Family

“Much ‘preciated, vieux.” Evelyn waved goodbye as her chauffeur maneuvered the boat around and headed back upstream. The polecat hefted her suitcase up and made her way up the rickety steps of her childhood home. Before she was at the door two blurs bounded around the corner and skidded to a halt in front of Evelyn. Heloeise and Marguerite were staring up at her with wide eyes. The boldest of the pair stuck her chin out and addressed the older polecat.

“E-Belle, whatcu doin’ back? I thought you had some swanky new job up with dem Yanks.” Heloeise placed her hands on her small hips as she waited for her sister to answer.

“Whatzit ta you, Lowie? My bidness ain’t any concern o’ the likes o’ you. Just be glad I’m here an give me a squeeze.” The two youngest Doubois wasted no time in embracing their sister. They entered the ramshackle house together and were greeted by a tired looking Jean-Baptiste.

“What in de hell’re you doin’ here?” He had a cigarette hanging from his lips and a slight scowl on his handsome face.

“I really wish you wouldn’t smoke in de house. Ma hates it.” She crossed her arms and braced for some backlash.

“She ain’t here.” He huffed and took a seat at the small table in the middle of the kitchen.

“Whachu mean ‘she ain’t here’, where’d she go?” The exasperation in Evelyn’s voice was not lost on the others in the room.

“She. Ain’t. Here. She left. Gone. Went off ta go find herself or somethin’ after Lisabee’s accident.” Jean took a long drag on his cigarette before snuffing it out in the small ash tray that was in the center of the table.

“That was well ova two months ago. You tryin’ ta tell me ma dun left y’all to fend for ya selves?” Evelyn was trying to control her anger but the lifetime of disappointment she had felt for her mother had reached a new point. It seemed as if Sarafine Doubois was as irresponsible as she was in her youth, more concerned with herself than her children. Though the woman had been dealt some tough hands in her life there was no real excuse for her blatant neglect of her children. When Evelyn was younger and desperate for her mother’s attention Cha-Cha told her to just let it go. Sarafine had lost her first two children to scarlet fever in infancy, it had destroyed her and she kept all her kids at arms length. Afraid to get too close in fear of losing them.

“Mais, whinin’ ‘bout it ain’t gon bring her back, Evie.” Jean had taken to picking at his nails. Marguerite skipped over to him and hopped up on his lap, giggling when he poked her in the side a couple of times.

“Yeah, well she shouldn’ leave you guys ‘ere to play Madame. Pourri gate' cette femme!” Evelyn stomped her foot for emphasis and Jean rolled his eyes at the dramatics, it wasn’t like it was the first time their mother had run off to do God knows what.

“Arrete toi, you still ain’t answer my question. What’s got you rushin’ down out o’ de blue? Shouldn’t you be workin’?” Jean’s face was slowly pulled into a scowl as he thought about the irresponsibility his sister was displaying.

“Calm down, grincheux. I’m on paid leave….sort of.” The finality in Evelyn’s voice left no room for argument so Jean left it at that.

“So, E-Belle wha ya back fa?” Marguerite asked around the thumb that was in her mouth.

“Marty, you get dat thumb out of ya mouth. You’re too old to suck your thumb, pichouette. And since you so nosey I came ta see y’all....and I need to visit Boug.” She muttered the last bit in hopes that the members in the room wouldn’t catch it. No such luck.

“Ah, yous in trouble. Dat makes mo sense.” Jean chuckled as he stood from the chair, lifting Marty into his arms before walking over to the stove.

“Dun fuss wit dat. I’m takin’ y’all inta town.” Evelyn enjoyed watching her sibling’s faces light up at the prospect of eating out. They all got ready and piled into the airboat, Jean taking a couple of tries to get the motor going. It was a fifteen minute ride out of the swamp and another twenty minute walk to the restaurant. Rusty’s was a hole-in-the wall sort of establishment that served down home cooking for a fair price. The group sat at a table in the corner of the restaurant and placed their orders with the bubbly waitress.

“So whatca done now, Evie?” Jean leveled Evelyn with a pointed stare that the elder polecat ignored.

“I said it’s none of ya damn bidness. Why y’all always gotta stick ya noses into every’ting?” She graciously accepted the drink the waitress brought to the table. Taking notice of the way she lingered a bit to chat with Jean. Evelyn gave his ear a flick to warn him not to play with fire.

“Well can we go with ya ta see Boug?” Lowie’s eyes held a bit of hope as she waited for her sister to reply. Evelyn thought a bit, weighing the pros and cons of letting her siblings see their jailbird brother.

“Prison’s no place for lil’ ones. Maybe next time.” Evelyn tried to ignore the disappointed looks on Lowie and Marty’s faces. She looked to Jean to see if he wanted to tag along.

"Ain’t no way you gon see me in the pen. Unless they drag me down dere against my will.” Evelyn didn’t have to look at Jean to know his eyebrow was twitching. It always started up whenever he would talk about Boug and his current situation.

“Jean, you so dramatic.” Evelyn chuckled to herself despite the serious topic of discussion. The waitress arrived with their drinks soon after and it wasn’t long afterwards that the Doubois were enjoying a hearty meal. Evelyn soon fell into the bob and ebb of her family dynamics, she forgot just how much she missed her siblings and the dark cloud that had been hanging over her since Ike had been hit dispersed. As soon as the bill was paid the group spilled out onto the street, Evelyn was a bit tipsy and Jean had to steer her away from the street several times.

“Yous teeterin’ like a toddler.” Jean muttered as he grabbed his sister’s shoulders in the hopes that it would help her walk straight.

“E-Belle’s had too much to drink!” Lowie shouted in a sing-song voice.

“Oh hush you,” There was a slight pause as Evelyn struggled to find the words in her scrambled brain, “Un peu comère!*”

“I am not!” Lowie launched herself at Evelyn, sending the two sprawling into the street. Jean and Marty could only look on with matching looks of disapproval on their faces. The rest of the trip home was filled with more shenanigans from the two eldest Doubois girls.

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“Oh Davin, you can’t be serious. This is not where Evelyn is.” Beverly let out a breathy laugh as she stared at the rickety house that the boat had dropped the pair off at. Davin shrugged as he hefted up the two suitcases he was carrying and slowly made his way to the house.

“It’s what’s on tha letters Vee’s been sendin’” Davin carefully walked up the rotting wooden steps in front of the house.

“Can’t we stay in a hotel?” Beverly whispered as she scraped her heels on the edge of the first step.

“Come now, it’s no so bad.” Davin offered the leopard a smile as he made to knock on the crooked front door.

His knuckles rapped on the splintered wood, as he waited for an answer a loud shriek had him whipping around, eyes wide. He relaxed a bit when he saw what had elicited such a reaction from the dancer. A large beetle skittered across the porch, sending Beverly into a panic. She squealed again before latching onto Davin who shook his head in disbelief.

“That thing was huge.” Beverly squeaked as her eyes darted about for any signs of more unwanted insects.

“Looks like no one’s home.” Davin sighed as he dropped the suitcases, “ I guess we’ll have to wait.”

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Evelyn was on her third chorus of ‘How You Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm’ when the motorboat arrived at it’s destination. They hopped out of the boat and started up the winding walkway to the front door. The polecat was in the middle of a particularly long note when she spotted the visitors that were sitting on her front porch. She stopped dead in her tracks and barely had time to react when Jean came up beside her brandishing the double barrel shotgun they kept near the docks.

“Who de hell’re you? Dis private property and ya know what we do to trespassers? We gut ‘em.” He pulled the pump back, letting the unwelcomed visitors know that the gun was loaded. When Evelyn heard the click she snapped out of her shock, the sight of the two sobering her up. She put a hand on the barrel of the gun, pushing it down and away from her friends.

“Stop, Jean. They ain’t trespassin’.” She rushed forward to greet Davin and Beverly, still a bit shocked to see them here, “How’d you two know where ta find me?”

“Well Vee, when tha goin’ gets tough you always run back home.” Davin chuckled as he pulled the polecat into a tight embrace.

“Davin just checked the addresses on your letters you get from home.” Beverly explained as Evelyn turned to her to give her a hug as well. It was then that she eyed the three slightly confused siblings standing at the edge of the porch. Evelyn turned to gesture to the newcomers.

“Dis is Beverly Collins, and Davin McAleese,” Both gave a wave when their name was called, “And guys dis is Jean-Baptiste, Heloise, and Marguerite. “

“Call me, Jean.” He gave a half nod as he eyed Davin particularly close.

“Lowie.” The quiet reply was uncharacteristic for the young polecat.

“Marty!” The youngest of the group bounded up to Beverly, eyeing her with admiration. “You’re purdy.”

“W-why thank you. You’re awful cute yourself there.” Beverly was a bit taken aback by the compliment, melting under the gaze of the gooey eyed Marty.

“So you’re Mr. Smooth Talker, eh?” Jean had a stern look on his face as he sized up the nervous faun.

“Jean, leave ‘im alone.” Evelyn swatted at her brother.

“Naw, I’m curious ‘bout dis fella you swoon over in all yo letters. ‘Davin did this’ or ‘Davin’s so sweet’ ‘Davin, Davin, Davin’” Jean put on a goofy face and spoke in a falsetto voice as he mimicked Evelyn. Her nose twitched in annoyance while the rest of the group erupted into a fit of laughter.

“Watch de slap, Jean. You know, you ain’t so cute.” She hissed as she unlocked the front door and stepped over the threshold.

“So, Evie,” Beverly paused as she tried to find the right words, “Why did you leave in such a hurry? I mean you left quite a mess back in New York.”

“I came here to fix it.” Evelyn muttered as she fussed about the small kitchen, trying to get a pot of coffee together.

“And how’re ya gonna manage tha?” Davin asked as he came up behind Evelyn and wrapped his arms around her midsection. The low growl that emanated from Jean had Evelyn clicking her tongue in disapproval. She placed the kettle on the stove and turned to face Davin, she gave him a soft smile before looking over his shoulder at the others.

“Marty, Lowie, you two go on to bed now.” She fixed them with a stern look, daring them to protest.

“Aw, we never getta have no fun!” Marty whined as she was dragged out of the kitchen by Lowie. Her protest could still be heard as they walked down the narrow hallway to their shared bedroom. Evelyn grabbed Davin’s arms and pulled them away from her waist, she held onto his wrist as she walked back towards the table and motioned for him to take a seat.

“I’m gonna find someone to reverse de effects of de gris gris. I tink Boug knows a shadow man who can do it.” She had barely finished her sentence when the sound of ceramic shattering pierced through the quiet room. Evelyn had no time to react before Jean started ranting.

“Goddamnit, Evelyn! You been messin’ wit dat voodoo again? Ain’t you learned anyting from Boug’s mistake? What de hell is wrong wit dis family? What de hell is wrong wit you?”

“Now you look here-” Evelyn attempted to defend herself.

“No! You look here, did you tink for one second ‘bout the consequences of dis dark conjury? De price of a favor from a Loa is steep, what if it came afta you for your soul? You tink Marty or Lowie could stand to lose ‘nother sister? Damnit, Lisabee ain’t even been gone more than two months and you already testin’ de Devil.” The anger on Jean’s face was overshadowed by another emotion that Evelyn couldn’t quite place. She crossed her arms and tried to refrain from reaching out and slapping Jean for the way he was speaking to her.

“Jean, it ain’t no use fussing ‘bout what’s already been done.” Her voice was barely above a whisper as she moved to clean up the broken shards of the cup. Jean sent the ashtray flying across the room as he swept his arm across the table in another bout of anger.

“Look breaking tableware isn’t going to do any good. And I don’t think we should dip back into the depths of this hoodoo. That’s what got us into this mess to begin with.” Beverly offered thoughtfully as she rummaged around in her purse for something.

“You got ‘nother plan den, bebette?” Evelyn shot Beverly an incredulous look. The sheepish expression that the feline displayed confirmed Evelyn’s suspicions.

“Well…” Beverly trailed off and the room plunged back into silence.

“So it’s settled den. We’ll go see Boug in de mornin’” Evelyn said with finality in her voice.

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Obviously next entry will be the gang visiting Big Brother Boug in the slammer. X3

Hopefully Evelyn will be able to find a fix for this predicament.