By Joanna Phillips
Lou sat very close to Jimmy with her hands clenched nervously in her lap as they drove toward the prison. When they drove past the stockyards, haunted, hollowed eyes followed them. Some of the men shouted out degrading remarks to Lou, but for the most part the men were too weary to bother her.
Lou's eyes frantically skimmed the dirty faces, but there were far too many for her to have any real hope of spotting Kid. Soon they were past the enclosures and stopping in front of the infirmary and guard barracks.
"What do you want here?" A voice suddenly boomed from the door of the hospital.
"To visit with a prisoner," Cody said, assuming charge and stepping forward.
"There ain't no visitation allowed, Sir. That's the rules!"
"Well, there's going to be an exception this time," Cody said, hearing Lou's gasp of despair behind him. "Who do we need to talk to?"
"The warden, but he's not here today. Won't be back for a week."
"Well, then you'll have to find someone else. Why don't you invite us in and bring in someone who can help us. It is quite cold, and there is a lady present," Cody instructed with his natural ability to persuade.
"You can wait in here, sir" the young guard said, and Lou and Jimmy followed Cody into a dull gray building built long and low, with two rows of beds lining a center aisle.
They followed the guard down the long aisle, and Lou did her best not to recoil in horror from the sick men lying on the beds. She'd seen men near death while working at the hospital in Virginia, but never in her worst nightmare could she have pictured the men who lay on the beds now, their skin stretched drum tight against their faces and necks.
"Do you not find it necessary to feed your prisoners?" Jimmy growled from behind Lou.
"They eat as well as Northern prisoners down South eat. In fact, these men eat a lot better."
Lou felt the color slowly draining from her face as the guard left them in a tiny room with a table and a few rickety chairs. Once the door was closed she sat herself down, not trusting her trembling knees any longer.
"It's all right, Lou," Jimmy assured her, but couldn't help pacing the room.
"Let me do the talking here," Cody warned them, "just go along with me."
The door suddenly opened and two guards entered and stood against the doorway, watching them carefully.
"What, you think we're going to single-handedly set all the prisoners free?" Jimmy asked in amusement.
"We don't take chances here," one of the guards, a short, barrel-chested man with a thick brown mustache, informed him.
Lou was about to look away from the arrogant little man when something caught her attention. A flash of light around his neck drew her stare and her eyes narrowed.
The guard had on Kid's St. Christopher charm.
"Where did you get that?" Lou suddenly demanded, standing up, her voice climbing in panic.
"Get what?"
"That charm around your neck! That was my husband's! Where is he?"
"Don't know what you're talking about lady. My sweetheart back home gave me this," he smiled sarcastically.
Lou stormed toward him and made a move to rip the necklace off him, knowing the charm was an original and that Kid wouldn't have willingly given it up. The guard roughly shoved her. Jimmy steadied the stumbling Lou, then started rushing forward, his face turning bright red.
"Don't you ever touch her again!" Jimmy snarled, and the other guard started to hurry to his comrade's assistance.
"Stop it!" Cody growled, seeing all semblance of order quickly disappearing.
"What is going on in here?" A new voice suddenly thundered.
Everyone stopped in their tracks at the authoritative new figure and turned to study the new arrival.
Lou's eyes narrowed as she studied the man, dressed sharply in blue. He was infinitely tall, with jet-black hair and bright green eyes. Lou had the oddest feeling she'd met him before, but couldn't figure out when or where.
"I asked a question, Private!" he demanded again, focusing his sharp glare on the guard with Kid's charm.
"This lunatic woman attacked me for no reason."
"He has something that doesn't belong to him," Lou muttered, sure the Yankee would side with the private.
"And what's that?" the man asked with a sigh.
"The charm around his neck. I gave it to my husband. It's a St. Christopher. The words 'ride safe always' are engraved on the back. I'd bet my life on it," Lou explained, again searching the familiar eyes of the tall Yankee Captain.
At that moment the Captain seemed to recognize her also, not able to place his finger on where he knew her from either. He shook his head as if trying to remember what he'd been saying before he caught her stare.
"She's a crazy wench!" The guard protested.
"Private! You are in the presence of a lady, and you will not refer to her as anything but ma'am!" the Captain reprimanded him sharply, then ordered, "let me see the charm."
"But it is mine! My sweetheart gave it to me!"
"Then you have nothing to worry about," the Captain reasoned.
The guard sullenly removed the charm and handed it to the Captain who quickly flipped it over and saw the lady was right. The words were engraved on the back. Tears touched her eyes as her hand closed around the charm when he extended it to her.
"I'll deal with you later, Private. I've warned you about stealing from the prisoners! Both of you are excused." Piercing green eyes turned on Lou, Jimmy, and Cody, and after sharing a sharp salute with Cody, the Captain finally asked, "Now what is your business here?"
"We'd like to see Kid McCloud. He's a prisoner here, and we've traveled all the way from Rock Creek, Nebraska to see him. This is his wife."
"I'm afraid that's not possible," the Captain shook his head, "we don't allow visitation."
"No!" Lou suddenly growled, slamming both palms on the table and pushing herself up from the chair she'd just eased in to, "You will let me see my husband! You can't stop me! I've traveled around the country and back to arrive here, and if you think I'm going to quit now, you are out of your mind!"
And finally it dawned on Jonathan Monroe who the spitfire in front of him was. And it was that stormy, willful flash in her eyes and the stubborn set of her jaw that made the memory as clear as day. He could easily remember the day he'd marched with Captain Kent up her drive in Virginia. She'd had the same look in her eyes then, and the same fiercely protective and proud defiance still radiated from her. The hair at the back of Jonathan's neck stood on end, just as it had when he'd seen her for the first time.
Jonathan felt himself start to smile as she continued to glare at him. He should have known. He'd seen her husband brought into the infirmary wounded badly a week ago. Although it had been months since he'd burned Kid McCloud's home, Jonathan hadn't forgotten the quiet, dignified man he'd guarded for a week before turning him over to the soldiers who would take him to Point Lookout. Jonathan hadn't thought about him or his beautiful wife since then, even when he had been transferred to oversee Point Lookout after shattering his leg in a skirmish. He was still adjusting to his promotion to Captain and new duties at the prison when, a few weeks ago, Kid was brought in from the yard after a riot. The surgeon had been prepared to amputate Kid's arm when Jonathan walked by and recognized him, demanding he be well cared for.
And he'd demanded this care because of the beautiful woman he still remembered standing on her porch with her head high and eyes blazing. He did it because he knew this woman waited for her husband to return, and because he'd been a part in taking him from her. The memory of their heart wrenching parting stayed with him.
Only Jonathan had been mistaken. Louise McCloud didn't wait for her husband after all, she'd come after him.
"I guess we'd better go find your husband, then. You'll wait here?" Jonathan Monroe asked.
Completely baffled by his sudden change of heart, Lou closed her mouth, silencing the next round of threats and protests she'd prepared to launch at him.
"Do you know him? Is he alive?" Lou breathed.
"You don't remember me do you?" Jonathan asked.
Lou again stared at him, but still couldn't grasp where she knew him from. Then, as if someone had whispered to her who he was, she gasped.
"You burned my house down!"
"Nice to know I'm remembered so fondly," Jonathan said good-naturedly, then seeing the anxiousness on the poor woman's face he smiled and said, "Yes, your husband is alive. I'll get someone to find him. You all may wait here. It may take awhile."
When Jonathan left the room, Jimmy and Cody let out triumphant yelps and wrapped Lou in hugs.
They still had no way to get Kid out, but at least they could see him.
Lou forced herself to sit back down in the chair as her knees began trembling again. After seeing the condition of most of the men, she wasn't sure what to expect from Kid. Not only was she worried of his physical well being, but his mental health. She could only imagine what he'd endured at the hands of the arrogant guards.
Her fingers tightened on her husband's charm. No one would take it from him again.
They waited for what was beginning to feel like forever. Jimmy and Cody alternately paced the room. Lou twirled the small gold charm absent mindedly between her fingers, her eyes on the door Kid would soon walk through.
Kid stumbled along doggedly behind the guard that had forced him to follow. He was confused as they left the yard and approached the barracks.
"What's this about?" Kid growled angrily.
"Captain wants to see you, Reb. Told me to bring you here, and that's what I'm doing."
Kid sighed and felt dread settle into his gut. He wondered if they found out it had been him to start the riot.
Kid was surprised to see Jonathan Monroe standing inside the infirmary waiting for him. Although they hadn't been friends, both men had developed a certain respect for each other in the time they'd spent together shortly before Kid had been shipped to the prison.
Jonathan Monroe saluted Kid, something none of the other guards had ever bothered to do. Kid raised his arm weakly in return.
"What's going on?" Kid wondered.
"Come with me please," Jonathan said, not wanting to give away the surprise.
Kid glanced at Monroe uneasily as the Captain held his arm out, indicating he wished Kid to go before him into a private room.
Without any idea what was waiting for him behind that door, Kid pushed through it weakly.
Lou gasped as she caught the first sight of her husband, and leapt to her feet. Jimmy and Cody both also stopped and turned to watch Kid, who'd stopped dead in his tracks, with the door swinging back to rest against his shoulder.
Lou felt tears of relief but also horror fill her eyes and spill down her cheeks almost instantly. She might not have recognized the thin, dirty, sickly man in front of her if she had to pick him out of a crowd of many. He wove weakly on his feet, and his eyes were wide and darted nervously from her to Jimmy to Cody as he tried to understand or believe what he saw.
"Lou?" He finally ventured in a rusty voice, as if frightened she might disappear if he spoke.
Lou choked on a sob and rushed to him, wrapping her arms gently around him, afraid he'd break.
Wordlessly, he hugged her back. Lou had a feeling he held her as tightly as his weak limbs would allow, but she could barely feel his thin arms surrounding her. Lou didn't notice the grime from Kid that was marking her face or dress, nor did the sharp smell of her husband bother her in the least.
For a moment Kid was silent and almost stoic, holding Lou tightly, but seeming miles away. Then, she felt him start to tremble and felt his shoulders heave. Kid was suddenly sobbing violently into her neck.
The tears came quickly for Lou then. Jonathan Monroe quickly left the room, followed by Jimmy and Cody, who respected their friends' need to be alone.
Outside of the tiny room, Cody turned to Jonathan and asked, "So, what is it going to take for us to get him out of here?"
Jonathan was taken by surprise and shook his head, "Whoa, there. I bent the rules by letting you see him in the first place. There's no way he's leaving here. Not until this war is over."
"Aw, come on! He can't hardly stand up, much less fight again! You can't keep him here! He's going to die! Didn't you see him?" Jimmy asked incredulously.
"Men are dying all the time. We are at war," Jonathan said quietly.
"We're not going to give up on this. We have friends in Washington. We'll get papers that will get him released," Cody pointed out.
"When you bring those papers by, I'll be the first to send Kid out of here with bells and whistles. Not until then. But I should warn you, those papers you are talking about aren't easy to come by. I wouldn't get his wife's hopes up."
Jimmy and Cody looked at each other.
"Her hopes are already up," Jimmy said quietly.
"And we're not going to let her down," Cody added.
Kid breathed in the sweet smell of Lou's skin as his tears ebbed. Lou felt his cheek pressed into her neck, and was worried at the feverish feel of him.
"Kid, we've come to get you out," Lou whispered in his ear suddenly.
"What? You can't get me out of here, Lou. They'll never let me go, and it is too dangerous," Kid argued, standing back, "I have to stay Lou. You can't get your hopes up."
"No, you don't have to stay! I need you!" Lou paused, then looked deeply into her husband's glassy blue eyes, "And our child needs you, Kid."
A million emotions glowed in those eyes within seconds. Shock, tenderness, fear, love, and confusion all crossed his face.
"What?"
"We're going to have a baby, Kid. Look at me, I'm practically ready to bust out of this dress," Lou smiled softly.
Kid looked down and knew it was true, knew he'd felt a difference when he held her. His feverish mind tried to make sense of it, "So, did you date the other letter wrong?"
"What letter?" Lou asked quietly.
"The letter about our child. I got it, but it was dated a year ago…" Kid began.
"Oh," Lou suddenly murmured with dread, knowing it was time to tell him the truth he'd had to endure alone, a year after she'd borne it in solitude, "Kid, I don't know how to tell you this, but I was expecting a child before, but I lost the baby. I didn't think you would ever see the letter announcing that I was pregnant, and I just didn't know how to tell you what had happened."
"You should have told me, Lou," Kid said, tears welling anew in his eyes, matching the ones running down his wife's cheeks, "I had a right to know! And I left you there alone!"
"Shh," Lou whispered hoarsely, and went to him, again holding him, "I had Ellen. There was nothing you could have done, Kid. But now, I need you. I'm scared, Kid. I want this baby so much, and I can't do it alone this time."
"Lou, I love you, and I love our child, but I can't leave here," Kid suddenly said quietly, but firmly.
"What? Teaspoon is going to bring papers that will get you out," Lou began, confused as to why he thought he couldn't go.
"No!" Kid said sharply, bringing tears to Lou's eyes, "I don't expect you to understand this, but I have to stay, Lou. There are thousands of men in there who are no better and no worse than me, who have wives and families, and yet they are rotting in those yards. It would be an insult to them and the memories of the ones who have died to just walk out of here and turn my back on them because of any connections Teaspoon has!"
"Damn it, Kid!" Lou suddenly screeched, her voice wracked with sobs, "So you're gonna turn your back on me instead?"
"No, Lou!" Kid tried to put his hands on her shoulders but she pushed him roughly away, retreating to the other side of the room to look at him with piercing brown eyes that flashed in anger and hurt. "Please, Lou," he pleaded, "try to understand. This place has changed me for the worst. They've tried everything they can to beat me, and hell, I don't know, they might have already won. But I can't leave. I owe it to the men that died."
"And what do you owe to me, Kid? What do you owe to the child that never breathed? What do you owe to this child that grows every day?" Lou's hand touched her abdomen.
"I owe you everything, Lou! I owe you my heart and my life! But I left my heart and soul in that stockyard, where I held boys' heads while they cried for their mama's and died of starvation and disease. And if I walk out of here, I'll never be able to live with myself."
"And if you don't walk out of here, I'll never be able to live with you," Lou pushed the ultimatum forth.
"Lou, don't do this," Kid began, his voice cracking.
"No, Kid!" Lou silenced him, "You don't do this! I've watched you ride away from me for three years, and I've spent those years in hell just waiting to find your name on one of those damned casualty lists. I can't do it anymore. Not now, since I've seen where you are. I can't leave you here, Kid. But if you force me to, then that's exactly what I'm going to do. I will leave you here for good, Kid. This is too hard!"
"Lou, this is my cause!" Kid began, choking down a sob.
"And I am your wife!" Lou sobbed, her voice climbing, "And I've played second fiddle to your cause long enough! I've let the South have you for three years, Kid! But I can't allow it one second longer! Not when I know that if you stay in here, you'll die!"
"Lou, if I walk away from here, I give up my honor."
"And I told you, if you don't, you give up your wife. Which will it be Kid?"
A tortured look of disbelief crossed Kid's face, and it was all Lou could do not to wrap her arms around him and promise she'd wait forever for him to come home. But it would have been a lie. She was weary, and she was miserable, and for herself she had to lay her cards on the table. She owed him that much. And he couldn't put her and especially his own child behind his cause any longer.
"I guess I have my answer," Lou finally whispered when Kid stood in silence for long moments.
"Lou, wait!" Kid began, and Lou turned hope filled eyes toward him.
"I have to make you understand why I have to stay," Kid pleaded, reaching for her.
Lou stood quietly while he came to her and touched her rounded belly, and allowed him to kiss her cheek. She averted her eyes, but not her face, as he enveloped her into a tight hug.
"Lou, please, you know I have to stay," Kid sobbed.
"You're wrong Kid, I don't know you at all," Lou said, fighting tears fiercely, "Goodbye."
She turned to make her way out of the room quickly, ignoring his plead for her to come back.
To Be Continued...Chapter XIII
Copyright 1998-This work is not to be reproduced without the permission of the author
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Campfire Tales