CHAPTER 44
Winter darkness swallowed the passing landscape making it impossible to tell how close the coach was to Petersburg. Eddy drowned out the other passengers talking to rehearse what he’d say when he found Juliet. 
“I have to find her,” he prayed out loud, but it would be late when he arrived which would make the task that much harder. Frances had suggested Eddy stay with her brother, but first he would try to locate anyone with the American Colonization Society. They might know where Juliet was staying. As the coach drove on, Eddy realized how much Juliet meant to him over the years. 
She had been first real friend, first supporter of his dreams, first crush. If only he had confessed the latter maybe things would be different. But Eddy hadn’t and now it was too late.  She was leaving. Regret ate at him for the remainder of the ride.
The coach came to a stop on Bank Street in Petersburg. Eddy filed out behind the other passengers and approached a well-dressed man smoking a pipe. 
“Excuse me, Sir. You wouldn’t happen to know where the passengers for the Cyrus Company are staying tonight, would you?”
“No,” he snapped. 
 “He might not, but I do,” came a voice from behind. 
Eddy soon around to a white haired man dressed like a Quaker. 
“May I help you, young man?” 
“Uh, yes sir. My name is Eddy- er um, Edgar Allan Poe.  I have a dear friend who is set to board that ship tomorrow, and I must say goodbye to her in person. Please.” 
The white haired man looked Eddy up and down in judgement. 
“The First African Baptist Church arrived in Petersburg, and they’re down by the water in City Point now. I’m afraid I cannot divulge any more than that for the safety of all involved. You see, a number of slave-owners have been frequenting the docks looking for runaway slaves. If someone has documents for a man or woman, or if their own papers have ben falsified, we have no legal standing. Harboring slaves, or servants can jeopardize our mission altogether. I am very sorry, young man. All I can suggest is to be at the docks in the early morning,” the man suggested. “If your friend wants to see you, she is welcome to do so. That is the best I can do for you.” 
Disappointed, Eddy looked at his watch. Nearly, ten pm- too late to knock on his uncle’s door, not to mention the many unwanted questions he’d be made to answer. So Eddy wandered the streets of the port city until they became deserted for the night, and quietly slipped into a livery stable where a bed of hay and a borrowed woolen horse blanket would do just fine. 
As the morning streets came alive, Eddy slipped out of the livery unseen. He boarded another stagecoach, this time bound for the docks and arrived as the first golden ribbons of morning appeared on the horizon. Eddy spotted the ship Cyrus Company.
The docks were busy. Rope-hung Cargo was being hoisted aboard. A steady stream of sailors walked up and down the gangplank like ants to their colony.  Watching them were men and women, white and of color, dressed in their finest and marveling at the hopefully trip ahead. A sense of excitement filled the air. 
Eddy searched the crowd for Juliet. Nothing. He approached an official looking man holding a manifest. 
 “Name?” The man asked, never bothering to look up from his work. 
 “Juliet Ellis,” Eddy said, to which the man shot him a caustic look. 
 He clarified, “I’m looking for a passenger called Juliet Ellis-pretty girl; young, long wavy hair, caramel complexion.” 
 “I have 125 passengers, and all have proof of their liberation,” said the man in an irritated tone. He had clearly been badgered already today. 
 “No…. Um, yes, I understand that,” Edgar replied. “I just wanted to say goodbye to my friend.” 
 “Ah. Well, be that as it may, I cannot let you onboard unless your name appears on the passenger list. Step aside please. Next!” 
Eddy stepped back from the byway as the man checked off other names. Eddy looked up at the ship, scouring the decks for any sign of Juliet until he spotted her. For a moment he just watched her on the bow and fell in love with her a little bit more. 
“Juliet!” He called out. “Juliet!” He shouted again, this time waving his arms. Startled by the sound of her name, Juliet began to look through the masses standing along the docks. She finally spotted him, and smiled broadly. Then, in an instant, she disappeared again. Eddy could only imagine her making her way against the crowd through the corridors of the ship.   She appeared again at the top of the gangway, and worked her way against those coming onboard.  
Juliet ran up to him. “I can’t believe you came!” She exclaimed.  
 “I had to,” he said staring deeply at her wanting to confess how much he loved her; that he couldn’t live without her. That his life would not be the same in her absence.  In that moment Eddy hated himself for holding back all these years. 
 “Oh…” he said, breaking the awkwardness of the moment. “This is for you. Ma wanted you to have it.”
 “Your Ma has already done so much for me,” Juliet said one the din of passengers and crewmen still filing past.
But as Juliet reached out to retrieve the gift in Edgar’s hand, he grabbed her, and led her toward a series of outbuildings that lined the waterfront. Here, away from the mass of people, his cool veneer crumbled. 
 “You don’t have to go. We can still be together. I don’t know how I can handle that place—anything-- without you,” he begged. 
Juliet looked at him with all the sweetness that she could muster.
 “You’ve never needed me, Eddy.” She reached out and cupped his cheek. “Through all your stories; you inspired me. You always sayin’ ‘Go forth an’ conquer.’ Well, I been thinkin’ if folks don’t go forth AND CONQUOR they’re just goin’ forth, and den you just another damn fool wanderin’ ‘round in dis worl’.   
Edgar managed a laugh through the knot in his throat. 
 “You got it in you to achieve your dream Eddy. You don’t need me to tell you that. Don’t you give up, now. You go be the best writer you can be. No matter the cost.” 
For the last time, Juliet gave Edgar the strength he had come to rely on. To tstop her now would be to become the very people he hated.  Eddy knew she had to go, even if it meant one more personal loss. 
And yet there was one final thing left for him to do. Summoning all his courage, Eddy grabbed Juliet by the waist, and kissed her.  Juliet seemed taken aback, but finally she too melted into him, and returned the embrace. A steam whistle sounded in the distance and Juliet pulled away. 
 “Good bye, Eddy,” she said, before pulling away. Fighting back tears, Edgar watched Juliet’s petite figure glide through the throngs of people along the dock. He kept his gray eyes trained on her for as long as he could, following her up the gangplank, over the deck and inside the sip until she was gone forever.