Page 2 of No Remedy for Love

“We need to get some rest. The moving truck will be here early in the morning and we have to make our flight on time,” Tracy said while grabbing Remi’s hand.

Monique was the last to leave and it was time for them to do the same. They all piled into Tracy’s rental car and drove away.

Since there was nothing left for her in Arizona, Remi decided to move back home to New Orleans. She was actually gonna be living in one of her father’s rental properties on the outskirts of New Orleans about forty-five minutes away. It was the first blighted property that he purchased and it was Remi’s favorite. It sat on the lake and the view from the enclosed balcony was amazing. Reid let her help him design it with the idea of her moving in when she graduated college. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out quite like they planned, so Reid ended up renting it out. It hadn’t been occupied for a few months because Remi got a few things upgraded. Tracy was gonna decorate for her and she was looking forward to a change.

“Yeah, I’ll be so happy when all of this is over with. I really didn’t even wanna do the whole funeral thing but my granny would kill me.”

Reid’s mother, Viola, lived a few houses down from Lollie in her father’s house. Viola had given up her house and moved in with her son when she found out that he was sick. Reid’s siblings had their own houses but, for some reason, their kids always stayed with his mother. He loved his mother to death but he hated that his nieces and nephews used her the way they did. None of them wanted to work and they barely kept her house clean. Although he owned everything that his mother had, he couldn’t see himself breaking her heart by making them leave. He was happy when the house sold and they all had to leaveanyway. They knew damn well they couldn’t live with him and, for once, they had to fend for themselves.

Sadly, that didn’t last very long before Reid was packing up and moving to Arizona with his wife and daughter. Barely three months had passed before his mother moved one of his nieces in and his nephew followed a short time later.

“Your father was loved way too much for you not to do anything back home. Be prepared my love, the crowd is gonna be thick.”

“I already know but that’s to be expected with the news reporting it like he was a politician and shit.”

“Like I just said, the love was real.”

“I have to sit down and talk to my granny soon too. She can move in with me if she wants to, but they gotta come up outta that house. I don’t care what the rest of them do; she’s my only concern.”

Although everything was in her name now, her father’s wishes would always be fulfilled. He loved his mother more than life and he always made sure that she was straight. His siblings were selfish as fuck and they didn’t care if their mother had a roof over her head or not. Since he was the one with the most money, they left everything up to him. It didn’t matter that she put a roof over most of their children’s heads.

“Chile, this is about to be an entire mess but you know I’m ready for whatever.”

Tracy was well aware of the drama that awaited her best friend back home but she had her back. Some of Remi’s cousins were some bum bitches who lived on their grandma rent-free. They worked and used their paychecks to keep up withothers basic bitches. Her cousin, Ferris, was a man-whore who couldn’t keep a woman but he was Reid’s favorite nephew. He used his grandmother’s house as a revolving door but he always made sure that she was good. Even if he wasn’t living with his grandmother, Ferris and his little sister always stopped by to cook, clean and make sure their granny didn’t need anything. He even paid the bills since his freeloading ass cousins never did. He was the only one that Reid allowed to live with her and he always had a room if he needed it. He wasn’t really ok with the others living there but he let his mother have her way since he knew how much she loved her grandkids.

“They gon’ be okay. Mae is gonna move back into her house eventually,” Remi said after being silent for a while.

“Girl, I’m not trying to move back in that house no time soon. I can’t even think straight right now.” Marva sighed as they pulled up to the house.

“Leave Marva alone. I’m in that big ass house all by myself. She can come right by me. We can both use the company,” Lollie replied.

Although they were both young widows, neither woman was looking for a relationship at the moment. Marva was only fifty-seven and Lollie was a year younger. Lollie had a few male friends but none of them ever came to her house. In her mind, that was still her late husband’s home and it was disrespectful. His sons still came over all the time and they would probably die if she did. Since she’d just lost her husband, moving on was nowhere on Marva’s mind.

“How do you know if that’s what she wants?” Remi questioned while looking at her mother.

Lollie was a firecracker and she could be bossy at times. Marva was more soft spoken and shy but she knew how to clap back when it was necessary.

“Because I asked her and she said yes. Anything else?” Lollie flippantly countered with a question of her own. Lollie and Marva always got along great, so the other woman jumped at the chance to be her temporary roommate.

“I’m cool with whatever you want. I don’t care that it’s in my name Mae, that’s still your home. If and whenever you’re ready to go back to it, just say the word.” Remi looked at her stepmother as she spoke.

“I know baby, but let’s just get through one thing before we try to focus on another.”

Marva felt like a part of her died when her husband took his last breath. She had been with Reid for seventeen years and married for sixteen. Marva always wanted to be a mother, but that was never a part of God’s plan for her. There was no medical condition or anything else preventing her from having kids, it just never happened. Remi was only nine when she met Reid and only ten when they got married. She was all the baby that Marva needed and she was grateful to Lollie for sharing her gift with her.

Marva grew up in the system so she never really knew her biological family. Reid wanted to leave her some property behind, but it didn’t make any sense. Remi was the only person that she had to leave it to, so she and her husband made the decision to leave it all to her now. She still had access to their joint account but she made sure that he added Remi on there too. Her stepdaughter was all that she had now and she was grateful for the woman that she was. Just like her husband, allof her affairs were in order and Remi was in charge of that too. Marva knew that it was a lot for the younger woman to deal with but her stepdaughter handled it well.

“Amen to that,” Lollie said, interrupting the momentary silence.

All four women got out of the car and headed inside. Both Marva and Lollie went right to bed while Tracy and Remi sat up and talked. Remi was always the go-to person for everyone, just like her father had always been. When her father got sick, she put her life on hold to give him the love and care that he needed. The only thing that Remi did outside of that was further her education. She didn’t really date or have a social life anymore. Marva took very good care of her husband, but Remi didn’t miss a beat. As much as she loved Lollie, her bond with Reid was unmatched. His death was gonna be hard on her, but Tracy had yet to see her shed a tear. Remi was good at masking her feelings and taking charge of situations. She was everybody’s strength and always had been. But, sometimes, she needed somebody to be strong for her. She knew her pain all too well, having lost her father only four years ago to a stroke.

“How do you feel my love? And I don’t want that generic I’m good bullshit ass answer that you give to everybody else. I want the truth. How do you really feel?”

Tracy looked at her sister/friend, awaiting an answer. Almost instantly, she saw the light leave Remi’s eyes and sadness took its place. Her friend fell into her arms and finally did what she’d been wanting to do since the day Reid got the lung cancer diagnosis and cried. Remi’s entire body shook as she released the liquid pain that she’d been holding on to forever. As usual, she could fool everyone else around her, but Tracy knew better.

“Who’s gonna walk me down the aisle to meet my husband? He won’t even get to meet his first grandchild. I’m a daddy’s girl with no daddy.” Remi sobbed.

“I know baby. It’s okay, let it out.” Tracy rubbed her back and let her have a much needed moment. Remi released everything that she’d been holding in over the years and she never knew how much that was needed. As usual, Tracy didn’t buy the lies that she was selling because she knew her too well.

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