“I’m sorry, Baby, that sucks. Maybe someday our country will remedy that problem.” They walked down by the slave quarters and the barn. “Or you’ll get married to a handsome military man who has good insurance.” Patrick voiced that thought, and then couldn’t believe he had said it out loud. What would Savannah say?
Savannah didn’t react at all. In fact, she changed the subject. “Tell me about your childhood.”
They had walked across a low bridge over a lily covered slough. Rustling in the bushes announced that a snake, an armadillo or a rabbit was only a few feet away. Savannah stepped closer to him. He liked that. What he didn’t like thinking about was how much his grandfather had changed and what life would be like without him. “My grandfather raised me from the time I was five.” His steps had slowed and they stood under a huge oak next to a split-rail fence. Patrick pulled her against him, her back to his front and kissed the top of her head. “My parents went on vacation to visit friends in Maryland in 1987 and never returned. What started out as a few days of vacation ended up being a permanent living arrangement.”
“What do you mean?” Savannah tried to turn in his arms, but he held her fast.
“Mom and Dad were killed in an Amtrak train wreck.” He stated it flatly and without emotion, but Savannah could imagine how much it still hurt.
“Oh, Patrick,” this time she wiggled out of his hold and held him tight, “I’m so sorry.” She was kissing him on his chest over and over. “I know how it is to not have a mom and dad. But it’s worse for you because you had yours for a little while. It was easier on me, because I never really knew what I was missing.”
“It’s never easy to be alone or to lose someone you love. Having just my granddad all of those years has made me hungry for a family. I want it all – a wife, children, a dog. Hell, I’d love to find far-off cousins. Watching Paddy deteriorate has made me realize how awful it’s going to feel to be alone.”
Rubbing her face against his chest, she promised him. “If you’ll tell me everything you know I’ll turn the world upside down to find your family for you.” Hearing his longing for a wife and kids just made her heart hurt – she wanted a family, too. But that was a dream she’d probably never attain.
As they strolled through the village site admiring the glimpse into a time long past, Savannah encouraged him to talk. Their time together was fast drawing to a close. “Tell me what drew you to the Acadian Memorial.”
“Honestly? Up until a year or two ago, I didn’t know the history of the Cajun people. But, I stumbled upon some of Paddy’s papers and began reading them. His preoccupation with tracing our ancestry began when he found out that we were related to the family that built Evermore. And the further he looked back, the more he found. Before he got sick, he had located an old Bible in his grandmother’s truck that contained the name LaVerdure, and the date of 1785. I have read several books on the subject and discovered that the Acadians actually came to Louisiana in waves; some from Nova Scotia, some from France and some from the American colonies. But that date doesn’t match any of the information that I could find on the Grand Derangement. Isn’t that what they called it?”
Savannah was impressed. Rarely did she talk to anyone who knew this much about the history of the Acadians. “The Grand Deportation, the Great Expulsion, the Great Upheaval, even the Acadian holocaust, all of those are common names for the sad event that forced tens of thousands from their home. Did you know that in 2003, the Queen of England issued a royal proclamation of apology to the Acadian people?”
“No, I had no idea about that. That makes it even more real. I know that down through history many people have been displaced and abused, but it’s never easy to think about, especially when you realize it was your own ancestors.”
Hearing what he said about people being displaced, Savannah though about Carville and how for almost a hundred years the residents hadn’t had a choice about where they lived. Once they were diagnosed with leprosy, they were quarantined and transported to the hospital in Louisiana, many in chains. Their right to vote was taken away and most of them never were able to leave or ever go home. All because the public didn’t understand or want to understand the realitis of the disease. She was just about to open her mouth to tell him everything when he took her by the arm. “Come on; let’s start back toward the car. I need something else to drink.”
“How about we stop at the drugstore in town for some lemonade on the way back to the Memorial? They have fresh squeezed.”
“That sounds good.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she just melted into him. God, she felt good next to him. “Where do you live, Honey?” He’d get a specific address later, because he intended to need it.
“I have a cottage over on Bayou Teche about ten minutes from here.”
“Damn, if we had time, I’d love to have seen where you live.”
“I think you’d like it.” His comments left little doubt in her mind that he intended to see her again. Savannah was torn about what to do. She wanted to believe all of this, she wanted to revel in the attention and the possibilities. But she was afraid. “I live alone, but I keep busy. Besides
