Chapter 3

I sat in the backseat sulking and staring out the window of the big red impala, while Granny drove us to aunt Pinky's. We were getting ready to have the usual sunday "after church" dinner. I wasn't feeling too happy about it, and wanted to go home and lay in bed. Aunt Pinky came to the car with her half Mexican grandson, cousin Charlie. He was really chubby and had a cute, adorable face. Charlie and I always got along really good, and it really cheered me up to see him.

"Bonjou Fanny" he smiled as he climbed into the backseat with me, his pockets filled with candy as always.

"Bonjou Charlie" I grinned happily, and playing with my long ponytail.

"Girl! Aint ya gonna say hi to your auntie?" aunt Pinkie smiled back at me, wearing her flowery church hat.

"Bonjou ... mo chagren" I smiled.

She nodded her head and turned around to start babbling to granny. I liked playing with Charlie ... we always made up games about spaceships and strange planets that didn't exist. We both slouched in the large, black leather backseat with our knees hitting against the back of the front seat...

"I'm the captain of aircraft 53 ... and you are my high ranking officer. Lets blast off to Monster Planet" cousin Charlie said in a serious captain voice.

"Okay captain ... full speed ahead" I said in a serious high ranking officer's voice.

Even though Charlie and I were both 15, we both played like we were still 9 years old again. It was a silly thing we always had between us...

We must have been playing for almost an hour as Granny and Aunt Pinky kept making stops to different places along the way. I felt the car stop moving, but Charlie and I continued to play our game anyhow.

"Get out of the car girl! We don't have all day" Granny stood scowling, standing in front of the open car door. I looked up to see we were parked in front of Aunt Clary's house. I sighed, I didn't want to go there. That house gave me memories of what happened with cousin Hap ... I thought I heard thunder rumbling across the cloudy bayou sky.

"Race ya!" cousin Charlie called, his yellow legs running so fast. I tried to keep up with him, he was pretty fast to be so chubby.

We ran straight to the backyard, near the large Weeping Willows. As I ran fast, trying to keep up with cousin Charlie could hear granny yelling behind me...

"Stop that running girl! And don't you dare get that sunday dress all dirty!"...

Charlie managed to climb up to one of the thick tree branches, dangling his round legs off the side.

"Betcha can't climb up here like me. Youre a girl" he laughed out of breath, pulling out some candy from one of his pockets.

"I want some! Could I have some candy please?" I asked, reaching my arms up towards him.

"Come on get it" he said, brushing his long smooth black hair away from his sweaty thick brows.

I reached up to one of the lower branches and began to climb up. I accidentally scraped my knee, and it hurt so bad ... but I pretended like it didn't happen, so I wouldn't look like a baby. I moved over to the large branch next to Charlie. He moved over, giving me more room to sit down.

"Awwww I seen your panties" said a voice voice underneath us.

"Whose that?" cousin Charlie asked with a puzzled look on his face. I looked down to see cousin Hap standing there, leaning up against the tree.

"Its Hap" I said to Charlie...

Charlie laughed goofily, his light cheeks turning blushing bright red "Hahaha he said he seen your panties! Li di li ki sa li we!!!! haha!"

"Shut up" I frowned at him.

"I seen your panties ... I seen your panties" Hap laughed.

"No you didn't! And go away, we are busy playing" I yelled down at him, smoothing my dress down to cover my panties up. I was so angry, I wanted to get far away from him.

"I did so. They white with little red flowers sprinkled all over them. You should keep your legs closed girl" he laughed.

"I hate you! Go away!" I yelled.

Charlie laughed and laughed, his light hazel eyes turning into squinty slits.

"And if YOURE gonna keep laughing then you go away too!" I frowned at Charlie.

"Come here boy! I need you to get somethin for me!" called aunt Pinky with her hands on her big hips from the screened in backporch.

"Yes maam" yelled cousin Charlie as he slid off the branch, stuffing his candy back into his pocket ... and easing himself down the tree quickly.

I sat there, swinging my legs and ignoring Hap, who was still leaning up against the tree beneath me. He was wearing his sunday clothes, he looked so cute in his black suspenders ... but I didn't want him to know that he looked cute. I just wanted him to go away.

"So whats wrong?" cousin Hap asked, picking up a leaf and slowly tearing it to shreds with his fingers.

I refused to look at him. My heart was pounding so fast and I was heated with anger. I started playing with the long loose hairs of my ponytail, making fine little coils out of them with my fingers ... wrapping and twisting them...

"Not talkin to me?" he asked, his light green eyes looking up at me.

I started humming an imaginary song I'd just made up, swinging my legs around as if I didn't see or hear him.

"Guess I'll have to pull you down from this tree then" I heard him say.

He grabbed my legs and started pulling me down towards him.

"Stop! Cut it out!" I screamed, my arms gripping tightly onto the thich branch.

"Youre gonna fall and break your legs" Hap laughed.

"Let go! I'll scream and granny will come out and whip you with the strap! Boys aren't supposed to grab girls legs like that" I yelled, my arms grabbing onto the branch for dear life.

"I'll let go if you tell me whats wrong" he said.

"JAMEN!!!" I said trying to kick him in the face with my shiny black church shoes. My hands were getting weak and my arms sooo tired ... I slipped out off the branch, screaming and falling in his arms with a strong jolt.

"Hahaha gotcha!" he laughed, his arms holding me tight.

"Put me down Hap! Hurry!" I said. I didn't want the grown folks to see it, the whole thing looked improper. They might think we were doing things "cousins" ought not do.

"Why?" he asked, his freckly cheeks turning bright red...

"Cause it looks nasty" I said pushing him off me, and sliding out of his arms.

"Nothin nasty about rescuing you from a terrible fall. Could have broke your legs. Then you'd be a cripple" he said.

"Shouldn't say that about the cripples" I said, sticking my tongue out at him.

"Youre so immature! Wasn't talkin bad about the cripples. Just sayin, you almost fell and hurt youself" he said.

"And what do you care if I did!" I said, smoothing my dress down and dusting tiny leaves off.

"I do care" I thought I'd heard him say. I wasn't quite sure I'd heard it come from his mouth...

"Huh?" I asked, looking up at his face.

"I said I care about you" he said, running his hand over his soft curly hair.

"LIAR" I shouted and ran towards aunt Clary's house.

I could hear him running quickly behind me, his feet hitting the grass faster than a jack rabbit. I didn't care if he caught up with me or not, I didn't wanna talk to him or see his face. I went around to the basement door, and closed it.

"Open it" Hap said, his face appearing in the small dusty window.

I locked the latch, and moved away from it.

"I'm still gonna get in regardless ... so open it" he smirked.

"NO" I said.

I went over the small couch and sat down. I didn't feel too comfortable down in the basement, but I figured this way he really couldn't get to me. He'd have to get through all the old folks to get down to the basement. I heard thunder rumbling outside, it was gonna rain. It seemed like whenever we went to aunt Clary's it would rain.

I heard the basement door open and close at the top of the stairs, and the sound of the lock latching.

I jumped up tiptoed into the dark laundry room across the way. I crouched down hiding behind the old washer and all its powdery old cobwebs. It was quiet, so I tiptoed out. I wondered if it was cousin Charlie ... I'd hoped it was him.

"Charlie?" I whispered.

There was no answer. I tiptoed near the doorway...

Haps hand went over my mouth, and I swung my arms outward to hit him...

"Haha! You think youre smart doncha?" he laughed moving his hand away from my mouth. He'd given me quite a scare...

"You scared me!" I said out of breath, with my hand to my chest.

"Good, thats whatcha get!" he said.

"I forgot I'm not talking to you" I said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because, you have a girlfriend ... that teenager girl from church" I said.

He started laughing...

"You mean Marie? Yea she likes me, but shes not my girlfriend" he said.

"Well if she aint then who is?" I asked.

"You know that family that moved down the road from my granny? In that really big white house?" he asked.

"Yea, those stuckup Creoles that moved here from Baton Rouge" I said "What about them?"

"The oldest girl Marie was my girlfriend, but now shes leaving for the rest of the summer to Alabama to visit her momma's folks" he said.

"Why do you like her Hap" I said, walking into the room with the little couch and sitting down on it very slowly. He came over and sat next to me, looking at my face. I didn't want to look at him, and looked down at my feet instead.

"I don't know ... Maybe because shes pretty with such pretty dark eyes. She acts like a lady and shes real smart. She knows alot of stuff and she got some really big tits. She speaks proper French like a lady ... not all chopped like Kreyol lwiziyen. " he said.

I didn't like hearing him say any of that, and I wanted him to get out right away.

"GET OUT" I said.

"Oh here we go again. You act like such a child" he said.

"I DON"T CARE WHAT YOU THINK OF ME, JUST GO! GET OUT" I shouted.

"Girl ... your Granny's gonna hear your big mouth. What are you mad about anyhow?" he said.

"You are so dumb Hap! You kissed me and all kinds of stuff. Teaching me things, and now you have a girlfriend. I don't like you no more" I said.

I forced myself not to cry this time and instead I shoved his arm.

"Stop pushing me girl! Keep your lil yella hands to yourself!" he said, his green eyes filled with anger.

"I HATE YOU" I shouted.

"I hate you too" he mumbled...

He got up and started up the stairs "Tu me peles le jonc.You are just a child anyhow. Shouldn't have messed with no baby. Si mo te konnen ki sa, mo pa ta fe li"...

My heart sank. I couldn't believe I had acted so ugly, especially in front of cousin Hap. I hadn't meant to say I hated him, my heart was just broken ... thats all...

The rest of the visit at aunt Clary's seemed to go by in a long drawn out blur...

Soon, I was sitting on my bed in the backporch bedroom ... reading the bible before I went to bed. For some reason, I ended up on a verse about sinners ... I shut the book and laid it down on the small wooden table. I felt like such an awful person, I'd been so mean to cousin Hap ... and I had done such awful things. I thought about telling Granny what happened, then maybe it would make me feel better and all those dirty thoughts about Hap would go away. Maybe keeping all of the stuff to myself was making me feel so sick to my stomache ... making me cry everytime before I went to bed ... because, my heart ached for Hap and I didn't know why. I could hear thunder rumbling again, but this time it was accompanied by lightning. I hated whenever there was a bad storm, Granny's house seemed to turn into such a scary place ... all the shadows from all the hidden corners seemed to come out and haunt me ... I turned out the light and hid under the thick covers. I started sweating and had to come out from under there for a breather, then went right back under ... I dozed off to sleep for a long spell...