Gator, Ham, and the others of SW stared at the four-page list of needs for the Mardi Gras celebrations.
“Holy shit, that’s a lot of stuff,” smirked Jak.
“Yes, well, our grandmother is the one demanding that this be done. We could use some help if your folks are available,” said Luke.
“We’ve got quite a few people available,” said Gator. “In fact, we need to get some of them off the property because they’re driving their wives crazy.”
“Not just wives, but potential wives,” smirked Jak.
“Are we talking about Finnegan?” smiled Eric. They all nodded. Eric could only laugh. The poor bastard was totally smitten with Willa Avery but she was consumed with finals for her master’s degree program, plus working full-time at the hospital. If he loved her, he’d be patient and wait.
“Great, we’ll take Finn for sure,” said Hex. “We can either divide up the list or we can give it to y’all to divide up.”
“No, no,” said Gator shaking his head. “Your list, your math. You do the dividing.”
“Okay, let’s give these guys something to do,” said Eric.
It took longer than they thought to divide out the list. Some of the things required finesse and negotiation. Others simply required a big truck with refrigeration for the seafood.
With the list finally divided and the teams understanding their mission, they headed to all parts of the New Orleans area to collect the items needed for an epic Belle Fleur Mardi Gras event.
Finn didn’t complain about being sent into town. It was a nice distraction. Once he and Willa Avery had declared their affection for one another, it seemed as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Then she told him to go away.
“Go away?” he frowned. She laughed, shaking her head.
“Not away, away,” she smiled. “I just need to be able to finish my exams for my master’s and help at the hospital.”
So, he gave her space knowing that she was just a stone’s throw from his own cottage. While some of the other men wandered toward different locations for their orders, Finn had to endure the crowds of the Quarter.
The big parades wouldn’t happen until the two weeks before Mardi Gras but that didn’t seem to matter to the thousands of people crammed into the Quarter for one of the lesser-known parades.
“Finnegan Jordan, what-choo doin’ brother?” smirked the man behind the counter.
“It’s that time, Dori. Trying to gather a few things for the Mardi Gras flotilla.”
“Y’all still doin’ that even without Irene and Matthew?” Finn just smiled, nodding a sad nod.
“In their memory, brother. I need to order some cups and beads if you still got some,” said Finn.
“Sure, sure. Come on over to this counter and I’ll show you what I got.”
Dori pulled out all the beads and cups he had for this year’s parades. Finn was looking for something generic. No names of krewes or parades on it. They just wanted to do something that had the Mardi Gras colors and maybe the year on it.
“These should work,” said Finn.
“How many?”
“Five thousand of each,” said Finn.
“Five thousand?” screeched the man. “Finn, y’all shoulda got your order to me sooner.”
“Come on, man. I know you can do it,” he smiled. “For Mama Irene and Matthew.” Finn crossed his fingers and toes, hoping the little white lie didn’t end with him in hell.
“Fine, fine. I’ll have ‘em for ‘ya. Come back Friday and I’ll have it all ready for ‘ya.”
“I knew you could do it,” he laughed. “See you later, Dori.”
