Sugar Doll's Hurricane Blues (4 page)

“C’mon then. What you waiting for and why you way afar off asking?” Big Ma giggled to herself. “Kevin scared to ask, but he hungry too.”

“Well, c’mon, I ain’t got much but some shortbread but that will be good enough for ya’ll.” Kevin came sprinting from behind a rosebush. They both ran toward the house.

“It sho smell good in here Big Ma!” said Bertrand as he bellied up to the table. Kevin shyly stood by the door. Big Ma’s usual swagger disappeared. Her voice became soft and almost inaudible.

“Kevin, you come sit at the table too son. There’s plenty of food and if you really good I may fry you up a piece of fried chicken too.” Kevin moved to the table with his head bowed.

“You better c’mon boy, I’ll eat everything from you if you don’t hurry up.” Bertrand said gleefully.

“Now that is some kind of truth” smiled Big Ma.

Kevin’s mother was what the church ladies called a “bar room woman”. She sold her body for little more than a drink and was always cussing him out in front of everyone. His father had left when he was a baby. He was painfully thin and just as
painfully shy. No one wanted to take him in as they didn’t want to suffer his mother Ida’s wrath. She didn’t care for the boy at all but she expected him to be home when she got there to wash her feet or to clean up after her. Big Ma was the only woman she seemed afraid of and so every now and then Kevin would shyly show up until Big Ma started looking for him. She would get Bertrand to go and get him. The boys became friends. Bertrand was always so loud and friendly and big. They made a perfect team. Big Ma often called them “Laurel and Hardy”.

“I thank you Miss Evangline,” Kevin said to Big Ma. He said that he didn’t feel comfortable calling her Big Ma so he called her what the older men in the neighborhood did.

“You is welcome here anytime boy. Don’t you let that rosebush scratch you trying to hide. As skinny as you are I seen you.” Big Ma smiled. She got up from the table and went into the room. We all knew what that meant, we were about to receive a bible reading.

“Lord Have Mercy, why do we have to hear the bible when we is just trying to eat?” Bertrand asked miserably.

“Hush up boy; I like it when she reads to us.” Kevin said defensively. “Then you gonna be a preacher. I’m gonna be a piano player in the French Quarter.” Bertrand said proudly.

“You can barely play now Bertrand so stop your bragging, that’s a sin and I know it.” Sugar Doll said.

“Aw shucks girl, I’m only a kid but I can play now, wait till I turn twelve.”

“Michael Jackson could play all kinds of instruments and he was only 8. How do you explain that?” Sugar Doll teased.

“He’s got a whole year over me and he’s all rich and stuff with his dumb cartoon. My afro is bigger than his.”

“Is not.” Sugar Doll laughed.

“Is too.” Bertrand said seriously patting his afro in a circular fashion. “All the girls want some of this big loving.” Bertrand giggled.

“You mean fat loving”. Kevin joined in the play. Big Ma returned holding her white leather bound bible with a picture of a blond Jesus on the front with the most beautiful blue eyes Sugar Doll ever did see.

“Ya’ll look like talking about loving as young as ya’ll are. The only love that is real is Jesus’ love. The bible says, “Blessed are the children, come unto me”, so ya’ll are children and I’m here representing Jesus. So ya’ll listen to the truth and the truth will set you free.” Bertrand put his face in his hands shaking his head back and forth. Kevin sat up straight and Sugar Doll just listened. She knew that they were going to have “church” and there was no escaping.

“Psalm twenty-seven is for you Kevin. I believe that God wrote a scripture for everyone and this one is yours. The rest of ya’ll listen.”

“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear, The Lord is the strength of my life; and of whom shall I be afraid?” But then Kevin down here in verse 10 it says, “When my mother and my father forsake me then the Lord will take care of me.” You are never alone my boy. You either Bertrand and you either Sugar Doll.” Sugar Doll looked into Kevin’s face and saw a strength there, a glow that she couldn’t understand. He had received the good word from Big Ma. She felt happy that he was there in this cool house on this hot summer’s day.

“Let’s go play on the levee.” Bertrand said after Big Ma went to put the bible away.

“I want to wait for the chicken” said Kevin.

“Boy, she ain’t cooking that now, not till the sun starts going down no how. I heard Mr. and Mrs. Truman got a new refrigerator. You know what that means.” Sugar Doll looked puzzled.

“What does it mean Bertrand?” Kevin answered for him, “We go and ask them for the box it came in and then we tear it up and use it to slide down the side of the levee with, it’s a lot of fun, c’mon, let’s go.”

“I got to wash the dishes first.” Sugar Doll hesitated. It was her only chore so she really didn’t feel good just leaving it.

“Man, shoot, come on let’s help her so we can all go together. You wash Sugar Doll and I’ll dry and Kevin man you put the dishes away where I tell you. Cool man?” Bertrand stood up and put on Big Ma’s apron. Sugar Doll and Kevin both laughed.

“Man I look good. I’m so handsome, I’m like Muhammad Ali. Ya’ll can’t tell me nothing.” Bertrand strutted over to the sink and performed a James Brown slide that was very agile for his girth. Sugar Doll and Kevin burst into laughter. They cleaned the entire kitchen. Big Ma never emerged from the bedroom. Daddy was in there sick. That was Sugar Doll’s grandfather. He was very old. Big Ma would go in to check on him and to pray with him. The children left quietly.

Mrs. Truman was sweeping her steps when the children arrived. “Hey ya’ll, how ya’ll doing?”

“We is alright.” Bertrand was always the spokesman of the group. “Hey, Mrs. Truman, we was wondering if you still have that refrigerator box.” Bertrand asked smoothly.

“I sho do, I knew that ya’ll would probably want it so I saved it for ya’ll.”

“That’s mighty nice of you ma’am. We sho appreciate it.” Bertrand said.

“It’s hot out here ya’ll want a soft drink before ya’ll go out in the sun to play?” Kevin smiled a big toothy grin.

“Yeah ma’am that would be great.” Sugar Doll nodded.

“Well precious, you are just as pretty as a picture.”

“Thank you ma’am” Sugar Doll bowed her head at the mention of her real name.

“Oooooh Sugar Doll, she called you your real name. I know you is mad.”

“No I’m not shut up!”

“I’m going to go and get ya’ll them drinks, ya’ll wait right here.” Mrs. Truman went inside of the house. Bertrand climbed the porch and sat in a big garden chair in the shade.

“This is turning out to be a great day.” He smiled satisfactorily to himself.

“It’s easy to please you Bertrand.” Sugar Doll said.

“Yup.” He replied simply.

Mrs. Truman returned with the drinks. They were ice cold coca colas in the five cents returnable green bottles. Her husband owned a store so she probably had cases of them in that nice house. “I’m going to finish my housecleaning but when ya’ll finish put the bottles in that empty carton in the corner. The refrigerator box is on side of the house. My husband already broke it down for ya’ll so you can just go and play.

“Will you please adopt me Mrs. Truman?” Bertrand asked half serious.

“Thank you son, I wish that I could but your momma and daddy wouldn’t like that and I do so love your father’s church.” Mrs. Truman turned around and continued sweeping her porch while the children drank their cokes slowly, savoring the cold richness and sparkly bubbles of it.

After they finished the last of the drinks the children did as they had been asked and set the bottles neatly in the carton. They went to the side of the house and there were four evenly torn sides of the box. Each child took a side and began the long walk to the levee. It was about two miles away from Mrs. Truman’s house but the walk was going to be worth it, Bertrand had promised Sugar Doll. The entire neighborhood was family. Old relatives sat on their porches and waved as the children walked by in a somewhat marching fashion.

“Hey Uncle Pete, we going to ride the levee man.” Bertrand yelled to his elderly great uncle as he passed. The man sat there shirtless his gray chest hair glowing in the sun.

“Ya’ll be careful of tree stumps and have a clear path in front of you. You can slide down pretty fast and bust your head wide open.”

“All right Uncle Pete, we’ll be careful.”

“Bertrand, why’d you tell him where we was going? Kevin asked.

“He’s babysitting me man. If my momma call and I’m not home she’s going to fuss at him. He’s just an old dude with nowhere else to go. I feel sorry for him. He’s nice. That’s why, you mind man?” Bertrand asked genuinely irritated at Kevin.

“Naw man, I see.” Kevin shrugged.

They approached the levee which seemed like a mountain to them. “I’m scared” said Sugar Doll.

“Don’t be scared” said Bertrand. “You can ride down the first time with me. You can hold onto my back and I’m so fat if we tumble you will be alright. It will be just like landing on a pillow cousin.”

Sugar Doll laughed, “You ain’t that fat.”

“The hell I ain’t.” Bertrand laughed. “I’m going to grow up and be a wrestler and I’m going to turn this fat into muscle.” Bertrand flexed his fat arms.

“I thought that you were going to be a piano player?” Kevin asked. “Man you’ve got to have something to fall back on and I’m always going to be big, so there you go, and I don’t have to go to school or nothing to whip somebody’s ass.” Bertrand started up the levee.

“Ooooooh you said a bad word right after church Bertrand, you going to hell.” Sugar Doll said.

Bertrand looked around sheepishly and then up to heaven, “I’m sorry God” and then he looked at Sugar Doll, “I’m sorry I cussed in front of you cousin.”

“It’s all right.” Sugar Doll got on the large piece of refrigerator cardboard turned sled and held onto Bertrand’s waist. Kevin pushed them from behind and off they went laughing hysterically. They slid down well past the bottom of the levee. They fell into fits of laughter. Kevin yelled, “C’mon shoot, my turn ya’ll.” Bertrand and Sugar Doll climbed the mountainous levee once again their legs aching from the long walk and pushed Kevin from behind. He laughed and seemed to go more quickly than they had.

“See Sugar Doll, its safe and it goes faster when you are on it by yourself. I’m going to go by myself this time, watch what I do.” Bertrand got on the cardboard and after Sugar Doll gave him a push he went rapidly sideways down the levee at a high rate of speed. He was grinning and laughing. Kevin had made his way back up the hill. Bertrand remained down at the bottom of the levee.

“Hey man, you push Sugar Doll on her board toward me and I’ll catch her.” Sugar Doll felt scared but she climbed on
and closed her eyes. She felt the hand at her back and the quick breeze that whizzed by her and before she knew it she was sliding into Bertrand.

“Next time keep your eyes open girl.” Bertrand admonished. “Life ain’t worth seeing from behind your eyelids.”

The children played there for hours all of them getting as dark as Hershey bars. They had a lot of fun on that day and many more days of that summer.

Chapter Four

Lower Plaquemines Parish where the former slaves remained friendly with the former masters. The small town boasted an unusually close nit community. Even though whites and blacks did not fraternize they helped each other out during hurricane season. Men who worked on boats together understood that sometimes a man just needed a little help to save his livelihood and his family. The whites had their stores and the blacks had theirs. Free enterprise was booming in the community. A simple fisherman could make a living and keep his trailer parked on his own land. Sugar Doll never went to “the city” to visit her mother and after awhile she stopped looking for visits with the woman.

She sang in the choir of Mount Bethel Baptist Church and was happy for the joyous music she shared with her family and friends. There were really no race problems in the community because of the strong family units there. The blacks entertained themselves and had many family parties and barbeques. The whites had their exclusive albeit boring country club. The only enemy of all people on this tiny peninsula town was the hurricane. Sugar Doll hadn’t been born when Betsey had come and devastated everything. Camille was also a horrifying hurricane but the community was resilient and returned to defiantly rebuild.

She attended a segregated second grade when the whites finally decided to follow the rest of the nation. It was a sad day for the black children because their mothers, grandmothers, aunts and great aunts had been the cafeteria workers at their school. Instead of fish sticks they were served fried catfish covered in delicious cornmeal. Instead of bland soup they served spicy gumbo and instead of white rice they served jambalaya. All of those ladies retired and then the students were forced to eat what the state provided. Some things were better left alone.

Sugar Doll was so beautiful that all of the boys dreamed of her. Her creamy honey-colored skin and auburn hair belied her heritage. She looked like a mixture of both her mother and father. She was considered a mulatto although both of her parents were black. Mixed raced people were looked down upon in her community but she was shielded from this by the affable but dangerous Bertrand. Bertrand could make you laugh and kick your ass all at the same time and he usually had people apologizing for making him kick their ass. She was not allowed to “court” by her grandmother and she was in church practically every day.