Chapter 15

Marc frowned as he pulled up to the town hall. The building was already full of people, a lot more than a typical Monday night council meeting. There were even picketers outside with signs that looked like something from a Westboro Baptist Church protest.

It felt like Upshaw had made sure the entire town would be there for the scarlet letters he intended to hand out that night.

He got out of his Jeep. “Do you have the posters?”

“Right here,” Ralphie said, tucking several large pieces of black poster board under his arm.

“Good. Let’s get in there.”

He locked the car, and Donna and Ralphie followed him across the parking lot. Benjamin walked past them with his head held high, carrying a briefcase. He was wearing his best suit, and in Marc’s opinion he looked just as intimidating in the suit as he had been in his general’s uniform.

Some of the people shouted sneers and derogatory words at them as they walked down the center aisle to their chairs. The crowd outside reflected the crowd inside; there were only a few chairs left. Fortunately, they were near the front of the room. Marc and Donna squeezed past an older woman on the aisle and collapsed into the three seats waiting for them.

“Look,” Ralphie said and pointed. Along one wall of the room, several TV cameramen from different stations were sweeping the crowd with their cameras. The front two rows were reserved for reporters, and there were no empty spots.

Up at the council table, Benjamin took his seat, two spots over from Upshaw, who stood as Benjamin sat down and pounded the gavel hard. The murmurs, chattering, and shouts died down immediately as Upshaw glared at the room.

“I bring this emergency meeting of the town council to order. The sooner we deal with the elephant in the room, the sooner Oakville can continue with its plans to build the tourist center on the other side of the Pea Ridge National Park.”

The silence in the room was deafening. Upshaw pointed at Benjamin. “Let’s just set the matter straight from the start. This homosexual is making up stories to help his boyfriend get historical status with a bunch of fake documents. I told you we were fools to let a faggot like him on the town council. He represents no one here.”

There were shocked shouts at the language that Upshaw was using. A woman placed her hands over her child’s ears. But there were just as many hear, hears and yeahs as there were shocked shouts. Upshaw banged his gavel. “Order! I will have order!”

Marc stood up. “And I will be heard!”

“Who is that?” Upshaw lifted his hand as though to shade his eyes from the glare of the cameras. “Oh, the faggot boyfriend? Sit down. You’re out of order.”

Marc stood his ground. “This entire meeting is out of order!”

There was some applause but just as many boos and jeers.

Marc approached the council table even though he wasn’t asked to move forward. “I’m the boyfriend, and I have a name. My name is Marc Shelby, and I would like to speak for myself.”

“So, Mr. Shelby, you admit to being with Mr. Adams in an unnatural way?” Upshaw asked.

“That really is none of your business,” Marc said. “We’re dating, that’s true. But neither of us faked these letters or photographs that we discovered under a floorboard in our attic. The letters are from my great-great-uncle William Shelby to his lover, Samuel Posey, a photographer who worked with McPherson and Oliver. William chose to protect the photographers. That’s not faked. It’s all documented fact.”

Donna and Ralphie had silently moved forward during Marc’s speech. They stood on either side of him. Donna had a black poster board with copies of the letters they had found. Ralphie’s black poster board had copies of the photos that Samuel Posey had taken: pictures of their house, of William’s sister setting out food on a table, of tents sprinkled around what was now their backyard, and of Great-Uncle William standing beside the unusual fireplace that could only be from their house. Above the pictures were small passages from the letters.

Marc pulled a large document out of his briefcase. “This is a notarized copy of a document I received this afternoon.” He handed it to the woman seated next to Upshaw. He read her nameplate. Wendy Hansen, Vice-Chair.

The council rose from their seats and met in the middle of the table to look at the document that Wendy held in her hands. Upshaw tried to take it, but she glared and refused to let him hold it.

One reporter from the first row shouted, “Mr. Shelby, what have you presented to the council?”

Marc turned to the voice and noticed it was the girl from the battle class that Benjamin had taught. “It’s a notarized copy of a document from the State of Arkansas, marking our home as an historical landmark.”

“Really!” She tapped away on her iPad. Just before he turned away, she lifted it up to take a picture. “It’s for our school paper.”

Marc turned back to the council. “With this evidence, I believe it’s clear that the council has no legal choice but to lift the eminent domain declaration and offer back the homes they’ve taken to the people they took them from. You need to cease and desist from doing anything else to the land surrounding the national park. As we speak, the state historian is working on validating the historic landmark status of several other homes in our neighborhood, and I have no doubt that will happen.”

Upshaw reached for the document and snatched it out of Wendy’s hand. He turned it sideways and tried to rip it in half to the shock and shouts of those surrounding him. Wendy and Benjamin stopped him, both shouting, “No!”

Marc watched in amusement. “Even if you tear it up, Mr. Upshaw, it’s just a notarized copy. The original is in the state historian’s files, and it’s not going anywhere. You can’t get rid of this evidence.”

While Upshaw sputtered and grabbed for the document again, Wendy and Benjamin turned to the other council members and held a hushed conversation behind the table. Heads nodded, and they returned to their seats as Upshaw finally gave up trying to get his hands on the document.

“I call the question,” said Wendy, seated beside Upshaw. “Given this evidence, shall the town withdraw its eminent domain declaration?”

Benjamin’s hand shot up, followed quickly by Wendy’s. Lacey and Carl looked at each other, neither budging, as though they were only on the board because Upshaw gave them the chance and they both waited to see what he’d do.

Carl wavered. He turned to Upshaw. “I don’t know Albert, this seems pretty much a done deal.”

“I’m not voting the fag vote, what’s next? Rainbow crosswalks and pride flags all over the battlefield?”

Lacey piped up, “Oh, can it, you asshole. This isn’t about your Civil War pride; this is about how much money you can make from this tourist scheme.”

“That’s not it! I want what is best for this town! I want people to know that our ancestors played a strong part in the battle at Pea Ridge, and the tourist center was the way to show it!” Upshaw crossed him arms like a stubborn child.

Lacey looked at Carl, and both their hands rose slowly with smiles on their faces as if they’d made a choice of their own for the first time in their lives.

Upshaw was the only councilmember to refuse to vote. Wendy grabbed his gavel and announced, “Given the evidence we have been presented, the town council votes 4-0, with one abstention, to retract the eminent domain declaration. The Oakville clerk’s office is hereby directed to remunerate and restore all rights in the Pea Ridge neighborhood as a historical landmark to their rightful owners, no later than ninety days from the date of this meeting.”

“No!” Upshaw roared. “No, no, no! I will not accept this decision! I’m the head councilman!”

“You’re also the only non-voting councilmember,” Wendy said.

Upshaw was crimson in his rage. “You don’t know what you’re doing! This development would bring jobs and money to Oakville! Historical landmark! Pah! It’s just six families, and half of them are already gone. They’re always bleeding the town dry.”

“Regardless, the decision has been made, councilman,” Wendy said.

Angela Rae lifted her phone. “I’ve called two other families to tell them they can move back home.” She had tears in her eyes. “I knew this would work out for us, but I didn’t believe it would work out for everyone.” She hugged Marc tightly. “Thank you.”

Mitch stood there crying as he called his wife. “No, you come back right now. Tell your brother we don’t have to move. It’s all ours.”

Upshaw continued to fume. “The Upshaws have always been here to protect Oakville! We have none of these homosexuals in our family. We are here for our decent, upstanding citizens.”

The council ignored him, and Hansen took his gavel, slamming it on the table. “This meeting is adjourned.”

Upshaw stared at her, openmouthed. “How dare you!”

“I dare,” she said, “because I’m practicing for when I finally take your place. You’re out of touch, Albert Upshaw.”

* * *

The reporters mobbed the council table, some of them focusing on the furious Upshaw, but most of them looking at the document Marc had presented. Benjamin held it up so the newscasters and reporters saw it.

Marc, Benjamin, Donna, and Ralphie headed outside where a reporter with a cameraman was interviewing Upshaw. “Mr. Upshaw, as the only council holdout against this decision, what are your next steps?”

Upshaw bristled. “I’ll sue the state! We will not permit homosexuals to come into our town and turn it into Sodom!”

Benjamin tapped him on the shoulder. “You may want to walk that back, Albert.”

Upshaw turned on him. “Like hell I will, you faggot!” Behind him, the reporter made a continue rolling gesture at her cameraman.

Benjamin smiled. “Albert, what I’ll tell you next, I’ll say to you here. Right now, you still have a little privacy.”

Upshaw opened his mouth, and Benjamin held up his hand. “It’s in your best interest to listen to me right now. You will have privacy as long as you stop trying to harm these families and their homes. But if you make one more move to disrupt or damage them, I will let every reporter in this parking lot know the truth.”

Upshaw glared at Benjamin. “Are you trying to threaten me?”

“Not threaten,” Benjamin said. “Think of it as a warning.”

“You can’t threaten me! I’ll make sure everyone in Oakville knows what you’re doing!”

“Really?” Benjamin said. “Before I tell you what I—what we have on you?” He gestured behind him at Marc and Donna, Ralphie, Crandall, and Angela Rae.

Upshaw sneered. “There is nothing to tell! My reputation is unblemished.”

“Are you absolutely certain?” Benjamin’s voice was smooth as silk. “Because we discovered something about your family at the state capital archivist’s—your family which you claim has no homosexuals in it.”

For the first time, Upshaw faltered. “What—what are you talking about?”

Benjamin smiled. “We searched the archives and genealogy records. They show conclusively that you, Albert Upshaw, are the direct descendent of Samuel Posey, the photographer and lover of William Shelby.” Benjamin pulled out a sheaf of papers from his breast pocket and handed them to Upshaw. “Turns out your family changed its surname in the forties.”

“These are forgeries! We are not related to homosexuals.” Upshaw grabbed the papers. His hands crumpled them at the edges, white-knuckled. “You’re lying!”

“You know the funny thing about homosexuals during the Civil War?” Benjamin said conversationally.

“What?” Upshaw’s face drained of color as he scanned the pages. Only two bright spots of red remained, high on his cheeks. Marc covered his mouth to hide a grin.

“They didn’t exist. The word ‘homosexual’ didn’t come into use for another thirty to forty years. What these men had was a loving companionship, as the letters detailed, and no one batted an eye.” Benjamin smiled. “You’re the only one who cares about that label. And Ms. Hansen is right. You’re out of touch.”

He patted Upshaw on the shoulder. “Oh, and those papers are notarized copies too. You can’t get rid of this evidence either.”

Upshaw stood frozen with the papers in his hands as Benjamin, Marc, and their companions walked back to the steps of the town hall where there was still quite a crowd.

“You were right,” Marc said.

“What?” Benjamin grinned.

“That surprise was almost as delicious as your kiss.”

“Well, let’s see if we can beat that record then.” Benjamin pulled Marc into his arms and kissed him in front of everyone. There were cheers and applause.

Marc broke the kiss. “I can’t wait to get back to simpler times, when people aren’t applauding our kisses.”

“I agree,” Benjamin said. “Let’s get out of here. Meeting’s over.”

They left the town hall, followed by cheers and applause. “Can you come back to my place this time?” Marc asked as they approached their cars.

“I don’t see why not,” Benjamin said.

“Marc! Ben!”

They turned around to see Crandall and Angela Rae hurrying to catch up to them. “You did it!” Angela Rae enthused. “You put that idiot Upshaw in his place!”

“It was my pleasure,” Benjamin said. “I doubt he’ll try anything else. He might even resign.”

“I’m so glad we held out! I wonder if Mitch and Aimee will come back,” Crandall said. “Will this protect our homes, too?”

“Probably,” Benjamin said. “Of course, documentation would be a good idea.”

“We’ll see what we can do,” Crandall said. “And how about you, Marc? Are you sticking around? Or are you heading back to Los Angeles?”

Marc shrugged, but he was grinning. “I’m staying.”

“What do you plan to do?” Angela Rae asked.

“I don’t know yet, but I’m sure I’ll think of something,” Marc said.

“Maybe you should run for councilman next year,” Benjamin said.

“Maybe I should,” Marc said. “I’m betting there will be at least one open seat.”