JAMBALAYA

Chapter 1

The fragrance of yellow onions, green pepper and celery sizzling in olive oil filled Héleine's kitchen. The smoky aroma of andouille and roasted chicken combined with the spices and fresh rice was intoxicating. The rich scents whispered music in her ears and the tangy smell of tomato spiked her nose; it was like a natural possession coming over her, as her hips swayed

left to right; the pops of bubbling broth and clinking pots and pans leading her. She bobbed her head as she began humming a familiar tune out loud. She began performing her duties on auto-pilot, dancing with her kitchen as it came alive. Her heart melted as she could smell the cornbread beginning to rise in the oven, giving her the cue to begin combining the ingredients of the jambalaya.

She was creating magic. Like a Voodoo Queen at the stirring pot, she mixed the rice, meat, vegetables and spices together, until they created that intimate harmony she remembered so well. She lifted the wooden spoon and inhaled, still humming to herself as she closed her eyes and took her first bite.

"Mmhmm, you learned it! Learned it good too!"

Héleine made a sharp gasp, the food leaving her mouth before she could swallow it. The sudden deep and soothing voice of her late Maw Maw gave her goosebumps up to the tip of her ears.

"You just need a lil' more salt, won't hurt. Pass me that salt over there," the spoon was now in her Maw Maw Eve's hands, wrinkled with age, stirring the jambalaya in a large cast iron skillet.

Héleine's body shook as she reached for the salt on the other side of the kitchen. She was no longer in her modern home, but in the cozy kitchen of her Maw Maw's old cabin. She carefully passed the salt over to her, everything feeling way too real.

"Now, what's the matter with you? Lookin' like you done seen a ghost!" She smiled at Héleine, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She took a couple of pinches of salt and added it to the skillet.

"You know, I used to go to my grandmother, your great-great-grandmother," she began, concentrating on stirring the food. "She'd cook a big jambalaya in a washpot outside und'the trees. She'd hang some meat in front of the fireplace and just broil it. And all the chirrens playing outside, the mens outside, smokin' they pot– that homemade tobacco. And the women was cookin'.

"We cook on the fireplace or the wooden stove– and we had fun. We'd find somewhere to sleep on the flo' and wake up, sit on the porch and talk about life... it ain't like that no mo'. We don't have the time to do all that. Everything's too fast. Nowadays, you turn the television on, put a record player on. You get together for a holiday or somethin', put the women and the chirren in one place, and the mens leave and they go drinkin' and... you could never say when I'mma set the table. At 11 o' clock? Or 12 o' clock? You can't find half of the family's not there. Too many cars, not enough time– it's too fast. Those old days, if I could, I'd bring 'em back."

Warm tears wet Héleine's cheeks. She couldn't find the words to say to her Maw Maw Eve, the happiness of cooking with her again was all too great. She watched as her grandmother brought the wooden spoon up to her lips.

"Mm! Now that right there is some good Jambalaya," she laughed with a wide smile. "Now that's your Maw Maw's jambalaya. Here, taste it."

Héleine closed her eyes as she took a bite, and the flavor was enough to make her eyes roll back. Just that slight change of salt made all the difference, she almost couldn't believe it more than she could believe she was standing in her grandmother's cabin.

"Mmhmm! Maw Maw, it tastes–"

As Héleine opened her eyes, her head swiveled around on her shoulders, with a feeling of loss suddenly overtaking her. The kitchen space was now even smaller and more cramped than Maw Maw's, tucked into the narrow footprint of the strange house. She didn't feel as if she was in a stranger's home, but she quickly got an eerie feeling in her stomach. Where Maw Maw Eve was standing, was now an unfamiliar old woman cooking on a wood-burning stove, with the same cast iron skillet.