Slipping into her fluffy pink bath robe, she lay on her bed and closed her eyes. Several hours later she woke, made coffee and sat cross legged on her bed. She placed the Priestess crystal on a tiny hook on the window and watched it catch a ray of sunshine and splash a violet tinted rainbow on the wall.
Her flute lay on top of the nearby dresser. She picked it up and lifted it to her lips. The music flowed effortlessly as she closed her eyes and let the music come.
In her mind’s eye, the room filled with iridescent butterflies floating through the air. Marveling at the musical vision, she silently thanked Roland. Playing music with him had opened a portal of magickal visions and music. Sheet music was a thing of the past. It seemed she only had to close her eyes and let the music pour forth.
The sun was beginning its descent into twilight when Lilly put the flute away and thought about getting some food. She was getting dressed when there was a knock on the door. Looking through the peep hole, she recognized Mr. Marlon Brando look alike, Lucky. She threw open the door and smiled broadly. Lucky returned her smile and stood looking into her eyes. ‘What is with this guy and the eye contact?’ she wondered. “Hi Lucky, what can I do for you?”
She stepped back and Lucky stepped into the living room. “A few of us are going out on my sailboat. We are going to have dinner on the boat, watch the moon rise and look for shooting stars. You know, it will be far out.”
“Far out, huh? I’m ready for something far out. When do we leave?”
Lilly climbed into Lucky’s VW van along with Forest, Owen and Gemma. “Hey, Lucky can we drive down Frenchman Street? If Roland is around, I’d love for him to join us.”
The VW bus drove slowly past the Dream Palace and stopped in front of Valentines. Lilly hopped out of the van and knocked on the door to the bus. There was no answer.
She got back in the VW van and shrugged, “He’s not here. He’s going to miss a good time.”
Lilly sat quietly as Lucky drove and her friends chatted, exchanging stories about their Mardi Gras adventures.
When the van turned onto Pontchartrain Blvd Lilly called out, “Hey everyone! From now on I want ya’ll to call me Lilly. I’ve been going by Lyla as my crazy ex-husband and his family were looking for me. They are a dangerous bunch so I’ve been keeping a low profile. Now, it’a over. I am free to be myself. Please, call me, Lilly.”
Her friends called out, “Hi Lilly!” and the riders in the VW bus dissolved into laughter. A few minutes later they were carrying baskets of food, bottles of wine and packs of beer as they climbed aboard Lucky’s thirtysix foot sailboat, Cat Eye.
They set sail as the sun dipped into Lake Pontchartrain. The water was smooth as glass forcing the Cat Eye to rely on her engines to propel them into the lake. Leaning back on a cushioned bench in the luxurious cockpit, Lilly watched the stars as they appeared one by one on a canopy of indigo blue. She lifted her glass of wine and sniffed the sweet aroma. Lucky lit a fat, oily joint and passed it around. Lilly took deep breaths of the briny sea air, closed her eyes and smiled to herself. “My life is practically perfect. I’ve got a good man, a job, an apartment, a beautiful flute and friends. It’s smooth sailing from now on.”
The wind picked up as they ate dinner on the aft deck. Lilly shivered and Lucky grabbed a blanket. His arm went around her shoulders with the blanket and stayed there. His arm tightened slightly around her shoulders as he spoke quietly in her ear, “Did you bring your flute?”
Lilly shook her head. “No, I wish I had.”
Lucky shrugged, “Okay. I’ve got an instrument and I thought it would be nice if you had the flute. That’s cool. You can sit back and enjoy the trip.” He disappeared below deck and reappeared with a violin. He sat near her, put the beautiful instrument under his chin, ran the bow over the strings and tightened one of the keys. The next thing Lilly knew, the night was filled with pure enchantment.
Lilly watched Lucky play his violin, mesmerized. ‘Who is this guy?’ she thought to herself, ‘and how does he own a huge sailboat?’
After the shocking news about Alex in the morning, the red wine, powerful pot, good food, violin music, hours on the water and the celestial beauty of the crescent moon, Lilly leaned back and drifted, falling deeper and deeper into a state of total relaxation. Her head nodded to one side as her breath slowed and she fell into peace.
Opening her eyes, the first thing she was aware of was her world rocking crazily. Climbing out of a narrow bed, she instantly fell to the floor. She was on her hands and knees when Lucky pulled aside a curtain and helped her up. “You don’t have your sea legs yet,” he explained.
“What happened? The water was so calm?”
“It was calm last night,” Lucky explained. “The wind picked up this morning and it is getting rough. We are heading back and will be in the marina by 4:30 or so.”
Lilly looked at him incredulously. “We slept on the boat?”
“Yep. Everyone was tired and wasted, including the pilot, he said pointing to himself.
“What time is it now?”
Lucky looked at his wrist watch, almost 3 o’clock.”
“What, I’ve been sleeping all
