Vivid by Beverly Jenkins

the South and Washington?"
    "How does Grant justify what he
hasn't done to protect the people who elected him?" Eli asked.
    Therein lay the debate. Black Republicans
were becoming increasingly disenchanted with the country's do-nothing policy
concerning the South. Many Black men had lost their lives to Democratic forces
while trying to vote in the election in 1874, yet representative Blacks such as
Douglass and Pinchback were calling on Blacks to consider voting Democratic
this time around to keep the Republicans from taking the Black vote for
granted. As far as Vivid knew, few Blacks had crossed over.
    "Have dinner with me and I'll explain
my position."
    "And what will your cousin say?"
    "Nothing I can print."
    Were it not for Nate, Vivid would have
probably agreed. She seriously doubted Eli's ability to convert her, for she
and her family were staunch Republicans. However, she always enjoyed
stimulating conversation.
    "So will you have dinner with
me?"
    "I'll have to speak with your cousin
first. I really don't know if I'm allowed to keep company."
    "You're going to ask Nate if I can
take you to dinner?"
    "He is my employer, after all. I've
no desire to be dismissed because I may have transgressed some rule."
    Eli held her eyes a moment. "Well,
I'll be real interested in what Nate has to say, so let me know. In the
meantime, I'd like to do a story on you for the Gazette. May I stop in
next week after you're settled?"
    "That would be fine." Vivid
doubted she would need permission for an interview.
    He walked back to the road where he had
left his buggy, got in, and with a departing wave, headed his rig toward town.
    Vivid reentered her cabin wanting to go
back to sleep, but with all she had to do today, she washed and dressed
instead. She longed to put on a pair of her trousers, but they were still with
the crates at the depot, so she settled for a shirtwaist and skirt instead. Her
first order of business was finding food. There was none in the cabin and she
didn't have utensils, either. She wondered if she'd be allowed to enlarge the
kitchen, as the space now was totally inadequate for the daughter of one of San
Francisco's premier caterers. Vivid enjoyed a good meal and, thanks to her
father, knew how to prepare one.
    In the end she sat down and composed a
list of things she needed, which she planned on showing to Abigail. The woman
would certainly be able to advise her on how best to make her purchases.
    A knock at the door broke her
concentration. She opened it to find Nate Grayson on the other side and
wondered if he was still angry about that morning.
    "May I come in?" he asked.
    She stepped back to let him enter.
    "Aunt Gail says you're welcome up at
the house if you're hungry."
    "That's very nice of her." Vivid
replied.
    Silence fell between them and Vivid mused
on how best to bring up this morning's incident. Finally, she asked, "Mr.
Grayson, are you holding me responsible for this morning?''
    Nate surveyed her a moment.
"No," he replied, though he did wonder if she realized the dangerous
potential of the situation. Those men could have easily stormed the little
cabin and harmed her. Her safety had been Nate's first concern when he awakened
to the shouts and yells of the mob. He'd rushed to his bedroom window, and upon
surveying the scene, jumped into his trousers and grabbed his rifle. To come
out and find her standing on the porch in her nightclothes, prim though they
may have been, made him wonder why on earth he'd bothered to come to her
rescue. His mood had turned even grimmer when he noticed his handsome cousin
Eli smiling down at her.
    He'd calmed down after he got back to the
house once he realized he had no rational reason to be angry with her.
    "Did my cousin ask you to
dinner?" he asked. Nate knew Eli would try and be among the first to court
her, and for some reason the knowledge struck in his craw like a fishbone.
    "Yes, he did."
    "I thought you weren't looking for a
man."
    "Your cousin invited me to