Lena had lived in New Orleans for years. At first, she thought it was the most magical and fun place she had ever seen. Now, after living there for a while, she was rather jaded. There was too much crime, too much poverty, too much racism and things didn't seem like they were going to change anytime soon, no matter what anyone said. Especially the politicians.
When she first moved there, she was enthralled with the quaint houses and the friendly people, but now, she was discouraged by the blighted houses, the pot-holed streets and the seeming inability of most of the population to speak in proper sentences.
But that cloud seemed to lift every year at Mardi Gras. It was her favorite time of year and had been since she had first attended one almost 15 years ago. She had been a graduate student in Illinois when she and a friend had traveled to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. They had a wonderful time and Lena figured that any city that threw a party for itself was the place for her.
Everything she seemed to dislike about New Orleans was diminished by the sheer fun and pageantry of Carnival. Right after Christmas, the first signs of the upcoming season began to appear. She saw a stand with copies of the current Arthur Hardy's Mardi Gras Guide next to the register at Rite Aid. Back when she moved to New Orleans, the Rite Aids were all K & B Drug Store, their purple sign a familiar icon to everyone in New Orleans.
Years ago, the owners had sold out to Rite Aid and Lena didn't like the stores as much. They seemed to have lost their individuality. Now, she shopped at Walgreen's.
But as soon as she saw the guides, she bought 6 and sent them to her friends who lived out of town. Lena lived in a huge three-bedroom apartment on Prytania Street, 1 block off the parade route. She had gotten the place rather cheap – her rent was only $500 a month and she had lived there for almost 10 years. It was perfect. Every year at Mardi Gras, she had at least 5 visitors who came down to party with her.
Lena's collection of Mardi Gras memorabilia was extensive. She had beads, cups, doubloons, stuffed animals and other throws all over the place. She still loved catching throws and sent some off as souvenirs for friends and family.
When she bought the guides, she usually made a trip to Accent Annex and bought decorations for her apartment. She put flags and other things outside her apartment and decorated her door and purple, green and gold. She started playing her collection of Mardi Gras music and found that it always put her in a better mood. She brought king cakes once a week to work to share with her co-workers.
It was definitely her favorite time of year.
This year, only two friends had made the trip. It was nice, actually. She wasn't stumbling over sleeping bodies on the floor or waiting to use the bathroom. She had attended most of the parades the weeks up until Fat Tuesday with friends from in town. Her out of town friends had arrived the week before and they had all gone to watch Muses, their favorite all female krewe. They had some of the best throws by far. The Zulu Ball was the next night. It had been fun to dress up in their formal gowns and go watch the elite show off. Lena knew a lot of people and it was always an opportunity for her to network and see friends. They danced and partied till the end and then went down on Bourbon Street.
Lena rarely went down there unless her friends were visiting. She had a friend who played in a band at one of the clubs there and they hung out with him. They ended the night at the St. Charles Tavern, not far from where she lived. They had a great breakfast and then staggered to her place where they fell into bed about 5 a.m., knowing they would have to be up by at least noon to catch the Saturday parades.
The parades reached her block about 2 p.m. and they got up and went out to beg for throws. Endymion was going to roll the St. Charles route this year and they were excited that they wouldn't have to go to Mid-City to watch the parade. And a few of Lena's friends from Mid-City called and asked if they could come over and watch the parade with her.
Lena had fired up the barbecue grill early that afternoon and cooked ribs, chicken breasts, shrimp on skewers and veggies for her friends. They went out and bought beer and wine and ice cream for their party after the parade. They would have the leftovers to munch on the next couple of days.
The entire weekend was easy and fun. The girls were having the time of their lives. Each of them had a huge duffel bag they kept their throws in and were comparing to see who had gotten the most that year. It was a yearly competition. Lena swore that the cutest girl always got the most, and her friend Casey said it wasn't the cutest, but the most assertive.
Jane said it was the one who was brave enough to bare some skin. Jane regularly teased men by pretending to lift her shirt and then not doing it. But she was a tall, elegant redhead who turned male heads routinely. She always caught the fella's eyes. Her crown of curly red hair always made her stand out.
Casey was also tall, but she was voluptuous with full breasts and hips and a tiny waist. She was black, as was Lena, but she had light skin and hazel eyes. She wore clothes to spotlight her traffic-stopping figure and even though she was not a size 6, she got plenty of attention from men.
Lena was stretching it when she said she was 5'4". She was petite and cute. She had long reddish brown hair, braided near her scalp that fell past her shoulders in tight spiral curls. She had clear, mocha skin with big dimples and large almond-shaped dark brown eyes. She had a rounded figure with a generous butt and long legs.
All three women were knock-outs and always got catcalls and whistles when they walked down the street. But all three didn't seem to be able to sustain a relationship. Lena's limit seemed to be 2 years and then things always went south. They had decided though, that this year, they would party and enjoy themselves without giving much thought to men.
It was warm for this Mardi Gras and all three girls wore shorts and tee shirts while out watching the parades. By Monday, Jane was afraid she was going to get sunburned, but Lena broke out some sunblock for her and saved the day. Lena had taken the week off work, as she usually did. She needed to catch up on her rest after keeping late nights with her friends on a nightly basis.
Fat Tuesday was beautiful. The girls all had bought beer and offered it to the riders in Zulu for coconuts. The strategy always worked for Lena. She rarely came home from Zulu with less than 4 coconuts for her efforts. Because she knew people who rode with Zulu, this year she came home with a bumper crop of 10 coconuts, making her the winner of the competition. They dropped off the coconuts and Lena checked on the huge pot of gumbo she had left slowly simmering at home while she went to watch the parade. Jane wanted to watch Rex, much to the objections of Casey and Lena.
"Those old racist bastards don't throw shit!" Casey spat. "You catch stuff from them. You're white! Me and Lena just waste our time."
"That's not always true, you guys! Come on! Let's just hang out for a while, ok? Everybody isn't an asshole."
"I do like to see the Boeuf Gras," Lena conceded grudgingly. "Ok. Let's watch a few floats and then we'll go in and come back for the Truck Parades."
They agreed and went back to their spot.
Just as Lena got comfortable, a float rider motioned for her to lift her shirt and show him her breasts. He had a measly set of beads in his hand, hardly worth the effort.
"Bite me, you cheap bastard!" she yelled at him.
Casey laughed. "He could have at least had something nice to offer,"
"I wouldn't show my tits to any of those old bastards!" Lena fumed.
Though it was commonly thought that women bared themselves routinely during Carnival, the truth was that the tourists were the ones who partook of the vulgar custom. New Orleans women rarely showed their breasts and it almost never happened outside of the downtown area where the tourists watched parades.
The St. Charles street neighborhood where Lena lived was more of a family atmosphere with families bringing all their kids, putting up their grills and cooking food while they all watched the parades. But the men asked anyway.
Another float passed and the riders were throwing the traditional Rex beads generously for a Rex float, so Casey and Jane ran behind it, trying to catch some throws. Lena did not feel like chasing a Rex float, so she stood her ground. The float behind the one her friends chased had only a few riders on it and at the end of the float, a masked rider looked at her and motioned her closer. He held in his hand the most beautiful beads she had ever seen. They looked to be crystal and the light reflected several colors as he held them out to her.
