Eve's Bayou
written by Kasi Lemmons
Eve (Jurnee Smollett): (reading from a letter from her father to his sister) To Mozelle...Mozelle, it's been two hours since we spoke and finally--
Louis: (voice-over narration) I feel calm enough to write this. I realize your accusations, however shocking and cruel, stem from some weakness in myself that allows you to believe the worst in me. As you and I know, I'm just a small-town doctor, pushing aspirin to the elderly, but to a certain type of woman, I'm a hero. I need to be a hero sometimes. That's my weakness, that much is true. But how, Mozelle, could I have sunk so low, in your estimation, to the leechy depths where you would accuse me of deliberately abusing my most beloved child? I am guilty in the sense that I adore her, and I allowed her to adore me. It was a sweet indulgence, but nothing in her behavior prepared me for what happened on the night of the storm.
(A flashback to that night: Louis and his wife Roz are fighting. She storms away as he calls after her. All other actions he describes occur in the flashback as well)
Roz and I had a terrible fight and I guess it was inevitable. I knew Cicely could never sleep through a fight like that, so I wasn't surprised when she came downstairs. Maybe I was even waiting for her. Mozelle, I swear, the first kiss was the sweetest kiss a daughter could give a drunk and guilt-ridden father. A kiss of redemption. In the next moment, it had gone wrong. From my scotch haze, it took a second for me to realize my daughter was kissing me like a woman! This is where I blame myself. I was so startled that I hit her and she fell to the floor. The look she gave me almost stopped my heart. And I knew I had lost her. Mozelle, I would give my life to have that moment back. I would hold her and comfort her. We would talk through her confusion, and I would put her to bed with the boundaries between us intact. I love her more than my life. I hope that one day she can forgive me. I felt that I could betray her again by telling you or Roslyn. Forgive me... -Louis.