Life after Death

Chapter Eight

Third-Person POV

Land of the living (the day after Hezekiah's execution)...

"We are saddened by the sudden death of Hezekiah who made the mistake of ending his life after his high-school graduation," Mr. Chamblee intoned to the various maids and servants after informing them of his son's "suicide" the following day. "Make no mistake that my wife and I, alongside our other children, will see to it that he gets a proper burial when the time is right. However, it will be done in private."

Minnie Jean Sammons, the head maid of the family, snorted sotto voce as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew the truth about what had happened to the one member of the family who was wholesome and no-nonsense yet was treated like old and unwanted furniture. Her boss and his wife decided that it was time to have him eliminated from their fantastic "Americana dreams of the rich and famous" all because he didn't fit into their standards.

"My family and I are grateful for your services here, as we always will, so we expect nothing less as we continue on with life," Mr. Chamblee intoned as his flawlessly-dressed wife joined him by his side. "Hezekiah would've wanted you all to move on without him and focus on your duties."

Minnie Jean had finally heard enough. She raised her hand. "If I may speak?" she asked sharply.

"By all means, Mrs. Sammons," Mrs. Chamblee chirped, her icy-blue eyes trained on her like a hawk. "The Chamblees believe in free speech, as long as it's from the heart."

"Then let me speak what's on my heart and mind," the head maid drawled. "I know that y'all don't give two horse dungs about your son, seeing how you ship him off to summer camps and private schools so you and your brood can dance through life. You placed him in the care of nannies, au pairs, and even myself because y'all didn't want to see him since he's the product of rape. When he was here, I was the one who made sure he got fed when y'all left him to fend for himself. I was the one who wiped his tears when he felt alone. I was the one who pitched in with the other maids and servants here with small birthday celebrations while you and your man traveled around the world to see your daughters on the runway or partying with royalty. And now you say that you'll miss him because he's dead? You don't, ma'am, and you know it."

"That's not true," Mr. Chamblee said, face slightly reddening. "He just was a problem child that kept his burdens to himself. If only he came to his mother or myself, he might've been here and getting ready for his final camp in Scotland before college."

A petite Asian maid stepped forward. "Sir, if he did come to you, your wife, or even his sisters and brothers for help, would you even care to listen or just brush him away?" she asked in a light accent. "You instilled your impossible ideals to your family to remain tough and smile through the pain. And he did that, never asking for anything much yet taking away his livelihood by making him stay sane and keep his collapsing world propped up."

"It's all for the sake of appearances, Miss Yune," Mrs. Chamblee rebutted sweetly, though her eyes were starting to get full of sarcasm. "Hezekiah just couldn't deal with the pressure, so he just ended his life."

"All because he couldn't stand your triflin' self," a gangly Black young man- one of the guards- commented rudely, rolling his eyes.

"Watch it, Mr. Chandler," the patriarch warned, his voice laced with exasperation. He quickly composed himself. "Look, I know that you all see us as the bad guys since we didn't show Hezekiah any affection or support like we do with his siblings. And I admit that he didn't fit in with what we stand for, but he brought it on himself."

"All because he was the son of a rapist," Mrs. Sammons said.

"Exactly," Mrs. Chamblee replied as she reached for her flask of vodka. "We only kept him around because my late father didn't want me to abort him. If I did that, I might've lost my father's respect, but this family would've remained perfect as it should be."

Gentle reader, if Adelle Chamblee's true feelings for her son and her confession didn't put the servants off had she confessed earlier, it did now. "Mr. and Mrs. Chamblee," Mrs. Sammons began.

"No more talk about Hezekiah, ma'am. It does make my head throb," Mr. Chamblee cut her off with a raised hand. "Now, I expect you all to get back to work and remember that Hezekiah is dead. The less you all think about him, the easier your jobs will become and the better off we'll all be. Are we understood."

"Oh, we understood just fine," Mrs. Sammons said as she took off her apron and nametag and placed them on the countertop of the island diner. "Now let me make sure that you all make this notice understood: I quit."

Panic flared in the couple's eyes. "Minnie Jean, you can't mean that," Mrs. Chamblee said.

"Don't believe me, just watch!" And with that, the older woman stormed past the couple before grabbing her bags and taking off.

"Mrs. Simmons, you do realize that you're not going to get paid your severance if you walk out now," Mr. Chamblee hollered after the retreating woman. "Why don't we talk about this like sensible people and you can finish the day afterwards? Mariah will need you for the incoming wedding soon. You know that."

"First off, I got plenty money saved in my bank, plus a 401k plan that'll allow me to retire and spend time with my grandkids," the older woman shot back. "And as for your sugar-baby daughter's weddin', I hope she's jilted at the altar and left with cats to clean up after. You can find someone to take care of this house, because I am out of here!"

There was a loud slam of the front door that made the couple jump. "Really," Mrs. Chamblee huffed before smiling at the other maids and servants who remained. "Well, at least my husband and I can rely on the rest of you to keep the house perfect."

"Not for long," The young guard named Chandler replied as he took off his guard hat and badge and sat them on the counter. "I got college coming up, so it's my last day. Deuces."

He flipped off the spluttering couple as he left. "See ya. Wouldn't want to be ya!

"I, too, must resign, Mr. and Mrs. Chamblee," Miss Yune replied as she did the same with her badge and apron. "I cannot stay where there is no love for a fallen child."

"Same here," commented a plump and dark-skinned cook. "Miss Yune, can you give me a ride home?"

Mr. and Mrs. Chamblee could only watch in shock as the entire staff of the family mansion made their grand exodus in protest of the late Hezekiah Oshea Chamblee, the one family member who was basically the glue of the family yet was treated like gum on one's shoe. "You all can't be serious," Mr. Chamblee exploded as he watched them all leave out the front door. "What will we do without you all?"

"Do what your late son did, sir," said Mr. Percy McKnight, one of the older male gardeners as he greeted his daughter at her car. "Fend for yourselves. Y'all got plenty of money and connections. I'm sure you can find someone else to tend your gardens and all that. If anything, you and your kin can put your heads together and think of something."

Jeffrey and Adelle Chamblee were livid as they watched their employees leave. "Some help they are," the latter said as she sipped on her flask. "How ungrateful. They won't get any severance pay for walking out on us."

Little did she and her husband, as well as their remaining children, know that this was the start of a domino effect that was started from a simple gunshot to Hezekiah's head. And it would take one Minnie Jean Sammons to lead the charge with a simple resignation.

Cumulative word-count so far: 7861 words.

The downfall of the Chamblee empire is about to begin as the servants finally took a stand for Hezekiah and resigned from their jobs. We'll check in with Mrs. Sammons and the others in future chapters as things start getting chaotic for Hezekiah's family on Earth.

And as for him? Well, he gets a formal visit from God and Satan himself with talks about his time on Earth with another trip down memory lane. This story is about to get really good, folks! So stick around!

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