The Proposition (A Geek, An Angel) Page 21

  Phoebe quickly walked over and closed the distance between them. She stood in front of Adam and crossed her arms. “Don’t you have something you want to say to me lover? After Walker dumped me, you stopped taking my calls.”

  “Phoebe I’m sorry,” his voice was less in control. “I swear I am. Didn’t I give you the money I’d promised?

  Her icy reserve started to melt. “Look Adam, I’m no longer the girl who runs to you and offers up her body at every opportunity. I’ve got plans of my own. Remember what we talked about?”

  Adam took a deep breath. “Yes, like I said, before, I agree and accept your terms. This is the last time I ask you to do a favor for me.”

  For a moment Phoebe stood and looked at Adam. She wanted to believe him. She was glad Adam couldn’t read her mind. She could tell it was all an act with Adam. For the last few weeks she dated Walker the monk for Adam. Her body was starved. Walker never touched her. If she took Adam back, it would be just a matter of time before he asked her to do him another favor with a different man. Then he’d ask her to do it again and again. One thing was sure. She didn’t need a pimp. And Adam was just a well educated pimp as far as she was concerned. She was sure of it. Adam was a user and a pimp. She knew that for certain now. Still she was horny and there was something about him that turned her on.

  “I’m glad that you agreed. That’s all I want to hear from you Adam. Show me a little respect. Okay lover I’ll do this last thing for you,” she purred. “I need a little servicing of my own from you,” she said letting her hands glide over Adam’s body stroking his needs.

  “On baby, I’ll agree to that.”

  “Now don’t you want to kiss me Adam? Before I Ahhhhhh…..Get to work?”

  Adam kissed her hard and long.

  Phoebe let her hands stroke his penis. She could feel the flame had ignited into a raging fire. Her lover was hot and ready for her.

  Adam’s eyes grew wide with glassy excitement as Phoebe touched him. He was getting what he wanted. He took a deep breath and threw back his head feeling Phoebe working her magic. So what if he was lying to her. He was paying her good money to do his bidding and she was horny too.

  Chapter 35

  Mama Moue Redbones

  Walker Perrault was lost in his thoughts as he stared at his cell phone. He looked up and a deep sense of loneliness overtook him as he looked out on the land first inhabited by early French settlers, his ancestors.

  He breathed in deep. The smell of honeysuckle and flowering dogwood filled the air. The prairie floor of the Kisatchie National Forest was an eerie beauty of deathly quiet and beautiful wildflowers.

  Again he checked his cell phone. No reception. He was sure now that his cell phone couldn’t pick up a signal while he was in the forest. Now he was sure Janeshia wouldn’t be able to return his call.

  As he got closer to Mama Moue Redbones’ home. The distinct smell of freshly cooking Boudin sausages whiffed threw the air. His thoughts drifted back to his childhood. And then he remembered the story he heard as a child about her. He smiled remembering it was really a poem.

  Mama Moue Redbones…

  Pouty red face girl that’s who you are

  Stone face, you came from another time and place

  Death you say is just another space

  To them who walked this earth before

  To them who seek to know much more

  They tell me once your last name was Jones

  But no one now knows not for sho’

  They only know you can take away their blues

  And tell them who loves them ever true

  You can combine two hearts together into one

  But only if both hearts are sure

  Yet awful pain each lover must endure

  If their claim of love is not pure

  For it is a sin to play love’s heart game

  When you know your lover’s heart you cannot claim

  Forever then your love heart flame must die

  Walker shook out his thoughts and walked toward the back of the house. A black cast iron skillet was cooking outside on an open fire. He licked his lips. He could feel his mouth water just from the smell of the frying fish.

  “Walker come on inside. The food is ready,” Mama Moue Redbones said waiving him over. “We’ve got biscuits and gravy, grits, poached and scrambled eggs, Boudin sausages, fried catfish and fried gator.”

  “Woman you said you made me some grit cakes,” February’s voice called out. He was already seated at the table.

  “I ain’t lie, man,” Mama Moue Redbones commandingly said. “You just sit back and enjoy my Bayou southern hospitality. Please eat up, enjoy yourself….”

  February leaned over and whispered, “Walker should I eat? She was extremely rude to me the last couple times that I came up here. Now she’s making nice. I don’t know what to make of it.”

  “Man, you can’t even whisper.” Mama Moue Redbones laughter was like a roaring river. “I wasn’t friendly with you February because you had a mission to complete. I needed you to bring Walker here. And now you have done so and I reward you with food prepared by my own hands.”

  Walker looked strangely at Mama Moue Redbones. “If you don’t mind, could I ask you something?”

  “Yes,” she smiled.

  “Can you tell me how you could help me?”

  “Yes Walker, but I will not tell you right now. We must eat and later we will gather the answers you seek. They must wait until the sun goes down. Then, and only then, can we call up those that walked this earth before. They will tell you the answers you seek.”

  Walker looked puzzled.

  Mama Moue Redbones’ mouth formed a thin line. “You have another question, don’t you Walker?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then ask me,” she said.

  “How do you know me?”

  She smiled. “I’ve seen you before. Many years ago, though you won’t remember me, I always will remember you.” She rose and walked to a cabinet and retrieved a crystal decanter.

  February squirmed in his seat.

  Walker looked back at him.

  Mama Moue Redbones sat down. “I am very happy to have company. Out here in the Bayou not many come to pay a visit. I like a little company to talk with every so often.” She poured both men a glass of the amber liquid. “Having someone to share a fine meal and an even finer drink is what we live for. My preferred drink is Cognac. Would you both agree to have a glass with me gentlemen?”

  February grinned wide and held up his glass. “Agreed Mama! Agreed”

  Walker nodded and chuckled softly.

  Hours later that same night, the midnight blue sky was clear overhead. Stars beamed bright as the full moon shone overhead.

  Walker stood watching the fire he and February built following the instructions Mama Moue Redbones had given them.

  The fire blazed brightly in front of him.

  Mama Moue Redbones walked up to Walker. She offered him a small bag before moving on to offer the same to February.

  “The gris-gris,” February muttered reaching out his hand. “One thing I can say is Mama Moue Redbones is an old-fashioned soothsayer. If I hadn’t been raised up by my grandmother who was gifted with second sight, I’d be terrified right now,” he chuckled. “Whew! We gonna see some major conjuring now.”

  Quickly February reached into his pocket and removed a small flask. He took a big gulp.

  “What’s that?” Walker curiously asked.

  “I call it courage. Do you want some?”

  Walker shook his head no and kept his eyes on Mama Moue Redbones.

  Slowly she reached in a bag that hung close to her side. She removed her hand from the bag and scattered a yellow substance on the ground around them.

  Walker leaned over and examined the yellow substance. He looked close. It was cornmeal.

  From out of nowhere the drums sounded.

  February gazed up at Walker with a frantic expression. “Do you hear t
hat? Its’ that singing stuff I told you about. It’s happening…it’s eerie.”

  Mama Moue Redbones stopped her chanting. “The song is not eerie to anyone who has truly loved. It is a love song beyond time. Too bad February you have lived only for the yearnings of satisfying your body and not for the yearning to feed your heart’s need to have an everlasting love.”

  February answered quickly. “I’m a Man, I have needs, I have rights, and this is the South. In the South a man can have a wife and a mistress so long as he can afford them.”

  “Afford them,” Mama Moue Redbones chuckled. “We all do what we need to do. Sometimes in life, we forge debts that we can only see ourselves paying off when we see them clearly after death.”

  February took a deep breath. He smiled but said nothing.

  “I am not judging you February. That is not my place to do,” she said.

  Mama Moue Redbones resumed walking around the fire chanting. “Walker, soon I will have the answers you seek.”

  Seconds later, Walker winched. “What?”

  The fire blazed brighter. A sudden bright blue light flashed as Mama Moue Redbones seemed to change her appearance right before his eyes.

  Her aura took on a shining hue. It was the most beautiful color he’d ever seen.

  Walker rubbed his brow and wondered if he was just seeing things. He glanced up. February was mesmerized too. His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head.

  Moving on instinct he turned and stole a glance at Mama Moue Redbones. She was caught in the snares of her chanting.

  Mama Moue Redbones voice echoed with a trembling urgency. Her eyes slanted into slits. She looked like she had fallen into a trance. “Now Walker, now we will find the answers you seek.” She chanted words softly in a voice that only she could understand.

  As if an invisible power had been awakened, the fire roared loudly.

  Mama Moue Redbones chanted louder.

  Out of the mist of the fire a form took shape. The ghostly form flickered into human form.

  Mama Moue Redbones’ voice was hollow. “Welcome Sheba.”

  “Greetings Mama,” Sheba said, her voice whispering like the wind.

  Walker turned to look at the February. Both men’s eyes held a puzzled gaze.

  Sheba’s voice emerged out over space and time. “Hello Walker, I’ve wanted for a long time to talk to you.”

  For reasons he couldn’t understand, Walker stood gazing spellbound.

  February muttered nervously, “Walker if you talk to that woman. You’re talking with the dead.”

  Walker held his breath as he looked on. Sweat beaded on his forehead. The woman named Sheba looked like someone he knew. He muttered her name off of his lips before he knew it. “Sheba, for some reason you resemble someone I know.”

  Sheba’s transparent image looked on approvingly. She smiled. Her voice was hoarse. “We are all but matter, particles and dust. Suspended in time and space, we are the ashes of the people we love today, yesterday and tomorrow.”

  He inclined his head and studied her presence. Colors swam and shimmered shiny around her.

  “Hey Walker, are you okay?” The February nudged him. “Man I told you this place was strange.”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” Walker rubbed his brow and swallowed hard. “I’m just a little confused by all of this. I can’t even understand why my mother wanted me to come here.”

  Colors swam around Sheba. “You are here because your mother asked you to come. A mother’s love is a great love. A mother’s wisdom is a great wisdom,” she hoarsely whispered. Her voice echoed like the sadness of flowing tears. “As it was in the days of old, a woman’s fertility affords her a higher status in society. Your mother Claire Marie tried hard to give your father Edward Senior a child. Before you were born they went to New York to help Claire Marie conceive. Your parents believed in the fertility clinic’s treatments. Until they realized it was useless. They gave up and came back home. It was here at home that your mother sought the help of Mama Moue Redbones.”

  “What?” Walker stated unconsciously.

  “Yes, you are a child brought forth to this land of the living from the land of dreams by the desire and love of your mother,” she paused, “and father. They called your father Eddie the Warrior and your mother Claire Marie his lady love.”

  Walker took a deep breath. “Whew! Wait a second. You’re telling me I’m here not because of a fertility clinic but because of …”

  Sheba interrupted. “Yes Walker, you are here because you came to this earth by the means of God and the ancient spirits, and the calling of your own destiny.”

  “What?”

  “You are your parents first born son,” Sheba said.

  “First born, I’m an only child,” Walker spluttered.

  Sheba’s voice was tense. “No! You are not their only child!”

  The fire crackled loudly.

  “You are their only child brought forth with the help of God, Mama Moue Redbones and the ancient spirits. However….You are not your father’s only son.”

  Walker looked on dumbfounded. “What!”

  Mama Moue Redbones crossed her arms and shot him an icy stare. “Walker you have a brother.”

  “No!”

  Sheba’s fiery flame burned brighter.

  “Walker,” February nudged him. “Don’t go upsetting that Sheba spirit.” He looked across to where Mama Moue Redbones stood. He pointed. “Nor do I think you should be upsetting her. She looks real mad.”

  “I’m not sure I should continue this,” Walker said. “She’s implying my father had a child by another woman?”

  February leaned over and whispered. “Isn’t it better that your father did rather than your mother?”

  “Sheba, he must know the truth, all of it,” Mama Moue Redbones pleaded. “Can’t you see he is confused? He’s thinking ill of his father. Next thing you know he will be thinking ill of his mother.”

  Reasoning dawned on Walker. He looked at Sheba. “You knew my mother couldn’t come because she had to stay and look after the foundation? My father always felt she cared more about that place then she did about our family. Maybe my father did have another child. He was always gone.”

  Sheba smiled at him. “You are right Mama Moue Redbones, Walker is confused.” The colors around her beamed and swirled. “His mother is why he is here. They have a strong bond. Yet he does not understand or suspect that something was wrong.” She focused on him. “Your mother Claire Marie is an honorable woman. She takes her duties seriously. She took her oath to me seriously. I respect her for that. Please help to enlighten him Mama.”

  Walker was afraid of what he might say if he opened his mouth again. Abruptly he ran his hand over his mouth.

  Mama Moue Redbones crossed her arms. “Walker, neither one of your parents had a child out of wedlock.” Her face set into a frown. “You see, a terrible invasive injustice was done to both of them. Your mother’s eggs and your father’s sperm were stolen by an employee of the fertility clinic in New York.”

  The shining light of Sheba glowed. “The fertility clinic in was never successful in helping your parents conceive a child. But it was successful in helping one of its employees conceive a child. One of the employees stole your parent’s egg and sperm and conceived a child. Your brother!”

  Mama Moue Redbones inclined her head regally. “And you are needed to find your brother. Your mother promised an oath to Sheba and to me.”

  “What?” Walker asked puzzled. “Why can’t Sheba just show you what he looks like in that cloud of dust and particles she has around here?”

  “That is because the ancients will not permit it. Besides, even they know only the first born child always looks like the father. You look like your father Walker, but you brother does not.”

  Mama Moue Redbones laughed. “This is modern times Walker, is it not? Do you want us to do all the work for you?” She huffed. “Don’t you have a computer or some other gizmo with the interne
t on it?”

  “So what if I do?”

  The February chuckled. “Walker even I know you can look up almost anything on the internet. Think about it. You can find out who was working at that fertility clinic in New York?”

  “Okay well enjoy a laugh on my account,” Walker snorted. “Maybe I don’t want to find my brother.”

  Mama Moue Redbones face creased with a deep frown. “You must find your brother. Your mother Claire Marie made a vow to Sheba for giving her you. In return she would keep Sheba’s daughter safe.” She paused. “Walker, Sheba’s daughter is my niece. You know her as Janeshia,” she hesitated. “Janeshia James.”

  At first Walker didn’t understand. Then he swallowed hard and stared back at Sheba. A shiny white light glowed around her.

  Silence filled the air.

  A shocked expression took over Walker. Now he knew why Sheba looked so familiar.

  “Oh my!” His eyes widened.

  “Yes Walker, your mother stayed behind to keep Janeshia safe as she always promised she will do. She knows there maybe someone who wants to hurt Janeshia. And we believe it maybe your brother.” She said reaching for his hand. “He wants to hurt her, because by hurting her. He can hurt you?”

  Walker set his mouth into a rigid line. Now he understood.

  Mama Moue Redbones walked over and took his hand. The warm touch of her hands encircled his. “Once you find your brother, look at his eyes. Look directly into them and behind them. You can see into his hidden place and then you will know who he truly is. And then you will have the answers you seek. And you will know what must be done.”

  Chapter 36

  Ain’t nothing like the real thing

  A day after the restless night he’d spent in the swamp with Sheba and Mama Moue Redbones, Walker awoke early, showered and dressed.

  Larissa London, at the urging of his mother no doubt, had called him last night and told him she was booked into a room at the same hotel he was staying at.