Miss White woke up Christmas morning with a throbbing head, a dry mouth, and ringing ears. But no regrets. The previous night had been quite possibly the most fun she'd ever had.
It had started with Monika, Angel, Jodie, and herself taking the streetcar into town for a fabulous dinner at one of New Orleans' best restaurants. Then they'd headed down to Frenchman Street, where they drifted from nightclub to nightclub to see a series of bands, each one seemingly better than the last. There were also drinks, of course; after a while she lost track of how many. But it was of no importance. Between the music, the booze, the dancing, and the general sense of festivity, time seemed to lose all its meaning.
At one club Miss White and Monika spent a long interval standing at the bar, sipping zombies and talking occasionally as they watched Jodie and Angel dance. The two young women seemed to have a natural chemistry, and Miss White and Monika were not the only ones watching. Jodie was an enthusiastic and naturally gifted dancer, but Angel had formal training and it showed. Sometimes they danced loose and freeform, and sometimes Angel grabbed Jodie and led her; something about this made Miss White copiously wet between the legs.
It was somewhere in the wee hours when they all piled into a Lyft and headed home. Back at Monika's house Miss White and Jodie tumbled immediately into bed and fell fast asleep.
Now Miss White tentatively opened her eyes and squinted at the bedside table, hoping she'd had the foresight to put a glass of water there. She hadn't, but then her eyes alighted on the bell sitting there. Monika had told her that when she woke up, she could ring the bell and Annie would bring them breakfast in bed. She felt a little silly doing it, and the ringing sound didn't help her head any; but sure enough Annie turned up a minute later, looking chipper, bright-eyed, and beautiful in her tight uniform.
"Good morning," said Annie, curtseying slightly. "What can I get you?"
"Some water would be good to start with," said Miss White. As Annie turned to go she added, "And ice, please."
Annie quickly returned with a tall glass of ice water that she handed to Miss White, who sipped it gratefully. After thinking for a moment Annie said, "I know what you need." About 10 minutes later she was back with two gigantic Bloody Marys. She sat one down next to Miss White, who was already starting to feel better, and was cheered even further by the sight of the hair of the dog. The other drink went next to Jodie, who was only now beginning to stir.
"Now," said Annie. "What would you like to eat? Waffles, French toast, omelets? I do a very nice crab benedict, if I do say so myself."
"Mmm, that sounds nice," said Miss White, feeling her stomach growl. Looking over at Jodie, who had now managed to achieve a sitting position, she said, "Two of those?"
Jodie nodded and Annie quickly turned on her heel and was gone. "Be just a few minutes."
By the time they had finished their benedicts and Bloodys Miss White was feeling mostly restored, and when Annie returned to see if there was anything else they needed, she was sorely tempted to ask the maid to join them in bed. And Miss White got the sense that she Annie would quite happily have stripped off her uniform and jumped into the sack with them. But she didn't want to presume on Monika's hospitality and anyway it was early still; no need to be in any hurry.
After showering Miss White and Jodie got dressed and headed downstairs. They found Monika, Angel, and Annie hard at work in the kitchen. Or at least Monika and Annie were hard at work β though Angel was wearing an apron that looked very cute on her, Miss White soon noticed that she didn't seem to be doing much.
Miss White and Jodie offered to help but Monika demurred. "We're mostly done here. In fact... Annie, you can finish up, can't you?"
"Yes ma'am," chirped the maid.
Looking out the window Monika said, "It's warm out today. How about a glass of Champagne in the garden?"