Cheers,
laughter, and excited speech filled the air as the caravan of men on horseback
made their way down the road. The villages celebrated just as loudly as the men
made their way through. The entire kingdom was rejoicing; the news was spreading
like lightning. The men, bone weary from battle, made their way home. The war was over, the peace treaty was
signed. They were at peace. “Can you believe it, General Hood? Two years of fighting,
and we’re now on our way home for good.” one of the men asked gleefully after
dismounting as they took a rest from traveling.
“Just
as much as the last eighty times you asked me.” He chuckled. The man laughed
and walked off to join some other men. General Wyatt Hood leaned against a tree
and looked down the path they still had to travel. He would be home by
nightfall. He couldn’t wait to see his mother and father again, and his
daughter, Lanora, was sure to have grown three feet since he last saw her two
years ago. Two years ago he had gone off to battle. She had only been three. In
just three days she would be turning five. How much had she changed since he
saw her last? How long were her golden locks now? Had her face become freckled
from playing in the sun? Did she look even more like him than before? Or had she
grown to look like her mother, Eleanor?
He turned his gaze down. Young
Eleanor wouldn’t be waiting for Wyatt when he arrived home. She had been
eighteen when they married, twenty one when he had gone off to war. He had been
twenty-nine when they had wed, thirty-two when he had gone off to battle. He
still carried the letter his mother had written him exactly nine months ago,
telling him Eleanor had run off with the blacksmith’s apprentice, leaving
Lanora behind for him to take care of. Maybe it had been unfair for him to
marry her when he was eleven years her senior. Eleanor was the beauty of the
town, and it made sense that her father would want her to marry into a strong
family, which the Hood family was. But that hadn’t been what Eleanor wanted,
and now she had what she wanted. And Wyatt was about to receive what he wanted;
to be home with his daughter.
“On your horses, men! I want to be
home by sundown!”
It was dusk when the men entered
the town. The whole town was waiting for them, and in front of the crowd was
Wyatt Hood’s family. As the crowd cheered and enveloped the soldiers, Wyatt
swung off his horse and embraced his mother, greeted his father, and then bent
down to one knee. Hiding behind her Grandfather’s legs was a little girl with
blond curls. Wyatt smiled. “Hello Lanora, do you remember me?”
The little girl stayed silent for a
moment, before slowly nodding.
“You are my daddy.”
He smiled and nodded. “Yes I am.”
Lanora stepped out from behind her
grandfather and approached Wyatt. She had the same blonde curls as her father,
his dimpled cheeks, and his bright blue eyes. Thank goodness she had her mother’se
nose. As she stood in front of her father, she meekly asked “Can I give you a
hug, daddy?”
Wyatt grinned and nodded. He
embraced his daughter for the first time in two years. His mother was crying
with joy, and his father stood by looking proud of his only child. Wyatt lifted
his daughter up and turned to face his troops. “Men, at ease, tonight you stay
in my town!”
Everyone cheered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was going on midnight and most
of the town’s people were still awake, celebrating with the troops who were
staying over for the night. They were all in the square, the local band
playing, the young girls dancing, the young boys watching from afar, too
embarrassed to ask a girl to dance, but obviously wanting to. Lanora had gone
home earlier with her grandparents; Wyatt had decided to stay with his troops.
He sat on a bench, beer in hand as he watched the revelry before him. Many
couples were leaving, and the dance floor was clearing, although many single
men and women were still enjoying the festivities. Wyatt looked around. Why
wouldn’t they dance together? To his knowledge no new laws had been passed to
outlaw dancing between singles. Something had to be done.
“Whitlock! Yoder! Grab a girl and
get dancing!”
The two men snapped to attention at
the sound of their commanding officers voice. Wyatt laughed and stood in order
to join his men in finding a partner to dance with. Many eyes followed their
movement as they searched the crowd. Whitlock and Yoder were quick to find a
dance partner, Wyatt not so much. The girls seemed to shy away from him as if
he was a forbidden object. Maybe he was, after what happened with Eleanor. He
was sure it hadn’t happened quietly. Out
of all the ladies in the crowd, only one didn’t seem nervous when he approached
her, in fact she smiled at him as she stood in greeting.
Wyatt bowed. “General Wyatt Hood.” He
introduced himself. The young lady curtsied and returned the introduction.
“Anna Margaret Coomes. Pleased to
make your acquaintance, General Hood.”
Wyatt held out a hand and gestured
to where the couples were gathering for dancing. “Would you give me the great
honor of a dance, Miss. Coomes?”
Her smiled widened as she took his
hand. “It is I who would be honored to dance with you, General Hood.”
Wyatt gracefully led her to the
dance floor and with ease they joined in on the dance. By the end of the night,
Wyatt had danced five dances with young Anna Margaret. He escorted her home,
and then made his way to his own house, to his own bed. As Wyatt walked down
the road, he reflected over how different life was now. He still wore the ring
on his finger, although he wouldn’t consider himself a married man anymore. He
had a young daughter to raise with no mother, and he was sure his father would
have him take his place as leader of the town now that he was home for
good. But Wyatt didn’t find the tasks
daunting, in fact, he found himself looking forward to this grand adventure he
was about to go on.
No comments:
Post a Comment