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  My joy was only briefly halted by Michelle. Here I was perfectly happy with my dating success while she was unsure of where she stood with Daniel. After my brief lecture during our class, she perked up. She even got back into her flirtatious attitude at the gym today, but I could tell she was still bothered by something. After the gym, we got subs for dinner then headed back to the dorm for showers. Now, I sit on my desk chair watching television as Michelle takes the first shower. Bored with waiting, I decide to walk down stairs to the college convenient store in our dorm lobby.

  I peruse the shelves for something some-what healthy. I quickly find the updated food area and grab a cup of carrots, broccoli and celery with ranch dipping sauce. It includes the ranch, but I very rarely use it. I grab a few more waters for my fridge and check out. As I pull out my student card to use, I hear the familiar voice of Andrew from across the lobby.

  “Hey, Boo!” exclaims my neighbor Andrew.

  “Hey,” I call back as I bag my purchases. “Are you heading upstairs?”

  “Yea,” replies Andrew. “Where’s your partner in crime?”

  “Michelle is upstairs taking a shower.” I respond.

  We walk upstairs together as Andrew talks the whole way. I unlock the door and Andrew doesn’t even stop to ask if he can come in. He just walks in. I smile. He has become such a fixture in our room in only a few short weeks.

  “So what are you doing tonight?” Asks Andrew

  “We are going out and partying TOGETHER.”

  I turn and see a determined Michelle in a towel dripping wet. She smiles over at Andrew as she walks to her wardrobe. There is a spring in her step as she begins going through her clothes.

  “Ok, Miss bossy,” I joke. “Where are we going?”

  “Bourbon Street,” replies Michelle. “We have been here two weeks and we have yet hit up Bourbon Street.”

  “Will we be able to get drinks there?” I ask.

  “Honey, I got a fake,” chimes Andrew.

  “There we go,” replies Michelle. “Now take a shower then get dressed and don’t wear nice shoes.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” I respond marching off to the bathroom.

  After a few cruises around the French quarter, we were finally able to find a parking spot on a side street. The parking spot is one of those prime and almost lottery winning spots off the streets between Bourbon and the Mississippi River. Of course, you can always pay to park but we opted to cruise around in the spirit of true college kid fashion looking for what was free. I topple out of the back seat of Andrew’s old Honda stepping onto the cracked sidewalk. Michelle, who sat up front next to Andrew, hops out with a big smile on her face.

  She bounces in place with excitement. I smile back at her and then look down the street towards Bourbon. It is a few blocks away. Effervescent lights filter through the dimly lit side streets all the way to where we stand. People pass by in groups. Some of the members walk around freely holding on to mixed drinks and beer. Their necks adorned with beads and some of their faces are blocked by feathered masks. No matter what attire they chose, all of them have huge smiles on their faces. New Orleans is Disneyworld for adults. It is a place that caters to them. My excitement begins to build up even more at the anticipation of taking my first step on to this historical and infamous street.

  “Y’all ready?” asks Andrew as he locks his car.

  “Heck yea!” I respond.

  “What do you two boo’s want to do first?” asks Andrew

  “Walk Bourbon Street with alcohol in my hand!” Exclaims Michelle

  Michelle grabs my arm. Together we take the first step walking down the street towards the ambient flashing lights. The street calls to us like sirens calling the poor sailors into the ocean. For years I have seen on television the famous street. A year ago, all I could do was imagine what it would be like. Now I am here walking closer and closer to an experience that everyone should have once in their life. We are the moths drawn to the surreal flame. Music from different bars and shops travel on the wind and I can hear it for the very first time as we cross the last street onto the final block. My eyes grow wide. Images of people in front of me begin to grow larger and become more defined.

  Finally we step into the middle of Bourbon Street. I look down as far as my eyes let me. The neon lights with flashing bulbs mix with the flowing motion of the crowd. The music pounds rhythms I feel in my chest. Each club fighting to have theirs heard. Men hold signs listing drink specials as they talk to people in the street enticing them to step into their bar. I watch the scene in front of me in haze clouded amazement as I still hold on to Michelle’s arm. My mind glazes over. No longer did I feel part of this world. The daze didn’t go away either as Andrew hands me and Michelle each a hand grenade signaling us to drink. I take a sip. The sweet juice hits my lips reminding me of some off flavor of Jolly Ranchers. The taste is unique but in every which way it is as pleasant as any sugary drink can be.

  Onward we walk down the crowded street determined to make one lap up and down the street. Every once in a while Michelle and I would get stopped by drunks wanting to flirt with us. It was all in good fun. We would smile then walk on leaving the guy behind us as we advanced on hoping to experience all that Bourbon has to offer. My eyes darted back and forth across the street while we maneuvered around the crowds. Daiquiri shops and clubs of all kinds pass by us as we continue walking. I stop our small group so I could briefly watch a stripper in kinky lingerie. She was supposed to entice men to come in, but stood looking bored while texting on her phone instead. The bored stripper on the crowded street made me laugh. We did a full lap on Bourbon before finishing our drinks and settling on a bar to go into.

  We stand outside the bar getting our cards out. In front of us is a man dressed in black. He has a straight face as he stares out over the street. I become nervous as the thought that he might not let us in comes to mind. Andrew assures me otherwise. He says being two young, cute girls has its perks. I pull out my identification and step forward. With a flirty smile, I hand the doorman my ID which states I am only eighteen. He looks over it sternly then looks at me. I make my smile more brilliant as a knot of nervous energy settles in my stomach. He scrutinizes the card one last time before handing it back to me. Relief washes over as I take the step up through the French double doors and into the dark night life in front of me. I wait off to the side for Michelle and Andrew. As soon as all three of us are in, I begin to walk further into the bar and off to find a dance floor.

  My footsteps lead me to a beautiful court yard. A water fountain twinkles red and blue. Further back against the wall of the courtyard is a stage. Lights shoot up from the platform skimming over the crowd as a DJ spins music off to the side. Everywhere, there are people. Some find their way to the dance floor. Others sit amongst each other talking. Andrew steps away to the bar for another drink. I decide to grab Michelle and head to the dance floor. It is on the way to dance that we have our first experience with New Orleans tourists.

  I can feel Michelle stop as her hand leaves mine. I look back and she is talking to a young cute guy. Beside him is a much older gentleman. I walk back to listen to the conversation.

  “So what’s your name?” asks the young guy to Michelle.

  “Michelle,” she replies with a smile.

  “Nice to meet you,” he replies. “I’m Taylor.”

  Michelle smiles and nods her head. They begin to have a lively conversation about New Orleans. The conversation spans many topics as what should have only taken a couple minutes dives into ten. Andrew pops back up with a drink in his hand and stands beside me.

  “What’s going on?” he asks leaning into me with a smile so the two strangers would not know what we were talking about.

  “This guy stopped us while we were walking and Michelle began talking to him,” I reply.

  Andrew gives me a look. I shrug and smile.

  “They seem harmless enough,” I say.

  “Oh sure, they all seem harmless.�
� Laughs Andrew. “They should be fine. However, you are not going to get any free drinks with a guy by your side. I’m going to go peruse the place for a while. I’ll check back in a few.”

  Andrew leaves my side as he walks around the bar. I take a step forward bringing my attention back to the two guys in front of us. Michelle has taken a seat beside the new guy and is talking freely with him. I sit down next to her keeping my distance between both of the men. It is not that they seem to be a threat, I just didn’t know them. I smile at the older gentlemen as he looks over at me.

  “So what’s your name sweetie?” He grins as he asks this question.

  “My name is Kimber,” I reply. “What’s your name?”

  “I’m Paul.” He replies offering a hand to shake.

  “Nice to meet you,” I say with a smile. “So what brings you to New Orleans Paul?”

  “My son,” he replies pointing at the guy Michelle is talking to. Taylor lifts up his face and smiles broadly.

  “My dad just became a free agent. Him and my mom got a divorce and I figured New Orleans would be a great place for this new bachelor.”

  I smile. The gesture is sweet, but I couldn’t help to feel a little sad for the man in front of me. Perhaps it is me being young and naïve, but I always thought marriage would be forever when people decide to do it. It is a commitment that you are making. It is a promise to love that individual throughout the years. Of course, life never works out the way one plans. I look at Paul. A tinge of sadness is in his eyes. He smiles and I can see the hope in his grin. Here is a man thrown back out into the world alone with outdated techniques for getting women. I am well aware that I will never date him, but something inside of me wants to help. I smile back at him. All I can think to do is treat him like any of my guy friends who broke up with someone. I reach across the table and place my hand on top of his.

  “It’s her loss,” I reply. “Let me buy you a drink.”

  The gesture throws Paul completely off. His eyes widen in shock as he looks at someone half his age wanting to buy him a drink. An excited smile rises up across his face as he shakes his head no.

  “Absolutely not,” he replies. “Michelle tells me you two are in college. Now it has been a long time since my college days, but two things I remember. First, I was broke all the time. Second, never let a pretty girl buy you a drink. I got this round. Now what do you two want?”

  Michelle and I shoot off orders for a rum punch as the man signals for a waitress. I glance at Taylor. He has a huge smile on his face. I watch as he watches his dad order a round of drinks. Even in the most unusual situations, you can still find the love between a father and son. Taylor’s gesture to rebuild his dad’s confidence is very endearing. I cannot help but to swoon at this simple yet complex act of rebuilding a broken man using nothing but the love of a son. Michelle shoots me a smile. She leans and speaks low to me as our two new acquaintances talk.

  “Are you ok with us hanging with these guys for a little while? I think Taylor is really cute.”

  “Absolutely,” I reply. “They are nice and seem charming.”

  Michelle looks at me funny. I smile back at her. I did not want to say anything negative for fear that they might hear. Plus I didn’t think Paul’s shattered self-image from his divorce could take it. I smile back at him and begin a new conversation. Our drinks came and, in what seems like no time, we are finished with them. It is fun getting to know these guys. I learned that Paul was forty nine years old. That is well over double my age of eighteen. The two of them live in Tennessee. Paul owns a construction business where his son helps manage it. We sit there for almost an hour talking about our lives. Like any proud father, there was also an embarrassing story of Taylor growing up. I look back and forth at the two men. There is still the bond of father and son, but there is also a friendship that has risen. It is very endearing and for a split second, I miss my family.

  “A round of shots,” states Taylor.

  “We do have to go get back to our friend eventually,” I comment.

  “Is he a boyfriend?” asks Paul

  “No,” I laugh. “I’m not his type.”

  Michelle laughs at my comment. The two men look at each other confused. Why does it seem like that thought never crosses straight guy’s minds?

  “We promised him we would stop at a gay bar,” I state. It was a tiny fib but I wanted to get the point across.

  “Well, call him over,” replies Paul. “He can do a round of shots with us.”

  I nod my head. Andrew is not one to turn down a free shot. I get up from the table to go find him. I find him leaning against a wall talking to a cute guy. Leave it to Andrew to find the cute guys that are unattainable to females.

  “Hey,” I break up their closeness. “The two guys we are with want you to go take a shot with us.”

  A smile crosses Andrew’s face at the word shot. He leans in and talks to his new cute guy before following me back to the table. I look at Andrew inquisitively.

  “Who was that?” I ask

  “He’s the guy I’ve been cruising in the dorms. He came out with a few of his girlfriends for the night and ended up here too. Small world, huh?”

  I’m sure there is more to the story than Andrew is letting on, but I drop the subject as we approach the guys. There, lined out in the middle is a row of tequila shots. On a napkin to one side are some lemons wedges and salt packets.

  “Tequila ok?” asks Taylor as we approach.

  “Tequila is great!” Exclaims Andrew.

  I sit down. All five of us prep for a tequila shot. Salt on hand and lemon wedge in the same hand, we pick up our glasses and cheers. I lick the salt then take a shot. Tequila will never be my first choice in shots. I can feel my lips pucker in disgust as the vial liquid goes down my throat. I immediately stick the lemon wedge in my mouth. I suck the lemon until the taste is nullified. Andrew sticks around a while as our conversation becomes livelier with the introduction of more alcohol. I can feel my body begin to spin a bit as I lighten up and begin talking more freely. Eventually Andrew slips away back to his guy leaving Michelle and I with the two men.

  “Well, I think we better go find Andrew to take him to his gay bar,” I state signaling to Michelle that it is time to go.

  “No,” protests a smiling Taylor. “Don’t leave yet.”

  “I’m afraid we have to. The night is getting late and we still have one more spot to hit unless you two want to go with us?”

  Taylor and Paul shoot apprehensive looks at each other. With Paul just getting back out on the night scene, a gay bar seems a bit much. They finally smile and acquiesce to letting us leave without much more of a fight. All four of us stand up. Michelle writes down her number on a napkin for Taylor as I go around the table to give Paul a hug.

  “Paul, let me tell you something,” I feel my courage coming from the alcohol as my word filter leaves me. “Your ex-wife is an idiot for letting you get away, but you know what? Her loss is the world’s gain. Promise me, you will have all the fun you can!”

  With my final juvenile words, I give Paul a hug and a kiss on the cheek. It felt like hugging a close family member. I pull away to catch a surprised look on Paul’s face. He rubs his cheek where my kiss landed as a huge smile crosses his lips.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” replies Paul. “I promise.”

  Michelle and I exchange men. I give Taylor a hug thanking him for the drinks and telling him to take care of his dad. Michelle gives Paul a hug. We wave good bye one last time before ducking into the crowd to find Andrew. I walk away amazed. In a city like New Orleans, you will find friendship in strangers that lasts only the duration of the night. I will probably never see these two men again but for a brief moment, our worlds connected and became one. We found a common space among the masses to share a small fraction of life together. I smile at my mind’s philosophical view point. All I can do is hope my act of kindness causes a ripple effect with Paul and he will choose to live a full life.

 
“Daniel is texting me,” yells Michelle over the loud music.

  “Do you want to see him?” I ask.

  “Yea,” she replies. “He is downtown somewhere on Bourbon Street tonight for his friend’s birthday.”

  I look at Michelle. Her face is conflicted. I pull her into the ladies room quickly so we can talk at a normal volume and I can use the restroom. I run into the bathroom stall. As I take care of business I continue our conversation.

  “Michelle,” I begin as Ty’s words flash back in my memory. “I really don’t think he was ignoring you on purpose this past week. He just had a lot on his plate. So if you think you want us to go find him, then we should. Andrew probably won’t mind.”

  “Yea,” states Michelle on the other side of the bathroom door. “I would like to. I just don’t want to ruin the evening.”

  “There is no way you could ruin this evening.” I state as I flush the toilet and step out of the stall heading towards the sink. “It has been a ton of fun already. Besides, it is like one in the morning right now. There is not much left of the night for me.”

  Michelle nods her head. She smiles up at me at the prospect of going to Daniel. I smile back. All I want is for Michelle to be happy.

  “Let’s go find Andrew.” I say.

  We leave the bathroom on the prowl looking for a relatively tall handsome guy who is probably hanging with the same guy I saw him with earlier. I shoot him a text stating we are looking for him, but in this crowd, it is hard to find anyone. Out of the corner of my eye I notice a glowing light coming from the darkness. I see Andrew lift his cell phone up to his face no doubt reading the text I just sent him. The guy I saw earlier mills around Andrew staring at him with a coy smile. I grab Michelle’s hand and find a path through the crowd. I tap Andrew on the shoulder and he whips around with a smile. Words being pointless as the music pounds around us, I signal towards the door. He understands. I turn and begin to make my way back through the crowd towards the front while still holding on to Michelle’s hand. Following Andrew is his new guy pal.