ADDY’S GIFT by Hubert Blair Bonds

Mazeppa, Iredell County, North Carolina

March 30, 1863

Mama always said that I had gotten it from her grandmother. “You got the gift that my Grandma had, little gal.” I only knew it to be a sick feeling that sometimes gnawed away at my stomach. 

And sometimes it started with a twitching in my left eye. She’d say, “Addy McNeely, you got the same power that Grandma Denny had. She come here right from Ireland, and she could see things. And she read tea leaves, but she didn’t want nobody to know.”

I never wanted the power–it was more of a burden than a gift. After I married Will Peacock, it centered around him more than anything or anybody. 

“How’s about we take a trip next Monday to the General Store? It’s time for me to get some seed and you said there were a few things you needed.”

Immediately, the gnawing in my stomach began. “I don’t really need anything, Will. Not anything that can’t wait.”

He turned and looked at me, “Which is it this time? The twitchin’ or the gnawin’?”

“I’m sorry. It’s just the gnawin’ so far.”

He smiled that smile of his that usually calmed my nerves. “You don’t have to say you’re sorry. It’s part of you, and I like knowin’ that there’s a part of you that’s always lookin’ out for me.”

“Well, I don’t like it. And I don’t think that I will ever like it. I wish it had skipped on to somebody besides me.”

Monday morning came, and we struck out for the General Store just after daylight. This power was working overtime in me today. The gnawing felt like it was drilling through my stomach and about to flood my gut.

“You never know about a March day. Some are winter, and some are spring. It even smells like spring today,” I said as a way of making conversation and calming my insides.

“You’re right as rain. That’s one reason I wanted to get seeds. I think it will be warm enough by Good Friday to plant.”

“Mama always said that Good Friday was the only time to plant. I guess I will start the kitchen garden then too.”

“I know you saved seed from last year, but we can get some at the store if you want.”

“I will look at them.”

It was not a long trip to the General Store, but it gave my stomach the time it needed to settle. The countryside was waking up from the long winter. In some of the sunnier spots, I could tell that the Bleeding Judas trees were about to bust open. They had always been a curiosity to me, the way their gray twigs would suddenly be covered in purplish blooms. In some spots, I could see the dogwood blossoms beginning to turn from pale green to white just before they opened. And the butter-yellow daffodils were poking their heads up and beginning to flower.

“I do believe that spring is my favorite time of year,” volunteered Will. 

“I didn’t think you were noticing. I figured your mind was on seeds and planting and harvesting.”

“Well, a little bit, yes. What’s your favorite time of year, Addy?”

“You know that I love the autumn time. The trees are all colorful, and the orange pumpkins and gourds. It’s the time that you can rest for a bit from all the summer work and enjoy what you’ve brought forth.”

“It’s certainly a time of bounty if the seasons cooperate with us.”

“There’s the store now.”

“Do I look alright? You never know who you’re going to run into.”

“You look fine. You always do.”

“Oh, you…you’re just a striped sight.”

“You’re the only person in the world that says that. I don’t even know what it means.”

“My mama said it. And it means that you’re just a mess.”

“All right, but can’t a man tell his wife that she looks fine?”

“You just stop this wagon and let me get in the store.”

A grin spread across Will’s face as he pulled the wagon to a stop. “Let me come around and help you down.”

The store was empty except for the owner, Ephraim Patterson. “Well, good morning, Will. And Missus Peacock. Always glad to have you here.”

“Morning, Mr. Patterson. Will is looking for seed, and I might be as well. Otherwise, I’m just going to be looking around.”

“That’s fine. You just look to your heart’s content.”

I looked at the piece goods and saw some nice fabric. “How are you able to keep such nice piece goods, Mr. Patterson? With the Yankees blocking our ports, I’m really surprised.”

Mr. Patterson smiled. “It’s all local. The calico came from a mill up in Surry County, and the dotted Swiss came from Rowan County.”

As lovely as the fabric was, once again, the pit of my stomach was paining. Not much more than an hour’s rest from it. 

“Mrs. Peacock?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Patterson. My mind was somewhere else.”

“Never you mind. I was just saying I could give you a good price on the calico because it’s been here for a bit of time.”

“Thank you. I’ll think about it.”

I walked over to the window with my unruly stomach, hoping the view from there would help it stop. In the distance, I saw a cloud of dirt coming from the south. And I heard something as well. Was it a drum?

Will and Mr. Patterson heard it, too, and joined me at the window just as gray uniforms came into view. The man in front was on a white stallion and had a big yellow plume on his hat. He glanced our way and turned the steed toward the store. 

“Have you got your papers, Will?” I asked as the man dismounted.

“Right in my pocket.”

The man with the plume entered the store. “Captain Wayne from the 1st North Carolina Cavalry Regiment. Why aren’t you men in the service of our cause?”

Mr. Moore said, “I’m the owner of this store, and I was given permission to stay here and keep it open. We’re the only store around here.”

The Captain nodded and then looked at Will. “And you, sir?”

“My father paid the bond, and another fella went in my place. I have the papers.”

“Let me see them.”

The papers were already in Will’s hand, hanging down at his side. The Captain studied them.

“We need men, Mr. Peacock. You’re going to have to come with us. We need you.”

“But we paid good money…”

“I understand that. You have no choice.”

I knew a woman’s place, but that had never stopped me before, and I wasn’t about to be shy now.

“Look here, my father-in-law paid in gold for him to not have to go. Did you hear me? I said gold. Not Confederate money.”

The Captain turned his stare to me, “Yes, ma’am. I understand that. But that was two years ago. Things have changed. We need more able-bodied men.”

“He’s not going.”

“Ma’am, if I have to put a bayonet in his back and march him all the way to Winston, I will. But it’s better for him if he goes with us on his own.”

“Will, you can’t go. It’s been fixed already. Your papers prove it.”

“I don’t think that bond is worth the paper it is printed on, Addy. If I don’t go, Captain, what’s the alternative?”

“You’d be considered a prisoner of war, and I’d still have to take you. Do you have a gun in your wagon?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Get moving. You can kiss your wife goodbye out there.”

“Will! You can’t. What am I going to do about the farm?”

“I don’t think I have a choice, Addy. I’d rather go like this than spend years in a prison camp. Don’t go back to the farm. Stop at my folks, and they will keep you there.”

I grabbed Will’s arm, trying to keep him inside. The Captain saw and shook his head, “Ma’am, you need to stop interfering.”

“Interfering? You, sir, are the one that is interfering in my life, just because you have a uniform on.”

“Mr. Peacock, you need to control your wife.”

“Addy, calm down. I will talk to his higher-ups when we get to Winston. I’ll probably be home by Friday.”

“All right, Will. If you’re not, I’ll be up there by Monday.”

“Out to the wagon, folks,” commanded the Captain.

“I have two shotguns. Can my wife keep one? She needs some sort of protection on the road going home.”

“From what I’ve seen of your wife, she can cut a man’s heart out with her tongue. But, yes, leave one with her. Tell her goodbye and let’s get going.”

“I can’t believe this. I know now what my gift was trying to tell me the last three days. We should have stayed home.”

“They have been going through the countryside taking people. I heard tell of it about two weeks ago.”

“And you didn’t tell me.”

“Addy, calm down. I don’t have a choice. He has the power, not me. Kiss me and be on your way to Ma and Pa’s.”

We embraced and kissed. “Make sure you come back to me, Will Peacock.”

“I don’t plan on doing anything else.”

I watched Will join the others. The Captain tipped his hat my way, “I’m only doing my duty ma’am. I’m sorry.”

“And I’ll only be doing my duty to get him home again.”

“Yes, ma’am. Do what you need to do.”

I watched them go down the road until they were out of sight. I felt like my life was walking away with Will. Our dreams were ours. I didn’t want them to be just mine. And I didn’t want this damned gift anymore. It wasn’t a gift, no matter what Mama said. It was a curse. It did me no good. It did Will no good. And now he was gone. 

Hubert Blair Bonds, a native of Kannapolis, NC, has lived in Atlanta, GA for more than 30 years. He is retired from the federal government with 34 years of service. Currently serving as Curator at the East Point Historical Society, his hobbies include gardening, film history, and writing.