Chapter 1
Summer of 1964, San Fransico CA.
Dionne Warrick's Walk-on gently fades into the background, as the children scurry to find a place to shield themselves while their mother has another frantic episode.
“Is Mommy going to be okay?” Christina asked age 9 pulling her 11-year-old brother Joshua to stand behind her, While her older stood in front to shield her, Angela grabbed her newborn baby brother Elijah from his crib and hurried uneath the kitchen table huddled closely as they watch their mother break anything and everything she could get her hands on, dishes were flying, Food, Glass shattering against the grainy peach color countertop.
“Angela!!!” she practically screamed in a higher pitch than normal.
Angela slowly moved from under the table shakenly to hear her mother's voice go calmer, ”Go get mommy’s happy pills, please! and hurry up” she looked down and took her fussy newborn out of her arms and placed him back in the crib and said, "it's okay mommy’s okay you can come out now."
Christina still terrorized froze in fear, as she began wetting herself by accident.
"Aww, baby mommy's so sorry!" she turned away as she noticed her daughter's pants.
Marguerite De Sella 28 has a very slim thick stature hazel eyes, light brown curly hair down her back, but now she’s slouched bruised up and untamed.
Christina examed her mother as she downed her "Happy Pills" on how she was happy again, maybe they really worked she thought as she changed her pants.
After changing Christina, Marguerite went back into the looked at her newborn son, singing to him while he softly went back to sleep, she lightly stepped over the glass that was shattered onto the living room floor.
Angela quickly walked downstairs and sat in the living room, watching TV.
“Chrissy and Angie I need you guys to get your brothers ready we are going to the club tonight okay.” Yelled across the room.
“Okay!” they said clapping excitedly and running for their coats.
*****
In the night foggy air, Angela looked out the back window of the old Camry car up at the city lights. she saw her mother glaring so she sat tight huddled next to her siblings. their mother had a voice but she wasn't great like Misty Hollway or Nelson Rich.
Pulling up to the club Max’s Bar with the broken neon green lights half lit up, as people passed in and out of the club the children took their usual seats on the side of the bar while their mother got dressed, Jeffrey, the bartender always keep snacks and juice on the side for the kids when they showed up.
Christina held her newborn brother on her hip while her mother was performing, Angie began walking toward the side of the stage mouthing the words to the song that her mother was singing Good morning heartache by Billie holiday, as she held onto the microphone stand to stay steady as the pills were kicking in she began suddenly making up words and fumbling around.
Marguerite turned around and noticed her daughter kept mouthing the words to her so she could keep going, as the crowd began to get reckless a man yelled out: “Oh No she’s drunk again...” as the crowd followed in laughter.
As she turned around to pick up her drink from the floor Angela eagerly walked up toward the stage and toward the microphone and sang the rest of the song.
the crowd was thrilled one woman Yelled: “Sing baby! You sound better than your mother!” while laughing.
her mother was now inebriated and quickly moved to the side of the stage while watching her daughter’s every move and how the crowd reacted.
after Angie walked off stage, along with her siblings Marguerite hurried toward the car as their mother was in a frantic state.
“Mommy, you aren’t mad at me are you I was only trying to help you?” Angie asked in a fearful tone.
“No baby girl," she replied while frantically looking through her purse as she lit a cigarette while driving to the 24-hour market.
“Angie get 10 dollars out of my stash,” she said as hopped out of the car and walked toward the store, her mom waited a minute before pulling out a small bag of cocaine, and put made two short lines on the light metal plate near the dashboard, as she sniffed she stuffed the substance back into her purse as her Angie began walking back to the car.
The ride home had an awkward silence as her siblings were asleep in the back.
Angela realized her mother was taking the backroads she realized where she would be headed and it wouldn't be home as she gulped in fear.
“Mommy No!” angela pleaded.
“Angela Shut up! don’t wake your siblings." Her mother said in a lower tone.
Angela sat back in pure disbelief.
Her aunt Stacey was the meanest woman alive, she was short and brown-skinned and couldn't stand them.
as she made a sharp right turn into her sister’s driveway she quickly brushed her hair into a bun and walked to the door as angela sat in the car and watched as her mom knocked on the door “please don’t be home.” angela thought to herself.
Angela saw her uncle Carlos up the door, angela started sobbing which turn into shirking which woke her younger sister Christina up. Christina was aunt Stacey’s favorite.
Angie what’s wrong, Christina realized they weren’t home...
Marguerite her older sister Stacey began arguing outside.
Angie quickly locked the door, as her mother came rushing toward the car and bagging on the car window for angela to unlock while yelling at her daughter.
which awoke both her brothers and Elijah opened the unlocked back door as she began ushering for him and Christina to get out of the car. Christina grabbed her baby brother while angela didn’t move.
Marguerite snatched angela out by her arm practically dragging her up the driveway toward the house.
“I can’t do this shit! Get the fuck in the house!" their mother yelled.
that’s the last memory they ever remember of their mother.
Carlos put the youngest ones to bed, while angela sat in the living room looking out of the window.
“your mother ain’t coming back so stop looking...” he huffed as he smoked a cigar.
“Baby leave her alone!” Stacey patted his shoulder, as she walked to the guest room and grabbed a pillow and blanket, and handed it to angela to take back into the living room.
her uncle grabbed angela’s right arm and said “ya asses ain’t gonna be here for long! don’t get comfortable!” with that angela fearfully pulled the covers over her as she cried herself to sleep.
******
The severe traumas that the children dealt with only got worse, angela had the most beatings while Christina might have been aunt Stacey’s favorite uncle Carlos molested her time and time again, one day Christina told the teacher what was happening and they called CPS, they were moved into temporary foster care homes until someone got in contact with the grandfather.
8 Years Later...
