by C. J. Corbin
The small shops in the French Quarter were opening as we walked slowly back to the hotel. We window-shopped, sipping the last of our second coffees. The limousine was waiting for us when we arrived back at the hotel. The ride to the bookstore was a short one.
Posters of my book and balloons decorated the outside of the store. A Zydeco band was playing. The line of fans had already formed. This was a party atmosphere, I almost hated going inside the store. If I expected the interior of the store to be quiet, I was mistaken. This store had the music that was playing outside piped inside. The store workers happily greeted me. There were tables piled with food. The store manager explained that they liked to have a party when there were book signings. Everyone volunteered to bring in food and the cousin of one of the workers was providing the music.
I was delighted, not only with the welcome I received but with everything. Even though Nancy and I had just eaten breakfast, we sampled the food laid out on the tables. We both found the food was spicy hot but delicious.
I happily signed books, posed for pictures, and spoke with fans. In the late afternoon, one of the store workers brought a woman my age up to the table. Marie introduced herself as the wife of Michael’s colleague. She was excited to meet me and I wasn’t sure where Michael had gotten the idea that she was shy.
Marie was a tall, beautiful, redheaded, and stacked woman. For a moment, I wondered if they were hers, but it was confirmed when she hugged me that her bosoms were natural. “Oh chère, I’ve been looking forward to your visit to our city.” She had a slight Cajun accent and even though Michael described her as a schoolteacher, she did not look like any teacher I ever had.
I grinned. I liked her immediately. She spoke with us for a few minutes, and in that short time I felt like I’d known her for years.
“I know you have to go back to your signing,” Marie said “but Tommy and I want you to come out to the house tonight for dinner. We’re having some people out and we wouldn’t forgive ourselves if we didn’t show you two some southern hospitability.”
I looked at Nancy and she did not give me a look either way, “Marie that is very nice of you but we don’t want to impose on you.”
“Don’t talk baloney chère. I’ve been planning this since Michael’s visit. Everyone’s excited about meeting you. Tom is even planning to take you to see the gators. You will love it.” Marie hugged us both, together. Nancy and I nodded while caught up in her arms. “Good,” Marie said releasing us, “my daughter Evelyne, will come and pick you up at seven. You’re staying at Maison?” Nancy and I nodded quickly. “Wear something comfortable.” She said as she turned, waved goodbye to us, and was gone.
Nancy and I stared at each other. “Well this should be interesting,” she said dryly. I laughed and nodded my head in agreement.
We finished with the event, thanked all the employees for the great experience and we were back in the limousine by quarter after six. I spotted Evelyne in the lobby as soon as we walked through the doors. She was hard to miss, because she was almost an identical twin to her mother, but twenty years younger. She wore shorts and a tank top and did not look comfortable in the fancy lobby. We told her we would quickly change and be back downstairs in a flash. She looked relieved that she would not have to wait until seven.
The gray pickup truck Evelyne led us to had seen better days, but she was obviously proud of the truck. The three of us all squeezed into the front bench style seats and when she turned on the engine, the radio turned on to a Zydeco music station that almost blasted us out of the windows. Evelyne looked sheepish and turned the music down promptly, along with the “sorry,” she mumbled under her breath.
When she pulled onto the highway, she appeared to relax. “I do not like to drive in New Orleans,” she pronounced it Nawleanns. “Momma wanted to make sure everything was ready for your visit.”
I was sitting in the middle and Nancy was clinging to the door as if it were her very lifeline. Evelyne was driving very fast, but she seemed to know where she was going.
“It’s very nice of your family to have us out to your house.” I squeaked out.
“Are you kidding? It’s all Momma talked about for the past week. She’s so excited. All her lady friends were together reading your books aloud,” Evelyne said looking over at me. I secretly wished she would keep her eyes on the road.
“Have you read my books?” I asked.
“Not yet. Momma said when I graduate high school next year I can read them. She said they are too adult.”
I nodded and agreed, “That makes sense.” I couldn’t believe that Evelyne wasn’t over eighteen, because she looked like she could be twenty-five. “How long will it take to get out to your house?”
“Oh we’re about thirty minutes away from the city.” She stole another look at me, “So Daddy says you’re Uncle Michael’s new girlfriend.”
I coughed and sputtered, “Uncle Michael?”
Nancy gave me a wild look.
“Yeah,” she nodded, “He’s not really my uncle, but Daddy has known him ever since their college days.”
I tried to contain my astonishment, “So your father and Michael went to Santa Cruz together?”
Evelyne nodded again. My thoughts were swirling. I would have a few choice words with Michael tonight if I could. At the very least, he could have prepared me for the meeting of what sounded like a close friend of his. Evelyne went on to a different subject and kept us entertained until we reached the house.
We drove down a long tree lined driveway and pulled up in front of a white two-storied plantation style house. There were small twinkle lights everywhere, in the trees, wrapped around the large columns on the portico. The porticos on both the first and second floors appeared to encircle the entire house. At least twenty parked cars were scattered in front and on the sides of the yard. Groups of people gathered near the front steps. The sun began to set over the bayou making the scene a postcard impression.
We heard excited voices rumbling through the crowd as we stepped out of the truck. Nancy pulled me aside and whispered, “I hear the banjo music from the movie “Deliverance.”
“Oh stop it Nancy.” I looked at her shaking my head.
“No, I really hear the music.” She said.
She was right, the music started up louder. It was not the music from the movie, but a small band on the corner of the porch, they started playing Cajun/Zydeco music.
Marie was instantly in front of us giving Nancy and me hugs and dragging us along to the crowd that had gathered at the bottom of the porch. Marie introduced us to her husband Tommy and then proceeded to introduce us to the entire crowd. There was no way that I would remember everyone but I tried my best. Most of Marie’s friends had my books, and they kept me busy for the first half hour signing them all. Nancy caught the eye of the very attractive and single New Orleans city attorney, and as the music started in earnest, they started dancing.
Tommy came over to the crowd of women sitting with me. He looked at his wife, “Now y’all, are we going to keep Elizabeth all tied up with you gaggling hens?” All the women tittered. Tommy was a good-looking dark haired man with a soft southern drawl and a sweet smile, which he turned on for all the women. “You know it’s my job to make sure Elizabeth has a good time. I’m going to take her out and dance for a while. I’ll bring her back and she can regale you with more stories from her books.” He bent down and kissed Marie. He took my hand and lifted me to my feet. “Com’on chère let’s dance.”
I tried to protest and said, “Really I’m not a very good dancer.”
“Oh go on Elizabeth, Tommy is a great dancer.” Marie said. “We’ll join you out on the floor in a bit. Oh, and Tommy don’t forget you need to take Elizabeth out to see the alligators tonight, Michael wanted you to show her.”
Tommy had my hand in his and he looked over his shoulder at his wife, “Don’t worry chère, we’ll do that right after dinner.”
All the songs were sung in French and in a dia
lect that I had a hard time following. The first song was a fast one and Tommy was a good dancer so I was able to fall into step with him quickly. The second song was a slow song and danced as a waltz. It allowed us to spend some time talking.
“We sure were surprised when Michael told us about you during his visit.” Tommy said in his southern drawl. He did not have as heavy a Cajun accent as Marie did, but it was still there. “You look a lot like the picture Michael showed us.”
While we danced, I was able to take a better look at him. He was just a tad taller than I was, probably putting him at six feet. His hair was dark almost black and wavy with a sprinkling of gray on the sides. Since he and Michael had been college friends, I guessed he was the same age as Michael. Tommy was bulkier than Michael was and a little heavier, due most likely to the fantastic food in Louisiana.
“Which picture did Michael show you?” I asked thinking it was the one on the back of my book cover.
“It was a cute little number with you in a bikini taken with Katy and Tammy.” Tommy smiled and winked.
I started blushing remembering the photo Michael had taken of us clowning around on the dock.
“Oh that one.” I looked down willing the blush not to creep up any further on my face.
Tommy laughed, “Michael was right, you are beautiful when you blush.” He paused for a moment and when I didn’t answer, “I’m sorry chère, I shouldn’t have embarrassed you. Blame Michael.”
The dinner bell interrupted our dancing. There were long tables set up on the porch. I sat with Tommy and Marie on either side of me and Nancy sat next to her new best friend, Marcus, the cute city attorney. They seemed to have hit it off and appeared to be enamored with each other.
The women I had signed books for earlier started to bring out food, and it was a nonstop progression. Some of the dishes I recognized like jambalaya, barbecued shrimp, and red beans and rice, but there were also fried catfish, crawfish etouffee, deep fried okra, Cajun white beans, Creole lima beans, and an amazing cabbage dish. They passed around huge baguettes to soak up the wonderful sauces that went with each dish. The bread also helped temper the spiciness of the dishes too. They expected me to try everything and piled my plate high.
The sounds surrounding us were delightful too, aside from the continuous clinking of glasses for each new toast, music from a compact disc player played in the background, which went perfectly with the croaking of the swamp frogs. The fireflies twinkling in the darkness and the chirping of the crickets made it almost feel like a Disney Pirates of the Caribbean moment, except that this was the real thing.
The women surrounding me told me the recipes for each dish. Marie laughed, “Don’t worry Elizabeth. I’ll email you some of Michael’s favorites.” I didn’t bother telling her that I didn’t cook and that Michael would probably end up doing the honors. “Michael doesn’t eat everything, since he’s a vegetarian,” Marie made the word sound like it was dirt in her mouth, “but he does love my vegetable jambalaya.” A woman carried out a large platter and everyone clapped, “Oh you’ll like these.” Marie put one down on my plate.
It looked like a deep fried lump, and she passed some sauce to me. I poked it with my fork hoping that it wasn’t somebody’s road kill. I popped it into my mouth and it tasted of chicken. Everyone was looking at me for my reaction. I so loved to be the center of attention when I ate.
“It’s good.” I swallowed it almost whole. Actually, it tasted good, although I couldn’t get the picture of a raccoon out of my mind. Not that I really thought it was one, but some confirmation would have been nice.
Tommy laughed loudly, “I think she likes gator.” Everyone clapped.
I just smiled and silently thought, “Oh my god, I just ate alligator.”
Marie put her arm around me and hugged me, “We certainly don’t make this for Michael!”
I kept smiling, “Yeah, I bet you don’t.”
Even though I was completely stuffed and thought I could not eat another bite, desert came out of the house next. Put in front of me was bread pudding with the most marvelous bourbon sauce I had ever tasted. I could have sat in the corner with a big bowl and a spoon and eaten it the rest of the evening. The sauce had to be one hundred proof even though I assumed the alcohol content evaporated during the cooking process.
I was wrong. The alcohol was added to the sauce after cooking, so it was completely full strength. I sat at the table like a happy clam eating big spoonfuls of bread pudding and sauce while the grin on my face got wider and wider.
The band started the music again and Tommy called out to them, “Play something in English for our guests.”
One of the guys yelled out, “How about My Toot Toot?”
My ears perked up, “Hey I know that one!” I waved my arms around like the crazy drunk woman I was.
Tommy pulled me to my feet. “Well get on up there girl, show us what you’ve got!”
Before I could say no and declare that I had consumed too much bourbon sauce, I was up in front of everyone singing along with the band.
Even Nancy had a surprised look on her face when I finished.
Tommy called out again, “Looks like we have our very own Queen Ida right here!”
Everyone tried to have me sing another song, but I strongly refused. Instead, one of the guests whisked me off to the dance floor. I had a steady stream of partners. Several times, I looked over and Nancy was dancing with Marcus and only with Marcus. She seemed only to have eyes for him this evening.
Finally, after the ninth or tenth song I held my hands up in surrender. I couldn’t dance anymore. My feet hurt and I was getting dizzy from twirling around. I joined the ladies up on the porch to cool off. There were huge fans scattered around in the ceiling of the porch. The fans moved the air effectively but it was still humid and hot. I did not think I would be able to adapt to weather like this easily.
I discovered that the ladies on the porch were all relatives of some sort. Marie and Tommy’s mothers, grandmothers, and a few assorted aunts, and they all knew Michael. All of them were very interested in the new woman in his life, namely me. Both Tommy and Marie joined us shortly afterwards.
“So chère, are you ready to go and meet some alligators?” Tommy asked.
I quickly nodded, “Oh yes!”
Marie asked the ladies if they’d like to join us but none of them decided to be adventurous. Nancy also was not interested in checking out the alligators either. She pulled me aside as we were walking away from the house.
“Elizabeth, Marcus and I are going to leave now. Is that okay with you? He lives in New Orleans, in the garden district, and has invited me to see his house.” She whispered.
I raised my eyebrows and said dryly, “Oh really Nancy, is he going to show you his etchings?”
Nancy actually blushed, which she did not do often. I laughed and hugged her, “Go have a good time.”
“We’re probably going to spend the day together tomorrow, so I’ll call you tomorrow night when I get back to the hotel.” She said quietly.
“As long as you make the flight Monday morning,” I joked. “Try not to miss the plane, okay?”
She nodded and went off to find Marcus. I caught up with Marie and Tommy and we walked down the dock to the boat.
“Are Marcus and Nancy going back to New Orleans?” Marie asked as we walked out and passed through a large gate. The entire dock was protected by fencing.
I nodded. “Marcus has invited Nancy to see his house.”
Marie smirked, “He has a very nice house. It’s a big old restored mansion. We were glad that Katrina didn’t damage it too badly.” She chuckled softly, “That Marcus. He knew he wasn’t allowed to get to you.”
“Now Marie, don’t you go telling stories. You know Marcus is a gentleman.” Tommy added.
I laughed, “Nancy is a big city girl. I’m sure Marcus will have his hands full with her.”
Marie laughed with me, “Yes I’m sure he will.” She said and the do
uble meaning of my sentence went over my head.
They helped me step onto the smallest of the three boats. Tommy had locked the small gate behind us. “Why do you have the gate and the dock fenced in?” I asked. Tommy moved his large flashlight over the shoreline and I saw quick movement in the water and gasped, “Oh!” I said.
Tommy laughed, “The gators will pull you right off the dock, and you’d make a tasty little evening snack for one of them.”
“Are we safe in the boat then?” I asked.
Tommy chuckled, “Oh sure chère, as long as you don’t drag your feet or arms in the water.”
“Alrighty then, I’ll be sitting in the middle of the boat.” I said.
After securing me in a life vest, Tommy started the engine. As we moved from the dock, they explained their alligator conservation program. Tommy, who was a professor of conservation biology at the University of New Orleans, was in charge of the doctorate program. He also worked with the state of Louisiana on their alligator conservation program.
My eyes started to get used to the blackness surrounding us. Even with the light from the boat, I could barely see the low hanging moss from the trees. Tommy warned me not to panic if a snake dropped into the boat. Panic? I almost panicked at the mere mention of a snake. Snakes and spiders were not on this girl’s most favorite things list. You bet I would panic!
Tommy explained there were an estimated one million alligators in Louisiana. Taken off the endangered species list in the late seventies, the alligators were still on the protected species list in all eight states where they lived. The alligator was considered a natural renewable resource, and the conservation effort encouraged the private landowners to maintain the alligator’s habitat in a productive and natural environment.
Tommy slowed the boat down to a crawl and then cut the engines. At first, there was complete silence and then the first cricket chirp echoed. All of a sudden, a calliope of sound surrounded us. Tommy turned the boat’s lights to the shoreline. Marie tapped me on the shoulder and pointed. Several alligators slipped quietly into the water, I could barely see a ripple of the water’s movement. I gasped. Tommy moved the light again and I could see several pairs of eyes peering out from the water.