Episode 16: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

    What the heck,  Thérèse thought as she and Helen drove off into the warm New Orleans night.  Normally, Thérèse wouldn’t even think of accepting a ride from a virtual stranger.  Helen, though, practiced a random act of kindness this Saturday evening before Mardi Gras.
    Thérèse looked out the car window silently as followers of “Camp Endymion” staked their claims on their little spots of neutral ground lining Orleans and Carrollton Avenues.   Helen just shrugged.
    “You wouldn’t believe the kind of stuff that happens around here,” she told Thérèse.  “You’d see people camped out three days before…just to see the parade.  All they do is lie on the ground and sleep.  Some people bring tents, others have sofas out there.  Looks like a giant homeless shelter.  Tacky, if you ask me.”
    “Tacky?  It sounds disgusting to me.  Why can’t  the police do something about it?”
    “You expect the cops around here to do anything?  All they’re concerned about is arresting flashers in the Quarter.   Exposing yourself for a cheap string of plastic beads?  Now that’s what I call disgusting. “
    Thérèse just laughed.  “I  agree.  Besides, the only person I’ll show any—uh—of my—naughty parts to is my husband.”
    At that thought, her expression changed.  She thought it was long overdue to call him to tell him she had safely landed.
    She had reached into her purse to retrieve her cell phone.  When it wasn’t there, Thérèse panicked.
    “Are you sure you didn’t misplace it somewhere?”  Helen asked.  “We have passengers do that all the time.”
    “It was in my purse.  I know it was.   I put it in there before I left this morning.”
    “Let’s search your suitcases to make sure.”
    As the women rifled through Thérèse’s baggage, the missing phone made itself known by hiding behind a cosmetic case of the same color.  Thérèse admonished herself for her error.
    “How could I be so foolish?”
    “Don’t be so hard on yourself.  You’d be surprised at how many people we get at the airport who do things like that.  They think suitcases are safe places to put their personal stuff, when—surprise!  They’re not as safe as you think.  I’m just glad to hear you found it and it didn’t get stolen.”
    “Please, Helen.  Don’t scare me like that.  I’m already in enough trouble as it is.”
    Helen winked slyly at her.  “Go ahead and call your husband.  I’ll be up front if you need anything.”
    As Helen turned away, Thérèse nervously pushed the buttons on the cell phone.  This talk time would cost a bundle, but she felt her husband’s peace of mind was more valuable than any calling plan.
    “Allo?”
    “Stephane, cher?  C’est moi.”
    She could hear his sigh of relief all the way at the other end.  “I’m OK. I’m in New Orleans.”
    “What are you still doing there?  I thought you’d be down in the bayou with your family by now.”
    “I’m watching the Krewe of Endymion.”
    “You’re watching what?”
    “The Krewe of Endymion.  It’s supposed to be a really big parade.   It’s supposed to start pretty soon now.  I wish you were here.  It’s an experience.”
    “Well, I’m not sure if it’s the kind of experience I’d really want,” Stephane replied.
    “Please, cher, can’t you be happy for me just once?  I’m having the time of my life here and now all you want to do is complain!  What’s the matter?”
    A long pause ensued as Stephane calmed down.  “The matter is…I wish I were there with you.   It sounds like you really are having the time of your life.  Save me a piece of king cake, and I’ll talk to you soon.”
    “I will.  The parade’s about to start.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow.  Bonsoir.”
    “Bonsoir.”

    A twinge of regret knocked at her heart, but she quickly swept it away.  She decided to relax and enjoy herself tonight.

    King cake sounded good just about now, especially the gâteau de roi
Helen picked up at La Madeleine before work today.  She had expected a few friends and neighbors to come over for the parade, and they filtered in slowly throughout the evening. 

    A line of police cars and flambeau carriers with propane tanks strapped to their backs signaled the start of Endymion, and the two women quickly ran to their places on the porch.   Large double decker papier mâché floats with masked riders threw beads and cups to the crowd, and Thérèse laughed with delight as she caught a few.  She turned to Helen with the silliest look on her face.

    “Oh, my…how will I get all these home?”

    “We just stick ‘em in our attics here,”  Helen laughed back.  “You want to know why all the houses here in N’Awlins are sinking?  That’s ‘cause we have all these Mardi Gras  beads.”

    As Britney Spears, the teenage darling of Kentwood, rolled by, Helen found the opportunity to scream.

    “HEY, BRITNEY!  REMEMBER ME?  THROW ME SOMETHING!”

    Britney did, and the two women on the porch laughed again.  “Thank you,”  Helen shouted back.

    More flambeaux and bands marched by, dazzling them and their friends.  They were especially impressed by the Marching 100 of St. Augustine High School, as everyone in town was.    By the time the parade was all over,  Thérèse must have caught enough to pack another suitcase.

    “It’s gonna be interesting getting this through Customs,”  she said to Helen as she took her large haul of throws into the house.

    “Don’t worry.  I’ll help you get through it.  Just find me at the airport, OK?”

    They laughed again, nibbled some more king cake and talked about good times for hours before they went to bed.  After all, Thérèse had an important journey to make in the morning.