7-19-97, 10:00 AM

We all ate breakfast earlier at the dining room table. It was so quiet that you could hear the house every time it settled.

At 9:45, Mrs. Austin announced that she wanted to go to the mall. Colt was in his room. Kourtnee was in "her" room. I was in the den watching TV. Mrs. Austin was in the living room. I was the only person who responded to Mrs. Austin statement. She looked at me when I walked into the living room and said, "What is going on around here?" I sat down beside her and responded; "I asked Kourtnee something this morning that I shouldn't have asked her." Mrs. Austin rubbed arm, "what did you ask her?" I laid my head on her shoulder, "I better not tell you. I will probably get into more trouble." She put her hand on my chin and said, "Ok, sweetie, you don't have to tell me." I lifted my head up making her hand drop from my chin, "Are you serious?" She smiled and said, "Yes, I am. Let me go get the folk with the money and then we can go to the mall." I frowned, "I don't think they are gonna want to go anywhere together with me." She sat back down on the couch, "oh really, why is that?" I didn't say anything. Mrs. Austin said, "Baby, I can't read minds. You are gonna have to tell me something." I stared at the wall and said, "I don't know. It probably would have been better if I had never met Colt." Mrs. Austin didn't answer my response. She got up from the couch and walked down the hallway. She knocked on Kourtnee's door and then on Colt's door before saying, "both of you all in the living room now. I am tired of this." Kourtnee walked out of the room and then Colt walked out of the room. They both followed her into the living room. Kourtnee sat in a chair by the front door. Colt leaned on the wall. Mrs. Austin sat on the couch next to me. She looked at Colt and said, "All these chairs in here and you wanna lean on the wall." Colt grimaced and sat down in one of the chairs in the dining room.

Colt and Kourtnee looked like two teenagers who had been caught making out in one of their parent's house.

Mrs. Austin began her oration, "you two have got to deal with whatever feelings you all have towards each other. God saw fit to bring the two of you back together for whatever reason, so you all are gonna have to get use to. It is not this child's fault. She didn't ask to meet either one of you all. She didn't ask to be put in the middle of you alls situation. No one in their right mind would want to be in the middle of you all. Whatever is going on between the two of you needs to be worked out. And leave this child out of it! LaDawnya, I am pretty sure you have asked some questions that have caused some distress to the both of them. Quit asking questions. They have a history and the less you know, it's probably better. Don't ask any more questions about their relationship. If they want to tell you, they will. None of this should ever come up again." She got up from the couch and left the living room and went into her bedroom. She left the three of us sitting in the living pondering what she had said.