MOTHERS & DAUGHTERS: IRENE & JADE

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW …

This is a story that is intend to be a part of a series grouped under MOTHERS & DAUGHTERS. Each story will be independent. The stories will ultimately cover a range of genre. These will be shorter stories of one chapter which is different from my previous efforts as a writer. I hope you enjoy them.

This is an interracial story.

This is a story around a mother, Irene, and her daughter, Jade. Irene is 47 and Jade is 22. Both women are dark brunette hair that falls to the shoulders. Irene’s breasts are slightly larger, C-cup, while Jade’s are B-cup. Both women are trim with Irene standing at 5’ 5” and Jade at 5’ 4”. A seemingly happy and ‘normal’ family when Jade was young, that life fell apart when the economy turned and Irene’s husband was laid off from his programming job. In a series of risky ventures, he lost what little the family had in fallback security and they went bankrupt, losing everything including their home. A short time after, he disappeared, taking very little with him, he was never seen, again. Not even the police could determine what might have happened with any certainty: perhaps he merely left in shame; perhaps he went somewhere remote and committed suicide.

The uncertainty was the worse. It followed the two in every part of their day and activity. The way acquaintances avoided talking about it seemed like screaming attention to it, especially to Jade as she grew up with the uncertainty, the abandonment, and hurt of being left behind to struggle through their life. It wasn’t long before the young woman found the uneasy, dull world drugs provided where at least she could find moments of not suffering with emotional pain and depression. Her life spiraled down in time as that artificial world began consuming not only her but her mom, as well. What money she could manage to have went to drugs for escape and, eventually, to ease the need for more. When money wasn’t available, she turned to sex, trading sex for drugs.

Irene’s pain, loss, and depression created a period of isolation when she retreated into herself in a valiant effort to take some control. She took several jobs so she and Jade could have a place to live and food to eat. It wasn’t until later that she realized she had retreated from Jade in the process by keeping herself busy and working. She was shocked, though she later would understand her own role in it, when she discovered how far Jade had fallen. In a new wave of shame and guilt, Irene shamefully found herself following Jade instead of being the strength Jade might have needed, but it was already too late.

Years later, when they were arrested together while attempting to buy drugs from an undercover police officer, Irene became the strength both she and Jade needed. In that moment of desperation at seeing what had become of them, she convinced both Jade and the city’s prosecuting attorney that they would plead guilty and cooperate in any way they could, if they were kept in treatment long enough to clean up.

During treatment, they re-bonded and committed themselves to something better.



MOTHERS & DAUGHTERS: IRENE & JADE

“Look at this one.” Irene and Jade, mother and daughter, were sitting at adjacent computers in the public library searching for affordable housing and job possibilities after being released from rehab. They were living in a group home for women but that was going to last only so long and Irene could feel the desperation of the place envelop her every time they entered the facility. It was the best they had available for the emergency of the moment, but they needed something else or the inevitable slide back down the slope would surely occur. There were too many women there who didn’t feel the desperation to change and too many men waiting in the shadows outside ready to snatch them back up.

Irene looked at her daughter as Jade made some notes on something she had found and turned to see what Irene had on her monitor. Irene had never been prouder of anyone as she had been of Jade in treatment and now. Even as the bleak reality of their options after treatment hit them squarely in the face, Jade was maintaining the same dedication of finding a joint solution to getting them out from the life they were trying to escape.

Jade had taken the task of searching for low-income apartments while Irene was looking at income sources. There were service industry jobs at fast-food place, etc. but even they looked at them askance with their record of drugs. There was a high demand for those jobs and the less risk the employer could take, the better for him. With a level of frustration, Irene had allowed her search to wander through various ‘wanted’ sites and she found something very unusual. Jade rolled her chair from her monitor to the one her mother turned slightly toward her. Jade glanced at the opened want ad, looked at her mom puzzled but continued on to read it:

WANTED: FARM WIFE. Mature woman needed to work with and care for single mature man and two adult sons on sizeable, prosperous, remote farm in west central Mississippi. Neat, well cared for house with modern kitchen and furnishings. Primary expectations are: care for house, cooking, and laundry. Men will do the heavy farm work. So called ‘wifely responsibilities’ not required or expected, but perhaps at some future time.

Jade looked at her mom in disbelief. “Like some kind of mail-order bride kind of thing?” Irene shrugged and they resumed their searches.

A couple weeks later they were sipping coffee at a nearby McDonalds at an outdoor table. “What are we going to do, mom?”

Irene looked her daughter in the eyes, “I’m not sure, honey. I think we have to get out.”

“Out of the shelter? We need a place to live and for that we need jobs.”

“I don’t mean just out of the shelter. I mean out of this city, away from the memories, away from everything comfortable … AWAY.”

Jade nodded. She understood exactly what her mom was saying. She’d been feeling it, too. It would be so easy to slip back and their old contacts were still out there and would be so easy to find and hookup with. “So … how? I really, REALLY, don’t want to go back to that, mom. We deserve a safe life.”

Irene mused, “A life with security, purpose, and stability.”

Jade added on, “It doesn’t even have to be with extra money and things … but a roof and food …”

“And belonging?” Jade looked at her mom and nodded. Irene gazed at her daughter, “If we had that, we could be happy?”

Jade nodded. “Yes. At this point, I’d do anything to be away from here and have that.” She gazed at her mom harder. “What are you thinking?”

“I’ve been thinking … remember that ad?”

* * * *

Jade was searching the road markers indicated on the instructions. “Geez … he wasn’t kidding when he said the farm was remote. It seems we’ve been on gravel roads forever.” She looked down at the page of instructions, then out the windshield. “That must be it … turn right at that dirt road before the big oak.”

The dirt road was barely more than a two-track running between barbed wire fences on both sides leading up a small hill. Once crested, though, they found an almost beautiful farm scene with a large white two-story home, a large barn and several smaller sheds, and a large utility building arranged on either side of the house, though separated from it. As they approached the house, three dogs came running out of the largest barn. They hesitated at leaving the car until they heard a loud whistle and saw a large black man walking from the same barn. The dogs immediately turned and ran back to the man.

Irene and Jade left the car and waited there, unsure of their surrounds and what to expect. They had taken a huge gamble and leap of faith in driving nearly four hours from Birmingham to west central Mississippi to meet this man after nearly a half dozen phone conversations.

Otis Jackson was his name. As he got closer to them, he reached out his large black hand to Irene and chuckled, “Well, isn’t this interesting. I guess I neglected to mention we were black.” Otis was a large man in the sense of tall and thick. Powerful thick, not flabby or fat thick. It was obvious at first sight that he was a man used to working hard.

Irene smiled while shaking his hand and allowing Jade to step up to do the same. “Well, we neglected to mention we were white. Hopefully, that means that issue isn’t important to either of us.”

He laughed, again, nodded and suggested they go into the house. As they followed him, Irene asked, “Where are your sons?” Otis had two sons, twins, James and Thomas.

He led them through the house, past the kitchen, and into a family room to the large sliding door to the patio and pointed. “Both out there on tractors. The corn is doing nicely but it takes careful attention to control weeds and time the irrigation. They know you are coming so they’ll be in well before supper.” He turned away from the window and led them into the kitchen and offered them chairs at the dinette table while he went to the refrigerator and brought out a large pitcher of lemonade.

Sitting together at the table, it became awkwardly quiet. Finally, Otis said, “Look, this is really weird. To be honest, I was surprised by your response, then more surprised by your apparent interest. Looking back at it, the idea of putting out an ad seems pretty desperate sounding.”

Irene smiled at him, “Maybe, but … maybe not as desperate as two women wanting to respond to that desperate ad.” They all laughed. Jade sat quietly and nervously next to her mom being very content at not making too much eye contact or having to talk.

Irene had been brutally honest with Otis during their phone calls about their past and troubles with the law and drugs. It was something she felt had to be made clear to explain how they could be so interested in moving away from what they knew to something and some place they knew nothing about. It seemed like remoteness and deep change in life might be the thing to save them.

Otis had been equally honest about their situation, in part to also explain the strange advertisement. Otis was about Irene’s age and the twins were a year older than Jade. Otis’s wife had died from illness eight years ago. It was only a few years later that they almost lost the farm. The farm had been in the family for generations and through the hard work and keeping a low profile, they had managed to grow the farm into a sizeable venture for Mississippi. But, during a down turn about five years ago, they were almost driven off.