A Nurse for Daniel

stove. Gwen stirred a pitcher of cold lemonade and placed nibbles of cheese, bread, homemade jam, and pickles on the plate. A custard pie enticed her, but she decided to wait and have a piece with Arthur when he arrived.
Gwen was sitting snuggled in a light wrap on the porch when her guest arrived. “Arthur,” she said, “I began to fear you wouldn’t show.”
“Sorry to be late. The master kept me after supper, running for one thing or another.”
“Why do you still call him master? The law says you are free and the only one who deserves that allegiance is our Heavenly King.”
“Probably just a habit. Not sure what else to call a man who pays for my services.”
“Mr. McAlister or sir, is adequate,” Gwen said.
“I’ll try to remember, for I am eternally grateful to be free of the lifestyle my ancestors endured for generations.”
“Amen. I am a believer in a man’s right to be free, no matter the color of his skin or the blood that runs in his veins.”
Arthur grinned. “You have not met your employer yet, have you?”
Gwen was taken aback. “I suppose I haven’t, but I don’t see how that makes a difference in my beliefs.”
Arthur nodded toward her glass of lemonade. “Wouldn’t say no to a taste of that cool drink.”
Gwen jumped to her feet. “Of course. And I have something for your sweet tooth, as well. Sit in the rocking chair, and I will return shortly.”
Five minutes later, she called out, “Will you open the door? I have my hands full.”
His eyes rounded at the sight of the candy on the side of his plate. “Now, that is a grand surprise. Haven’t enjoyed stick candy for quite a spell. And yummy pie. You are surely spoiling me, Nurse Gwen.”
She set the tray down and handed him a plate. She held his eye a moment and gave in to her curiosity again. “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”
He moved to sit on the chair next to her. “Fire away.”
“I understand pre-civil war slaves were given no opportunity for education, and I wondered, since you are relatively new to the land of the free, how you are able to speak such good English?”
“You can thank Daniel McAlister for that. As children, he would not hear tell of me peppering my language with a tongue that would give my position away as anything less than the friend I was. See, we always had this dream that someday, the whites would come to their senses and let the black man go free. Of course, we never expected it to come at the cost of this bloody war.” He looked down at his plate. “And I never expected my friend to cave-in to his father’s demands and join the Confederate Army. Spent my entire time on the field fearful I’d face Daniel on the battlefield. It never happened, thank the Good Lord, but the war changed everything. Daniel and me…well, we’re just has-beens. Now that it’s possible for us to openly walk the plantation together, he doesn’t even know me.”
“It is rather ironic,” Gwen said. “It sounds like you have many pleasant memories to share, and I’m eager to hear all the antics you two dreamed up to keep the place humming with gossip.”
He grinned. “You’re right there. We were wild characters. What one couldn’t think of, the other did. Don’t surprise me none, same blood running…” he stopped abruptly and scooped a large helping of pie nervously into his mouth.
“You were saying?” Gwen asked.
“Not for me to say. Just got me blabbering nonsense is all.”
Gwen examined the man closer. She saw the same dark set of his eyes and his hair laid flat, except for the telltale cowlick that told his secret. “I did warn you that I read people well, right?”
He nodded but continued to shovel the dessert into his mouth. She figured he had a fast exit on his mind.
“I might wager a guess that you are related to Daniel, perhaps a second son for Mr. McAlister?” She watched his countenance droop as he put his plate onto the tray. “Has no one ever made the connection, Arthur? Take the color away, and you and Daniel have a distinct likeness.”
“Mama told me the story when I was ten-years-old, just before she drew her final breath. After her husband died, the master had the nerve to come in the darkness of night and defile my mother while she cried bitterly for her first love, not even in his grave yet. I was her only boy, because the man she’d married was unable to father children. That’s how we know for sure that I belong to the man at the big house. Mama was relieved when I came out black, because the life of a creamy is difficult for folks on both sides. Everyone in the row houses rejoiced, believing that God had blessed her husband’s final seed to make his passing easier for Mama. Her and me kept the secret, but Daniel guessed it. Some bonds just can’t be denied.”
“Oh, Arthur, don’t worry a minute about me knowing. I will keep your secret, but don’t you see how we can use it in our favor, perhaps to ignite fond memories in Daniel’s mind; give him his identity back?”
“Not much sense stirring the pot with the McAlisters. It’s not like Daniel hasn’t seen me, Miss, but there’s no recognition on his part these days.”
“Have you taken him to old haunts?”
“It’s not my place. He’s angry and taking it out on everyone who crosses his path. I don’t want to risk getting fired.”
“So, is that why you stay—because of Daniel?”
“Only family I got is on this here plantation. Mama and her man are buried over yonder, and besides Ma’s family, Daniel’s all I have