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I still do not know the state of my future. Mentally, I’m preparing to leave again. I prepare for the fear of crossing that surging water and heading into the unknown. I am sure I will not survive.
It seems this godforsaken war will never end.
Chapter Nineteen
Wes couldn’t believe how quickly The HISTORY Channel got to Martha’s Vineyard. Within two weeks of Amanda’s email to her friend, the entertainment lawyer, a camera crew was spread out across the front yard and street in front of the Sunrise Cove. Van doors were open, and sound, lighting, and camera equipment was everywhere—wires pointing all different directions, men adjusting beanies and removing things from black boxes. People in headphones were telling other people in headphones where to go and how quickly. Wes felt dropped into the hubbub of chaotic television. He could barely suppress his excitement.
Because Wes was a Sheridan and the one most closely related to Matthew and Wendy Sheridan, apparent members of the Underground Railroad, Wes was needed for an interview. What Sam had told Wes thus far about the history of the place made him feel discombobulated. He’d seen the photos of the runaway slaves who had once sought refuge in the basement and had learned of a diary—one taken away for further inspection. But nobody knew what was in the diary yet. Wes felt haunted by it.
Quentin Copperfield was the tele-journalist for this particular HISTORY Channel documentary. Wes was flustered about meeting him, as he’d watched Quentin on the nightly news for decades before his abrupt departure last year. When Wes told him what a big fan he’d been, Quentin thanked him and said, “I’m so glad I can put my money and time into passion projects like this. When The HISTORY Channel reached out to me about an Underground Railroad site on Martha’s Vineyard, I jumped on my sailboat and came over here immediately.” Apparently, he lived on Nantucket these days. It made Wes smile even more.
A makeup artist approached Wes to put a layer of what felt like dust on his face.
“I’m ancient,” Wes joked to the girl. “I don’t think you can hide that.”
“You look great,” the makeup artist said. “I love the suit!”
Beatrice had helped Wes get dressed that morning in a tweed suit that made him look like a historian. He thanked her and turned as Quentin approached in a black suit and a pair of shiny shoes. He had a weird urge to call Anna and tell him that the “famous Quentin Copperfield” was here at the Sunrise Cove! But then he remembered that Quentin had never been famous when Anna was alive. She wouldn’t have known about him at all.
The cameras were rolling, and the interview was set. Quentin led Wes on a walk around the Sunrise Cove and asked him about his extensive family history. Wes told him what he knew: that his grandparents had built the Sunrise Cove after a fire had destroyed another Victorian structure that had once been on this site and that it hadn’t been an inn but rather a family home.
“And you never knew anything about the Underground Railroad site just downstairs?” Quentin asked. He stopped walking by the water, which allowed the camera to do a dramatic circle around them and show off the beautiful Sunrise Cove and the ocean.
“Nothing. I assume my grandparents didn’t know about it,” Wes said.
Just beyond the shot, many Sheridans had gathered for a picnic along the beach near the Sunrise Cove. They watched Wes expectantly. Amanda’s face, in particular, alternated between nervousness and excitement. She was always so anxious. Wes wished he could take it away.
“We know a diary was discovered downstairs,” Quentin said. “We’re waiting for more information about its contents. Do you have any guesses?”
Wes laughed. “I can’t even imagine. Maybe it’s Wendy’s. Perhaps she can give us some insight into what it meant to be alive during the Civil War.”
“You’re aware that Wendy died in 1864, correct?” Quentin said.
Wes faltered, and his smile dropped. Of course, he’d known that all of the Sheridans alive in the 1860s were long gone. But the fact that Wendy—the wife of Matthew and presumably one-half of their Underground Railroad team—had died so young startled him.
“I didn’t know.”
“She had Scarlet Fever,” Quentin explained. “A few others on the island got it, too. We know because of some very old records that spoke of a brief yet deadly epidemic. The Sheridan children were sent elsewhere for a period of time until they knew it was safe. And all of the people who died of Scarlet Fever were buried in another part of the island, away from their loved ones.”
Wes felt a pang of regret. He wrung out his hands. “I didn’t know.”
Quentin nodded, took his shoulder, and turned to look at the camera. “I think we’d better cut.”
When the shot was over, Quentin’s face transformed to show his worry.
“Wes, I’m so sorry for springing that on you,” he said.
“It’s okay.” Wes shook his head. “It just caught me off guard. It’s not like she ever really lived in the Sunrise Cove or was ever a part of my life in any way. Heck, I didn’t even know her name till recently. But it’s startling to think of so much pain. It must have affected my great-grandparents and even my grandparents in a way.”
Quentin nodded. “Pain is always passed down. I truly believe that.”
The crew decided to spend the rest of the afternoon getting exterior and interior shots of the Sunrise Cove and driving around the island for dramatic coastal scenes, views of tourists at the harbor, and shots of the lighthouses. Quentin thanked Wes for his work so far, shook his hand, and retreated to meet the show's producer. This left Wes in the middle of the lawn between the Sunrise Cove and the Vineyard Sound, squeezing his hands into fists and looking up at the beautiful structure. The windows of the inn reminded him of eyes, peering at him.
“Grandpa!” Amanda called.
Wes turned to see Amanda, Audrey, and Susan waving him over. He put a bounce in his step as he approached and reminded himself to smile. This was all quite exciting. Sorrow about the past and Wendy’s untimely death could be put to rest for now. A big spread of lunch options was set out across a blanket by the water, such as pulled pork, sliced watermelon, potato salad, four different types of cheeses, and three cakes: carrot, chocolate, and pineapple upside down. Amanda pulled a lawn chair out for him to sit.
“Thanks, Mandy,” he said. “You know if I sit on the ground, I won’t be able to get back up.”
