Carried Forward By Hope (57 page)

Moses smiled, cupped her chin, and stared into her eyes. “I know it is perfect for now, Rose, but I also want you to know this is just a season.”

Rose looked at him with confusion. “What do you mean?”

“You’re going to be the most amazing teacher the New Beginnings School ever had,” Moses said firmly, “but I know you’re bigger than a little school in the country.”

Rose shook her head. “I’m soon to be the mother of two children.”

“Who need to see their mama become all she was meant to be so that they have the courage to do the same thing.”

Rose stared at him and shook her head. “I don’t see a way, Moses. I won’t deny I would love to go to college and become a true educator, because you would know I was lying, but I’m learning to be content with not having that. I told Carrie she needed to bloom where she is planted — that’s what I’m doing,” she said bravely. “I know I can make a huge difference in the lives of the people who come to this school.”

“You’re right,” Moses agreed. “But—”

Rose interrupted him. “What about you and the plantation? How can you run a plantation if I’m in school? Running Cromwell is
your
dream. I can’t ask you to give that up.”

Moses shrugged. “I love what I’m doing here, and I love being half-owner, but I can’t say it’s totally my dream. My dream has always been to own my very own farm,” Moses replied. He stared out over the woodland surrounding the schoolhouse. “Look, I don’t have the answers. I know we’re to be here for now,” he said confidently. “I know our second baby is going to be born on Cromwell Plantation, and I know you’re going to found the New Beginnings School. I know I’m going to bring Cromwell Plantation back, and I know we’re going to create a model for how plantation owners and the freed slaves can work together.” He shook his head. “What I don’t know is what is going to happen one year from now…or two…or three. I just want you to know I’m determined not to have things just one way. Your dreams are as important as mine. We’ll figure out a way to make both our dreams come true,” he said firmly. “I believe our love is strong enough to support both of them.”

Rose smiled softly. “That’s what Robert told Carrie,” she murmured, brushing her tears away.

Moses smiled. “Who would have thought the two of us would be friends,” he mused. “If nothing else, it should make you know that anything is possible.”

“Oh, it does,” Rose answered. “It definitely does.” She turned to the schoolhouse and stared at the framework of her current life. Then she turned away to the road and stared down the dirt surface until it disappeared into a bend, somehow knowing it represented her future.

A call coming from down the road told Rose they wouldn’t be alone for long. She turned to Moses and pulled his head down to meet her lips. “Thank you for everything,” she whispered. “Thank you for my school, but mostly thank you for loving me so much.”

“With all my heart,” Moses said as he deepened their kiss.

Rose pulled back, laughing. “I have a school to run, Mr. Samuels.”

Moses frowned, his eyes dancing. “Do you think you can show your appreciation later, Mrs. Samuels?”

Rose stroked his cheek. “Oh, you can count on it. You most certainly can count on it.”

******

“Are we interrupting?” Carrie asked coyly as she walked up with Janie and June.

“Yes,” Moses said with a sigh, “but since there are forty children showing up in an hour, I guess it has to happen.”

Rose laughed and stepped up to the entrance. “Ladies?” She took a deep breath as the four of them linked hands and stepped up onto the porch of the New Beginnings School for the first time. June would be teaching with her; Carrie and Janie had come to celebrate opening day and finalize any preparations.

As soon as they stepped through the door, Carrie turned and grabbed Rose in a tight embrace. “You’ve come a long way since teaching in the woods around a campfire in the middle of the night,” she said as she stared around in delight. “This is wonderful!”

Rose gazed around her, tears once more springing to her eyes. She looked at Carrie silently, unable to form words.

The room was simple, but it had everything that was needed. There were enough desks and benches for one hundred students. Every desk had chalk, a chalk slab to write on, and a book. There was a shelf along one wall that held hundreds of books, and the front wall was a giant chalkboard for the teacher to use. A small desk stood to one side. Fresh air streamed in through the large windows, along with ample sunshine.

Carrie understood what Rose was feeling. She wrapped an arm around her and scanned the room. “Your mama knows,” she said finally. “I just know she’s up there laughing and dancing around because her baby girl has done got her own school now.”

Rose laughed and wiped away her tears. “You’re right,” she said happily. “Mama knows.” She took a deep breath as she looked around. “There’s not really anything to do,” she said. “Moses and the rest of the men thought of everything.”

“Well, let’s say Abby sent detailed instructions,” June said with amusement. “I was here every night with Simon to make sure they followed them just as she wrote them. She wanted it to be perfect for you, Rose.”

Rose sighed. “Is this whole day nothing but a conspiracy to make me cry?” she demanded. “Abby said she was going to make sure we had everything we needed. I’d say we have all that and so much more.”

“I’d say there are a lot of teachers who would be very jealous if they could see inside your school,” Janie observed, “but the only important thing is how many kids you’re going to help.”

“Kids
and
adults,” June added. “Now that they’re free, I think there are going to be as many adults as children here — maybe more. I’ve talked to a lot of them passing by as the schoolhouse was built. They’re so excited to learn how to read.”

Rose smiled. “The classes start for adults next week. At first I thought I should wait until after the harvest, but Simon convinced me the adults want to start now.”

June nodded. “They’re willing to work all day, come to school at night, and go with little sleep,” she confirmed. “After being denied education their whole lives, they’re not about to pass up their opportunity now. You know, I love watching children learn how to read, but watching adults make sense out of letters for the first time in their lives is even better.” She stared around the room. “I remember when you taught me how to read after I got to the contraband camp. That first moment when all the letters came together to form words I could read was one of the best moments of my life. It opened up a whole new world to me.”

Rose walked over to stare out one of the windows. “Educations means everything to our people,” she said quietly. “Nothing will truly change until the freed slaves are able to control their own lives. They can’t do that without knowing how to read, and write, and do math.”

Janie turned from where she was standing by the door. “We’ve got some eager children,” she called over her shoulder.

The other three women walked over to join her. They all started laughing as they saw the line of children pressed against the wooden fence, their eyes wide with excitement as they stared at their new school.

“No reason to make them wait,” Rose said, walking out to meet them. “Hello, children,” she called.

“Hello, Miz Samuels!” they called back.

Rose shivered. After spending most of her life with no last name at all, it was still such a thrill for her to hear it. She stooped down to look into the face of the smallest child who couldn’t be more than five. “What’s your name?” she asked gently.

“I be Sarah,” the little girl said solemnly.

Rose smiled. “I believe that’s the best name I know, Sarah. My mama had the very same name.” Sarah stared back at her new teacher, her black eyes as solemn as her voice. “Are you glad to be at school, Sarah?”

“Oh, yessum, Miz Samuels!” Sarah’s eyes glowed. “My mama told me she got beat real bad when she was my age ‘cause she wanted to read. She done tole me I should be gladder about comin’ to school den I eber been ‘bout anythin’ in my life. I reckon I am, sho ‘nuff!”

Rose smiled, her heart dancing with pure joy. She stood and held out her arms toward the children. “Welcome to the New Beginnings School. The first thing we’ll do is separate you by age and then I’ll assign desks.” She clapped her hands together sharply. “I’d like everyone in a straight line please.”

*****

Once Rose had everyone at their desks and had introduced all the children to June, Carrie, and Janie, she moved over to her desk and settled on the edge of it, wanting to be as close to the children’s eye level as possible. “I’m going to start school today by telling you a story,” she began. “In fact, I’m going to tell you a story every single day.”

Sarah raised her hand.”

“Yes, Sarah.”

“I sho do like stories, Miz Samuels!”

“I’m glad, Sarah. So do I. Some people think stories are just things you make up, but there are also true stories about people I want you to get to know. Those are the stories I’m going to tell you.”

Rose had thought for so many years about her own school. She had envisioned the first day. She had dreamed about what she would start with, knowing that just teaching the children to read and write wasn’t enough. She wanted to teach them to be proud of themselves and their heritage. She wanted to plant dreams in them and make sure they knew they could do anything they wanted to with their lives. She opened her mouth and began…

“Forty-three years ago there was a little girl born into slavery in Maryland.”

Rose was interrupted by a wildly waving hand. “Yes, Amber?”

“That’s where I was born, Ro… I mean, Miz Samuels!”

“That’s right, Amber,” she agreed.

Rose knew she had to take firm control of the class from the beginning. “I will want to hear all your experiences and answer your questions at the end of the story, but until I’m done I would like everyone to just listen.” She smiled. “Can you do that?” Forty heads nodded solemnly. “Good. Thank you.” She returned to her story, starting over again…

“Forty-three years ago there was a little girl born into slavery in Maryland. When she was little, they called her Minty. Her master was not kind to her and she received lots of beatings. Even as a little girl she dreamed about how things would be different if she wasn’t a slave.”

Rose could tell by looking into the faces of the children that many of them had dreamed the same thing. She paused and asked a question. “Is there anyone in here that is twelve years old?”

Several of the children raised their hands.

“When Minty was about your age she was in town to get some supplies. She saw another slave owned by another family who had left the fields without permission. His overseer found him and demanded that Minty help him capture the boy. She refused.”

Wide eyes stared back at her. She knew all of them were thinking about the overseer on whatever plantation they had come from. Only Sarah was too young not to have some memory of that. The little girl had been only a year old when her parents had escaped to the contraband camp.

“The boy she was trying to help started to run away. The overseer, not able to stop him, threw a heavy weight at him. He missed. Instead, the weight hit little Minty in the head.”

Every child in the room gasped and leaned forward a little more, their bodies pressed up against their desks as they listened intently.

“Minty was carried back to her house, bleeding and unconscious. She didn’t receive medical care for two whole days. She lived, but from that time forward she had seizures and would fall asleep without warning. She also began to have visions and really powerful dreams.”

Several of the children nodded their heads knowingly. Rose knew there were other women, like her own mama, who had the visions. She was sure the children knew some of them.

“Little Minty grew up and got married to a man named John Tubman. At some point, though I don’t know why, she changed her name to Harriet. She also started dreaming about escaping slavery. She got her chance when she was in her late twenties.” She glanced around the room and her eyes lighted on one of the older students. “You’re Aubrey, right?”

“Yessum,” the girl said shyly.

“How old are you?”

“Far as anyone knows, I be sixteen, Miz Samuels.”

Rose nodded. “Thank you, Aubrey.” She turned to the rest of the class. “About the time Aubrey was born, Harriet Tubman escaped.” She allowed a silence to build. “And then she went back.” She waited for the gasp to die down. “It’s true. She escaped the first time with two of her brothers. Her brothers had second thoughts, probably because they were afraid of being caught, and they went back, forcing Harriet to go with them.”

She smiled at the looks of righteous indignation on the faces staring up at her. “Harriet escaped again,” she told them. “This time she didn’t take her brothers,” she said with a grin, laughing when everyone’s faces lit up.

“Have any of you heard of the Underground Railroad?” Rose asked. Every child in the room nodded. Rose knew some of them had escaped through the Underground Railroad, just like she had, or they had heard about it through friends. “Well, Harriet escaped through the Underground Railroad. Once she got free, she loved being free so much that she decided to help other family members escape to freedom, too. By the time the war started she had made the trip with the Underground Railroad
thirteen
times,” Rose said dramatically. “She rescued
seventy
of her friends and family from slavery. No one she ever helped rescue got caught.”