of more than twenty years passed away leaving me all alone. Some men have children. We never could.”
Placing his hand on Stephen’s arm, Joshua whispered, “Don’t talk like dat, Sir. You still got ole Joshua and before long the cold winds will be gone and Mister Sunshine is gonna pick you up and send you right back to ole happiness. You jest wait and see. You never was a winter man.”
At that moment there was a light tap on the front door, but the two men ignored the rapping sound thinking that it was probably no more than the wind.
“Sir, I think someone is out front,” Joshua said, getting out of his chair. “Yes Sir, that is a knock.”
Keeping his seat, Stephens said, “It’s might near dark. Be some kind of a fool to come out on a day like this. Unless it’s someone special, tell ‘em I’m not here.”
“Yes Suh, I’ll do just dat.”
A few moments passed and by the sound of voices conferring downstairs, Stephens felt that it was probably just one of Joshua’s friends who on occasions would drop by to chat with him. I’ll try one more dose of this medicine, Stephens thought, and if I don’t get some relief then it’s gonna be left up to the Lord Almighty to do what he wants with me. Suddenly the sound of people making their way to his room caused him to put down his spoon and pick up the glasses that were lying on the table beside his chair. The door slowly opened and Joshua whispered, “Mister Senator, I thinks you might want to see this gentleman, he says—”
“He says what?” Stephens interrupted, clearing his throat. “It better be good”
A tall man wearing a gray overcoat and a scarf wrapped snugly around his neck replied, “Well sir, you sure are in a foul mood tonight. I thought I’d just come by to see if you would like to make a charitable donation toward one of our local houses of ill repute.”
“Ill repute! What in tarnations are you talking about?” Stephens answered, adjusting his glasses.
Unwrapping his scarf, the intruder began to chuckle. “Robert, I know we’re getting a little old, but I didn’t know you’d be blind as a bat.”
Hearing a familiar voice, Stephens peered closely at the man standing by the door. “You’re Jack Hudson. Good gracious man, I haven’t seen you in years. What in the world are you doing here in Richmond?”
Extending his hand, Hudson replied, “Good to see you Robert. It’s been a few years since you and I were cadets at the institute. I was passing through here and I thought I’d better stop by to see you.”
Happy to see his old friend, the two embraced. After a hard pat on the back, Robert said, “What’s it been, thirty years or so? Come on in here by the fire. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Joshua, take Mister Hudson’s coat and prepare the guest bedroom.”
“I can’t impose on your hospitality, Robert, and you may not feel like puttin’ up with an old fool like me. Joshua told me you’ve been sick for a spell. I can stay downtown.”
“Downtown! There ain’t much left downtown since the Yankees burnt us out. You’re staying here with us,” Robert insisted toward Joshua. “Go do what I told you and go to my study and get me a bottle of scotch. You haven’t stopped drinking, have you, Jack?”
“I’ve been known to sip a little on special occasions.”
“Well this here is one of them occasions, and if you’ll stay with me, we might just make a night of it,” Robert said, feeling better.
Joshua stood quietly for a moment. “Mister Senator, you know what the doctor told you ‘bout that dranking. He said if’n you didn’t quit, it’ll most near kill ya.”
“Kill me,” Robert exclaimed. “That medicine he prescribed for me is gonna kill me. No sir, tonight we’re going to do some serious drinking and if it kills me, you’re gonna be one rich Richmond Darkie.”
“What you mean by that, Mister Senator?”
“Joshua, my kin folks don’t give a tinkers damn about me. They only come to see me when they want something. So Mister Joshua, I’ve left everything I own to you when I die. You’ll have one of finest houses in the city and a little bit of money that’ll last you if you’re careful. The only problem you’re gonna have is all them women that’ll be after you. You know you ain’t as spry as you used to be. They might take advantage of you.”
Joshua laughed, “Mister Senator, you joshing me, ain’t cha and if’n you ain’t, Ole Josh is more spry than you thinks. Yes Suh, I’ll bring you a bottle. I’ll brang you two of ‘em.”
The two men laughed, then settled themselves before the fire. Joshua soon returned with the Scotch and two clean glasses, asking to be excused as he quietly closed the door.
Jack and Robert reminisced over times at the Virginia Military Institute and laughed at the senseless youthful capers that had often sent them to detention hall. They also remembered their last farewell and promises at graduation to spend the next Christmas with each other. Through the years they had exchanged numerous letters, but until this evening they never had seen each other.
Standing up to stretch, Jack moved over to the window and stared out into the darkness and then as speaking to himself, he whispered, “You know Robert, our lives certainly moved in different directions after the institute. I accepted a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army and spent twenty years out west chasing Indians and you went into politics and should have become our president.”
“President, did I hear you say president,” Robert questioned, leaning over to hear him better.
Jack returned to his chair. “That’s right, I said president. I followed your career up there in Washington and you were outstanding. You were honest, clever, and I must say you helped make some laws that were beneficial to all of us here in the South. If we hadn’t seceded from the Union, I believe you’d be in the White House by now.”
“White House, I made more enemies up there than you know about, and when the state of Virginia sent me back up there after the war, what happened? They wouldn’t accept me. They sent me and a lot of others like me right back home. They said that since we served in the Confed’rate Congress, we weren’t eligible. Ain’t that a hell of a note.”
Jack poured another drink and replied, “It weren’t right. You’re suppose to represent the state that elected you. You ought to be up there right now. What are you going to do with yourself now?”
Robert got up, leaned against the mantle and stared into the low burning fire. “I’ll hang up my shingle and start practicing law again. Folks always gonna be getting into trouble. I’ll do all right. I’m still a cadet at heart. I’ll survive.”
“Survive,” Jack stammered. “Looking out into that darkness a few minutes ago, I wondered if the South is gonna survive. They drove our armies from the field; the military has control of our government; our economy is in shambles and a lot of us that could add stability to the situation can’t even vote or hold office. It’s just like that wall of darkness outside your window, we can’t see out there. We don’t know what’s in store for us and if we could, we can’t control any of it.”
“Jack, I think your liquor is talking for you. Unless you’ve changed, it always got you down when you got two sheets in the wind,” Robert said,
