THE WHIPPING TREE

CHAPTER 1

           Rosalie was born and raised on Pepperfield Rd. in Louisiana. Off of Interstate 10. which ran right behind her huge backyard.
         Before the kids were born, she loved to go down to the beach and lay in the sun. She loved the bayou, and Bayou Petite Arise was her favorite. It was like living on preserved land. She grew up with such creatures as giant snapping turtles, cottonmouth snakes, crocodiles, and some of the most dangerous animals in the world. Along with some of the most beautiful animals you'll ever see.
        She also grew up in this house. It had been in her family for as long as she could remember. Her great-grandfather had built it, and he handed it down to Rosalie and Cody after her father had died of a heart attack and Rosalie had married Cody Dulope. And it wasn't too long after that her great-grandfather passed away also. Of course, her mother had moved in with them after her husband, Vern Bowdron, had passed.
        Rosalie sat on the giant porch that held two rockers and a swing. She rocked back and forth. She sat there, taken in the scenery, on that bright, breezy day, when her eyes came across the giant cypress tree; it was tall and wide with branches that hung from both sides and dried moss suspended from the tips of the limbs. She hated that tree. No matter how she looked at it, it was evil.
        She stood up, walked around the wrap-around porch, and looked down at the bayou. Where the dead trees came out of the water, the beach ran along the edge where the sun beamed down on everything. The bayou trees came out of the water, stripped of their bark and leaves. Ordinary people would see it as unpleasant, whereas the Cagun always saw it as beautiful.
          Rosalie was alone in the house today and planned on making a big dinner for everyone tonight. She hoped Cody would stay away and not make a drunken mess of their joyful time.
        Rosalie went into the house and poured her coffee down the kitchen sink.
        She retrieved her journal from the corner of her closet, hoping Cody would never find it.
She took the book and headed out to the porch swing.
       But right now, she didn't want to think about Cody. She took a deep breath to put her mind in a better place. She let her mind go back to her children. Then she thought about the woman in her life.

        She thought about the woman who gave her life and loved her dearly. Besse Bowdron was married to Vern Bowdron for 52 years before he died of a heart attack. Besse also had gotten her fair share of beatings. And in the 50s, homemakers did what they were told and kept their mouths shut. Vern drank a lot, too, but he was fun to be around when he wasn't drinking. Besse was happy when Vern was happy, and they acted like two teenagers. Those were the happiest times in her life.

        Now, Anna DuLope Cody's mother was a different story. Anna's life was hard. She was a runaway and slept with men for money so she could eat and, if she was lucky, find a room for the night.

        As Anna got older, she turned to drugs and alcohol. The church around the corner from where she lived tried to help her, but it was a lost cause.
        At the age of 17, she got pregnant with Cody. She fell in love with him the moment she laid eyes on him. She decided at that moment to give up her bad habits and dedicate her life to her son.
        That lasted about three months, and then the abuse started on Cody. The drinking and drugs continued somehow; Cody survived the beatings and hunger all the time.
       When Cody was 5, he discovered Anna was pregnant with Sam.
       Cody took over the care of Sam so that he wouldn't be subjected to the abuse that Cody went through.
        Cody remembered the last time Sam was abused at the hands of Anna.
Sam was about one year old and had been crying; Anna was holding him, trying to get him to stop while screaming at him. Then she threw him, and he landed with his head bouncing off the corner of the coffee table; he lay still, bleeding from the head.

        The police came along with the ambulance and took baby Sam away. The cops put Anna in handcuffs and took her away. Cody watched all this while huddled in the corner of the living room wall. Then Cody was taken to a foster home. He later discovered that one of the neighbors had called the police because of all the commotion above her.

         Anna went through rehab for alcoholism and drugs, got cleaned up, got a job and an apartment, and settled down. Thanks to a good family friend.
She worked hard to get her sons back, but the boys wouldn't return to her. She would visit occasionally, but Cody had made it hard on Anna, but she never gave up. The older Cody got, the harder he made it for Anna.
        Rosalie didn't know that part of Anna DuLope's and Cody's life until they met at her wedding, and Anna told her the whole story.