right along with him.”
“That’s not what I told him.” Rae shifted
under his gaze.
“Then what exactly did you say?”
“I told him I’d get back to him after talking
it over with you and Neville, and–”
Andrew lifted a shoulder. “Okay, so you were
polite. Now you can tell him no.”
“Andy, I... I think we ought to consider it.
Neville wants to sell.” Rae thought of her older brother. Neville
wanted to move on in a different way, to wipe the past clean.
“You don’t have to tell me that,” Andrew shot
back. “Our older brother has about as much sense of family
tradition as that driftwood over there. He’s ashamed of Pawpaw
Vincent and Daddy.”
“That’s not true. Neville stuck by us and you
know it. He just didn’t want to spend the rest of his life being
looked down on in Belle Rose.” Rae glanced at her hands folded in
her lap. “Neither did I.”
“Sure, leavin’ was the easy way out.” Andrew
tossed a rock across the water, causing a splash. “There are still
older folks around who turn up their noses when I pass them on the
street downtown. But I don’t give a damn. This is as much my home
as theirs.”
“Andy, Neville and me wanted more of a life
than we could have here. I didn’t want to work at the processing
plant, be a waitress or end up driving thirty miles to some boring
job.” Rae skipped a small shell across the surface of the
water.
“So you made your choices. Mine is to stay
right here, like Daddy wanted, and pay the taxes. This is our
land.” Andrew had a stubborn set to his jaw.
“Remember two years ago, when Daddy got real
sick, and I came home?” Rae rested her chin on his shoulder, as she
had done when they were children.
“Yeah…”
“We had a long talk. He knew he was about to
die.” Rae paused, remembering his drawn face. “Daddy told me he was
sorry for nursing his anger all those years and not doing more with
his life. He made me promise to somehow find out the truth about
Pawpaw Vincent.”
“How in the world you gonna do that? The
man’s been gone over fifty years. He’s likely dead by now.” Andrew
shook his head.
“Hire a private detective, I guess.”
Andrew sighed. “Let’s face it, he left and so
did Estelle Jove. Now, in my experience when it comes to men and
women, those kinda coincidences mean one thing.”
“You mean you believe what they say?” Rae was
stunned. Andrew had always been as vehement in his defense of
Pawpaw Vincent as Lucien.
“No, I’m not sure. Look, a black man with
that kinda money would have been noticed back then.”
“That’s what Daddy used to say.” Only in
recent months had Rae begun to seriously think about the
grandfather she’d never known. All Lucien’s accounts of the old
scandal came back to her now. “It makes a lot of sense, too.”
“But I do think he and Estelle went off
someplace together. They could easily lose themselves in a big city
like Detroit, Chicago. Hell, I don’t know. Maybe they went to one
of them Caribbean Islands.”
Rae raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, come
on.”
“We’ve got roots out that way. Let me see…
was it Barbados or St. Lucia? Daddy said our great-great-great
grandmother came over as a servant, first to New Orleans.”
“She did?”
“Yeah, Pawpaw Vincent even had old pictures.
Daddy kept them in a metal box up in the attic. Anyway, I think the
old man lived out his life with a whole new family someplace far
away.”
Rae stared at him wide-eyed. “I never thought
of it like that. We could have uncles and cousins somewhere.”
“I’d like to prove Pawpaw Vincent didn’t take
that money, too. But that ain’t gonna happen.”
“Maybe not, but I’ve got to try. It’s the one
thing I can do for Daddy. But it’s going to take money. A good bit
of it.”
Andrew threw another rock. “So you want to
sell out.” It was a statement that sounded more like an
accusation.
“Don’t put it like that, for goodness sake.”
Rae did
“That’s not what I told him.” Rae shifted
under his gaze.
“Then what exactly did you say?”
“I told him I’d get back to him after talking
it over with you and Neville, and–”
Andrew lifted a shoulder. “Okay, so you were
polite. Now you can tell him no.”
“Andy, I... I think we ought to consider it.
Neville wants to sell.” Rae thought of her older brother. Neville
wanted to move on in a different way, to wipe the past clean.
“You don’t have to tell me that,” Andrew shot
back. “Our older brother has about as much sense of family
tradition as that driftwood over there. He’s ashamed of Pawpaw
Vincent and Daddy.”
“That’s not true. Neville stuck by us and you
know it. He just didn’t want to spend the rest of his life being
looked down on in Belle Rose.” Rae glanced at her hands folded in
her lap. “Neither did I.”
“Sure, leavin’ was the easy way out.” Andrew
tossed a rock across the water, causing a splash. “There are still
older folks around who turn up their noses when I pass them on the
street downtown. But I don’t give a damn. This is as much my home
as theirs.”
“Andy, Neville and me wanted more of a life
than we could have here. I didn’t want to work at the processing
plant, be a waitress or end up driving thirty miles to some boring
job.” Rae skipped a small shell across the surface of the
water.
“So you made your choices. Mine is to stay
right here, like Daddy wanted, and pay the taxes. This is our
land.” Andrew had a stubborn set to his jaw.
“Remember two years ago, when Daddy got real
sick, and I came home?” Rae rested her chin on his shoulder, as she
had done when they were children.
“Yeah…”
“We had a long talk. He knew he was about to
die.” Rae paused, remembering his drawn face. “Daddy told me he was
sorry for nursing his anger all those years and not doing more with
his life. He made me promise to somehow find out the truth about
Pawpaw Vincent.”
“How in the world you gonna do that? The
man’s been gone over fifty years. He’s likely dead by now.” Andrew
shook his head.
“Hire a private detective, I guess.”
Andrew sighed. “Let’s face it, he left and so
did Estelle Jove. Now, in my experience when it comes to men and
women, those kinda coincidences mean one thing.”
“You mean you believe what they say?” Rae was
stunned. Andrew had always been as vehement in his defense of
Pawpaw Vincent as Lucien.
“No, I’m not sure. Look, a black man with
that kinda money would have been noticed back then.”
“That’s what Daddy used to say.” Only in
recent months had Rae begun to seriously think about the
grandfather she’d never known. All Lucien’s accounts of the old
scandal came back to her now. “It makes a lot of sense, too.”
“But I do think he and Estelle went off
someplace together. They could easily lose themselves in a big city
like Detroit, Chicago. Hell, I don’t know. Maybe they went to one
of them Caribbean Islands.”
Rae raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, come
on.”
“We’ve got roots out that way. Let me see…
was it Barbados or St. Lucia? Daddy said our great-great-great
grandmother came over as a servant, first to New Orleans.”
“She did?”
“Yeah, Pawpaw Vincent even had old pictures.
Daddy kept them in a metal box up in the attic. Anyway, I think the
old man lived out his life with a whole new family someplace far
away.”
Rae stared at him wide-eyed. “I never thought
of it like that. We could have uncles and cousins somewhere.”
“I’d like to prove Pawpaw Vincent didn’t take
that money, too. But that ain’t gonna happen.”
“Maybe not, but I’ve got to try. It’s the one
thing I can do for Daddy. But it’s going to take money. A good bit
of it.”
Andrew threw another rock. “So you want to
sell out.” It was a statement that sounded more like an
accusation.
“Don’t put it like that, for goodness sake.”
Rae did
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