SEASON 1 PART 12

Yvonne and Deja are still at the coffee shop talking about distant relatives. Deja knew of some of the family still in Louisiana, however even with the family there, she lost contact with those who moved. Yvonne, on the other hand had conversations with Helen about the family, especially those who fled. She knew of Ella Grace as well as the cousin.
“So how’d the family go from being so close knit to being so spread out?” Deja asked.
“Life” Yvonne responded. “People fled after going off for college, some went into the military, married early.  Uncle Pete is still there in Louisiana, his son lives in Lafayette”
“Really, I haven’t seen Uncle Pete in ages, to think his son is only an hour away” Deja stated as she was listening. “Anything else?”
“Well, Uncle Curtis has a son who lives in Lafayette. Uncle Curtis is mom’s youngest sibling. He’s a disabled veteran, last I heard he was trying to go to school. PTSD.”
The conversation ended with Yvonne stating that she had been talking with Uncle Pete about a family reunion though no date has officially been set.
“I probably need to get home a cook dinner” Deja said. Yvonne’s husband cooked so she said she was okay.
During the drive home, Deja thought about her trip to Louisiana, She thought about the conversation. Why hadn’t she talked more with her mother? Why exactly did the family lose contact? Why do so many other families do the same? Whatever the reason, she was determined to fix what had been broken.  When Deja arrived home, she noticed that the dishes had already been washed.
“Hey mom” Aundrea said “I washed the dishes for you”
“Thank you sweetheart, how was your day?”
“It was alright”
“Any homework?”
“Yes, math, language, and reading. Quiz in science.”
“Want me to call something out later”
“Sure”
Deja began cooking a pasta while Aundrea was reviewing flash cards. Noticing Quincy knocked out on the couch she asked if he was okay.
“Yeah, he seemed okay when it picked us up today.”
“Okay, just strange for him to be sleeping this early”
Changing the subject, Aundrea asked if she and some friends could go to the mall Friday
“Sure, looking for a new outfit?”
“Not really, just hanging out”
“Okay”
Aundrea then brought up the subject of meeting a potential friend. “She’s into pop culture like me and she’s also into books and writing like Malachi.”
“Really? She going with you this Friday?”
“Not sure, I’ll see if she’ll ask her mom”
“So anyways, this is a girl’s night out?”
“Yep, no boys allowed.”
QJ walked into the kitchen.

QJ reluctantly got his book bag to bring down stairs. He got a cup of juice and drink it in the kitchen prior to going play a video game. After she finished the pasta, she asked QJ to go and wake his father.
“Hey dad? Supper’s ready”
Quincy woke up appearing to be in a frustrated mood.
“You okay dad?”
“I’m fine son, just had a long day”
Quincy normally did not go to bed so early but he had fallen board of the same routine. The family started eating dinner, when Deja announced she was contemplating going back to school.
“I’m thinking about working on my PhD.”
“Mom you’re going back to school?” Aundrea asked. “What would you get your degree in?”
“Who’s gonna cook in the evenings?” QJ asked.
“You all act as if I’m quitting my job and going to school tomorrow!” Deja readily replied. “It wouldn’t be everyday”
Malachi on the other hand showed a supportive attitude. He then asked his dad how he was.
“Well I’m going to enjoy my time off but I’m going to take some civil service tests. That will open some more opportunities as far as applying for jobs. Mortgages are high here.” He continued, “I think I’ll skip the university, and get some certifications. I have three kids, a wife, and a lot of responsibility. “
Deja reminded him to be glad that he still was paid.
Later that night Aundrea was on the porch when Quincy walks out.

She got up and got ready for bed. She reviewed her study guide for the quiz prepared for the morning. After Deja reviewed some flash cards with her, she went to the kitchen and grabbed from melatonin to simmer down.
“You sleeping okay? You’re too young to need a sleep aid.”
Aundrea said he was okay, just wanted to get a good sleep for the quiz. She retired for the night while Deja was on her Facebook page typing a message to a cousin that Yvonne informed her about earlier. While typing, she received a text from Clarissa.
“Check out the podcast page!”
“Whoa! You’re blowing up!”
“Right?”
She then went back to typing her message. She found her cousin Faye via Yvonne’s page. She found out that she has three kids and that they are homeschooled through an online K-12 school. Deja suggested that they meet over the weekend, she sent the message and fixed a drink before going to bed.
The next morning, Clarissa woke up to see the responses on her message board. The messages were mostly positive while some were negative saying that she was keeping racism alive by talking about it. During a lecture on family types, she started a discussion on whether or not a family should have more than two children.
“In some countries, the triad is not only the standard, it’s expected. In some countries like China, you are not to have more than one child. In American, some feel it’s out of line to have more than two children due to overpopulation”
One student said that if one should have more than two children, they should adopt and that the world was not meant to sustain more than a certain amount of people while another student countered that argument by saying people die every day. Another woman said that as long as they are not relying on government aid, they should have as many as they wish.
Clarissa then said, “Well, my mother is one of 13, they grew up in rural Louisiana My grandfather was a farmer, he grew vegetables. My grandmother was a stay at home mom, however to supplement the income, she made and sold homemade jewelry at a low rate. My mom had five girls. One may argue that you don’t need so many bodies to work land today, but some religions such as Catholicism and Mormonism don’t generally support birth control methods.”
The discussion continued for about 15 minutes before Clarissa resumed the lecture. AT the end of class, she stated that her lecture would be posted online. Heading back to her office, she looked at a few of the responses from her post.

TO BE CONTINUED WITH EPISODE 13