SEASON 1 PART 28

"Would you two like anything else?" the server asked?

"I really shouldn't" Paulette said, but I'm going to get a piece of the carrot cake"

"What about you ma'am?"

HELEN-I guess I'll try this lemon cake

"great choice, very popular"

While waiting on their desserts, Helen revived the topic of their aunt. "Last I heard she was in Rhode Island. I remember her being a total bitch."

PAULETTE-They say she was a bitch as a little girl too. She thought because she was a little light skinned that she was entitled to MORE amenities than the general black population. You know, she had the racially ambiguous features and she used that to her advantage.

Marla's situation wasn't unfamiliar. She was what we would call "passing" today. She fled to the Northeast, married white, raised her kids as white. Her kids married white. So on and so fourth.  "According to Jacqueline, she had three kids. Kids are now grown." That was about as much as they knew up to this point.

"Girl, you know we got some white cousins in this world somewhere."

 "I'd be interested in knowing if her kids turned out to be like her. In the meantime, I'm enjoying this little reunion we've got going on here."

Their miniature reunion would be one of many mini-reunions to come.

"This cake is delicious!" Helen exclaimed taking a bite of her lemon cake which was warm with a lemon cream cheese icing.

"It looks like it, I almost wish I had gotten that."

There came a point when they asked for their checks, "Dexter, probably wondering where the hell we went."

"He'll be alright. By the way, this is on me."

"Aww you didn't have to do that"

"I don't get to see you but every so often, so I want to make you feel welcome."

Returning to the house, Dexter was on the sofa while Perez had already gone to sleep. Ebony was at the breakfast nook with her laptop putting some finishing touches to her Criminal Law essay.

"Is he feeling alright?" Helen asked?

"He's fine, soccer practice always does this to him. They've got a game tomorrow and the coach really worked them today."

"My grandson, Quincy plays soccer for a local team in LA."

Knowing that she wasn't about to go to sleep, she pulled out two bottles of wine and some plastic cups.
"Good and cold. Just the way I like it" Helen responded, looking at her choice between a Moscato and a Pinot Grigio.

"I'll drink whatever you open"

"Okay then, in that case, I'm gonna open this Pinot Grigio right now, there's Sprite in the pantry if you aren't a dry wine fan."

"C'mon Dex, why don't you drink with us?"

"I'd love to, but I got work in the morning."

"I'll drink with you, My first class isn't until 1:00 in the afternoon tomorrow. My morning class isn't taking place. Professor's is out."

"Great. Get a cup and have at it."

Without hesitation, she opened the bottle of Moscato and pulled up a chair. The conversations could be described as men problems, race relations, the current political climate and more.

"How would you describe the race relations in College."

"An ultra conservative would say that colleges are nothing more than liberal hellholes."

"I'm registered as a Democrat, but I'm close to the center."

"I'm right leaning, probably more Libertarian."

"So what's your take on immigration?"

"Obviously we need some immigration policies here. We can't take every immigrant that attempts to come and some obviously have no business here. That said, I do think the wall is senseless. We've do better with having more members of the border patrol rather than a wall, that they are going to just tunnel their way through, drive over, swim over. They building tunnels now, they've got entire pathways built with ventilation, rail systems, and light. These folks are no dummies."

"Okaaay?"

"With Perez being half Latino, how does his dad feel?"

"He's got a soft spot. He understands that illegal immigration should not happen, however he always likes to consider what it is that they are running away from."

"So are you raising your child to be bi-lingual"

"Absolutely! He will grow up speaking both languages."

"Obama did his share of deportation as well. No president's hands are clean"

"I voted for him, but he did more for the LGBT population than he did the black population."

"But you gotta remember, he was blocked in a lot of his efforts."

"Our current president....while I voted for him, I'm not on the "MAGA" train. I believe he has plenty to be criticized about. One being his complete lack of empathy towards anyone who wasn't born with a silver spoon in their mouth. I put no one on a pedestal."

"Me either, I tend to side-eye plenty of these black conservatives. I have yet to find one on TV that wasn't incredibly condescending and really come off more as trying to impress Tucker or Sean than one who truly doesn't do group think."

" 'Get off the Democratic plantation.' They love to say."

"Only to join the Republican one? These "black republican" conventions. If they are about getting black people out of bondage. Why are they almost always being ran by a WHITE republican behind the scenes?"

"You never saw Condeleeza Rice conducting herself in this manner."

"She's a level headed one. These other pundits are bought and paid for. They're paid to tap dance, buck dance, and pander to these racist rednecks that you see on TV"

"You notice how they have no problem with "black conservative movements" but practically shit in their pants with "Black Girls Rock!"?

"Let's not forget when Michelle Obama appeared on the show in 2015. They about lost their damn minds."

" 'ALL girls rock!' As if white girls aren't told that every day. These people despise Michelle but yet they want her to speak for 'ALL women' ".

"If this were an Asian event, you wouldn't have heard a peep about it."

"AAJC-Asian Americans Advancing Justice. They also have their own women's forum, their own health forum. Their own LGBT alliance. Again, nothing!"

"It's because of who we are. What we've come from. Black women are the mother of all races and they HATE it."

"The Eve gene"

"That's right"


The conversation continued on. It was about 2:00 A.M. before they went to bed. Ebony slept in while Paulette and Helen drank coffee while Ebony slept in. Dexter was up early enough to fix breakfast and drop Perez off to school before he headed to work. Leaving Ebony in bed, Helen and Paulette decided to make a run to the grocery store for some red velvet cake mix as a dessert to make for later on. "That cake last night has me wanting something sweet. I hardly bake cakes but when I do, they are typically eaten the same night."

"Remember how our grandmother made bread from scratch?"

"That bread was killer, she used to put so much butter in that bread. I don't know how her and Amos did it on his little pay check."

"She used to sell her jewelry"

"Oh hey, look, ground meat is on sale" Paulette said looking over. She decided to get an extra pack to add to her soup."

"This soup is gonna be full of meat."

"Damn right. I got some tortilla strips to go w/ it too."

"How about a bag of shredded cheddar?"

"Not a bad idea"

Paulette grabbed a bag of cheddar cheese and headed towards the check out line. Paying a total of $12.84 she thought "damn, groceries are high." They returned home to find Ebony on the sofa drinking a cup of coffee with a bottle of whiskey out.

"A bit too early for that isn't it?" Helen asked.

"Probably" Ebony responded is she continued to sip her hot beverage.
"You have a test coming up?"
"How could you tell?"
"Well, you went to bed well after us, and you typically get like this towards the end of the semester. Coffee, energy shots, junk food, and alcohol."
"Finals start in like three weeks. I'll be doing this until about 6:00, gotta go to my son's soccer game. I'll probably bring my study guide out there with me."

 "We'll be over here."

In the meantime, Ebony put her Criminal Law notes away and pulled out her laptop to continue writing her research paper for her Political Science course. She had until Friday to turn it in, her plan was to have it submitted no later than Thursday afternoon. A paper, a test coming up, finals coming up in about 15 days, Ebony had her hands full. On top of carrying for an 8 year old son. She studied for a couple of hours and went up to the University at 12:30, sitting in a common area of the campus grounds before going to her Psychology class where she was listed to a review for her comprehensive final.

"Did you do that extra credit assignment" one classmate asked.

"Ummm yeah.....I need all the points that I can get. Even if it's 15 points. That's a full letter grade for the final."

Five minutes later the professor walks in  and immediately begins reviewing. "If you look online, you should have already printed your study guide and began answering the questions. For those of you who haven't began answering these questions, this is your chance to get those answers as this will be our last meeting before final exams."

The review lasted an hour and a half.  She took a 30 minute coffee break before meeting her classmates for a study session for a history final at the campus library.  She had her note cards ready as well as a final.

"I wish he would have told us what our essay question would be" Ebony said
"Especially when he want at least a page as far as the answer goes." Another classmate chimed in. She left the study session 30 minutes early to type a paragraph of her paper before going to her son's soccer game. At the soccer game, she sat there with her note cards while trying to watch Perez make a goal for his team which he plays a forward while Liam plays a defender. "Don't worry" Ramiro said as he opened up the Facebook App on his phone to go live. "You can watch the footage later."

She managed to see Perez make a few goals and Liam block a few attempts while making note cards for her Psych exam.

"Babe, put it away!" Ramiro exclaimed reaching for her school bag.

"Fine" As stubborn as she was. "Can I atleast keep my purse? I have a flask in there."

"Getting drunk before dinner?"

Now, Ebony is not an alcoholic. There are just certain occasions that drive her to drink such as the busy schedule of college. College was a full time job that she didn't earn a full time income from. Two hours later after the game ended, Liam met up with Perez and walked off the field. "Where's Kai at?"

"He wasn't feeling good today."

They chatted for a bit before Liam went and met his mother.

"See you guys at the house, okay?"

"See y'all in a bit."

At Helen's after an introduction.

"This is my cousin, Helen."

"I'm Tim. This is my son Liam. My other son is home sick with his mother."

"This is Axl's son."

"How is your daddy?"

"He's doing okay. He recently had a bout with cancer."

"I need to see him. How about your brother and sister?"

"Julius is good and Denise is too"

"Denise and my oldest daughter were like this growing up. Same age. Really like the same person."

The adults sat around the kitchen bar while the boys went to the dining room with their soup. After seconds, they went outside. They each grabbed a lemonade before gong to the back porch.

LIAM-So, who's the company?

PEREZ-She is our great gran's cousin.

LIAM-Is she nice?

PEREZ-So far, yeah, though I'm kind of wanting my room back!

LIAM-How long's she here for?

PEREZ-Until the end of the week.

LIAM-"So she's your grandmother's second cousin or first removed?"

PEREZ-"Something like that, hell I don't know. You know in black families, we all just cousins. No first, second, or none of that. Probably further down the line for me."

LIAM-What do you know about her so far?

PEREZ-I know she has five girls and four of them have kids, so we've got some cousins living out in Los Angeles. We're going to meet them over the winter break in Colorado. One of them, also plays soccer. His name is Quincy.

LIAM-Really? Do tell.

PEREZ-So our great grandmother and Helen grew up together. Helen eventually moved to California. She apparently visits from time to time. My grandmother and our cousin Helen's oldest daughter are like the same age.

LIAM-I wonder how Quincy's skills are?

PEREZ-Ummm……….I don't know.

LIAM-Probably won't get to see them in the snow

PEREZ-There's always a video game. Might give us an idea as to how he plays.

LIAM-Cheers

PEREZ-You know something I've always wanted to do? Go somewhere with a heated pool.

LIAM-That's what they do up north I've been told.


PEREZ-I hear they're AMAZING!

There was a moment of silence prior to Denise opening the door. "Hey boys. What y'all doing out here?"

LIAM-"Hey Aunt Denise. Just talking"
PEREZ-"Hey Grandma"
DENISE-"Hey baby."

After saying hello, she went back in the house and fixed a cup of wine. She asked how Yvonne was doing and what was she was up to these day.

"She's a social worker."

"Child Welfare"

"She deals more with adults"

"We need to catch up. How about Clarissa and Deja?"

"Well Clarissa, Deja, and Azalea are all educators, while Anita is a lawyer."

She poured a second cup of wine and went back outside where the boys were still on the porch. Attempting to better explain the relationship and who exactly Helen was, she began :

"Helen and my mama (your great-grandmother) are first cousins. Their moms are sisters. Like your dad and your Aunt Dominique are brother and sister. Marigold and Sara are your first cousins."

"I'm your dad's Aunt"

"Me and Helen's daughter were like two peas in a pod when we got to see one another as kids. There were times that we accompanied them down to Louisiana, outside of Lake Charles near a town called Iowa. My mom, grew up in a town called Kinder. Her mom, Val was a homemaker, who worked independently as a house cleaner. She made a career from it. Theo , her dad was a architect. They eventually made way to California so that he could expand his business. It was a hard decision, but there was no way that he'd be able to make the best living there at the time. Once they settled and made roots in this state, we were able to help Cousin Faye who is Helen's niece, set up camp. She has four of her own, with her youngest being around the same age as you two. "

"So Faye is...………."

"Helen's niece."

"Right."

"We are living in a time where it is important to know where you come from. What your lineage is. Both of you."

It was true. Liam being the product of a white mother from Oregon and a black creole father who was relatively fair skinned, didn't give much thought to his race. He knew he was passing, people saw him as white more than anything else. Perez on the other hand, while his father was a mestizo foreigner, his mother was obviously black and not racially ambiguous. Either way, they were both moved pretty far away from their Louisiana background and perhaps it was the fault of their parents. As Denise talked, she thought about it. Her mom didn't really go down much. She went down sporadically, however as far as any offspring....none beyond her own children knew about the lineage in greater Lake Charles. In many ways for the kids it was exciting. It was exciting to Denise as well, however she knew that she wasn't quite ready to go down to Louisiana again. It had been years since she set foot down there. This Colorado vacation would be the beginning of breaking the ice so to speak.

"Our people held a mix of jobs. Compared to other blacks, our folks were rather well off. A mix of farmers, laborers, and teachers. For the most part they lived in country. Like plenty of other black people did at that time. Some lived along the water. They were fisherman and crabbers who caught and sold their catch for profit. On the other hand though.....family was subjected to harassment under the Jim Crow laws that prevailed in the south. There was always someone wanting them dead for their business. Mainly white fisherman who felt that it was their birthright to utilize that specific spot. While they made money, there were times where the season was dry. Sending their kids out to California was so that they could have a better life. Daddy owned his own business, and in a step of faith we went west. Some of our people went to the Northeast, others went to the Midwest. They're scattered."

"Northeast?"

"We'll some in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Rhode Island and that's what we know thus far from a bit of investigating."

"Any still in Louisiana"

"Plenty, and one day I hope that the two of you have an authentic Louisiana experience."

The boys interrupted to take a phone pic, by Helen so that she could send a pic to Deja, who was working on an online photo album at the time.

"Who's that?" QJ asked

"That's your grandmother, sending me a picture from Sacramento."

She looked in awe at it. Then forwarded it to Yvonne. Working on chapter 3 of her memoir, she took a short break to cook dinner. She got a baked chicken from the deli with some frozen shrimp, and some Alfredo sauce and made a quick pasta. She helped Malachi briefly with his social studies paper and then pulled her laptop back up. "Mom, what are you working on in there?"

"Same old same old. I hope my publisher doesn't drop me because I'm taking so long."

On her laptop she posted the photo to facebook with the caption "Family Times" before she went back to brainstorming about chapter 3. She texted Helen back who was at the kitchen counter drinking a cup of wine while Denise was getting ready to go. "Hey Perez" She said. "You are spending the night with me tonight. Your mama's gotta start studying."

"Thank you mama. I'll get him from school tomorrow."
"No probably, baby"
"Later honey"

She spent the rest of the night working on her research paper. She was up until about 1:00 am working on the assignment, submitting it at 1:30 am. She managed to submit a discussion assignment for her Sociology course and begin studying for one final exam. Two weeks really wasn't far away.  She slept in until about 9:00, she had to get to work for 10:00 so she had a cup of coffee before she went to the campus.

"Get enough sleep?" Paulette asked?

"About 7 hours."

 She brushed her teeth, grabbed a bottle of water and headed out at about 9:30.

"I should be home around 5:30, I'll bring Perez to the Library with me."

"Showing him a bit of my world."

[11/9/17 TIME 2:00 pm]

Ebony worked until about 2:30 before going pick up her son and then she brought him to the campus library. At the library, she directed him to one of the school computers while she took out her Psychology study guide and note cards and begin flashing those. On the computer Perez began answering a study guide by looking all over the internet followed by a math game that he found at the recommendation of his teacher.

"I know that's school related right?"

"Yes, it's a website we use to do our homework. It provides examples as well as other practice test." He completed his math homework and then he left the computer and sat at the table with his mom to do his social studies homework. "I won't be here much longer" Ebony said, glancing at her textbook.

"I'm good" Perez responded, as he was labeling a map for his geography lesson.
"What are you working on?"

"I'm labeling the oceans on this map. Teacher is gonna quiz us tomorrow on it."

"Mom?"

"Hmmmm?"

"Have you ever seen the Gulf?"

"No, I sure haven't.  At least not in person."

"So, grandma's family is from this state here." He asked pointing to Louisiana.

"Yep, the bayou state."

"Have you been?"

"Sure haven't"

"So no vacations down there?"

"Louisiana is not really a place one goes to vacation, unless they're going to New Orleans. And I have not been to New Orleans either."

"Okay."

"It's a place that I'd like to visit one day, but I don't think I'd wanna live there."

"So what's after you finish school?"

"Hopefully making more money. Me and your dad will hopefully be married next summer. Then we can find a house. Get out of my grandmother's house."

Wanting to know more, Perez asked where she had been looking. "I haven't really been looking lately. I haven't had the time."

Resuming his homework, that he managed to complete while his mom studied, he asked his mom if he could get back on the computer a game. "Not right now, you can get on the internet, but we're about to head home."

On the way home, they stopped at a convenience store so she could get a hot cappuccino. "Want a candy bar." She asked.

"Sure....."

"Well pick one up."

"Here you go" He said, picking up a Hershey's Cookies 'n Crème bar. "This. I'm gonna save for later. Can I get a lemonade?"

"Yeah, grab one." They returned home to see the adults at the kitchen chatting about the news. Perez went to his room and turned on a video game while Ebony resumed studying at home. She asked if she needed to pick up some take out tonight. "Chinese sounds good." Paulette responded. "Good I'll get it around 7:00 pm."

"Why don't you come in and joint the chat?" Helen asked.
"I'd love to, but finals are right around the corner."
"You need a break." Paulette chimed in
"I guess I could for a little while. What are the four of you chatting about?"
"Not much, just family. The news." Dexter responded

Paulette-"Baby, you know you don't need to be in a run to leave."

"I'm getting married next year. With all due respect, I'm not trying live with a parent or grandparent with my Husband." Ebony continued "The house search is on hold at the moment. Gotta get through this semester."

Helen-"I think it's good that you're finishing what you started."

"It was always my intent. I took time off, raised my son. Worked in retail, now I'm working as a student employee. I could barely make rent in my one bedroom apartment, much less think about school. The grants help."

Paulette-"Be glad, you've got family who are willing to help you too."

Dexter-"So, after you get your bachelor's degree?"

"I'd like to get two master's degrees. I'd like to do an MSW and a MBA. I'd like to start my own agency and be an advocate for women who are battling domestic violence."

Dexter-"Opening up your own practice is the only way to make money in that field. Doing it for the state, you'll be one level above the poverty line."

"Oh don't I know it. Going up to the Housing office for my appointments...Those women looked so miserable. Plus they were mean. I think that the job does something to them."

Dexter-"So are you going to try to find work after you graduate or go right on to start the Master's program?"

"IDEALLY, I'd like to work somewhere for about a year or two then start grad school. If I have to do the latter. I'll have to see if there are some scholarships that I can get that would help me. If I can get an internship at a government agency that'll pay for me to go to grad school, I'll do it right then and there."

Helen-"Will you be able to travel with us over the Holiday?"

"Yes, sure will. School lets out early December. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, getting to meet everyone. Plus, I’m excited about the snow, the views are incredible. And it's a much needed break from school. I've already gotten the okay from my supervisor."

Helen-"I really need to thank my daughters for this one. My oldest and my middle. They were the ones really pushing the trip. It was something about Anna's death that just put something in us. However these two? When it comes to research, investigating, finding out, arranging...they've got it down to a tee."

"What about the other three?"

Helen-"I'd say they have an interest, but they aren't as patient when it comes to getting things like this together."

Ebony stepped up to call in the Chinese take out. "What's everybody want? I'll just have y'all write it down"

Helen-"General chicken. TSO"
Paulette-"Just get a large house fried rice for me and Dexter with two orders of spring roles."
"I'm gonna get the pepper steak."
Paulette-"What about the baby?"
"I'm going to get him a small rice and an order of wings."

Helen-"Anna's death? I still hadn't gotten over. I remember being on the porch one night at her home, later the day of her funeral. I overheard Deja vowing to put the family back together. I sent them down there ever summer as girls. It gave me something to talk with them about before they went back to school. I only wish I had been able to be there for her more. The love that I received when I went back home was overwhelming. These last three months have been a rollercoaster. I had the opportunity of reconnecting with another sister while meeting my niece. I'm visiting my cousin and have been blessed with creating new memories"

Dexter-"New beginnings."

TO BE CONTINUED WITH PART 29