Today I am so happy! As I sweep the yard with the broom weed, I keep talking to myself.

Old Frank leave him upstairs house and gawn to live with relatives in another parish. Glory to God! Old Frank gone! No more food wrapped up in white kitchen towel to carry to him. No more stairs to climb. No more shouting at the door for him to open it and collect the food. Why they wait so long to teck him? Better late than never though. Glory to God!

Yuh know how long Mama cooking for that old man? Yuh know how I hate carrying food to him? Yuh know how many lies I cook up to wheedle out of taking food to him? Now relatives teck him . Thank God! For years Mama cook for that old man, and she get a little piece of land near bottom yard as compensation. But let mi pop story give yuh.

Shortly after Old Frank vacated his house, a distant relative called Miss Mattie moved in. She took over the house and all of Old Frank's other possessions. I don't like the woman. When Old Frank lived there we could pick tangerine and star apple and search for pears under the pear tree. Now when Miss Mattie sees us picking tangerines she chases us away.

Now she starts farming the land and much to Mama's indignation, she starts moving on to her piece of land, her little legacy from Old Frank. When Mama tells her that Old Frank left the land for her, she laughs in Mama's face.

"Promise is a comfort to a fool." she says. "Old Frank isn't in his right mind. Him promise nuff people what him don't even have. Mi is him close relative, so mi can stake my claim."

"We will see." Mama says. "Time longer than rope."

Unfortunately the argument did not stopped there. That piece of land is the focal point of contention.

Miss Mattie's husband returns from England. He is a thin, wiry man named Maas Zeke. To me, Maas Zeke makes England look bad. People returning from abroad are supposed to look good, but he lost a screw in England. His oversized pants have loops, but he does not push his belt through them. Instead he pushes his shirt into his pants which are drawn up way above his waist, and then he ties the belt around it, creating plenty gathers at the waist. He moves with the odd grace of a disjointed robot on an urgent mission. He has a dry cough which he can't get rid of and that is attributed to England cold.

With Maas Zeke to back her, Miss Mattie becomes very bold. Although Papa builds a fence to mark the border of Mama's land, she tears off a piece of the fence and ties her goat on Mama's premises. Papa unties the goat and yokes it to a tree on their side of the fence. The following day the goat is back on Mama's land. On seeing this, Papa again moves the goat, but instead of tying it back to a tree, he lets it loose and bawls for Miss Mattie and Maas Zeke. He stands with one hand on his hip and his machete in the other, waiting.

The swift mechanical steps approach, signalling the arrival of Maas Zeke.

"Morning Lanzo," He says.

Papa does not return his greeting. "Tie that goat over here again, and yuh gwine eat curry goat till yuh cloy," Papa hisses at him.

While Miss Mattie chases and catches the goat, Maas Zeke and Papa get into a heated argument. Miss Mattie quickly ties the goat and joins them.

"Yuh witchcraft yuh!" Papa bawls at her. Mi wife get the little legacy an yuh red yeye can't resist it!"

"How dare you call Mattie Witchcraft!" croaks Maas Zeke. "Yuh want to eat those word in the court of laws? I will bring yuh up for malicious slander yuh know bwoy!"

Papa leers at him.

"Yuh calling mi witchcraft," Miss Mattie said. "Yuh ever buck mi up when yuh go a any a yuh obeah man dem?"

Papa's reply shocks us.

"Yes Matilda!" Papa shouts. "Mi meet yuh there Matilda! Mi meet yuh there a look promotion!"

Explosive laughter erupts from the curious crowd that has converged on the scene to listen.

In a bid to defend his wife's honour, Maas Zeke doubles his fists and advances toward Papa. Papa starts hacking down the limb of a tree, while we wonder for what purpose.

He trims the leaves from the limb and shouts, "Come Zeke bwoy, meck a give yuh a beating!"

A fearful look creeps onto Maas Zeke's face, and he takes a step backward.

Hear Miss Mattie to Mass Zeke, as she pushes him, "Go up to him Zeke! Lanzo ah bwoy to yuh! Him can't lick yuh! Go up to him!"

At this point Bull and Bobby hold on to Papa.

I am horrified to see Miss Mattie pushing her little frail husband into the direct path of deadly danger. If my two brothers fail to restrain Papa, there might be tragedy today.

The little crowd that gathers manages to pacify Papa and shield Maas Zeke.

From that day they avoid each other. If Maas Zeke sees Papa on one side of the road, he walks on the other side. It is a similar situation with Mama and Miss Mattie. They deliberately ignore each other.

Now we get news that old Frank passed away in his sleep. One week later a little crowd gathers at the shop and a brown lady in spectacles reads the will. Much to Mama's delight and Miss Mattie's disappointment, the piece of land was indeed willed to Mama as compensation for cooking for Old Frank.

I am very relieved, because this has put an end to the enmity between my parents and that odd couple. Now they are friendly towards each other again.

Thank God!