Epilogue
Epilogue
Key West
1883
“You know, you shouldn’t be sitting here in this heat. It’s not good for you.”
It is Charles. His sudden presence by my side in the cemetery startles me. He looks concerned as he proffers his ?rm dark hand. And this time, because I am tired, I willingly take it and he pulls me up from the bench.
“Are you all right, Grandma?”
Yes, Charles is my grandson, Ebony’s eldest. I have proudly acknowledged my handsome brown grandsons, you see. And for me, this has been very liberating. Of course, it also means I have become a pariah. Imagine. In the twilight of my life, I am again a woman of interest. Do I care what people are saying? Not a whit! I’m too rich, and I am too old.
As Charles leads me along the path toward the victoria, we approach a grave that is familiar to me near the entrance. It has long been neglected, and the gnarled, braided roots of a geiger tree have aggressively tunneled below the marker, heaving it to one side so that the name George Lee is askew and barely recognizable. A small gray ratsnake slithers out from an opening behind it and positions itself into a coil, watching us as we pass.
At the carriage, Charles clears away the books he has been studying while waiting for me. And he helps me up to the driver’s seat next to him, where I always insist on sitting.
“So, how was your visit with the old bones?” he asks. He knows I will tolerate his impertinence without reproof because of his resemblance to his grandfather.
“It was an excellent visit,” I reply with a wry smile. “We had a very good chat.” I’m silent for a moment and then I add, “They keep asking me when I shall come to stay …”
His smile fades as my meaning sinks in. We are sitting together in the carriage now, and he puts his arm around my shoulder. “Grandma, you tell them they’re going to have to wait,” he says softly as he kisses me on the cheek. “We’re not going to let you go for a long time yet!” Charles ?ashes his smile at me again. Then, with a determined ?ick of the reins, he urges the horse to move forward at a lively canter.