Talbert turned to the people who were in the flat transport wagon that hitched to the carriage and asked them to disembark, helping the women get down and keeping them apart from the men. He called to the slave master Malcolm who was waiting in his office on the other side of the big circular driveway, near to the rows of slave houses that were behind him and stretched on for around half a mile, spreading out on either side of a dirt road. He approached the wagon and Talbert and he exchanged greetings, which as usual when addressing Malcolm was short and to the point. Malcolm took charge of the male slaves and two of the women that were handed over to him, nodding to Talbert as he led them towards what would become their new homes.
Now in charge of only three women, Talbert led them to the back of the house where the kitchens and house slave quarters were located. The smells of cooking and baking came wafting around the corner as they approached, and Maggie the cook came out to meet them. Her hair was up in a bright yellow scarf, but it wasn’t enough to keep some of her hair from spilling out here and there in tight black tendrils. Her dress was made from the same material and she was wearing a red and yellow patterned apron over it, which she was wiping her hands on as she neared them with a huge smile on her face. Talbert smiled back at her and in a low voice, explained what the master had in mind for these particular slaves. Maggie handed him a packet of delicious smells that he tucked into his pocket then she shook her head and muttering to herself, looked them over, saying “I surely do understand, Mr. Bert, I surely do” and shaking her head again she spoke quietly to the women in her native tongue, which made them bring up their heads in pleasant surprise, even if they didn’t fully understand what she was saying. Now that she had their attention Maggie led them away into the house, still talking to them and finding out more about them on the way, and giving them insight into what their new lives might entail.
Talbert pulled the packet of food out as soon as he turned back around and began to eat the sandwich Maggie had given him. He tasted roast beef with homemade stone-ground mustard sauce and horseradish on thick slices of fresh homemade bread, still warm with a nice crust and soft in the middle. He hadn’t eaten since having breakfast this morning so it went down fast, and he was licking his fingers as he came to the carriage. He drove to the big stables which were to the back and right of the kitchens, then unhitched the horses, led them inside and took their rigging off, which he hung up on large hooks that stuck out of the wall across from the stalls. The horses stood and waited for him, having seen this routine many times, and went obediently into their stables when he opened the doors to eat their oats and alfalfa and drink from a trough of cool clean water, then rest for the night. Talbert patted down and talked to them, blowing out the lanterns before leaving and closing the doors.
Since the horses were put up Talbert unhitched the wagon from the carriage and parked it over beside the stable, leaving the carriage out in front and ready for whatever Master Jackson had in his mind to do. He headed into the house to relax in his room, going through the main kitchen in hopes of getting another sandwich from Maggie. That was one thing about living in the main house, she always cooked enough for he and the others to have some and tonight was no exception. She handed him a plate full of leftovers from the main table for which he gratefully thanked her as he went down the left hallway to his room, the second to last one on the right. If he continued on past his room the hallway led to the front entrance, which was very handy when he met up with Jackson in the mornings.
Talbert sat down at the small desk the mistress had given to him to eat his meal, which was heaped up on his plate. Looking at it he found himself wondering if he could finish it but he was soon sopping up the last little bit and wiping the plate clean with a sliver of bread. Letting out a magnificent belch, Talbert put the plate and flatware outside of his door for the maids to pick up in the morning. He then pulled out his journal and made his daily entry, in which he kept track of the time he had left to work here before he could have a normal life somewhere far away from here and the madness of owning people. Sometimes Talbert wasn’t sure he would make it for seven years and regretted having come here at all. Tonight was one of them and he felt torn in several directions at once, but only one way was available to him if he wanted to avoid being a fugitive. He had been on the run before and hadn’t the least desire to ever do that again; he had become accustomed to having regular home cooked meals and a private place to call his own.
Talbert went down the hallway back towards the kitchen but stopped short at another door on his right and knocked; when there was no answer he went in and made use of the toilet, which consisted of a chamber pot underneath a wooden bench with a hole cut out. Thankfully it was well sanded and rounded out to be halfway comfortable, especially when compared to no bathroom at all or squatting over a bare pot. He then washed up in the basin that Maggie had filled with hot water not long ago (bless her soul), dried off and wrapped up in the soft towel she’d left for him and carried his dirty clothes back to his room. A full bath would have been nicer, but they only got one a week because it took so much of the servant’s time, which would be better spent doing chores for the master and lady of the house.
Knowing he should feel grateful for the life he was living, Talbert still held fast to the memories of a much simpler and happier life he had shared with his wife Colleen and their little boy, Seamus who would be nearing his fourth birthday now He longed to be there to watch his son grow into a fine man one day long in the future. With tears gathering in his eyes, he wrote a bit to them as was his habit, sending off a letter once a month. She never wrote him back and one day he prayed his wife could find it in her heart to forgive him for everything that had happened, yet he wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t. Talbert knew his offenses were not easily overlooked, he himself wrestled with the fact that he had been so readily coerced into committing such acts and every day vowed with all his might that it should never happen again.
As he drifted to sleep, Talbert found himself in a crowded city, the smells and sounds coming to him from his past and adding to the realism of his dreams. He was surrounded by people and places he had never seen but he felt a twinge of deja vu, although it was unlike any place he had ever seen, and everywhere he looked there was something unusual going on. A boy was selling newspapers on the corner and Talbert approached him and asked to buy one, absently handing him the correct change. The boy was staring at him, so he turned around and walked to a bench some ways down the crowded street and sat down to read the paper. As he opened to the front page he saw himself looking back at him, and in the picture he appeared to be slumped in a strange looking chair with leather clasps that held his hands and feet in place. Chills ran down his spine as he realized that the man in the picture was dead, there was no life in the eyes that stared at him. Looking furtively around him for a place to hide, Talbert found himself surrounded by people who were pointing to the picture of him in the paper, then they started to pull at his clothes and before he knew it he was being suffocated under a huge pile of humans who apparently wanted him dead - again.
Waking up in a sweat and trying to shake off the feeling of being smothered, he discovered his jacket on the chair by his desk with his breakfast. He had forgotten that he loaned it to the woman yesterday, and was a little sad to get it back. He picked it up and smelled it, hoping for a hint that she had worn it but he couldn’t find any. Sighing, he figured he had better tuck into his breakfast before he was summoned because the days could be long. It turned out to be one of the last thoughts he’d have for himself that day and many more to come as he helped Jackson build a safe little nest for the new woman in his life, and therefore Talbert’s.