CHAPTER 9
By Sunday evening, the Leigh home was again alive with people from many walks of life.
The small frame house had never held so many people and so much laughter and good cheer. Instead of people coming and going, they stayed put, spilling out onto the front and back porches, eating, drinking and sharing fond memories of Gert.
The Leigh children were excited about all of the people in their home; they scampered from room to room, chasing other children from the front door to the back door and outside into the yard. At times, one or more of them would stop in the kitchen just long enough to grab food from the table, the stove or the counter top. For sure, no one in the Leigh home had ever seen so much food in one place before that day. Through the sadness, there was reason to celebrate for sure. Fred felt a silent sense of relief because he knew he wouldn’t have to worry about feeding the children for a while.
In all, the funeral had been a poignant occasion; still, Fred held his emotions in tact, for the most part. He knew his children were relying on him to be strong and he didn’t want to disappoint them. He realized how much they needed him during those fragile hours as they sat on the front pew of the church staring at their mother's coffin.
The small Methodist church was filled to capacity with blacks and whites alike. Some folk stood along the walls, saying their silent, somber goodbyes to Gertrude Leigh. April gave a heartwarming speech that many would long remember. Fred felt proud of the turnout, although he was not surprised; he knew his wife was loved by many.
By Sunday of the next week, most of the relatives had returned to their respective homes to carry on their lives and responsibilities. Junior was left to care for his siblings while his dad was away, and he was quite comfortable in his role. After all, he'd had some practice early on. During some of the time when Junior was caring for his siblings, he had the company and support of Carol; she was the only one, aside from Ginnie Mae, who was afforded the opportunity to set her own schedule.
Debbie was also spending more time with the children, between her husband and her job at the school. The transition was not easy for any one but adjustments formed gradually in the lives of Fred and his children. Other relatives continued to call Fred to offer comfort and support for him and the children. And although April, Homer and the children returned home, they promised to travel back to Leesville more often than they'd done before.
At one point during a visit from Debbie, she pulled Fred into the kitchen. "You know, Fred, me and Alfred would be happy to take little Derek and raise him for you. It would make things a little easier on you. And I promise you that-"
"Debbie, I thank yall," Fred interrupted, "but I can't separate my child'n, I ain't goin' do it.
Yall take all of 'em or you can't git none of 'em." His response was final and Debbie knew it.
"Okay, but I just want you to know we can do it if you want us to, Fred." At that, Debbie turned and walked back into the living room.
On another visit, Homer pulled Fred to the side as they stood in the back yard. "You know, Fred," he started, "Me and April can take Mary Jean back with us and take care of her till she gets grown, then we can send her off to college and-"
"Homer, thank ya for offerin', but I can't separate my child'n. I just can't do that to my child'n. Yall take 'em all or you can't git none of 'em, and that's how I feel 'bout it." Again, Fred was firm in his response and Homer knew it. It was never mentioned again.
The men continued to talk in the yard as if the offer had never been extended.
Even Fred's sister, Carol, called asking to take the twins into her home. She explained that she just wanted to "make thangs a little easy on you." And again, Fred repeated his rejection, almost word for word. Carol told Fred she felt he was making a poor decision by trying to “keep them girls in that house without a mother,” but his decision was final; and although she mentioned it to him a couple times more, his response was always the same. Eventually she stopped offering.