The Brooch

Who Was There?

"Fred! Bite yo tongue! What white lie are you concocting?" Mama Woods fussed.

"I'm sorry Scarlet." Daddy Woods uttered. "I really was there."

"It ain't so? This all absurd! It's ridiculousness at its finest I tell ya! Even if it were true, Mumma and daddy woulda remembered you and would have said somethin the first time I brought you home."

"Yo daddy did." Daddy Woods interjected to a very stupefied Mama Woods. "But that's another story we kin bring to the surface later."

"That I kin promise sir, we will!" Mama Woods scowled! Look...I'm sure even with all this insanity of what y'all are sayin bout me, I'm sure was a monkey's tail hangin loose from a banana tree, I woulda remembered meetin and seein my own husband and the future father of my precious babies! I could neva forget yo face!"

"And yo ears." Maple interjected. "Sorry daddy." She said sealing her lips.

"I'm tellin the truth honey." Daddy Woods spoke. "Mumma Hastings..."

"Yes. I can't believe this, but he so is, Scarlet. I knew I saw you before, Fred. It jest never dawned on me where? And the last place I would eva, could have eva imagined was there. And on that day did that matter. But..." Grandmama Hastings replied still astonished of what was happening. "I always thought it was just deja vu or some em."

"Mumma, whut are you sayin?"

"I'm sayin, the more I look back... he was! He was there Scarlet."

"But how is that possible? And why are you just now rememberin Mumma?"

"Yo mumma was in a state of blind tears, Scarlet. She barely saw me. Her eyes were mainly on you. And I kin understand that."

"But I remember you vaguely." Grandmama Hastings replied.

"I had just turned eighteen and only had worked there for the winter. I was working for Uncle Cleaver's daddy,  (no relation to Cleaver Jones) my great uncle, Sebastian."

"The butler?" Grandmama Hastings replied. "Well I'll be!" She uttered in shock.

"My mother sent me there for the winter."

"How come you neva mentioned this? Eva?" Mama Woods questioned.

"I didn't thank it was worth repeatin. Especially how you hardly ever liked to mention the Crowders. It didn't dawn on me the significance of this all, till I'm hearin all of this, bout you and whut Mumma Hastings just relayed. And I only saw you that short time and you didn't look like, well you." He peculiarly stated. "You were just a kid." He laughed. "It wasn't until years later when I saw you again. And you were well... a woman." He shrugged. "And that time when I first seen ya, I didn't even know your name honey. I know it's sounds crazy but whut kin I say?"

"Yo side." Jeffy uttered.

"Like I said, I ain't lyin when I said I was there. Fact is, I was the one that let you in the confined doors Scarlet honey." He said walking us to her caressing her face. "You were just this cute little thang just boppin and lookin through the windows of the manor. I thought whut harm would it be in lettin you in to warm up a bit. You had Jeffy in yo arms and were jest shiverin away. So I opened the door. And I let you in through the servant quarters. I thought there would be no harm in lettin you warm up a little by the fire before the weddin. Sides you had this thin little coat on. And your hands were like fire and ice. Jeffy was more bundled up than you."

"She was always sayin she liked the feel of cold air on her skin." Grandmama Hastings uttered. "I had another coat for her. But she always would jest take it off and say I ain't cold." She laughed in remembering.