by: Delilah Kelly
New Year 1864
Rosco’s leave was over. He had to go back to his regiment, to war, to death. Katrina was desperate to see him go away – maybe forever. They had spent their last night together like two lovers, making love, giggling, talking, making love again… The whole week had been like a dream for the Coltranes. Rosco had deepened his relationship with his son and the little boy was very proud to have a father both a Sheriff and a Confederate officer. When Katrina was not hanging at her husband, MaryAnne would hang at her elder cousin and Rosco did not spend a single minute alone, so much his relatives and his friends were around him.
But he had to leave on this forlorn morning of January. He had bid goodbye to his sister, his mother, to MaryAnne and to Katrina. Once more, Katrina had sewn him a brand new uniform with grey fabric Boss Hogg had managed to find only God knows where. The Coltranes did not bother how he had found the fabric – though the ladies suspected it was through some more or less illegal business of his. The only concern was that Rosco would not be cold wherever he could be during war. Mrs. Coltrane sewn the patch of the Hazzard Regiment she had taken on the old ragged uniform Rosco was wearing when he had come back. Katrina added few more stitches for the captain rank he had reached. Rosco did look much more like a Confederate officer when he left rather than when he had arrived.
MaryAnne had checked his equipment. Her heart was heavy and she still had a very bad feeling about that war. This time, Rosco had been lucky, he had come back for one week’s permission alive and relatively unscathed. But how long will it last ? She crushed her anxiety inside herself mercilessly and compelled herself to have positive thoughts. She wanted to give her cousin the image of a courageous woman – while she felt she had nothing left thereof.
Katrina was no better than her cousin-in-law. She had cried silently but very much like MaryAnne, she had tried to keep her smiling poker face on. She had had the same reasoning as MaryAnne : she wanted to give Rosco the image of a brave girl. She did not want to distress her little boy either. She knew she would have to explain Rosco Lee about his father’s departure. Father and son had gotten along very well and the kid inside Rosco had resurfaced all the most easily with his little boy, when they had been playing on the living-room carpet at night, interrupting the sweet atmosphere distilled by the ladies sewing or reading, with their giggling together.
But these times of happiness were already gone – too fast. Katrina and Rosco went out of the house to bid goodbye once more. MaryAnne was ready with the family buggy to drop her cousin at the Hazzard railway station where he would take the train for Atlanta where his regiment was. She was waiting in the driving seat, in her Deputy Sheriff attire. Rosco had a proud look for her. He knew all too well that his cousin would try to drown her sorrow in work.
But for the time being, Rosco was still in the house. Katrina was checking his uniform a last time, an opportunity for her to touch her husband once more. Rosco took his son in his arms and caressed his cheek. “Rosco Lee, yer the man of the house now. Promise me you’ll take care of all these women, yer grandma, Auntie MaryAnne and yer mama, of course.”
The little boy only buried his head on his father’s shoulder. Rosco realized that the little Coltrane was not fit for the job yet and he had soothing words for him. He ruffled the boy’s dark hair. But when he wanted to put the child down to the ground, Rosco Lee resisted and remained hooked to his father’s neck. He did not want to leave the man that had become his best friend lately. He was even pleading his daddy to take him with him to war.