[June 1843]
[Jenkins family plantation, outside Charleston, South Carolina]
"How many niggers you have working here?" Thomas asked.
"We have 25 Black slaves, 20 field workers and 5 house slaves," I replied. "And in this family, we don't call them niggers."
"That's what they are, Robert," Thomas said.
"Maybe in your world," I said. "WE call them by their names, and refer to them as slaves or Blacks. They are still human beings. They eat, sleep, breathe, and walk the same way we do."
"Hrrrumph!" Thomas grunted. "I suppose next you'll be telling me you're going to emancipate them. Where do you get these stupid ideas?"
"We're not going to emancipate anybody," I said. "However, I've noticed they work harder when they're treated more like humans. It's all a practical matter. You ever notice we always have the best crops in the state?"
"I still think it's a stupid idea," Thomas said. "You do what you have to, I suppose."
[July 1845]
"How's the plantation?" Thomas asked.
"Don't rightly know," I said. "My dad says it's doing just fine. I wasn't really cut out for being a farmer."
"So you do... what, exactly?" Thomas asked.
"Life of leisure," I said. "I have enough money from selling my share of the inheritance that I can live for two lifetimes on it. Own the house free and clear, and grow a few crops in back as a sideline."
"So is it just you here?" Thomas asked. "You ever get lonely, Robert?"
"I did take one thing from the plantation..." I replied, letting my voice trail off. "Sally!"
"Yes, Master?" Sally stepped into the room.
"Please prepare tea for myself and my guest," I said.
"At once, Master," Sally replied.
"Just one... slave?" Thomas asked me.
"All I need is one," I said. "Nice-looking, too. She has awesome legs."
"Don't go there," Thomas replied. "I wouldn't even think about it with a nigger."
"Sally is NOT a nigger," I said. "She is my assistant."
I wanted to ask Thomas why, if he never thought about having sex with a Black woman, his personal house slave had given birth to two mulatto children in 3 years, but thought better of it.
[June 1847]
I suppose if two people share a residence for long enough, they become very close. Sally had become such a part of my life that she now called me "Master Robert", or sometimes just "Robert" – and it didn't bother me. We were like two peas in a pod. Her lovely, trim, well muscled, curvaceous body was becoming impossible for me to resist. Finally, I decided to no longer fight the inevitable.
"Sally," I called quietly.
Sally appeared. "Yes, Master Robert?"