Chapter 3 #2
Jaysus, he thought. I haven’t been this scared up here since I fought and died!
He calmed down a bit whenever he pictured Remy’s beautiful face, with her soft brown hair and bright, friendly blue eyes.
He kept reminding himself that she was nothing to be afraid of.
She was one of the kindest women he’d ever known, and she would be sweet to him even if he sounded like a bumbling idiot to her.
Avery’s anxiety level shot up again at the thought of sounding dumb to her. He wanted so much to make a good impression. Other than speaking to Remy once and talking to Fillis, he hadn’t spoken to a woman in decades!
To make matters worse, Avery had no way of knowing what time it was, so he wasn’t exactly sure when the Blue and Gray tour bus would arrive at Little Round Top. The tour buses arrived on a winding road at the top of the hill that was covered with trees, so he couldn’t see when the bus got here.
A surge of terror rippled through Avery’s ghostly body when he finally saw Jesse walking toward him.
Avery didn’t understand how it felt like his heart was pounding in his chest when he no longer had a physical heart or blood to pump through it.
Emotions were just as strong in death as in life; that much was for sure.
Remy was off in the distance, giving tourists directions about the monuments up here on Little Round Top. Avery was grateful to have a quick moment with Jesse before the big event. He needed a pep talk.
“How ya doin’?” Jesse asked with a grin.
“I’m so nervous, Jesse!” Avery answered honestly.
“I know you are,” Jesse said with tremendous empathy. “I was scared to death, you know, so to speak, the first time I spoke to Lucy. But as soon as I started talkin’, I felt better. You’ll feel the same way with her. I mean, it’s Remy. She’s a darlin’ girl and she’s nothin’ to be scared of.”
Avery nodded. “I know. You’re right.”
Remy was headed in their direction, still chatting with tourists. Once the crowd had dispersed a little and people went off on their own to enjoy the view, Jesse called Remy over.
“Remy! Come ‘ere a minute.”
Remy walked over to where Jesse and Avery were standing. Avery’s ghost heart hammered wildly.
“Hey!” Remy said warmly. “What’s up?”
“Remy, I want you to meet my friend, Avery O’Rorke.”
“Hi!” she chirped. “Nice to meet you.”
With that, she held out her hand to shake his.
Avery held up his hands. “Oh, I’d better not. I just got over gettin’ sick, and I don’t want to give you my germs.”
Jesse nodded proudly.
Remy dropped her hand and nodded. “Ugh, I know how you feel. I just got over being sick myself.”
Avery stopped himself before he said I know. Then he didn’t seem sure of what to say next.
“So,” Remy began, looking down at Avery’s gray Confederate uniform. “What tour company are you with?”
“Ah…I’m with one of the walkin’ tours. Four Score Walking Tours.”
Remy laughed softly. “Clever name. It’s such a nice day for a tour.” She took in a deep breath. “It’s great to have a job where you get to be outside, isn’t it?”
Avery nodded. “Indeed it is.”
Avery was still quite nervous, and Remy had noticed.
He was sure of it. Avery had watched her interact with people for hours on end.
If someone was friendly and outgoing, she freely joked and laughed with him.
If a person was shy or even afraid, like on a ghost tour, she switched to gentle mode to make the person more comfortable.
She might not know why, but she obviously realized Avery was nervous because she spoke softly and her smile was especially warm.
“What regiment are you supposed to be from?” Remy also knew how to keep a conversation going when the other person was having trouble knowing what to say.
“The 15th Alabama Infantry,” Avery stated confidently, grateful for a question he could finally answer honestly.
“Hmmm. You don’t sound like you’re from Alla-baaama,” Remy said with an exaggerated Southern accent. “Thought you’d sound more like my man here.” With that, she jerked a thumb at Jesse.
“Ah, but there were a number of us in the 15th Alabama who were originally from Ireland. A whole company of us. Oate’s Zouaves.”
“Interesting,” Remy said, her pretty blue eyes sparkling. She actually did look interested, rather than just being polite. “Are you really Irish, or are you just good at accents?”
Avery laughed, feeling more comfortable by the moment. He’d seen her put tourists at ease all the time with her sweet, friendly manner, but this was the first time he’d been on the receiving end. She made him feel warm all over, which was no easy feat when you were a ghost.
“I am indeed from Ireland,” Avery told her.
“Really?” Remy said, looking more intrigued by the moment. “Do you speak…what is it…Gaelic? Irish?”
“Aye, certainly I speak Irish,” he said with a smile.
“Cool! Can you say something in Irish? I would love to hear it!”
A thrill went through Avery. This was going far better than he had imagined. He glanced over at Jesse, who smiled at him and nodded encouragingly. He was there to step in in case Avery needed him, but was content to keep quiet and let them talk.
“Of course! Okay, let me see now,” Avery said, as he tried to think of something good to say. “Tá tú go h-álainn, Remy.”
Remy’s eyes flashed with pleasure upon hearing her name. She looked at Avery eagerly, waiting for the translation.
“It means ‘you’re beautiful, Remy,’” Avery said softly, looking into her eyes.
Remy let out a soft sigh. “That’s lovely.” She was clearly quite touched by his words.
“And so are you,” Avery said.
Avery glanced over at Jesse. Jesse opened his eyes wide and nodded slightly as if to say, You’re on a roll. Keep it up!
Remy turned to look at Jesse and said, “Jesse, where have you been hiding this guy?”
Jesse laughed. “In plain sight, my dear. His walking tour stops here ‘round the same time our bus does, so I usually stop and chat with him.”
Remy turned back to look at Avery. “I see.” She looked into his eyes for a moment. “I swear, I could listen to you talk all day.”
Avery laughed. “Well, then I best keep talkin’ to ya! How is your tour going?”
“Great! We have a good group today. They’re asking lots of questions, which is nice.”
“Remy also does ghost tours,” Jesse said.
“‘Zat right?” Avery asked, looking amused. Of course, he already knew that. He’d followed Remy around on many of her tours while he was invisible.
He’d watched Remy guide her group around Gettysburg after dark while the tourists eagerly hunted for ghosts, completely unaware that there was one in their midst.
“Yeah, but don’t hold it against me. I know lots of, you know, legit tour guides like us don’t like ghost tours, but they can be fun.”
Avery nodded. Many historians in the area hated the ghost tours because they felt they detracted from the seriousness of the battle and its history, but the truth was the immensely popular ghost tours brought in thousands more tourists every year.
There was really no reason the historical tours and the paranormal ones couldn’t co-exist. Nobody did historical battleground tours at night, so they might as well let the ghost folks take over after sunset.
“I mean, of course there’s no such thing as ghosts, but the guests love that kind of stuff, so why not do it? Brings lots of people to Gettysburg,” Remy said.
“That it does. Ghosts are a big deal ‘round here,” Avery said.
“Well, ghost stories are,” she said.
“You don’t believe in ghosts?” he asked with amusement.
“No. Do you?”
“Yes,” Avery said firmly, and Remy laughed good-naturedly.
Several tourists wearing orange stickers approached them. It was a group of parents who had come on the tour with their kids. One of the mothers gestured up at the monument to the 44th New York Infantry.
“Is that the one you can climb up in?” she asked Remy.
“Yes! Here I’ll show you how to go up there,” she said. Then she looked at Avery. “Sorry, gotta go for now.”
Avery nodded, and Remy headed toward the monument with the parents and kids following her like baby ducklings. Jesse went with her to help herd the group up the narrow staircase around the back of the monument.
The moment Remy was far enough ahead to be out of earshot, Jesse turned around and whispered to Avery, “You did great! Even I was ‘bout to swoon!”
Avery laughed and nodded as an intense feeling of relief washed over him.
After a shaky start, he felt good about his first real encounter with Remy.
Despite what Jesse and Fillis had told him, he hadn't expected Remy to be so enthralled with his Irish heritage.
Where, or when he came from, Irish immigrants were looked down upon, and he'd genuinely feared she might think less of him for it.
Of course, he should have known better. Remy didn't look down on anyone.
Avery looked up at the monument where Remy and Jesse had disappeared with their group.
He could hear the excitement of the kids as they rushed to the edge of the huge monument and peered out at the view.
Little girls particularly loved climbing up there because the ridges on the corner really did make it look like a big stone castle.
As always, Avery was hoping to catch a glimpse of Remy.
She always looked so beautiful up there in her Jennie Wade dress when she stood and looked out at the expansive view of the battlefields.
Avery’s ghost heart skipped a phantom beat when he saw her appear at the top. This time, Remy leaned down and looked right at where Avery was standing. As if she was looking for him.
Avery locked eyes with her, and for a moment she seemed embarrassed to be caught searching for him. Now it was his turn to put her at ease. He smiled warmly at her and waved. She smiled, too, and waved back.
“Tá tú go h-álainn, Remy!” he called up to her. Though there were many other things he could have said to her, he repeated this phrase because now she knew what it meant.
Remy’s lovely smile widened, and she tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked at him. Avery hardly considered himself an expert on women, but even he recognized the move as a flirtatious gesture. She obviously found him charming, which thrilled him.
She reluctantly turned away so she could tend to her guests. Avery continued watching her as she gestured toward Devil’s Den and explained other points of interest in view. He didn’t even care if Remy caught him staring. He wanted her to know he adored her.
Remy never did look back down, as she was busy with her group. Avery waited patiently at the bottom for her to return, but he knew it would soon be time for her group to move on to the next stop.
Finally, Remy and Jesse came back down and headed toward Avery. Remy smiled at him as she guided her group.
“It was so nice meeting you, Avery,” she said.
Oh, how he loved hearing her say his name!
“And you as well,” he said.
Remy held his gaze just a bit longer than necessary, then she headed toward the bus with her group. Jesse walked with her a little ways, then dashed back to Avery.
“She said you were really cute and she loves your dreamy accent,” Jesse said, grinning at Avery.
Avery gazed into Jesse’s eyes with intense gratitude and said quietly, “Thank ye, Jesse. For everything.”
Jesse nodded, still grinning, then he bounded off to join his group.
Avery sat back down on his usual rock, feeling a sense of happiness and relief. It had been wonderful finally talking to Remy, and he never could have done it without Jesse’s help.
Avery hadn’t thought it possible, but now that he was able to speak to her and look into her eyes, he was more in love with Remy than ever before.