After All (11 page)

“
You will.”Michelle tried to
sound hopeful.”LaWanda, remember I told you there are rumors that
the district attorney is looking into wrongdoing in the Housing
Authority?”

“
Yeah, we coulda told 'em
that long time ago,” LaWanda said.

“
But they need proof to do
anything about it. I've just been doing profiles of people like
you. You know, where you work, what your goals are for the future,
things like that. I was planning to report on how hard it is to get
repairs done. Now I hear from somebody that ex-convicts are shaking
down residents, even dealing drugs out of the one of the projects.
You heard any of that?” Michelle watched her closely.

“
Keep your voice down,
girl.”LaWanda got up and went to the open door. She scanned the
area outside.”Who told you that?”

“
I can't say. Well?”Michelle
spoke more softly as she followed LaWanda's gaze
outside.

“
Look, all I know is some of
them maintenance guys done got to be good buddies with some of the
dudes dealin' 'round here. And don't go askin' too many people
'bout it. Shirley lives one apartment, and she's down goin' with
one of 'em.”LaWanda sat at the end of the sofa closer to Michelle
speaking in a low voice.

“
How long has this been
going on?”

“
It's gotten real bad in the
last three months. Matter of fact, a coupla people got windows
broke outta they apartments the day after they threatened to
complain to the HUD office in New Orleans.”

“
Folks are scared I bet.
Maybe they won't be willing to talk to me, especially not on
camera.”Michelle began to get discouraged again. First the delay
from Greg's friend, now this.

“
I don't know.”LaWanda
drummed her fingers on the sofa cushion for several seconds
thinking hard.”Things gettin' kinda bad. Lemme talk to 'em. We
organizin' our tenants association. We even been talkin' to some
ladies over at two other projects.”

“
Don't do anything that
might get them mad at you.”Michelle leaned towards her putting a
hand on LaWanda's arm. She know very well that LaWanda was not one
to shy away from conflict.

“
I ain't worried, honey. One
thing good thing about having four brothers is they go after
anybody that messes with one of us. Lots of folks know that, too.
We gone get these places straight. We got to. Don't look like none
of us gone be able to move no time soon. Just cause we poor don't
mean we gotta live this way.”LaWanda, forgetting her own warning,
spoke in a loud, brash voice.

“
Still, be careful. Your
brothers aren't the most reliable characters. What if you can't
find them?”

“
Yeah, you right.”LaWanda
gave a grunt of disgust.”My luck they'd all be in jail on some
charge. But it's no problem. I ain't in this alone. Now ain't you
gone finish our interview? I don't want no excuses for my story not
gettin' on TV.”

For another hour, Michelle and LaWanda
talked more like two women who met at the home of a mutual
acquaintance and found they had much in common. Sam, one of the
station's other video cam operators, showed up finally to get some
footage of LaWanda, her apartment, and the project.

LaWanda was only twenty-three, three
years younger than Michelle, yet she had faced so much more.
LaWanda had grown up in a succession of foster homes, either
ignored or mistreated. Her mother was more interested in her string
of live-in lovers than taking care of six children. LaWanda had
loved and lost three men, all fathers of her children. Relondo's
father had been killed in a drive-by shooting. Yet LaWanda still
held on to the dream of a stable, safe life for herself and her
children. Michelle liked her dry sense of humor. More than once
LaWanda had Michelle and the camera man laughing at situations that
should have depressed them all. Finishing up, Michelle thanked
LaWanda and gave the baby one last hug.

“
Say, you gone keep in
touch, right? Come by anytime. You know, to just visit.”LaWanda
looked so vulnerable and young standing in the doorway.”I know we
ain't nothin' alike. But talkin' to you is like, I dunno, I'm in
your world. Sounds stupid, huh?” She looked away,
embarrassed.

“
No, it doesn't sound
stupid,” Michelle said with quiet assurance.”Not at all. I'll be in
touch and not just about the story either. We aren't as different
as you think, not really.”

Riding back to the station, Michelle
began to rehearse her presentation to Lockport and Gerald Mansur on
why the series was worth pursuing. She felt a growing determination
not to disappoint LaWanda, Greg, and all the other people who had
more to lose than she.

***

“
For a while, I thought you
weren't going to agree to see me again.”Anthony keep his eyes ahead
on the highway.

“
I've really been busy.
Honest.”Michelle could feel his skepticism though he said
nothing.”Beautiful day.”She looked out of the window to her
right.

It was a weak attempt to get on safer
ground she knew. But it she was sincere at least in her description
of the landscape. After three weeks of putting him off, she finally
agreed to a ride in the country. Still lounging in her pajamas with
the Sunday paper spread all over the bed, his call had taken her by
surprise that morning. Before she knew it, she had agreed that the
weather was wonderful, and yes she would enjoy seeing the
countryside. So after church, Anthony told her, he would change
clothes and pick her up.

It was a glorious October day of cool
temperatures in the early morning hours warming up to the seventies
by afternoon. The low humidity, an infrequent occurrence in south
Louisiana, made the mild temperatures even more enjoyable. Leaves a
mixture of greens and various shades of orange, waved in the light
breeze creating a gorgeous ripple of color in the sunshine. Yellow,
blue, and lavender wild flowers bloomed along the highway and in
the fields they passed. All this framed by a cloudless, blue sky
made the day a splendid work of art not created by man.

“
I see you brought a
camera.” Michelle lifted it from the seat between them.

“
Yeah, sort of a hobby. I
want to get some pictures. The water dropped in the spillway
leaving behind a temporary lake with fish trapped in it. They say
the flocks of herons, egrets, and pelicans are a fabulous
sight.”Anthony turned onto the old highway leading into the little
town of New Roads.

“
I'll bet. I love this time
of year.” Michelle rolled down the car window a little more
breathing in deeply.

They passed fields of sugar cane not
yet harvested. Large trucks loaded with the sweet stalks headed for
the sugar mills. During this season, the mills operated day and
night to produce the thick, sweet syrup so favored in Louisiana. As
they rounded a curve, the lovely sun dappled False River came into
view.

“
Have you done much fishing
since you got back?”Michelle remembered how much he enjoyed the
sport.

“
Not nearly enough. Say, why
don't we plan a day of fishing? We had some really good times back
then.”Anthony smiled though he kept watching the road
ahead.

“
I don't know.”Michelle
could have kicked herself for bringing it up. She had forgotten
about the trips, dates really. Times spent alone growing closer,
when their friendship blossomed into much more.

“
Come on. Now that's
something we can do at the spur of the moment when the weather's
right. We've got until the middle of December before the water gets
too cold. What do you say?”Anthony glanced at her.

“
Okay, guess I'll have to
dust off my old rod, reel and popping cork. I haven't gone very
often lately. In fact, I left my fishing gear in my parent's
garage,” Michelle said.

“
Then it's settled.”He
grinned broadly.”Let's say False River any Sunday after church,
deal?”

“
Deal.”Michelle returned his
smile, her heart skipping a little. She forced her gaze away from
his aware that she was in danger doing something foolish like
reaching for his hand.

Leaving behind the charming little town
of New Roads, they turned onto Highway 1 leading to the even
smaller town of Morganza just north of which was the spillway. They
drove for several miles in silence, enjoying the view and the soft
jazz playing on the radio. As they approached the spillway,
Michelle gasped with delight. Spread out on the water and perched
on tree branches were hundreds of birds. Large gray pelicans spread
their wings lazily as they bobbed in the gentle waves. Snowy white
herons circled above in graceful flight.

“
Say, seems like more than
the birds are going to feast on fish today.”Anthony pointed. He
pulled onto a dirt road leading to a levee.

There was a scattered crowd of
fishermen and women. Some stood along the bank; a few were in
bateaux in the water. Birds and people shared a peaceful,
co-existence as they pursued the same goal.

“
This would make a fantastic
picture.” Michelle gazed around her lost in the scene.

“
You're absolutely
right.”

For the next hour, they strolled up and
down the levee both happily discovering sights for Anthony to
photograph. Like children at play, they scrambled down to the
water's edge where Anthony eagerly snapped close up
shots.

“
Look at that!”Michelle
tugged at his shoulder pointing to a pelican, its large wings
flapping as it descended to the water.

“
Got it. This new camera is
great. That will be an awesome picture. I can't wait to get it
developed.”Anthony checked the camera settings.

“
You develop them
yourself?”

“
Yeah, it's as much fun as
taking them. I've converted the extra bedroom in my condo into a
dark room. And today you can be my lovely assistant. Tell you what;
let's have lunch at Thibaut's on False River. Then we can go down
to Old River and take some pictures there. We can wind up the day
seeing the results of our work.”Anthony took her hand to help her
climb the levee even though the slope up was gentle.

“
Well--”

“
Listen, if I promise to be
on my best behavior and think only pure thoughts will you say
yes?”Anthony, face solemn, held up one hand as if taking an
oath.

“
On your honor as a Big
Buddy and role model to the youth of this great nation?”Michelle
smothered a giggle trying to match his expression.

“
I swear.”

“
Okay, but on one condition,
I pay for my meal.”

“
We'll discuss that
later.”Anthony cupped her elbow and led her back to the
car.

“
Anthony--”

He bustled her into the passenger side
of his car cutting off further protest. “Now let's go eat. My
stomach is talking to me.”

The restaurant dining room had a wide
view of the river and they were lucky enough to get a table near
the large window. The long list of delicious choices made ordering
difficult. After much discussion, they handed they menus back to
the waitress and admired the scenery. Lunch was so enjoyable, they
almost hated to leave. Yet the lure of more beautiful vistas to see
and photograph was just as strong. For the rest of the afternoon
they drove along the bayous and through small towns. Michelle
forgot to question the wisdom of spending an entire day with
Anthony. She was totally caught up in savoring the freedom of
having no planned destination, no appointments, and no idea of what
they might see around the next curve. There were no more awkward
moments between them. Although there were long moments when neither
spoke, it was a comfortable silence. They relaxed in a shared
pleasure of their surroundings.

As the sun began to set, Michelle grew
less sure that agreeing to spend the evening with Anthony was wise.
Her anxiety increased when, after showing her around and getting
her settled on the large sofa of his living room, Anthony switched
on the compact disc. Strains of pulsating blues played softly.
Muted lighting combined with the gray, blue, and dark green colors
of room to make create an air of intimacy.

“
Since it's only five
o'clock, we can have dinner after we finish. I can whip us up
something right here.”Anthony poured a solution in a
pan.

“
Here? No,” Michelle blurted
out sharply. “I mean, don't go to any trouble dirtying up a lot of
dishes.”

“
No problem, you'll be
helping with the clean up.”Anthony laughed.

“
I'm not too hungry.”
Michelle cast about in her mind for other reasons for not to stay
longer.

“
Not too hungry? You had a
crab salad, I had a shrimp salad. Very satisfying for a few hours,
but definitely not for the rest of the night. I make a mean pasta
with mixed vegetables. Remember, I promised to be good.”Anthony
paused before turning off the light.

“
All right.”Michelle swore
at herself silently. He had promised to behave, but could
she?

The closeness of the dark room
enveloped her. They worked together, Anthony explaining each step
of the developing process. Michelle found her mind wandering from
the task each time he stood near her. The companionable chatter
between them felt right, as though they had never been
apart.