One weekend the Sweetpea Plantation Bed and Breakfast was booked for a wedding. The father of the groom insisted that Herman along with all of the girls and me join them at the wedding. It was implied the contract would not be signed if we did not agree. A limo was sent to pick us up at the plantation and drive us to the wedding. The wedding ceremony was very small and there was no reception. After the wedding we were driven in the same limo back to Sweetpea Plantation.

Everyone sat frozen in the limo as we pulled up the Sweetpea Plantation which was blazing in the midnight darkness with out-of-control walls of fire. We saw lights approaching in the distance. I thought it was the wedding party who had reserved the plantation. I could not imagine how mad they were going to be. The approaching lights were really fire trucks who had been alerted to the fire by a plane that had flown over and seen the blaze.

The wedding party never returned to the plantation. I had thought they heard of the fire and stayed somewhere else. The fire marshal determined the fire was non-arson related caused by an undetermined source. I never understood what that meant, but the lawyer said it was good enough for the insurance company.

It was strange sifting through the ashes. The oddest things remained un-burnt. Herman and I found a small fireproof safe that neither of us had owned. The lock had been replaced with a latch. Herman unlatched the safe and inside was a note that read, “We told you that one day this plantation would burn to the ground.” – 5S

Herman grunted to himself and folded the note. He told me he had to go talk with the police. We agreed to meet in three days.

Three days later Herman never showed at the place we agreed to meet. I looked for him but was unable to find him. I went to the police and they had never seen him. I told the police about the safe and the note. I was told they would look into it, but my new information did not seem like a priority.

I later learned Herman collected the fire insurance money never reporting the arson note. I tried tracking down the wedding group who lured us away, but I was unsuccessful.

I had enough money from my portion of the profits from the Sweetpea Plantation Bed and Breakfast that I had invested wisely so if I lived carefully I would be able live comfortably the rest of my life.

I moved to a secluded area in Vermont where I planned to forget Herman ever existed. I knew Herman had made a substantial fortune from Sweetpea Plantation being burnt down due to the significance of what had been ruined. Herman was even reimbursed for the two years of un-earnable revenue. I didn’t care about any of that. To keep my sanity I could not allow myself to care about Herman any longer.

I learned no matter how removed from society I became I could not avoid the ever invasive reach of Herman Sligo. One weekend I was walking through a store when a distinctive scent I will never forget gripped my nose. I looked at a display stand and my mouth fell to the floor. Proudly displayed before me was a brand new line of candles, soaps, lotions, and shampoos labeled with the name Sweetpea Scents. I put my basket of food down on the floor and walked out of the store. Complete escape is always impossible.

Several years later I thought I was watching my life on television, but I had been erased out. It was yet another example of the impossibility of escaping the past and Herman Sligo. A new television show by an unknown writer had become an instant hit. The show was called The Five Sisters. The show was about five sisters who lived with two other women at a plantation during the end of the Civil War.

I knew exactly who wrote The Five Sisters the second I saw Herman Sligo make his appearance dressed as an old man playing the role of Uncle Emil. I changed the channel never once watching another episode of The Five Sisters.