Bailee, the Animal Groomer

By J. D. Moise

Bailee Wood is an independent spirit who has risen up against racism, built an animal grooming business, married, and become a father. When his luck runs out and his business begins to fail, Bailee decides to travel one hundred miles to see a voodoo priest he hopes can lure customers and curse his competitors. But as he arrives for his meeting, Bailee has no idea that the priest is about to sell him a gay spirit with the power to change everything.

After Bailee purchases a pink egg from Ironpants that represents the spirit that will assist him in rescuing his business from failure, he returns home where he must follow strict instructions that include building a house for the spirit, naming it, and secluding himself from his wife. But as Bailee begins having strange dreams, he slowly begins withdrawing from his wife and causes a chain of events that prompt the spirit to take matters into his own hands. Although his business eventually flourishes, Bailees marriage does not, sending him down an intriguing path where surprises and adventure await.

Bailee, The Animal Groomer reveals an African American mans battle with his internal demons as he struggles to save his livelihood with help from a determined spirit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781475922776

J. D. Moise

j. d. moise was born in Cabaret, Haiti. In 2000, he and his wife immigrated to America where they became United States citizens. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from New Jersey City University. He and his wife reside in Newark, New Jersey. This is his debut novel.

Book preview

Copyright © 2012 by j.d. moise.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4759-2276-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-2277-6 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 05/27/2015

Contents

Preface

Characters

Introduction

Chapter I Bailee, Wood, Born to Be Wild

Chapter II Trip to the House of Ironpants, the Voodoo Priest

Chapter III Bailee and Pinky-Egg between Hate and Love

Chapter IV From Pinky-Egg to Carlo and the Rehabilitation

Chapter V Bailee’s Speech, The Pink Wedding and the Flourishing of Bailee Animal Inc.

Chapter VI For Bailee, the Journey Continued

Chapter VII Bailee and the Caribbean Vacation

Chapter VIII Bailee Wood, Back to US and the Family Reunion

I dedicate this book to my wife, Keket; my mom, Mado; my dad, Louis; my friend Neil; my brothers and sisters; and my professor B. Simons, who inspired me to write. This book is also dedicated to all who have helped me in its realization.

Preface

It all began with a creative writing class and then a literature and film course both taught by the eminent New Jersey City University (NJCU) professor Manuel Simons, who encouraged his students to unleash their creative writing talent. I remember the final project that he gave us. It was on the topic of race relations and discrimination in our society. Some students chose to write about the treatment of women in the United States; others wrote about minorities and the prejudice they suffer. Students were supposed to materialize their findings in an exposition to be presented at the end of the semester. The project was great, and we were all happy with the way the professor taught the course.

The idea for this book came from the project that I prepared for the final exam. I cannot pretend to be a great writer. I consider myself an amateur when I think about the great writers who have been entertaining readers for a long time before I began to write. I know that I can make a difference with my creativity and my willingness to be excellent. My story is a mixture of fiction and reality. I consider life to be a complete meal with different ingredients for taste, aroma, and nutrition. Some disagreeable elements can make you sick, but you cannot live without the meal.

I am almost to my half-century of living mark. I have witnessed debates about politics, economics, and social issues. Technology makes it easy to discuss subjects considered taboo before. Often, private matters get mixed up with public discussion. Until they create tools to read an individual’s mind, secrets will exist and people will still need to unload their conscience to a disgruntled partner. Politicians will still have to apologize for hidden acts of mischief and deceit against their constituency. Finally, people will still have to fight their inner behavior and choose between being who they think they are, being who others think they are, and being who they truly are. As a human being, I am not exempt from these issues either. My inspiration also comes from this knowledge.

The realization of this book is possible thanks to Professor Simons. I am also very grateful to my wife, who continues to support me in my project. My parents, who made sure I received a good education, also deserve credit for this achievement. A bag of thanks goes to my father-in-law, who never stopped believing in me. He is a rich source of history for research. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the help of my former boss and great friend Neil Sheils, who encouraged me to run an additional mile in my writings. To all my coworkers, I can say, You have been great. For all the people who helped me anyway, I do not forget you. For the readers, you will enjoy a good, spicy story, which will hold you in suspense as the events progress.

—j. d. moise

Characters

Addoo Morrellus—Assefie’s fourth son with Lorrellus

Affana—Jober’s mother and one of Arrannette’s cousins

Altagracia Destillus—Mazok’s cousin and Azoopim’s girlfriend

Anastazia Betton Wood—Wife of Bailee Wood Junior and sister of Azoopim Betton

Anastazio Wood—Bailee’s son, brother of Baileen

Arnette Wood—Bailee’s mother in the United States, Bailee Senior’s wife

Arrannette Meddenis—Bailee’s biological mother in the Caribbean

Assefie Meddennis Morrellus—Bailee’s aunt, whom he met in the streets of Manhattan, Arrannette’s sister

Azoopim Betton—Magician, brother of Anastazia, confidant of Bailee Wood Junior

Bailee Wood Junior—Founder and CEO of Bailee Animal Inc. and Arrannette’s lost son

Bailee Wood Senior—Father of Bailee and his siblings

Baileen Wood—Bailee Junior’s daughter with Anastazia

Carlo Wood—Bailee’s spouse, formerly Pinky-Egg

Dolee Morrellus—The youngest child of Assefie and Lorrellus

Donna Meddenis—Arrannette’s cousin

Enoughio Marrelly—A son of Ironpants

Felayo Morrellus—Assefie’s stepson and son of Lorrellus

Felinise Morrellus—Assefie’s second child with her husband

Fratto Morrellus—Assefie’s first child with her husband

Frerot Morrellus—Bailee’s cousin and Assefie’s fifth child with Lorrellus

Ironpants—Alias of Meethosolm Marelly, the voodoo priest

Jober Meddenis—Gay man and son of Arrannette’s cousin

Josloma Meddennis—Arrannette’s late sister

Kalisppeepee, a.k.a. Gasson—voodoo priest in Haiti

Lomie Meddennis—Arrannette’s and Assefie’s late sister

Lorrellus Morrellus—Assefie’s husband and the father of her kids

Mazok Destillus—Arrannette’s maternal half brother

Meethosolm Marrelly—Physician who became a voodoo priest

Meleesie Morrellus—Assefie’s third child with Lorrellus

Merred—Zombie in Ironpants’s court

Nadia Wood—Medical doctor, Bailee’s sister

Nahum Wood—Bailee’s brother

Nelly—Female zombie in Ironpants’s court

Nofemora Marrelly—One of Ironpants’s daughters

Peter—Zombie in Ironpants’s court

Pinky-Egg—Ghost/zombie brought by Bailee from Ironpants

Sandra Wood—Bailee’s little sister

Yang-Yang—Asian zombie

Zillus Morrellus—Assefie’s sixth child

Zodol Morrellus—Stepson of Assefie and Lorrellus’s child

Introduction

Bailee was raised in a conservative African American family in a small town called Roocoo in the State of Louisisna. His father was a veteran of the US Marines and his mother a schoolteacher. Unlike his three other siblings—two sisters and one brother—Bailee was an independent spirit. He chose to be a veterinarian against the advice of his parents, who wanted him to be a medical doctor instead, because of the prejudice against African Americans at that time. After leaving college, he built an animal-grooming business with the help of his father, who died eight years after its completion. He married Anastazia, a woman he chose among seven others, and the two had one girl, Baileen, and one boy, whom they named Anastazio. After fifteen years in the business, Bailee’s failure prompted Anastazia to advise him to see a voodoo priest for a charm capable of repelling curses from competitors, and for luring customers into his business. He went to a voodoo priest named Ironpants. Ironpants sold him a zombie who happened to be a deceased twenty-one year old gay man buried alive by a gang operating in Ville Bonheur, a small village in the same state, farther west. Paradoxically, Bailee’s business began to flourish, though he was required to sleep with the spirit inside a one-room-one-door-built-mudded-house. Meanwhile, Bailee’s appetite for his wife faded away. Consequently, she decided to divorce him.

Finally, Bailee ended up getting involved with the gay ghost, that he named Pinky-Egg. After months of tergiversation, Bailee decided to present his virtual partner to the local branch of the renowned international LGBT organization RainbowExperience, whose members thought Bailee was delusional, because they could never see his imaginary partner. One evening, at a regular meeting, the spirit appeared out of nowhere in the flesh, causing a fearful exodus from the auditorium. This event pushed Zotobray Malfrank, the chairperson of the organization, to make Pinky-Egg human again. His real name turned out to be Carlo. This twenty-something gay man would marry Bailee in a wedding dubbed the Pink Wedding. They would live happily ever after in a mansion in New England. Simultaneously, Bailee continued to run his corporation, Bailee Animal Inc., in Manhattan. What happened next? The rest is a long story filled with twists.

Bailee directed Bailee Animal Inc. from the Manhattan headquarters. He fell in love with the city as he drove his Mercedes Benz around watching the busy pedestrians in the streets. One day, something special caught his eyes. He saw a woman in her seventies crossing the street carrying a baby. One might say the woman and he were twins, if not for their