I came by to drop off Rita and Lila, and that since there was no adult in charge I took you with me to find another place for you to live. Simple and effective, okay?”
Most of the girls nodded.
“But whether you choose to talk about it or not, you need to be prepared for the story to get out, for people to look at you differently. Some men will try to treat you poorly. Most men won’t pay you much attention at all. Good men will treat you as the ladies that you are. It’s the way life is, be ready to deal with it and remember that whatever may happen or may be said, you are no worse, or no better, than anyone else. You’re just people too. Okay?”
Around the campfire, he watched the girls carefully. A few of them nodded, their heads barely moving.
“All right, now, back to answering your question. I couldn’t leave you behind, because sooner or later the men that had been frequenting the place would return. I’ll take you as far as Corpus Christi. I hope to find you a good house there and get you set up as a trading post. You’ve got a darned good start with what’s in the back of the truck. By careful trading and sound negotiating you should be able to keep yourselves fed and clothed and sheltered. I’m going to teach you ladies how to defend yourselves as we travel. By the time we get to Corpus, I expect each of you—even the youngest ones—to be able to handle a gun expertly, to work together as a team. With luck and some hard training, I’ll leave you there in excellent shape, and safe. Then I’ll say goodbye and return to my travels. When I finish my trip, I’ll come back and check in on you; and take anyone who wants to go back to Fort Brazos with me. Does that sound okay to all of you?”
Most of the girls nodded, the rest just stared at him, making him uncomfortable. Adrian had a prescient moment where he knew that when the time came to leave them behind he would feel like he was abandoning them, and that some of them would feel the same way. But I didn’t take them on to raise, and couldn’t take care of them if I wanted to, without abandoning my own life, at least not until I can get them back home and set up somehow.
“Okay then, let’s get started teaching me your names. I want each of you to just call me Adrian. Racy, would you introduce them by age, starting with the youngest first?”
Racy stood and walked behind the girls. She stopped behind each one and gave her name and a couple of brief words of their backgrounds, all of which were remarkably similar: orphans that had been taken in by guile and then used by Lacy and Reggie. “Gina, Tracy, Erin, Alana, Celia, Selena, Lena, Shayla, Victoria, Faye, Rylie, Helen and Regan. And you already know Lila and Rita.” As each girl was introduced Adrian said hello and called her by name.
When the introductions were complete, Adrian said, “It’ll take a while for me to get your names all straight, bear with me until I do.” Then thinking that manners might be a good thing to show he added, “Please.”
He stood up and stretched. “Let’s get the wood collected and then get back on the road.”
Racy spoke up. “Can I make a suggestion? It might be a good idea to stop here for the day, let everyone kind of get used to the idea that we’re no longer slaves, that our lives are extremely different.”
She must have seen the puzzled look on Adrian’s face, because she continued quickly.
“I know this must sound crazy to you, Adrian, but this is the biggest day in our lives, ever. I’d like to see the girls play, that’s something they haven’t been allowed to do. Just loaf around and play. One day of that won’t hurt, will it?”
Adrian scratched his head. Play? They need to play? Oh geez what have I gotten into . “I expect not Racy, one day isn’t going to make a lot of difference. Go ahead and set up camp, get the girls situated and then let them play all day. I’ll go hunting so you all can have privacy. When I come
Most of the girls nodded.
“But whether you choose to talk about it or not, you need to be prepared for the story to get out, for people to look at you differently. Some men will try to treat you poorly. Most men won’t pay you much attention at all. Good men will treat you as the ladies that you are. It’s the way life is, be ready to deal with it and remember that whatever may happen or may be said, you are no worse, or no better, than anyone else. You’re just people too. Okay?”
Around the campfire, he watched the girls carefully. A few of them nodded, their heads barely moving.
“All right, now, back to answering your question. I couldn’t leave you behind, because sooner or later the men that had been frequenting the place would return. I’ll take you as far as Corpus Christi. I hope to find you a good house there and get you set up as a trading post. You’ve got a darned good start with what’s in the back of the truck. By careful trading and sound negotiating you should be able to keep yourselves fed and clothed and sheltered. I’m going to teach you ladies how to defend yourselves as we travel. By the time we get to Corpus, I expect each of you—even the youngest ones—to be able to handle a gun expertly, to work together as a team. With luck and some hard training, I’ll leave you there in excellent shape, and safe. Then I’ll say goodbye and return to my travels. When I finish my trip, I’ll come back and check in on you; and take anyone who wants to go back to Fort Brazos with me. Does that sound okay to all of you?”
Most of the girls nodded, the rest just stared at him, making him uncomfortable. Adrian had a prescient moment where he knew that when the time came to leave them behind he would feel like he was abandoning them, and that some of them would feel the same way. But I didn’t take them on to raise, and couldn’t take care of them if I wanted to, without abandoning my own life, at least not until I can get them back home and set up somehow.
“Okay then, let’s get started teaching me your names. I want each of you to just call me Adrian. Racy, would you introduce them by age, starting with the youngest first?”
Racy stood and walked behind the girls. She stopped behind each one and gave her name and a couple of brief words of their backgrounds, all of which were remarkably similar: orphans that had been taken in by guile and then used by Lacy and Reggie. “Gina, Tracy, Erin, Alana, Celia, Selena, Lena, Shayla, Victoria, Faye, Rylie, Helen and Regan. And you already know Lila and Rita.” As each girl was introduced Adrian said hello and called her by name.
When the introductions were complete, Adrian said, “It’ll take a while for me to get your names all straight, bear with me until I do.” Then thinking that manners might be a good thing to show he added, “Please.”
He stood up and stretched. “Let’s get the wood collected and then get back on the road.”
Racy spoke up. “Can I make a suggestion? It might be a good idea to stop here for the day, let everyone kind of get used to the idea that we’re no longer slaves, that our lives are extremely different.”
She must have seen the puzzled look on Adrian’s face, because she continued quickly.
“I know this must sound crazy to you, Adrian, but this is the biggest day in our lives, ever. I’d like to see the girls play, that’s something they haven’t been allowed to do. Just loaf around and play. One day of that won’t hurt, will it?”
Adrian scratched his head. Play? They need to play? Oh geez what have I gotten into . “I expect not Racy, one day isn’t going to make a lot of difference. Go ahead and set up camp, get the girls situated and then let them play all day. I’ll go hunting so you all can have privacy. When I come
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