Disclaimer- Stephenie still owns the usual suspects.
I own my original characters and original story.
Unbeta-ed and Drabble-ish. No heavy angst.
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***************************************WYiMA*************************************
"What happened to your hand?"
'Til now, Izzy'd done most of the talkin' on the trail, and for truth, I preferred it that way. I hadn't telled her much about my life afore I met her, but today I was willin' to do anythin' to take her mind off of thinkin' 'bout me bein' a Peepin' Tom. I was that ashamed of my behavior.
For true, I was more ashamed of gettin' caught.
I cleared my throat, fixin' to tell her things that 'til that time I'd only telled my Pa.
"I was too young to join the war at the start. I wanted to, 'cause it was the thing to do at the time, but my brother telled me to stay and help Pa. Emmett's four years older than me, so he joined up right away. Anyways, everyone was sayin' that the war was gonna be over in a few months." I let out a bitter laugh at the memory.
"We heared tell that, after Gettysburg, the South was desperate for recruits, so as soon as I turned seventeen, me and my best friends joined up." I stared ahead, not takin' my eyes off the trail. "I don't reckon Hell could be any more frightenin' than some of the things I was witness to over the next year or so." I took a deep breath in an attempt to help relieve the pullin' feelin' in my chest. Izzy seened me strugglin' and looped her little arm through mine in a comfortin' gesture.
"I almost made it all the way through without gettin' so much as a scratch. My friends warn't so lucky. We lost Fred when we was fightin' down near Atlanta." I rubbed my hand across my eyes, hopin' to push away the memory of what I'd seened. "And Pete died just outside of Nashville."
"I'm sorry Ed," I heared Izzy's sweet voice comin' from beside me.
I didn't turn to look at her, "Don't be sorry. It warn't you that killed 'em."
It was quiet for a time afore I spoke again. "I got shot down in North Carolina, just a month afore the war was over. I was fair lucky it was just my hand that got it. My brother was hit in the leg and he'll be walkin' with a limp for the rest of his days." I looked down at what was left of my hand. "I was holdin' my rifle when I got hit, causin' me to lose two and a half fingers along with a fair piece of my hand, but still, I reckon I was lucky."
"The worst part was the fever that set in afterwards. My brother was frantic with worry. I don't remember much, just missin' my Ma like I ain't done since she died."
Izzy leaned her head against my arm and hugged onto it. I heared her snifflin' but didn't wanna look down at her face.
Izzy's tears was becomin' hard to endure. It was downright painful to see her upset. I felt the worst for givin' her a reason to cry twice in one day, and made a vow to do anythin' in my power to keep a smile on her face always.
She was at her most beautiful when she smiled.
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A/N Love, love, love the reviews, and I thank you! I will respond to them all, sometimes it takes a while because I get bogged down with writing…but I will get there eventually.
Ed's hand injury is similar to the one my husband's great great grandfather received. He was a Confederate officer (from Virginia), and the 'family legend' is that while he was conversing with General Lee, he was shot in the hand as it rested against the trunk of a tree.
Despite the care he received at a hospital for officers in Richmond, he almost died from the fever that set in. The doctors had pretty much given up hope that he would recover and shipped him home. There under the loving care of his mother, he recovered and returned to the war and was there until the bitter end. He was one of the soldiers at Appomattox during the surrender.
The only ancestor of mine here in America during that time was an Irishman who had been drafted into the Union Cavalry as soon as he set foot off the ship. Poor fellow. Lol. All my other ancestors were living their lives and dealing with their own troubles in Ireland, Italy, Germany and Denmark. So that's my ancestry in a nutshell. Emphasis on the word 'nut'.
While waiting for the next installment, be sure to check out my other stories, specifically 'The Harvest of Avarice' which is finally complete. I'd love to hear what you think of it. Laters, baby.
