him, understand? Give me your word as a Wilkes."

Feeling like he was making a deal with the devil, Roy extended his hand.

Greg gave him a gym bag. Roy opened it, it was packed with cash.

He looked up in wonder.

Two hundred thousand. If that runs out, I'll give you more. Spread it around, if there is any left after we find him, keep it. Now get to it!

He strode from the room without a backwards glance. Roy and Harry looked at each other before Harry shuddered.

"Glad he's not pissed at me."

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Roy put a bounty out, big enough to get a lot of attention. Will Rob heard about it through the grapevine, and hoped he would be the first to find him. He knew what would happen if he didn't.

Roy won the race. One of the younger cousins found the hot car behind an old abandoned house.

Greg, Roy, and six of the toughest men in his crew waited until midnight before slipping through the brush. Greg moved like a ghost.

"He's done this before" Roy thought, watching him.

Ronnie never had a chance. He was asleep on an old sofa when they burst in. He didn't get a single shot off.

Roy was well on the way to beating him to death before they pulled him off.

Greg got his attention.

"I want you to tie him up, then leave. I'll take care of him."

Roy started arguing about upholding the family honor. He stopped in shock when Greg pulled a combat knife out of nowhere and laid it against his throat.

"Listen to me Roy. I said I'd take care of him. And I will. I bought and paid for him. Leave me two guys and go on home. We're all tied together, so it's the same family now. Please, Roy."

He left his two toughest cousins. The look Greg had in his eyes when he left made the hair stand up on the back of his neck.

"Wait outside," Greg told the two remaining men, "I'll be a little while."

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Ronnie came to his senses to see a man he didn't know watching him. An older guy, he looked like he worked in an office. He felt a sense of relief, he wasn't going to die. There was a small fire going in the old woodstove, even though it was warm. The man smiled.

"Good, you're awake. Let me introduce myself. I'm Greg Canaday, the father of the woman you sold out to the Escobars, and the father in law of Hardy Wilkes, the man you tried to murder. You almost got him, but Hardy is just to damn tough. I thought about waiting until he could take care of you personally, but I don't have that much patience."

Ronnie started to get really nervous. The man returned to stirring the fire. When the flames leaped up he stopped.

"Let me tell you a little about myself, Mr. Wilkes. I was born rich and got even richer. My dad was afraid I would become weak, so he sent me to VMI for my education. When you're a rich Yankee kid in a Southern military school, you learn to defend yourself pretty quick. It also taught me how Southerners think."

"I loved the place, and as an alumni I support it generously. My family has a tradition Mr. Wilkes, we have represented our country in every war since the Revolution."

"I went straight out of school into the Army, the last year we were in Southeast Asia."

He paused, remembering.

"I did things there, Mr. Wilkes, terrible things.

I ran a crew on the 'night shift', know what that was? No? Good, very few did."

"I swore if I got back home I'd never raise a hand against another person, but I'm afraid you've forced me to break that oath."

"You're going to die tonight, Ronnie. It won't be quick, it won't be painless, you can scream if you want. If I get tired of hearing it I'll cut your tongue out. You ready?"

Before he could answer or beg, Greg pulled the combat knife he was heating in the fire and laid the flat of the blade against his cheek. The skin immediately seared and a terrible stench filled the air.

Ronnies' scream caused one of the cousin to jump off the porch. He was about to go in when the other pulled him back.

"Best leave it be."

Thirty minutes and many screams later, it got silent. Greg appeared at the door, blood soaked clothes in his hand.

"Clean up, will you? And tell no one. If you do and I find out, I would be very displeased" he said as slipped into the darkness.

The youngest cousin went into the house, rushed back out and spewed his supper into the bushes. The older one went in slowly and stopped stunned.

Ronnie, or what was left of him, was slumped on the floor. The knife had been jammed into the wall above his head. Something dangled from it. The man looked closer. It was a tongue.

They never spoke of what the saw, only telling Roy that Ronnie had been dealt with. At later family reunions, they avoided Greg like the plague.

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Gwen was rushing around, preparing for the Cotillion, Greg would appear and disappear with a strange smile on his face, and Melissa was experiencing love for the first time, so Greg was at loose ends.

Jimmy had pretty much become a fixture at the house, and they managed to get in extra dance practice with Gwen and Melissa. Jimmy was determined not to embarrass her, and Hardy just liked to dance. Besides, it was great exercise.

His body was almost completely healed. He started spending time at the farm, attending to things that got neglected when Joshua became ill. There was always a younger cousin or two around to watch him while Hildy was gone. She seemed to be gone a lot lately. Hardy wondered about that, but it was none of his business. Besides, she seemed happier now than he had ever seen her.

Hardy had found two younger female cousins and paid they on the sly to make sure Hildy wasn't overworked and to help prepare the Sunday dinners.

They were getting bigger and bigger until the average group was around fifty, and they had to move it outdoors. Hardy had a shelter built that could hold about a hundred, complete with kitchen.

A lot of time was spent looking at the herd of cattle Hardy had bought.

Herd was a bit of a grand word for five cows and a bull, but he had plans.

They were Scottish highland cattle, small, shaggy, Hardy loved the way they looked.

Greg had found them on one of his drives while in Tennessee, and kept on about how they looked. Hardy looked them up on the computer, and nagged the whole family into going to see them.

Gwen thought they were cute but was still too much of a big city girl to get close. Melissa and Jimmy were soon in the pasture petting them, after getting permission from the owner. He didn't have any for sale, but gave Hardy a few names.

Three weeks later he bought two cows in Tennessee, two in Arkansas, and a bull from Georgia. He was like a kid at Christmas when they were delivered.

One huge benefit was the way Joshua reacted to them. It was the first thing that sparked his interest since the surgery. He soon spent time with them daily, making them pets. At the sound of his yell, they would charge the fence, fighting for attention. When the first calf appeared he was so happy he almost gave out cigars.

Greg gave him a computer, and at eighty two he learned how to use it. He corresponded with other owners constantly, looking for additions to the herd. Soon visitors would show up, usually for Sunday dinner, and discuss cattle until everyone in the family knew way too much about cows.

Greg surprised the family when he bought the farm two properties over, saying it was just an investment. Hildy was over constantly, supervising the remodeling of the house. He then bought ten Highland cattle, after getting Josh to agree to look after them.

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The time for the Cotillion was fast approaching. Gwen felt overwhelmed at times, even with the help she was getting. It was to be held on one of the grand old plantations just outside town.

The plantation was long gone, and the house was now used for marriages, corporate events, and private parties. The big draw was the ballroom, a cavernous room capable of holding three hundred.

So far she had two hundred forty confirmations.

About half needed economic assistance, and Daisy discretely supplied the necessary funds, mostly as a kindness for old friends. Though she would never mention it, she was sure this would be her last cotillion, and she wanted to go out in style.

Tailors had been laboring constantly to make sure the suits and dresses would be ready.

There was a strict code for the women. The ones being presented could wear white, ivory, yellow, pale pink or light blue.

The mature women could wear red, blue, green, in darker colors, or gold. The older ladies, especially the widows, were encouraged to wear black.

Two weeks before the affair, Gwen went for her final fitting. She was stunned when the seamstress told her she would have to let it out just a little.

She knew she had been eating erratically and hadn't been exercising lately, but thought she had lost instead of gained. Oh well, she would take better care of herself after it was over.

The next morning she woke nauseated, and just barely made it to the bathroom.

She was due at the plantation for the final run through, so she ate an antacid and went to pick up Aunt Daisy.

She was still feeling queasy, but managed to get through the meetings. On the way back though, she had to pull over. Daisy insisted she see a doctor, couldn't be coming down with something when the cotillion was so close.

Daisy made a call, her cell phone was her one concession to the modern world, and a doctor was waiting when they arrived at her house.

"Who makes house calls anymore?" she thought, as he took her temperature and checked her blood pressure. He asked her questions and began to smile.

"Please come to my office tomorrow, Mrs. Wilkes. I need to run a few tests to confirm your condition."

Daisy was alarmed.

"Condition? Answer me straight, what do you think is wrong with her?"

"I don't think anything is wrong with her that a little time won't fix."

"How much time? We have a very important social event coming up in just a few days, will she be all right by then?"

"Oh, I have no doubt she will be well enough for your event. And the time frame is roughly about seven to eight more months."

He looked into Gwen's nervous eyes.

"I firmly think, my dear, you're about to experience the joy of motherhood. Tell me, when was your last period?"

"It should have been almost two weeks ago, but I have been irregular in the past, especially under stress."

The implications suddenly hit her.

"OH MY GOD! I'm having a baby!"

She collapsed into the sofa, crying uncontrollably.

Daisy was hugging her, crying with her.

"Hardy will be so proud! I wish I could see his face when you tell him."

"Hardy! What am I gonna do about him? I love him, he loves me, but he hasn't brought up getting remarried and I've been too scared to ask."

"Tell him it's time to stop dallying around and be a man. I have no doubt he will stand up to his responsibilities."

"No, I want him to marry me because he wants to, not because he thinks he has to. What a mess."

She lowered her head sobbing again.

Daisy cleared her throat as though she had something distasteful in it.

"Well, you could always take care of it, discretely. He would never know."

"Take care of it? Oh, you mean an abortion! NO! Even if he doesn't want it, even if he leaves me, this baby will be born."

Daisy patted her hand.

"Good girl. Now, compose yourself and think of a way to tell him."

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Hardy noticed Gwen was a lot quieter than usual that night, but just left her alone, thinking she had the upcoming affair on her mind. He did tell her his costume was ready. She told him she had her last fitting too. They agreed not to see them until the night of the event, hoping they would both be pleased.

Still, he glanced up from time to time, catching her watch him.

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Hardy had been thinking a lot about marriage, lately. He wanted to ask her in the perfect place, at the perfect time. He decided to do it at the cotillion. It would be a magical night.

Unbeknownst to everyone, he had his own surprises planned for that night.

Finally, the night was at hand.

Gwen had been doing a lot of thinking also. She had decided to bite the bullet and tell him right afterwards she was pregnant. That way, if he reacted badly, she would have good memories about the cotillion.

Gwen, Daisy, Hildy, and Melissa got dressed at Daisy's, not wanting the men to see them until the last minute.

Hardy, Greg, and Jimmy dressed at their house, called for the limo, and soon arrived at the door.

It was opened by Daisy, and the men were escorted to the parlor, with the door left open to a full view of the stairs.

Daisy got their attention.

"Gentlemen, Miss Melissa Sue Wilkes!"

She floated down the stairs like a vision in a dream. A pale yellow dress, shoulders bare and a ribboned cameo around her neck. Her hair cascaded in loose ringlets framing her face, with matching ribbons woven through it.

Jimmy nearly passed out. He was dressed in a planter's suit of the era. frock coat, laced collar, high boots.

"Miss Hildy..um..Baker!"

Hildy was a vision, medium red satin gown, white lace gloves, lacquered comb holding an elaborate hair style. Red satin slippers adorned her feet. She, too, seemed to float as she moved. A double strand of pearls wound round her neck.

Greg was grinning ear to ear. Her escort for the night. He wore the uniform of a Union captain.

There was a serious discussion among the members, but Greg said if he couldn't wear it he wasn't going. It was finally permitted, as the committee said, as a gesture of reconciliation over past difficulties.

Daisy waited a full five minutes before announcing Gwen.

"Mrs. Gwen Marie Wilkes!"

The gown was shimmering gold, layers of lace and silk, with matching gloves. A single diamond glittered at her throat, courtesy of Daisy. A simple lace shawl framed her bare shoulders.

Her blond tresses were arranged artfully in a semi-bun.

Hardy couldn't even remember breathing, and he would have bet his soul she never once touched the steps on the way down.

He had the uniform of a major from the First Alabama, authentic in every detail, complete with sash and saber. Gwen had talked him into growing his beard back, just for this event.

The men each gave their ladies a single red rose, and were allowed to kiss their cheeks, mustn't disturb the makeup, please.

They also gave Daisy a rose each, yellow, white, and red. They were also allowed to kiss her cheek.

Her eyes glowed with more emotion than Gwen had ever seem. She wasn't to travel with them, she had her own escort. She teased Gwen relentlessly by not revealing him.

When the limo pulled into the plantation drive, it pulled over in a designated area, where four carriages were waiting. They were polished and shining, the horses curried and plumed.

"What's this?" Melissa cried with excitement.

"This is my contribution to the festivities. Jimmy, Greg, Will Rob when he arrives, and me will escort each guest to the front steps of the mansion and inside. You ladies and Aunt Daisy will greet them as they enter. Go on, we'll be there when the last guest arrives."

He had also hired two different groups of photographers and videographers to immortalize the event.

As official hostesses, they had arrived an hour early. Soon, carriages were rotating through the gates, everyone wanted to arrive in style, so no one drove. Gwen, Melissa, Hildy, and Daisy welcomed them all, urging them to try the finger foods being offered by servants dressed in the garb of the mid eighteen hundreds. The orchestra was tuning up and the festivities would begin soon.

The guests mingled, seeing and being seen. There was a 'parlor' where the adult ladies could get more serious refreshment than that offered in the ballroom. and a 'drawing room' available for the gentlemen. Gwen, for reasons unknown to Hardy, wasn't drinking, and he decided maybe it was best if he left the libations alone. They circulated for forty five minutes, keeping an eye on the youngsters.