In the spring of 1857."They's too dumb to mate naturally when you put them in the stalltogether."Thomas Jackson, Sr. had died suddenly and unexpectedl... the previousyear, leaving his s*******n year old son with the burden of caringfor his ailing mother, three younger sisters and two hundred slaves. Tom was hardly up to the task and the plantation was failing. JamesWinslow, father of a homely twenty year old daughter, saw anopportunity to marry Scarlet to Tom and add to his holdings."Y'alls got. His knees barked at him as they pressed painfully into the cold, unforgiving tiles.Jake worked the scrub brush around the outside of the toilet, sanitizing the base where white porcelain met smooth granite. He labored feverishly, knowing that Mistress Jezebel would be back any moment to inspect his work and criticize his efforts. She'd already done so several times, interrupting his chores and delivering stern discipline to his blistered bottom. Each time she did, it only made him fall behind. I mentioned the phone call a week ago and said that I forgot that Sally wasn't there. I asked her if it bothered her and she just laughed. She said it was fine, but she wished she could have gotten to it. She said Sally hadn't gotten home yet so she wasn't there to answer it. She suggested that maybe I could get her one of those mobile phones or whatever they called them now. I laughed and told her to forget it. They were more of a nuisance than anything else. We chatted a while more and I. "Oh, hey. I was wondering when you were going to call." I could hear a smile on his voice. "Yeah, I almost forgot about it until I saw the paper next to me." I lied. I heard him chuckle. "Yeah. But I was wondering if you wanted to meet somewhere for dinner?" I could hear the hope in is voice. A sudden tug at my heart let butterflies free in my tummy. "Um, sure. I think I'm free tonight. Sounds good." "Okay, meet me back at the hotel in ten minutes. Dress decent." We hung up and I sped down to.