Authors: Madison Kent
When he handed her a hot cup of tea and an egg sandwich, it felt like a steak dinner at an exclusive restaurant.
“Feeling any better, girl?”
“Yes, better, still confused but happy I am with you. The sky looks ominous, are we waiting until it clears?”
“No, let’s just try to outrun it. We’ll stop and get some garbage bags. We can tie them around us and they will at least keep us mostly dry.”
“Excuse me, did you say garbage bags, we’re going to wear them? There’s a new fashion statement.”
“Would you rather be drenched to the bone? The bags will help repel the sting from the wind.”
“Like you said, Adam, it was going to be an adventure and so far you definitely have been right.”
“Yeah, but admit it. It’s pretty cool being able to see the good old USA from a bike.”
“You’re right. Let’s go.”
They tied extra-large bags around them with string and began again their journey. She kept laughing. With the force of the wind, the bags soon became shredded and they once again had to stop to replace them but it was doing the job of keeping them from becoming soaked to the bone from the rain. They drove for three more hours in the rain until they saw the sign for Alabama. He was thrilled when he saw it and seemed happier as they put more miles between them and Florida. A certain feeling of freedom came over them both, even as dysfunctional as everything had become.
They stayed in a luxurious hotel, the desk clerk looking at them as if they were swamp rats. Standing in the lobby checking in, they created a puddle of water on the beautifully glazed floor. She thought she may as well just go with it, there was no point in being embarrassed anymore What she wanted was to snuggle up to him in an honest to goodness to die for bed.
“After only one night of kind of roughing it, here we are again doing the traditional things. But if you’re happy, that’s cool. I guess I’ll be doing the roughing it by myself after you leave. I certainly owe you that much. You kept your promise to me not to cry or freak out and I know that’s not easy with all that’s happened. I’m a jerk for treating you this way. I guess I just not what you call a stable guy but before I never hurt anyone but me, now I’m dragging you into it.”
“I am hurting but I could never be better off without you—never. Once you’re gone, the sun will go out of my life. A part of me will be gone forever, the part that knows how to love a man. I’ve been looking for you all my life and now I’ve found you, the dream I never thought I would ever have. How could I give up without a fight? How could I not give everything to keep it?”
His marine blue eyes seized her.
“Let me love you while I still can Arianna. I don’t deserve you. You’ll find someone better than me, someone more suited to what you need in your life.”
He carried her up the last few stairs to their room and it felt more like they were getting married then separating forever.
“I feel more like we are on our honeymoon, Adam, then on the road to
Shambhala
.”
“The road to where?”
“Shambhala, you’ve never heard of it? It’s a kid of mythical utopian place where there is complete spiritual well-being. It’s a land where all is perfect. In India, they believe it exists.
“Shambhala, yeah, that does sound like the kind of place I’d like to go. So that’s where we will go, not New Orleans, but Shambhala. Do you think we will find it?”
“I’ve already found it, it’s wherever you are. It’s up to your heart to find it. Trust me; I don’t think your mind would recognize it.”
He laughed as he pulled her shirt off with his teeth. Stroking her wanting skin, she desired his lover’s embrace.
“We are happier than most people. It’s just a simple twist of fate that has brought us to this situation. Let’s just try and be happy while we’re still together, kid, OK?”
“Yes, I’m ready to be happy. I need to be. We won’t talk about the leaving part anymore. The time will come soon enough.”
Room service brought champagne, steaks and some kind of flaming dessert. It was a glorious meal and they dressed for dinner, they put on dry clothes.
Lying in bed, making love to the sound of the rain was a splendid pain. It was background music as they passionately loved each other. She would remember seeing his hair dripping drops of rain against his beautiful bronzed face.
This is the way she had pictured their life would be like together as man and wife. For now, she relished lying in his strong arms. Her mind perplexed and jumbled as to why he had to leave her when they seemed to be some much in love.
After their little piece of paradise, they continued their quest to reach Louisiana. Within a few hours they had reached their destination. The tumultuous weather continued as they listened to the sounds of the city from the balcony in the heart of the French Quarter. They napped peacefully, trying to regain some rest after their arduous journey. After just a short time, however, the city began to call to them. It was not a city to be taken lightly. It demanded your attention. New Orleans was a simmering kettle. The scents and sights were an addictive drug. It grabbed you like a ghost and entered into your being. Prudes, priests or puritans were not the likely suspects meandering through these streets.
Saxophones sent out their musical arms to embrace them and could be heard blocks away from Bourbon Street. Adam’s first impression of the city was favorable and he held her hand tightly as they strolled down Bourbon Street and the surrounding area. The steamy dampness and light drizzle now seeming to be a part of them, she did not resist it but welcomed the rain. The French styled lamplights scattered everywhere gave off an eerie intoxicating light.
“Adam, it’s enchanting, isn’t it?”
“It’s perfect, just like you. Look at those kids tap dancing in the rain and that old guy over there who is playing so many instruments; he’s like a one man band. This is awesome. Let’s go be a part of it. I’m ready, are you?”
“Definitely—it’s wicked and electrifying. What a great place to live.”
“I don’t think I would want to live here, but it will be interesting to check out.”
“Does this mean I get a stay, maybe for just a while, Babe? You’re not going to take me to the airport tomorrow, are you?”
“This is too weird, isn’t it? No, I don’t want you to go tomorrow, but you do have to go, you know that. Maybe for a few days we can hang out here and then you can go. Will you be OK with that?”
She never thought he would have agreed to even a day yet alone a few days in ecstasy with her man. If that’s all she had, she would have to make a lifetime of memories.
“You’re giving me heaven and I will accept it for as long as I can. Let’s dance.”
“Dance? You know I don’t dance.”
“It’s New Orleans, everybody dances. You could be painted red with feathers glued to you and no one would see you. It’s New Orleans, so you can dance.”
“Ok, you’re right. Nothing I do here will be noticed. What’s that dance they’re doing over there?”
“It’s Cajun dancing, a one-step. It’s fun. I picked it up a little the last time I was here. Come on, let’s try; besides everyone that’s dancing looks trashed, no one will notice that we don’t really know how to do it.”
The accordions pounded and the banjos jumped as they slid around the dance floor at the Cajun Queen. Laughing, they tried to keep up as best as they could, but mostly it was just the idea of feeling great.
“How ‘bout some authentic Cajun food, Adam?”
“Let’s go for it.”
“All these different spicy and sweet flavors are fantastic. We don’t have anything like this in Tampa. Have you ever had food like this before?”
“No, I guess when we get back; the Chinese food won’t seem so great anymore.”
Startled by his words, she wondered if he realized what he had just said. He was speaking as if they were still together and would remain that way. Was it just a Freudian slip? She didn’t comment about it, she just let it slide and hoped for the best.
Anthills of people became a river on Bourbon St. The inclement weather and the late hour did not see the crowds diminishing. Around 4:00AM, they decided to finally return to their beautiful room in the French Quarter.
“I love this place, Arianna. You were right. I’m glad we decided to come here. They have the likes of people I ain’t never seen before. All that crazy sexual stuff everywhere is mind blowing. I never saw a half-naked girl on swinging in and out of a building. There are naked chicks everywhere. The female impersonators, some of them are nicer looking than the real girls.”
“Our time here will be memories that will be good—happy ones for us both. I can’t wait till tomorrow.”
“Love you,” he said as he rolled to hold her in his arms.
“Love you too, Babe, always.”
Chapter XV
Wishful Thinking
The sun speckled through the drizzle during the next day. Riding on the bike afforded them no shelter and wherever they arrived, they were wet and dirty. The mud from the road was blown onto their clothes and painted them mottled brown, but the only thing that mattered to her was that she was still with him.
“Check out that lady over there. Do you think she’s a witch?”
Adam was pointed to a tall, frail looking woman. She looked malnourished and had a gray pallor. Dressed all in black, she had a myriad of
gris-gris
around her neck. She was walking with her head down and chanting.
“I think she might be. Her hair almost touches the sidewalk and that amulet she’s wearing and those other charms on her wrist, she must be. That’s something for sure you won’t see in Tampa.”
“I can overhear people talking about voodoo and séances when we’re walking.”
“There are a lot of superstitions practices, even at their cemeteries. The last time I came here, I went to a few. They are fascinating. One of the things they do is put foil around the grave stones. I think it’s supposed to ward off evil. Do you want to go?”
“For sure—I didn’t think a cemetery would be on our list of places to go but is sounds interesting.”
They walked through the ornate grounds, reading the monuments and venturing into the vaults. They left there both wanting to know more about New Orleans and it culture and colorful history.
They rode over the infamous Lake Pontchartrain Bridge and toured a southern plantation. New Orleans was rich in its variety of cultural enchantments. They wandered through the French Market to look at the street artist’s collections and watch them drawing their various patrons.
“If you leave me, Adam, I’ll just abandon my life and become a street artist and live off the land here in New Orleans.”
Smiling, with a wink, he said, “I can see you doing that; it might not be a bad fit. I like those racing drawings you did for me. Maybe you could, girl. I can picture you here.”
“Did you like them really?”
“Yeah, it was cool that you took the time to draw those race cars. Stuff like that means you took the time to think about me. It’s means more than buying a shirt or something that’s easy to do. I’ll always keep those with me. I have them with me now.”
He removed the folded pictures from a zippered pocket to show her.
“I’m surprised and happy that you brought them with you. That makes me feel good that you took something with you that I gave you.
Hey, you know i
f someone wanted to live the life of a nomad, New Orleans would certainly be the place you could get lost in.”
Arianna jump onto a wrought iron fence and shouted her joy that the sun had come out, “Hello, New Orleans.”
He sat next to her and tilted her face to kiss him, a group of school children gathered together for an outing, went by giggling and pointing at them. New Orleans sought the lover of all who entered its streets. She waved at them and they waved back, after all, this was the world of play.
“Adam, can we have someone draw our portrait? I’ve been watching that girl, Heidi. She’s doing a fantastic job with her clients. She’s capturing their likeness better than the other artists here.”
“No, chick—I can’t. You have to accept that. I’m not coming back and keeping something like that is just useless and something to drive you crazy. Just forget about me, please.”
“Not ever—you’ll have to come back, at least to see your Mom.”
“Yes, I’ll come back now and then to see my family but that won’t change anything between us.”
“Then it makes it more important to get the portrait, please let me have something to remember you by.”
“Let me think about it. For now, let’s just go get some jambalaya.”
Arcades were everywhere, so they dined, danced and played video games. She continued to challenge him to wield favors from him. Sometimes it actually worked.
The swampy rain continued and they in turn continued encasing themselves in black garbage bags. She had suggested renting a car but he would have none of that.
“It’s almost 2:00AM, but before we go back, I’d like to go to that all night café.”
The Café Du Monde
, existing in the
French Market
since 1862, was inhabited by all types of people lingering outdoors at the rough edged tables. It was an open air café with just a roof but no walls. An old man was mopping the floors diligently and once again they were surrounded by the nocturnal patrons like themselves.
“What a wonderful aroma. This place just makes you feel good.”
He held her hand as they watched the sizzling beignet’s bob in the oil.
“What kind of coffee is that?” he asked the man at the counter.
“It’s a Louisiana specialty; it’s chicory with scalded milk. You like?”
“Yeah. It’s definitely different—never had coffee like this before. It looks like this place is for all the lost souls to come to, perfect for me.”
“Adam, come close to me, I’m freezing.”
He pulled the gnarled wooded chair near hers and crossed his leg over her knee.
“I see you’ve come prepared tonight.”
“What are you talking about?”
“One blue sock and one black, so you can comfortably change your mood to either.”
He laughed and touched her face with his hand, smiling warmly. They were in a world all their own, specially crafted for lover’s looking for a place to hide from their troubles.
“You know me so well, girl, and yet you still love me. What’s wrong with you? I love ya’ and it’s going to probably kill me and twist me into knots but I love ya’.”
The aroma of the café still lingered when they arrived at their hotel. He pulled off her wet clothes with abandon; both of them so intertwined in thoughts and spirit, their love making took on an urgent passion as they both knew their road together would soon end.
“You are all and more that I could ever dream of, my love, my only love,” she whispered as he lay with his head resting against hers.
Her lips were wet with wanting him. She would try and memorize every moment together so they could sustain her for the rest of her life, hoping that would be enough for how could she live without him.
Her days were almost at an end, panic setting in upon her.
“What do you want to do, chick, it’s your time?”
“How about the wax museum and the art museum and…”
“You lead, I’ll follow. Do we have any clothes left that aren’t stained with mud and grease?”
“Let’s go get some new stuff, my treat.”
“OK, but just a shirt. I have to pack light, girl, remember I’m on my way soon and you have to return to your life in Tampa and my life’s not in Tampa anymore.”
“I know, Adam, I know. Let’s just have a wonderful day and more wonderful memories. That’s all I can ask. I know what I hope for is different from what I can have and I do accept it. You’ll always be in my heart, no matter where you are.”
“But that’s not right; you’re a beautiful woman with everything in the world to offer some man. You have what every guy wants, you could have your pick of any guy. You shouldn’t be alone because of me. You don’t deserve a sentence like that. Because I’m messed up doesn’t mean that you should have to be.”
“I’d rather be alone thinking of you then be with someone else and be wishing it was you.”
“You have to do what you have to do, I’m sorry. I am truly sorry for all the pain I’ve given you. It should have been easy just to be able to love you but there are so many people involved in this situation.”
“Let’s go before we get any sadder.”
Changing moods, they bought some
gris-gris
and both donned the colorful beads and walked around Bourbon St. Everywhere they walked, nude woman were abundant in the doorways of the clubs there and in the windows.
“I still can’t get used to all the nudity. Everyone is so casual about it here. It is bazaar how accepted this is.”
“You can’t help but look, they’re everywhere. I know it makes you uncomfortable, Babe, but, trust me, I see them but I’m not looking at them if you know what I mean. I only look at you when I want to see beautiful.”
His words touched her and she mentally played the words again in her head so she could save them in her memory.
“You know, I’ve never been this close to so many naked girls since gym class.”
“Me, neither,” he laughed.
“I’m glad to hear that. With your good looks, I thought you might have a secret harem somewhere.”
“I’m a one woman kind of guy. I know you probably won’t believe that but I am. I never gawk at woman anyway. That’s not my style.”
“I know that. That’s one of the reasons it was so easy to get close to you, I didn’t feel you taking in all the girls around us, especially the ones trying to hit on you.”
“Anyway, what about that drawing, changed your mind yet? What if I win at Galaxy and that’s the pay off, come on.”