Africaville by Jeffrey Colvin

Author:Jeffrey Colvin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-10-09T16:00:00+00:00

Part Three

Crowing

Lyons and Crows

Burlington, Vermont, November 1961

Why the hard face?” Luela asks Etienne as she exits the taxi in the driveway of his house. “Aren’t you happy to see your aunt Luela?”

“Yes, I am happy to see you,” Etienne says.

Waiting for her change, Luela notices that Etienne has put on a few pounds and grown a beard since she saw him at the Splash of June picnic more than six years ago. The tribute to his mother had already concluded when he drove his motorcycle onto Nobody’s Acre. His hand bandaged from a motorcycle mishap, he seemed mature as he greeted the attendees, most of whom seemed elated that he had come to the celebration. “Pop wants me to go to college in Montreal,” Etienne had told her later at the house. “But I’m going to school in America. It’s going to be a flat-out nosebleed.”

The sweatshirt that says WESTERN NEW HAMPSHIRE SWIMMING testifies that Etienne achieved that goal. In the threadbare pullover, he walks with hunched shoulders ahead of Luela along the brick path through a narrow tunnel of snow. Luela’s steps are careful. She is annoyed at Etienne’s grandmother, Claire, and does not want the distraction to cause her to lose her footing.

Other than his father, Claire is the only family member Etienne writes to regularly. The last letter Luela received from him arrived several years ago during his last year of college. She was surprised to get a call last week asking if she was interested in joining Claire and her husband, Jean-Yves, for a get-together down in Vermont with Etienne and his wife. She hesitated even after Claire offered to arrange a hotel room and any transportation she might need while she was in Burlington. She agreed to come only after learning that Etienne and his wife had a new baby. Luela had gone along with Claire’s idea to let her arrival be a surprise to Etienne. However, the look on Etienne’s face when he opened the taxi door was not surprise. It was shock.

“I realize you didn’t know I was coming,” Luela says when they reach the front door of the house. “But you could at least look happy to see me.”

“I am happy to see you,” Etienne says. “But, please, it’s cold out here. Come inside.”

Stacks of packing boxes lie about the living room. Etienne’s wife, Jocelyn, narrow-faced with curly hair down to her shoulders, shakes Luela’s hand looking flustered. “I apologize for the mess,” she says as Etienne takes several boxes from the beige crushed-velvet sofa. “The movers will be here on Tuesday. Of course Etienne waited until the last minute to get the boxes we need.”

“Claire and Jean-Yves said they would meet me here,” Luela says. “Where are they?”

“They went to pick up the baby at my brother’s house,” Jocelyn says. “I took the baby there this morning because too much dust bothers him.”

“Claire was happy to go,” Etienne says. “She wants to spend time with the baby.”

“I’ll bet Claire also wanted to give Etienne and me time to spend with you,” Jocelyn says.

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