Trey's Story - Family over Everything

Trey's Story

Trey's Story

The Bros Part 2

by Val Leon

You all know Mardi Gras, Essence Festival, Bourbon Street and all that about New Orleans. Naw, that ain't the New Orleans I'm from. That ain't the hood I lived in, this New Orleans ain't about parades and beads and parties. Where I am from it is about drugs, and crime and survival. Can you live long enough to get out? I almost didn't.

Thanksgiving Day was the day my life changed.

All over the country families were gathering together to celebrate what we call Thanksgiving. Grandma had put it down in the kitchen. The house was filled with the smell of a southern Grandma throwing down in the kitchen. The smell of the chitterlings floating down the hall and up the stairs made my mouth water instantly. The macaroni and cheese looking like it was picture perfect for a magazine.

I couldn't wait any longer and made my way downstairs. Grandma was in the kitchen doing her thing. Mom was there assisting. I sneak up behind grandma hugging her and tell her I love you. She didn't fall for it at all. She knew it was a ploy. She said "boy get your hands off me and get out my kitchen".

You know you can't be in the kitchen sneaking around when your grandma cooking. I said "Granny", that's what I called her when I was trying to butter up. "You know I am just down here to tell you how much I love you." She just turned and looked at me, as if she was not falling for this trick.

She turns her head to tell my mom to bring her something, and I reach to try and grab something out the pot. And it was like a southern Grandma super power, as she could see out the back of her head me reaching for food and SMACK. As she smacks my hand reaching for food. "Get out my kitchen boy"

"Come on Granny, just let me get a little taste, it smelled so good." She does not even answer, she just lowers her head and looks out the top of her grandma glass with that look you knew meant get away.

My mom just laughed in the corner of the kitchen as she watched it all play out. She knew she didn't even try to help cook for Thanksgiving; she just was there to help move things when Grandma asked. My mom just laughed again, "boy why do you even come down here and try that, you know she not going to let anybody touch that food"

Mission "sneak some food" had failed. Out the kitchen I left, still mouthwatering and no food to show for it. Rejected, I walked into the front room with my brothers and sisters.

Fatman, my oldest brother, DJ, Junior and Kevin, almost all of my brothers were all in the front room laughing watching football and playing spades. I said almost, caught and assault and attempted murder charge and was going to be upstate for a while. My twin sisters Tara and Keke were here too.

This was our dysfunctional family. Mom is happy because she not sure when was the last time she had seven of her eight kids all in the house at the same time. We were all family, but we were all gang related too. Each one of us were introduced to gang life early in our childhood. None of us made it to sixth grade before being sucked into the gang world.

Because of the lifestyles we were living, it was very rare that we could get together and this many of her were free, not doing time for something.

So, this day we were enjoying each other. It was a heated spades game going on as I watched my sisters beating up on Junior and Kevin in spades. They always beat everybody in spades, I don't even know why we even let them be partners in spades any more, because nobody else stood a chance when they were.