by Elise Faber
“Come on, let’s find you something to eat,” I said to her after a fleeting glance at the mother and child who were now boarding one of the streetcars.
Hand in hand, Michele and I strolled down the street in search for food. She pointed to one of those places that served “fast food” but I ignored her and pulled her into a restaurant. Her protests that the place would have finished serving lunch by that time died on her lips when we were welcomed by the maître d like they had been expecting us. We were seated in the middle of the restaurant under an ornate glass roof. The natural lighting coming from the roof and the exotic looking plants surrounding us gave the feeling of being in a French vineyard.
Michele’s eyes held surprise when the attending waiter helped to seat her on her chair. Around us there were still some patrons, but they looked like they were mostly finishing up and preparing to leave.
“We’re too late, Ambroise. They’ll kick us out soon,” she whispered urgently to me, even though her eyes were avidly eating up the place.
“No, they won’t. Have you had gumbo yet?” I asked, scanning the menu.
“A what?” she replied getting distracted by the couple near us who were leaving.
“A Creole gumbo. You can’t visit New Orleans and not sample the gumbo dishes,” I informed her, choosing her meal and motioning for the waiter to come back.
After quickly taking our order, the waiter discreetly disappeared and left us. The remaining customers left as well, making us the only table occupied within the restaurant. Michele glanced about nervously as the lights dimmed, leaving just a few lamps on around us and the light from the glass roof shining down on us. Her beautiful eyes were like saucers when she figured out what was happening. A delighted smile lit up her face when she turned to look at me.
“You did this, didn’t you?” she gushed out giddily.
Chuckling, I settled in my chair enjoying her reaction.
“Wow, this is so wonderful. You’re the best!” she breathed out drinking in our surroundings. “I’ve never been to a posh restaurant before. Am I dressed properly for this?”
Giving her an indulgent smile, I let my gaze roam over her starting from her hat down to her face, lingering deliberately on her lips, making her blush, before taking in her floral, mid-thigh length dress, down to her surprisingly shapely legs, which were encased in those perplexing leg garments called leggings. Why she had to hide her legs away when they were as nice as that just confused me. By the time my gaze lifted back to her face, her cheeks and neck were rather pink.
“You look just fine, love.” I drawled out.
Appearing suddenly shy, Michele averted my gaze and cleared out her throat. “Umm… so, what was bothering you back at the library?”
Oh, boy. I blew out a breath.
“I was responsible for the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina,” I told her, remembering that fateful day like it was yesterday.
Frowning, she leaned forward looking at me intently. “What do you mean?”
“Hmm… where to start?” I pondered thinking for a minute. “A powerful witch started this curse over me. The Jinn I took over from wasn’t the first one she cursed behind the mirror. I’m sure I won’t be the last.” I began.
“I don’t know what actually started this curse but along with it came a few limitations. Yes, I am a very powerful Jinn and can practically grant any wish you ask of me. But like I said to you before, I can’t do any world-shattering changes. Neither can I interfere with natural life and death process.”
Michele sat up straighter in her chair listening to me intently.
“Well, guess what most visitors had asked me over the years?” I carried on motioning with my hands for emphasis, making imaginary scenes play out in front of us. Gasping, Michele turned to watch the silent movie playing out suspended in the air.
“People had asked me repeatedly to heal their illness or disabilities. Crippled people, paralyzed, blind, deaf and mute,” I related, as well as showing her pictures of past visitors. “You name me an illness; I probably heard about it or came across it.”
“For a while, I managed to grant those wishes because technically, I wasn’t changing the course of my visitors’ lives by helping them walk again, same way as giving them loads of money. But Floriza eventually told me to stop and warned me that I’d pay the consequences if I ever did it again.”
The screen went blank when I stopped talking, then a picture of a girl with curly black hair, round black eyes and a toothy grin appeared slowly. Silently, I pushed my chair sideways so I ended up sitting next to Michele, and we both watched the little girl toddle around a bed while a woman, who clearly looked like her mother, straightened the bed covers.
A high-pitched giggle rang across to us when the mother chased the toddler around the room then started tickling her tummy when she caught her.
“Until I met Polly.”
In silence, we watched the antics of the two. Different scenes flashed in front of us showing Polly playing, in which was now Michele’s room, while her mom did house-keeping duties even though the room stayed vacant.
In one particular scene Michele gasped. “She set you free when she cleaned the mirror…”
“Like you did,” I nodded absently watching the usual panic that happens when I come out from the mirror and the protective way Polly was shielded from me by her mom. With a flick of my fingers, I fast-forwarded the scene to the one that matters. A curious lump formed at the back of my throat while I watched.
“What’s happening?” Michele asked. “Why is Polly’s mother crying?”
“Polly is dying,” I replied, not taking my eyes off the screen, watching the woman plead with me while clutching an unconscious Polly. “There was something wrong with her heart when she was born. There were extra holes in her heart, and it wasn’t working properly.”
“Congenital heart defects.” Michele murmured beside me.
“Polly’s mom didn’t have enough money to get her operation done. When she found me and wished for money, it was too late for Polly. No money in the world could have saved her.” The picture zoomed in on Polly with her tiny mouth hanging open as she struggled for breath. The dark circles around her sunken eyes made her skin appear darker than it was. A voice rang out into the room.
“Please, genie, please help my baby girl.” The woman’s voice cried out. “Please let her live. I would do anything… ANYTHING!”
“Oh, God,” Michele whispered beside me.
“Please…”the last word broke as tears drowned them out; Polly’s mom clutched the little girl’s dying body close to her chest. The sound of crying from the desperate woman was the only thing we could hear… then I heard sniffling beside me.
I cut off the sound unable to stand it anymore. It was one thing remembering it in your head… another to hear it again the second time around. It didn’t get easier, I found.
In silence, apart from Michele’s quiet sniffles, we watched the scene unfold from the grieving mother holding her dying child in her arms to the moment when Polly’s breathing quieted down until it became regular and less labored.
Sound came back on.
“Momma?” Polly’s tiny voice was heard.
The mom almost dropped Polly in her surprise. After a moment of shocked disbelief, she gave a great happy cry and clutched the small child even harder, then alternated between raining kisses all over her face and hugging her close.
“Oh baby, you’re back. Thank you, genie. Thank you. My baby!” The woman cried out.
“Oh, Ambroise, you healed her!” Michele laughed through her tears.
With a wave of my hand, I paused the screen on the happy face of Polly and her mom. We didn’t need to have a graphic view of what occurred after that.
Beside me Michele was wiping tears from her face. “What happened after that?” She wanted to know.
With a heavy sigh, I told her. “The witch arrived. She wasn’t very happy that I interfered with human life again
. Hurricane Katrina was already on its way to New Orleans, and while Floriza and I fought, the storm arrived. As our battle continued, our powers escalated the storm to cataclysmic proportions. I couldn’t stop Floriza. She is much stronger than me. I tried to… I just couldn’t… I lost, and she threw me back to the mirror. That was the last time I’ve been out.” I narrated unable to give out a detailed account of the day.
I felt Michele turn towards me. “What happened to Polly and her mom?”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I slumped in my chair and turned my face up to the ceiling, refusing to answer her question. In my mind’s eye, I saw little Polly and her mom being swallowed up by a wall of water that crashed down on them as Hurricane Katrina joined me and Floriza in our attempt to kill off one another. I couldn’t free myself from the witch’s grip long enough to save Polly and her mom. My arms during that time had both been severed from my shoulders as I lost the battle and nearly lost my life.
“Oh Ambroise, I’m so sorry.”
A pair of arms came around me, and just like that the dam, one which had been clamped up inside of me, cracked open and shattered into pieces taking me with it. Hot tears fell on my cheeks. I wasn’t entirely sure if they were Michele’s or mine.
Gathering Michele in my arms, I lifted her on my lap and buried my face in her neck, finally allowing myself to grieve for the little girl I had come to love during the short time she had entered my life.
“I tried to save them… I couldn’t…” I told Michele, needing to tell someone that I had tried at least. “I was – I just…”
Her tiny hands combed through my hair, her soft lips brushed kisses over my forehead as she held me in her arms. “Shhh… it’s ok. I’m sure you did. I’m sure Polly and her mom knew that…. It’s ok.”
Somebody was sobbing in the room. The sound of grief coming from that person broke my heart. I lost count of the length of time the tears raged on. All I knew was I had Michele in my arms as we listened to what seemed like years of mourning echoing in the room.
“So, this is gumbo.”
Feeling light-hearted for the first time in years, I gazed at the miracle of the woman sitting beside me as she wrinkled her nose at the dish in front of her.
“No, that is the gumbo. You have definitely not lived your life until you’ve eaten a creole gumbo.” I informed her, feeling the need to further her education.
Michele rolled her eyes at me then made a face when she looked down at the bowl again. “It’s… It looks very nice but–,” she trailed off.
“But?” I prompted in disbelief.
Sighing, she picked up her spoon and prodded the green vegetable swimming in the creamy sauce with the prawn, crawfish and sausages poured on top of soft, white rice. “It has this thing.”
“What thing?” I asked in confusion not understanding what was wrong with the dish. “Okra? You mean the okra?”
“Is that what it’s called?” she asked buying more time.
“What’s wrong with okra?” I still couldn’t comprehend what she was saying.
“I don’t like it,” she finally admitted. “It’s slimy.”
Smiling at her, I shook my head at Michele. “It’s not slimy. It’s succulent. Look, the chef cooked it perfectly. That will be nice and crunchy on the outside then will taste like absolute heaven in the inside.”
An expression full of doubt crossed her cute face making me laugh. “Look, you’ve probably been eating it wrong. Here, let me show you.”
Since we were still sitting side by side, it was easy for me to dip my finger in the creamy sauce and coat her lips with it slowly. I heard Michele’s breath hitched.
Holding her gaze in mine, I slipped my finger inside her mouth and touched her tongue briefly. Without breaking eye contact, I picked up a piece of the offensive vegetable and popped it in my mouth. Michele’s eyes helplessly followed the path the vegetable took.
Leaning forward, I touched my lips to hers, teasingly coating my own lips with the gumbo sauce, tasting its smoky flavor. Then, going in for the kill, I claimed her mouth in a hungry kiss, seeking the flavor that’s only found in Michele. I sent my tongue to tease hers out and felt my heart thunder when she complied.
I heard a clatter of metal as something fell onto the floor. Both of us ignored it, too busy with our mouths fusing together for anything else to register. I felt my body hardening again, roaring to lay claim to the woman in my arms.
My hands had minds of their own as they traveled down her neck in search of the unexplored soft mounds and undulations along her body. Her quiet moan inflamed my senses even more, and I felt one of her hands pull agitatedly at my hair.
I eased off, fighting for control, and took in her flushed face. Not aroused enough for my liking but getting there.
“Now, that is how you eat okra.” I told her, sounding like a college professor.
As if on cue, her teeth started working as she chewed the vegetable I left in her mouth. She gave a nod, mischief entering her eyes. “You’re right. I had been eating it wrong.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Later in the night, we found ourselves walking back down Bourbon Street after streetcar hopping from the Tulane district. Our moods remained playful, and Michele allowed me to keep on stealing kisses from her along the way.
Night life had fallen on Bourbon Street. There were musicians on every corner and more than a handful of people were singing merrily with them.
Michele stopped near a pair playing upbeat music. She turned towards me and started jumping. “I love this song!”
What happened next was just something made out of a man’s dream come true: Michele started dancing around me. She was also singing along to the music as she danced, but the only sense working inside me right that moment was the sense of sight. Man, can she move her hips.
One word from her song caught my ears, and I forced myself to listen, finding, to my delight, that she had a beautiful singing voice.
“Oh baby, love never felt so fine
And I doubt if it's never mine
Not like you hold me, hold me
And the night is gonna be just fine
Gotta fly, gotta see, can't believe
I can't take it– “
A pair of arms grabbed Michele at the waist and turned her around surprising both of us. The arms were from a man in colorful clothes with matching beads around his neck who was grinning down at her. A fierce feeling of possessiveness overcame me as I thought no other man aside from me was allowed to touch her that way… or any way, for that matter. I bristled in response, meaning to maim the man, then held myself in check when I noticed something. He was so obviously gay, and he had a bunch of other gay men behind him all smiling at Michele while a few were eyeing me with interest.
“Hey, girl, you’ve got the moves! Teach me! Teach me!” the guy pleaded with her, making her smile. With an uncertain laugh, she caught my eyes, and I gave her a nod of encouragement.
“Umm… I haven’t taught anyone how to dance in a while, but this is how you do it: step, step, lift and turn." Michele instructed moving her both her arms and her legs in the dance routine.
Her student followed her steps religiously and quickly caught on. All of his friends copied them, and before long, they had mastered her dance steps. A crowd had started gathering around us, standing to watch our small group. A few young women joined in the dance routine.
Once Michele’s student felt confident that he’d mastered her instructions, he yelled at the musicians who had been playing Michele’s song, to play it again, making her giggle and roll her eyes at me.
In a surreal fashion, almost half the street block started dancing with Michele as soon as the music started playing. Like one body, they moved in synchrony to the song. A few even sang with her.
Baby, love never felt so good
And I doubt if it ever could
Not like you hold me, hold me
Oh baby, love never felt so fine
And I doubt i
f it's never mine
Not like you hold me, hold me
And the night is gonna be just fine
Gotta fly, gotta see, can't believe
I can't take it
'Cause baby, every time I love you
It's in and out of my life, in out baby
Tell me, if you really love me
It's in and out of my life, in out baby
'Cause baby, love never felt so good
Baby, love never felt so fine
And I'd doubt if it was ever mine
Not like you hold me, hold me
Oh baby, love never felt so good
And I doubt if it ever could
Not like you hold me, hold me
And the night is gonna be just fine
Gotta fly, gotta see, can't believe
I can't take it cause
Baby, every time I love you
In and out of my life, in out baby
Tell me, if you really love me
It's in and out of my life, driving me crazy
Baby, love never felt so good
Baby, love never felt so fine
And I'd doubt it was mine all mine
Not like you hold me, hold me
Oh baby, love never felt so good
And I doubt if it ever could
Not like you hold me, hold me
And the night is gonna be just fine
Gotta fly, gotta see, can't believe
I can't take it cause
Baby, every time I love you
In and out of my life, in out baby
Tell me, if you really love me
It's in and out of my life, driving me crazy
Baby, love never felt so good
At the end of the song, a massive round of applause rang out across the street from the dancers and all the people watching. Laughter and whistles filled the air, and a few people gave Michele hugs and kisses. In the background, I noticed several people leaving money to the musicians.