Sure, she may be upset right now, but when it comes to family crises, everyone normally sets aside any differences and handles issues accordingly. Rachel may talk smack about Loretta, but she can’t deny that my mama did not hesitate to help out years ago when the family went through a little crisis.I was in middle school; Rachel was still in elementary. One humid, hot summer, Brooke practically experienced a nervous breakdown worrying about Blinky Even though she didn’t have to, Loretta took Rachel in and treated her like her own. The family thought Brooke should go away and stay at some mental institution where she could be examined. She stopped eating regularly, lost about fifteen pounds, had trouble sleeping through the night, and it was clear she wasn’t interested in raising her daughter during that time. Rachel came to live with us for about a month after her mama was diagnosed with having major depression. That isn’t a real long time, but it was long enough for Rachel to miss her mommy so much that she started calling Loretta “Mama.”
