by: Delilah Kelly

Christmas 1863

When Rosco arrived, folks would have hardly recognized him. Fortunately for him, he was spotted on the road to Hazzard, between the railroad station out of town and Hazzard itself. Toby, the Evans’ male slave, recognized him and invited him to get on the family buggy.

“Massa She’iff ! Massa She’iff !”

Rosco was so surprised to be called by his former position that he hardly turned his head. He went on, persuaded the Black man was calling someone else out. It even came to his mind who the Hazzard County Sheriff could be now.

“Massa She’iff ‘osco ! Massa She’iff ‘osco !”

This time, there was no mistake. The man in the buggy was indeed calling him. He recognized the Evans’ servant.

“Eh ! Toby !” Rosco gestured to the man.

“Massa She‘iff ! Please hop in!”

Rosco did not need to be told twice. He was exhausted and he was relieved only thinking that he would not have to walk the last miles that separated him from his home.

“I was on my way back to da fa’m. Do you mind if I go de’e fi’st ? Massa Joe’s gonna kill me if he don’t see me back !”

Rosco was too much happy not to walk anymore. He did not mind walking but one of his boot sole had a big hole and it made walking particularly uncomfortable. “Go back to ol’ Evans’ place first, I just don’t give a damn ! I’m so happy to ride instead of walking !”

The Black man grinned at the Sheriff of Hazzard. “Su’e thing, massa She‘iff, with dat big hole in ye’ boot, I can unde’stand !” Both men laughed together. Toby filled in Rosco with the County news and of course, with the most important he had deemed: Rosco was daddy to a marvelous little boy.

Rosco clutched Toby’s arm in surprise. “Say that again ?!”

“T’ue, massa She‘iff, ma’am Kat’ina, she had a lovely boy afte’ you left fo’ da wa’. He’s called ‘osco Lee and he looks ve’y much like you.”

Rosco quickly computed in his mind. He had conceived the child during the two weeks he had been with Katrina. He remembered they had made love almost everyday but he was still surprised a girl as young as sixteen could bear children.

“ ‘Tis bo’n in Janua’y last yea’,” Toby explained. “ ‘Tis a lovely lil’ boy, ye’ ‘osco Lee. Ma’am Ma’tha, she said massa Joe one day the lil’ boy, he was like you, because ma’am Colt’ane she said so.”

Rosco could not help grinning. He had no slave of his own but like many Whites around, he was always puzzled that Black people seemed to know everything going on in the County. “So Toby, make it quick so that I can come back home to see my little boy !”

Toby giggled. He was married with Dulcie and he knew what it was to be a father, though their three children had all died in infancy. “Ye’ll see, massa She‘iff, having child’en, ‘tis a nice thing. And ye’ boy, ‘tis da most lovely thing a’ound. Ma’am Kat’ina, she made a nice lil’ boy fe’ su’e.”

Rosco grinned even more. He was looking forward to being at home but Toby’s comments made him long even more. “I want so much to be home, Toby.”

“I can unde’stand dat, massa She’iff. But dey a’e all on dei’ way to da chu’ch. ‘Tis Sunday today.”

Rosco had to admit he had no more notion of time. His time now was of the war, living on a day-to-day basis, living as if that day was the last one to be lived. His perception of time was different and he felt suddenly out of place.

“Don’t wo’y, massa She’iff. I’m gonna leave ya at da chu’ch.”

“Good idea, Toby,” Rosco said while stuffing a yawn.

Toby sped up the mule’s pace and the buggy arrived downtown half an hour later. He left Rosco at the church entrance plaza and quickly made his way back to the Evans’ farm. Usually, he did not miss church but the thing was Joe Evans had sent him out on an urgent errand.

Rosco made his way to the church. He opened the heavy door and went to sit on the last bench, at the rear of the church. That way, he could finish his nap, so much he was exhausted by his return trip.

But that plan of his was not meant to be. First, the door banged loudly behind him – unexpectedly – which made few heads turn to him. Second, his ragged grey uniform, his thinner built, his unshaved face, made him look more like a beggar than a distinguished officer of the Confederate States Army. The preacher was about to start his speech when he noticed also the man.

“Come closer to us, you’re welcome in God’s house.”

Rosco would have wished to hide but he could not but comply with the reverend’s kindly offered invitation. Apparently, nobody had recognized him yet, though he had recognized some people. More folks were turning their heads to him now and Rosco felt embarrassed. Have I changed so much ? he wondered.

Suddenly, there was some agitation to his right. Someone wanted to go out of the crowd obviously.

“Rosco ! Rosco !”

The Sheriff would have recognized this voice among a thousand. His wife’s voice !

“Katrina !”

Both spouses met in the central alley and in front of everyone, they fell in each other’s arms. Soon whispers arose, followed by yells of joy when folks indeed recognized the Sheriff. Everyone gathered around the strange couple made up of a Confederate officer in grey rags and a lovely young woman dressed up in her Sunday best.

A powerful memory came back to Rosco as he was invited by people to sit on the front bench. He remembered when he had married Katrina in that same church, two years and a half ago. And now, he was there again with her, for their first reunion – in two years and a half.

The preacher managed to start the service and he heartily welcomed Rosco. Everybody was elated. Lulu even managed to avoid fainting and Mrs. Coltrane cried a bit when she saw in which condition war had put her son in. MaryAnne was hiding her tears the best way she could. Little Rosco Lee was still holding her hand, most interested by the commotion. He gathered that something important had happened but he could not understand yet what it was all about. He remained silent, reassured by his mother’s smile on her face and MaryAnne’s firm hand in his. Only Katrina was happy to see her husband, alive and in one piece.

“Rosco, you should go home now, you look exhausted !”

“I don’t want you to miss church, sweetheart…”

Katrina smiled mischievously. “I couldn’t care less… Let’s go home !” she said in a barely audible whisper. She went to Mrs. Coltrane and explained to her that she would go back home at once to take care of her husband. The old lady approved and her gaze was ready to silence anybody who would have had the dare to go against her daughter-in-law’s decision. She was happy that her son had such a good wife, able to take care of him. Katrina also told MaryAnne if she could keep her toddler with her, which the young Coltrane accepted gleefully. Then Katrina apologized to the preacher and the Hazzard folks around. With an authoritative gesture, she took Rosco by the arm and led him outside to the family buggy. Rosco was amused by his young wife’s decidedness and the way she had handled the whole matter. Moreover, he was too much exhausted to oppose her will.

They both got on the buggy and made their way home, Katrina leading the buggy herself. Rosco was watching her and found her more mature somehow. Probably it has to do with being a mum, he thought. He questioned her about the little boy he had not seen among people at church. Katrina wanted to coil against him but he prevented her from doing so.

“I don’t think you’ll like to get lice on you, my Georgia peach !” he said with a joking tone.

Katrina looked at him in mock horror. “Don’t worry, my beloved Sheriff ! I do intend to have a special treatment fer ya once we’re home.” She giggled. “Rosco, think of that. Everybody’s at church now. We’re gonna be all alone together, so that I can take care of ya the way I think you should be cared for.”

This time, Rosco looked at her in mock horror. “That is, my dear wife ?”

“First a good scrub. You need it badly,” she explained while wrinkling her nose as if he was smelling bad – and for sure he was ! “In the meantime, your garments are gonna be washed. After, you’re gonna shave so that your own son won’t be afraid of ya !” she ended with a hearty laugh.

Rosco peered at her with his crystal blue gaze. “Oh Katrina ! The Confederate Army might not surrender that easily in front of the Yankees. But fer sure you know how to make a Confederate officer surrender to you !”

They chatted all the way back to the Coltrane homestead. They had thousands of things to talk about and when they arrived home, they had not finished – far from it.

Katrina did as she had planned. Rosco was happy to surrender to her and let her have her way with him. He knew it was for his own good, and how it felt good to be taken care of like a child, after all these months spent worrying over the men under his orders ! He also told Katrina that he had been promoted Captain during the year.

“Oh Sheriff ! That means I’ll have to add few stitches to your new uniform I was sewing.”

“Yeah, now that’s Captain Sheriff,” Rosco added with humor. They both giggled like schoolchildren.

“I’m proud of you, Rosco,” Katrina said more seriously.

He gave her his nicest grin, his regular, white teeth offering a sharp contrast with his suntanned and somewhat dirty, beard-eaten face.

Rosco had a hot bath, Katrina helping him to scrub. Once he was done, he shaved himself while Katrina was making his ragged grey uniform boiling in a big basin over the fire. She came back upstairs to their bedroom and had a shock when she saw him.

Rosco was there, almost naked, in front of her. He had thinned more than his garments would have left to think. His left forearm bore the remains of a deep wound – which he had conscientiously not spoken about in his letters. He still looked very fit for a man in his early forties but his body bore the mark of recent hardships. Katrina would have almost cried but her face lit up with a smile when her eyes met his face. He was back to his usual self and her heart missed one or two beats when she saw that his blue eyes had not lost their charm. She threw herself at him and Rosco welcomed her between his arms. He made her whirl like he used to do before they got married, when he was seeing her at her parents’ farm. The sweet memory made her cry a bit and a tear rolled on her cheek. Rosco noticed it at once.

“Oh Katrina…” he said softly while wiping gently the tear.

“Oh Rosco, I’m so happy to see you back alive and well… you can’t imagine… One Davenport’s dead, the other’s missing, only one of them looks alive… Luke Duke’s back with one leg less… Bo Duke’s missing too… Daisy’s got no news from her husband Enos… Rosco, I’m so lucky to have you back alive!” she ended with a sob, overwhelmed by emotion.

Rosco held her tight against him in a comforting gesture. He could relate to that. As an officer of the Hazzard Regiment, he knew about the war casualties. He knew that war was no picnic, that it was rather a barbaric way to sort out problems. Especially that war. The face of war had changed, weapons were more and more deadly and he was deeply disgusted by the ongoing warfare.

“Sweetheart, promise me you won’t cry during my stay here. I want to have a joyful wife, with a smile I could take away with me when I’m gonna leave to go back to my regiment,” he gently scolded her. Rosco realized that she had been quite courageous since his departure, and now, the tension was releasing itself slowly.

She looked up at him and smiled despite her tears. “I will, Rosco, I will,” she managed to say. “I promise you that.”

“That’s my girl,” he said. “Good. Now how about a little kiss, you and me ?”

Katrina beamed and she offered her lips for him to take. They both kissed passionately. Rosco dragged his wife to their bed on which they both fell together. He wanted her so much, he wanted to love her. But he was clearly exhausted and once he was laying on the bed, his wife between his arms, he quickly surrendered and ended up falling deeply asleep.

Katrina had felt his urgency for sex. But when she realized he was sound asleep few minutes after falling on the bed, she watched him and chuckled. “Oh my beloved Sheriff ! You look so much tired !” she said softly while running her fingers in his dark hair. Then she caressed his cheek with the back of her fingers, a sweet smile still on her lips. She rose from the bed, took him by his legs and installed him more comfortably on the bed. She put the bedcover on him, so that he would not be cold in his sleep. She left the room not before putting a gentle kiss on his lips.

“Sweet dreams, Rosco,” she whispered to his ears, while caressing his face a last time.

When Rosco woke up, it was for the evening meal. He had slept all day long and Katrina had firmly forbidden anyone to bother him, though his kin was most keen on talking to him. She had closed the bedroom door behind herself, keeping watch over her husband as she was busy with several writs to do for the Sheriff’s Department. Nobody – not even MaryAnne – dared challenge her nor disturb her.

But when Rosco appeared downstairs just before the meal, dressed up in civilian clothes, everyone present rushed to him. He grabbed both mother and cousin in his arms and reassured them that he was fine. He had only been tired and had recovered with a fine day’s sleep. Then his eyes met the gaze of a little boy, standing shyly besides Katrina. The boy’s eyes mirrored his own, in a crystal blue. Katrina gathered time was ripe for a formal introduction and she took the boy by his hand to lead him to his father.

“Rosco Lee, this is your daddy. Don’t you be afraid, my love,” she said softly.

Rosco was tall and he was aware he could look impressive for a little two-years-old boy. He knelt down in front of him and gave him his nicest grin.

“Hello Rosco Lee.” Rosco loved children, he had always wanted to have some but now he felt suddenly shy in front of his own son. Katrina perceived this and she knelt down besides father and son, her skirt spreading all around and covering a large part of the carpet.

“Rosco Lee, don’t you be afraid, this is your daddy, Mama’s husband.” The little boy had never seen his mother with a man and he was a bit puzzled. “Come and give us a kiss, sweetheart,” she said with an encouraging tone in her voice.

“I ain’t afraid,” the boy said. Then he rushed into his parents’ arms and Rosco held tight his little family in his arms for long seconds. For the first time in ages, a tear rolled on his cheek. A tear of joy. He had a family and he was the happiest man around.

Rosco exchanged a gaze with MaryAnne which winked at him, a smile on her lips. She was so much happy that Rosco had realized one of his most important dream : to have a family of his own. But how long is this gonna last, with that war? she wondered.

Mrs. Coltrane sighed deeply. She had so much prayed for her son to find a wife and have children of his… Now at the sight of the little family reunion, she felt most relieved and thanked the Lord that had fulfilled her prayers in this regard.