A fictional story by Junior Johnson

Six months had passed since justice was delivered to the evil Captain John Winston and his thugs.  Everyone felt relieved when their miserable bodies were taken down from the gallows.

Reverend Cryer and Mrs. Johnson had worked out an agreement for her property in Mississippi. He was to watch over her holdings and in return she was going to allow the Reverend to utilize the railroad royalties to build a new Church on the property for his congregation.  This had turned out very well for Reverend Cryer’s needs.

Dennis LaCaze and his logging crew had cut the amount of virgin cypress timber required to build Rita Johnson’s home, and the Spurgeon brothers milled the lumber to the requirements of construction.

Before the Van Sickle family had moved from St. Louis to open their new school on CoCo Bed, their daughter Ginny had studied under a brilliant French architect and offered her services when it came time to design the Johnson home.  It would be a building to rival that of Abslom and Levy’s.

CoCo Bed was very active with construction on Rita’s home and harvesting the cane from Abslom and Levy’s fields.

Abslom’s grandsons Harvis and Dempsey, along with Levy’s boys Tony and John Levy had accompanied Aiden, Dylan, and Pete to the stockyard in Shreveport to purchase a large herd of cattle that would graze on land that was provided by their Grandfathers and with the gold Sheriff Jones gave their Mother that had been confiscated from the monster John Winston.

A new addition to CoCo Bed arrived a couple of months prior to this beautiful morning and very special occasion.

Harvis Jr. had returned home to his Dad after being in Europe for over three years.  He had been active in the War of Northern Aggression in the early stages and was asked by President Jeff Davis to act in the Confederate States of America’s behalf in trying to get the British to side with the Southern cause in the War.  Harvis Jr. efforts were not successful but he was encouraged to remain in Europe until the War ended.

On his voyage back to America he met a remarkable man from New Orleans who had been in London buying precious gems and art for wealthy clients.  His name was David Carr and he became friends with Harvis Jr. immediately, and in fact was invited to CoCo Bed to meet the family.

It had been a joyous reunion when Harvis Jr. and his friend arrived on CoCo Bed.  David was an architect as well and when he met Ginny Van Sickle and looked at her drawings and the work being done on Rita Johnson’s new home, he was impressed and offered his services if she required any.

When Harvis Jr. saw Ginny Van Sickle he was overwhelmed by her charm and beauty.  He confided this to his friend David and luck was on his side.  It seemed that Miss Van Sickle felt the same.

All these activities had taken place over the past six months, and on this beautiful Christmas Eve Morning, with snow softly falling, there would be two memorable events taking place.

Construction had been completed on Rita Johnson’s beautiful home for she and her boys Aiden and Dylan.  It was majestic standing next to Levy and Lucille’s home.  Her parents were very proud  standing next to her as friends and neighbors, including the families that worked on the property assembled for the magnificent feast that Lucille Lodrigue, Martha Johnson, and Flo Van Sickle had provided.

The open house for Rita Johnson had been anticipated for weeks, but the icing on the cake came with the second event on this beautiful morning.

Harvis Jr. had done what most Southern Gentlemen do and asked Wallace and Flo Van Sickle for their Blessings to marry their daughter Ginny.  They agreed and the wedding ceremony was about to take place.

Because of the prominent position in the area of Abslom Johnson and Levy Lodrigue, Judge Robert Porter requested, and was granted the opportunity to officiate the wedding ceremony.

As the soft snowflakes slowly fell around the canopy that the wedding ceremony was to be held under, all eyes were on Harvis Jr. and his dear friend David Carr as they approached Judge Porter and turned to witness the beautiful Bride walking toward them.

God Bless CoCo Bed and the memories that it will always hold dear for those who worked and lived there.

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