UNTITLED Chapter Thirteen, a phil of the future fanfic

Chapter Thirteen

August 1863

Mrs. Teslow sat quietly in her old rocking chair on the back porch of her beautiful home. It was early evening and the air was beginning to cool off. It was going to be a lovely night. Keely and her mother had gone to tour Caleb Walker's plantation, and weren't expected back until nightfall. Mrs. Teslow was glad for the peace and quiet. Ever since the 4th of July party, she had been feeling a little off. Her coughing fits had become more and more violent, alarming everyone within the house. Still, she assured them that she was perfectly fine and that they should not worry.

"Sho' is nice out tonight." Tabitha said, setting her tray of lemonade down. She slowly eased into the second rocking chair. "Miss Keely should enjoy herself."

"Yes, she should." Mrs. Teslow said as she poured herself some lemonade. "Caleb Walker takes pride in that plantation of his. He'll make sure Keely is entertained."

Mrs. Teslow and Tabitha sat in silence for several minutes, neither feeling the need to talk, just enjoying each other's company. Out of the corner of her eye, Tabitha caught sight of a person hurriedly making his way to the back gate.

Tabitha turned to Mrs. Teslow. "Now where do you think that boy's headin' off to?" She stood up as quick as she could and called out. "Phillip Diffy! Where you off to in sich a hurry? You best be back afore it gets dark, or I'll take a rollin' pin to ya!"

Phil smiled and waved at Tabitha and Mrs. Teslow before continuing through the gate. Tabitha sat down next to Mrs. Teslow once more and poured herself a glass of lemonade. With a sigh, she said, "What do you reckon's out there for him?" Mrs. Teslow smiled mischievously.

"I have a pretty good idea, Tabitha."

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Through the back gate, past Mrs. Teslow's gardens, and away from everyone within the big house, lay a worn and beaten path. If one were following the path, they would come upon a fork; the left leading into the next town and the right, far less traveled, leading to a small footbridge over an equally small stream. Upon crossing the small footbridge, one would find themselves in a small patch of woods, quite unlike the rest of Lexington. After traveling down the path a little ways, there is a canopy of trees overhead, shadowing the sun. And finally, through the canopy of trees, one will reach a clearing of tall grass and a single tree on a single hill.

The tree is old with a wide base and several low reaching branches, just low enough for one to sit on. It's a very beautiful tree with bright leaves in the spring and summer; leaves that change in autumn and fall to the ground during winter. Even though the tree is located in seclusion, it still has its share of visitors. Most just happen to stumble upon it by mistake, but some, like Phil Diffy, come regularly to think, or at least he had a year ago. This was the first time he'd been back since he'd left home. He'd been surprised to find it exactly the way he'd left it, unlike so much of his life.

Phil shrugged out of his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and sat on the grass underneath the tree. It felt nice to be back at this place. He sighed deeply and put his head in his hands. What he'd seen at Shiloh still haunted his thoughts, and it was beginning to show. He'd seen Mrs. Teslow, more than once, cast a worried glance in his direction. Phil hated that she was so worried about him, but he just couldn't bring himself to talk about it. He was also worried about the news that quotas were being established all over the Union, as well as the Confederacy. It was only yesterday that he'd heard about a new quota set in Virginia, only a few states over. It wouldn't be long before the Confederacy would be setting up quotas in and around Georgia, and Phil desperately didn't want to go back. If the worse should happen and he was forced to, he certainly wouldn't be fighting for the Confederacy. His decision would cause a lot of trouble; a Southerner fighting for the Union, hopefully it wouldn't come to that. Phil sighed again. Life was becoming more and more complicated.

As Phil made his way home, it began to get dark and the fireflies appeared. This was his favorite time to be at the tree; when everything seemed to be as it should be, even when, in reality, it wasn't.

Phil walked through the back gate just as Keely and Caleb Walker arrived at Mrs. Teslow's house.

"…and our ongoing rate is three bushels an hour. Of course, the slaves are taught to obey and know the consequences for bad behavior. I hope to increase our cotton output soon, though. Stricter working hours, harder punishments; that type of thing. In no time, my plantation will be the most successful plantation in the county…"

Keely sat beside Caleb Walker and refused to listen to another word he said. What he was doing to his slaves was barbaric. She had witnessed his harsh "consequences" as he called them. It was more like torture. All day working in the heat with no more than two or three small breaks. Of course, his plantation home had been beautiful, but Keely found it ugly simply because of the unfair conditions by which it was run. Her mother had enjoyed the tour immensely, much to Keely's despair. If her mother had liked it, Keely would be expected to like it as well. She could tell that this mere acquaintances with Caleb Walker was turning into an attempt to see her "happily" married. One thing was for sure. Keely wanted nothing to do with her mother's scheme, and she especially wanted nothing to do with Caleb Walker. She was very relieved when they finally reached Gran's house, and he helped her from the carriage. Keely hurriedly crossed through the front gate while Caleb was preoccupied with helping her mother out of the carriage. She couldn't stand another minute with Caleb and his precious plantation with his precious cotton run entirely on slave power. It was disgusting.

They reached the porch together and Keely's mother quickly excused herself, leaving Caleb and Keely alone on the front porch.

"I do hope you enjoyed your visit to my plantation", Caleb said taking a step closer to her, "and I hope I'll be seeing you again soon." His eyes were anxious for her response.

Keely, on the other hand, was dreading his next visit, but if she didn't give him the right answer, her mother would be furious.

"I…well…I suppose…" Keely began, turning around to reach the doorknob.

"Bye Mrs. Teslow, Tabitha! I'll be back tomorrow," shouted Phil Diffy over his shoulder, as he exited the very door Keely was trying to enter.

Suddenly, he ran into a barrier that wasn't usually there. The barrier yelped as he realized that he had run straight into Keely Teslow and she was falling. He quickly grabbed her by the elbows and pulled her close to prevent her from toppling over.

"Oh, hello" he said looking down awkwardly. He'd never had the privilege of looking at this close before, and he found he didn't mind; under the circumstances.

She seemed shocked and once she realized whose arms she was in, a slow blush crept upon her face. She glanced up quickly and saw his eyes for the first time. She was taken aback by how sad and deep they were. She vaguely heard Caleb in the background, and was quickly reminded that she was in public when he came behind and took her elbow.

"Keely are you alright" he asked, pulling her away from Phil.

"Really, Caleb I'm fine". Keely said as she wriggled free from Caleb's grasp and hurried inside.

Once she was out of earshot, Caleb turned to Phil and said, "You should watch where you're going, Diffy. People will expect you're up to no good. People talk. They've been saying you're loyal to the Union for a long time Phil. Couldn't have been what you were up to while you were gone now, could it? I'd be careful Diffy. The South don't like Yankee traitors." With a malicious grin, he turned and walked inside after Keely and her mother.

Phil glared angrily after Caleb Walker. "Better a Yankee traitor than a Rebel murderer", he muttered as he put on his hat and made his way to the old hotel.

A/N: here ya go. A big thanks to my associate for typing since I'm a bit under the weather. We've been researching the Civil War for a project and it's coming in handy for this story. Enjoy and stayed tuned! We'll be trying to post at least a month or else we'll have dissatisfied fans and the story will never get finished  . Right-o!

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