Crave - Teresa Mummert Page 0,43

watched the exchange silently, winking at Viviana as she glanced in his direction.

“Then I see no arguments amongst you gentlemen,” She said wryly. The banker nodded and handed Elijah several coins and grabbed his seafood. Viviana gathered the dress and walked off arm and arm with her father. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Elijah. It was the moment he had fallen in love.

***

“So what happened? Did you see her again?” I asked, completely enthralled with his story.

“Yes, we would meet in secret. I can still picture her sitting on the bank of Lake Pontchartrain,” Elijah replied with a smile. “ But it only lasted a few weeks… until Mardi Gras, which was slowly becoming like the festivities you know today. There were parades with maskers riding horses and carriages. The streets were lit by flambeaux. It was incredible.”

***

February 19, 1833

“Mother, I’m heading into town for the festivities. Are you sure you do not care to join me?” Elijah called from his room.

“You know I must stay with your father, Elijah. His fever has not broken in three days,” Emma Malakai replied to her son from the doorway. She was thin but with womanly curves hidden under her modest, handmade gown. Her long brown hair fastened into a bun at the nape of her neck. Her beautiful face etched with lines of worry.

“How do I look?” Elijah asked, turning to his mother. He wore a suit his mother had made for him out of the finest material they sold at the market. Emma smiled and walked toward her son, straightening his shirt collar.

“You look like a very fine husband in the making, dear Elijah,” Emma replied with a thick Irish accent.

“I’m afraid all of the women are out of my reach,” Elijah sulked, buttoning his jacket.

“What about Amelie from down the road? She is exquisite and has taken a shine to you,” Emma asked with a smile.

“Amelie is like a sister to me. Her father wants her to marry French,” Elijah replied like he has a thousand times before.

“Her father can be easily persuaded, dear boy. Your father makes good money doing honest work. You would make an excellent suitor for Ms. Amelie,” Emma reassured him as she brushed off the shoulders of his jacket.

“Thank you, Mother. I must get to town before the parade,” Elijah said with a smile and kissed his mother on the cheek.

***

“Your mother didn’t want you dating Viviana?” I asked.

“She didn’t know about her,” he explained, the corner of his mouth turned up into a smirk. “Even with my father’s building wealth, most still viewed us as commoners. But she didn’t care about any of that,” he continued as his smile faded, lost in the past.

***

February 19, 1833

Elijah walked the cobblestone roads lit by gas lanterns, making his way through the sea of people. Vendors had set up stands along the way selling food and novelty items. He wandered into a tavern and ordered himself a drink, just as he noticed some of his friends at a table near the corner.

“Elijah! Join us for a drink,” Jacob Breaux called over the rowdy crowd. Elijah raised his glass and took a large swig before making his way to the other side of the bar. “Play a hand with us,” Jacob said, looking at Elijah as he shuffled the deck. Elijah scanned the room and took a seat at the wooden table.

A few hands and a few more drinks, Elijah stumbled away with a couple of extra dollars.

He staggered back onto the streets filled with bachelors and woman of ill repute. Swiping a mask from a vendors table, he placed it on his face, blending with the crowd.

Tonight was a night of debauchery. He flipped a coin on the next table and grabbed a beer as he stumbled his way down the main roads, ending on Rue Bourbon. Locals danced and performed magic tricks for the crowds. Elijah worked his way into a circle of people and watched as a man played music in the middle of the street.

“Amazing isn’t he?” A young woman in a masquerade mask donned with feathers whispered in a heavy French accent into Elijah’s ear. Elijah nodded and drank his beer until the cup was empty, throwing it onto the street in front of them.

“You look like you could use a break,” the brunette woman said as she looped her arms through his and pulled him back to a doorway, out of the way of party goers. Elijah leaned his