Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 67263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
“Many of us are on FamilyTree.com.” Gwen’s face brightened. “It’s the site where you have the DNA kits and give them your saliva and then they’ll check—”
“I know what it is.”
“Let’s get you a kit and see—”
“I don’t want to.”
Gwen frowned. “Why not?”
“She said my grandparents are cousins.”
Gwen widened her eyes.
“If that’s true, then I really don’t want any parts of this family.”
Not giving up, she kept the photo in front of me and then pointed at a tall, skinny kid that was frowning on the side of the group. “This must be your grandfather right here. His name was Raeford. I never met him.”
I gazed at the kid. Chills hit me.
“There’s a small resemblance.” Gwen turned her view to me. “Don’t you think?”
“Many Black guys look like they’re related.”
“You have the same lips and eyes and—”
“That’s not my grandfather, Gwen.”
Sighing, she went to the next image. “Look at this, please.”
I shifted my weight to my other foot and gazed down at the new photo.
This one had only five kids—four girls and one boy. They all stood by a lake and wore their Sunday best—freshly ironed pants, white gloves, and flowery printed dresses. They had on shiny, polished shoes. Tons of pretty bows dotted the girls’ hair.
She pointed to a young girl sitting in a shiny red wagon. “That must be your grandmother.”
I scowled at Gwen. “You’re just going to keep pushing?”
“I think this is your grandmother because I don’t know her, but I’ve heard all about Maribel Jones.” Gwen sighed. “So these two pictures are children of two women.”
Gwen showed the well-dressed children again. “These are Constance’s kids. Their father had a great job in the city. I believe he was one of the first Black lawyers in New Orleans.”
She returned to the picture of the poor kids in front of that house. “These are Faye’s kids. She had three different baby fathers. One was in jail. The other two were killed in various ways.”
I stared at her like she was mental. “Gwen, there’s no need to break all of this down for me. I’m heading to Italy and forgetting about all of this.”
“Constance and Faye are sisters, but they didn’t get along.” Gwen placed the photos next to each other probably so I could see them both at the same time. “So, the kids in each picture are first cousins.”
“Okay.”
“But like I said, their mothers didn’t get along so the kids barely knew each other.”
I couldn’t help myself. I had to ask. “Why didn’t Faye and Constance get along?”
“Grandma thinks that it’s one of the many curses that have passed down in our family. With each generation, the sisters never get along. They try for a while, and then one day they are not speaking to each other for many years.”
I puffed more of the joint.
“I think it took Faye and Constance ten years to reunite. It was after one Thanksgiving—”
Smoke left my nostrils. “Apparently, it was a Black Friday.”
Gwen widened her eyes. “That’s right. It was a Black Friday. Constance and Faye left the kids at the house and went shopping.”
“Where was Constance’s husband—the lawyer?”
“I believe he was fishing with some uncles.” Gwen shrugged. “Anyway, the mothers return from shopping all day and they realize that two of the kids are missing.”
I quirked my brows. “What?”
“Raeford took Maribel off somewhere. Everyone searched for them. No one could find Raeford or Maribel. Finally, they returned late at night. Raeford had some weird story about the rain causing them to hide. Maribel seemed uncomfortable and never said anything.”
“How old were they?”
“If I remember correctly, Raeford was eighteen. Maribel was twelve.”
I rubbed my head. “Man, I don’t want any parts of this—”
“No one thought anything of it until months later when Maribel’s stomach began to grow.”
I frowned. “What did they do to Raeford?”
“Nothing. Times were different. People were embarrassed and tried to pretend nothing truly happened. That it must have been impossible.” Gwen looked away. “Constance and Faye started arguing again, blaming each other.”
“And what happened to Maribel?”
“Constance decided to let Maribel have the baby, but they planned to give the child to a cousin in Detroit that couldn’t have children.”
“Is that what Maribel wanted?”
“No one ever mentions that part, but they did say that Raeford was against it.”
I shook my head. “Why is he even allowed to speak after what he did?”
Gwen nodded. “Either way, one night Raeford and Maribel disappeared.”
Uncomfortable, I turned my view to the joint, but didn’t take a puff. A line of smoke swirled up from the tip.
“Grandma started dreaming about Raeford and Maribel being in a city. It took her several dreams before she knew it was New York. Then, she saw that their baby was a boy. She constantly tried to tell the adults and no one believed her. The family has always thought she was crazy.” Gwen stepped closer to me.