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“Mama, we’re going to be fine. He is my baby, ya know?” said Lovette as patiently as she could. Her parents had booked a weeklong vacation at the mountains and now, Trudy was having mixed feelings about leaving Lovette and Joseph so soon when Joseph Jr. had just been born.
“Well, he is my grandbaby, too. I just want to make sure you’re going to be fine while we are away. What if you need me?” replied Trudy.
Trudy was genuinely concerned about leaving her alone so soon. Lovette had been doing a great job with everything but her mother felt as if she would be abandoning her too soon. Her oldest child was a mother now and it was her duty to make sure she had as much help with her son as possible.
Baby Joey had been born on March 9, 1984 and Lovette had felt complete. Joseph had made sure her pregnancy went as smooth as possible by providing any and everything Lovette ever needed. Her parents also made sure she got everything she needed. Joseph had been at every doctor appointment and made sure she knew that she wasn’t alone. Although she had wanted some space sometimes, she still appreciated how much they were around to help.
“Trudy, leave them alone. We have been helping every single day for the past 8 weeks. Plus, we’ve been her for the whole pregnancy. Now, I’m gonna miss my little man but we wanted to go to the mountains and woman, that’s where we are going. He’s going to be here waiting on us when we get back. Joseph and Lovette need some alone time anyway. You two, just hold off on making any more grandkids for a while,” joked Clarence.
Sucking her teeth and rolling her eyes, Trudy did as her husband said and went to go finish loading up their car for the trip. She had gotten so attached to Joey and loved him dearly. The way Lovette and Joseph both cared for Joey child made her happy with decision about them getting married.
Lovette had loved her child but deep down inside, she had been suffering silently. She didn’t exactly know what it was but there had been times when she just wanted to run away. Run away from her husband, run away from her parents and…run away from her baby. Her soul had ached for some alone time the last two months.
Joey was the sweetest baby that Lovette had ever known. He clung to her most of the day while Joseph would be with his father learning the ropes of their family business. When Joseph would come home after work, Joey would cling to his father as if he missed him all day.
But, the crying spells would make Lovette feel like she couldn’t help her only son. Holding him would do no justice when the cry fits would start. Trudy and Clarence still worked during the day, so when Joseph left, she was all by herself. Spending normal working hours with her child alone had become some of the hardest times of her life.
Whenever the crying spells would start, so would Lovette’s. Many of times, she and Joey would cry together. She cried because she couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her son. Often, she would think that he just didn’t like her. Maybe she didn’t give off enough of a love vibe for him to feel comfortable with her. To top things off, she had yet to witness a time when Joey would cry with his father the way he had cried with her.
“Now, you have the number to where we will be staying. I’ll call as soon as we get there. Don’t hesitate to call me, either. If we aren’t in the cabin, you better leave a message. I told Iris to call just in case she thinks she has to. I know you do a good job but I just want to make sure everything is okay. I’ll be calling daily a few times to check up on y’all, so make sure you answer that phone or I’m sending the police out here,” laughed Trudy. Lovette knew she was joking and yet serious at the same time.
“Go have fun. You both deserve it. We’ll be fine. Iris is a big help as well. I’m sure she’s probably in her room writing down all of the emergency numbers and plans God forbid anything happens. You know she thinks she’s my big sister,” replied Lovette. As if she heard her name, Iris walked into the living room holding Joey and smiling.
“He just woke up from his nap. The kid likes to talk. Should’ve heard him up there going on and on,” said Iris. Sitting on the couch and bending down to kiss him on the forehead, Iris played with her nephew. Moments like this had added to the love Lovette had for being a mother. She and Joe had created life that added more love to those around them.
Everyone walked Trudy and Clarence out to their car and said their goodbyes. For Lovette, it was bittersweet to see them go for a week but she also knew that they deserved some alone time as well. Joseph loved his in laws but also felt like he had wanted more time with Lovette by himself.
Watching them drive down the long rocky road, Lovette had the urge to flee after their car and tell them to come back. She had a gut feeling that something was off and couldn’t tell if she was having one of her moments or whatever it had been. Fighting against her gut, she had convinced herself that she would be okay with Joseph, Iris and baby Joey.
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Lovette hadn’t been satisfied with her husband’s answer of everything being okay at the office. She knew him and she knew that things weren’t okay. But as usual, he had always tried to protect the family from worrying about anything.
She didn’t like to pry too much when he had been displaying frustration because sometimes, that only made him more frustrated. Joseph had always felt like anything that occurred at work was his responsibility to fix and that was it; he never wanted Lovette getting involved.
Leaving him to himself, Lovette left and closed his office doors. Since the kids were gone, this had been the perfect time for her to sit on her porch and have a glass of wine…or a bottle instead.
A few months ago, Joseph had a company come install a screened in porch and Lovette was in love. No more Alabama bugs to buzz by her ear while trying to enjoy her porch.
Sitting down on her bench, Lovette sighed heavily and propped her feet up. She had missed sitting in this same exact spot while watching her father fix up his car in the driveway.
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Lovette was starting to worry. Pacing back and forth, she was supposed to hear from her parents by now. They were staying in Boone, North Carolina and was supposed to check in hours ago. It was now dark and she still hadn’t heard from them.
Joseph had convinced her not to call just yet and maybe the traffic had held them up. He knew that all it took was one phone call from Lovette and that Trudy would turn her car around to head back home.
“Joe, I can’t keep waiting. She was supposed to call as soon as they checked in no later than three o’clock. It’s eight-thirty! I don’t care what you say, I’m calling them!” shouted Lovette.
He knew once his wife made up her mind about something, there was nothing he could do to stop her. He understood her worry but at the same time, he didn’t want Trudy coming back thinking that they couldn’t handle taking care of their child on their own.
“Hello, my name is Lovette Veasley…ehh, I meant Lovette Marks. My parents were supposed to check in around three o’clock. I’m just calling to see if they ever made it there. Okay, I’ll hold,” said Lovette. The elevator music started to play and automatically, she sucked her teeth and tapped her foot with a great deal of impatience.
“Yes, their names are Trudy and Clarence Veasley,” said Lovette into the phone. Waiting a few more seconds for the receptionist to find the information for their room, she continued to tap her foot.
As soon as Lovette let out a gasp, Joseph knew that they hadn’t made it to the hotel. He instantly felt bad for making her wait so long to check up on them.
Hanging up the phone and plopping down on the couch to cry, Lovette started to panic. She felt something was off earlier and now wished she had told them to turn back around. Instantly switching her thoughts, she began to think about all of the possible things that could happen.
“Joseph, they never made it! An
ything could’ve happened to them. Oh my…what if…” cried Lovette in between sobs. Joseph instantly stopped her from going off the deep end.
“Listen, maybe they just got lost. You know they had to drive a good amount of time to get there. Clarence gets lost easily. Remember the time he tried driving to the beach and he kept taking ‘shortcuts’ because he thought he knew where he was going? I’m sure everything is fine. Don’t do this to yourself,” he said.
He did have a point. Her father had the confidence of ten confident men and didn’t like using maps to get where he needed to go. Clarence would get them to their destination but could’ve avoided the longer drives had he used a map in the first place. This calmed her down some and she decided to wait a while longer before thinking the worst.
Deciding to distract herself, she focused on getting Joey ready for bed. Picking him up from his bassinet, Joseph followed her upstairs to run his bath water. Joey cooed in her ear and settled her nerves her even more. She had wish he was this content every second of the day; it would make her life a whole lot easier.
Peaking her head inside the bathroom, Iris saw how happy Lovette and Joseph were to be washing the baby together. She had planned on asking if they needed help but decided that they needed this time together. Leaving them to their baby, she went into her room and closed her bedroom door for the night.
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Peeking out of his office window, Joseph saw Lovette sitting on the porch and drinking her wine. It had been a while since she had done this, so he knew a lot had to be on her mind.
Lovette was one to avoid issues as much as possible by trying to distract herself from thinking about things way too much. Feeling someone looking her way, Lovette looked over her shoulder and saw her husband smiling at her through the window.
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Walking down the steps behind her husband, Lovette bumped into the stairwell vanity. She had no idea why her mother had put the thing there and was tired of bumping into it. The both of them had been awaken by loud knocking at the front door.
Before either one of them could get to the door, they had seen the red and blue lights flashing through the window curtains. The same gut feeling Lovette had before, it had just returned.
“Shawford Police!” said the voice along with more knocking came from the other side of the door. Part of Lovette wanted to run back upstairs, jump into their bed and hide from what she felt like was about to happen. Standing still at the bottom of the last step, she let her husband continue to the door by himself.
“Yes, officer. How can we help you?” asked Joseph. He had been just as nervous as Lovette had been. He’d convinced her to go to bed for the night and if her parents didn’t call by the morning, they would go put in a missing person’s report. But, it was almost midnight and the police were now knocking on their door.
“Sorry to wake y’all up but does Lovette Veasley or Iris Veasley live here? If so, we need to speak to one or both of them,” said the tall figure in uniform. Hearing her name unglued Lovette from her spot near the steps and she walked towards the both of them.
“I’m Lovette. My little sister is sleeping. Speaking to y’all will only freak her out. Um, you can come in,” said Lovette while motioning the officer in. She hadn’t noticed the second officer until he stepped from the side and entered with the first one. Everyone had walked into the family room and was now seated.
“Would anyone like anything to drink?” asked Lovette. She struggled to get the words out and had hoped they both would say no. She had just wanted them to tell her why they were there and get this over with. Both declined and the taller officer started talking.
“No, thank you. I just wanted to be the one to deliver the news to you all. At approximately nine thirty-two tonight, the dispatch center in Atlanta had received a call about a suspicious vehicle in a well-known but not so good neighborhood. Officers were dispatched and their findings were that of vehicle registered to Clarence Veasley that is attached to this address.”
“When officers approached the car, two subjects were found deceased in the car from several stab wounds. A female had been in the passenger seat and a male had been in the floor of the backseat. We checked the purse and wallet that was in the vehicle and they came back to Trudy Veasley and Clarence Veasley. We are positive that the bodies found are the same subjects on the identification cards. From what we’ve concluded, it appears to be a double homicide. I’m truly sorry for your loss,” he finished.
Joseph instantly grabbed his wife and held on to her. Lovette had been frozen. She had heard every word the officer had said but refused to believe that this had happened to her parents. What if someone had stolen their car and it wasn’t really them? Depending on how bad of a murder scene it was, it could’ve easily been someone else…right?
“The bodies will be transported back to Shawford and we will need you or your sister to identify them,” said the second officer.
“MY SISTER?! She’s a child for crying out loud! Why would I let her see a dead body?!” screamed Lovette. Instantly covering her mouth, she had been shocked by her own outburst. The thought of her parents being dead had started to settle in and before she knew it, her whole body was shaking from crying so much.
“I understand and I’m sorry for the insensitive comment my colleague gave you. I’m going to leave my card with you. Is there anything you need for us to do?” said the first officer while giving his partner a stern look. Both officers gave their condolences once more and left their house.
Murdered? Lovette was overwhelmed with the word. Who would want to murder her parents? They had tons of friends who loved them and were good people. Why would someone choose them out of all the people in the world? Her parents?
The more questions she had, the more she felt like weights were being put on her chest and the harder it became for her to breathe. She had still been crying and hadn’t even felt Joseph’s touch. He hadn’t said a word and just held on to her for as long as she would allow him.
“What’s going on? Lovette, what’s wrong? DID YOU HIT HER?!” screamed Iris. Before Joseph could reply, she had been in his face waiting on an answer. “Because if you did…”
“NO! I’d never hit her. I need you to calm down for a second and have a seat. We need to talk to you about something, okay?” Instantly calming down, Iris believed him. Joseph was one of the sweetest individuals ever and the thought of him hitting Lovette didn’t seem valid but she walked in on her sister crying and that didn’t sit well with her.
Lovette had stopped shaking long enough to tell her sister exactly what the officers had told her. When she had finished, Iris sat beside her and they both wept together. Lovette had felt like things were her fault. Had she gone with her gut instinct, her parents would be safe and alive in their own home.
Upstairs, Joey had begun to scream out of hunger. Kissing both girls on the forehead, Joseph went upstairs to tend to his son.
On the way up, he started to get even sadder at the thought of anything happening to him before his son was old enough to remember him. It worried him to think about Lovette having to raise her son alone.
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The horrible way her parents were taken from the earth would always raise the same questions in Lovette’s mind. She didn’t know if it was because of the wine or because the kids were with Joseph’s parents…his living parents.
She had such a short amount of time with her parents that sometimes, she felt jealous that Joseph was still able to laugh with and talk to his. Lovette loved them but nobody could take her parent’s place in her heart.
“I just came out here to check on you. I see wine and I know wine means mama’s heart is hurting in some way. I haven’t made you mad lately, so I know it isn’t me. Let me guess: you miss the kids,
huh?” said Joseph with half of a grin forming across his face.
“Do you mind if I join you?” he asked while pulling a wine glass from behind his back.
“Sure. Come sit down. Of course, I miss the kids but I actually was thinking about my parents,” whispered Lovette while sliding over for him to sit down.
He instantly felt sad for her because he had known the thought of his parents spending time with their children made her sad. Lovette’s parents had eight weeks with Joey and that was it. He knew that they would’ve been perfect grandparents to their children had they still been alive.
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Lovette’s house had been filled with guests in every room on the bottom floor. A lot of people had come over after the funeral and there had been such a huge spread of food. She knew that she didn’t have to cook for the next few days and for this, she was thankful. The last thing she felt like doing was cooking in the kitchen…without her mother by her side.
Opening one of the kitchen drawers, she got a glimpsed of the checks. They had been sitting in there and she had refused to deposit them. She knew that she would have to do it eventually, but she didn’t know when.
It almost felt as if she were exchanging the envelopes for the missing presence of her parents. They had been worth way more than $750,000 and she would exchange the envelopes at any given moment if that meant bringing her parents back.
Slamming the drawer shut, it pinched her finger and made her wince. Walking back in the living room, she sat in the corner and watching everyone fuss over holding Joey. Lovette zoned out and replayed the story of how her parents died over and over in her head.
Clarence had been driving and Trudy was busy bossing him around in the passenger seat. During their trip towards the mountains, their car had gotten a flat tire and they had to pull over and change it. Clarence had told Trudy to stand well off of the highway into the grass but as usual, she had to be helping him do anything he attempted to do alone. He loved and disliked this about her at times.
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