River

Ben

I leave my little grove of trees at dawn after a night of little sleep. I am filled with regrets. The more I think about it the more I realize that I have wanted Samuel this whole time, ever since I saw him on the Trace all those months ago. And now that I unaccountably received the opportunity that I never thought would actually arise, I scared him off. I think I lost my head, so overwhelmed with the way he felt in my arms that I lost all ability to reason. I should have been less aggressive, not pushed him so far so fast. Or maybe I should have been more aggressive, not letting him leave without a word, I should have pulled him back to me. I should have …

I make myself stop it. There is no point now. David will probably want to leave today. I might be able to stall him for one more day, but there is no way that one extra day would lead me to Samuel again. I have lost my chance.

I make my way back Under-the-hill, and look for someplace that is already open and will sell me a bit of bread for my breakfast. I am sure I still have at least a little time before David wakes up, leaves the brothel and tells me that he wants to set out north immediately.

I find some bread, and happily even a little cheese, and settle down on the edge of the dock to eat, overlooking the water, my feet kicking in the air beneath me. Our flatboat from yesterday has already been hauled up out of the river and is sitting drying on the edge, waiting to be pulled apart for the lumber. The morning isn’t too warm yet, with the sun just starting to crest over the hills behind the town at my back. It will be terribly hot later, but by then I suppose we’ll be in the shade of the trees along the Trace.

I wonder if Samuel slept well last night. I wonder if he was thinking of me. I wonder if he has regrets as well. I don’t suppose I will ever find out.

I’m suddenly not hungry any more, and I toss the rest of my bread into the water below the dock, where several ducks rush clamoring to seize it.

“Hello,” I hear from behind me. Startled, I turn around and see a figure silhouetted in the light of the rising sun. I clamber to my feet to see who it is.

I am shocked to see that it is Gregor, that fellow who stopped me from robbing Samuel all those months ago. I recognize him at once, even though I only ever saw him the one time before, and it was pouring rain at the time. I see the same slender figure, the same dark hair, the same intense eyes, the same angular features. But this time he is simply standing still, appearing quite mild, not looking like some kind of avenging angel on his rearing horse. I’ve never understood entirely what happened that day, but I do know that if he hadn’t done it, I would have had thievery on my conscience, and god knows what else. I didn’t want to do it in the first place. I was just going along with Mason, and with David who thought it would be exciting. I’m glad that my life of crime ended before it got started.

I stand staring at him for a moment, too surprised that he approached me to say anything. Is he here to reprimand me for that scene along the Trace? His hands are casually thrust into his trouser pockets, wearing only a waistcoat and shirtsleeves, no coat. He doesn’t appear to be ready to confront me about anything. I wonder what he wants.

“I just wanted to come over and say hello, Ben,” he says, strangely answering my unspoken question. I notice again that he has an unusual accent. I had forgotten about that part. “I’m glad to see that you made it safely the rest of the way along your journey up the Trace. I guess you’ve come back down with another flatboat?”

So he does remember that day. He even remembers my name. He doesn’t mention anything about the robbery scenario though. I know that he knew exactly what was going on, that David’s silly excuse about trying to help an injured fellow didn’t trick him for a second. I don’t know where this is headed. “Er, yes,” I tell him. Conversation is not my strength.

Rather than bidding me good day and going along his way, he seems to want to continue talking with me. Good grief, is this Gregor as chatty as David is? I think my friend and I have gone all the way up the Trace without me having to say more than two words upon occasion. If Gregor and David were ever to start talking I don’t suppose anyone else would ever have to speak again.

Gregor grins as though he thinks my hesitation is amusing. He points with his chin over to the strange construction going on at the other side of the dock, hands still in his pockets. “Have you had the chance to check that out?” he asks.

“Er, no.”

He says, “Why don’t you come on over, and I can show it to you.”

I shrug. I’m just waiting for David to show up, so I don’t have anything else to do. It doesn’t seem like Gregor is mad at me about the Trace incident, so I suppose I might as well let him show me whatever is going on over there. I’ve been wondering about it. I follow him down to the end of the dock.

As we walk I’m staring at the strange frame that has been built here. I see workers arriving, starting to fiddle with the system of ropes that is attached to it. I can’t imagine what this huge thing is.

“This is a pile driver,” Gregor explains, again answering my silent question. “Men will pull the ropes to lift that huge weight in the middle, then let it drop down onto the top of a log standing in the river, to drive it down into the silt. When all the logs have been driven into the soil far enough, they will be the pilings needed to make a sturdy support for a dock to be built here.”

I nod, understanding now what the purpose of the contraption is. I would never have thought of it, but it does make sense. It seems a clever device.

Gregor goes on, “They’ll be starting to line up the logs and use the pile driver in the next day or two. The problem is that there might not be enough workers. It will take a lot of men to steady the logs, and pull the ropes.”

That piques my interest. “They need more workers?” I suddenly have a rush of hope. If I could do this rather than heading up the Trace to catch another flatboat, I might see Samuel again.

He has a little smile on his face when he says, “Yes, they do.”

“Well, I’m available,” I tell him. “Do you suppose the manager might hire me?”

“I’m sure of it,” he replies.

I nod, resolved. I’ll tell David later. Who knows, maybe he would like to stay too, if the project has room for two more workers. “Who do I talk to?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “Me.”

Gregor

I already like Ben, and heartily approve him as the object of my friend’s romantic interest. He is silent until he can be coaxed to speak, but harbors a deep intelligence. Wolk tells me that he immediately understood how the pile driver would work once I explained it to him. Many people will remain baffled by it until they actually see it in action.

A strong, silent, intelligent lover seems exactly perfect for my friend Samuel. The fact that they are two men matters not at all to me. Trends come and go, and although in most societies such a match would be considered out of the mainstream, it is far more common than most would admit. I’ve sampled the delights of all manner of people, depending on my mood and who is around, but I always come back to a woman like Rosalind for the fulfillment of my truest desires. But to each their own. I know there is nothing wrong at all with finding passion in whatever form it takes. Love is always a delight. Especially for these humans whose lives are so short, no time should be wasted before pursuing every chance at finding such fulfillment.

I quickly settle the details with Ben for employment. He seems quite pleased with the wage I offer him, and even more so with the surprising information that I have let an entire boarding house at the end of the row Under-the-hill for my crew to stay in. Wolk tells me that Ben is accustomed to simply sleeping outside on the ground, as I used to do during my years of aimless traveling. He is looking forward to being able to rest in a real bed.

Although, after Wolk’s description of Ben’s encounter with Samuel last night in the secluded grove of trees, perhaps having a boarding house room might get in the way of finding privacy for their budding romance.

“My dear, you cannot manage every aspect of Samuel’s situation for him, you know. Let him and Ben figure out at least some part of their lives on their own!”

I laugh silently. “You’re right, of course. I shouldn’t be such a busybody.”

The wolf grins from his position at my side.

Soon Ben is working alongside the rest of my crew, quickly adapting to the work, needing almost no time at all to adjust to his responsibilities. Hiring him is not just a favor for Samuel. I need bright and eager workers for this project. Things are proceeding very nicely.

Ben

“Ben?” I hear David’s voice calling me from across the dock. I look up from where I am hauling on a rope together with other men, starting the process of adjusting the mechanism to lift the drop hammer. It appears that it will take some doing to arrange everything so that the driver operates as efficiently as possible. Gregor is supervising, but not standing to the side as most managers would do. No, he is toiling alongside the rest of us, straining to lift his rope as well.

I have to wait a couple of minutes until we have the hammer lifted and set in place. I certainly can’t let go of my rope in the middle. Once we are there, Gregor wipes his brow with his arm and says, “Let’s take a break for a few minutes.”

So I walk over to where David is standing, staring at the scene with astonishment.

“What on earth are you doing?” he asks me.

“Working on the crew,” I answer, smiling at his obvious surprise.

“What, just waiting for me to wake up? We’re heading north on the Trace today. They can’t have hired you just for one morning, can they?”

I clap him on the back. “Nope. I’m staying. The wages are better than we’ve ever made on the flatboats. There’s even a boarding house where the crew gets to stay. This job should take at least a few weeks, maybe months.”

He tries to hide the disappointment in his face. “Oh. Well, congratulations then. That sounds like a good job.”

I know he is picturing having to leave Natchez without me, journey alone up the Trace. His eyes are filled with sadness, and I have to put him out of this misery at once. “Well,” I tell him, “they’re still looking to hire more men. I’m sure you could get a job as well. Interested?” I see at once in his eyes that he is.

“Only one little wrinkle I should tell you about first,” I say, before I explain how to go about getting hired. He nods, waiting to hear what it might be. I point over to Gregor. “That’s the boss. You might remember him.”

His mouth truly drops open. Yep, he remembers Gregor at least, even if he didn’t recognize Samuel last night. I see Gregor unaccountably chuckling, even though he is standing alone, refreshing himself with a drink of water.

Before David can get too nervous and leave without approaching him, I say, “Don’t worry, he’s fine. He remembers us from the Trace, and doesn’t seem bothered by it at all. He’s the one who approached me while I was eating breakfast.”

David’s brow wrinkles quizzically. “I didn’t think he believed me when I told him we weren’t trying to rob anybody that day.”

“No, I don’t think he did. I just don’t think he cares. He seems like a pretty decent fellow. If you want a job, just go on over and ask.”

He stands there thinking about it, but it only takes a minute for him to decide to give it a try. I know that he wasn’t looking forward to another trip up the Trace any more than I was. This will be a nice change of pace.

I watch as he approaches Gregor, who smiles, and soon they are shaking hands.