SEASON 1 PART 2

Friday afternoon, they arrived to Lake Charles, LA and were greeted by their uncle who had not seen them in the last 8 years. “Welcome home” he said, he stood there tall w/ a crew cut wearing a Hawaiian button down and a pair of dark blue jeans. This was their uncle Mark. “It’s definitely nice to see you ladies again”

“Likewise” Yvonne said, “we only wish it were under different circumstances” and to his sister Helen he said “I can’t tell you how good it is to see YOU again”

They paused for a moment and Mark continued. “C’mon y’all everyone’s waiting” After putting their luggage in the van, they were on their way to the home out in LeBleu Settlement, LA, which is six miles east of Lake Charles in between Lake Charles and Iowa, LA. Upon arrival they were greeted by their grandmother as well as several great aunts who were ecstatic about the girl’s success. The sisters hugged their aunts and went to the back yard while Deja stayed behind and made small talk.

“There’s still so much love here!” exclaimed Deja

“Of course, family is family, we always tried to keep up with your status, so how the kids? We ain’t seen them since they were tots!”

 “Well Malachi and Aundrea are 11 and they start middle school next week, and QJ will be starting 3rd grade”

 Meanwhile in the backyard the other sisters were talking. Clarissa said “ do you all remember coming down here and going to the outlet mall?” “Yes” said Yvonne, I remember how Aunt Anna loved a bargain when it came to shopping. It was so funny to see her  turn her nose up at places that we shopped at in Cali” She laughed. “I can still hear her now! ‘Why the hell would anybody spend this much money on clothes, I coulda’ made a down payment on a new house’”

 Anita chimed in, “one of my favorite things to do was go fishing in Lake Charles along the Calcasieu River.”

 “Oh yes!” Azalea exclaimed, “I remember when Uncle Pete would get his boat and we’d go on a Sunday evening and just have a blast!”

 “Has anyone seen Deja?” asked Clarissa.

 Clarissa walk to the back to see her mother sitting in a lounge chair in tears. “Mama this has got to be awkward for you” “Why’d you leave?”

Helen replied “It’s a long story, I never had an issue with my family but the the late 60s, I saw a chance to escape a harsh condition and I took it.”

 “Mom, even at that, why’d you stay away?” Deja questioned, to which her mother replied “Trauma”.’

“Mom you sent us here every summer to a place you were traumatized by?” 

“Baby, I had to maintain relations some how, but I was not comfortable w/ the thought of being physically present”

Deja phoned her husband and told him that they got in. How’s she holding up? he asked. “Oh, She’s okay, the rest of them asked about you” 

 “Quincy, next time I come down, I want you to come too. The kids also need to come down” 

After she hung up with her husband, she grabbed something to eat before calling it quits for the night. For some reason, she could not sleep. She sat for a while thinking about the fond memories she shared with her sisters coming down here and she thought about how while she was only a visitor, she was treated as if she had lived in Louisiana all of her life. She felt as if she had a second home here.  She later got up, went back outside and made a vow to her deceased aunt that she would be planning a family reunion in the near future. She stated that the estrangement should not have happened, while she does not know all of what lead to it, she was determined to see what was broken put back together.

TO BE CONTINUED WITH PART 3