La Fountain Bleu

It was about as hard as hard could ever be growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, especially for colored people. Obidella Johnson hated the word colored. She had to admit that it was better than being called Nigra. Her family had it better than most folks. Her mama was a pastry chef at La Fountain Bleu and made good money, which would have been fine if their daddy, a preacher, hadnt run away with the head of the usher board and their mother hadnt turned to drink to ease her pain. Obidella was thankful that her mama didnt drink during the day. She waited until she got off from work before touching a drop. It fell on Obidella to care for her little brother and sister and keep the house clean. She was also thankful that her mamas boss, Mr. Dave Mills, the richest white man in North Carolina, was in love with her mama and looked the other way. Obidella prayed every day that God would send her daddy back home to take care of them. But God said no. He had other plans for the Johnson familyparticularly Obidella.