Preface
Grace and I
Have been heaven blessed
With a little Tommy too.
We fear his life span will be very short,
For at the age of Sixteen years and four short moons,
He’s been called to defend our fort.
A bloody battle is raging on,
Against our very own kith and kin.
We never know from day to day
When the fires will come raging in.
We pray to our maker in heaven above,
To let us live through this fiery rage,
And let our dear son live
To read a manly age.
Great grandfather would be saddened,
To see his river’s bend,
Once so calm and peaceful,
Now a bloody den.
-Anonymous
March 18th 1777
Snow is finally beginning to melt off the dark, slender branches outside my window. Its been a long, cold winter in Tom’s River, New Jersey, named after my great grandfather. I will wait until the the thick blanket of white has dissapeared before joining Washington’s men in Morristown.
Aye, I was called to serve in Washington’s army. Mother can hardly look at me now without bursting out in tears. I suppose I shall cry when I leave as well. Father tells me to be safe and I know Mary, though she is only thirteen, will have a lad of her own when I return home, if I return home.
I will miss dearest Elizabeth. We plan to get married as soon as this bloody war is over. Her father does not protest. Her mother however encourages her to meet other men, fearing that I will not return. Little does she know that many of the men in our town are also coming with me to Morristown. Elizabeth will not have many lads here.
We both have hope that I will return home, we have prayed to Our Maker Above, and know that he will grant me my life. However fear still hangs thickly in the air. I am not afraid to die, I am just afraid that I will be without my family, my Elizabeth.
I must finish packing now. I will write in this small leather book my father gave me soon. Maybe I shall be in Morristown, eating meals beside General Washington himself.
-Tommy
Little Tommy closed the book he had received for his sixteen birthday and placed the feather quill down on his desk. He sighed, glancing out the window once more at the crystal drops dripping from the apple tree.
Running his fingers through his thick auburn hair, he began to wonder if he would make it through the war. Elizabeth and him had so many plans, so many sights to see, so many wonderful things to do. He didn’t know if he would be able to leave all those plans and dreams behind.
The sun slowly began to dip into the hills, reminding Tommy of the passing time. He quickly rose, straightening his jacket and grabbing his hat and a small quilt. Quietly and swiftly he left his place by the fire and slipped out of his home.
He knew this road like the back of his hand. He had walked it in the spring time when the flowers were blooming, in the summer, when the Martingales were singing. In the fall, he had walked against the chilling wind, and in the winter he had walked it with snow crunching beneath his feet.
As Thomas approached the door he saw the flicker of a candle inside and the swift movement of a lace curtain covering the window. The door silently creaked open and there she stood. He flashed a smile at the sight of her in her sapphire blue dress that matched her eyes. Blond ringlets fell from her stylish bun and rested beside her ears that were adorned with freshwater pearl earrings he had given to her for her fifteenth birthday.
Tears glimmered in her deep blue eyes as she looked at him with sorrow and fear, that she would never see him again. They stood there in silence for a moment, until she could not take it any longer. She rushed to him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him with tears cascading down her face.
“Don’t go, please don’t go. Let the other men fight,” she whispered. She looked up into his dark brown eyes. “You need to protect your family, please, stay here with me.”
“I can’t Elizabeth,” he whispered, his heart breaking as he looked into her eyes. “I love you, I will come back to you. As long as you keep me in your thoughts.” He wiped away her tears, holding his own back.
“Oh I will Tommy! I’ll pray for you every day, I’ll pray that He sends you home safely.”
Tommy held her close, breathing in the scent of her lilac perfume, hoping this would not be the last time he would be able to hold her like this. “I love you so much Elizabeth, you and no other.”
She looked up at him and kissed his cheek softly, “And I you.”
“Let’s go,” he whispered, grabbing her hand.
She nodded and together they set off down the road. They stopped halfway, cutting through a field as silently as the wind. They continued, the sound of rushing water filling their ears as they approached their place, the place where they had first met so many years ago.
Tommy laid down the small quilt on the grass and they sat on it, looking up past the trees and at the stars that were now beginning to appear in the inky sky. He looked down into the creek, the reflection of the moon like a shimmering lantern.
They sat in silence, each remembering a warm summer day, that seemed so long ago. The flowers had all been in bloom and everyone was shriveling in the heat. Tommy had been twelve, Elizabeth eleven. He was fishing on the bank with his friend, Samuel. Elizabeth had come to the creek for a chance to cool off. That was when Tommy had first laid eyes on the spunky, blond-haired blue-eyed girl.
“How many children do you want to have?” Elizabeth asked, breaking the collage of memories in Tommy’s mind.
“Oh I don’t know, five?” he replied, smiling. “I want at least two sons.”
“Names?”
“Isn’t it a little early?” he asked, flashing a grin as she laid back against him.
“I might as well start planning.”
“I want at least one to be named Thomas…it’s a family name and…”
“Barzilla,” Elizabeth cut him off. “Its my grandfather’s name.”
Tommy smiled, looking up in the stars, wondering how on Earth he would be able to leave this place.
“Tommy?”
“Yes?”
“Mother wants me to meet others…but…if we are officially…well,” she paused, biting her lip. “What I’m trying to say is…”
“Yes?” he asked again, holding back a chuckle.
“Oh Tommy! I want us to get married!”
Tommy smiled, “Aye, so do I, but we can’t until I return.”
“Oh why not?”
“This war will be over in two years, by then you will be old enough to be a wife and a mother. We are still children Elizabeth, as much as we hate to admit it.” He looked at her with shining eyes. “But, I would like to know…” He stood up, pulling her up beside him. “Elizabeth Lydia Bray, will you wait for me to return home from this war, and then,” he paused. “Do the honor of becoming my wife?”
Elizabeth burst into tears as she threw her arms around him once more. “Yes! A thousand times yes!” She kissed him, tears brushing onto his face. “Just promise me, that you will return home safely.”
“I promise.” As he held her in his arms, he couldn't help but wonder if he would be able to keep his promise.
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