Black Arts 101 Chapter 5
Date: 2/7/98
From: marcos1
The flashback of Eliot Stokes continues
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February 14, 1897 At a small cottage outside of Collinwood
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May Tucker moved slowly through the bushes. The crescent moon barely cast any light on the
darkness. She moved closer to the window. The sound of music echoing thru the woods, mixing
with the sounds of the night. The sound of the owl, calling through the gloom. The constant din
of the crickets. May so loved the night! Two years, ago, she had been sick with Scarlet Fever,
causing her to be forever hunched over. She couldn't straighten her back, and her head hung
down upon her chest. Now, she was a great source of fun, for the other children. They called her
ugly. Now, no one would notice her beautiful blue eyes, lovely dark hair, and finely chiseled
features. For she was a pretty young girl; but that would never be noticed. People would only
see, her defects. And never see her, for the sparkling jewel, that was May.
May peeped thru the window, and she saw them dance. She had come here many times before to
watch. Sometimes, the young couple did things, that she knew, she shouldn't watch, but she did.
The man was tall. He had beautiful blue eyes, long bushy side-burns, and the most wonderful
laugh. The woman had long blonde ringlets, and sparkling blue eyes. She seemed to be a servant,
for she was dressed in a similar fashion, to the servants, at Tucker House. But when the young
couple danced, she was a Princess. She danced with such grace, and love.
Beth Chavez danced in Quentin Collins's arms. They danced to his favorite music. The
gramophone played the romantic melody. Quentin could feel someone watching. He whispered
into Beth's ear. "There is someone watching us through that window. I will try to see who it is?"
He stopped dancing, and said loudly, "Beth, I'll get another bottle of wine, from the other room."
He quickly ran out of the side door. And brought a very shocked May Tucker back into the
cottage. She recoiled under the bright candle light, ashamed to be caught looking, ashamed of
the way that she looked. "Why...who do we have here?" laughed Quentin. "Didn't anyone ever
tell you, that three is a crowd?"
"Quentin, this is May Tucker," replied Beth softly. "She almost died from the Scarlet Fever,
several years ago."
Quentin looked down at the small girl shaking from fear. And something came over him. For he
was not a kind man. And he was not usually a thoughtful one. But something about the small
misshapen girl touched his heart. He laughed and touched May's hand. "To hell with what other
people say! Three is not always a crowd. May I have this dance, my lady?" Then, Beth started the
music again. And they danced all night. Quentin and May danced until the dawn. And as Beth
watched her very tall lover dancing with the small girl, she knew that this was the part of
Quentin, that she loved. The part that was always in hiding, the heart. The heart that could care,
and love.
May felt like a Princess, as she danced with the handsome Prince. She felt so very happy.
Collinsport--February 7, 1968
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Julia Hoffman sat in the passenger seat. She tried to pretend that she wasn't nervous, but she was.
She could hear the grinding of the gears of her brand new VW Beetle as Willie tried to shift
gears.
"Julia, I really appreciate this," Willie said, as he shifted into second gear, climbing the roads near
Widow's Hill. "For I'm a big city kid. And there just wasn't any need to learn to drive. I would
just hop on one of those elevator trains, and go anywhere I wanted to."
"Just be careful Willie," Julia said, nervously. "I just bought this car, last month, from Amos
Lancing's VW dealership in Bangor. And its still under warranty...but that won't pay for stripped
gears. Be sure and use the clutch!"
"I will Julia," Willie promised. But then suddenly, he slammed on the brakes. "Oh shit..." The
sound of something hitting the hood, filled both of their ears.
"Oh, Willie," cried Julia. "What did you hit?" She looked out into the dark road, but saw nothing.
"It was a naked broad," cried Willie. "I'm so very sorry...s-she just seem to come out of
nowhere." They both, opened the car doors, and went to the front of the small car. And there on
the nearby roadside, they saw her. She was a beautiful naked young woman, with blonde hair.
Small drops of blood streaked her ample breasts. Julia checked her pulse.
"I don't think she's been badly hurt," Julia said, as she checked her over. "But we can't move her.
Willie, go to the nearest phone, and call for an ambulance. The closest phone would probably be
at Collinwood. I will stay with her."
"But Julia, what was she doing out here, naked?" Willie asked, still shaking from the accident.
"I don't know?" snapped Julia. "Just do what I said...get some help." Julia removed her jacket,
and covered the woman.
"I'm going," Willie said, as he started the VW, and ground the gears, quickly driving up the hill
towards Collinwood.
Julia looked down at the young woman. There was just something so familiar about
her? And then suddenly a feeling of deja vu came over her. And a vision of a young
woman, wearing a red dress, with lilac flowers in her hair, standing in front
of a building with large white columns, flashed thru her mind. For this was the
woman in the painting at Collinwood. The woman from 1796. She was called Robina
Bouchard.
To be continued---
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