Soon!

Chapter 9 - Happily Ever Afters Do Come True

I found out that I loved my new job. I was only there a year when my supervisor had a heart attack and retired. To my surprise I got promoted to be the lead agent. Someone told me later on that there were some snubbed officers who had heard that the NCIS Director put his thumb on the scale and I got the job. The 'Nola office sent me a congratulatory plant addressed to 'Elliot Ness'. Let me tell you these alcohol smugglers and bootleggers were just as crafty and dangerous as any criminal that I had seen in New Orleans. Two cases quickly came up involving Marines. It was nice to work within the NCIS system again. I had forgotten, though, how much that I hated working crime scenes with dead bodies. Thank goodness their coroner was just as helpful as Ms. Loretta.

Sonja on the other hand became a superstar within the FBI. She was often dispatched with the agency as an undercover plant. No one expected this short black woman to be a government agent. Her daring bravado and the same snarkiness that Isler observed opened many doors for her with crime lords. Sonja said she didn't want to be a supervisor and after I saw her second bonus check, a small part of what the 'take' was in that case, I had to tell her 'I ain't scared of you girl!' Her third award floored me. We used it to pay off the mortgage. On that case she was responsible for recovering over $750 million worth of stolen tanks.

We put Chrissy into preschool allowing momma to go back home. Momma cried at the airport and said she would come back when we decided to have a son. I looked her very surprised. I guess she and Sonja had been talking about us having a second child. I thought my life was full but I couldn't help but think how happy that I would be to have another little person running around in the house.

Two years later we brought home our son, Franklin Dwayne LaSalle. He was a big boy and came out with Cade's bone structure. Looks like you gave me a linebacker I told Sonja. "It feels like it too" said a weary Sonja. "That boy's head was almost too big to push out!" Franklin was a Percy family name. The original Franklin Percy had escaped from slavery and was able to make it to a Quaker settlement in Salem, Ohio. He farmed there and his property became a 'Weigh Station' for the Underground Railroad.

Momma came back to live us and finally decided that she would just stay. She had made a circle of friends at her church and volunteered once a week at the USO at the airport. She still hated the snow but found solace that it delighted the children.

Last June Sonja insisted that we go to the local Juneteenth Celebration. She had bought some children's books for our now six year old about the topic and saw this as ideal opportunity to expand her exposure to this part of her history. Personally I was amazed to see the several thousands of individuals who were descendants of slaves all in one place. There I saw Americans of every color and every hue of brown. The Kenta cloth clothing, hats and scarves were eye opening. We bought several pictures for our home and one to put into Sonja's office.

It was a long hot day. When we got back to the house, the children were more than ready to eat, take a bath and go to bed. I sat down at my computer and uploaded the many photos that we had taken that day.

Ding. There is a message from Tammy Gregorio. "I have to come out to D.C. next month to testify in a case. Do you think I could stop by on Saturday before I fly back to New Orleans?" "Yes" I responded. "You should know by now that you are always welcome in the home of the 'mouse twins'. After all Tammy, you knew before we did that we were a 'perfect match'." I hit send and then went to jump into the shower myself.