Greenwich, CT
Logan Home
"Grandpa! It's me Sean." He said as he turned the key and walked into his parents home.
Grandpa came around the corner from the kitchen and he and Sean met in the hallway.
"Don't you call when you're coming by, boy? I don't ever know when I'm gonna see you."
"I know I don't get home much. You know, you should come to New York to stay with me sometime grandpa. You could stay as long as you like especially since mom and dad are away. All you have to do is hop on a train and get a cab to my place. I have your name on the roster of those who the management can allow into my apartment. I know you remember how to get on the train grandpa because you used to do it all the time." Sean said.
"I'm too old and tired to be foolin' around with some train and the big city. I'll just wait around here 'till you decide to drop by and pay me a visit."
"I try to come by every weekend to check on you, now that you're alone. You know that. Speaking of mom and dad, when will they be getting back anyway?"
"You don't know what a man's gonna do when he's got a woman pulling his strings. He don't even know what he's doing himself. He said they would be in Switzerland for a month, but I was talking to your mother and it seems she has a notion to go to the Netherlands afterwards. I don't think Phillip knows about that yet, so I'm sure they will be heading that way after this trip."
"Hum, I guess it's good that they're getting away. Dad needs it. He's worked every day for the past 20 years, so that's good. Maybe someday I'll take my own wife on a trip around the world." Sean laughed as he looked through the refrigerator and pulled out some milk and drank it out of the carton.
"If you don't get to working on that, you won't be able to go on a trip around the world because you'll be too old to enjoy it."
"Well, let's just say I'm working on that grandpa and if everything goes as I plan it won't be too long from now before you see some great-grands and I'll be going on that trip before I get too old." Sean said grinnin'.
"What are you talking about boy. You planning on asking that woman to marry you?"
"Oh she's certainly a woman grandpa." Sean said with a peculiar smile on his face as he remembered the kiss he and Elana shared Friday.
"I see you're not talking about that Winthrop girl. Never seen a look like that on your face when you talk about her. You're usually drunk or depressed when you talk about her. Now you're looking like you're about to jump out of your skin or something. Is it the black woman you told me about last weekend?"
"Yep. You better believe it grandpa. Now before you go getting upset about this I just want you to know that, I realize that I still love her and I'm not going to lose her again and if you have anything negative to say about it, you can just keep it to yourself. If you don't want me around just let me know now because this time I'm not letting you, or my dad or her dad or whoever else get between us. So what's it gonna be gramps?"
"Now why would you think I'd try to come between you and some woman. I'm too old to be maneuvering things like that. I will speak my mind though. I'm gonna keep doing that and no one's gonna stop me. Now as to what I say, you can take it or leave it. Doesn't matter to me as long as I know you heard me."
"Ok I can deal with that. So what is your opinion about what I said about getting together with Elana?" Sean asked as he sat at the kitchen table and braced himself for whatever grandpa was about to say.
"I ain't got no opinion." Grandpa said stubbornly walking slowly into the kitchen.
"Now grandpa, all that hootin' and hollering you used to do whenever I mentioned going out with Elana and now you don't have an opinion when I tell you I'm gonna marry her and have children with her. Come on now. You can do better than that."
"I said I don't have no opinion. And that's because I don't now the woman, so I can't give you an opinion on somebody I don't know. Why don't you bring her over to meet me and then after a few visits I'll let you know my opinion."
"Grandpa, you mean you don't have no opinion about me marrying interracially?"
"Naw. You seem to have your mind set on it and I already told you last week what I thought about that, so now that your mind's made up, I'm not interested in changing it. You know what you need to make yourself happy and if this woman is the one to do it then there's nothing I can do to stop you."
Sean was amazed at what grandpa had said and almost couldn't believe it. He was surprised because it seemed that all he had to do was assert his opinion and then grandpa was through with it. He wondered how much of a difference that would have made things if he knew this years ago.
"So, when you bringin' her over here?" grandpa said as he sat down in the kitchen chair next to Sean.
"I'm not sure. First I have to get her away from one of my Vice President's who has taken a fancy to her and then I have to convince her that I can't live without her and maybe then she'll consent to coming here to meet you."
"Why you got to go through all that. You sayin' you're not sure she still has any feelings for you?"
"No, I know she does. It's just that there are a few roadblocks we need to get over before all of this can come together. She's just trying to avoid the subject right now, but she can't run forever."
"So how do you know she still feels for you?"
"Because grandpa, on Friday I kissed her and her response was all I needed. She slapped me and cursed me out, then stormed out of my office, but I knew she felt what I did and was just scared of it for some reason."
"You mean you forced her to kiss you? Umph, that was a wrong move. Let me tell you boy, if you want a woman really bad, you have to use all of the cards in your hand and make her come to you. Then you know that's where she wants to be and that she's not there because you forced her."
"Yeah, I was thinking about that grandpa, so what should I do?"
"Well, let's take the example of your great, great grandfather. He knew my grandmother Marita from the time they were born. They knew everything about each other, so that's one reason they fell in love, but after their fornicating incident, my grandmother began to have second thoughts and she allowed herself to be courted by a color...I mean another gentleman. My grandfather was in anguish, but he decided to use whatever he could at his disposal to get her to come to him and after that they never separated."
"So tell me what happened?"
Grandpa went on to relay how his grandfather won his grandmother back after her apprehensions about their relationship. He was careful to replace any references to color with social standing, indicating that Marita was very poor, not black.
Lexington, Kentucky
1887
Logan Home
"Sean, I'm not going to discuss this with you here. Someone may overhear us." Marita said as she opened the ledger book and tried to start her work for the day.
"Marita, I just want to know why you went to the festival with Roger Hampton? Alice told me that you said you have been seeing him quite often for the past few weeks and I need to know why?"
Marita was silent for a while, but she saw that Sean was not going to leave her alone until he got some answers. So she explained as best she could.
"Sean, you know we can never be together and I don't want to be a kept woman. I want a husband who can love me openly and children that I won't have to worry about when they're out playing. I don't want to always wonder if my husband could have been more if I weren't with him..."
Sean interrupted her. "So, are these things that Roger can give you?"
"I believe so. He's a respectable blacksmith, he lives comfortably and he wants a wife and children and he's been asking to call on me for years now, so I finally accepted his calling letter."
"Do you want all of those things with him Marita?" There was a silence as Marita hung her head down. "Well, do you?" Sean asked as he moved in closer to her with tears forming in his eyes.
"No, Sean, I want that with you, but sometimes we can't have what we want. I'm getting older and all the women my age around here are married. If I don't do something soon everyone will be speculating about me and I don't want to bring any shame on my father or on your family because of our association. I love you Sean. I just can't have you the way I want and it's time we both realize that and try to move on with our lives."
Sean looked at her for a moment as he watched tears roll down her face, then he turned and went to the door of his father's office to leave. He opened the door and put his hat on before he turned around and looked at her sitting in front of the desk. "Marita, I'm gonna do everything in my power to make sure we are together in the way you want because Roger will never be able to love you anywhere near the way I do and I'm not gonna sit back and let you give yourself to anyone just because you think you have no other choice..." His words trailed off and he turned and left her in the office after closing the door behind him.
After Sean left, Marita put her head down on the desk and cried because she knew that what Sean said about her feeling she had no other choice was true, but she also was saddened by the fact that he probably would find no way for them to be together the way she wanted.
Sean left the house and slowly rode into town as he contemplated what he could do. Kentucky was not a place for white men to be frolicking around with colored women, but Sean knew from his travels that there were indeed many colored and white couples around, at least up North. He decided he would have to do some research to find out exactly what he could do, so as he traveled he prayed to God to help him find a solution and to not take Marita away from him.
When he arrived in town, Sean went to the office and started looking through the marriage records. He was searching for some clues as to interracial couples who may have been married in Kentucky before the anti miscegenation laws were enacted after the war. After searching all afternoon, Sean found nothing, he only saw marriage certificates between same race couples. It was nearly time for the building to close and Sean sat at the table, discouraged and thinking of what else he could do. When he was about to leave he saw a young boy come in and get some paper from the woman who attended the county office. The boy looked to be around 12 or 13 and he was well dressed. What was strange Sean thought was his hair. The boy had green eyes and thin lips, but his skin was a sort of olive color and his hair was thick and wavy, unlike the other white kids Sean had seen. He wondered if he was a colored boy and got up trying to move in and get a closer look at him. Before he could get close enough the boy had taken his instructions and ran out the door with the material the woman had given him. With his hat in his hand Sean went up to the front desk.
"Who was that boy who just came in here, Ms. Fairfield?" Sean asked.
Ms. Fairfield squirmed a little in her seat. "Do you mean Anthony, the little boy who just left?"
"Yes, who is he and what was he doing here?"
"He runs the daily errands for the county records. At the end of the day, I have a list of confidential records request from various citizens and I put them together and they have to be sent to the county clerk for approval. Anthony picks them up and takes them over in the afternoon and delivers the approvals or denial the following afternoon, when he comes for the next batch."
"Who are his parents?"
"His parents? You don't know?"
"No, I don't. Who are they?"
Ms. Fairfield leans in closer to Sean so that he can hear her when she whispers her answer. "He's Mr. Rothchild's son by some colored woman he's been living with for several years. They went to Ohio about 13 years ago and didn't come back for about a year. His father fell ill and the family went up there looking for him, since he was the only son. When they came back, he was with them along with the colored woman and a baby. The baby was Anthony. Everybody knew what was going on, but because he had to handle his father's estate no one really confronted them. They keep to themselves and the children are honest and respectful. They have four kids running around this town. I saw her in the market the other day and it looks like there's another one on the way. It's scandalous, if you ask me. A respectable gentleman taking up with a colored woman, but what can you say. Some men don't have any self-control."
Sean was amazed at the information he had received and decided that he would pay Mr. Rothchild a visit, during the weekend and confirm what Ms. Fairfield had told him. He had known the man as the county clerk for the past ten years, but realized that he knew nothing about his personal life. He would always come to work on time and leave at the end of the day with all of his tasks accomplished. He was sort of to himself, but he wasn't shy. Sean even thought he was part of the Jockey Club, but could not be sure and decided to ask his father about it later. With renewed hope and a desire to see Marita before the end of the day Sean rode back home after he stopped at the market and picked up Marita's favorite flowers.
When he arrived at home he peeked into his father's office and saw Ned talking to Marita about what he would need her to do next week while he was away on business in Richmond, VA. Sean decided to go upstairs and wash up for dinner and wait until Marita and his father had finished their conversation before he would give the flowers to Marita.
Up in his room, after he had washed up, Sean noticed Marita leaving the house out of his window. He hurried and buttoned his shirt then picked up the flowers and ran down the steps. Allison was about to go up the steps when Sean nearly ran her over...
"Hey, watch where you're going! What are you doing with those flowers anyway?" She asked wondering why Sean was in such a hurry."
"Oh, sorry Allison, I just need to get rid of these. They don't match the linens in my room." Sean said smiling. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and bolted out of the door hoping Marita had not gotten too far away. Then finally he caught up with Marita
"Marita. Marita wait!"
Marita turned around, recognizing Sean's voice. "Sean what is it? I was just on my way home to fix supper for pa."
Sean had the flowers behind his back, pretending to scratch. "I know, I just wanted to make sure you got home safely." They continued on the path to Marita's house and talked along the way. Sean gave Marita the flowers and she was happily surprised. He had given her azaleas, which were her favorite. He knew that she liked to situate them inside her window so that they could get some sun and make her room appear bright and more feminine. She usually picked them herself after work, but this night she would not have to.
When they got to her door, Sean lightly kissed her on the lips and turned to go back home. He did not want to come on to strong especially after she had started to avoid bodily contact since their night after the Masquerade Party. He decided that he would get the azaleas for her everyday if he could because he knew it made her happy and he knew that it was something about her that Richard did not know.
That weekend Sean visited Mr. Rothchild at his home. A young colored woman answered the door and led Sean into the study where Mr. Rothchild sat smoking a pipe in one chair and a pregnant colored woman sat in a chair across from him knitting. The woman was very simple looking, but pretty. When Sean entered the room, the man asked him to take a seat.
"How are you Mr. Logan? What brings you to my home on a Saturday? I hope those records we had sent to Clancy's office last week were in order."
"Oh yes, they were Mr. Rothchild, but I'm not here to talk about any files. I actually wanted to --" Sean had a hard time searching for the words but finally he found them. "I came to ask you about your relationship with the young lady here." He said motioning his head in the direction of the woman sitting in the opposite chair.
Mr. Rothchild grew red in the face and affectionately asked Helen, the woman, to give them some privacy. After she left and he felt she was a safe distance away, the man spoke.
"What about my relationship with Helen, Mr. Logan?"
"I wanted to know, if the boy Anthony I saw today at the records office is your son?"
"Yes, he is?"
"Is Helen his mother?"
"Yes, she is. Why do you wan to know?" He said standing up from his chair.
"Oh, please Mr. Rothchild, don't be alarmed. I need to know because...because I was doing some research for a friend, who is in love with a colored girl and wants to be with her, but she won't have anything to do with him because she wants a respectable relationship. I was trying to find out what I--- he could do to be with her."
"So, you're in love with a colored woman, huh? Well let me see...I'm sure it's the Peter's woman. The one you were raised with. Is that right?"
Sean was shocked at Mr. Rothchild's insight and admitted to his question. "Yes, it is."
"So, you wanted to come here and see how I did it without any trouble?"
"I am curious."
"Well, it's not that complicated Sean. Helen and I were in love for a long time when I was younger, but I was constantly pressured by my family to marry since I was an only son and my father was sick. I couldn't bring myself to marry anyone else, because Helen and I had been together for several years. Eventually Helen got pregnant and I had to make a choice between a promising career with prestige and Helen, so I chose her. We went to Ohio and were legally married and I was content on settling there since there was no segregation and we lived in relative peace, which is what she needed while she was carrying Anthony. After about a year my family came and got me because my father was near death. They told me I had to leave Helen and Anthony behind, but I refused and they relented asking me to just keep it quiet and they would not oppose us. So, 13 years later here we are. We don't get invited to social functions, nor are we able to be in public as husband and wife, but we love each other and we've made those sacrifices to be together."
"I see. How does Helen feel about it?"
"Well, we're on our 5th child and I haven't heard any complaints yet. The secret is Sean, that we love each other and we realize the type of world we live in now, so we have given up certain things to be together, but we compensate for it with our love for each other and with our children. On occasion we go up north for a weekend to visit her family and there we can openly be man and wife. If I didn't have this business here, we would move back there, but remaining here allows us to live very comfortably."
Sean was happy that he was able to talk to Mr. Rothchild. After their conversation, Sean stayed and ate dinner with the family and he left encouraged knowing that if Marita saw this scenario then she would be more inclined to their being together. He decided that he would encourage Marita to establish a friendship with Helen and at the same time he would continue to shower her with his affections and he would ask her to marry him right before he had to go to Washington D.C in 3 months. He reasoned that they could quickly go over the Ohio border and get married and then honeymoon in Washington D.C. In the meantime he would have the builders finally start on his house and when he & Marita got back from Washington, they could move into their home together.
Now filled with hope and anticipation Sean rode home formulating his plans as he went.
1998
Logan Home
"So grandpa what happened?"
"Well, my grandfather did just what he had planned. Grandmother soon got friendly with the Rothchild woman and she saw how happy she was despite the sacrifices she had to make. Grandfather would get the azaleas just about everyday for her and he would bring her books that she liked to read. Sometimes, he would special order any new books just for her. He also bought her a beautiful dress that she would wear to county functions."
"So what happened to the Roger guy who was calling on her?"
"Who knows, boy and who cares. His problem was that he gave her things that he thought she would like, but he didn't know nothing about her and besides if she had kept seeing him, then I guess you and me would not be here, would we?"
"No I guess not grandpa." Sean said as he chuckled. "So are you saying that your grandfather did the things that grandmother Marita liked and treasured and then he helped her to see that they could be happy together, even if they had to make some sacrifices and this won her over?"
"Yeah, sounds like you got it boy. I hope you was takin' notes 'cause I ain't gonna tell you again." Grandpa said as he got up to head back to his room.
"You don't have to tell me twice grandpa." Sean got up, threw the milk away. "I know what I can do now. Thanks for the advice." Sean said.
For a better part of the evening Sean stayed in his grandfather's room watching TV with him and remembering all of the intimate details only he knew about Elana and he strategized on how he would win her over just as his great, great grandfather had won his own wife.
Logan Home
"Grandpa! It's me Sean." He said as he turned the key and walked into his parents home.
Grandpa came around the corner from the kitchen and he and Sean met in the hallway.
"Don't you call when you're coming by, boy? I don't ever know when I'm gonna see you."
"I know I don't get home much. You know, you should come to New York to stay with me sometime grandpa. You could stay as long as you like especially since mom and dad are away. All you have to do is hop on a train and get a cab to my place. I have your name on the roster of those who the management can allow into my apartment. I know you remember how to get on the train grandpa because you used to do it all the time." Sean said.
"I'm too old and tired to be foolin' around with some train and the big city. I'll just wait around here 'till you decide to drop by and pay me a visit."
"I try to come by every weekend to check on you, now that you're alone. You know that. Speaking of mom and dad, when will they be getting back anyway?"
"You don't know what a man's gonna do when he's got a woman pulling his strings. He don't even know what he's doing himself. He said they would be in Switzerland for a month, but I was talking to your mother and it seems she has a notion to go to the Netherlands afterwards. I don't think Phillip knows about that yet, so I'm sure they will be heading that way after this trip."
"Hum, I guess it's good that they're getting away. Dad needs it. He's worked every day for the past 20 years, so that's good. Maybe someday I'll take my own wife on a trip around the world." Sean laughed as he looked through the refrigerator and pulled out some milk and drank it out of the carton.
"If you don't get to working on that, you won't be able to go on a trip around the world because you'll be too old to enjoy it."
"Well, let's just say I'm working on that grandpa and if everything goes as I plan it won't be too long from now before you see some great-grands and I'll be going on that trip before I get too old." Sean said grinnin'.
"What are you talking about boy. You planning on asking that woman to marry you?"
"Oh she's certainly a woman grandpa." Sean said with a peculiar smile on his face as he remembered the kiss he and Elana shared Friday.
"I see you're not talking about that Winthrop girl. Never seen a look like that on your face when you talk about her. You're usually drunk or depressed when you talk about her. Now you're looking like you're about to jump out of your skin or something. Is it the black woman you told me about last weekend?"
"Yep. You better believe it grandpa. Now before you go getting upset about this I just want you to know that, I realize that I still love her and I'm not going to lose her again and if you have anything negative to say about it, you can just keep it to yourself. If you don't want me around just let me know now because this time I'm not letting you, or my dad or her dad or whoever else get between us. So what's it gonna be gramps?"
"Now why would you think I'd try to come between you and some woman. I'm too old to be maneuvering things like that. I will speak my mind though. I'm gonna keep doing that and no one's gonna stop me. Now as to what I say, you can take it or leave it. Doesn't matter to me as long as I know you heard me."
"Ok I can deal with that. So what is your opinion about what I said about getting together with Elana?" Sean asked as he sat at the kitchen table and braced himself for whatever grandpa was about to say.
"I ain't got no opinion." Grandpa said stubbornly walking slowly into the kitchen.
"Now grandpa, all that hootin' and hollering you used to do whenever I mentioned going out with Elana and now you don't have an opinion when I tell you I'm gonna marry her and have children with her. Come on now. You can do better than that."
"I said I don't have no opinion. And that's because I don't now the woman, so I can't give you an opinion on somebody I don't know. Why don't you bring her over to meet me and then after a few visits I'll let you know my opinion."
"Grandpa, you mean you don't have no opinion about me marrying interracially?"
"Naw. You seem to have your mind set on it and I already told you last week what I thought about that, so now that your mind's made up, I'm not interested in changing it. You know what you need to make yourself happy and if this woman is the one to do it then there's nothing I can do to stop you."
Sean was amazed at what grandpa had said and almost couldn't believe it. He was surprised because it seemed that all he had to do was assert his opinion and then grandpa was through with it. He wondered how much of a difference that would have made things if he knew this years ago.
"So, when you bringin' her over here?" grandpa said as he sat down in the kitchen chair next to Sean.
"I'm not sure. First I have to get her away from one of my Vice President's who has taken a fancy to her and then I have to convince her that I can't live without her and maybe then she'll consent to coming here to meet you."
"Why you got to go through all that. You sayin' you're not sure she still has any feelings for you?"
"No, I know she does. It's just that there are a few roadblocks we need to get over before all of this can come together. She's just trying to avoid the subject right now, but she can't run forever."
"So how do you know she still feels for you?"
"Because grandpa, on Friday I kissed her and her response was all I needed. She slapped me and cursed me out, then stormed out of my office, but I knew she felt what I did and was just scared of it for some reason."
"You mean you forced her to kiss you? Umph, that was a wrong move. Let me tell you boy, if you want a woman really bad, you have to use all of the cards in your hand and make her come to you. Then you know that's where she wants to be and that she's not there because you forced her."
"Yeah, I was thinking about that grandpa, so what should I do?"
"Well, let's take the example of your great, great grandfather. He knew my grandmother Marita from the time they were born. They knew everything about each other, so that's one reason they fell in love, but after their fornicating incident, my grandmother began to have second thoughts and she allowed herself to be courted by a color...I mean another gentleman. My grandfather was in anguish, but he decided to use whatever he could at his disposal to get her to come to him and after that they never separated."
"So tell me what happened?"
Grandpa went on to relay how his grandfather won his grandmother back after her apprehensions about their relationship. He was careful to replace any references to color with social standing, indicating that Marita was very poor, not black.
Lexington, Kentucky
1887
Logan Home
"Sean, I'm not going to discuss this with you here. Someone may overhear us." Marita said as she opened the ledger book and tried to start her work for the day.
"Marita, I just want to know why you went to the festival with Roger Hampton? Alice told me that you said you have been seeing him quite often for the past few weeks and I need to know why?"
Marita was silent for a while, but she saw that Sean was not going to leave her alone until he got some answers. So she explained as best she could.
"Sean, you know we can never be together and I don't want to be a kept woman. I want a husband who can love me openly and children that I won't have to worry about when they're out playing. I don't want to always wonder if my husband could have been more if I weren't with him..."
Sean interrupted her. "So, are these things that Roger can give you?"
"I believe so. He's a respectable blacksmith, he lives comfortably and he wants a wife and children and he's been asking to call on me for years now, so I finally accepted his calling letter."
"Do you want all of those things with him Marita?" There was a silence as Marita hung her head down. "Well, do you?" Sean asked as he moved in closer to her with tears forming in his eyes.
"No, Sean, I want that with you, but sometimes we can't have what we want. I'm getting older and all the women my age around here are married. If I don't do something soon everyone will be speculating about me and I don't want to bring any shame on my father or on your family because of our association. I love you Sean. I just can't have you the way I want and it's time we both realize that and try to move on with our lives."
Sean looked at her for a moment as he watched tears roll down her face, then he turned and went to the door of his father's office to leave. He opened the door and put his hat on before he turned around and looked at her sitting in front of the desk. "Marita, I'm gonna do everything in my power to make sure we are together in the way you want because Roger will never be able to love you anywhere near the way I do and I'm not gonna sit back and let you give yourself to anyone just because you think you have no other choice..." His words trailed off and he turned and left her in the office after closing the door behind him.
After Sean left, Marita put her head down on the desk and cried because she knew that what Sean said about her feeling she had no other choice was true, but she also was saddened by the fact that he probably would find no way for them to be together the way she wanted.
Sean left the house and slowly rode into town as he contemplated what he could do. Kentucky was not a place for white men to be frolicking around with colored women, but Sean knew from his travels that there were indeed many colored and white couples around, at least up North. He decided he would have to do some research to find out exactly what he could do, so as he traveled he prayed to God to help him find a solution and to not take Marita away from him.
When he arrived in town, Sean went to the office and started looking through the marriage records. He was searching for some clues as to interracial couples who may have been married in Kentucky before the anti miscegenation laws were enacted after the war. After searching all afternoon, Sean found nothing, he only saw marriage certificates between same race couples. It was nearly time for the building to close and Sean sat at the table, discouraged and thinking of what else he could do. When he was about to leave he saw a young boy come in and get some paper from the woman who attended the county office. The boy looked to be around 12 or 13 and he was well dressed. What was strange Sean thought was his hair. The boy had green eyes and thin lips, but his skin was a sort of olive color and his hair was thick and wavy, unlike the other white kids Sean had seen. He wondered if he was a colored boy and got up trying to move in and get a closer look at him. Before he could get close enough the boy had taken his instructions and ran out the door with the material the woman had given him. With his hat in his hand Sean went up to the front desk.
"Who was that boy who just came in here, Ms. Fairfield?" Sean asked.
Ms. Fairfield squirmed a little in her seat. "Do you mean Anthony, the little boy who just left?"
"Yes, who is he and what was he doing here?"
"He runs the daily errands for the county records. At the end of the day, I have a list of confidential records request from various citizens and I put them together and they have to be sent to the county clerk for approval. Anthony picks them up and takes them over in the afternoon and delivers the approvals or denial the following afternoon, when he comes for the next batch."
"Who are his parents?"
"His parents? You don't know?"
"No, I don't. Who are they?"
Ms. Fairfield leans in closer to Sean so that he can hear her when she whispers her answer. "He's Mr. Rothchild's son by some colored woman he's been living with for several years. They went to Ohio about 13 years ago and didn't come back for about a year. His father fell ill and the family went up there looking for him, since he was the only son. When they came back, he was with them along with the colored woman and a baby. The baby was Anthony. Everybody knew what was going on, but because he had to handle his father's estate no one really confronted them. They keep to themselves and the children are honest and respectful. They have four kids running around this town. I saw her in the market the other day and it looks like there's another one on the way. It's scandalous, if you ask me. A respectable gentleman taking up with a colored woman, but what can you say. Some men don't have any self-control."
Sean was amazed at the information he had received and decided that he would pay Mr. Rothchild a visit, during the weekend and confirm what Ms. Fairfield had told him. He had known the man as the county clerk for the past ten years, but realized that he knew nothing about his personal life. He would always come to work on time and leave at the end of the day with all of his tasks accomplished. He was sort of to himself, but he wasn't shy. Sean even thought he was part of the Jockey Club, but could not be sure and decided to ask his father about it later. With renewed hope and a desire to see Marita before the end of the day Sean rode back home after he stopped at the market and picked up Marita's favorite flowers.
When he arrived at home he peeked into his father's office and saw Ned talking to Marita about what he would need her to do next week while he was away on business in Richmond, VA. Sean decided to go upstairs and wash up for dinner and wait until Marita and his father had finished their conversation before he would give the flowers to Marita.
Up in his room, after he had washed up, Sean noticed Marita leaving the house out of his window. He hurried and buttoned his shirt then picked up the flowers and ran down the steps. Allison was about to go up the steps when Sean nearly ran her over...
"Hey, watch where you're going! What are you doing with those flowers anyway?" She asked wondering why Sean was in such a hurry."
"Oh, sorry Allison, I just need to get rid of these. They don't match the linens in my room." Sean said smiling. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and bolted out of the door hoping Marita had not gotten too far away. Then finally he caught up with Marita
"Marita. Marita wait!"
Marita turned around, recognizing Sean's voice. "Sean what is it? I was just on my way home to fix supper for pa."
Sean had the flowers behind his back, pretending to scratch. "I know, I just wanted to make sure you got home safely." They continued on the path to Marita's house and talked along the way. Sean gave Marita the flowers and she was happily surprised. He had given her azaleas, which were her favorite. He knew that she liked to situate them inside her window so that they could get some sun and make her room appear bright and more feminine. She usually picked them herself after work, but this night she would not have to.
When they got to her door, Sean lightly kissed her on the lips and turned to go back home. He did not want to come on to strong especially after she had started to avoid bodily contact since their night after the Masquerade Party. He decided that he would get the azaleas for her everyday if he could because he knew it made her happy and he knew that it was something about her that Richard did not know.
That weekend Sean visited Mr. Rothchild at his home. A young colored woman answered the door and led Sean into the study where Mr. Rothchild sat smoking a pipe in one chair and a pregnant colored woman sat in a chair across from him knitting. The woman was very simple looking, but pretty. When Sean entered the room, the man asked him to take a seat.
"How are you Mr. Logan? What brings you to my home on a Saturday? I hope those records we had sent to Clancy's office last week were in order."
"Oh yes, they were Mr. Rothchild, but I'm not here to talk about any files. I actually wanted to --" Sean had a hard time searching for the words but finally he found them. "I came to ask you about your relationship with the young lady here." He said motioning his head in the direction of the woman sitting in the opposite chair.
Mr. Rothchild grew red in the face and affectionately asked Helen, the woman, to give them some privacy. After she left and he felt she was a safe distance away, the man spoke.
"What about my relationship with Helen, Mr. Logan?"
"I wanted to know, if the boy Anthony I saw today at the records office is your son?"
"Yes, he is?"
"Is Helen his mother?"
"Yes, she is. Why do you wan to know?" He said standing up from his chair.
"Oh, please Mr. Rothchild, don't be alarmed. I need to know because...because I was doing some research for a friend, who is in love with a colored girl and wants to be with her, but she won't have anything to do with him because she wants a respectable relationship. I was trying to find out what I--- he could do to be with her."
"So, you're in love with a colored woman, huh? Well let me see...I'm sure it's the Peter's woman. The one you were raised with. Is that right?"
Sean was shocked at Mr. Rothchild's insight and admitted to his question. "Yes, it is."
"So, you wanted to come here and see how I did it without any trouble?"
"I am curious."
"Well, it's not that complicated Sean. Helen and I were in love for a long time when I was younger, but I was constantly pressured by my family to marry since I was an only son and my father was sick. I couldn't bring myself to marry anyone else, because Helen and I had been together for several years. Eventually Helen got pregnant and I had to make a choice between a promising career with prestige and Helen, so I chose her. We went to Ohio and were legally married and I was content on settling there since there was no segregation and we lived in relative peace, which is what she needed while she was carrying Anthony. After about a year my family came and got me because my father was near death. They told me I had to leave Helen and Anthony behind, but I refused and they relented asking me to just keep it quiet and they would not oppose us. So, 13 years later here we are. We don't get invited to social functions, nor are we able to be in public as husband and wife, but we love each other and we've made those sacrifices to be together."
"I see. How does Helen feel about it?"
"Well, we're on our 5th child and I haven't heard any complaints yet. The secret is Sean, that we love each other and we realize the type of world we live in now, so we have given up certain things to be together, but we compensate for it with our love for each other and with our children. On occasion we go up north for a weekend to visit her family and there we can openly be man and wife. If I didn't have this business here, we would move back there, but remaining here allows us to live very comfortably."
Sean was happy that he was able to talk to Mr. Rothchild. After their conversation, Sean stayed and ate dinner with the family and he left encouraged knowing that if Marita saw this scenario then she would be more inclined to their being together. He decided that he would encourage Marita to establish a friendship with Helen and at the same time he would continue to shower her with his affections and he would ask her to marry him right before he had to go to Washington D.C in 3 months. He reasoned that they could quickly go over the Ohio border and get married and then honeymoon in Washington D.C. In the meantime he would have the builders finally start on his house and when he & Marita got back from Washington, they could move into their home together.
Now filled with hope and anticipation Sean rode home formulating his plans as he went.
1998
Logan Home
"So grandpa what happened?"
"Well, my grandfather did just what he had planned. Grandmother soon got friendly with the Rothchild woman and she saw how happy she was despite the sacrifices she had to make. Grandfather would get the azaleas just about everyday for her and he would bring her books that she liked to read. Sometimes, he would special order any new books just for her. He also bought her a beautiful dress that she would wear to county functions."
"So what happened to the Roger guy who was calling on her?"
"Who knows, boy and who cares. His problem was that he gave her things that he thought she would like, but he didn't know nothing about her and besides if she had kept seeing him, then I guess you and me would not be here, would we?"
"No I guess not grandpa." Sean said as he chuckled. "So are you saying that your grandfather did the things that grandmother Marita liked and treasured and then he helped her to see that they could be happy together, even if they had to make some sacrifices and this won her over?"
"Yeah, sounds like you got it boy. I hope you was takin' notes 'cause I ain't gonna tell you again." Grandpa said as he got up to head back to his room.
"You don't have to tell me twice grandpa." Sean got up, threw the milk away. "I know what I can do now. Thanks for the advice." Sean said.
For a better part of the evening Sean stayed in his grandfather's room watching TV with him and remembering all of the intimate details only he knew about Elana and he strategized on how he would win her over just as his great, great grandfather had won his own wife.