Big Easy Escapade (6 page)

The woman looked into Vivian’s eyes. “I was
right before. No?”

Day 2

V
ivian
woke to the sound of water running and shuffling around in the
bathroom. Light peeked through the corner of the drapes, and though
she couldn’t see the clock, she figured it was close to 10 a.m.
Another couple hours of sleep would be good, along with some
ibuprofen. Wendy, always prepared, had left the whole bottle on the
nightstand. She reached for it and a cup of water.

Lucy came out of the bathroom, looking
freshly scrubbed and ready to start the day. “Oh, good. You’re up.
I’m starving!”

Vivian swallowed three pills and fell back
onto the pillows. “This is not up. This waking is for medicinal
purposes only.”

Kate threw back her covers. “I’ll go next. I
need to wash the Bourbon funk off me.”

“Yuck,” Wendy said and rolled over. “I washed
off the funk last night. Now you’ve contaminated the bed.
Thanks.”

“Not everybody showers at 3 o’clock in the
morning,” Vivian said.

Wendy burrowed further under the covers. “I
couldn’t sleep until I washed off. There’s just no telling what all
kind of filth we had on us.”

Vivian threw the covers back but made no
attempt to get up. “Bourbon definitely isn’t the cleanest street
I’ve ever walked down.”

“Speaking of walking,” Wendy said.

“Nobody was talking about walking,” Vivian
said.

“Oh, come on,” Wendy said. “The Friends of
the Cabildo have a walking tour this afternoon and I’d like to go.
Please?”

Lucy tied the laces on her tennis shoes. “I’m
in!”

Vivian tossed a pillow at her. “You and your
exercise.”

Lucy caught the pillow and then flexed her
right bicep. “Look at that. All that exercise is paying off.”

Vivian was impressed, but she still didn’t
want to go on a walking tour. She looked at Wendy. “We’re on
vacation, can’t we just relax?”

Wendy sat up and clicked on the bedside
light. “There’s more to the Quarter than the booze and bimbos on
Bourbon. The tour gets into the history and we’ll learn new stuff.”
She threw a pillow at Vivian.

Lucy
threw Vivian’s pillow back at her. “We’re here to celebrate Wendy’s
last few days of bachelorette-hood and she wants to do this, so
we
have
to do it.
Rally up!”

Kate poked her head out of the bathroom.
“What are we rallying about?”

Wendy got her up to date and then said, “But
we need breakfast first, and I know just the place.”

“Now that I can do!” Vivian said and finally
sat up in bed. She took a hot shower, then threw on a yellow and
green blouse and khaki capris. She went to grab her flip-flops from
the closet and noticed Kate’s shoes were all in a row with one shoe
face up, one face down.

“Did you do this on purpose?” Vivian asked
Kate, pointing to her shoes.

“I’ve always done that. You’ve just never
noticed.”

Lucy peeked in the closet. “What’s that
about?”

“It’s a Taiwanese thing. I think it’s
something to do with ghosts taking their place in your body.”

“Uhhh, you don’t know for sure?” Wendy
asked.

“I get all these superstitions mixed up. Mom
does it, so I do, too.”

“Hmmm,” Vivian said, then flipped over one of
each of her shoes. “Better safe than sorry.”

“In Taiwan, they have a whole month where
you’re not supposed to go swimming because of their fear of ghosts.
I think it’s even called ‘Ghost Month.’ ”

“What month is it?” Lucy asked.

“Don’t quote me, but I think it’s
August.”

Wendy pulled the comforter off the bed and
threw it over her head. “Oooooooooooooo!”

They got a good laugh out of that, then
finished up and left the hotel at the crack of 11 a.m. Wendy
directed them across Canal and down a block to Poydras where the
line to Mother’s was already out the door.

“It moves pretty fast, I promise,” Wendy
said. “And it’s totally worth it.”

True to her word, the line did move fast, and
once at the front, Vivian ordered sweet tea and a Turkey Ferdi with
a side of grits and debris. Her stomach rumbled thinking about the
creamy grits smothered in roast beef drippings.

They took a seat at a table that had a small
bit of water on it. Vivian looked up as a drop fell from the air
conditioner overhead. Lucy got stuck next to the splashage but quit
complaining about it the second her shrimp Creole was put in front
of her. Kate dug into her Jerry’s Jambalaya and side of red beans
and rice while Wendy scarfed down her crawfish étouffée.

Vivian wrapped a paper napkin around half of
her sandwich and stuck it in her purse. “Savin’ that bad boy for
later.”

Wendy threw in her napkin. “Good thing we
aren’t here in the middle of August. That thing would be rancid
after 10 minutes outside.” She looked down at her watch. “Are y’all
ready for the walking tour? We’ve got 20 minutes to get to Jackson
Square.”

Kate groaned. “Not sure I can walk around
half of New Orleans after eating all that.”

Lucy pushed in her chair as the other girls
stood slowly to leave. “You’ll be fine, come on. My tummy is happy
and I’m feelin’ rejuvenated. Let’s do this!”

Vivian dug in her purse. “Don’t we need to
leave a tip for the waitress?”

Wendy pointed to a large sign that hung
between the dining areas. “No tipping allowed. They pay their folks
well, so we don’t have to.”

“All right, movin’ on then!”

Lucy held the door open and they trudged
along Tchoupitoulas toward Canal where it turned into North Peters,
eventually merging onto Decatur.

“There’s Jax Brewery,” Lucy pointed out.
“There’s a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory up there, on the third
story.”

“I can’t really think about chocolate right
now,” Wendy said, “but there’s a great view of the river up there.
We should try to make it up there at some point.”

They continued a couple more blocks to
Jackson Square, then to the 1850 House, where the Friends of the
Cabildo tour started.

“What’s a Cabildo?” Vivian asked, then
snickered and leaned over to Lucy. “Cabildo rhymes with…”

“We know what it rhymes with, trashy.” Lucy
shook her head. “One-track mind with you!”

“I can’t help it, that stuff just pops in
there!”

Wendy pointed to the three-story building
topped with a golden dome. “The Cabildo was the Spanish government
building way back when.”

“Spanish?” Vivian asked. “I thought we bought
Louisiana from the French.”

Kate laughed. “I have a feeling you’re about
to learn a lot on this tour, which is good because it knocks out my
required educational portion of our trip.”

The guide met them out front, and the girls
did indeed get educated. They learned the difference between a
balcony and a gallery, could accurately spot a carriage entry,
notice the numerous differences in Spanish and French architecture,
learned all about the subterranean termites that can run rampant in
season, and heard about the importance of the giant bolts that run
through the buildings.

Vivian thanked the guide and slipped him a 20
from their group. “I never even noticed those bolts before, or the
little termite plates on the sidewalk. Guess I need to start
looking up. And down.”

He wished them a pleasant visit. “Come back
any time. We have other tours available.”

They wandered around the Square, checking out
paintings and talking to vendors.

“Let’s go find that shoe store Daisy told us
about,” Lucy said.

“Who?” Vivian asked.

“Daisy, from last night! Geez, you drink too
much!”

“Oh, her. I just forgot her name.” Vivian
bumped butts with Lucy. “You’re the one who drank that massive
vodka! Speaking of, I need a drink.”

“I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but
I’m actually a little hungry.” Kate tugged on the waistband of her
capris. “My expandy pants have some expansion left in them.”

“Ooooh, the Gumbo Shop is on the way to the
shoe place,” Wendy said. “Let’s go there.”

“Yeah, I can get my gumbo on,” Kate said, and
she did a little jive.

“They got a liquor license?” Vivian
asked.

“Of course,” Wendy said. “That’s a silly
question.”

“I’m in. Aaaaaiiiiyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

T
he cool
air of the Gumbo Shop was a relief after walking the French Quarter
for the last two hours, and the cold Dos Equis made Vivian happy.
And it felt good to sit down.

Wendy had a cup of seafood okra gumbo and
Kate had the chicken andouille. Lucy followed Vivian’s lead and
just had a liquid snack of a bloody mary.

Wendy had a bite, then tore off a couple of
pieces of her French bread, dipped them into her gumbo and handed
them to Vivian and Lucy. “I know y’all aren’t hungry, but you have
to at least try this. It might be the best I’ve ever had. I don’t
even need to add Crystal’s or Tabasco.”

Vivian slowly chewed her bite, then nodded in
agreement. “It’s pretty damn good.”

Lucy reached for more bread. “I think I need
another taste before I can truly decide.” She winked.

Wendy pushed her plate closer. “Go for
it.”

Kate offered hers, too.

They took turns using the tiny one-holer
located off the courtyard before paying the tab and starting out
again. They ambled down Chartres toward the Shoe-Be-Do, Vivian
pointing out every silver termite plate they passed.

After pointing out yet another, she looked up
and saw a sleek, black Lincoln Town Car pull in front of Hotél
Versailles. The driver stopped and two stocky guys got out of each
back door and looked around. One held the door open for a tall,
olive-toned, dark-haired man. A tailored navy suit fit his athletic
frame perfectly, and he had an aristocratic air. His chiseled face
and sunglasses completed the I-just-stepped-out-of-GQ look.

One word
popped into Vivian’s mind to describe him.
Powerful.
Then another word.
Yummm.

Two more guys stepped out of the car, and the
first two walked ahead of GQ into the hotel as the doorman greeted
him personally.

Vivian couldn’t make out the name, but she
wanted to find out. “Holy Versace Versailles. Who the hell was
that? I need to meet him.”

Lucy grabbed her elbow and tried to steer her
across the street. “I think he might be out of your league. The man
has four bodyguards, for god’s sake.”

Vivian pulled her arm away. “I could just go
introduce myself. You never know, and it doesn’t hurt to
flirt.”

Kate wrapped her arm around Vivian’s
shoulders. “I’m with ya, sista. Let’s go in!”

Wendy laughed and said, “I’ve heard they have
a neat bar in here. We should probably check it out.”

The
doorman politely said hello and held the door for the girls. They
made a pass through the ornate lobby, then a quick run through the
bar,
Galerie des Glaces.

Kate lagged behind, obviously impressed with
what she saw. “This place is beautiful. I wouldn’t mind sitting
down for a glass of vino.”

“I doubt we can afford to drink here,” Wendy
said. “They won’t have three-for-one, and we don’t want to blow the
trust fund on a glass of wine!”

“I’m on a mission, let’s get going.” Vivian
looked around but didn’t see GQ anywhere.

They went back outside to the doorman.

“Who was that guy?” Vivian asked.

“Just a guest. Can’t tell you more.”

“Come on! Spill it. I know you know.”

The doorman smiled and leaned close. “He’s
some bigwig from a sandy, oil-laden country. I don’t know which one
exactly, but you know what I mean.”

“All right, all right,” Vivian said and
raised her eyebrows.

“Black gold,” Lucy said.

“Texas Tea,” Wendy added.

The doorman laughed and said, “Y’all come
back now, y’hear?”

The girls cracked up and kept on going down
the street. The Shoe-Be-Do wasn’t much farther and Lucy happily
skipped in.

She took a deep breath through her nose.
“Y’all smell that? It’s the smell of fine, Italian shoes.”

“That has a distinct scent?” Vivian
asked.

Lucy picked up a strappy leather sandal from
a display and sniffed it. “It does to me.” She said to the sales
clerk, “I’d like to try this in a size 8.”

Wendy took the shoe from Lucy and turned it
over. “Oh my god. Did you see the price on this?”

Lucy shrugged. “You’re the one who told me to
stock up. These aren’t Jimmy Choos, but they’re handmade Italian. I
don’t discriminate.”

“True that. Let me help ya look.”

Vivian pointed to the back of the store. “I
see the sales rack. I’ll be back yonder where the single-moms
shop.”

Kate picked up a shoe, looked at the price,
and set it down. “I’ll be with Viv.”

Wendy helped Lucy compare several pair before
they agreed that the first was it. Vivian had found four pair on
the sales rack, and the total price, $100, was still a fraction of
Lucy’s one. Kate also picked out a pair on the sales rack, and
Wendy chose one of the same pair as Vivian. The wooden-soled
sandals were more comfortable than they looked, and the jean and
leather strip across the toes would go well with lots of
outfits.

Vivian put hers on. “We match!”

Wendy strutted around in hers. “I’ve never
had handmade shoes before. I might’ve started an addiction like
Lucy. Oh no!”

Lucy approved of their choices. “Welcome to
the club, my friends.”

Vivian picked up her bags and kept on the new
shoes. “Time to break ’em in. Hotel’s close. Pay up, ladies. We’ve
got places to go, people to see and presents to give.”

Wendy handed the clerk her credit card.
“Presents?”

Vivian clicked her wooden heels together.
“You’ll see!”