“It’s gotten ridiculous. Parents have no clue what their kids are doing at school, or before and after school. I can only do so much and I can’t prevent them from doing whatever off the premises, but I’ll be damned if they continue to disrespect Medgar Evers High.”
“Go on with your bad self, Joe Clark,” I joked, referencing the biopic Lean on Me and the no-nonsense principal who turned a lot of lives around despite some parents disagreeing with his strict policies.
Jemistry laughed and started giving me a hand job.
“What are you doing?” I asked, surprised. “We just finished; you’re not ready for another round, are you?”
“No, I’m not, but you can’t fool me, Tevin. I know you didn’t come. So I’m helping you out. Your fake nutting face is nothing like the real thing. It’s a toned-down version.”
She giggled and started moving her hand faster and faster.
“I appreciate you trying to prevent my coochie from undergoing a good dick pounding but you don’t need to have to do things by yourself. Not as long as you have me.”
Then she lowered her head and took my dick in her mouth.
Boy, oh boy, did she finish a brother off!
* * *
We checked into a suite at the W New Orleans-French Quarter, got settled, and then ventured out to find some good food. We had a “hit list” of restaurants we wanted to try over the next several days. Jemistry wanted to try Batch, SoBou, Iris, Restaurant R’evolution, and Sylvain. I wanted to check out Green Goddess, Criollo, Galatoire’s, Domenica, and MiLa. While we did not consider ourselves official “foodies,” we were damn close. I had used Jemistry’s pregnancy as an excuse to pig out myself. It was not a good look. After TJ was out the basket, she and I were both going to have to hit the gym hard, but we would do it together.
We hit R’evolution up first on Bienville Street. We threw down with a vengeance. We started with Creole Louisiana Snapping Turtle Soup with deviled quail eggs and Madeira. We also ordered some Mussels and Andouille with sweet garlic and Calabrian chile rouille.
Jemistry had the Linguine and Manila Clams for her entrée while I tried out the Lamb Chops with rutabaga purée. We went hard and both ordered desserts: She had the Turbodog Stout Chocolate Cake and I had the White Chocolate Bread Pudding Crème Brûlée.
After lunch—and waddling out the restaurant—we decided to go to a couple of tourist attractions. First, we stopped by The Cabildo on Chartres Street. It was a building that had replaced an original one that burned down in 1788. It was rebuilt between 1795 and 1799 and had served as the seat of the local government during the Spanish colonial period. It was also where the Louisiana Purchase was signed in 1803.
Next, we rolled through the Beauregard-Keyes House on the same street a few blocks away. Both Confederate general Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard—who had ordered the first shots of the Civil War at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, in 1861—and Frances Parkinson Keyes—author of more than fifty books and short stories—had occupied the home about a hundred years apart. So they named the historical building after both of them.
Jemistry was getting worn down so we went back to the W and took a nap. We woke up, made love, and went to the Le Petit Theatre to see a smaller version of the musical Hair. Jemistry had never seen it but I had seen it as a child on Broadway. Some called it “The Ultimate American Rock Musical.” I felt like it was all of that and then some.
Hair is about a group of young adults in the 1960s trying to maintain a balance of love, peace, and trust during the Vietnam War era. Most of the songs are classics, like “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” “Good Morning Starshine,” and “Easy to Be Hard.”
By the end of the show, most of the audience was dancing in the aisles, including us. We had an amazing time.
* * *
We ended up staying in New Orleans until January 3rd. We brought in the New Year among the masses in Jackson Square. Allstate kicked everything off at six PM with their Fan Fest, which included a concert. At nine, Eric Lindell and the Honey Island Swamp Band performed. At one minute to midnight, the official countdown began as the fleur-de-lis descended from the roof of Jax Brewery.
Jemistry and I counted it down together.
“Happy New Year, Mrs. Harris,” I said and then kissed her for a good minute.
“I really love you, Tevin,” she yelled over the crowd. “This is the first of many years we will bring in together.”
“No doubt.” I took her hand. “Let’s go find a good spot to watch the fireworks.
We walked closer to the Mississippi River so we could watch the spectacular fireworks display. It did not disappoint.
JEMISTRY
Epilogue
“Love conquers all.”
—Virgil
TJ was born on Valentine’s Day 2014. He was twelve pounds three ounces and twenty-three inches long. I ended up having to get a Caesarean. I was happy as shit about it, too. If I had had to push him out, the world would have come to an end because I would have turned Providence Hospital out.