Enigma of the Heart

by Wynette Davis

  “Why are you trying to hurt her, you fucked up ass?” Jean-Michel hit DePaul again. “I’ll kill you, you sick son of a bitch!”

  “Mama! Mama!” DePaul yelled.

  Jean-Michel hit him again, but then heard footsteps coming fast from the left. He looked up to see the blur of some kind of stick or pole that landed on his head.

  * * * *

  Taffy stayed hunkered in her tub. The bathroom was positioned toward the back of the house. With the window opened slightly, she heard the noise coming from outside at the same time that she smelled the gasoline. “Shit.”

  She got out of the tub, calling Lester at the same time. She didn’t wait for him to say anything. “Lester, I smell gas, and I heard something like fighting I think,” she whispered.

  “You smell gas, like your stove might—”

  “No, Lester! Like in gasoline. Oh, shit!” She saw smoke coming up to the second story. “Lester, my house is on fire!”

  “Taffy, try to get out! We’re only about a mile away. We’re coming. I’m calling the fire department. I hope some of the men are at the station.”

  Mandeville being the small town that it was didn’t have a full-time fire department. According to what Lester had told her, and from the ladies at the beauty salon, it did have a volunteer fire department and shared the space with the high school, storing the fire engine in the school auto shop. If there was a fire, a call was to be made to Dennis Meade, who was the “fire chief.” He was to then assemble the rest of the crew and they would go and get the engine out of the school auto shop. By the time they got to any fire, whatever was burning was already burnt or too far gone to save. So, they usually just stood around and kept any embers from starting other fires in the surrounding area. Because of this, Taffy didn’t have that much faith in the fire department.

  The smoke was quickly filling the house. She wet a towel, putting it over her mouth and nose. Remembering her grade school fire lesson, she got low to the floor and started to crawl her way down the stairs. There was a soft orange glow coming from downstairs, which made her panic somewhat. She reconsidered heading down the stairs. She thought about going out her bedroom window, but the two-story drop wasn’t appealing. But even as she thought about that drop, she remembered the addition of the sunroom. She stopped short, and started toward the empty room to the left. From that window she should be able to get to the roof of the sunroom.

  She started to cough, as the smoke was thicker the further she went toward the back of the house. She put her hand on the doorknob, as she was taught to do in the fifth grade. It wasn’t hot. The rhyme went, if it’s hot, safe it’s not. If it’s cold, go ahead and be bold. So, maybe it was only a rhyme her mother thought of to teach her to remember what to do, but it worked.

  She opened the door, and ran over to the window. She saw the roof, but it was still some ways down. But she was thankful at that second for not sleeping in the nude. There was something to be said for a T-shirt and a pair of sweat shorts. She opened the window and crawled out onto the sill. It was then that she heard the sirens in the distance. Come on, Lester.

  Once she was sitting on the sill, she took a leap of faith and jumped out onto the roof. She skinned her knees, but was relatively unhurt. But fear leaped into her chest when she heard the crackling of the flames.

  “Oh my god!” she said, seeing the entire back of the house was on fire. Angry orange, yellow and red flames licked up the back of the house like a serpent’s tongue. Smoke billowed black, making her choke and cough uncontrollably. She needed to get away from the house.

  She scooted along the roof on her butt until she was at the edge, and let her legs dangle over the side. She could feel the heat coming from the back. It was too close. Then she looked down into the yard and saw Jean-Michel lying motionless. She heard voices arguing toward the front of the house. She jumped down, happy to fall onto some of the tarps that had been used around the house that Jean-Michel had yet to pick up. It still smarted her ass, but it was more of an embarrassment.

  She ran over to Jean-Michel, and knelt down to him just as he was opening his eyes. “That bitch cold-cocked me,” he said breathlessly.

  “You can’t do this,” she whispered desperately, ignoring what he said. “You can’t make me think you’re dead. Don’t you know that?” She ran her hand over his head. Her fingers touched something wet, and she looked at them to see blood.

  “You’re bleeding!”

  “Because Lou Pearl hit me with something,” he said, trying to get up, but Taffy tried to hold him down.

  “No, Jean-Michel. They’re still here. I heard them in the front. If she hit you and DePaul started this fire, they’re dangerous. I called Lester. He’s on his way.”

  He sat up. “But they have to pay, Taffy. He tried to kill you. He could have killed you. If anything—”

  “It didn’t. Look at me,” she said softly. “I’m sorry.” She started to cry and Jean-Michel wiped the tears from her cheeks as they fell. “I was afraid. I was afraid to feel what I’m feeling because of my parents and because of Seth. He was my fiancé, Jean-Michel. He killed himself—”

  “Taffy, shhh. I know. I know all about him.”

  “Nina?” she asked, as he nodded. “I wasted enough time with being afraid. You were right. I do love you. I’ve loved you for some time now. I love you so much, Jean-Michel.”

  He smiled knowingly at her. “I know. But I was willing to wait a lifetime to hear you say it to me.” He kissed her tenderly. They both turned their attention to the sounds of police cars and Lester yelling.

  Taffy helped Jean-Michel stand, and put her arm around him as they walked to the front of the house.

  Lester was kneeling on the ground with his gun pointed at DePaul. “Get your motherfuckin’ hands up, DePaul!”

  “You leave us alone, Sheriff! He don’t have to do nothing you say,” Lou Pearl could be heard screaming at Lester.

  Taffy and Jean-Michel walked from the side of the house to see three police cars in the front. Pete was by his car with the door opened using it for cover. Bruce was in the same kneeling stance as Lester, with his gun pointed toward not only DePaul but also Lou Pearl, as she tried to shield DePaul with her body.

  “Get on the ground, DePaul!” said Lester.

  “No! No, he will not. You ain’t got nothing on us, Milieu. We were just on our way home and thought we saw someone at my poor granddaughter’s house. DePaul saw that Frenchman in the back yonder pouring gasoline all over the place. Ain’t that right, honey?”

  DePaul looked confused, as he frowned and stared at his mother. “Huh?”

  “DePaul had to hit that man with this here bat before he tried to get away. He’s dead back there, but that’s what happened.” Lou Pearl stood with her head held up defiantly. She didn’t notice Taffy and Jean-Michel walking from the side of the house.

  “She hit me in the head with something, Lester,” Jean-Michel yelled out as much as his aching head would allow.

  “He ain’t dead, Mama. You said he was dead,” DePaul said.

  Lester trained his gun on Lou Pearl. “On the ground! Get on the ground and put your hands on your head! Do it now, Lou Pearl or I’ll shoot!”

  “He’s lying! He was burning the house down. He was trying to kill my poor granddaughter.” Lou Pearl remained standing, but DePaul got onto the ground and did what Lester had told him.

  Taffy let Jean-Michel lean against Pete’s police car, but stayed by his side. “I was sitting out in my truck watching Taffy’s house after you told me that she thought she’d seen someone stalking her. I wanted to make sure no one came around. Then I saw a shadow dart behind the house and went to see what it was. When I got to the back of the house, I saw DePaul over there pouring something around the edge of the house in the back. It was then that I smelled the gas, Lester. He was pouring gasoline. I yelled out to him, and he lit a match and threw it on the ground. The ground burst into flames. He ran away and I ran after him. When I caught up to
him, I started to beat the shit out of him. I wanted to knock him out before I went to help Taffy so he wouldn’t try to get away. He started yelling for his mother, and I heard footsteps before I was hit with something. That’s all I remember.”

  “You’re begging to be shot, Lou Pearl! On the fuckin’ ground!” Lester yelled to her again. She finally relented and did what he said.

  Bruce and Pete cautiously walked over to them with their weapons drawn. Bruce handcuffed DePaul while Pete tried to handcuff Lou Pearl, but she was cussing and kicking at him. “Permission to treat the suspect as a hostile, Sheriff?”

  “By all means,” Lester said.

  “You better not! I’ll have your badge, boy!” Lou Pearl continued to resist the cuffs, but Pete forced her arms behind her and then shoved her toward the police car. Bruce already had DePaul sitting in the back of the other.

  “Put her in the other cruiser,” said Lester. “I don’t want them to have a chance to talk and try to sync-up their stories. How’s your head, Jean-Michel?”

  “He’s bleeding, Lester,” Taffy said putting her hand gingerly on the back of his head. “He needs an ambulance.”

  “I called the EMTs.” A siren could be heard coming closer. “That’s probably them.” A whoosh could be heard behind them as flames engulfed more of the house.

  “It’s going to burn down,” Taffy said softly. Other sirens could be heard, but the fire truck wouldn’t get there before most of the house was destroyed.

  Jean-Michel took hold of her hand, bringing it to his lips as he kissed it. “It’s only a house, Taffy. You are alive. That’s all that matters to me.”

  She smiled at him, leaning in and kissing him softly. “You’re alive, too. That’s all that I care about.”

  “You ain’t got nothin’!” Lou Pearl yelled in the cruiser. “I’ll be out by tonight. You forget who the hell I am. I know people in this town, Milieu. The Thibodeaux name means something in this town. Judge Maxwell knows the Thibodeauxs. We’ll be out tonight!”

  Lester walked over to the police car just as the fire truck and the EMTs arrived. Taffy let them look at Jean-Michel, as she followed Lester over to the car and leaned to the side. She needed to hear from Lou Pearl’s own mouth what she’d done.

  Lester glanced over at the men trying to deal with a lost cause of the house. Leaning down to the open window, he stared in at Lou Pearl. “That’s funnier than you can imagine.”

  “What’s funny?” she said glaring at Lester.

  “The fact that you know Judge Maxwell. That might have held some meaning six months ago. But you see, Judge Maxwell died three months ago. We have a new judge that’s come in from D.C. A Judge Chow.”

  “What the hell you say? A new judge? You’re lying to me, Milieu. I know you are. We ain’t got no Chinaman for no judge!”

  “I believe he was born in Cincinnati. But the fact is, Judge Maxwell is no longer the judge, so you have no sway over any of the proceedings. This”—Lester smiled and waved over to the other car to include DePaul—“won’t be going anywhere. You’ll be spending the night in jail until you’re arraigned tomorrow.”

  “You let me outta here, Milieu! I should’ve lit that match myself!” Lou Pearl seethed through clenched teeth. “I should’ve burnt that house down my damn self and made sure it was done right! You wait! When I get outta here, I’ll make sure that bitch is done right!”

  Taffy looked into the police car at Lou Pearl. “You’re my grandmother,” she said almost too quietly. “You’re my grandmother,” she said more forcefully. “You’re my grandmother! What kind of person are you? You were supposed to be my grandmother!” Gasps could be heard from the crowd and a couple of off-colored comments aimed at Lou Pearl.

  Not much happened in Mandeville. At least not much that garnered multiple police cars, a fire truck, and EMS, and a house fully engulfed in flames. The crowds had started to gather. Even some of the neighbors had grabbed their hoses to try and staunch the onslaught of the flames that licked the sides of the house and threatened to light whatever it was near.

  A car pulled up haphazardly in the middle of the street and Nina and Austin jumped out. “Oh my god! Taffy? Taffy!” Nina yelled.

  “You were my fuckin’ grandmother and you tried to kill me!” Taffy continued to shout at Lou Pearl.

  Other cars stopped along the street, and Bruce and Pete tried to keep order before they drove Lou Pearl and DePaul to the precinct.

  “She tried to kill me, Nina!” Taffy yelled. Nina ran to her, putting her arms around Taffy, and trying to pull her away from the car.

  “Leave her be,” Nina said. “Just leave it alone, Taffy.”

  Another voice was heard yelling to Taffy over the din of the fire and the crowd. “Taffy! Baby?”

  Monice was scanning the turmoil for her. Taffy raised her hand. “Nana Mo, I’m all right.”

  Nina looked at Taffy in surprise, but smiled, nodding her head. “I’m going to go and see how Jean-Michel is doing, Taffy. Okay?”

  Monice didn’t wait to ask, but pulled Taffy into a close hug. “I heard all of the sirens and I have me a police scanner. Baby, I was so worried. You okay?”

  “Nana, she tried to kill me. Lou Pearl. She and DePaul tried to burn me out.” She started to cry. “She hit Jean-Michel in the head with something, too. He’s okay, but his head is bleeding. She tried to kill me!”

  Monice hugged her closely again. “She ain’t gonna hurt you no more. You hear me, baby? No more.” She kissed Taffy on the cheek and walked over to the car that held Lou Pearl.

  Peering inside, she glared at Lou Pearl. “You tried to hurt my grandbaby. I’m putting you on notice. You and your inbred son. Come near my family again, and you will deal with me. And you know this about me, Lou Pearl. I don’t play.”

  “She’s threatening me!” Lou Pearl yelled. “Milieu! She’s threatening me!”

  Monice turned to face Lester, as he walked over to the car. “I am,” said Monice.

  Lester got into the front of the police car. “Well, that’s the thing about trying to kill someone, Lou Pearl. Their family sees that as a threat. Don’t worry,” he said turning to Monice and Taffy standing next to the car. “They’re both looking at some serious time.” He drove away with Lou Pearl still shouting for all she was worth in the back. Pete followed him in the other police car that held DePaul.

  Monice had her arm around Taffy, rubbing on her arm affectionately. “You go and see about your man, baby. I’ll see you later.”

  “I’ll more than likely be staying with Jean-Michel, Nana.”

  Monice smiled. “Yeah. I kind of figured that one out.”

  Taffy walked back to the EMS truck where they had Jean-Michel inside. “Is he okay?”

  The EMS tech but her BP cuff away, as Jean-Michel finished signing a form. “He’s got a nasty knock on his head. We want to take him to the hospital, but he’s refusing to go.”

  “Jean-Michel? I think you should go,” said Taffy.

  Jean-Michel handed the form to the technician. “I’m fine. If I was going to pass out, I would have done it already. If I was going to vomit, it would have happened. If I start to feel bad, I will let you take me to the hospital.”

  Austin came up to the truck. “You’re not going to the hospital, man?”

  “He says he’s fine,” Taffy said, as Jean-Michel kissed her on her cheek.

  “Austin, it’s in my truck. Can you get it for me?” Jean-Michel said throwing Austin his keys.

  “Whoa!” Nina exclaimed, as the roof of the house caved in among a torrent of flames.

  “We need you all to get back please,” someone from the fire department was saying. “Ma’am, is this your house?”

  Taffy stood staring at her house with Jean-Michel’s protective arms around her. She nodded slowly. “Yes. Yes, it is. Was.” She didn’t realize that tears were trailing down her cheeks.

  Jean-Michel hugged her to his body. “It’s only a house, Taffy.”

  “We’
re sorry, but we won’t be able to save it. The water pressure from the main hydrant isn’t enough to douse it. All we can do is control the flames.”

  Austin returned to where they were standing in the middle of the street watching her house being consumed by the fire DePaul had set. “All I wanted was to restore that house for my parents,” Taffy said quietly. “I wanted to come back here and mend the riff with my relatives. I’ve done that with my grandmother Monice. Even now, it feels strange to call her Monice. It feels natural to call her Nana. She likes that, too. But I never thought a grandmother would try to kill me. Who would do something like that? Why?”

  “Because Lou Pearl never loved anyone but herself,” Nina said aloud. “I doubt very much she loved any of her children. Not even that fucked up son of hers, DePaul. He was her lap dog. Everyone says she had something to do with the death of her husband and her mother. My mother always says God deals with evil in his own way. Ain’t that the honest truth?”

  “I wasted so much time on piddly shit,” Taffy said looking up at Jean-Michel. “I just realized that all that other stuff wasn’t the reason I came back here. It was to meet you. It was to fall in love with you.” She cupped her hands on his face. “I didn’t come here for my parents, or to restore that house. It was for you.” She kissed him tenderly. “That house is burning to the ground, and I honestly thought I would care more. But when I saw you lying on the ground like that, all I could think about was how I would give anything to tell you that I love you.”

  “Then I don’t want to waste any more time,” Jean-Michel said. “I know what I feel, and what I want. Do you?” Taffy nodded. She looked over to Nina, who smiled in agreement through her tears.

  Jean-Michel took the box that Austin was holding out to him. “Years from now it will be all that talk of how I proposed to our children’s mother,” he said, as he knelt down on the ground with some effort, wincing from some of the pain he felt. Gasps could be heard from the crowd that was still gathered around the streets and some “awes” mixed within them, as it donned on some on what was happening. “Trisha Vivienne Thibodeaux, would you do me the honor of marrying me?”