Author's note: The chapter is rated for M for language (The Wonder Twins make an appearance, so you know what foul mouths they have LOL) LO:CI characters belong to Dick Wolf and company. I'm just taking them for a spin. Thanks to all who have read, reviewed, put me or this story on their Favorite or Alert list. I really do appreciate it. Any and all mistakes made are my own. Read, review and enjoy.
Two years ago
2nd Sunday in August
It was 4:45 a.m. Bobby sighed as he stood with his arms folded across his chest, staring out of the bedroom window. He was
wearing boxers and his favorite pair of dark blue lounging pants. Angel had on his gray t-shirt. He walked over and turned
off the nightstand lamp, smiling at her sleeping form. She had a lavender satin scarf on her head. This past Tuesday, she had
had her hair done back into the cornrow style she sported when he first met her. Today was her last day in New York City.
Her flight was scheduled to take off in 12 hours, bound for Nashville. He walked back to look out of the window again and
sighed. When he had gotten up and went to the bathroom about an hour ago, it dawned on him that she would be leaving his
apartment for the last time today. He was a little saddened to be coming home to an empty apartment later on that day.
Bobby thought about some of the things he had done with Angel this past week. They had gone to Central Park, walked
across the Brooklyn Bridge, gone to visit the Statue of Liberty. He smiled to himself as he remembered how happy and
excited she had been about doing the tourist things. Angel had told him that she always visited Drew and Janelle's old
stomping grounds when she came to New York. She had never been to any of the tourist places. He was glad to show her all
those places and some of his old stomping grounds, too. "Bobby?" He turned at the sound of his name. Angel was sitting up,
one foot hanging over the edge of the bed. "You okay?" she asked softly. He smiled and nodded. "I couldn't get back to
sleep." "Oh." She got up and walked over to him. She put her head on his shoulder as he put an arm around her.
"You watching over the city like Batman?" she asked. Bobby lightly chuckled. "I don't think I can quite pull off the costume
like Michael Keaton did." "I've seen you in jeans. I think you can," Angel said with a smile. He gave her a small squeeze.
She moved to stand in front of him, putting her arms around his waist. "What time you going to see your mom?" she asked,
looking up at him. Bobby looked down at her, shrugging. "I'll probably go see her after I see you off at the airport." "You
don't have to do that. I don't want you to miss your visit with her." He leaned down and kissed her, then put his forehead
against hers. "I can always visit my mom. I want to spend as much time as I can with you before you leave," he said softly.
Angel bounced on her toes and smiled. "Thank you." They hugged each other for a long time. "I could get used to her being
here all the time," he thought to himself.
"What are you thinking, Angel?" She shook her head. "Just memorizing the moment." What she was really thinking was
how much she wanted to stay in New York to be with him, but she dismissed that thought quickly. She didn't want to scare
him with her feelings. Bobby kissed the top of her head before pulling back. "For your last breakfast here in the Big Apple,
why don't I make my world famous omelet for you?" She smiled. "That sounds like a good idea." He leaned down and
whispered in her ear, "Then maybe we can have dessert afterwards?" Angel chuckled softly at Bobby's devilishly sexy smile.
She hooked her finger over the elastic of his pants as she started walking backwards, pulling him towards the bed. "Why
don't we have dessert first, then breakfast?" she said seductively. He pulled her into his arms and said as he started to kiss
her neck, "You bad girl. You read both of my minds."
Saturday, August 19
Angel's home, 11:55 a.m.
The distant sound of thunder rumbling and rain drops hitting the window woke up Angel. She inhaled deeply and sighed. She was still
laying on her side, facing Bobby. He, however, was laying on his back, one arm resting above his head, the other laying on her hip.
She noticed that the nightstand lamp was off and that they were still underneath the summer quilt. She smiled to herself as she watched
Bobby sleeping. She traced his nose, lips and cheekbones with her index finger. She liked the scruffy feel of his stubbly cheek.
Peaceful was the first word that popped in her mind as she continued to look at him. A frown broke Bobby's peaceful face as
Angel's house phone rang. She moved his arm from off of her hip as she rolled over to answer it.
"Hello?" Angel said as she sat up in the bed.
"Hey, baby. What's up?" Janelle said.
"Hey, Boo. Nothing much. I just woke up."
"Oh. Did I interrupt anything, I hope?" Angel rolled her eyes as she chuckled. "You are so nasty. No, you didn't interrupt anything."
Janelle laughed. "Shit, let me call back so I can interrupt then." Angel giggled. "Tell me again why I call you my best friend," she said. "Because I make you laugh and we both like Bruce Lee movies."
"Oh, yeah. That's right. I almost forgot. Anyway, what are you up to today?"
"Me and Drew are going by the shop for a little bit before we head to the will reading."
"That is today, isn't it? What time?" "2:00 p.m. at Dee's house. You want to go?"
"No," Angel answered. "That's what I figured," Janelle said. "I'mma tell Mr. Fisher that you couldn't make it."
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
"Bobby's friend Rob is suppose to come by the shop sometime today. He bought Bobby a laptop for his birthday. He's coming to buy some accessories to go with it." "Oh, okay. That's nice"
"Anyway, I was calling to ask if you and Bobby wanted to hang out with us tonight. We want to take you out to celebrate last night's performance."
Angel looked down at Bobby. She smoothed back a lock of his hair. "Um, I'd like to, but I'll have to ask him."
Bobby looked up at Angel. "Ask me what?"
She looked down at him in surprise. "Hold on a sec, J," she said. She covered the phone's mouthpiece and said, "Janelle wants to know if we want to hang out with them tonight. Do you want to?" Bobby nodded. "Sure. Sounds like fun," he said with a smile.
Angel uncovered the mouthpiece and said, "Bobby said sure. You coming by here or do you want us to meet you somewhere?"
"We'll come to you. How about 5:00, 5:30?" Janelle asked. Angel glanced at the digital clock. It read 12:07 p.m. She replied, "Okay. Cool. See you then. Bye."
"Bye."
Angel pressed the 'end' button and placed the phone down on the nightstand table. She slid back down under the quilt, laying on her
side to face Bobby. He turned his head to look at her. He smiled and closed his eyes as she started tracing his facial features again
with her index finger. "What are you thinking?" Angel asked. Bobby's smile widen a little. "That Garvin was a very lucky man." He
opened his eyes and looked at Angel. She was smiling, too. "Thank you," she said softly. Bobby lifted his arm so that she could
snuggle closer to him, putting her head on his chest. He sighed as he inhaled deeply, the smell of the rain invading his nostrils. "It's
raining," he commented quietly. "Yeah. The sound of the thunder woke me up." He smiled to himself as he remembered how she
would stare out of the window in his spare bedroom to watch the rain fall. Whenever it rained, he would always get up and go look
out of the same window like she did to feel a connection to her.
"Janelle and Drew are picking us at what time?" Bobby asked. "Around 5 or 5:30. They're gonna swing by the shop first, then head
over to DeMarco's house for the reading of his will." "You didn't want to go?" Angel shook her head. He squeezed her lightly.
Without her saying anything, he knew that she didn't want to have to deal with The Wonder Twins for a while. Bobby was okay with
that because he knew if either one of them or Brewster said anything or laid a hand on her, he would deal them himself personally.
"Any idea where they're taking us?" Angel thought for a second. "Hmm. Knowing them, we're probably going to dinner and a movie.
Drew and Janelle always took Garvin and me out to celebrate after a successful gig." "Ah. I see. So, we're keeping up tradition,
huh?" She laughed. "Yeah. I guess so."
"You didn't tell me where your party's going to be," Angel said. "Oh. It's going to be at Alex's parents' home. We're having a
cookout." "Oh, okay. I hope it doesn't get rained out." "Me, too." Bobby inhaled deeply. "Are you coming to the party?" he asked.
Angel remained silent for a minute before saying quietly, "I don't know. Probably not." He sighed as he squeezed her again. "If you're
worried about Alannah being there, I'll tell her not to come." "No, no, no. It has nothing to do with Alannah. I've always been
nervous about meeting new people for the first time. Even when we came back to the States and met our parents' families for the first
time, I remember being an anxious and nervous 4 year old about meeting some strange people I was related to that I had never seen
before. I can handle meeting fans, but meeting a whole lot of people who will actually get to know me scares me sometimes."
Bobby hugged Angel. "Tell me about the first time you met Garvin's family," he said softly. Angel sighed. "Garvin and I started getting
pretty serious about each other by the time my 19th birthday rolled around. For my birthday, I got this really mushy pre-Valentine's
card from him, declaring his undying love for me. Anyway, that summer, on the Fourth of July, I went with him to New Jersey for his
family reunion. After I had been introduced to everyone, his mom pulled him to the side and said, 'Why did you bring that half white
girl here?' and a few more choice words about me." "Ouch," Bobby said. "That was a mean thing to say." "Yeah, I know. Garvin
apologized for her because she was drunk. The next day, she came to me herself and apologized for the things she said. She said she
didn't realize how much she had had to drink before we showed up." "I saw you hugged her at the funeral, so I take it you and she
were able to get along." "Yeah. She was always a little overprotective and overbearing when it came to Garvin because he was her
only son. She'd make snide remarks sometimes, but would always apologize afterwards. Or Garvin made her apologize. I kinda got
used to after a while. It was just her way of showing love for her son."
"Well, I can tell you that Alex's family will be very happy to meet you. Janet and Johnny, Alex's parents, will probably ask a lot of
questions to get a feel of what kind of person you are," Bobby said. Angel nodded her head silently. "What happens if I don't pass
the test?" she asked quietly. "I think they have the good sense not to say anything. Don't worry about what they think." He kissed the
top of her head to reassure her. "How many people are going to be at the party?" she asked. Bobby snorted. "God, the kids will
outnumber the adults easily." Angel laughed. "That many, huh?"
Bobby started counting on his fingers. "Let's see. There's Alex's older brother John and his wife Shannon. They have 4 kids: Justina,
John, Jr., Michael and Mackenzie. Then there's Jill, Alex's sister, and her husband Bryce with their 3 kids, Brianna, Barbara and
Christopher Nathan. Finally, there's Shane and his brood of 4: Sean, Seth, Sherrie, and Shana. You throw in Lewis, Rob and
Courtney, Alannah and Chazen, along with Alex herself and her parents, that's over 20 people." "Gee, you really are popular," Angel
said with smile. Bobby laughed. "Knowing Alex like I do, she's probably invited Logan and Wheeler and our former captain and his
family and other people I wouldn't expect to be there." He shook his head. "There's no telling how many people I'll see on Sunday."
"Who's Chazen?" "Alannah's new playmate for the weekend." "Oh."
Bobby moved to turn on his side so that he could look at Angel. He stroked her cheek softly as he memorized her face. She smiled at
him. "Will you at least think about coming to the party? Please?" he asked quietly. She nodded. He smiled, then kissed her on the lips.
Angel snuggled again into Bobby's arms as they fell into a comfortable silence. He sighed deeply as he held her. It had been a long
time since he felt this comfortable being able to open himself up to someone. Right at this moment, Bobby realized Angel held his
heart in her hands without her knowing it. That fact scared the hell out of him because that meant she could hurt him deeply and he
would be powerless to stop her. "I just hope we can make this relationship work," he thought to himself as he listened to the rain
and Angel's breathing.
Saturday, August 19
Enchanted Ecstasy Day Spa, 11:30 a.m.
Alex sighed contently as she wriggled her toes in the warm water. "I could get used to doing this everyday," the brunette sitting to
Alex's left said. Alex smiled and said, "I totally agree with you, Shannon." "Well, if you two continue being nice to me, I just might let
you come with me all the time," Jill said. They chuckled. Bryce, Jill's husband, had won 18 months worth of free day spa services at
Enchanted Ecstasy Spa from a drawing at the engineer conference he had attended during the week. Shannon leaned forward to look
at Jill and said, "Well, you know you are my favorite sister-in-law." "Hey!" exclaimed Alex. "I thought I was your favorite sister-in-
law." "Of course you are. Just let her be my favorite until 18 months have passed." "Gotcha." They all laughed.
"Did Mom say what time she wanted to go grocery shopping today?" Jill asked. "She wants us to come by her house after we're
done here," answered Alex. "Mom's been buying decorations all week. I swear I think she's bought out Party City." Shannon
chuckled. "You're not kidding. Dad came by our house to get our helium tank. He said he'll be damned if he was going to blow up 5
bags of balloons without some kind of help." "She's just so excited about Bobby letting us do something special for him. She wants
everything to be perfect." "Speaking of perfect," Shannon started, "tell me about his girlfriend Alannah." Alex gave her a puzzled
look. "Who called Alannah perfect?" she asked. "Mom did. She said any woman that Bobby has been involved with for longer than a
year must be the perfect Miss Right for him."
Alex sighed, wishing she had never mentioned Alannah's name. "Me and my big mouth," she thought. "They are just friends.
Nothing more. Nothing less," she said. Shannon and Jill exchanged knowing glances at each other. "Of course, they are," Jill said.
"I'm sure if they get engaged, you'll at least tell us, won't you?" Alex sighed and shook her head. "You two are unbelievable. How in
the hell do you make the leap from 'they're dating' to 'they're getting engaged' when you haven't even met the woman yet?" Shannon
shrugged. "It's obvious Bobby's serious about this woman. Why else would he bring her to the party other than to let us meet his
soon to be wife?" "He's bringing her because he's fucked her on his birthday for the past 4 years," Alex thought. "Of course,
with Angel in the picture, that may change." She shook herself out of her thoughts. "I don't even know if Alannah is coming on
Sunday." "Why wouldn't she come?" Jill asked. "Because Bobby is spending the weekend with Angel," Alex thought Instead, she
replied, "Alannah is a clothes buyer for some high end retail boutiques here in New York and Los Angeles. She travels a lot all over
the world." "I hope she gets back in town soon. I'm really looking forward to meeting her." "I'll call Bobby later to see if Alannah is
in town." "And to see exactly how much drama we can expect to happen at this party."
Saturday, August 19
DeMarco Anderson's home, 2:00 p.m.
Janelle and Drew were sitting on the couch next to Sasha in the living room of DeMarco's home. Sasha patted the spot next to her as
Lynnette came out of the kitchen. "Have a seat, Mamacita," she said. Lynnette plopped down on the couch. "Thank you, Sister-in-
Law," she said. Sasha smiled as she took her hand and squeezed it. There were 2 straight back dining room chairs sitting to the left of
Drew. Mary Frances and Albert came in and headed towards those chairs. Drew stood up and said, "Take my seat, Miss Mary."
She waved him back down. "That's okay, Drew. You stay there. This chair is just what I need for my back." Albert waited until she
sat before he took his seat. On the opposite wall, to Lynnette's right, sat Eden and David Brewster on the loveseat. Eric was sitting in
a straight back chair next to Eden.
Eric stared at Drew while Eden stared at Janelle. "I can't stand them motherfuckers," Eric whispered under his breath. "What the
fuck are they here for anyway? Shit, except for Mama and Daddy, why in the hell are any of them here? They oughta know DeMarco
left everything to me and Eden because we was his favorites." Eden patted his hand. "Don't worry about them bastards, Brother.
Once Mr. Fisher tells them that they ain't getting nada, we can kick them out and have a party." He smiled at his sister. Brewster
leaned forward to talk to both of them. "Eric, have you had a chance to search the house to find the jump drive?" Eric shook his
head. "Dammit, Eric, that was a stupid thing you did anyway! If you hadn't stolen it from me, we'd be in business by now," he said
sharply under his breath. "Fuck you, Davey," Eric hissed. "You had Eden steal from Frankie Devil. I've heard the stories about that
crazy motherfucker. You like playing with fire, dontcha?" Through tightly clinched teeth, Brewster said, "I told your black ass that I
had everything under control. That I could have gotten some people to help me take out Frank James. But instead you fucking panic!"
Eden pushed her way forward to pry them apart. "Will both of you fuckers take a damn chill pill?" she said through her teeth. "This is
not the place to talk about that. Anyway, Frankie doesn't have a clue who stole from him." Brewster sat back, running his hand
through his hair. "That's right," he said quietly. "Because if he did know, we all would have been branded by now. Or at the very
least, he would have summoned the Killer Frankies back from wherever he banished them to get them to find the person who stole
from him. My sources have assured me that they are not back in town." Eric sat back, shaking his head. "As soon as we find that
jump drive, you better have The Devil taken out before he has a chance to get any of us." Eden patted Eric's hand again. "You worry
too much, E.J. I can handle Frank James. All I have to do is let him have some of this pussy and he'll forget all about that jump drive."
Brewster put one arm around Eden's shoulder while he put his hand between her legs, rubbing up and down through the fabric of her
linen shorts. He whispered in her ear, "I thought this pussy was mine." Eden turned to him and smiled. "It is yours. You just have to
share it with Frankie for a little while."
"Oh, God! I'm going to be sick," Janelle said under her breath to Drew as she caught sight of the action happening between Eden and
Brewster. Drew looked where she looking and made a face. "Dang, Janelle! You did NOT have to point out the porno show to me."
"Oh, no! If I got to see it, so do you. I'm not the only who's going to have their retinas scarred for life." Sasha and Lynnette turned
their heads to look at Janelle and Drew. "What are you two talking about?" Sasha asked. She and Lynnette had been so busy talking
to each other that they missed the action. Janelle shook her head. "Y'all don't even want to know," she said. She looked off as
Brewster stood up and started to walk towards them. "Oh, hell! What does this fool want?" she muttered under her breath. Brewster
stopped in front of the couch. He nodded and smiled at everyone. "On behalf of my clients sitting over there, I just want to let you all
know that as soon as it is announced that the house is theirs, you all need to vacate the premises immediately or you'll be charged
with trespassing." He leaned forward to Janelle and said in a loud stage whisper, "Oh, and you might want to take the 2 burly security
guards with you as well before I have them arrested for violating their parole." He straightened back up, flashing a toothy smile. Then
he walked off and took his seat next to Eden. Eden and Eric both gave Janelle smug looks as they high fived each other.
Janelle folded her arms across her chest and cocked her head to one side, then the other side. "Oh, FUCK NO!!" she said. Drew
and Sasha both tried to grab Janelle by her arms, but she jumped up very quickly. She stood up, one hand on her hip, the other hand
pointing a finger at Eden. "What?! You so scared that you got to send your punk ass boy over there to do your dirty work?! Oh, hell
no! If you feeling froggy, motherfucker, then LEAP!" Eden narrowed her eyes as she got up and started walking towards Janelle.
"Eden Jane Anderson!" Mary Frances boomed. She snapped her attention from Janelle to her mother. "I'm not in the mood to fool
with you and Eric James today! Sit your narrow ass down. NOW!" "Yes, Mama," she said as she sneered at Janelle before sulking
off to the loveseat. Mary Frances rubbed her forehead. "Janelle Elizabeth Spencer, sit down before I start yelling at you." Janelle
sighed. "Yes, ma'am." She sat down next to Drew, but continued staring at Eden. Albert shook his head, wondering what the hell
was happening to his family. "Lord, please. Help us," he thought. He put his arm around his wife.
A tall, dark skinned man, who looked to be in his early 50's, with gray hair dressed in a business suit walked out of the kitchen.
"Sorry, I'm late everyone," he said. "I'm Thomas Fisher. I'm the lawyer who drew up DeMarco's will." Apparently, Mr. Fisher had
no idea about the battle that almost took place before he came into the room. Or he did know, but chose to ignore it. He reached into
the binder that he held in his hand and pulled out a clear plastic DVD sleeve. He pulled out the DVD that was contained inside of the
sleeve and put into the DVD player. "Before I play this, I just wanted to let you all know that DeMarco did have a written will as
well. He wanted to express his wishes verbally to all of you as well." Mr. Fisher pressed 'play' on the remote. He remained standing,
moving out of the way so that everyone could see the TV. Junior and Junebug came up and stood behind him.
DeMarco's smiling image appeared on the screen. "There's my baby," Mary Frances said tearfully. Drew reached over and
squeezed her hand. "Hey, family," DeMarco said. "Well, since you all are here viewing this, it must mean one thing: that I'm dead.
Mama, I know you're crying, but you don't have. I learned to accept whatever would happen to me a long time ago." Mary Frances
dabbed at her eyes as she shook her head. "Just because you accepted it doesn't mean I did," she said quietly to the screen.
DeMarco's image sighed heavily. "Mr. Fisher has my official last will and testament on paper. I just wanted to tell you all what you
wanted to know without having to listen to a bunch of legalese. Anyway, let me get the legal mumbo jumbo words out of the way. I,
DeMarco Louis Anderson, being of sound mind and body, do hereby leave the following." His image sighed again as he looked into
the camera.
"To Sasha Cruz, one of my best friends and the mother of my beautiful daughter Celena Lynnette Cruz Anderson, I'm leaving you
everything that is contained in my safety deposit box at the bank. Mr. Fisher has all the documentation you'll need to get into it. Your
name is on all of the important papers, so you and Celena will be taken care of." Sasha covered her mouth as she started crying.
"Sasha, even though we didn't get married, I always thought of you as my wife. Thank you for giving me the most beautiful child in the
whole wide world. I want you to know I love both of you very, very much."
"To my parents, my aunt and uncle, Albert and Mary Frances Anderson. Mr. Fisher is about hand you the deed to the house."
DeMarco's image paused for a moment as Mr. Fisher reached into his binder and pulled out a piece of paper. He walked over to
Albert and handed it to him. Mr. Fisher went back to where he was standing. Eden and Eric's mouths dropped open with surprise.
"Oh, my God!" Janelle said under her breath. She clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Drew rolled his
eyes and exhaled heavily as he realized Janelle was laughing by the way her shoulders were moving. He put his hand on her thigh and
whispered, "Quit laughing, Janelle. This is not the time or place to laugh." "The hell it ain't!" she replied with her mouth still covered.
DeMarco's image continued talking. "Daddy, I know you and Mama ain't gonna leave New Jersey to come live in this house, so I'd
like for you to sell it and split the money between you, Lynnette, DeAndre, Dianna, Dayna and Dwight. Y'all can take whatever
you'd like to have out of the house. Whatever else is left, give it to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. No matter how much they cry
and beg, DON'T give Eden and Eric a damn thing!" All eyes fell on the Wonder Twins, whose mouths were still hanging open. "You
might want to close your mouth before you catch a fly or some other bug," Lynnette said sarcastically to the twins. Eden gave her a
cold look while Mary Frances said sharply, "Lynnette Frances! Behave!"
"Eric James and Eden Jane Anderson, the black sheep of the family." DeMarco's image shook its head. "I'm gone now, so there's
nobody left or willing to put up with your foolishness. You know that saying 'do unto others as you would have done unto you?' All I
can say is whatever mean or spiteful things you two have and/or will do, it's gonna come back on you and bite you in the ass 3 times
as hard. Anyway, Mr. Fisher has a check for the both of you for $5,000.00." Mr. Fisher pulled the check out of his binder and
handed it to Eric. Eric looked at it before handing it to Eden. "5 Gs? What the fuck is this shit?!" she said. "That's all the money you
get from me," DeMarco's image said. "It's suppose to be for the both of you, but Eric, knowing you like I do, you're gonna let Eden
have the whole thing. Contrary to what you may have believed, Eden, any- and everything I earned or owned was NOT yours. It was
mine and mine alone. I let you and Eric take from me just to keep you two from bothering anybody else."
The image let out a chuckle. "Eden, I got one more thing to say to you before I go on. I know you got sticky fingers, baby, so
whatever you've picked up, you better put it back. Because knowing Drew and Janelle like I do, Junior and Junebug are there. They
will tell them to search you before you walk out that door. And don't offer to suck their dicks to get out of being searched if they have
to search you. That's not ladylike." Mary Frances and Albert gasped. "Oh, Lord!" Albert exclaimed. Eden turned slightly red and
sunk down into her seat a little bit. Sasha, Lynnette, Janelle and Drew all looked down at the floor, hoping to hide their smiles. Janelle
had to cover her mouth again to keep from laughing. Drew thumped her knee and shook his head. "I can't help it," she whispered.
"Finally, to Andrew and Janelle Spencer and Angelica Pierson-St. John. I'm glad I got to know you guys and was able to call you
my friends. I love all of you. Mr. Fisher has a check for each of you for $1,000.00" Mr. Fisher pulled out the checks and a set of car
keys. He handed Drew and Janelle their checks. "Where's Ms. Pierson-St. John?" he asked. "Angel couldn't make it today," Janelle
said. "She had some work business to take care of." Mr. Fisher nodded his head. He gave Angel's check and the car keys to Janelle.
"Angel, I'm giving you the keys to the Caddy. The title to it is in the safety deposit box. Sasha will give it to you. I want you to have
the Caddy because me and Garvin bought that car together to work on. He let me have it after we finished working on it. It's only fair
that I give it you."
DeMarco's image inhaled, then exhaled before smiling. "Well, that's all worldly possessions I have. I love you all. Like I said before,
I accepted whatever fate was destined for me a long time ago. My sincerest hope is that whatever good I have done has outweighed
the bad I have done. Y'all be good and take care of each other. Peace." The image threw up the peace sign before the screen turned
to black. Mr. Fisher turned off the DVD player with the remote. He stood in front of the TV and said, "This concludes the reading of
DeMarco Louis Anderson's will. If any of you have questions, I will meet with you individually in the kitchen." He turned to look at
Eric and Eden. "Per your brother's instructions, I am to have both of you and any of your friends escorted off this property
immediately." He motioned for Junebug and Junior. Eden jumped, yelling, "You can't make me leave! This is my brother's house!"
She looked at Mary Frances and Albert. "Mama! Daddy!" she pleaded. "Tell them we can stay!" Mary Frances stood up and shook
her head. "Eden, Eric. Right now there needs to be some peace in this house. Y'all just leave right now. I'll let you know when you
can come back." Eric jumped up and stood next to Eden. They looked at each other before turning to their mother. "Mama, please!!"
they begged. "I can't deal with this right now." Mary Frances threw up her hands and walked out into the direction of the kitchen.
Mr. Fisher, Albert, Sasha and Lynnette followed behind her.
Eden glared at Drew and Janelle. "You made DeMarco leave us nothing!" she spat. Janelle opened her mouth to say something, but
Drew put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Let it go, baby. They ain't worth the breath you're about to waste." Janelle exhaled
and leaned back against her husband. Junior and Junebug had descended upon the twins. Junior had Eric by his arm; Junebug had
Eden by hers. "Y'all need to leave now," Junebug said, pointing to the door. "You, too, Brewster." Brewster looked up at the 2
bodyguards. He smiled weakly as he ran his fingers through his hair. He stood up, heading towards the door first. Junior and Junebug
practically dragged the unwanted houseguests out of the door.
Drew and Janelle both let out heavy sighs. "I'm too old for this shit," Drew said. Janelle let out a little laugh. "Honey, you and me
both." Drew got up, held out his hand to Janelle to help her up. They walked arm in arm out the door to their car. "Well, Old Man,
you ready to pick up the new lovebirds?" Janelle asked. Drew laughed. "Yes, Old Woman, I'm ready." Janelle stopped, putting her
hands on her hips. "Old? OLD? I'll show you old!" She gave Drew's arm a light swat as she took off running towards the car. "If you
can catch me, you'll get a kiss!" Drew shook his head and laughed as he ran to chase Janelle around the car. He was not about to let
a good kiss get away from him.