Chapter 12
Noa
The ride from Dessa Mae’s was completely silent.
My mind was reeling with everything she had said.
The weeping house and the river were more than enough, and I planned to find the weeping house, I just knew that was something that I needed to do alone.
Julian wasn’t built for all of this and just from the look on his face and the thickness in the air, I knew he was reaching his limit and that all of this was way too much for him.
What Dessa Mae said about my dad, led me straight to Magnolia Cemetery, but first I had to go inside the office at the cemetery to get directions to his gravesite. The grave keeper in the office didn’t ask any questions, she didn’t even say anything other than hello when we walked into the office.
She handed me a sheet of paper that looked like a hand drawn map of the cemetery that had been photocopied at least a billion times.
“Are you sure you’re okay with coming with me? You know you don’t have to do this? I’m okay with coming alone.”
“Listen, that old lady bout scared me shitless with all them southern legends, but I would be honored to come with you to visit your dad.”
We walked through the cemetery as a wave of all kinds of different emotions hit me.
I was scared, nervous, overcome with grief and the most prevalent was sorrow.
To hear that my dad’s death was made to look like an accident, but he was killed instead was devastating.
It definitely made sense as to why my mom didn’t want to ever speak on his passing.
When we found his grave, I let go of Julian’s hand then kneeled down and touched his headstone. In my peripheral I saw Julian step away but not too far away. I knew he was just giving me my privacy, and I loved him about that.
When I looked back at his headstone, I noticed a large Magnolia tree that was directly behind it.
The tree was massive and its branches provided shade over his gravesite.
But what was most disturbing were the blooms…
they were a crimson red not white and thanks to Dessa Mae, I knew exactly what that meant and it confirmed everything she said back at her shop.
My dad’s headstone was pretty big, like someone had spent a pretty penny for it. The first thing I noticed were the fresh flowers placed in the flower holder. Then the hardest part of it all was actually reading his headstone.
Isaiah James Sinclair…April 13, 1974 – October 13, 2003.
As I read his dates of birth and death, I traced the words and numbers with my finger as tears streamed from my eyes.
A devoted husband. A loving father…
I stared at the words; loving father for a few minutes before continuing.
He believed the truth was worth finding.
“The truth shall make you free.” – John 8:32
As I read the bottom of his headstone a chill swept down my spine and the hair on the back of my neck rose.
It was bone chilling because now knowing what I knew I felt like his headstone told more of his story than any file or article I could find on him.
He searched for the truth, and it got him killed and his murder believed his death set him free.
I was horrified and devastated at the same time and the only name that kept replaying in my mind was Dubois.
I wondered if the scholarship they funded had anything to do with them knowing who murdered my dad.
I couldn’t stop the tears as I felt Julian walk up behind me.
He knelt next to me and when he saw me crying, he helped me stand then wrapped his arms around me.
I cried on his chest, my chest heaving and all as he rubbed my back.
“I got you sunshine. It’s gon’ be okay…I’m here.” He consoled me and I nestled my face between his shoulder and neck.
He stood holding me in his arms for a couple of minutes and a cold breeze swept across us.
After a few more minutes, we turned to head back to the SUV and that’s when I noticed we weren’t alone.
Ezekiel was standing there the distance far enough to not know he was there but close enough to see it was him in a black suit, black gloves just watching us and I wondered how long had he been there.
“I can drive back to the hotel. I know that was a lot.” Julian suggested.
“I’d love that, but instead of going back to the room, can you put in directions for Magnolia & Pine. I could use a fresh, hot cup of perfectly brewed coffee and my girl Seraphine knows exactly how I like it.”
Once we made it to Magnolia & Pine, I couldn’t wait to get inside and tell Seraphine about my day.
Knowing what I now know about my dad’s passing hurt…
it really hurt bad and Seraphine had become a safe space for me especially when it came to talking to someone about the things I was discovering here.
Not that Julian wasn’t my safe space either, I just felt that Seraphine could relate more when it came to Magnolia Graves since he was learning about all of it just like I was.
When I walked in the bells chimed like usual, but this time Seraphine was busy. The place was packed and Ion even think she noticed that we were there. I normally sat at the front counter or a table close to the front, but today it was so busy that there were hardly any tables available.
“There’s a table in the back corner.” Julian said as he took my hand then led the way. “This looks like a nice little spot. You come here often?”
“Just about everyday since I made it to town. The owner, Seraphine, is the lady I was telling you about. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”
A young male waiter came to our table and took our drink and food orders and left a basket of honey butter croissants and water with lemon slices on the side.
While we waited for our food to come out, Julian was casually looking around while I scrolled through the pictures I had taken earlier at the gravesite.
“Hey suga pie! I glanced at your order. It should be right up. You know I had to bring you your coffee. I even brought a cup for your male friend.” Seraphine smiled as she looked between me and Julian.
“Hey you! Thank you boo! I was just telling him about you. This is my boyfriend, Julian.”
“Oh, aren’t you a handsome fella!” Seraphine beamed.
“You must be the infamous Seraphine.”
“I would love to sit and chat witcha but it’s jammed tighter than a junk drawer here. Soon as I clear some of these tables, I’ll be back.” Seraphine beamed before walking off.
“This coffee is tasty. That was very nice of her,” Julian said as he took a few more sips.
“Now you see why I come here every day,” I giggled. “I just love her…this is exactly what I needed. She always seems to know exactly what I need, and we don’t even know each other like that.”
“Check this old picture out,” Julian said pointing to a picture that was just behind me on the wall.
Even though it was an old picture, the fact that I’d studied pictures of the Dubois I was able to recognize, Delphine, Mr. Dubois, two young males, one that looked like Solomon, the other looked like a younger version of Ezekiel and in the middle was a young girl that had Seraphine’s exact face.
Underneath the picture engraved in the frame said… The Dubois Family.
It felt like all the wind had been knocked out of my sails.
Seraphine was a Dubois and she never thought to not only mention that to me, but she failed to tell me that Ezekiel and Solomon were her siblings.
I felt slided and betrayed, especially knowing all that I’ve learned.
She knew my parents, so she had to know what really happened to my dad.
And the scholarship, was that a cover up because the Dubois family had something to do with his death?
Did she know that too? She did mention that she was younger and according to the picture, she obviously was the youngest but there was no way she didn’t know anything.
I wondered if that was why she encouraged me to search through the archives.
It now made sense why her whole disposition shifted that first day Solomon came into the shop.
Their entire exchange made perfect sense now.
“Noa…babe, you good?” Julian asked but my words were caught in my throat.
I wanted to shout, cry and yell at the same time. I couldn’t understand why Seraphine kept that she was a Dubois from me. I got up from my seat even though the picture was right behind me, I wanted to get a closer look.
Taking my camera out I took a picture of the photo then turned toward the front counter. Seraphine was standing there watching me like a hawk with just and sadness in her eyes. It was at that moment all the questions I had were answered without me even having to ask her.
I didn’t want to turn the shop out and make a scene, so instead, I grabbed my things and left without saying anything to Seraphine on my way out.
The ride back to the hotel was not only silent, but I couldn’t stop the crying.
Everything about today was just too much and my head was pounding.
I didn’t even wait for our food to come out to take to go, I just left.
Julian drove to the hotel, the whole time he held my hand, his thumb rubbing across the top of it.
Once we made it to the hotel and parked, the girl at the reception desk stopped me before I could make it to the elevator. By then I had stopped crying, but I know I looked a hot ass mess.
“Hey, Ms. Sinclair, I have something for you,” she said but when she looked at my face she stepped from around the counter. “You okay baby doll?”
“I’m fine. It’s just been a really long day.”
“Here,” she handed me a small white envelope, “I’ma send up some treats to the room. It’s on the house sweetheart.”
I thank her, stuffed the envelope into my leather camera case, then headed straight for the elevator.
“What did she want?” Julian asked as we stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hallway toward the room door.
“Ion know, she probably saw I was upset. She checked on me and said she’s going to send up some treats.”