As we pulled out, I heard little Miss Mousey softly whisper to her mother that she was so full she was afraid she might just explode. Her mom softly smiled and whispered to her daughter, me too. We zipped down the super slab and then turned down River Road and home. One of the significant landmarks in this neighborhood is Pop Guidry’s store. About a half mile before you get to Pop’s store, a hidden turn-off will take you down what’s little more than a path going back into the bayou. That’s the way out to Moss Island and my home. As you go round the first sharp curve, a sign warns unwanted visitors to back up and go away. On one side of the island is an older raised cottage. That was the original house my grandparents built out here. It’s constructed of cypress that grandfather had cut out of the bayou and hauled to the island, where he had a crew of carpenters build a house for him. My attorneys told me I had to have an office somewhere with everything I’m involved in. So, the old house became my office after I built my new home, a raised cottage across from the old house.
Pulling in under the house, I looked in the back seat. “Ladies, we are here. Welcome to Moss Island and my home. Get your stuff, and let’s go upstairs.” As we got out of the car, my two crazy Rottweilers had to come and say hello to their new best friends. Who knows, the pups hoped that their new friends would like to play and toss the ball for them to fetch. “Y’all, please excuse my ill manner housemates, Rufus and Dufus.” Miss Mouse dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the dog’s necks. “Master? These are the most wonderful things I’ve seen in, like what seems forever. Can I please just stay here with them?”
I had to chuckle at hearing her request. “You can if you want to, sure. But know that the alligators often come up in the garage area after dark. They could climb the stairs, which I really don’t want them to do. So those stairs will fold up into the ceiling at night. Why don’t you two come with me, and I’ll show y’all around upstairs? Then you can get your belongings out of the car, upstairs, and put away.” The outside of the house, which was done in a raised cottage style, is ringed by a deep gallery which I use as extra living and dining spaces. When you come upstairs and enter the house, you walk into the great room, which holds the kitchen, dining and living rooms. The crowning touch in the ceiling was a cupola. The windows in the cupola opened with the flip of a switch on a hidden control panel. When all the windows in the house are open, there’s a beautiful breeze inside. That breeze made it almost unnecessary to run the a/c except on the hottest days of the summer. On one side of the house, there are four guest bedrooms and on the other side is my side which has a bedroom, bath, and closet. The girls were looking around, drinking in the house, when I told them to go and pick a pair of bedrooms. Each pair of the guest bedrooms shared a bath. When y’all have everything upstairs, unpacked and put away, come out on the porch, and find me, we can begin to lay out what’s next.
As I waited for my new housemates to get their stuff upstairs and settled, I moved onto the porch and camped out in my favorite old chair with a glass of iced tea. After a while, I heard someone rattling around, so I stuck my iced tea glass up in the air and waved it. “Oh, there you are, Master. Momma will be along in a new minute or two. She sent me to see if I could find you.”
“You done found one of my hiding places Miss Mouse.” That got a giggle from her. Just then, her mom appeared on the porch, and the two of my new housemates sat correctly on the wicker sofa. “Ladies, while we may not have known each other personally, we all certainly have known about each other for ages. We have all lived in the same community forever. Hell, my family goes back here to the very beginning of this area. My point is all your lives, you have known me and called me Linc or Lincoln. Cat? Rainey? Neither one of you ever called me Sir or Master until this afternoon. Ladies, I’m the same person I was two weeks ago; please call me Linc. Will both of you do that for me? Please?” The expression on both their faces was priceless.
“Most mornings, I get up well before the sun gets up. Next door in the old house is my office; I go there to read reports, write, respond to emails, and make phone calls. The place is three times bigger than what I need. But my tax guys insisted I must have a separate office, so my grandparent’s house became my office. Usually, Rufus, Dufus, and I go exploring in the afternoons.” I had to chuckle as I looked over at Rainey as Rufus put his paw on her knee. I thought, girl, don’t do it. Ya really wants to ignore that damm dog; otherwise, you’ll have a lap full of eighty-pound dog. “Cat? I’d like you to take over running the house for us. Make a list of what you need, and I’ll see about getting it. Rainey? I need you to help your mom with what she needs. Since all this trouble kicked up, your driver’s licenses will have to be re-instated. And we’ll need to get your cell phones re-established too. As a result of all this stuff Rainey. You were expelled from the community college you had been going to. Slaves can’t attend a state-sponsored school. Young lady, listen to me carefully; you will finish your degree. I know of one college in New Orleans that welcomes slaves. Let me tell you this, I’m guessing, of course. If you read one or another story, you’ve heard how slaves become a toy or part of a harem. You are not toys or harem girls. Understood?” They both very carefully nodded their heads. “Now, I will go bang around in the kitchen and get something going for dinner.”