Night Magic (27 page)

“He’s a good-hearted man,” Nenaine Shirleen
said after the children had left.

“Antoine been feelin’ bad ‘bout them
Rousselle women for years. He kinda feels like a lot of what
happened was his fault. Odette losing a daughter, LaShaun her
mother.” Tante Marie watched the figure of her brother moving away
down the sidewalk towards town.

“Maybe I should go after him.” Savannah had
been watching him, too.

“No, he gone walk off his sadness. He needs
to be alone for awhile. Let’s go.”

*****

Later that afternoon, the house was quiet.
Tante Marie nodded off sitting on the porch. The April weather was
cool, the sunshine added just the right amount of warmth, and the
humidity was low. Birds chirped happily as they flittered from
branch to branch.

Savannah had wandered restlessly upon leaving
Charice and the girls. They had taken them for a ride in the
country, ending up at Old River. After buying crème sodas and
sandwiches at a little cafe, they sat on the boat landing watching
covered pontoons take tourists on a tour of the bayous. But
Savannah's light-hearted mood had gradually dissipated once out of
their company. After riding around for another hour, she went home.
Walking into her bedroom, she picked up the large picture of she
and her mother.Therese certainly was beautiful as everyone said.
Thick dark brown hair cascaded to her shoulders. Her eyes were a
light brown, full lips curved into a wide smile. Wearing a white
sundress with lavender flowers, her shapely brown legs could be
seen even beneath the demure hemline. Savannah, only a year old,
was propped on her mother's hip waving at the camera. Without even
thinking about it, Savannah went outside on the back porch to climb
the ladder to the small room they used for storage. She did not
know how long she had been sitting on the low stool, pictures and
mementos from her mother’s early life strewn around her, when she
realized her father was there.

"Your maman was always shy 'bout gettin' her
picture taken. Reason we got that many is 'cause of me worryin' her
so. 'Specially after you was born. She used say you couldn't move
an inch without me grabbing my camera to snap a picture." Antoine
pulled up an old cane bottom chair and sat next to her.

"I'm glad you did. Looking at these always
seemed to help me feel close to her." Savannah allowed her father
to take an old black and white picture of Therese as a young girl
from her hands.

"Lord, but she was something to see. Not vain
either. That made her even prettier."

"Poppy, tell me the story. I mean the whole
story."

Antoine's chest rose and fell as he breathed
deeply, his eyes never leaving the photograph. He knew exactly what
story she meant. In a low level voice he began to speak.

Chapter 11

"We was kids together, 'course you know
that." Antoine sat back in the chair. Still he held the picture of
Therese in front of him almost as if he was speaking to her,
too.

"Tante Marie did tell me a little." Savannah
drew her knees up wrapping her arms around them.

"Your Monmon was 'bout four years younger
than me. Four years means different things at different times. When
I was twelve and she was eight, we let her come around some with
the other little kids. Of course, we thought we was grown. Me,
George, Willie, Lulu, Eva, Francine, Clancy, oh a whole gang of us
within one or two years the same age hung around together. We
sneaked our first smoke together, went swimmin' down to the river
when we wasn't supposed to together. Tell you the truth, I didn't
much notice of your maman back then. Like I said, to me she was a
just a baby. We had some good times, especially in the summer.
There was always something to get into, something excitin' goin'
on. Don't know why, but all I remember of those days growin' up was
sunshine, wildflowers everywhere, the river nice and cool when you
stuck your feet in. Happy memories, ya know?" Smiling fondly,
Antoine looked at Savannah.

Savannah nodded. She too smiled seeing the
image of a group of children roaming the countryside seeking
adventure. Savannah felt strangely as though she were one of them.
Antoine picked up other pictures from the shoe boxes at their
feet.

Antoine sighed shaking his head. The smile
began to disappear. "We got older. Francine and me got to be sweet
on each other. I guess as young as twelve or thirteen. I know what
folks been sayin' 'bout her, but they forget how she was smart as a
whip. And quick, man couldn’t nobody say nothin' that she didn't
have a answer for. She was full of spice and kept us laughin'. Most
of the adults said she was too full of sass, that her Miz Odette
let her run wild. Fact is, they wasn't too crazy 'bout us playin'
with her. See folks was sayin' things 'bout Monmon Odette ever
since she was a teenager. Some say her maman, Estelle, was a voodoo
woman. That they family been into voodoo since way back when
Odette's great great-grandpapa came from Haiti to New Orleans some
fifty years before the Civil War. We didn't care 'bout that. Truth
is, it just made us want to be around her that much more. What they
didn't see was how she hurt over the things they said about her and
her people. She didn't act no different from the other kids, so our
mostly our folks didn't make no fuss. My maman did get real upset
when she heard talk about me and Francine. Seems she thought maybe
Monmon Odette put some kinda spell on me to like Francine. But Papa
laughed and told her not to worry 'bout all that hoodoo talk. Said
it was plain old woman foolishness."

Like I said, we got older. When we was 'bout
sixteen, me and Francine was dating full out. Goin' to the old
Dixie Drive-In, dances the church used to sponsor, even sneaking to
a juke joint over in Breaux Bridge that wasn't particular 'bout how
old we was. I ain't proud of some of the things I did, Savannah.
But like most young folks, we thought none of them `old' people
knew anything. Crazy how each new crop of kids think they done
invented everything. Or if they didn't invent it, it was somehow
all theirs. We drank, stayed out later than we should sometimes.
Francine was always more bold than most of us. She used to say we
needed to whoop it up, to breathe some life into this old dead
country town. Yep, we was tearin' it up back then."Antoine paused
staring at the wall as if seeing the past reflected there like an
old movie.

"I remember the exact day I stopped thinking
of Therese like she was a baby. It was that summer I turned
nineteen. My maman made my Papa lay down the law. 'Course he did
with a sorta wink, you know between us men. But Maman was
determined to get me back on the right track. She made me spend a
lot more time at the church helpin' old Father Vavasseur by workin'
around the rectory. Somehow I convinced Francine to come to a
church dance one Friday night. She decided it would be good for a
laugh. Maman was not too pleased when I showed up with her, but she
didn't say nothin' to me. We’d been there for a while when Francine
spotted Therese sittin' all alone. We went over to sit with her,
keep her company. The next song that played, Francine told me to
dance with Therese. You see to her it was a joke, makin' me dance
with a scrawny little kid. She hooted and made faces about
Therese's dress, the way she danced, everything. But I didn't
notice none of that. What I saw was something different.

Therese was wearing a simple cotton dress
that had a big bow at the waist. Her hair was tied back with a
large white ribbon. I remember lookin' down into them beautiful
eyes. They was like the color of cedar wood with long black lashes.
And when she put her little hand in mine, her skin was silky smooth
and smellin' of gardenia scented perfume.”

“From that night on I found every excuse to
be where I thought Therese would be. I was seein' very little of
Francine after a while. Lyin' became the easy way out. I fooled
myself into thinkin' I was bein' kind. Naturally with everybody
talkin', it wasn't long 'fore she knowed. Even when she finally
made me tell her the truth, she turned all her anger against
Therese. Francine said some nasty things 'bout Therese, then I said
some pretty hateful things about Francine. We parted with a lot of
bitterness between us.

Two years later, Therese and I got married.
Lord, not even Francine could spoil those first few years we was
together. I don't think we ever stopped honeymoonin'. Therese got
more beautiful every day. I'm shamed to say I didn't give Francine
much thought. Oh, I heard the gossip 'bout how she was with lots of
different men, drinkin', even dope. But Therese was my whole world.
Then when we found out she was pregnant. It was wonderful to see
the happiness in her face. That miscarriage almost killed her in
more ways than one."

"A boy." Savannah bite her lip remembering
the lonely pangs of a little girl for a brother she would never
know.

"Therese got desperate to get pregnant again
when the doctor said there was no reason she shouldn't do fine the
next time. Folks was sayin' Francine and Monmon Odette was burnin'
candles on Therese. Therese got pale, couldn't sleep, and cried all
the time. When she did get pregnant with you, I was worried she was
gettin' too weak. But she had you without too much trouble. At
first I thought things would be okay. Then you turned out to be a
sickly baby, colic, high fevers. We was up all night with you
cryin' night after night. Therese was beside herself. No matter how
old Doctor Butler tried to tell her you was gone be all right, she
got to sayin' it was her fault. Sayin' that Monmon Odette took her
first child, now she was gone take this one, too. Her health went
down. She got to where she wouldn't leave you alone for a second.
She stayed up all night watchin' you even though your crib was in
our room. This went on right up until she died." Antoine rubbed his
face with both hands as he moaned softly once.

"Poppy," Savannah leaned against his knees
hugging them as she had all those years ago when she had been too
young to understand completely. She felt a cold fear work it's icy
fingers up her spine."What killed her.""Aneurysm on the brain Doc
Butler said."

"But folks say it was voodoo. Mama was slowly
driven insane then killed by Francine in revenge." Savannah's voice
trembled.

"Now you listen to me, the autopsy showed
your Monmon had Lupus. Doc Butler said it attacks the body like
that. He said most likely the disease, Lupus, weakened her
arteries." Antoine pulled her away to look her straight in the
eyes. "Your mama was sick for a long time and we didn't know it.
That was probably why she lost the first baby."

"But the gossip--" Savannah was stunned by
this explanation that she had never heard before.

"Was nothin' but foolish superstition."

"But why didn't you tell me this long ago?
Why didn't Tante Marie say something?"

"It was my fault she didn't see a doctor,
maybe even check into a hospital for tests. I knew wasn't no voodoo
makin' her get sick. There were times..." Antoine's voice broke
momentarily, "There were times I fussed at her. Told her she was
bein' silly lettin' Francine and Monmon Odette make her believe
that nonsense. Maybe if I'd been a little more patient. I closed
up. Whenever I tried to talk about to you, to anybody, the words
would stick in my throat."

"You couldn't have known." Savannah put her
arms around his neck. Pressing her cheek to his, their tears
blended.

"I tried to tell them all, including Marie,
but back then folks didn't really understand somethin' like Lupus.
Voodoo they could understand. That Monmon Odette made Therese take
sick and die, that they understood. Didn't matter what name the
doctor give it. Me, I was out of my mind over losin' Therese. I
didn't have the strength or will argue, to do much of anything. I
just crawled into some dark corner of my soul. It was all I could
do not to scream out loud at the thought of livin' without her
every day for the rest of my life."

"Her disease would have progressed no matter
what you did because there's no cure for Lupus. And you fell in
love like any young man. From what I've heard about Francine, she
was already using too much alcohol and had emotional problems long
before that." Savannah cupped his face in her hands."

A lot of the things Francine done was outta
hurt. She wanted somebody to care 'bout her. I coulda treated her
better. And I shoulda helped your mama more. I let 'em both down."
Antoine hung his head.

"No, Poppy. You couldn't have done any more.
It wasn't your fault Francine or Mama died," Savannah cradled him
in her arms.

"Oh, cher. I still miss her so."

"It's time for both of us to let ourselves
heal."For another hour they held each other, talking about the
past, and began to mend.

*****

"What are our options?" Claude sat in the
large executive leather chair, elbows on the large conference
table, his long fingers forming a steeple in front of his face. He
looked at the men seated around him. He had summoned Devin,
Singleton, Quentin and Paul to Batton Chemical to plot their next
move.

"At this point, try to convince the judge
that you acted in good faith and not to impose the maximum fines,"
Devin said.

"Why don't we appeal?" Quentin slapped the
table.

"Because the trial isn't over yet. We're into
the penalty phase where he considers how long you were operating
without the proper permits, what kinds of emissions occurred--"

"This is outrageous. He was supposed to be
advising us on this." Quentin pointed an accusing finger at
Paul.

"As you eloquently stated, you didn't need
me. You were taking advice from your own chemical engineer.
Besides, I was not hired by Batton Chemical, and certainly not to
give you advice." Paul spoke in a low cool tone. He sat opposite
Claude at end of the table away from the others.