Epilogue
Five years later
Heather could hardly believe it had been five years since she came to Unity.
What had been a tiny little town, walled off and under siege, had changed so much, and yet it had also stayed fundamentally the same.
That was the joy of living in a community of friends who considered themselves to be family.
The door opened, and Mark came into the house with a basket of greens grown in their kitchen garden. Their two children, Chastity, four, and Oliver, three, came trotting in behind him.
Both children had dirty hands and faces. They carried baskets of their own with carrots and turnips bundled in them.
“My goodness, is all of that from our little garden?” Heather asked.
“Yes, Mama,” Chastity said sweetly. She had her father’s big green eyes and Heather’s auburn hair. She smiled brightly. “Ollie has the tomatoes. We asked him not to eat them all.”
Ollie, who was chewing something, grinned, showing mashed tomato in his mouth. “They’re yummy.”
“Yes, they are, but we need to share,” Mark said.
He came over and kissed Heather. He tasted of tomato too. She was willing to bet they all did.
“Well, all of this is going to make an excellent salad,” Heather said. She had gone to her garden, just a stone’s throw from the kitchen, where she grew a wealth of edible flowers and herbs. She had a pile of fresh ingredients in front of her.
Mark pulled out his pocket watch and shot her a look. She knew what it meant. Despite their best efforts, they were running late.
“Okay, you two go and get washed up, and change into the clothes I put on your beds,” Heather said.
The children instantly scowled. “Do we have to?” Chastity asked.
“But it’s not Sunday,” Ollie moaned as Mark dusted dirt out of his unruly brown hair. ‘Why do I have to wear my jacket and that shirt that itches?”
“It doesn’t itch,” Heather said. “Those are the clothes I made for you. They’re special for today. I made you a new jacket and trousers, Ollie, and for you, Chastity, there’s a new dress.”
Chastity’s face brightened, but Ollie continued to scowl.
“And your suit is ready and waiting for you too,” Heather added, smiling at Mark.
“I have to wear a suit?” he asked.
“Well, you are married to the local tailor,” she said pointedly.
Mark held up his hands in amused surrender. “Suit it is, then.”
“But why?” Ollie asked, sounding thoroughly upset. “Why do we have to get all dressed up just to see our friends?”
“Because it’s Freedom Day,” Mark explained. “It’s the day that commemorates how we beat the bad men and took back our town. It’s important.”
“Mama and Papa were there when the bad man, Mr. Bernini, was arrested and sent to jail,” Chastity said in a ringing voice, as though she was addressing a huge crowd of listeners. “We learned about it in school.”
Heather chuckled as she turned to the counter to make the salad. It was for the feast at the campfire, where the whole town would soon be gathering to celebrate their special day. It was also her and Mark’s anniversary, but they would celebrate that later in private.
“You know that Auntie Mildred’s playgroup isn’t really school,” Ollie said to Chastity.
The little girl, who was every bit as precocious as could be, stuck her nose in the air, her hands on her hips and said, “Well, it is to me.”
Heather chuckled and then tried to stifle her laughter.
She didn’t want to encourage that kind of backtalk, but Chastity looked so adorable, dirt-smeared and all, that she couldn’t help herself.
She turned to her work, cutting the red, ripe tomatoes and tossing them into the wooden bowl she was making the salad in.
“All right, upstairs with you both!” Mark said in his stern deputy tone.
Oliver, who was besotted with the idea of becoming a deputy himself when he grew up, saluted and then marched upstairs solemnly. Chastity rolled her eyes but followed her brother.
“There, see, I got them upstairs,” Mark said, grinning.
“You’ll have to make sure they use soap,” Heather said, glancing over her shoulder.
Mark groaned and then trudged upstairs.
Heather laughed. He loved their children so much but hated getting them dressed. Well, it was that or he would have to make the salad. Since Mark wasn’t gifted in the kitchen, it was safer for him to get the children dressed. He had to change anyway, so it made sense.
As she chopped and scooped, making a salad filled with greens, Heather thought about how far they had come. Not only as a couple but also as a community.
Without the wall around the town, Unity had spread far. The mine and the surrounding farms had attracted new businesses and more people. It was amusing to see how, no matter who they were when they arrived, they soon joined the family, as the original settlers of the town liked to call themselves.
The sense of community, the joy of spending time together and building a better future, was an ethos that was carried through. With Michael as the official mayor and Andrew as the head of the mine, Unity was the most prosperous town in the area.
Emily had expanded her school to include Mildred’s playgroup and a high school.
They were even talking about opening a college, which would no doubt keep Clary and Evelyn even busier with their coaching company.
It was the best way to get around town, a Wilson Coach.
They had even bought two more to deal with all the people who needed to get around.
Heather had expanded her haberdashery and moved out of the general store into a building Mark had constructed for her.
Diane and Julie’s clinic had expanded into a proper hospital where doctors and apothecaries treated patients side by side.
Grace and Herman’s bakery was doing well. Alice was working there, manning the front of the store, while she and Kyle saved up for their own farm.
Anita and Kevin’s dairy farm and restaurant were booming. Heather had no doubt that they would be bringing something delicious to the feast, which was why Heather was trying so hard to make her salad special. How could one compete with those folks? It was difficult.
At least she wouldn’t be alone. Lucy didn’t have time to do much cooking since she was running the sheriff’s department along with Robert. That made Heather feel a little better.
As she made her salad, she thought of how far they had all come and how wonderful it was to be part of this peaceful community. After so much trouble, they were all quite settled and happy.
Even Lizzy, who was still so busy with her twins, was doing well at her forge.
Word was that she had taken on an apprentice to help with all the work.
Troy was working in town planning and being kept very busy.
But then, with Dorothy and Warren in the treasury and general office, that was to be expected.
The stairs creaked, and Mark and the children came down. They were all neat and tidy, although both Mark and Oliver’s hair was showing signs of becoming messy again.
“You look wonderful,” Heather said. “And we’re ready to go.”
Mark took the large bowl of salad. “This looks like a garden.”
Not knowing what to say to that, Heather took the children by the hand, and they set off for the campfire.
As they stepped out of their house, they met Bonnie and Jeff coming down the street. Their two children, Liam and June, were running ahead. Chastity and Oliver ran off after them.
Just ahead of them were Clary and Thomas with their son Shawn. They were walking with Evelyn and Ross. Evelyn was pregnant and complained loudly about being made to walk to the campfire.
It really wasn’t that far. Heather and Bonnie exchanged amused looks. Everything was always a big deal with Evelyn. It was one of the things they loved about her.
“Mac is here, did you know?” Jeff told Mark. “He arrived last night on the stagecoach. There’s news about the railway. We might be getting a station. And a post office!”
“That’s exciting,” Mark said. “Although we will open ourselves up to all sorts of folks then.”
“You’re thinking of the criminal elements that we don’t have here yet,” Jeff said with a chuckle. “That will give us something to do.”
“We have plenty of things to do,” Mark protested.
Jeff laughed and jabbed his shoulder. “You’re such a stick in the mud sometimes.”
Soon they were walking across the bridge, and they met up with Lizzy and Troy and their twins, who ran ahead with the other children.
The atmosphere was electric with happiness and excitement. Freedom Day was always one of the best holidays on the town calendar. The feast, the dancing, and spending time with everyone, that was the real joy of the experience.
But first there were the speeches.
Gathering around the campfire, everyone found somewhere to sit on logs and benches.
The tents had burned away five years earlier when Diane had set them alight to hem in the bandits, not allowing them to spread throughout the town.
In their place, the town had set up seating and long wooden tables to hold the feasts.
Heather added her salad to the dishes. The tables were groaning under the weight of roasted meats, baked potatoes, corn on the cob piled high, pies, breads, and salads. A whole table was dedicated to desserts, and parents were having some trouble keeping their children from devouring the whole lot.
In a clear area in the middle of the space where the campfire stones still lay, Andrew and Michael called for quiet.
“It’s been five years since we took our town back from El Aguila. He is rotting away in jail and will spend the rest of his life there,” Andrew said.
Everyone cheered.
“But we have to acknowledge that despite the pain and suffering he caused, he also gave us a wonderful gift,” Michael said.
What gift? Heather looked over at Mark, and he was frowning.
“He gave us the gift of knowledge,” Andrew said, picking up Michael’s thread.
“If we hadn’t been tested. If we hadn’t suffered and prevailed.
Would we know that we could? Would we be the strong, solid community that we are now?
Would we be this large, extended family?
I don’t know. I can’t say, but I like to think that through our hardships, we learned several lessons. ”
“We learned that we could trust and rely on each other,” Michael said, ticking off the points on his fingers.
“We learned that we are resourceful. We found a deep understanding of what it means to be a community and how much we value our faith and our commitment to each other. We learned that money doesn’t buy a darn thing that truly matters.
And we learned that we are stronger and better together. ”
“These lessons didn’t come without a price, and they were learned in pain and fear, but we got there in the end,” Andrew said.
“And for that, we have to be grateful this Freedom Day. We have to give thanks for this wonderful opportunity we have here, because Unity isn’t just a place to live.
It’s a place to grow and thrive. And it takes work and commitment from each one of us to keep it that way. ”
“So, today, we pledge anew that we will continue in the spirit that we started this community. We will never turn our backs on each other and let our hearts blacken with greed. We promise to care, to love and laugh and always talk out our problems with each other,” Michael said.
“And that’s what it means to be part of this family. ”
The applause was deafening. Heather felt such a sense of belonging and warmth as she had never felt in a place before. Could this really last?
She had no idea, but perhaps it could. If everyone was really determined to make this town so successful, then why not? What stood in its way?
Mark leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “Happy anniversary to you, my darling wife.”
“And to you, my wonderful husband,” she whispered back.
He grinned at her and squeezed her hand.
The speeches ended with Mac taking the stage and waving to everyone. He spoke for a minute only, wishing everyone a happy Freedom Day and a blessed year to follow.
His wife Sadie was on his arm—the formerly estranged pair had long since reconciled—and she smiled and waved too.
Heather knew that while Mac had been instrumental in all that happened in Unity, Sadie had also been working hard in New York to unravel the rat’s nest that was Mr. Bernini’s network.
He had had his fingers in numerous illegal pies.
She didn’t even know the half of it and frankly had decided not to ever find out.
What good would it do? He had hoodwinked her, and she was still sore about it.
With the speeches done, it was time to eat.
Everyone had a place at a table, and the food was passed around. Father Sumner said Grace, and everyone dug in. The air was filled with laughter and the cries of children running around and playing. Not even a bounty of food could keep them in their seats for long.
Soon, musicians began to play some tunes, and folks got up to dance as the fancy took them.
“Would you do me the honor?” Mark asked, offering Heather his hand.
She took it with a smile, and they went to the makeshift dance floor.
“Do you think this can last forever?” Heather asked as her husband whirled her around to the music.
Mark shrugged. “It doesn’t have to. It can be remade every day if we choose to do the work.
That’s what Michael and Andrew meant with their speech.
We can’t just sit back and hope the future will be bright and good.
We have to make it that way. It’s all about what we do every day, how we treat each other, and what we say.
That’s how we honor the opportunity we fought so hard for. ”
Heather smiled and kissed him. It was the hundredth, or possibly the millionth kiss of their relationship, but it was as sweet as the first one.
She loved him dearly and knew that he loved her.
They would put in the work and raise their children to do the same because having this chance to live in peace and prosperity, in the light of God’s grace and love, wasn’t a right but something they had earned, and that made it all the more special.
The future wasn’t written, but if it was approached with faith, then it was guaranteed to be bright. And that was all anyone could hope for.
THE END
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