SEASON 1 PART 5

Helen and two sisters got together with the attorney. Deja, Yvonne, and Jameson were also present. Through the attorney reading Anna’s will, it was revealed that she left the home to her son to do what he wished with it. It was her desire that this would spark the beginning of many family reunions to come. She also left a piece of rental property out on highway 90 between Lake Charles and Iowa. She left Deja with a cookbook, Yvonne with old land records. She left Clarissa, Azalea, and Anita each with scrapbooks that she had put together of their trips down to the deep south over the years with the hopes that she’d live to be able to give them to her nieces.

“Mama, what are you going to do w/ this property” Yvonne asked?

“I don’t know” Helen responded


“You could rent it out for money” Deja said “or we could use it when we come down to visit”

“Now you know there’s not enough room for all of us” Anita chimed in.

Helen continued “I’ll probably rent it out, we can always use the house in LeBleu for family reunions.”

 “Plus, y’all Lake Charles, has built so many hotels in the last few years” Jameson stated.


“You still come down here?” Yvonne asked

“Yeah, they got the best casinos in the state. Much nicer than the ones in Baton Rouge”

“So how is your life in Baton Rouge?; we’ve talked enough about what we’re doing”
 
“You met my wife and my children, mine are 15, 12, and 9″

“So your kids are around my kids age” Deja said “mine are 8 ½ and 11″

“A year apart then” he then continued, “I’ve been blessed with a great family, but the crime in Baton Rouge has gotten so bad. I don’t want to blame it all on New Orleans but, Baton Rouge did take in a lot of people from N.O. after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. They were then hit again with Isaac in 2012. When New Orleans residents fled, the gangs also fled.”

He also talked about the racial tension that Baton Rouge has since then and the recent killing of Alton Sterling in 2016. “Racial tension is awful, I’ll let my high schooler graduate and then, I wanna move somewhere outside the city, maybe to Hammond. Once they’re off the college, I’d like to go to Lafayette. It’s an hour east of the Lake Area and about an hour west of Baton Rouge, If I wish to visit them, it’s nothin but a ride.”


They went back to the house in Lebleu to eat and all six stood in the back yard. They had a period of flashbacks to the summers down to SWLA. Flashbacks included the cookouts, fishing w/ their uncle, crabbing in Creole, and boating down in Grand Lake. Prior to packing and getting ready to board the airport they said their goodbyes. Jameson said “Just promise me this won’t be the last time y’all come down here, it’s been 8 years!”

“Promise” Yvonne confirmed

Back in California, Quincy was with the kids getting school supplies. “A box of water colors for $18.00? Junior, what the hell you need wit these?”. QJ sat there silent, trying not to laugh at his fathers reaction.

“Do teachers not grasp the idea of a recession” He purchased the item and then said kids “we are heading to the dollar store. These people done lost their damn minds!”

His phone buzzes. “I got a text from your mama, she’s flying out of New Orleans, she should be home tonight”.

While driving, he got a phone call.

“Hello?”
“Speaking”
“what time? 9:00 AM? I’ll be there”
“I have an interview tomorrow, I’ve been applying for a while, this is good”
“Dad are we alright?” Malachi asked
“We’re fine son, my pension kicks in next month, I don’t want that to be your focus”

 Later on Malachi was in his room writing in his journal all the while looking at a photo of him in a photo album in Lake Charles. He thought about what he would do in Louisiana in the event that they had to go down there, and wondered why he had not been back since he was three. He also had a flash back about a friend who had moved away two years ago. The flashback was of a field day that his school had. A day filled with fun and food, he recalled school letting out an hour early that day, followed by a trip to the beach. He always loved the water, there was something about it that always put him at ease, even when he was feeling his worst.  He later got up for a cup of water and then decided to go outside for a bit. He managed to ride his bike to the nearby swimming pool where he spend the rest of his afternoon.

To be continued w/ episode 6