NOLA

by Alexie Aaron

  “Ahem, young lady, are you alright?” a mature woman’s voice broke through the ether. Standing at the entrance to the bath area was a uniformed maid. She wore her straightened black hair contained in a low bun.

  “I’m sorry, I’m just falling apart. I don’t need any towels,” Mia said and laid her head back down on the carpet.

  “No, this won’t do,” the ghost said and bent down and ran a cool hand over Mia’s shoulders.

  Mia shivered and sat up quickly. “Brrrrr, you ought to know that that isn’t comf… Oh, you do know,” Mia said, catching the mischievous look on the woman’s face.

  Mia reached into the closet and put on the white terry robe.

  “Seems to me you’re having a pity party of one,” the ghost observed, moving by Mia to pick up her fallen towel and hang it up.

  “I’m allowed. I just had a baby,” Mia sniffed.

  “Of course you’re allowed. As long as it’s brief. Us women don’t have time for such nonsense. Not when there’s family at home waiting on us. We have to do our work and then get our behinds home where we are appreciated and loved.”

  “Whoa, that’s a mouthful. How long have you been dead?” Mia asked, tugging on the snarls in her hair with the comb.

  “Give that comb to me,” the ghost said.

  Mia complied. The woman concentrated on detangling a rat’s nest before she brought the comb through Mia’s hair. “My daughter has hair like this.”

  “Blonde?” Mia asked.

  The black woman’s reflection looked back at her and frowned. “No, curly.”

  “I don’t have curly hair,” Mia insisted. “I have straight won’t-do-a-damn-thing hair.” To illustrate, she tugged at the locks with her hands. She felt an icy sting as the maid slapped her hands away.

  “Look,” the ghost said as she pushed gently upwards, and sure enough, Mia’s hair had curled a little.

  “When did this happen?” Mia asked.

  “It may not stay; it could be all the vitamins they have you take when you’re with child. But I say, if you got yourself a trim, these locks would bounce and give you some body.”

  “Excuse me, I don’t know your name.”

  “Elvira Hooch. Now don’t you laugh; Mr. Hooch is a looker.”

  “He must be for you to take on that name.”

  “To answer your question, young lady: I’m not sure how long I’ve been dead, but it’s been a few years.”

  “Mind me asking why you’re still working?”

  “Oh, I like to keep my hand in while I wait for Mr. Hooch to join me. He’s on his third wife right now, so it won’t be long. She can’t cook. He’s going to die from bad food as sure as my name’s Elvira Hooch.”

  “I met another maid in St. Louis who didn’t know she died, poor thing. She just kept coming to work. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t fooled by the management into working for free.”

  “Young lady, I have a confession. I never worked here. I just wanted to see how the high rollers live. I heard you up here being unkind to yourself and decided that enough is enough.”

  “Why the uniform?”

  “Not sure, I think I died in it.”

  “Do you want to move on?”

  “I do, but I’m going to wait for Harvey. Otherwise, he may decide to head off with the second wife. She was a looker.”

  “Sound thinking,” Mia said. “I’m only on my first husband. Do you have any pears of wisdom?”

  “Pearls,” Elvira corrected. “Be confident in yourself, and be happy. No matter if the money’s gone and you’re tired of working two jobs. When you see your man, give him a smile. Let him help you for a change. They want to. They are just worried we’ll laugh at their mistakes. Be your own woman. Don’t let anyone tell you who you are supposed to be.”

  “Thank you, Elvira, you’ve made me feel better.”

  The ghost smiled and vanished.

  Mia looked at her hair in the mirror. “Curly huh?” She opened up the closet and tried to read the tags Ralph had attached to the top of the hangers. She found one that looked like day wear and slid the cotton dress off the hanger. She walked over to the chest of drawers and found underwear to suit the dress. She put the clothes on and smiled at her clothed reflection. She felt a chill and found a white sweater with a beaded rose on the front. She slid it on and felt confident that she would be presentable enough to meet a Grand Duke, even if he was dead. She looked at the handbag Ralph insisted she use instead of her small backpack and frowned. The bag wouldn’t hold more than her room key. She needed something that could contain the stacks of money, the jewels and the military medal.

  Looking at the clock, she realized that Ralph would still be abed. She would just have to wander out and see if she could pick something up on her own, and get some breakfast while she was at it.

  The New Orleans morning sun was burning off the dew as Mia stepped out of the hotel’s Canal Street exit. She decided to wander down and look into windows until something caught her eye. She wouldn’t go too far. She didn’t want to face a wrathful Ralph, if he arrived at her room and found her gone, when she arrived back.

  She saw a few possibilities but feared that the price would be too high. The shops weren’t open for trade. It was evidently too early for them to open up. She took a walk down a side street and ended up faced with a blocked sidewalk. Strung across the walk was a wheeled rack overstuffed with boxes. A young lady pulled on the cart, but it was stuck.

  Mia had started to walk around the blockade, when she spotted the problem. One of the wheels had rolled into a sewer grate, and the metal held the wheel firmly.

  “Hang on a moment,” she called to the girl. “Push back towards me, and let me,” Mia grunted, “lift!” She pulled up hard and the wheel was freed. She helped the girl maneuver the cart off the walk and into the building.

  “Thank you, oh, you saved my bacon. I have to move my car. Stay here!” the young clerk demanded.

  Mia did as she was told. She found herself in a storage room of some kind. There was an overwhelming aroma of expensive leather. Either this store sold shoes or Mia had wandered into an S & M emporium. The girl returned and escorted Mia out of the darkness and into the front of the store.

  “Mary Beth,” the girl called. “You have to meet my savior…” she stopped talking, waiting for Mia to fill in her name.

  “Mia, Mia Coo… Martin.”

  “Hello, Mia Coomartin,” a voice said from behind a table displaying vibrant cotton pants. A stylish gray head popped up and waved. “I’m over here, Danika. I’ve lost count,” she admitted. “Here I was counting jeans when a thought popped into my head.”

  “My boss is a bit distracted at times,” Danika explained. “We were doing inventory when she remembered she left all this stuff on the porch of her house. I was bringing it in when you came and rescued me.”

  “It really wasn’t a big deal. Well, I’ll be on my way…”

  “Where are you going so early in the morning?”

  “Breakfast and then a hunt for a purse, of all things,” Mia said. “The one I brought,” she held up the overstuffed bag, “won’t do.”

  “I can see that,” Mary Beth said. She walked over and tossed an attractive shoulder tote at Mia. “Here, try this.”

  Mia opened the bag and found she could not only shove her purse in but a pair of shoes too. “This is nice, but…” Mia squinted at the price tag.

  Mary Beth took off her glasses and handed them to Mia. She put them on. They were a bit too strong, causing the room to spin a bit, but the price, of all five digits, was very clear. “I’m sorry, I can’t afford this.”

  The woman took in Mia’s dress and the shoes she was wearing and looked at Mia again. “How about I give it to you for half price, just so I don’t have to count it?”

  “Deal!” Mia said, handing back the glasses. “You wouldn’t have a pair of those around too? I’ve just discovered that I can’t read small print.”

  “It happens
to us all, dear. I got mine from the Walgreens on Canal. Twelve bucks. Not bad. I think they’re open.”

  Danika took the purse and Mia to the counter. She took off the security tag and rang it up.

  Mia hated to use her walking around funds for this purse, but to use a credit card after been given such a deal Mia felt would be rude. She took her purse and jammed it in the tote. Danika thanked her again as she escorted her to the back door.

  Mia found herself once again on the sidewalk. She smelled fresh baked goods and followed her nose to a little eatery. Knowing that she would have to eat again with Ralph, Mia disciplined herself to having only six beignets and a very large cup of coffee. The waiter was amused that all that food could fit down such a little person. Mia refrained from firing a rude comment back. He wasn’t trying to be mean, and she did have a voracious appetite.

  Instead, Mia concentrated on the early morning crowd that walked by. She saw business types, tourists and one ghost. Normally in a city this size, Mia would have seen several ghosts. For a town that prided itself on communing with the dead, the dead were few and far between.

  ~

  “She gave you that purse for how much?” Ralph asked.

  Mia told him the price.

  “I’m amazed. You know who made that bag, don’t you?”

  Mia shook her head as she took a sip of the rich dark coffee The Ruby Slipper Cafe served.

  “It’s a Michael Kors, older model, but very expensive. Let me reimburse you.”

  “No, you have a wedding to pay for, and I will consider it my souvenir. Besides, it will make a dandy diaper bag.”

  Ralph winced at the thought of that magnificent bag being used to haul baby products or, worse, ghost hunting supplies, but he kept his mouth shut. It was his oversight to not take into account Mia’s need for a large purse since the clothes he chose did not have the multiple pockets she was used to having. He just wanted her to look nice for a change. She was a beautiful woman, but it was hard to see it when she had a hoodie and cargo pants on. Ted got himself a surprise, he bet, when he uncovered his bride… “Brides… I’m going to be one,” he thought.

  “What are you thinking about? Your face is, well, radiant.”

  “Just my wedding,” he replied. “Oh, Mia, it’s going to be wonderful. Angelo has been very understanding. He’s letting me put his furniture in storage, and I’ve got vintage pieces to fill the place. It’s going to look like we’ve stepped onto a movie set. Your gown is half beaded already. Good thing you’re eating lighter, that dress is not going to allow any extra pounds.”

  Mia smiled before she popped another piece of melon in her mouth. The beignets had taken up quite a lot of room in her stomach, causing her to forgo the large breakfast she was used to eating. She, however, enjoyed the coffee. She had been without coffee for eight months and two weeks. She regretted that she wasn’t able to nurse Brian longer, but Matt, Brian’s pediatrician, said she wasn’t producing enough milk for him. But she had given him six weeks of her immunities, so she would be grateful for that. The upside was, she could eat and drink whatever she wanted to again. It also freed her from one night feeding as Ted was determined to split the baby tasks with her.

  “I wonder how Ted’s getting along with Brian,” Mia said. “It’s hard being away, Ralph. Thank God you’re here or I’d be miserable.”

  Ralph’s eyes teared up. He sniffed and got himself together before answering, “Mia, they’re going to be fine. But if Brian takes after his mommy, then Ted is going to be super glad to see you walk back in the door.”

  “Why?”

  “Oh Mia, you were a handful. Not just active but super active and too smart for your own good. Always getting into things. I remember I was baby-proofing that old house, and I was sitting on the floor trying to figure out how to install a cabinet lock. You picked it up, installed it and showed me how to open it. You couldn’t have been two yet.”

  “Well, I’m not as smart as Ted. I can only imagine our troubles if he takes after his pop.”

  “Pop?”

  “Yes, pop or daddy. Father is way too formal for Ted, don’t you think?”

  “I like pop, it’s so Leave it to Beaver.”

  “What?”

  “Oh shut up. It’s a show I watched when I was a kid.”

  “They had televisions then?” Mia teased.

  Ralph colored. “You are a stinker.”

  Mia smelled her armpits and shook her head. “Nope, I took a shower.”

  Ralph was mortified. “I can’t believe you just did that… that… in public,” he stammered. “Don’t you dare…”

  “I’m not going to smell my pits at the Duke’s. I was just having you on,” Mia explained. “My dear godfather, you have to loosen up a wee bit. We’re in N’awlins where we shouldn’t have a care.”

  “Instead, we are saddled with a meeting with a dead duke and later being led around by an arrogant priest.”

  “About that, Ralph, maybe you should stay away from the walk,” Mia suggested. “No, don’t give me that look. It’s going to be a pain in the butt, and you’re not going to be able to see anything. And if you do, it’s not going to be pretty.”

  “I was worried about that. But who is going to protect you?”

  “I can handle myself with the lost souls. The only miscreants that I can see being a difficulty, you’ve already met. No one’s going to mess with Ralph Mendelssohn’s goddaughter. Plus, I have a feeling Yum-Yum, I mean Becky, will look out for me.”

  “She said she would. Says she talks to your grandma Fred now and again,” Ralph informed her. “Is she crazy?”

  “Oh yes, definitely.”

  ~

  Ted staggered up the stairs with the warmed bottle and almost walked through Murphy who was standing in front of the nursery door. “Whoa, dude, you gotta move. I’m two sheets to the wind, and the kid’s hungry.”

  Murphy stepped aside.

  “Aren’t you coming in?”

  Murphy smiled and followed Ted into the nursery. Brian smiled and burbled something as Ted picked him up and barely made it to the rocker before collapsing. Murphy gently took the baby and the bottle out of Ted’s hands. He walked through to the sitting room and sat down next to the window. He gave Brian his bottle and hummed a tune to drown out Ted’s snoring coming from the nursery.

  Mia had told him stories of her misty mom. She said that it was alright with her if he stepped in from time to time to help her and Ted out. They were inexperienced parents who were trying to make parenthood and paranormal investigations work at the same time. She had admitted, “I’m afraid we’ll screw the kid up.”

  Murphy looked down at the little tyke and understood her fears but doubted that the Martins could do anything but love this little lad. There was a calmness about the child that Murphy liked. He remembered April’s hyperactive nieces and nephews and shivered.

  Brian’s eyes popped open. Murphy pulled the bottle away and Brian said, “Ooh, ooh.”

  “Yes, Ooh, ooh is here to watch over you, son.”

  Brian opened his mouth, and Murphy put the nipple back in, and the child continued to eat.

  Ted watched the two of them from the doorway. He wasn’t jealous of Murphy’s relationship with his son. He accepted that Stephen Murphy was part of the family as Mia had likewise accepted Cid. It took a village to raise a child, and in this case, it would take a ghost also.

  Chapter Six

  George pulled the sedan into a side street next to their destination. “I’m going to find a place to wait. Call me, Mia, when you want to be picked up,” he instructed. The older ghost shook his head. Mia could only imagine what was proper in his day.

  2600 Saint Charles Ave was a beautiful building. Mia could only guess at its age. It looked new. The cream stucco and white trim gave the building an elegance that befitted the neighborhood of carefully-preserved older homes.

  Mia pointed out to Ralph the streetcar that rumbled past the building. “I told you we coul
d get here without bothering George.”

  “Mia Cooper!” Ralph scolded.

  “Mia Martin,” she corrected.

  “Same thing. Remember what you’re carrying. Do you want to risk getting mugged?”

  “They don’t know what I’m carrying,” she argued.

  “Listen, you don’t live in the city like I do. There are all sorts in a city. You don’t take any chances. Gerald’s paying for a chauffeur. Use him.”

  Mia nodded. Ralph made sense, but she liked to be independent of the chauffeur. She suspected that he was reporting back to Gerald. She assumed that she would have to explain to Gerald why she used the chauffeur this morning when she wasn’t scheduled to meet with the group until that afternoon. She hoped it wouldn’t result in a favor owed.

  The Grand Duke’s host lived on the fourth floor. A uniformed maid opened up the door and offered them refreshments while they waited for Alexei. Mia’s nerves were on edge, so she indulged in a gin and tonic. Ralph eyed her, pointing to his watch that it wasn’t yet noon. She ignored him and walked out onto the balcony to plot out what side of the building they were on. The canopy of trees hid most of the view, but what she did see was beautiful. She spied the mechanics for the cable car and smiled. The luxury apartment faced the front of the building.

  “Hello, my dear,” said the beautiful older woman, dressed in a light blue linen suit, who walked out onto the balcony and took her hand. “I’m so glad that you’ve come to help old Alexei out. I’m Susannah Wintour of the Atlanta Wintours.”

  “Mrs…”

  “Susannah, please. After all, I’m the one who’s come begging. I see that Jean has supplied you with refreshment. I think I’ll join you. Alexei will be along soon. I’m sorry for the delay, but he has to build up power.”

  “I’m acquainted with that,” Mia said as she followed the woman inside to where Ralph was playing lightly on the piano. The look he gave Mia was precious. He was playing on a Steinway and loving it. “I see you’ve already met my godfather Ralph.”