4
Franny leaving was not the only ending
at the Honey Dew. The Honey Dew Lunch
Bunch was now essentially gone. Rondy
Strickland was dead, murdered by Digger Crowley in a delusional attempt to
impress his father and take control of the family fortune. Gariton Hollander wanted nothing more to do
with them. Houston Graves, Jr. (House)
was far too busy trying to get the Compton Park Development Project back on
course, and trying to convince his father, Houston Graves, Sr. to just sell the
CPA firm rather than concede control to Gariton. That left Andy Caldwell, the State Farm agent
and brother of the mayor, and Tony Delco, the son of Daddy Delco and brother to
Christie.
Sometimes the two of them sat together
at lunch, but two hardly a bunch make, now does it?
5
On March 15th, 2014, the Crowley Baptist Village
Retirement Center
Mattie was her usual surly self. There was no Pogo cake, nor any other cake,
per Mattie’s insistence. If they could
have made the cake out of Skoal’s , she might have reconsidered.
Two years to go and she could be beat Sarah
Rachel Crowley Franks Steel Compton’s record of 105 years (to the day). And she was just mean enough to do it.
6
“Just give it up, Bobby Ray. We’re never getting back together,” Racine
“No, of course not, Race”, assured Bobby
Ray. “I do hope, since we’re going to
the same school next fall, that we could be friends. There’s no reason for us not to be, is
there?”
“Sure, Bobby Ray. I would like that. Even if I don’t want us to ever be what we
were before, I do like you and value
your friendship.”
“I am so glad to hear that! I’ll be there for whatever help you need, or
if you ever just want to talk,” answered Bobby Ray, giving her a big smile.
“Thank you, Bobby Ray,” Racine
She opened her arms, and he came in for
a hug. It was warm and wonderful, really
a delight to be in his arms again. His
face was at her shoulder, and then he bent in and gave a grazing kiss to her
neck. And then he was kissing her on the
mouth. She meant to pull away, but she
gave in for a moment. Then she snapped
out of it, and pushed him away.
“Bobby Ray!” she admonished. “Now you know that’s not how it’s going to
be!”
“I know, Race,” a chastened Bobby Ray
said. “ I’ll get it together, I
promise. Really, I know how it’s going
to be.”
And he did. Much better than Racine
7
Edna Denison was grateful. She was grateful to Sheriff Alan Steel for
not arresting Dabs when he could have, but instead went way out of his way to
get all the help he could get him. She
was grateful to Congressman Stan Winston in helping fast track his veterans
benefits. She was grateful to legal
Secretary Ramona Adams for her assistance in cutting through the red tape, and
helping deal with the bureaucracy.
Things weren’t perfect. Dabs still got the night sweats, still had
periods of catatonic withdrawal.
Something still haunted him, but at least he know had people to talk to,
and the family had financial support through Disability payments, and insurance
through Tricare.
She was not particularly grateful for
people like Dotty Mathers, who praised the troops out of one side of her mouth,
and tried to take away their benefits from the other side. She was not particularly grateful to Pastor
Dan, whose sharp brand of religion seemed to frighten Dabs and her family more
than help.
But those were exceptions. Most people were very supportive, and it was
having a positive effect on her family.
Dabs was more comfortable playing with the boys, at least for short
periods, and there was talk of working again if he stabilized. A life on disability was not something he
hoped for. He wanted to be a
contributing member of society.
And when he said things like that, it
was hard for her to grasp. Hadn’t he
already contributed? Hadn’t he already
given enough? But she understood, the
dignity that Dabs was striving for. He
was going to get the help he needed to restabilize, and then he was going to give back
to those who helped him.
Dabs was a good man. And that would always be true, whether he
pulled out of this or not (and she was betting on him to). She loved him, and her heart ached for the
best for him, each and every day.
8
Thomas Cooper called into her
office. That was rare, and she wasn’t
quite sure what was going on.
“I’m struggling, Ramona. You have to know that. I have to decide where to take the firm, and
I’m really sure what to do. I’m older
now, and I don’t think I want to do this forever.” Thomas was 61, not the youngest tool in the
shed, but he had kept in good shape and still had a brilliant and quick
mind. “So I have to think about how the
firm continues.” That was why he had
brought in Rondy, a somewhat immature but talented attorney that could be
groomed to take over more and responsibility in the firm. But now Rondy was dead, and his plans lay in
ruins.
“I am looking for another partner,
someone with experience who could help me here.
It could be someone who is operating on their own, or someone at a
bigger firm who wants to break away.”
Ramona nodded, still not quite sure why
she was called in. “I know some
attorneys from my, uh, group, you know, my social strata in the area. Uh, you know, male white attorneys from the
prominent families in the area. But I’m thinking
about reaching out beyond that. Offer
services to a wider range of people, you know, like Dabs, and people like
him. Regular folk who’ve got their back
up against it.”
“Can we afford to do that? Sometimes those folks don’t pay so good,”
Ramona worried aloud.
“I’ve made a lot of money in my day, and
I have family money to boot. I think
we’ll be perfectly fine. Could I be
richer? Could I be like Daddy Delco or
Reggie Crowley? Technically, yes, but in
reality, I don’t think so. I don’t think
I have it in me to behave like that.”
“No, I’m thinking of something else,”
Mr. Cooper continued. “I’d like to
interview some prospects I’m less familiar with. You know, people you might know.”
That was it, Ramona thought, slightly
stunned. He wants to interview African
Americans and other minorities, really expand the scope of the firm. My goodness, she never thought she would see
the day! It encouraged her to be bold
enough to ask, “Well, Mr. Cooper, would that be open enough to consider the
possibility of women attorneys?”
Thomas mused on that for a second. “Maybe, but I also had something else in mind
in that regard. You do have your four
year degree, don’t you? And at least part of that was at Spelman, right?”
Ramona was surprised at this. Yes, he might have her general resume, but
they never discussed her credentials before.
“Well, I did have about two years there, finishing from my first two
years of Waycross
College
“And you have been doing some paralegal
training, right?”
“Yes, Mr. Cooper, I have.”
“Well, I want you to stop that right
now!”
Ramona was horrified. This had suddenly taken an unexpected turn
for the worse. “What? Why?”
“Because I want you to get your law
degree. You’re way too smart to do
anything less. And I promise you this,
money will not be an issue.”
Ramona was overwhelmed. She started to tear up. “T-thank you, Mr. Cooper!”
Thomas shook his head, and she saw him give a clever, knowing smile,
one he usually reserved for juries.
“Stop that now. Please, you can call
me Thomas.”
9
Dr.
Mala Jhauda washed her hands over the sterile sink, her exam of her
secret patient complete.
“You are doing fine. I see no complications whatsoever.”
Her patient sighed in relief. “Thank you so much, Dr. Jhauda.
I am so grateful you following up like this. Your support and confidentiality has meant
the world to me. And you must let me pay
you. I can’t do it all at once, but I
can do it over time. It would mean so
much if I could pay you.”
Dr. Jhadau dismissed that with a wave of
her hand. “No, that will not do. I am proud and happy to help you. We should just keep this on, how do they say,
the down low?”
The patient tearfully hugged Mala.
Sometimes the job and the ignorance and
resistance she had to face got her down.
But helping Racine
Even when it meant going up to Atlanta
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