Where Does My Heart Beat Now- Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Faint lights of the town’s street lamps and that of the stars in the night sky was all the lighting the throng of people gathered at the Copse of Trees on Cemetery Ridge received that night as they waited anxiously for the ceremony to begin. Several officials went around to all of the people passing out paper lanterns, each one possessing a single wax candle stick inside with an opening in the top for the candle to be lit once instructed.

As for Kate and Gabriel, they had one lantern to light together, same for the other couples amongst the crowd. Once given the lantern and a small box of matches, Gabriel took the time to close his eyes and reflect upon the week’s events. He couldn’t believe the title of General had been passed down to him or that Max had been defeated, leaving his family at peace. In a way, he felt like a guardian. The only question that remained was what the future had in store for them.

I have everything I wanted with me here tonight; Kate, my precious daughter, my parents, my brother, my crazy as hell cousin, his parents, new friends… What more could a man ask for? Opening his eyes, Gabriel saw Kate watching him closely, almost as if trying to figure out what had been going through his mind. It didn’t matter what she was doing, she always managed to take his breath away, whether it be from the way she cared for their daughter or her moments of ‘I’m about to kick your a*s’. A smile turned up the corners of his mouth, “I’m so blessed to be standing here with you tonight, Kate… on these most hallowed of grounds. Only in my dreams did I ever believe this would happen. I mean, it’s not every day a guy like me gets to stand on probably the most haunted battlefield in the country with the most wonderful and gorgeous woman I’ve ever met.”

Kate fought back the tears that stung her eyes from hearing her husband say such heartwarming words. She, too, would treasure their time spent in Gettysburg for as long as the good Lord let her live. There was only one thing she could think of that seemed appropriate to say in reply, “Tá grá agam duit.”

Such beautiful words. Gabriel wanted more than anything to take her into his arms right then and show her how much he loved everything about her, but that wouldn’t go over well with all of the people surrounding them for what he had planned; afterwards, perhaps, when the others went their separate ways for the night. A nudge on his upper arm brought his head around to see Ellen gawking at him in an amusing fashion with an eyebrow raised while helping Seamus hold onto their lantern to keep it from floating away.

“Would you just kiss her already!” Ellen groaned and rolled her eyes, “I swear, if you get any more goo-goo-eyed I’m gonna puke.”

He didn’t wait a second longer; pulling Kate and the unlit lantern closer to him, Gabriel smashed his lips against hers, forcing them apart to dip the tip of his tongue inside her mouth. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the others turn away, most likely out of embarrassment. Shivers ran up his spine from the familiar scent of lavender and citrus filling his nose; oh, how he loved it. Sweet mother of-. Can I just take her back to the tent now and have that discussion of another baby before I go nuts? Seconds later he was pushed away from her when she put her hand on his chest in desperation for some oxygen.

“What has gotten into you, Gabriel?” Kate gasped, “I haven’t seen you like this, in a long time.”

“Do I need a reason to show my affection toward you?” Gabriel replied with a smirk.

I did enjoy that. “Just keep it PG in front of the family, okay?”

Gabriel was about to pull her into another kiss when an official whistled loudly to get the crowd’s attention. As soon as the people turned in his direction he immediately struck a match before carefully lighting the candle inside his own lantern to instruct them to do the same. The area started to light up with the glow of the lanterns as they were lit one by one.

Thinking he didn’t need a pathetic match to get the job done, Casey pulled his Zippo lighter from his pocket and quickly raked the flint across his palm, setting it ablaze. Fire. Awesome.

Ellen shook her head in amazement and spoke in a deep southern accent �"one true to her native Louisiana�" surprising herself that she had resorted back to her roots, “Ah, Lawd…. No one fawt or we’s all gon go up in flams.” Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Seamus chuckle; either he got a kick out of her comment or he enjoyed hearing her true roots come out, “Did dat just tickle you’s fancy, Seamus?” D****t! Wish I could stop talking Cajun.

There was no hiding his admiration for her, not in front of his family. Oh, how he loved her and wouldn’t change anything about her, “I sure did, Beautiful. That was something I never expected to come out of your mouth.”

Just hearing how Seamus had spoken to the uptight woman made Kate wonder what had gotten into him all of a sudden. Could it have been true what Gabriel had said about his brother going to the point of sleeping with Ellen? She recalled hearing a noise the night before when she had woken to feed a fussy Shannon. It all made sense to her then. Is there an aphrodisiac floating around in the air here at Gettysburg or what? It seems everyone is falling in love… or more in love. First Casey, then Seamus, and now me.

A feeling of peacefulness swept through the Dawson’s as soon as their lanterns had been lit. The glow from them cast flickering shadows on their faces, almost creating an eerie ambience what with the wind rustling the leaves in the trees and the silence of the people gathered. If one listened closely they could almost hear the whispers of the fallen soldiers from long ago; perhaps wanting to tell the stories of their fate.

Kate’s pale blue eyes flashed up to see a whitish blue glow pass by behind Gabriel and make its way between her family members, causing the light from the candles to flare up whenever the silky material of its dress drifted near the lanterns. A smile formed at the corners of her mouth. “Oh, Susan… You just can’t stay away from us, can you?”

“Whoa! Did you guys see our lanterns get brighter when…Wait, who’s Susan?!” Ellen turned to look at Kate from a few feet away, her face one of confusion.

Gabriel snickered and said, “My dead wife. The one I was married to before Kate.”

“What’chu mean dead, Gabriel?” Ellen slowly stepped toward the green male, her hands clenched. “Like something out of Paranormal Activity kind of dead? You mean to tell me you have dead people following you around?” She suddenly burst into laughter, “I bet you can now legitimately say ‘I see dead people’. Ha!”

The moment Ellen turned back around to rejoin Seamus, she found herself face to face with Susan’s spirit; lonely, but caring, eyes stared her down, the spirit’s mouth a hard line, “Do you not believe in the afterlife, Ellen?” Her deep voice froze the scarlet woman to the spot.

Several silent moments passed as Ellen tried to wrap her brain around what she was staring at, and then she responded, “Holy s**t! Ghost!” She thrust her fist forward to make contact with Susan’s face, but instead punched Casey �"in the wrong place at the wrong time�" square in the forehead since Susan disappeared at the last second. The force of her punch sent Casey stumbling backwards. When Ellen saw what had happened she immediately covered her mouth out of shock, “I swear I was not aiming at you!”

“Even when I don’t do anything I still get beat to pieces!” Casey grumbled while rubbing the area where he was hit, “Did she mess up me face?”

Gabriel smirked, “Nope, still looks hideous.” When he noticed Casey narrow his eyes at him he immediately stuck his tongue out at him jovially.

At that point Ellen’s hands had found her hips and she stood with her weight on one side, watching Casey fuss over the bump forming between his eyes, “Do you want me to mess your face up? Free of charge.”

He quickly shook his head, eyes wide with fear.

The second Susan reappeared near the edge of the crowd Gabriel felt the need to speak with her to find out why she had returned after crossing over months before. Susan had her back to him when he approached, but immediately turned around to face him. Her warm smile filled him with joy, stopping him where he was. There had to be another reason for her return, especially after he had told her it was okay for her to join the Father in His home.

“Why have you come back, Susan?” Gabriel watched her closely, unsure of what to expect from her.

The spirit of his first wife took a step closer to Gabriel, holding her hands out toward him while keeping her eyes soft, “I was sent here… to escort the souls of those men that have fallen on this blood-soaked ground to Heaven. It’s time for them to go home just as I did.” She swept her arms around to indicate the hundreds of people holding the paper lanterns, “This ceremony is for them… to help guide them on their way.”

Gabriel was stunned into silence; he should have known something such as the ceremony was a set-up, planned by none other than Susan, “You had this planned all along, didn’t you, Susan?”

“I had nothing to do with this, Gabriel. I was merely a pawn in this whole thing to keep you busy until this evening.”

“Sneaky as always.”

Before the end of the ceremony Susan turned away from the family to make her way to the center of the crowd. Without facing Gabriel she whispered in his mind as she had done once before. I’ll see you again.

Hundreds of thoughts fogged Gabriel’s mind when he rejoined Kate and took hold of the lantern. The way the candle flickered brought a sense of peace over him. Perhaps he and Kate were holding the soul of one of the fallen soldiers, waiting to release it into the hands of the Father. In fact, he was certain that was exactly what they and everyone else around them were doing.

“They’re going home, Kate.” Gabriel glanced up to see Kate’s eyes twinkling.

She gave him a confused expression to tell him she didn’t understand what he was talking about, “Going home? Who’s going home?”

“The spirits of those who died here long ago…” he peeked over his shoulder to see Susan flash him a secretive wink, “And Susan’s leading them.”

Not one person made a sound in the moments that followed. It was a moment of silence in honor of the dead. A good portion of the crowd took the time to pray, closing their eyes to reflect on the events that happened on the very ground they stood on. If one listened close enough they would be able to hear the cries of the men as they made their final charge, the last ounce of effort, up the slope where they would reach the end… and for nearly all, the end of their lives, for some of the heaviest fighting was at the area where the low stone wall cut at a sharp ninety degree angle, which gave it the namesake the Angle. The men would come face to face with the men of the opposite color, and for some that happened to be their best friend or brother.

It was hard for many of the re-enactors to believe that they had their feet planted on the very ground that had been bathed in the blood of the men who gave everything, dying too young, some only being young boys. Most of the people were afraid to make a noise for fear of angering the spirits, but the faint sound of whistling disturbed the air around them.

Opening her eyes Kate looked off to her left to see the head official holding up his hands to get the crowd’s attention. Are we ever gonna see you again, Susan? She hastily wiped away a tear that seeped from her eye.

“May we honor the fallen men of both armies with the release of these lanterns…” He signaled to some unknown person, who started playing an authentic battle drum, the sharp rap of the drum disturbing the silence, followed by the haunting sound of Taps from a young private once the drummer had stopped.

As the final note of the trumpet fell silent each group or couple released their lanterns, watching as they drifted away on the breeze into the star-specked night sky. They rose higher and higher until some of them became nothing more than small balls of light. However, the lanterns weren’t the only forms ascending into the heavens; Kate caught glimpses of bluish white figures mixed amongst the lanterns, including that of Susan hovering a few feet from the ground while ushering the spirits on their way.

They’re free at last. A huge smile appeared on Kate’s face, but suddenly the desire to see them make the final leg of their journey overwhelmed her. With more tears dripping down her cheeks, Kate left Gabriel and the others staring after her and ran the short distance to where they had left the horses. She leapt onto Buster’s back, kicking him into a hard gallop toward the fields where Pickett’s Charge had occurred. I can’t miss seeing her! Not when this could be the last time for a long time… or forever.

Gabriel’s voice calling after her faded into the distance as she neared the first of the wooden fences lining Emmitsburg Road. There was not a second to spare, leaving her and Buster with only one option; the buckskin gelding flew over the top railing effortlessly and caused several drivers in passing vehicles to slam on their brakes and honk. That didn’t deter Kate from her objective. Just as they cleared the second fence she could hear what sounded like a herd of horses thundering after them and knew it was her family.

Flashes of white light zipped by her as they galloped over the long stretch of field. The flashes were of spirits making their way into the sky, leaving the locations of where they had fallen. Feminine shrieks behind her told Kate that Ellen, and possibly some of the other women were witness to the strange event.

“They won’t hurt you!” Kate had turned around to see what had made them scream, and she gasped at the sight of a Union soldier’s spirit tangled around a distraught Ellen, who clung to Seamus for dear life.

And then she saw it, the large observation tower toward the end of Confederate Avenue, looming in the darkness. She urged the horse to pick up speed just as they passed Spangler’s Woods, followed by a small farm on their left. Almost there, but then Kate would face the long climb to the top.

Please, God… give this horse the speed I know he has!

At the base of the observation tower, Kate yanked Buster to a stop before jumping from the saddle. Taking the steps two at a time, she scaled the tall, winding tower as fast as her feet would carry her. Every time she rounded the corner that faced out toward the Copse of Trees her eyes automatically searched for the moving column of spirits to ensure she hadn’t missed Susan’s ascent. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Kate stepped out on the platform at the top of the tower in time to witness a breathtaking sight; thousands of iridescent specks floated up toward Heaven from every part of the battlefield, including Little Round Top, Culp’s Hill, Oak Hill, the Gettysburg National Cemetery… everywhere a soldier had fallen or was lain to rest. They mixed in with the lanterns to make a marvelous spectacle of light.

Kate jumped when she felt a light touch on her arm, and when she whirled around Gabriel was right there to wrap her up in his arms, which she welcomed happily. “This is simply beautiful, Gabriel. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

“Maybe there was a reason we made this trip.” He mused while running his fingers through Kate’s hair, “It could be that we were meant to help all of these souls and lead them on their path just as I did with Susan.”

Both of them jumped unexpectedly when a loud explosion reverberated over the fields at the same time a red light lit up the area below the Copse of Trees. They didn’t have time to recover before another blast shook the earth, only with a blue light that time. After a few more explosions, it dawned on them what was happening. Cannon fire.

“They’re doing a night fire. Watch and listen,” Gabriel turned Kate around so that she could see the show.

The cannons continued to fire at one second intervals, each one shooting a different colored firework out of its barrel. They were set up in a semi-circular shape just below the low stone wall. From what Gabriel and Kate gathered it was to honor the dead, kind of like a twenty-one gun salute, but instead was done with all of the cannons that had been present during the battle. There wasn’t a word to describe how moving the display was, and to happen as the soldiers were crossing over brought more tears to Kate’s eyes.

Her head rested against her husband’s chest as his arms pulled her tighter against him. She knew Gabriel still missed Susan terribly; however, it was also evident that he dearly loved Kate as well, only in a different way. She was his wife and had given him the daughter he desired, thus making his heart beat once again. “What next, Gabriel?”

The vine green male sighed heavily, keeping his eyes on the last of the spirits entering Heaven, “Head home… Live our lives without worry… Discuss more children…”

“…Help plan a wedding…”

“Possibly two.” After receiving a blank expression from Kate he nodded his head down where the others stood with the horses, “My brother seems to have made a breakthrough with Ellen… and if I’m not mistaken, she has that look in her eyes.”

A smile appeared on Kate’s face, “And what look is that?”

“The same look you gave me when you agreed to marry me.”

Kate was about to kiss him when Susan’s voice filled her head, bringing her attention back to the Copse of Trees where she could see Susan’s spirit bringing up the rear of all the other spirits. May your days be filled with peace knowing I will be watching over all of you. There is a place waiting for you when it’s your time. Until then… Tá grá agam duit, my sister.

“Tá grá agam duit, Susan.” Kate answered aloud, knowing Gabriel heard the same message.

By that time the others had made it to the top of the observation tower, some of them panting heavily from the long climb. Seeing Ellen bent over with her hands grabbing her knees for support, Casey couldn’t pass up the opportunity to rile the woman up.

“For a paramedic, or whatever the hell you are, you sure do get winded easily.”

Ellen automatically glared daggers at Casey and replied between huffs, “If I wasn’t about to pass out… I’d kick your caboose back down those stairs.”

“Why don’t you just throw him over the side of the tower? Save us the misery on the drive back,” Seamus mumbled over his shoulder.

Mae, still holding Shannon, immediately smacked her eldest son on the back of the head, “Don’t encourage her, Seamus!”

“I second Shay’s suggestion,” Kate put in, only to have Mae glare at her.

“Kate!”

On second thought, if Seamus does end up marrying Ellen we could end up with major problems amongst the family members. Quite possibly and early death for Casey. Gabriel quietly stepped away from the others to watch his beloved Susan return to her home. The moment her form disappeared, a bright spark of light lit up the sky and cast a glow over the entire battlefield… And then nothing. The only light remaining in the sky was that of the stars. Not even the lanterns could be seen.All of the cannons were silent. For once he found acceptance in her passing. She would always be there whenever he needed her, but hopefully that wouldn’t be anytime soon. With a final glance at the sky, Gabriel turned to follow the others down the stairs to head back to the campsite.

“When we get back, a stór, can you get me a beer?” He slipped an arm around Kate’s shoulder as they walked.

A wry grin crossed his wife’s face, “I sure can, General. Anything else?”

“Oh, I can think of a few things…”