Chapter 6-The Big Easy

Marie arrived in New Orleans early in the afternoon. Her immediate concern was finding a place to stay and getting something to eat before nightfall. She had eaten the Boudin Rouge that her mama had packed earlier and now she was very hungry. New Orleans frightened and excited her all at the same time. She had never seen such a mystical place. The cacophony of automobiles, street vendors, and pedestrians all blended to create a dull roar. Marie felt a little dizzy. Everywhere she looked she was amazed by the tall buildings, wrought iron balconies, neon lights, and so many service men and women strolling the streets. She made a mental note to herself to be more careful. Early in the day, she had almost been ran over when she went to cross the street and a strange green and gold contraption came rolling down the middle of the street. Not until it stopped to let passengers off did she see the sign on top 'Desire'. She wasn't sure if that was the name of the vehicle or its destination. She giggled to herself and thought it a strange name in a strange place.

As the sun set over the skyline, Marie found herself wandering down Bourbon Street. Raucous laughter, cursing, clinking glasses and jazz music overflowed into the street from the dimly lit bars with their open doors to let in the breeze on this hot, humid night. The aromas floating out from the taverns were disgusting. An old woman in a dingy blue shawl peddled flowers and charms on the corner to anyone she could stop. A slovenly dressed unshaved man stumbled drunkenly by Marie holding a bottle of beer. He grinned a snaggled tooth smile and tipped his sweat-stained fedora. A young dark haired scantly clad woman called from an ornate iron balcony, "sailor come join me." An organ grinder with a cute little red-vested and capped monkey played his tunes while the monkey with his silver cup bounced from one pedestrian to another. Women of all ages and sizes stood outside on the sidewalk in skimpy clothes that Marie had never imaged existed. Most wore their hair long and loose. Their faces were painted with rouge and foundation and dark red lipstick. Occasionally a service man or other gentlemen would walk up to the ladies and then they would leave together down the street.

The smells of food drifting in the air made her stomach take a few flips. She was hungry. Boy, what I wouldn't give right now for some rice and gravy, she thought.
Marie walked a little further down Bourbon Street and found herself looking at a long line of people. Smells of warm bread, gumbo, fried shrimp and other wonderful aromas enticed her senses. She walked up to a finely dressed lady standing at the end of the line, "Whatcha all in line fer?" Marie asked.
"Why we're waiting to get a seat for supper at Galatoire's; it's just the finest restaurant in the whole entire world. They will not take reservations and they make us all wait here for hours to get inside," the lady said, "but oh my goodness is it worth it."
The man standing beside her frowned, "I don't know if it's worth it or not. You would think they could make an exception to their 'first come first served policy' ever now and then for special people...but no NEVER!" He exclaimed.

"Oh, suga', just be patient, you know once you get your order of Shrimp Remoulade, Broccoli Hollandaise, Crabmeat Salad and Cafe Brule all the waiting will be forgotten and you'll forgive me for insisting we come here tonight, " the lady said to her husband patting his rather large stomach.

Marie thought she would faint from hunger but decided to wait in line, too. She had thirty dollars and surely a meal couldn't cost more than a few dollars.
It took two and a half hours for Marie to arrive at the main entrance to Galatoire's 209 Bourbon Street address. The huge green French doors were wide open and she could see inside the first- floor dining room. It was a palace of high ceilings, slow moving paddle fans and mirrored opposing walls. Genteel people were sitting enjoying their meals. Just at that moment a handsome slim man, "Pardon Madame but I'm afraid you cannot come in. You do not have proper attire." The young doorman held his hand up in front of Marie.

"I...I...I'm so sorry...I did not know. I am so hungry. I have money to pay," Marie pleaded.

"Go around to the back and I will see that you get something to eat." The doorman pointed to the back alley leading to the back of the restaurant.

Marie walked down the street a little further and turned left into a very dark dank alley. A large file tail rat scurried across the wet bricks in front of her and she jumped back. "Oh, you scared me."
The back door to the restaurant was barely cracked open and inside she could see lots of activity with the servers and cooks busy with food preparation. "Pardon me, the man at the front said I could get something to eat. I have money to pay."

A gruff looking short man in a white uniform and toque, chef's hat, came to the door. "So, you want to eat? I give you some gumbo."

"Oh, Merci, Merci, I can pay you." Marie held out a ten dollar bill.

"No, no need. Take it and go." The gruff chef pushed a large bowl of gumbo into her hands.
Marie walked back to the dim light of Bourbon Street and sat down on the pavement eating her gumbo. I've never tasted anything this good in my whole life.

After finishing her food, she got up and began walking again. She felt someone bump into her very hard and the next thing she knew a man had grabbed her burlap bag with all her belongings and her money and was running away. "Wait, Wait come back here!" She shouted at him and took after him running as fast as she could. She followed him all the way to Basin Street but could not catch him and eventually lost sight of him. Marie sat down on the cool damp grass and began crying. "Mother Mary, I really need your son's help. I'm all alone and I'm scared. Please hear my prayer and help me," Marie prayed softly. "Amen."
Her Amen was cut short by a police car slowly rolling up. "Hey, what are you doing out here this time of night?" The officer aimed a large bright light at her face.
Marie shielded her eyes and stood up very quickly. "A man stole all my money. I chased him but he git away."

The policeman stepped out of his car and walked around to get a better look at her. He took his flashlight and shown it again into her dirty face. "Miss, where do you work?"

"I have no job..."

"Where do you live?" The policeman continued.

"I live no place right now," Marie replied.

"You mean to say you don't have a job, money or an address. Girl, in this town that's called being a vagrant. It's against the law to be a vagrant. I'm afraid we'll be taking you down to the station. You can spend the night there and maybe in the morning you can find a job and a place to live. If not, I suggest you keep right on walking out of town." The officer grabbed Marie's arm, opened the door of the squad car and shoved her inside.

Marie was shocked that she had been treated so roughly by the police and now was trembling with fright. What was going to happen to her?

The police station was a hub of activity; even on a Monday night. Marie was made to remove her mama's wedding band and her stepdaddy's boots and place them in a paper bag. The man behind the counter put her name on the bag and told her she would get them back the next day. She was finger-printed and thrown into a cell with twelve women that were drunk, high on drugs or just plain crazy. The smell of stale cigarettes, beer, cheap perfume, and dank unwashed bodies permeated the cell. The cell bars once had been painted white but now they were dirty with big flakes of paint peeling off. The large cell's concrete walls were marked and marred with brown stains, profanities and names of former inmates. She sat down on a rusting metal bench. The steady buzz of the room briefly stopped when she entered the cell. Twelve pairs of eyes briefly stared in her direction then went back to what they were doing. The slamming of the cell door made a chill run across her spine. "Lord I prayed for help...are you still listening," Marie whispered. The women were a mixed lot; different sizes and ages all dressed in outrageous attire. An older woman sat in the corner holding her frazzled graying black hair in her hands and cursing loudly. Two women slept side by side on the filthy concrete floor with only a shawl to cover them. Another woman with henna-dyed hair paced back and forth in the cell. Marie had never seen a 'woman of the night' but she thought surely this must be what her mama had told her about.

"Hey, girlie, whatcha in fer? Stealing some baby's lollipop?" A big-boned woman with flaming red hair walked up and looked Marie straight in the face.

"Ah, leave her alone Lulu, she ain't bothering you. You can see she's just a country girl. Look at them flour sack clothes she's wearing. Right off the farm I'd say," the second woman sneered.

"Why don't you mind yer own business, Alice," snarled Lulu.

"You dirty crib whore I'll claw your eyes out if you mess with me," Alice spit out the words.

"Kill her," screamed the woman that had been holding her head.

"Are you gonna let that bitch, Alice, tell you what to do? Git her Lulu," came another voice from the back of the cell.

"Alice, you better back off...," Lulu said in a low growl with drool running down the right side of her mouth. Lulu lunged at Alice with all the force of a mad bear, her dirty claws ready to strike.
Alice, smaller and more lithe, jumped to the side causing Lulu to run into the metal suspension bars holding the benches in the cell and falling backward onto the floor.
The cell was roaring with the sounds of the women catcalling to the combatants urging them to fight. "Kill her! Stomp her!" they yelled.

"Get up Lulu...you gonna let this wimp beat you? Someone yelled.

Alice walked over to Lulu and leaned down close to her face. "Don't do it, Lulu, stay where you're at." Lulu sat dazed. The fight was over.

Two guards approached the bars, "Okay, girls settle down. You know you will get out in the morning, that is if you behave," the smallest guard said. "Now sit down and shut up, sleep it off!" Ramon snapped.

Marie eased over to Alice. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it kid...I've never liked that bitch." Alice smiled.

Marie spent her night sleeping the best she could on the cold concrete jail floor. The other more experienced cell mates had grabbed all the blankets and were not sharing. Between the cold floor and the snoring women Marie had a very rough first night in New Orleans.
Morning brought groans and cursing from the hung over women as they each came awake slowly in the gloomy cell.

"Well, little princess how did you sleep?" Alice nudged Marie awake.

"Terrible, just awful," Marie replied.

"You needin' a job, kid?" Alice asked.

"Yes, I do but I don' hav a social security card or a birth certificate," Marie replied.

"Don't need one where I work. Good pay and easy work, too. Miss Gigi will be coming for me this morning. Oh, she'll be mad as a wet hornet at me for going downtown on Bourbon Street on my day off and gettin' drunk and thrown in jail but she'll forgive me," Alice said grinning.

Around 11:00 am the jailer came to release all the women in the cell.
Alice gestured with her Hot Red nails, "Come on with me girl. Hey, I don't even know your name?"

"It's Marie."

"My name is Alice in case you didn't guess it last night," Alice grinned again. Alice stopped in front of the front desk. "We got to stop here and get our belongings. I only have my shoes and earrings to pick up. You got anything kid?"

"Yes, I have my mother's ring and my boots."

When Alice saw the old worn boots handed to Marie she smiled again, "Girl, you ARE from the country."
"Marie come with me. I'm going to introduce you to my boss Gigi. I know she'll love you." Alice started toward the front of the jail. "Oh, there she is now!"

Standing in the doorway was a very tall regal lady in her mid-forties dressed in a navy suit with white blouse. Her blonde hair was held in place by a white snood attached to a perky little blue hat. Cuban heels and blue leather shoes completed the outfit. Red, white, and blue large costume earrings graced each ear. "Alice, I'm glad to see you are okay but you know I am very angry with you right now." Gigi shook her head.

"Yes, Miss Gigi I know you are. I am sorry... look what I have brought you; a new fresh young girl. Her name is Marie." Alice grabbed Marie's hand and brought her forward.

"You don't say?" Miss Gigi gave Marie a hard look. What she saw pleased her. "Are you a working girl? You don't look like one. You need a job girl?"

"Yes, yes, Madame. I do," Marie said.

"How old are you?" Gigi prodded.

"Seventeen, I be eighteen in October."

"Alice, I can't hire a seventeen-year-old girl to work with my patrons, " Gigi frowned. "The authorities would shut me down for sure."
"Girl, can you cook and clean house?"

"Yes, Madame I can," Marie replied.

"That settles it. You can come to work for me as my maid. I already have Miss Moselle as my cook, but I do need someone to take care of me. Come along girl..."

Alice shook her short curly brown hair and smiled a big wide smile.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so puffed up Alice...I'll deal with you later. Now come along girls the day is wasting."