That started a general throng of well wishers presenting their respects and admiration for what they had witnessed. It was a sight that none of them would ever forget.
Someone broached a bottle of rum, which in turn produced sea stories from the assembled sailors, who had gathered around a growing fire of driftwood down on the beach. One of the reverend’s assistants then produced a pair of small drums, which he played with surprising effect, and the other pulled out a bamboo flute. The drum man began singing the songs of his people, with Reverend Pinder and Rork joining in the harmony, and the flute player providing a lilting melody. Soon the sounds of singing and laughing came from the beach by the African Cemetery as the stars began to emerge in the darkening sky.
Heading away from the party, Peter and Linda Wake walked down the beach arm in arm, both silently drinking in the sensations of the sky and sea and sand around them. Linda stopped and stared out over the ocean, a tiny voice coming from her.
“Peter, we’ve made the right decision. I know it in my heart. Whatever happens in the future, this was the right thing to do, and the right way to do it. Peter, I love you so much.”
Wake could barely speak for the depth of feeling in his own heart.
“I love you too, dear, and I always will. It was and is the right decision and I am proud that we did it the way we did. And someday, we will tell our children and grandchildren about how and where we were married. And how fortunate we were to have such a special moment for our wedding.”
9
An Officer’s Duty
The manager of the boarding house was true to his word. With a minimum of intrusions, the couple stayed in room four, tucked away in the back of the building on the second story, overlooking the alley. Linda told Wake the story of the building as she traced the outline of his scar with her finger while they lay in bed the first morning.
“When I was a little girl this was one of the grandest homes in Key West. It was owned by a family that had shipping interests in Charleston who would come here in the winter. My parents knew them through business, and my mother would take me here for tea sometimes. They had a little girl I was supposed to play with, but she was a spoiled brat and I tried to ignore her as much as I could and be polite. My mother always insisted I be polite with everyone.” Linda paused and gave a smile to her husband. “Have I been polite enough with you, Peter?”
He responded with a grin and kissed her. “Deliciously polite, my dear, as you should be. A wife should be as polite as possible, as often as possible, with her husband. Please remember that for the future.”
Linda laughed. “Why Peter Wake, you make me want to be as polite as I can, all the time!”
He took her in his arms again. “I do believe Mrs. Wake, this would be an excellent moment to demonstrate some of that politeness.”
An hour later, Linda went on to describe how the building had gone from beautiful home of a rich merchant family to wartime officers’ boarding house. She explained that when the war came, the son of the owner had stayed loyal to his state and entered the Confederate Navy. He was assigned a staff position in at naval headquarters in Richmond with Stephen Mallory, the Secretary of the Navy for the Confederacy, and an old family friend from Key West. Linda had heard that he had survived the war so far, but he would never again see his family’s home in Key West since the taxes had not been paid and it had been subsequently sold. By the time of the tax sale it was in disrepair and well past its glory. The new owner, residing in Philadelphia and operating it through the manager, felt no need to address the problems as he just wanted some income while he could get it. The home was divided into six apartments that were rented out to army or naval officers by the week. It was just another of the war’s effects upon the town. Linda told the story without rancor, but with disappointment of how the once-grand home had come to be so faded and worn in such a short time.
Each day the scullery maid, a black girl of thirteen, brought a newspaper and breakfast into the room then withdrew until she brought lunch, and later, dinner. Wake wondered if she had heard about the wedding in the African Cemetery but did not ask, as she was very shy and he did not want to draw any extra attention.
Wake hadn’t known the comfort of a soft bed for a long time. To lie there, holding his wife after making love, and spend the day talking about their future hopes and dreams seemed almost decadent after the privations he had recently endured. He wished they could live like this forever. But he knew that her family and his duty would continue to keep them from a normal life together for as long as the war lasted.
Linda’s family and friends had discovered her deed by three hastily written letters. One she had left in the house for her uncle, and the others she had given to Ann Mary, sworn to secrecy, to deliver to her friends. These letters started out with the statement
