As dawn broke over New Orleans, the large pink clouds of early morning rushed through the skies as a hot wind blew steadily from the south. All over the bayou the moist warm sea breeze heated up the city up like boiling cauldron. Steam rose from the slick wet cobblestones of the French Quarter as the rain had briefly cooled things down overnight. This slight respite from the sauna like weather was rapidly evaporating under the blazing morning sun as it rose higher in the sky. Sitting uncomfortably on a cold hard metal chair in the very air-conditioned psych ward of Tulane Medical Center, Marie Duchamp grew increasingly irritated as the attending nurse took her vital signs as she shivered.
Calling out to an assistant the nurse said "Ok, blood pressure normal, check." Before slipping off the sleeve of the monitoring device from Marie's arm she looked down at her patient.
"OK Ms. Duchamp, the attending Doctor will be in in just a few minutes to ask you some questions and I think you will be out of here soon."
"Look Bitch I am not crazy! You need to let me out of here right now before I call my lawyer. Get my boyfriend RIGHT NOW!" Marie growled as the nurse turned towards the door.
The nurse had seen this many times before. Looking over at her patient she knew this was a fairly routine situation and her patient would be released in just a few minutes. Seeing her long dreadlocks, she smirked as she thought to herself "Probably shouldn't have dropped all that acid last night and then you would not be in here. LSD seems so like psychosis if you don't perform a blood test."
The nurse had seen Marie raving the day before and the contrast to her state now could not have been more dramatic. The contrast was so stark her thought that this episode had been drug induced seemed perfectly reasonable. Before she had seemed possessed, almost a perfect candidate for committal as a multiple personality disorder patient. Today she seemed as cold stone sober as a nun. How many people had she seen this happen to before and yet it was so avoidable? The fastest way to find yourself under a twenty-four-hour automatic detainment for observation is to have a drug induced breakdown in public in a hospital. Fearing lawsuits, once this was observed they were legally bound to act.
"You will be out very soon Ma'am. All you have to do is have a quick interview with the resident psychiatrist and answer a couple of questions and you can be on your way." Marie, hearing this shook with rage and tried to stand, only be prevented by the restraining straps on her chair. Sighing she sat back down and closed her eyes, focusing on getting out of there as soon as possible.
"See, you are as good as home already." The nurse winked as she went out the door.
Sitting for five minutes, which seemed like five hours, she bit her tongue and forced a fake smile on her face when Dr. Schwartz came into the room. Looking barely old enough to vote, much less be a doctor, she sighed as he came into the room and looked at her chart.
"So, Ms......" he paused while he read her chart and then stopped, remembering his training. "Yes, why don't I ask YOU. Can you tell me your name?"
"My name is Marie Duchamp"
"Good, Good!" Dr. Schwartz answered as he checked a box on her chart. "And if you don't mind answering a few more questions..."
"Yes, let me guess. The year is 2014 and the President is Barack Obama, right? Do I pass? Can I get out of here now?"
Smiling, Dr. Schwartz leaned down and undid the fastener on the restraints and Marie lifted her wrists up and scratched her nose furiously. Obviously whatever episode she had had the night before was not psychosis. Her answers to the questions eliminated any legal threshold they had to keep her and as he turned to update her chart he said that she could go. Turning back to speak to her he only saw a blur as she burst out the door.
Furiously racing down the hall into the lobby when Captain Tony saw her burst through the door, her eyes blazing and hair flying, he was both relieved and slightly unnerved.
"You OK, Boo? I was worried about you!" he said as she stormed into the room. Normally quite reserved and calm, Marie looked like she could spit nails.
"Get the car" she responded flatly and coldly. Knowing better than to argue with her when she was like this, Tony ran out the visitors entrance to retrieve his vehicle. Standing alone on the sidewalk while she waited, Marie felt her head grow light again as another vision was preparing to show itself. Mustering all her strength she fought the sensations and was able to stop it before it began. In all of the years she had had her gift and performed channeling ceremonies, she had never had the experience she had had over the past two days. Normally once in her trance she would glimpse the other side for just a second, perhaps a minute at best and then collapse in exhaustion. This time it was much much different. Far from being brief, she found she could not stop the visions as they kept coming and not from just one spirit source but several. Reliving the humiliation of being in the nuthouse, she fumed as Captain Tony pulled up in his car.
Seeing him arrive she did have to smile as he pulled up and received countless double takes. His car fit his persona perfectly. In keeping with naval attire his 1974 Cadillac looked more like a small boat than a large car. White as ivory with a red leather interior as he pulled up with the top down he definitely was creating a stir.
"Boo, let's get out of here!" he said as he flashed his pearly white teeth in the morning sun. "I am ready to take you home. After what you have been through, you need to rest."
Stepping into the passenger seat she sat down and said "Before we go home, we need to take a trip."
Pulling out of the parking lot and out onto the street he asked "Sure thing, were to?"
"My mother's house."
Uncharacteristically Tony's award winning smile disappeared. "Dear God why? That is at least two hours away."
"Yes, I know, but I need her help. Last night was the first time the spirits ever got into me and would not let go. Hell, I still keep flashing into a trance as they are quite strong. She or my grandmother are the only two people I know that will be able to tell me what to do about this."
Grimacing, Tony nodded and headed north out of the city. The drive to Marie's family's house would be very long as they lived far out in the Bayou seventy-five miles north of New Orleans. He did not look forward to the trip, but as he looked over at his girlfriend and saw the look of concern on her face he knew she wanted to go and perhaps they could help.
Pulling out onto the main highway the suburbs melted away as the landscape was replaced by endless swamp and Spanish Moss encrusted trees. Having the top down made the drive more enjoyable and looking over at Marie he could see she was starting to untense.
Placing his hand on her bare knee Captain Tony smiled and said "You have me real worried at the hospital Boo. Once you went into that last trance and they threw you into the psych ward I was afraid you would not come out. I raised such hell they threatened to arrest me if I did not leave."
Smiling back at him she said "I know. I was in and out of that trance the whole time that was happening and it was very frustrating. I knew when they asked me the three questions and I got them all wrong I was going to be locked up, but know this, they can only hold you for twenty-four hours."
"Three questions? What three questions."
"They can only hold you for psychiatric evaluation if you answer three questions wrong; who is the President of the United States, what year is it and what is your name."
Laughing Tony's curiosity was piqued. "Just out of curiosity, how did you answer."
"For the President I said Thomas Jefferson, for the year I said 1808 and for my name I said Martina Laveau."
"That answer will get you in the nuthouse in no time!" Tony chuckled. "Was that the woman you channeled at Gus's house."
"She was, but then when we were at the hospital I sensed, I saw, it is all so fuzzy, but I remember seeing another vision. This one was much stronger and deeper and was not a remnant but an active spirit. I sense she is dangerous and I think Gus may be in danger. This is beyond my skills, hence the reason for the trip to the Bayou."
"Understood love" Tony replied. "But after you talk to your Mom, I want to get you home and put you in bed for a few days. You really did scare me back there and ghosts or no ghosts I am not going to jeopardize your health."
