Chapter 14

“Marc, come on!” Donna was screaming his name now. “Marc!” She slapped his face. “Wake up. Please, Marc. Wake up.”

He opened his eyes. Sunlight poured over the battlefield. The smoke had mostly blown away. A group of people were standing around him, some concerned, some relieved. Donna was kneeling beside him.

He groaned and motioned her away. “Okay, okay. I’m up.” He sat up slowly and looked across the field.

The chestnut horse was gone. Benjamin’s body was gone.

“Benjamin! They’ve shot him and we need to help!” Marc tried to stand up, lost his balance, and fell. “Where’s Benjamin?”

Donna ignored his question. “Ralphie, let’s get him to that big tent over there. Wasn’t that the nurses’ tent from the bonfire?”

“I think so,” Ralphie said. He and Donna pulled Marc into their arms and lugged him around the battle area to the tents. He wasn’t steady on his feet, and they weren’t listening.

“Where’s Benjamin?”

Gerald, Benjamin’s manservant, came up to them. “Mr. Shelby, is everything all right?”

Marc grabbed his arm. “Where’s Benjamin? I saw Benjamin fall off his horse, how is he doing?”

Gerald tried not to smile and failed. “Don’t worry, Mr. Shelby. He’s fine. He falls off that horse every year at the end of the battle. It’s how his ancestor died, and he’s perfected the fall and timing. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

“No, no, I’ll go see him. Is his gear set up in the same place?” Marc tried to stand on two wobbly legs, but Donna pushed him down and shook her head sternly.

“Yes, same place. He should be dressing down and cleaning up. The battle’s officially over,” Gerald assured him.

“It’s so awesome!” Ralphie shouted and ran out of the tent to see more men being brought across the field on stretchers.

Donna went up to one of the nurses. “Ma’am, I know you do this for the show aspect, but do any of you know first aid?”

An older, stern-looking woman looked up from wrapping a man’s wrist. “Yes, I’m a nurse.”

“Can you look at my brother? He just took a fall. I think he passed out, although he’s talking now.”

“Certainly.” The nurse reached for a white first-aid kit and placed the man’s wrapped hand on his chest. “I’ll be back, Bill. Don’t move that.” She followed Donna to where Marc was sitting on the ground. “Please, sir. Let me take a look at your head.”

Marc started to get up, and Donna pulled him back down. “Sit. Just let her look at you.”

“I need to see Benj?—”

“No, you need to get looked at! He’s safe, and we’ll find him in a minute.”

Marc gave in. “Okay, what do you need, ma’am?”

“What happened? Once I know that, I’ll know what to do.”

Marc looked up into the nurse’s eyes. “I—well, I passed out. It was too much, I guess. I was running from my house to get here, and I saw Benjamin on the field, and then there was a loud bang sound and he fell.”

“The final cannon shot,” the nurse said. “It’s the loudest.”

“Right. And then I tripped and fell, and I guess I passed out.”

The nurse looked him over. “How far away is your house?”

“A couple hundred yards, maybe?” Marc gestured vaguely in the direction of their home.

“And you ran from there to here? In this heat?”

Marc nodded. “Yes, I just wanted to get here.”

“So you ran the length of two football fields to get here at the peak of the day, and you’re wondering why you passed out?” The nurse raised an eyebrow.

Marc looked down sheepishly. “Well, I mean, when you put it that way…”

“Do you see this a lot?” Donna asked.

“It’s a lot hotter than typical today, so he might have had a quick bout of heat exhaustion.” The nurse called across the field, “Gerald? Some water and a cup, please!”

She pulled out some gauze and a bandage. “You also have a scrape on your forehead. Here. Now you’ll look like the rest of the wounded.” She smiled as Gerald returned with a wooden pitcher of water and a cup. “Sip that, don’t exert yourself, and stay in the shade. Got it?”

“Thank you.” Donna said.

The nurse left. Marc reached out for his sister. “Donna?”

“Yes, Marc?” She knelt on the ground beside him.

“I didn’t just pass out. I had a flashback to Jed’s death.” He gripped Donna’s hand. “And a dream. Or maybe it was a vision. He told me I had to let him go.”

“You do,” Donna sighed. “So now what?”

Marc stood up with Donna’s help. “Now I’ve got to talk to him. Gerald said he’s still here, and I know where his camp is.”

“Rest for another fifteen minutes, and if you’re steady by then, I’ll let you go,” Donna said.

Marc sipped his water dutifully.

* * *

Marc left Donna and Ralphie watching the battle mop-ups as he made his way to the bonfire in the square. He knocked on the stake in the front center of the tent. “General, may I enter?”

“Yes.”

Inside the tent, Benjamin was looking into a small, framed mirror, removing his false mustache and goatee he’d worn on the field. He saw Marc behind him and cleared his throat. “Mr. Shelby.”

“General.” Marc felt oddly formal.

Their eyes locked, and they both spoke at the same time. “I need to say something.”

Benjamin picked up a cloth and wiped away spirit gum, dirt, and possibly tears from his face as he turned around. “You first.”

Marc took three steps and stopped right in front of him. They stared at each other for a second longer, and Marc reached out his hand, brushing the front of Benjamin’s T-shirt to make sure he was really there. “It’s more than words…” One more step and he leaned forward to place tentative kiss on those soft lips.

Benjamin stood still and wrapped Marc’s body in the warmth of his arms.

The kiss was long, Marc’s arms engulfed Benjamin, his eyes closed, and their breaths quickened.

Marc had only ever had two memorable kisses in his life. His first kiss with a boy, and the kiss after he’d been announced as Jed’s husband. Neither compared to this kiss from Benjamin. This kiss felt like a thousand butterflies took flight in his chest.

They were panting as they separated. Marc looked at Benjamin, hopeful.

“That’s not the thing I needed to say, but I’m glad it’s on the table.” Benjamin smiled.

Marc was still breathing hard. “It’s one of the things I needed to say. But I also need to let you know that I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have believed that jackass Upshaw.”

Benjamin’s smiled broadened. “I know you didn’t falsify anything. I received a phone call from Mr. Clifton, the state historian, last night. I was going to contact you. All the documents have now been verified by several different experts, not just me. They’re valid.”

Marc sagged in relief and found himself sitting on Benjamin’s new bed. “Thank God.”

“They also found an interesting tidbit of genealogical information,” Benjamin said. “It’s delicious; almost as delicious as your kiss.”

“Really now,” Marc said. “What is it?”

“Oh, but that would be telling,” Benjamin said. “And since Upshaw has bullied the town council into an emergency meeting tomorrow evening, I think I’ll hold on to it until he shows his hand. You and Donna need to be there with the state’s official certification of your home’s historic landmark status. Can you do it?”

Marc nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it. What time?”

“The all-town text said 7:00 p.m. Make sure you’re there early. I want your family front and center for this.”

Marc looked at him closely. “You won’t tell me what the genealogical information is, will you?”

“No,” Benjamin grinned. “I’m thinking I’d like it to be a surprise. But trust me, it’s as good a surprise as that kiss just was.”

* * *

Benjamin had changed out of the Civil War uniform and into jeans and a flannel plaid shirt, with the hint of a white T-shirt showing underneath. The two of them strode out of the tent to see other soldiers in shorts and T-shirts, jeans and khakis. The battle was over.

“Now the real party begins,” Benjamin said.

Marc slipped his arm around Benjamin’s back and pulled him close. “Will this bother you, to be seen this way with me?”

“No. In fact, Marc, would you like to be my boyfriend?”

Marc’s sheepish grin returned. “Aren’t we a little old to be boyfriends?”

“We might be, but you’re the first guy I’d trust to go steady with.” Benjamin put his arm around Marc’s waist. “And no, I don’t care who finds out.”

“Is this your way of inviting me to spend the night again?” Marc asked.

“Yes. And just in case it’s not abundantly clear, I’m ready to go further if you are.”

“I’m up for that,” Marc said, “although maybe not in front of my family.” He pointed out them approaching from the medical tents. They both laughed.

“What?” Donna asked.

“Nothing. I’d like to introduce you to my boyfriend, Benjamin.”

“It’s about fucking time,” Ralphie said.

“Ralphie!” Donna exclaimed. “Your language has gotten so foul as you get older.”

“I’m a teenager, Mom. It happens.”

“Even so, son, in this case, I couldn’t agree more.” Donna hugged Marc and then Benjamin. “Welcome to this crazy family.”

Ralphie adopted the long-suffering look of a teenager who has to witness adult affection in public. “So what happens now?”

“Well, we plan on dating for a while to see how things go,” Marc said.

“Not about you guys,” Ralphie said impatiently. “I’m talking about the battle.”

“Ah,” Marc said. “Priorities.”

Benjamin smiled but addressed Ralphie. “Well, for now, it’s over. The surviving company does the final talk with the guests, and the rest of us dead guys start the preparations for a going-away meal.”

“So there’s a big party before you leave?” Ralphie asked.

“Yes, tonight,” Benjamin confirmed. “Most of us will strike camp tomorrow and pack things away until next year’s battle.”

Donna looked around. “We’ll let you two have your fun.”

“No, you guys can stay.” Benjamin said. “It’s just like the bonfire at my house. When the surviving guys are finished, they’ll head back to camp. The park will be empty, except for the dead on the field and us.”

“That’s eerie,” Donna said.

“Creepy,” Ralphie added.

“It is, a little,” Benjamin admitted. “But lie on the battlefield and you’ll feel their presence.”

Marc thought back to his dream of the horses in the field. Nahhh. “So I’ll be spending the night with Benjamin, it looks like,” he said. “But Donna, there’s a town council meeting tomorrow night, and Benjamin says we should be there for sure. Early. Can you be there by six thirty?”

“Oh, we’ll be there,” Donna said, her smile hardening. “See you tomorrow.”

“I pity Upshaw,” Benjamin said.

“You should,” Marc said as his sister and nephew walked away.

* * *

Hours later, the last dish of food was empty, and the last bit of mead had been drained from its cup. Donna and Ralphie went home—Donna tipsy, Ralphie sleepy—and Marc walked back to Benjamin’s tent.

The bed was larger. It had a feather bed, flannel sheets, and a thick, somewhat lumpy wool blanket.

“That’s the bed we sold you,” Marc said.

“Yes,” Benjamin said. “I had it authenticated to 1863. So I owe you far more than I paid.”

“It’s back in the family now,” Marc said as they undressed. “So don’t worry about it.”

“We’ve been dating for less than a day, and you say it’s in the family?” Benjamin looked him up and down.

“Well, the family will use it,” Marc smirked as he got between the sheets. “Does that work?”

Benjamin laughed. “Let’s find out.”

“Light out!” came the call, and Benjamin doused the lanterns above them.