Feeling foolish Lilly blushed. The memory of Renee’s jeering comment about Roland dipping his wick in the working girls on Bourbon Street, echoed in Lilly’a mind. A red haze filled her vision for a moment. The voices of her friends calling her name brought her back to herself. She looked at Roland, waiting for a sign he wanted her to stay. He was looking at Madeline, Gemma, Forest, and Owen smiling and waving.
Forest gave a thumb’s up and said, “Good show!”
Lilly lingered by the stage for a minute waiting for Roland to invite her to the bus, or ask to come to her apartment. “My friends are leaving, I better go.”
Roland looked at the stage and said, “Yea, okay. Oh, by the way, tomorrow night I want you to come to a party with me. It’s a party and a drumming ritual. We are playing the early set here and heading to the party afterwards. Can you meet me here, around 10PM?”
“I’d rather you come to Panthea’s and we go together from there, Lilly said.”
“That would be a good idea, but the party is close to the Dream Palace. If you feel uncomfortable walking through the Quarter at night, I will come by and we can go from Panthea’s.”
Lilly blushed, bit her bottom lip and she shook her head. “No, that’s not necessary. If the party is close by it makes sense for me to meet you here.”
Roland nodded in agreement as Lilly ran to catch up with Madeline, Gemma and the guys as they headed out the door. “Hey,” Lilly called as she caught up with her friends. “Did ya’ll notice any prostitutes in the Dream Palace tonight?”
Madeline’s guffaw was followed by Owen’s deep laugh. Forest walked beside Lilly and looked serious. “I don’t know if they are prostitutes on the side, but I did see a couple of strippers from Big Daddy’s in there. Maybe they make extra money turning tricks on their night off.”
Gemma’s head swiveled around as she glared at Forest for a minute, “How do you know strippers from Big Daddy’s?” Forest looked sheepish, caught up with her, and put his arm around her waist.
Madeline put her arm through Lilly’s, seeing her shiver. “Lilly, my sweet innocent friend, you are going to have to toughen up. When you are seeing a musician, you can expect the groupies are going to surround him, flirt with him and try to get into bed with him. This is the French Quarter, so you have to know the prostitutes are going to be offering their wares also.”
Lilly gave half a laugh, “Is that what you call it, their wares?”
Both girls giggled for a moment. Madeline put on her serious face and looked at Lilly, “If you are going to be his old lady, you have to learn to trust or you will drive yourself crazy. Remember, nothing repels a musician like a jealous old lady.”
Lilly shrugged, “I’m not his old lady. I have no real claim on him or he on me. I have no reason to be jealous.”
Madeline laughed, “You may keep telling yourself that sister, but I have seen the magick between you. The love vibes are alive and well.” Lilly smiled as they made their way home to Panthea’s.
Chapter 22
The Order of Interplanetary Adepts
The Green Man Band finished their set around 10 the next evening. Roland stood on the sidewalk in front of the Dream Palace and looked around for Lilly. She hadn’t arrived so he waited as the rest of the band headed to the party. It was unlike her to be late. She was always so eager to please and ready for new experiences. She had been upset after her run in with her ex-husband at Valentines. Maybe she decided it was too risky to walk down to Frenchman Street. He didn’t want her to get caught up in some godawful drama or get hurt. He paced a bit, berating himself for not going to Panthea’s and walking with her to the party. ‘You are a fool! You don’t make your lady walk alone to meet you, you go get her!’ There was nothing he could do, but hope things were cool.
He had been pacing for a few minutes when he heard footsteps running toward him. He opened his arms to embraced Lilly as he saw her running up the sidewalk. “I’m sorry Roland. I was with Gemma, we were talking and I didn’t realize it was so late.”
Roland held her close and kissed the top of her head. He reluctantly released her from his embrace, “It’s okay, I should have come to get you. I’m sorry for making you walk through The Quarter alone.”
Lilly looked puzzled and out of breath. “How far is it to the party?”
“A couple of blocks on the other side of Esplanade ave.. I have the address. He took a wadded piece of paper out of the pocket of his jeans and showed it to Lilly. Bhodi Sala Temple, 627 Rue Ursaline she read as he put his arm around her waist, pulled her close and began to walk.
Within minutes they stood in front of an open set of ornate iron gates. The sound of music drew them into a huge courtyard. Tiny white lights draped the upstairs balcony overlooking the courtyard. Tiki Torches flamed in the courtyard and groups of candles flickered on tables grouped to one side. A large vat of punch and a tray of cookies stood in the center of a table.
Lilly and Roland made their way through the festively attired guests to the refreshments. They drank deeply of the punch and grabbed a few cookies. Roland took Lilly’s hand and drew her up the stairs to the balcony overlooking the courtyard.
They stood arm in arm watching the stream of people pour through the gates bedecked with Mardi Gras bead and multi-colored capes, their arms filled with drums and rattles. The drummers gathered together and a
