1870 Reunion

The icicles were six inches long on the back porch roof edge. The great light had just crested over the tree line east towards Dellrose. Lou pulled her heavy coat tight at the worn collar with one hand. In her other hand the steaming coffee mug offered a cloud of steam that was trapped in front of her face by her broad hat brim. She liked this time of day best - light renewed, sunrise. She greeted it most days right on this spot on her house's small back porch. To her left was sunrise and to her right was the barn she and her family had rebuilt four springs ago. She could hear the stock shifting in the barn stalls and lot pens. The old Dominicker rooster had sung his harsh morning reveille just a few minutes before. Lou and he were in an ongoing contest to see who would be the first to recognize the beginning of the daylight.

Alex came through the back door with his coffee. "Sister. Dang, it's brisk, wouldn't you say?" was his greeting to his twin sister.

"Yes, Alex, but it's the third of December, don't you know."

At twenty-two-years old the twins were the shape and size of adults. Lou was now 5' 9" tall and weighed 118 pounds and Alex was 5' 7" and 189 pounds.

Alex had left the major, become colonel and the shallow of Wheeler's cavalry, in April after the colonel had near kicked him out. "It's over boy, git home, they need you," he'd said.