by C. J. Corbin
“Alligators normally hunt at night, that’s when they are the most dangerous. During the daytime, they like to lie out and sun themselves. It helps them digest their dinner from the night before.” He explained.
Marie added, “We’ll take you out again tomorrow. It’s very beautiful during the day with the moss, and we even have a couple of eagles. Michael was very interested in those.”
I nodded. “It sure is spooky at night.” Sure enough just as I spoke, there was a “plop” noise on the floor of the boat right next to me.
Tommy flashed his light in my direction. “Sit still Elizabeth.” He commanded.
From the sound of his voice, I was not going to move. Marie was next to me in a flash with a long metal pole that had a hook at the end. She quickly scooped up the dark brown almost blackish snake with the pole and threw the snake overboard.
I must have turned pale, “Was that a …” I didn’t finish the sentence.
Marie sat down next to me, “Yep, a little old water moccasin, or cottonmouth, as we like to call them.” She slipped her arm around me, “You okay? Tommy let’s start up the boat. We’re lingering too long in one place.”
I had a difficult time relaxing for the rest of the trip. My legs were tightly jammed together and I didn’t want to set my feet on the bottom of the boat. Every sound made me jump nervously. I had my doubts when Marie had mentioned going out on the again tomorrow, especially now.
We made our way back up to the house. Once there Tommy told everyone the story of our adventure. Everyone told me how brave I had been. I didn’t feel brave, I was just glad to be out of the boat. Both Tommy and Marie insisted that I spend the night. Not wanting to intrude on their hospitality, I declined, but they insisted again. They finally wore me down with the argument that someone would just have to pick me up again in the morning to bring me back out to the house.
Marie took me to my room upstairs, and she had already put out a nightgown for me. She showed me the fresh towels in the adjoining bathroom. It seemed my staying was a foregone conclusion. “Whenever you get tired now, you just make yourself at home and come on upstairs to go to sleep. I sure wish you were staying longer.” Marie added wistfully. “But, we’ll have tomorrow.”
I nodded. I liked Marie, she was fresh, and not the least bit pretentious. What you saw with Marie was you got.
“I’ll be down in just a moment.” I pulled out my little cell phone, “I want to call Michael before it gets too late.”
Marie’s eyes twinkled, “I would imagine you do. He is such a dear. Here, I’ll give you some privacy. Come down when you’re ready.” Marie shut the door behind her as she left the room.
I surveyed the room. The corner room had hardwood floors that were polished until they shined. The bright yellow wallpaper design and the curtains matched. The pair of French doors that led out to the upstairs porch was painted white as was all the trim and the window. The room was comfortably furnished with a queen-sized bed covered in a white lace crocheted bedspread, a yellow upholstered club chair, and a cherry wood dresser by the window on the opposite end of the room.
I sat down on the bed and imagined what it would be like to have Michael here with me in this room with his friends downstairs. I smiled to myself, yes, he would like it very much, and so would I. I dialed his number quickly.
“Hi, what are you doing?” I said.
“Hey Elizabeth,” Michael sounded surprised but happy to hear from me. “It is too noisy at my house so I’m watching the start of the baseball game on your big screen television.”
“You are?” I asked, surprised myself.
“Yep. I could really get used to this.”
I laughed. “Well make yourself at home.”
“I am.” He said crunching on what sounded like potato chips. “So what do you think about New Orleans? Did you meet Marie?”
“Oh, I more than met Marie.” I reviewed the day’s happenings with him. “I’m now up in the bedroom ready to go back downstairs and rejoin the party. I held the phone away from my ear and pointed it toward the open French windows. “Hear the music?”
“Yeah. They throw a great party. Are you in the yellow room?” He asked.
“How did you know?” I asked Michael.
“It was one of the first rooms that they restored after Katrina. I always stay in that room. I love it because of the French doors.”
I didn’t realize that Katrina had touched this magnificent house. “Did they have a lot of damage from the hurricane?”
Michael sighed, “The main structure of the house was undamaged, but the roof, all the windows, and the outside of the house took a beating. They had tried to protect what they could of the windows and doors but the force ripped them out. The whole first floor was completely flooded, even though the house is up higher, the floodwaters rose almost to the second floor. The house is 150 years old and part of the national registry so they wanted to repair everything instead of tearing it down and rebuilding.”
“No basements here, right?” I said.
“Right, no basements. You don’t have to dig down very far before you hit water in that area.” Michael answered.
“No wonder everything looked so new downstairs. Marie has it beautifully decorated. The house has a real antebellum flavor to it.” I said.
“They are both very proud that they were able to restore it. Oh yeah, and the room that you’re in is haunted.” Michael laughed.
“Oh Michael, stop teasing me.” I looked around but everything looked perfectly normal. What did I expect, a ghost lurking about maybe?
Michael laughed again, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You should have me there, I would protect you.”
I laughed this time, “I don’t know who I’m more afraid of, you or the ghost.”
“True.” He said, “Your virtue wouldn’t be in jeopardy with the ghost.”
“You can bet on that.” I retorted. “Then again, I haven’t had to worry about my virtue in a long time.” I giggled.
“Really? So then, I’m not to blame for tainting your good name? That’s a relief!” He said joking.
“What else are you up to this nice Saturday evening?” I asked.
“Oh I just dropped off my date.” He laughed.
I almost froze at first and then was afraid to ask, “What?”
Michael chuckled, “Tammy and I went out to eat.”
My voice sounded relieved, “Oh.” I said.
Michael laughed again, “Come on Babe, you don’t think I could handle more than one of you, do you?”
The relief washed over me again, and then I felt stupid and lamely said, “Tommy and Marie seem to think you’re quite the party animal.”
“Great, now I have to live down that reputation too. Believe me only in New Orleans, it is the party town.” He said.
I laughed, “If that’s the case, you are definitely not going to New Orleans alone again.”
Michael’s voice became quiet, “Is that a promise?” He whispered. “You know how much a miss you.”
“Only another week,” I said. “I’ll be returning home next Friday night. I miss you too.”
Michael chuckled, “Good, let’s have phone sex right now.”
I giggled, “We are not having phone sex. That is all I need, the windows are open.” I giggled again, “I could just see that, me walking downstairs afterwards, I’d never hear the end of that one. So since the conversation has turned into the gutter, I better let you get back to your game.”
It took me a long time to get to sleep after the party wound down and everyone trooped off to their respective beds or homes. I was bothered that Michael had again not given me the full story about his relationship with Tommy and Marie. After the experience with his relatives, it had appeared that we were on solid footing. To find out tonight that he had not given me the full story and allowed me walk into a surprise situation again disturbed me. I could not understand what his motivation for the secrecy was, but our relationship
did not stand a chance at survival if it continued. After spending years distrusting Kevin’s every move, I refused to run down the same path with Michael. The more I thought about the situation, the more determined I became to discuss it with him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
I awoke the next morning to the delicious smell of baking croissants, coffee, and frying bacon. After quickly dressing and braiding my hair, I made my way down to the kitchen. The kitchen was full of people from the party last night. I wasn’t sure if they lived here, just spent the night, or came over for breakfast.
Tommy greeted me with a glass of orange juice, “Good morning glory.”
Marie, standing at the stove was preparing massive quantities of bacon and stirring grits. “Hey chère, how did you sleep last night?”
I laughed, “Okay I guess, I had some crazy dreams though.”
Everyone looked at me. Marie asked, “Not nightmares I hope.”
I shook my head and took a sip of the orange juice, “No the strangest dream, over and over again. I dreamt civil war soldiers were walking through the room, and there was a little door in the corner of the room that led to a stairway leading up to the next floor. It was interesting the bedroom didn’t have any furniture in it, it was empty.”
Marie smiled and turned the stove off. “So, what color were the soldier’s uniforms?”
I considered her odd question, “The uniforms were gray, and so I guess they were southern soldiers.”
Everyone in the room smiled and Marie laughed, “Elizabeth, I dare say you must have some paranormal abilities. Our ghosts manifest themselves in the yellow room to people with the gift. During the civil war, just after the house was built, our southern soldiers used it. The top floor was used as a lookout point. There would have been a steady stream of men tromping through the room to the small stairwell leading up to the attic. After Katrina we closed off that door and the stairwell to the attic, so it’s interesting that even though you didn’t know it was there, you dreamt about it.”
I shook my head in disbelief, while everyone else was nodding theirs.
Tommy took me by the elbow to lead me into the dining room. “Now, don’t you listen to Marie’s ghost stories.”
I could not agree more, I certainly did not want to be a person with a gift, especially that sort of gift. People who lived alone as I did needed no such gift. Talk about giving me the heebie jeebies.
As we sat down at the long dining room table, one of the great-grandmothers took my arm and looked at it. She pointed out the many mosquito bites I had on my arms. I had not noticed them until now and of course, now that I saw them, they began to itch. Great-grandmother said something in French and pointed to Marie.
Marie picked up my arm, “Oh Elizabeth, you’ve been eaten alive by our mosquitoes. I’ve got Great-Me-maw’s old herbal remedy for that, and it will help the itching and prevent infections.” Marie laughed, “And if you’re nauseous you can drink it and it will fix your tummy right up. Great-Me-maw has been brewing it for years.” Marie came back from the kitchen with a jar of liquid that looked like tea.
“Brewing it?” I asked, taking the jar from her and looking doubtful, envisioning Great-grandmother hunched over a bubbling caldron.
“Yes, brewing it. Like tea.” Marie answered. “Just rub it on your arms. Don’t rinse it off. It will help, if you don’t believe me, ask Michael, he uses it all the time. I sent the dried leaves home with him the last time he was here. He swore by it when the girls had upset tummies.”
I remembered the tea Michael had given me when I was sick the first time we met. I wondered if this was the same tea. I flashed again how Michael had not told me about this family and it made me angry to think of his lack of trust in me. I was sure that is what it was; Michael did not trust me enough to confide in me.
After breakfast, I went back upstairs and practically bathed in the tea. Marie had been correct. The tea soothed the itching immediately. I was relieved not to be scratching myself raw.
Tommy met me down by the smaller airboat, which had a canopy. No snakes would be dropping in for a visit today. It would just be the two of us this morning taking the tour. He had a bag of goodies for the alligators and he assured me that the alligators would come running when they heard the boat.
He took me further out than the previous night. The airboat went very fast and we covered more distance. He stopped the engines of the boat and watched me feeding the alligators. I was surprised when they fought over the tidbits.
“Here chère, try this,” he threw a chunk out to the shore. One alligator quickly swam to the shore and seized the chunk of meat.
I watched the birds flying from the trees and he pointed out an eagles nest to me. “I didn’t know you had eagles in Louisiana.”
He grinned, “I think that’s why Michael comes to visit us so often because it can’t be Marie’s vegetarian gumbo or jambalaya.”
“You and Michael are so different. I’m surprised you became friends. I mean you hunt and fish. Michael definitely doesn’t do that.” I commented.
He looked at me with a lazy grin, “Don’t let him fool you. He hunts with his camera, and he gets the same adrenaline rush as regular hunters. We’re both from large families, we’re beer drinkers and love sports. What more do two college guys need in common? He has mellowed some in his old age but he can still be very wild. Has he shown you the Mustang yet?”
I nodded. “Yeah, he took me out in it on our first date.”
Tommy whistled, “Oh chère, I think he likes you.” He chuckled and turned to me, “Okay, how fast did he drive, were you scared?”
“No.” I looked puzzled, “He drove very responsibly.”
Tommy laughed and shook his head, “Elizabeth, he is trying to impress you. He likes fast cars, fast boats, and…”
“…and fast women?” I asked finishing his sentence.
He shook his head and looked at me seriously, “No chère, he does not like fast women. He’s conservative when it comes to his women. He didn’t date for a long time while he was raising his daughters because he didn’t like the influence the women were having on his girls. He is devoted to his girls. Believe me if they didn’t like a woman he brought home she wouldn’t last long.”
“Why are you telling me all this about Michael?” I asked.
Tommy smiled at me, “First, I like you. You’re sweet, charming and like a cool drink on a long, hot summer’s day. You’re a damn sight better than that shrew he married. Second, I don’t like the fact that Michael didn’t tell you about us. That just isn’t right. He’s a good man and he needs someone like you in his life, and I’m just giving you some ammunition.”
“I’m surprised you don’t tell me not to hurt him.” I said.
Tommy dug in the food bag for the last bite, he threw it overboard, and an alligator snapped it up immediately. He got up to turn the engine back on. “Michael is a big boy chère. He can take care of himself. Don’t forget that, he’s not looking for a mother, he’s looking for a lover, someone to share his life with.”
I turned back around to face forward. I was blushing and knew that I would not be able to turn it off no matter how much I wished it to be gone.
When we arrived back at the house, Marie was busy brewing tea for me. She gave me instructions to bathe in the stuff for the next couple of days. She had also packed a care package for me, which included extra dried tealeaves and a huge container of left over bread pudding with extra bourbon sauce. I doubted the bread pudding would make it through the evening. Marie laughed heartily when she heard that.
Both drove me back to my hotel in New Orleans. I was sad to be leaving them. They had shown me more than hospitality, they made me feel like I was at home and one of the family. I left several signed copies of the new book with Marie, she was thrilled, and I made Tommy promise me that he would try to read the book too. He winked at me when he hugged me goodbye and told me to take good care of Michael. I just blushed.
The
blast of air conditioning hit me when I walked into the hotel room. I lived the past twenty-four hours without air conditioning and did not seem to mind it at all. I flipped off the air conditioner and opened the windows to the street. The sound of the people from Bourbon Street rose up to the room and drifted in through the windows. I liked the sounds and I loved the city and its people.
After leaving a message for Nancy, I stripped my clothes off and bathed in the tea. Next, I ordered a big glass of milk and a spoon from room service. When it arrived, I heated the bread pudding up in the room’s microwave oven and ate the entire portion Marie had packed for me.
The sun was just starting to set when I finished the bread pudding. I redressed, put on my walking shoes and headed on out to do some exploring in the French Quarter. Since it was Sunday evening and most of the shops had already closed, I wouldn’t get to do much shopping but I was sure I would be able to find a few touristy places still open.
I found a few shops open and selected some t-shirts and little souvenirs for Tammy and Betsy. I also found two stuffed alligators for Marybeth and Jon. Finally, I picked up several boxes of beignet mix and cans of chicory coffee from Café du Monde for everyone else.
When I returned to the hotel, I met Nancy in the hotel lobby. She grinned at me. Sitting next to her was her suitcase.
“Are you going somewhere?” I asked when I sat down next to her.
Nancy nodded her head, “Don’t hate me Elizabeth, but things are kind of clicking between Marcus and me. I’ve checked out of the hotel and I’m going to stay the night with him tonight. I’ll meet you at the airport tomorrow morning.” She stood up as Marcus walked into the lobby and over toward us. “The limousine will be picking you up at 9:00 tomorrow morning. Okay?”