Page 6 of Lulu’s Recipe for Cajun Sass

“Didn’t you have to work?”

She shook her head. “No jobs were available, lessen I went into Nawleans to my old job as a typist. But I dint have the energy to make the effort. Plus, I would have had to do my hair and press my clothes. In the end, it was easier to jist sleep way too much, ’cept when Mama dragged me out into the swamps in her pirogue to gather herbs fer her healin’ business.”

“At least you had that saving grace. Learning to be a folk healer, even if it was against your wishes in the beginning.”

Louise was pleased that Mary Lou was following her story so closely, and seemed to understand. She was a smart girl, way too smart for that Derek dope. “Then my Mama died of the cancer and left me with little Adèle, my brother Frank’s daughter, to care for.”

“Adèle? That was Uncle Luc, René, and Remy’s mama, right?”

“Right. Adèle was only five at that time, though, and a handful. Believe me, a toddler runnin’ wild with snakes and gators nearby dint allow fer no wallowing. I had no choice but to straighten up and take responsibility.”

“So that was your trigger?”

Louise shrugged. “The first of many.”

“I know you’re trying to be helpful, auntie, but our situations are entirely different. My being boring and unable to hold onto my boyfriend is nothing compared to your grief.”

“Grief is grief. The cure is the same.”

Mary Lou arched her brows in question. “To pull up my big-girl panties?”

“So to speak. You gotta remember that a dash of Cajun sass kin go a long way to cure jist about anything.”

Mary Lou groaned. “That again!”

“Always that, sweetie. But not to worry. I have the recipe.”

“You have a recipe for Cajun sass?” Mary Lou laughed.

Did she think this was a joke? Not to Louise. “Of course. Ain’t that what I been tryin’ to tell you?”

“You have?” Mary Lou hit the side of her head with the heel of one hand and smiled. “And the ingredients are…?”

Louise could tell that the girl was still an unbeliever.

“SASS. Style, Attitude, Smarts, Stubbornness. Fer a start. ’Course, there are lots of other things…the spices. Like bravery, focus, and optimism.”

Mary Lou laughed out loud. “You’re serious!”

“Aren’t you glad you came to me fer help?”

Just then, Tee-John walked up. “What’s taking you so long, old lady? I’ve been sitting in the parking lot, baking my ass off, waiting for you.”

“I thought you were going to Luc’s office.”

“I did, but he’s in court today. You about talked out?”

“Doan be such a grump.”

“Hi, Uncle John.”

He sat down and began to eat the remainder of the bread pudding. “Yum!” he said, then, “You two were laughing like hyenas when I came in. What was so funny?”

Mary Lou used a napkin to wipe at the tears of mirth that still rimmed her eyes. “We were just talking about recipes,” she told him.

“Recipes? I like the sound of that.” He turned his attention to Louise. “Hope it’s the recipe for Hot Pepper Jam. I ran out of that batch you gave me for Christmas.”

Tee-John had a fondness for the preserves that she made with habaneras and rhubarb served over cream cheese-slathered crackers.