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written for day 9 of 30 x 31, prompt: song lyric as a title [also on tumblr]

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notes: I am going to write & post the other days of the challenge, but this one's done, so here it is! I read bizeke's Charley/Remy fic and remembered how much I missed the Bordelons, but for some reason Ralph Angel wanted to shine through.

+ title comes from Usher's "Throwback"

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Ralph Angel knocks against the hood of the truck a few times. Not too many, not too loud neither since he don't want to grab anybody else's attention. Blue's in the house with Darla, and neither of them batted an eye when he said he had to go out and talk to Remy. No reason to get them all worked up when this whole thing should be over in a moment or two. So he knocks on the hood of the truck to get out a bit of his energy while Remy heads out and around to meet him in front.

This whole thing would be a lot easier if Remy had just stayed Remy. But no, Remy had to become their new farm advisor, then whatever it is that he's out here doing with Charley. And, all Ra's saying is that it'd be nice to talk to his and Pops' friend instead of having to also talk to the guy trying to get his sister through her divorce.

"Hey." Remy starts a shake that Ralph Angel finishes. It's easy, normal for a few seconds. Then Remy's hands drop back to his sides, and he sizes up the house with a glance. There's only two cars out here, Remy's and Ra's, so nobody else could really be around. 'Less Charley's starting up her runs again.

Ralph Angel checks around too, just in case. He says, "Just us today. Like you asked."

Remy nods. His shoulders come back level. "Thanks for having me over, man. I wanted to talk to you away from everybody else, you know, give you a chance to say what you need, and I'll do the same."

Of course. "You playing mediator now?"

Remy laughs at that. But he's careful with his words. "I'm just helping out. Doing what I can."

"Appreciate it. But -" what exactly is Remy going to fix with all this? Is he going to take the words from Ra's mouth over to Charley's ears and vice versa? He going to fly back and forth between them since Charley only listens to whoever can help her out the most? Ralph Angel circles his jaw around. "Now, I don't mean any disrespect by saying this, but I don't need you talking for me. Not to Charley, not to anybody."

Everybody out here seems to think Ralph Angel needs their help. That he can't get anything done without their say so and their contributions. But he's raising Blue mostly on his own now. He got the farm together mostly on his own too. So, could someone fill him in on when exactly he started needing help? Because he's been fine since Charley gave him the reigns and a pay stub. Been fine before that too.

"I hear you. Alright. And I will say, since we're being honest here, that I told Charley to trust you more. But that wasn't a hand out. You earned a little defense. What you've done out here, with all of this..." Remy turns to see the fields, but he never finishes the sentence. Never quite gets past the view of what they got out there. All that green that they made happen. Between the work and the cane, between a little faith and whatever sort of something carried over from the past generations.

But that's the thing, isn't it? They're building on top of a lot of history here. That's how this kind of farming works. The mother stalk, or the seed cane, helps with the next year, and the year after that, and the whole process plays out so well because of what people put into it long before their time. And Ralph Angel's like that strong mother stalk there. He's the base that carried over to keep the soil sweet and ready. He's what'll be here the next year when everybody else has moved on to something new - be it grinding cane at their new mills, or boasting about how sweet their new strain is, or whatever it is Nova plans on doing. Saving somebody else's little brother he supposes. But Ralph Angel will still be right here, on this farm, and if all Remy wants to do is make sure that Ralph Angel's not gonna jeopardize all that for whatever fight he's in with Charley, then this can be over right now.

Remy turns back, and there ain't nothing but pride and affection on his face. "Your pops would be proud."

Ralph Angel grins, even lets out a bit of a laugh. "Not too bad for a first timer. And this here is just my first try on my own, but next year, all these hiccups not gon' happen. We'll bring in more than two hundred acres. Probably not all of 'em, but more. And by that time, Charley's mill should be running, so we can use it then."

"Then?" Remy's neck strains. The veins pulse a second or two. "What about now?"

"What about now? Nobody around here cares about my plan, so-"

"Your plan is a great plan. No one's denying you that."

"Charley is."

"Charley's short-sighted, at times. But she's more than willing to eat the cost if this whole thing goes wrong," Remy says.

Spoken like a true mediator. Like somebody too far up somebody else's ass cheeks to hear what they're saying. Charley's got everybody on her side on this one. All the other farmers, Nova, even Darla sounds like she'd rather Ralph Angel just give in. But why risk everything now on something that might drain everything Charley's worked for? She's already going through the divorce. Already leaving behind her whole life in California. And now she wants to do this? Why can't she ever just relax for a second? Sit back, see how something's done before running off to change it?

Ralph Angel crosses his arms. "You want my okay? Is that why you're here?"

Remy shakes his head. "I wanted to tell you what I see when I look at your family. Because," he chuckles, shakes his head again, and sends some kind of smile down to the dirt at his feet, "you Bordelons are a funny bunch. Brilliant farmers, and loving, kind people, but none of you ever listen. Not to each other and not to anyone else. You only do what you want to do. Not that I should talk. We all know egos run rampant down here. Got to be proud and daring to bet your whole life on the whims of the land. But I think you get caught up sometimes in the different visions you all have for the future."

"This is the future," Ra says.

"For you." Remy must feel like he's saying too much 'cause he leans back against the car for a spell. "Brother Ernest loved to talk about the future. I remember being out here as a kid. Barely taller than the cane, but that smell - that grinding season smell, you know it." He smiles. "Like burnt sugar everywhere."

Remy hums. Licks his lips. "Best smell in the world. So I'd come around, help out if he'd let me. And while we worked, he used to tell me that if I worked hard enough, I could have something like this one day. He said we all had to nurture what we have, sometimes even break it down a bit, to get to where we want to be."

Yeah, Ralph Angel got the same speech. The farming metaphors never really got old for Pops. Ra figures he'll be the same way with Blue. He's got a bunch stored up, and if he puts those with his stories from being inside, then he can keep Blue on the right track.

He figures, one day, Blue could take over the farm. And if Blue doesn't want it, then somebody else. Somebody in the family of course. And then maybe Blue could go off to college, like what Micah's doing. He probably won't be growing up in private schools like Micah. But Blue can still get a good education right there in public ones. He doesn't even have to toughen up or anything 'cause he showed that he can fight. He'll be fine. And he'll go to some big school that has nice sweaters and shirts for the parents, and Ralph Angel and Darla can wear matching University Dad and University Mom jackets around the house. And the sugar in the pies at Christmas will come right from their farm.

Remy starts up talking again. "Now, I don't know about you, but I want to be able to do this for a long time. I want to point at the sugar in the shaker and say, 'you know, you can taste which strain is mine because of how sweet it is. It's special made for the soil out here in St. Jo. And it goes great in my morning coffee.'" He pushes off the car. "And, God willing, if we ever get our acts together, I figure I could say that to Charley, or Micah, or anybody else who wanders through the house. But that's my future. That's my dream. Do you know hers?"

Ralph Angel glances out into the land. "I don't know. Probably keep on building empires." Keep on ignoring his calls and ideas. Keep on disregarding everybody else in the family since they're too simple to keep up with her.

"Maybe you should ask. Maybe you should try getting to know her again as a person, then everything else will come a hell of a lot easier." Remy clicks his tongue. "She's more than just part owner. More than just your sister too. But if you two don't start recognizing how similar you are, or how you can help each other out with all this, then I don't think any of us are getting those dreams."

It's a good speech, but there's one little flaw in the plan. "How am I supposed to talk to her, Remy? She ignores every call, every text-"

"That's why I texted her. Told her to meet me outside the shed in an hour. She's in the dog house, so I figure she'll be pulling up pretty soon just to make sure that I know how sorry she is."

Ralph Angel really doesn't need to know all of that. "Your point being...?"

Remy pulls his keys back out his pocket. "I'm not staying. You and Charley are going to talk. By yourselves. About yourselves. And I'm going to catch up on my shows. With my phone turned off. And when I turn it back on, amidst the many messages asking me why I got involved, I hope there's one or two saying that you worked it out."

Ra stands tall, so he can look down his nose at Remy. "You're going to an awful lot of trouble over the two of us."

Remy shrugs. "What can I say? There's something about you Bordelons that makes me care." He slips out of their stare and heads back 'round the car. "Tell Charley we'll talk tonight."

Ra nods despite himself. "Yeah, yeah." He knocks on the hood of the car again. Not too loud, not too strong. Just enough to say the thanks he can't bring himself to say aloud. Ralph Angel might not need help, or even want it, but every once in a while, he could take it. He watches Remy pull off and makes his way over to the shed. If they've got to talk to get those dreams, then they could talk. Maybe she'd even listen.

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