#james everett

jonah ellis reid sr. † and frances margaret reid †

eddie's paternal grandparents. growing up, eddie felt as if they were the only adults in his life who truly cared for him. this wasn’t completely true, but of course, there’s no way for him to know that now.

both frances and jonah sr. lived in mississippi as sharecroppers up until 1940, right after the unsolved murder of the local, white landowner who leased his farm to the reid family. while rumors spread like wildfire, the reid family was long gone—allegedly with the dead man’s savings—before anyone convictions could be made.

jonah sr. had once been a softer man. his first son’s death and his second’s descent into alcoholism hardened him up. he never quite got used to california-life, and sometimes, he even wondered if things would be better off had they stayed in mississippi. upon his death in 1959, he had his ashes sprinkled along the mississippi river. that was the first (and last) time eddie had visited the place of his father's birth. the visit itself hasn't lasted very long.

jonah sr. was kind to eddie in his own way, often acting as a stand-in father figure when james drank himself half-way to death. frances' care for eddie, on the other hand, was far more overt, though that isn't to say she was a pushover. she kept the household running when jonah jr. died, and she took in her grandchildren whenever their parents couldn't care for them. the only thing that could break her was the death of her husband—and when he passed, she became somewhat of a recluse.

eddie didn't get to attend her funeral when she died of a broken heart in 1968. part of him knows that broken heart was at least partially his fault.

james everett reid and jonah ellis reid jr. †

eddie's father and paternal uncle. fraternal twins, inseparable from the moment of their birth. junior was three minutes older, though, and would not let james forget it.

rumors say it was them that killed that old man, causing their family to move out west. neither of them would admit it to you if you asked. family meant more to them than anything—and getting their family a better lot in life was the point of moving to california in the first place. it was supposed to be a new start for all of them.

james met josephine the same year they moved to watts. they'd married and had their first son by 1942. junior never had much luck with girls; that's what his father believed it to be, at least. just "bad luck". james knew different, though. how could he not? that was his brother, after all. james knew junior was queer, and he never told a soul a goddamn thing about it.

the twins voluntarily joined the army in 1943, hoping to gain military benefits by fighting in the second world war. it was yet another chance to move their family up in the world.

in 1945, james was the only one to come home.

junior's death tore james apart, and in his grief, he became a heavy drinker. his drinking brought violence, of which he'd direct towards both his sons. he only got sober in 1956, when his only daughter was born. this sudden change of attitude wouldn't undo the damage he'd done, however, no matter how much he and josephine pretended it had.

josephine lou reid

eddie's mother. a sheltered girl born in chicago and raised in san francisco. her parents wished to protect her from all the evils of the world, especially as a young black woman in the mid-20th century. this sheltered upbringing made her naive, however, and desperate for a sense of independence. so when she met james on a trip to los angeles in 1940, she found herself utterly smitten and declared that they were to be married—with or without her parents approval. they returned to san francisco without her.

the first few years of their marriage were straight out of a fairytale, and it seemed as if their honeymoon stage would never end. but when james returned from europe an angry drunk, josephine's seemingly-perfect world fell apart.

since she had decided to marry him so suddenly, she felt like she couldn't just turn around and leave him. she made her bed, and now she had to lie in it. so for the next eleven years, she did just that—becoming a dissociative, resentful husk of her former self. she didn't protect her boys from their father. she didn't know how to soothe them, she hardly knew how to soothe herself.

things got better when her daughter was born. things slowly returned to what she needed them to be. and with a newborn baby on her hands, she chose to look forward—towards the future. her sons reminded her too much of the time before. how much did they really need her now, anyway?

louis allen reid

eddie's older brother. despite his best efforts, he's turned into a younger, angrier version of his father. he hates himself for that.

growing up, eddie annoyed him. always following him around, looking for his approval. the little brat even had the audacity to pretend to cry when their father beat them—he couldn't even feel it! to louis, this felt like mockery, like eddie was making fun of him. he couldn't stand it.

the boys fought a lot as children, less so as teenagers. louis never softened up towards his little brother, nor his little sister. he spent his teenage years finding any way to escape their home, even for just a couple hours. when eddie left, louis hardly knew him.

eddie amar reid

c'mon. do i really need to explain?

eileen aimée reid

eddie's little sister. maybe the only member of their family (aside from their grandparents) that he didn't grow to resent. maybe that was only because he left before she could begin to hate him.

for what it was worth, eileen's memories of her big brother were good. he treated her like a person—louis treated her like a burden, and their parents treated her like the glue holding their marriage together. that's what she likes to remember about eddie: the good.