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“To get back to Steve, I don’t think so. He came right out and asked me if I’d let him kiss me.”
“Ugh. Please don’t say anything to Annie unless you think it was a real problem. I think he’s full of hot air, like he’d be the last one to ever be unfaithful.”
“You’re right, it felt like a desperate try, like if I had turned around and kissed him, he’d run in the opposite direction. I feel sorry for Annie though because down the road, he might be a problem.”
Thinking of Steve Casson as anything but a loving faithful husband was so incongruous to Maggie that she changed the subject again.
“Okay! Tomorrow it is.” She explained about the flooded road. “I’ll run into town to pick you up, so what time?”
“I’ll see you by one,” Katrina said.
The anticipation of seeing her friend put a little zest in her step. The first thing she did was check the fridge. It was full of party food, but she needed to make a run into town for staples—milk, coffee, wine.
“Come on, Brulee, we’re going for a boat ride.”
All she had to say was the wordsboat rideand the dog went nuts.
She packed up her bag and the doggie life vest and they headed out the door. Justin had bought her a new skiff when she’d had a collision with a fishing boat before Christmas. The new skiff was shiny and nice, but she missed the old one that had been her grandfather’s. The old outboard on the new skiff had been the one thing Justin and Gus Hebert, the dockmaster, had been able to save of the old, destroyed boat. So at least the tiller handle was the same one that her grandfather had held on to when he went into town from this same dock, just like Maggie was doing.
They got into the boat, and it started right up. She turned it around, heading toward town for the five-minute ride. Her hand on the tiller handle brought back so many memories every time she drove the boat: trips into town with her grandfather or her father, fishing off the island for that night’s dinner. This was home and would forever be.
As she approached the village dock, Gus waited for her like he always did when he heard her motor start up. She pulled alongside the pilings, and he reached down to take the rope from her. They started in talking like they’d never stopped from their last visit.
“My friend Katrina from Pensacola is coming for a long visit tomorrow, so I need food.”
“Did I meet her yet?”
“She was at Annie’s wedding,” Maggie said.
“That’s a sure sign Mardi Gras is on its way,” he said, chuckling.
“What?”
“People you haven’t heard from in months asking if they can sleep on your couch.”
“Ha! That’s exactly what Justin said! Are you coming to my party Monday night?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it. Are you using the king cake recipe Grace wrote out?”
“I made it first thing. I’m trying a few different recipes, and we’ll have a tasting Monday night. There’s a naked plastic baby doll in each cake, which is kind of gross, if you ask me.”
“Ha! It’s an old tradition,” Gus replied in his Cajun accent.
He held out his hand for her and then helped Brulee up onto the dock. “When she gets full growed, we’ll have to get a lift to get her out of your boat when the tide is low.”
“You’d do that for Brulee?”
“Of course. She’s a favorite.”
They said goodbye for now, and she headed up the street to Spencer’s Grocery. Subtle signs that Christmas was over but that Mardi Gras was on its way were everywhere. Purple, green and gold bunting had replaced all the red and green that had hung in the public establishments, new street signs announcedparade route, and a giant sign at the community center:Weight Loss Seminar This Sunday – Get in control before you’ve eaten your weight in crawfish and king cake.She laughed out loud.
“You wait. You’ll be so happy Fat Tuesday is over,” a familiar voice said.
She looked around for the speaker and saw Annie’s husband, Steve Casson, at the curb in his truck.
“Ha! I’m there! I made six king cakes already for Monday night.”
He tipped an imaginary hat and waved as he pulled away. “Can’t wait to eat them!”
