Echoes in the Bayou (12 page)

"
I’ll be disappointed if I go to this ceremony looking
like a street urchin," she joked.

"
Oh
you’ll feel more like Cinderella I'm sure," he hinted. Ava had no idea of
what he had in mind but she quite enjoyed the mystery of it all.

Enough
with the day dreaming Ava, time to get in some reading
, she told herself and carefully opened up
Amelia Montieu’s diary.

John DuPonte is coming to visit and I know that
William cannot wait to see his childhood friend. I just hope that this business
in Texas will not keep him away too long. Poor Will Junior is also anxious to
see his daddy. I must say that he is however, enjoying taking control of the
place while his daddy is away. But, he’s too soft on them field niggas and I'm
going to have to tell his daddy about that. They are treated as good as they
can be but he still insists on asking them to do the extras. You tell them to
do it, don’t ask! I always scold him about that but he doesn’t listen, he is
stubborn as can be, he got that honest from his daddy. He tells me that I
should treat them all better because they are not animals, they are human
beings, and I told him that if they aren’t animals then how come his daddy had
to drag them here on a leash? He had nothing to say to that remark; he just
looked at me oddly and walked away. But I love my boy and I need to keep a
watchful eye on him. Why just today I saw that nigga whore Celeste giving him
the eye, ain’t no child of mine going to get mixed up with a nigga. Sowing his
wild oats is one thing, but taking kindly to that nigga is another. I’ll have
to tell him to go into town to lady Shari’s whorehouse if he wants his needs
taken care of.

"
That woman is such a bitch!" Ava had just
finished telling Magnus about the passage she’d read hours ago. They were in
the car now headed to New Orleans.

"
Don’t you mean she was a bitch?"

"
Was, is, either way she was an ignorant racist bitch."

"
Now Ava, don’t forget that was the norm back then and
not all antebellum woman had it easy."

"
Oh of course they did Magnus, all they had to do was
oversee the house, they had slaves do the rest," Ava objected.

"
Now that’s where you’re not entirely accurate."

"
Magnus, I think I know a little bit about the history
of my people," she said matter of factly. "I mean I am half African
American and I have read books on African American history you know."

 
"Oh I
have no doubt that you have Ava, but that’s not what I'm talking about. I'm
talking about the white woman who were married to plantation owners. Unless
they were incredibly wealthy, they had to take on a lot of the duties of the
big house." Magnus looked at her very politely. He hoped that his comment
hadn’t made her mad.

Ava
returned his look and said,
"Please
continue."

"Please
don’t misunderstand Ava, I am not in any way condoning nor am I trying to
justify how the mistress treated their slaves. All I am trying to do is tell
you that many of the woman back then were not only in charge of the house but
they were expected to garden, make clothes, darn socks, make soap, butter and
cream, plan and fix some of the meals, educate the children, and keep the
valuables locked away from the household help. And even though most of them wed
while still young, they were expected to make the transition from young
debutantes to matron of the big house. "

"I'm
impressed Magnus, it sounds like you know your stuff." And she really was,
even though the thought of a mistress comparing darning socks to picking cotton
was preposterous, she knew what Magnus was trying to say and for that she found
him even more intriguing.  Not since she’d arrived there had she been able
to have such lengthy intellectual conversations with a man before. All Gavin
ever wanted to talk about was flipping a house or how he could make more money.
Whenever she would try to change the subject into something more personal or
intellectual, he’d almost always would clam up or tell her that she didn’t know
what she was talking about. He told her that she wasn’t a worldly woman so she
shouldn’t talk about things that she knows nothing about.

Goddamn, I must have been one incredibly naïve
woman to have put up with that jack ass
,
she scolded herself.
There’s not enough good sex in the world to make me
want to go back to that foolishness,
she
almost said that out loud.

"
What was that?" Magnus asked and turned his
attention to her.

"
Nothing, just thinking out loud. Please go on,"
she told him.

"
Well as I was saying, the mistress was in charge of a
lot of things and I am sure for a lot of them, the life wasn’t what they were
expecting. For some, the days and nights of being wooed by their suitor
suddenly stopped when they became husband and wife. I mean just picture it, you
get wined and dined by this handsome guy, he asks you to marry him, and you say
yes.

After the
wedding, you move into the big house with him and you’re probably thinking,
wow, I hit the big time. Now all I have to do is sit back, put my feet up and
my house slave will wait on me hand and foot. Now where’s my mint julep? You
know what I mean?" He asked her. When Ava nodded her head, he continued. 
"Well It was more like, if you want a mint julep you better plant the mint
and tend to it first,  before you tell your slave to being you one. Oh but
don’t get me wrong, some were waited on hand and foot, they had mammies to teach
and take care of the children, and house slaves to take care of the rest but it
wasn’t like that for all of them, that’s all I'm saying."

"But
it sounds like Amelia, had everything and who knows, maybe she wanted to teach
her own children. God knows that she certainly doted after Will. I can’t
imagine her allowing anyone but herself to do the educating around that
house."

"
You're right Magnus and thank you for the lesson on
the antebellum mistresses, you are just full of surprises aren’t you?" she
smiled at him.

"
What do you mean?" He asked. "Does my
knowledge really surprise you?" Was his response, he was from the south
after all. Surely she wouldn’t think him ignorant of such things.

 Ava
began to frown, she had insulted him and didn’t mean to. She reached for his
hand. "Magnus please don’t take offense, because I meant no disrespect by
saying that. All I meant was that it is so refreshing to be able to have these
kinds of conversations with you." She didn’t want to start their weekend
away together on a sour note.

"
Let’s just say that my last boyfriend didn’t think me
worldly enough to even engage in such a conversation so when you told me all of
that just now, I was so impressed and flattered that you wanted to share it
with me."

 
When he had a moment to stop the car, Magnus turned
and looked at her. "Ava, I don’t know what went on in your last
relationship, but any man that would insult you like that isn’t a man at all
and he certainly isn’t worthy of any of your time or conversation. And you
better hope that I never run into him, whoever he is," he said and
continued to drive.

Chapter
Ten

The more
she thought about what Magnus had said, the more she realized that he was
right. Gavin wasn’t a man, he’d not only constantly put her down, but he
cheated on her with her best friend. And although she was well aware that it
took two to tango, she knew that had he not constantly flirted and made his
many sexual innuendoes, Melanie would not have opened up her legs so easily for
him
.
Maybe
she would have thought about what it would do to me,
Ava told herself.
Maybe
.

 
They had reached the Omni Royal Orleans and Magnus had
been right, it was a grand hotel full of every luxury that one could afford.
The wrought iron balconies against the off white architecture of the grand
hotel gave it that wonderful New Orleans feel and she smiled as she gazed upon
it. When they were checking in, she had offered to pay for her share but Magnus
insisted that he foot the bill. He told her that she was his date and that he
would not be pleased unless the entire weekend was his treat. "Well when
you put it like that," she told him and put away her American express card
.
I should have
been incredibly dubious and charged the entire weekend to Gavin Realty,
she
laughed to herself. 
I bet he wouldn’t have been expecting me to do that.
"Mister you’re so predictable Ava." Asshole
.

The
moment Magnus unlocked the door to her suite and she saw the clothing rack
packed full of evening gowns, any and all thoughts about Gavin and Melanie left
her mind faster than a hooker in skecher sneakers.

"
Magnus what is all this?" She asked. The rack was
full of designer gowns and they were all in her size.

"
Well I just figured that you wouldn’t want to waste
the entire day shopping for a gown in a city that you’ve never been to right?
So I thought it would be nice if I brought the gowns to you, now all you have
to do is pick one out and it’s yours," he said rather casually.

Ava could
not believe her eyes, not only was this man gorgeous but he was incredibly
generous.
If
he has a hidden agenda and is hoping to get laid tonight, I just may have to
accommodate him
,
she smiled at him
seductively.

"
Magnus I couldn’t possibly accept one of these gowns,
have you seen the price tags?" She held one up for him to see. It was an
Oscar de la Renta midnight blue satin gown and it was screaming her name. 
"I can’t afford this," she winced when she looked at the price.
"That comma can’t possibly be in the right spot."

"I
was thinking of the very same one," he said ignoring her refusal completely.

She was
seeing a side of him that she’d never noticed before, he was unyielding but he
did it in such a way that it not only took her by surprise but made her even
more attracted to him. Gone was the shy, somewhat unconfident and bashful guy.
Standing in f
ront of her, eyeing her, perhaps
envisioning her wearing the gown was a more self-assured man who had everything
under control and she liked it.

"The
blue one it is," he said and called down to the front desk to tell them
that he was ready to have the remaining gowns removed. Ava knew she should have
refused such a generous gift but the gown was beautiful and he did ask her to
be his date.

"
Now I’ll let you get settled in Ava and then I'm
taking you to lunch and after that, a tour of this grand city. See you in an
hour," he said and smiled warmly at her before leaving the room.

What the hell
?
She thought to
herself.
Is this the same guy I met only weeks ago? Maybe he’s just being
incredibly nice and wants to be friends
.
Maybe friends with benefits
,
she suggested to herself.  "Oh well,
no one can ever be so rich as to throw away a friend," she smiled and
began to unpack her clothes.

An hour
and a half later they were dining al fresco at Chartres House. The restaurant
was located in the heart of the French quarter and boosted a cozy, homelike
atmosphere while still embodying the strong history of years gone by. Ava had
never been to New Orleans before and she wanted to try something new. "How
about the fried green tomato chips and Duck empanadas for starters?"
Magnus suggested.

"
Sounds good," she told him.

 
While they waited for their appetizers, Magnus made
sure to point out the historic landmarks that were nearby, such as the St. Louis
Cathedral. He also told her about the history of Chartres House, how the
property dated back to 1722, when Arnaud Roche and his family lived on the very
same land in the French Quarter until their house burned to the ground during
the Good Friday fire of 1788. After that it became known as the Reynes Mansion
until 1873. Then it was turned into a grocery store that later became a café.
Its most notable patron was Tennessee Williams, who would relax at the bar or
by the swimming pool which was now a fountain.

"The
building stood vacant for quite a while before it was purchased and named
Chartres House, so you see Ava by dining here, you are a part of the history of
this place," he said with a wink.