Bayou Pétain (Currently Re-Editing)

Roots

Tameka went home feeling changed. She made an appointment at the family dentistry, and took the money she was saving to buy Derek a new stereo system for his truck, and got her broken teeth covered with gold. Her smile was dazzling! When she had woke up the morning after seeing Dr. Joe, she noticed that her hair, her own natural hair, had started growing back, miraculously, and after a few days, she had a full head of hair. No more need of a sew-in. Her aches and pains vanished, and she felt like a new woman. Her mamma watched the baby for her for a few days, and her grandmother had slipped her some cash. Tameka treated herself to a new wardrobe. She called up Merlynne and asked her to meet her in town. Merlynne was so surprised and happy to see Tameka's new transformation. She was looking good and feeling wonderful.
They had lunch at Dooky Chase's. Tameka enjoyed the taste and crunch of her fried chicken filet and crawfish etoufee'. Merlynne enjoyed the fried fish and creole gumbo. A couple of young brothers eyed them from across the crowded lunch place. They paid no attention to them and continued savoring their crunchy and crispy entrées. Tameka felt so strong, she needed not the attention the men was giving them. Merlynne was lost in thought, thinking of her wild nights with Hadrien. Tameka noticed. She took a sip of her coke, then said, "Well, damn! Hadrien must have some good old stuff to have you tripping over him!" Merlynne smiled, then laughed. "I'm sorry girl, but yes! He is packing!", she said as they bust out laughing. Tameka was happy that her friend was sleeping with Hadrien. She knew that would kill Victorine.
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Teta had carloads of customers, all wanting different pleasures and treasures. After cooking and serving up her famous yakamein, she had a customer who wanted help with her husband's cheating ways. Teta felt sad while she poured her special oil into a little bottle and handed it to the woman. When she dug into her wallet to pay her, Teta refused. " No charge, love.", she said softly. The woman's eyes welled up with tears. "Go home and put this in a nice hot bath. Dab a little behind your ears and neck. Cook yourself a fine supper, and when your man comes home, you'll see! Trust me, darling.", she promised. The woman gave her a hug, then walked out of her shop smiling.
Teta thought of Fiyah then. She missed him so. Every chance she got to be with him, she relished. She enjoyed bringing his grandparents food. She had planned a wonderful meal of smoked sausage and chicken jambalaya, collard greens, corn on the cob, baked chicken wingettes glazed with barbecue sauce, and her fluffy homemade biscuits. They were going to have supper together later, so she started her preparations. As she put the pan of wingettes into the oven, Hadrien came to call. Teta was surprised to see him. " Come in, please, ", she offered. Hadrien walked in and gave her a hug. She could sense a changing in him. She secretly delighted in knowing he was finally standing up for himself. " I needed someone honest to talk to. You have always been here to tell me the real.", he said. "Will you give me a reading? I need answers!", he exclaimed. Teta could see the desperation in his eyes. Teta took his hand and led him to her kitchen. He sat at the table while she prepared a pot of coffee. When it was done, she poured a bit into a cup and told him to drink it in silence. When he would be done, he was to blow into the cup, then turn it over and spin it in the air three times, then lay the cup down on the table. Hadrien did all this, and after a while, Teta turned the cup over. She looked inside and saw exactly what she knew already. There was a shape that seemed to be of two women, melded together but stretching apart. A small splash represented the baby. Plain as day, Teta saw Victorine and her mamma. Assorted spots in the cup told her other things, such as Hadrien's new lady friend. Teta raised an eyebrow at her friend, then smiled. Hadrien was finally living his life. A part of her wished he would have been decided to live free, when they were feeling what they were feeling. Alas, she figured, it wasn't meant to be, because she had been blessed with Fiyah after that, and she truly loved him. Teta told Hadrien all she saw. Hadrien listened on intently. Part of him wanted to grab ahold of Teta and make love to her again. No matter how amazing the sex with Merlynne was, he would never match the intense, erotic passion he shared with Teta. It seemed Teta read his thoughts. She touched his hand and said, " I will never forget our time together. I'm proud of you for standing your ground. Go live your life to the fullest! And if this new gal give you any trouble, you send her to me, you hear?", she teased. Hadrien gave her a deep hug, reminiscent of the way her body felt inside. He could tell she was blowing him off, gently, and respected her for it. " Now, what are your plans concerning the baby?", she asked, confirming it was his.
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Victorine laid in bed with Derek. He was coming over more and more since he moved out of the apartment he shared with Tameka. He was staying at his mamma's house when he wasn't sleeping over at Victorine's. Her belly was beginning to stretch a bit more. Her and Derek were beginning to show up places together, not caring about the scandal of it all. People all across the bayou wanted to hear of the news. Victorine was pregnant for either Hadrien or Derek L. Derek L. had left Tameka Ross for Victorine after he beat her. Victorine laughed when she heard all the gossip.
But Derek had been a busy boy, too. His other baby mamma, Tootie, would soon be having their baby and would call him constantly. When Victorine saw her in town one day, she looked at a very pregnant Tootie and walked up to her. She felt that she needed to say something, to let her know to stop calling Derek. Tootie eyed her then asked what was up. Victorine's inner voice told her to be calm. " If you ever need anything, call me. Derek's got enough going on right now. " , she said. Tootie rolled her eyes then said, " Derek needs to be a man and face me! I know I fucked up by hooking up with him in the first place, knowing he had a woman! He still got with me, every chance he got. Told me he wanted me to keep his baby! Now look at him! He ain't even trying to help me out with nothing! But I'ma keep calling his ass , so he can't get no peace! Fuck him!", she yelled. Victorine reached into her purse and pulled out a few hundred dollars. She put them into Tootie' s hand. " I'm sorry", she said, then walked away. Tootie watched her leave, then looked at the money she held in her hands.
Victorine thought about what Tootie had just said. It was all true. Derek told her the same thing bout keeping his baby. But the thing was, he was still with HER. A voice of reason told her it was because she had her own money to support THEM with. Derek seemed to be getting more from her than the other way around. If she was true to herself, she would admit that sometimes Derek would act shady when her mamma was around. She thought of Hadrien and what he had said. She needed to know exactly what happened. She dialed Hadrien's phone. When he didn't answer, she left him a voicemail asking to meet somewhere to talk. She needed some answers. She felt bad that he didn't want to talk to her. Still, she had to woman up and test Derek.
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Tameka pushed her baby girl in her stroller in City Park. She knew everyone had been talking about her lately. But the courage Dr. Joe had given her made her worry less and less about all the haters, especially Victorine. She knew she was looking good and bounced back from the hation. She walked the path, enjoying her daughter. As she was going along, she almost ran into Tim Neal, better known as Tim Smooth. He looked her up and down, then apologized for being in her path. Tameka had always had a crush on Tim, since junior high. He was a chocolate brother who knew how to dress to impress. Tim smiled at the baby, talking to her. Tameka stood there, freaking out, then composed herself and took control. This had to be a sign, her running into fine Tim. "You still looking good, Tim", she said. He smiled at her, then looked at her in thought. " Tameka, right? ", he asked. She said yes, then Tim asked, " What you doing later? I could come scoop y'all up if its cool." Y'ALL, she thought. Finally, someone was asking to bring her baby along. Tameka smiled then said, " Okay. That sounds good." He put her number in his phone and told her he'd call her later.
When Tameka went home, she awaited Tim's call. She went on with her daily responsibilities, like putting her daughter for a nap and cleaning up the place. She wished she could move out of this place. With Derek gone, the place seemed empty and foreign. She needed to start over, some where else. Her phone rang to the truth. She answered to hear Tim's smooth voice. They didn't call him Tim Smooth for nothing. He asked if she would like to take Precious to Chuck E. Cheese's. Tameka smiled a big smile and said, " For real, Tim? That would be so nice!" He asked her address, then said, "I'm on my way." Tameka dressed quickly, then dressed her baby. Derek fucking ass never wanted to do things together. The one time they went to Chuck E. Cheese's, he had his eyes on every bitch in the place. She'd see how Tim acted today.
Before long, Tim pulled up in a nice black Cadillac. She thought of Dex and his red llac. Tim opened the door and took the car seat from her, hooking it up in the backseat. Tameka noticed his fatherly skills and wondered how many kids he had. He smiled at Precious and teased her. Then he set his eyes upon Tameka, her natural black hair, her sun kissed skin, and her tiny but shapely frame. Tim was pleased with what he saw. She smiled at him, dimples coming out and gold teeth gleaming. Tim spun her around, admiring her curves. "Oh yes", he said smiling. He opened her door. They drove to the pizza place, a popular hang out for the hoes with kids. Tim and Tameka walked in together with the baby. He ordered them a large pepperoni pizza and bought a lot of tokens to play. They had fun watching Precious' reactions. They played games like little kids, then went sit down and eat their pizza. They caught more than a few eyes.
Tim was so fun to be with. He played with Precious and treated her like a daughter. He gave all his attention to her and Tameka. After they left, he stopped for ice cream, then drove them home. Tameka invited him in. She changed the baby and put her down for her nap. Tim watched on as Precious fell asleep. He and Tameka sat in the living room, where she told him the tale that has been her life. Derek's cheating, the attack, and her transformation. Tim listened intensely. Tameka asked if he had any kids. He looked uncomfortable, then said, " Yeah. I had a baby girl. The cutest, fattest little thing. Me and her mamma was going through some things. I loved my baby girl, her name was LaShawn. I know I wasn't home all the time. I was trying to make money to take care of us. But, she wanted a baller. She shook to another spot, for this dude who had a lot of cake. I came home from work to find her leaving me, taking my baby to go stay with this fool. We argued, then she told old dude to drive. He peeled out, looking back at me, laughing and shit. He ran dead into an 18 wheeler that was coming. Killed my baby girl and her mamma. My baby was just 18 months.", he said softly, fighting back the lump in his throat. Tears spilled from Tameka's eyes. "You know, dude took everything from me, in the blink of an eye. He died too, so its like I'll never have any closure from that. Maybe me and dude could've sat down man to man and talk. He was taking my baby girl to raise as his own, so say, but wound up killing her." Tears fell from his eyes, and Tameka gave him a hug. He held onto her for a moment, then asked about Derek. "So you think y'all are gonna work things out, cuz I don't wanna step on nobody toes. I'm telling you this because I'm feeling you, Tameka. You and Precious. She reminds me of my baby girl. I know now that if I ever had another child, I would do my best to be there, all the time. I got my paper stacked enough to be my own boss. That's been my plan for a while now. If you wanna take a chance on me, I promise you won't regret it. If Derek don't wanna step up, I promise you, I will." Tameka looked at him longingly. She couldn't believe her luck. Tim held her hand and kissed it. She brought her face close to his and gave him the most seductive kiss she could. Tim kissed her back passionately, and their new bond formed right then. A man who wanted to be a family. God bless Dr. Joe!
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Fiyah stared lovingly at Teta during supper. His grandparents were speechless. Teta had been thinking of relocating ever since she and Fiyah met. Knowing he would never abandon his grandparents, Teta would come to them. She bought 100 acres of land in various locations, including the land down the road from their farm, surrounded by the bayou. Teta was to re-open her stand there, to service the people in the surrounding parts, as well as herself. Fiyah would be moving into the house with her, with their blessing, of course. Mr. Willie and Mrs. Julia were happy to know Fiyah would be able to live now, and still be close. It was a very emotional occasion, but ended up with a huge ability to exhale and let go and be free. A time of renewal. Fiyah was still going to work on the boat with Mr. Willie, and Teta would run her stand and kitchen. Teta dared to live.
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Victorine had a client. She hadn't been focusing well lately. Big Nainan would have been disappointed. She tried to really look into her power. Her client was a woman named Josephine. She had came to Victorine before. She looked worried. Victorine told her to sit down and offered her water. She refused, then broke into her tale. " I know I've been rotten. I would leave my chirren at home to step out on they daddy with another man. I made some mistakes in my life. But I changed, for my daughters sakes. Now my oldest daughter is 18, and she done got herself pregnant by some old, no good seed dropper who gots plenty other kids with plenty other women. What they see in them no good bastards, I'll never know! Now she going through all kinds of pain, because she really wasn't ready down there as a woman to carry full. I was hoping you could help her. That's my baby, and she having a baby. The doctor said she should think of terminating the baby for her safety, but she wanna have HIS baby! He want her to keep his seed! I'm so sick of hearing that bastard's shit. He don't give a flying fuck about these girls he impregnating. I wish you could shrivel up his dick!", she exclaimed. Victorine was in awe, that's when Jeraina Faye walked in. This story sounded all a little too familiar. "I believe you here to see me. My daughter here, although powerful, seems to be a bit put back due to her own pregnancy. Come , let's talk in my room. I believe I can help you.", Jeraina Faye said, giving Josephine a knowing look. She excused herself then followed Jeraina Faye into her room.
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Hadrien hadn't answered when Victorine had called. He was with Merlynne, having drinks. They had went to Copeland's and were digging into a seafood platter for two. Hadrien admired the way Merlynne smiled, like she had an answer for everything with that smile. She appreciated whatever they did together. Walking through the French Quarter with her was like a magical get away. She would laugh and men would melt. Hadrien would hold her close while dancing. Once, he thought he saw Jeraina Faye gawking at him, through the smoky fog of the club. When he looked again, she had vanished. He shook his head, then suggested to Merlynne that they leave. They walked back to his room, and Merlynne got comfortable. " Wanna see what's on TV?", she asked as she laid across his bed. Hadrien took off his shirt and looked at Merlynne. "Maybe later. Right now, I want this.", he said laying on top of her and kissing her. They kissed passionately. She pulled him to her closer, wrapping a leg around his waist. When he came up from the kiss, there lay Jeraina Faye. Hadrien couldn't believe his eyes. She grabbed the back of his head and wrapped her leg around him, pulling him down into her. Jeraina Faye laughed and laughed.