Chapter 8

The bonfire was awesome. Flames shot high into the sky, embers floated around, and the fire snapped and popped as it found new knots of sap in the wood piled on it. Benjamin put in an occasional appearance but seemed to be very much in host mode, running from kitchen to fire and back again. Marc offered to help, but Benjamin shook his head. “You’re a guest tonight. Don’t worry—next week we’ll put you to work.”

As night fell, someone produced marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate, and within minutes the conversation went from figuring out the upcoming battle to a bunch of adults sitting around a campfire, swapping stories—scary and hilarious—making S’mores, and setting skewered marshmallows on fire, creating combustible sugar to blow on.

Donna took Ralphie home as the bonfire began to die down. Marc showed off the uniform around the backyard, relaxing on a bench and talking with several of the guys about what they did during reenactment weekends.

“It’s like tonight, everyone brings out their uniforms that theiy’re working on. We do marching drills, battle drills, and set-ups for schools and tours. Sometimes it’s an afternoon only, and other times it’s a weekend excursion. We don’t always have battles; sometimes we work on research and planning out the big battles.”

He wondered what sleeping arrangements were like in camp, but he didn’t ask. He tipped his head back and marveled at the stars—so much brighter here than they could ever be in Los Angeles.

Well, you’re out in the middle of nowhere. There’s no light pollution when there’s no lights.

When he looked at his phone, its battery was dead, but he guessed it was nearly midnight. He excused himself and sought Benjamin out in the kitchen. Benjamin was up to his elbows in soapsuds at the sink, which was piled with pewter and wooden dishware and cookware. A brown paper bag sat on the butcher-block table.

“You can wear that uniform when you come out to maneuvers next weekend. It’s just a practice for the big battle. Your stuff’s in that bag.” Benjamin pointed at the table. “Just wear a pair of brown tie shoes, and you’ll blend right in.”

“Thanks, Benjamin.”

“I also put a flashlight in the bag for you. When Donna told me she was taking Ralphie home for the night, I figured you’d be hiking back through the woods. It’s much easier in the afternoons. Just use the light when you feel lost.”

“Hell, I’ll probably have it on the entire time.” Marc took the flashlight out and closed up the bag. “Call me if you find out anything else about the house? I’d love to get this handled sooner rather than later.”

“Will do,” Benjamin said. “And if I don’t see you before then, I’ll see you next weekend.”

* * *

Walking through the woods wasn’t as treacherous as Benjamin had thought, and Marc made it home in under a half hour. He realized he was thinking more about how close Benjamin was than how far away Jed seemed. And he liked how the uniform felt on his body.

“Figured I’d have to drive to get you before long,” Donna called as the front door closed. “Would you like some cocoa?”

Marc dreamily walked into the kitchen, placed the flashlight on the table, and set the bag beside it. “Sure.”

Donna turned the stove on and set a small teapot to heat.

“I thought I was blushing and making a fool of myself.” Marc said.

“Oh, lord. What’d you do after I left?”

“No, it was when I was changing into the uniform. He knelt in front of me, and I was nervous.” Marc’s face flamed.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be sharing this with me,” Donna said. “I don’t need to know about every detail of your… your…”

“My sex life?” Marc grinned. “No, I know. That’s what I thought too. But he just got that low to button up the coat.”

“Sure he did,” Donna said and then laughed. “He spent a lot of time chatting with you. I think he might like you.”

“No, I know he likes me. And Jed said it was okay to like him too.”

Donna turned off the burner and poured the cocoa into a large mug. “Well, good. I’m very glad your dead husband approves of a possible boyfriend.”

“I know it sounds stupid.” Marc grinned sheepishly and covered it with a sip of cocoa.

“No, it doesn’t,” Donna said. “This is a big step for you.”

They sipped the cocoa in silence. Then Marc cleared his throat. “I’m going camping with him and his group next weekend.”

Donna nodded as if this wasn’t a surprise. “We might find some camping equipment in the garage.”

“He said I didn’t need any. He gave me the option to sleep with him in his tent or to sleep with a bedroll, so I’m excited.”

“Is that why you wore the uniform home?” Donna looked him up and down.

“So that I could get used to it, yeah, and so I have it for next weekend. And I’ll be playing William Shelby.” Marc blew on the cocoa before taking another sip.

“That sounds fun,” Donna said. “But fun aside, I’m so glad we’ve found a way to save our home. When do we find out more?”

“Benjamin was talking about meeting up at the library on Monday to do some research on whatever we can find.”

“That’s great. Have we gotten any pings on the website?” Donna sipped her cocoa.

“Not yet,” Marc said. “But, I forgot to tell you, Benjamin’s stopping over in a day or two to show me how to set up an eBay account. We should get more interest that way. How would you feel with people stopping by the house to look at the furniture?”

“I hadn’t thought about it.” She looked around the kitchen, her nose wrinkled. “This place could use a deep clean, and if it’s that bad in here, how bad is everywhere else?”

“It’s not bad, it’s lived-in,” Marc objected.

“No, it’s a hoarder’s house, so we do have to do some cleaning. Are you up for that?” Donna stood up and took their empty cups to the sink.

“I never cleaned back in Los Angeles. We had a maid, Marlena, who visited us three days a month.”

“Of course you did.” Donna rolled her eyes.

“It was Jed’s idea, because I’d get into coding a project and the day would just run away from me. Most days when Marlena showed up, I’d be typing away at the keyboard and she’d be vacuuming around my feet. I’d have to go to the bedroom and finish work on my laptop while she tidied up.”

“Was it only three times a month? Knowing you, it was at least twice a week.” Donna set the cups in the dish drainer and came back to the table.

“No, only three times a month. One week a month Jed insisted I take a break from coding to work around the house with him.” Marc smiled wistfully. “Those weeks were the best.”

Donna smiled. “Okay, so we’ll take a week to clean this place from top to bottom, to prepare for people to come and look at stuff. How’s that sound?”

“That works.” He stood and stretched. “I’ll get up early in the morning and start cleaning this kitchen.”

Donna pointed at the clock. “It’s already one-thirty. Exactly how early are you planning on getting up?”

“I was thinking five. But I’ll sleep in and start the cleaning at six. I think Ralphie and I can tackle the garage today.” Marc groaned.

“I’ll tackle it with you,” Donna retorted. “It’s a big job. The three of us will do all of it.”

“Great, then let’s get to bed. We can start on the garage around six, when it’s cooler. When it gets hot, we’ll move inside and clean.”

“You already had that figured out, didn’t you?” Donna said, as she turned to follow him upstairs.

“I did, but I needed to make sure you’d still want to be part of the garage,” Marc admitted.

“Marc, I’m in it for all of us. I’ve never felt more alive since we started this project.”

He hugged her at the landing. “Great! Get some sleep, and I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Sure thing. Goodnight, Marc.” She slipped into her room.

Marc walked up to his attic loft and slipped beneath the covers, dreaming of the evening spent with Benjamin.

* * *

Two hours into excavating the garage, they found a 1955 Ford Fairlane, the keys still in the ignition. The Fairlane had hidden a bunch of things along the wall: a workbench with tools in toolboxes, a washer with a broken lid, and a dryer with a broken door. The appliances were piled with even more boxes full of things, some of them packed well and others filled with jumbles of random stuff. One box contained bills and files dating to the 1980s and a toolbox full of money. Without the support of the junk inside, the garage door hung crooked, so they propped it up with a two by four that Ralphie unearthed from a pile behind the workbench.

Marc’s phone rang. “Hello?”

“Hey, Marc, it’s Benjamin. Can you get down to the library today? Like, soon?”

Marc looked at the garage. Half of the things they’d found were strewn around the backyard, and the rest were still in a disorganized explosion in the middle of the garage floor. “I’m kind in the middle of something. What’s up?”

Benjamin sounded pleased with himself. “Oh, nothing big. I just discovered that Samuel Posey was a photographer during the 1800s, and William Shelby was in his twenties during the Civil War and lived at your house’s address.”

“Holy shit!” Marc shouted. Donna and Ralphie both turned.

“Marc, language!”

He held the phone to his chest. “Sorry, Donna. Ben’s found more stuff about the house and those two guys in the letters. Important stuff!” He got back on the phone. “I’m sorry, Benjamin, I didn’t mean to call you Ben.”

“No, I’m okay with that. But look, this just makes the claim even more solid. The thing is, I can’t fill out the paperwork for you. You have to do that so you can file it. So can you make it to the library before four?”

“What time is it now?”

“It’s noon,” Benjamin said. “I know it’s early, but…”

“Early? We’ve been working on our garage since six this morning. Hold on.” He placed the phone against his chest again. “Guys, it’s noon. Let’s close up in here and get some lunch. I need to get cleaned up. Benjamin needs me at the library for some paperwork, so I’ll head to town after lunch and you guys can get started on the kitchen.”

“I’m not going to clean that kitchen by myself,” Donna said. “I’ll rest until you get back, and then we’ll tackle the kitchen.”

“Well, what if I don’t get home until really late?” Marc fidgeted.

“Benny and Marky sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Ralphie sang as he dusted his hands off.

“Hey, now! That’s not what this meeting is about,” Marc protested.

“Sure, Uncle Marc,” Ralphie said, “but we’re still not cleaning until you get back.”

Donna chimed in. “I agree with my son. We’ll see you when you get home, however late that is.”

Marc picked up the phone and Benjamin was chuckling. “Your family is so amusing.”

“Oh, my God. I’m sorry you had to hear all that.” Marc glared at Ralphie, who grinned.

“It’s okay,” Benjamin said. “I take it you told them about our kiss?”

“I told Donna you kissed me,” Marc admitted, “but I guess Ralphie overheard me telling her.”

Ralphie’s shout echoed in the garage. “I saw!” His nephew ran out into the backyard giggling.

Marc’s cheeks flushed warm, and he could hear Benjamin choke laughter on the other end of the phone. “Let me get cleaned up and get some lunch in me. I’ll be at the library around one thirty.”

“Sounds good. See you then.” Benjamin hung up.

He dropped his phone into his pocket and chased after Ralphie. “Come here, runt. How’d you see?”

“I was looking for the bathroom, and I opened that bedroom door by accident. I saw the two of you kissing in the mirror.” Ralphie scuffed a foot in the dirt.

Marc groaned. “Oh, brother.” Is that all you saw? I hope so.

Ralphie grinned. “Don’t worry, Uncle Marc. I approve. You two look good together. You fit.”

Donna came up beside her son. “He’s right, you do. And isn’t that what everyone dreams of?”

Marc sighed. “Okay, I surrender. Let’s get lunch so I can find out what he’s got for us.”