Chapter 5

“You have no idea how bad I want a hit right now,” Nix said as he lit a cigarette. He didn’t smoke in the house out of respect to his family. When he lived in Quebec, he didn’t smoke in his own home either because he didn’t want Jayce around the second hand smoke. It was a nice summer afternoon, the ceiling fans on the porch were turned on low to give a gentle breeze and Nix leaned against the banister of the porch. The events of last night were still fresh in his mind, and he felt the old toothache of addiction as it tugged at his system.

“Well,” Gregg said as he perched upon the railing, his back against one of the posts. “One day at a time, you know you can do it, just baby steps. How many hits did you take since you quit?”

“Just that one good hit when I got here last night,” Nix said. “It was a weak cut, too. But I had started smoking pot again, and I also got a handful of pills to tide me over while I was on the road.”

“I’d like to give you one good hit,” Billy muttered. He was cranky because Jayce had woken him up as he ran back and forth along the upstairs hallway, screaming loudly as he played with his cars. Billy wasn’t upset with the child, he just wasn’t happy with the changes in his life. However, Gregg didn’t seem to mind being up a few hours early, so Billy let it slide.

“When are Ade and the girls coming home, did they say?” Nix asked as he turned his face towards the yard. He was already learning to ignore the acerbic verbal jabs Billy tossed at him now and again.

“I think Monday,” Billy answered as he rocked slowly in Kelly’s rocking chair. Jayce came outside, waving a plane over his head as he toddled carefully down the porch steps so he could run around the yard.

“I think Kelly still hates me, really, truly hates me.” Nix smiled at his son. It was good to see him playing in a yard that was safe and away from the road. He sometimes took Jayce to the park, but that just wasn’t the same as a real home with a real lawn.

“She doesn’t seem the type to harbor hate,” Gregg said. “She’s sweet.”

“Yeah, and I’m the only person to push her buttons.” Nix turned and gave Gregg a mischievous smile. “It all started when she met my brother. Before her, me and Ade were tight, man, tight. Then she came along and I was forgotten. Yeah, I grudge her. I was already on drugs before then, but after she came along and Ade wasn’t there to keep my nose clean… man, I got into trouble. Did a nickel in the joint… and then another five years bouncing from one failed rehab joint to the other before I finally got clean, I got out a few years ago; I was twenty-five years old then. I know she sees me as a bad influence, but I love my nieces, they love me and at least, they can finally meet Jayce.”

“How long have you seen ghosts?” Billy asked bluntly. He didn’t feel the need to listen to tales of family drama and woe. “Jenn can see us, too. She doesn’t say much, just stares.”

“Jendra’s a shy girl,” Nix said as moved his shoulders side to side to scratch his back against the edge of the square post. “She’s been frightened by spirits in the past, so she’s probably just gaging you. What bothers me is that her parents chalked it up to bad dreams and sleep walking, but I knew better. Hell, Ade knew better, he can see ghosts too. Runs on Mom’s side of the family. He’s like Jade, though, just ignores them and does his own thing.”

“Oh yeah?” Billy said.

“Yeah. Jade, on the other hand, won’t even notice you. Oh, she can see you, like I said, they get that from our side of the family, but she won’t pay attention because she doesn’t want to be afraid. I don’t blame her for that. I think Jade has a hate thing going on with them and viciously denies their — your kinds—existence.” He threw one leg to stretch along the railing as he shifted to get more comfortable. “Ade, well, he’ll just dismiss you as a Loo-Loo and go on about his business.”

“A what?” Billy asked.

“Loo-Loo. What we call ghosts in the bayou. He’ll respect you, so don’t worry none about it.”

“Speaking of,” Billy frowned. “Does he speak English, or just pretend he does?”

Nix laughed softly as he watched Jayce abandon his plane so he could chase after a rather large grasshopper. “That, my friends, is bona fide Cajun. Half English, half French, all heart.”

“All something,” Billy frowned. “We had to go to the library to figure out if we could translate him! Gregg studied French a few decades back and he could hardly understand him!”

“That’s okay, I can. If you get confused, just ask me. You’ll like Ade.”

“I heard them mention he works on an oilrig?” Gregg spoke up softly.

Nix dropped his cigarette butt into a soda can, and then set it on the railing. “Yeah, he’s a Derrickman. He gets way high up at the top of the rig and works from there. Dangerous job, he’s lost several friends over the years to it, but he loves the thrill of it. He’s good at what he does, though and it’s good money. He’s gone for long shots of time, but when he gets furlough, he comes home and spends every second with his girls. And he can cook like nobody’s business. I keep telling him to open a restaurant, that way, he can stay home and not risk his life. He just laughs and pats me on the head and tells me that I’m a good boy.”

“He’s huge,” Gregg said. “Does he work out?”

“Yes, and no. He’s always been muscled up like that. One of those lucky guys that can eye a set of weights and bulk up. And he puts his back into his work, all or nothing. Me? I’m thin, and I’d like to stay that way.” Nix chuckled.

“I never thought I’d meet anyone taller than me,” Billy said as he continued to lazily rock in the chair. “It’s… nice.”

“You feel like you got someone who understands how it feels to have to duck under a high door, huh?” Nix asked. Billy nodded softly in agreement.

*****

Nix called Ade that evening.

“Hey, sha! What you doin’ ringin’ me up and givin’ me such a good surprise, huh?” Ade’s loud voice greeted him after two rings. “Sure is good to have my baby brother giving me another jangle after I done talked to him last week, I tell you what.”

Nix couldn’t help but to smile. “Hey, Ade. I’m coming to visit.”

Ade grew quiet on his end of the line. For the past few years, since Nix had come out of jail clean, Ade had worked on him to come back to the South, come back home to him, no matter where home was. Nix always declined and Ade would start up again after an appropriate amount of time had passed. “You really mean that, boo? You not pulling my legs or nothing?” Ade asked in quiet awe.

“I’m not pulling your leg, I promise.” Nix said. “Matter of fact, I’m right here on your porch talking to you.” He pulled the phone away from his ear with a grimace as Ade let out a loud crow of joy on his end.

“Whooooo boy, you sure do know how to bring that good news home! Let me tell you that again, you sure do know how to bring that good news home!”

Nix chuckled. “Well, that’s one thing, but how’s it going to be received?”

“Oh, don’t you worry none ‘bout that. Kelly was askin’ about you the other night, in fact. You know she let things roll if you give her space.”

“Good, because the last thing I need right now is contention. I uh… I didn’t tell you that Phantom died, did I?”

“Who dat?”

“My friend, Sabaste?”

Ade pulled in a soft breath. “Oh, sha, I sure am sorry to hear that. I know you two sure did run tight up there. I met him once or twice, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Nix said softly through a pained smile. “You met him. You cooked for him, he never did stop talking about that.”

“That sure is some sorry news, little brother, I sure do hate hearing that. That what bring you on down home?”

“Yeah,” Nix said a little more tightly than he intended. “I just couldn’t handle it up there anymore. Being at work and looking at his empty bay, his tools, thinking of someone else coming in there and taking his place… trying to take his place. I’m sure by now that his townhouse is already up for sale, and I just couldn’t handle seeing that.”

“You always welcome home with us, boy. I’ll tell Kelly and the girls the bad news about your friend and when we come home, they gonna love up on you and make you know you got heart here, boo. You always got heart here, you know it.”

Nix smiled as a tear rolled down his cheek. “Thank you, Ade. You’re one in million.”

“I better be, if I wasn’t, the birthrate would be low. I was a big baby! You know that!” he laughed.

“You ain’t right,” Nix chuckled as he wiped the tear away.

“One of these days, you might not even notice that you tell me that.”

Nix let the conversation fall into a comfortable silence for a moment. “You know your place is haunted, don’t you?” He wanted to go ahead and get that subject out in the open, especially since he got along with the resident spirits. He didn’t want Ade catching him ‘talking to himself’. Again.

“Well, yeah, you know how that go.” Ade said thoughtfully. “People what sold it to us told us it got some boo’s in there, and you know what I say; if it don’t bother me, I don’t bother it. Just like an old ‘gater back in the swamps.”

“That’s true,” Nix agreed.

“Hey, about that old house right next to the big one. The stone one?” Ade said.

“Yeah? That old servants quarters?” Nix had poked around in there earlier that morning, just to see if anything interesting was lying around. Much to his dismay, it seemed full of junk left behind from previous tenants.

“Yeah. Reckon you could fix that up and live there? It’s got a flat roof you could turn into a patio. Do what you want, sha, you home now,” Ade urged gently. Now that Nix was there, he didn’t want to let him go again. “You home now.” When Nix didn’t answer, he pressed on further. “You hurtin’ bad, little Nikki, you know it, I know it. It bad enough to bring you home.”

Nix tipped his head back as he let out an explosive sigh. He closed his eyes and for the second time, silence dominated their conversation. Finally, as he listened to Jayce laugh happily while he chased after a little frog that hopped close enough to him in the grass to grab his attention, Nix made the snap decision. “Thanks, man, I’ll take you up on that. I appreciate it.”

“The boy has got him some sense!” Ade crowed on his end. Nix could practically see the smile on his brother’s face, bright as the sun breaking dark clouds.

“Yeah, well, don’t tell no one, or it might hurt my rep,” Nix sniffed, though by now, he was grinning, too. “Fine, I’ll get to work on it immediately, it’s got a lot of junk in there I’ve got to clean out first. I might have to set it out on the lawn so I can load it up easier and haul it off. I might make a mess for a while,” he warned.

“No problem, just clean up your mess when you done, or Kelly come after you with a fryin’ pan!” Ade laughed heartily. “Look, we gonna go get somethin’ to eat, I’ll chew your ear later, little brother. I love you.”

“You, too, Ade,” Nix said. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Hey!” Ade said before Nix could hang up. “I wanna tell you somethin’!”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t you go and do nothing dumb, not until I get there!”

“You know it,” Nix chuckled. “And don’t worry; I’ll save the dumb for when you get home, I promise not to do anything stupid.” He caught movement in the corner of his eye, and then swallowed hard as Billy, who was sporting a mean grin, slowly lifted up the boar bristle brush. Nix’s skin pulled into goose bumps at the horrible memory. “I promise never to do another stupid thing again in my life.” He said softly.