Punished (14 page)

“Every time you prepare a gris-gris bag, it needs to be done in front of a simple altar that consists of the four elements: air, earth, wind and fire. This is graveyard dirt from your great-grand-mere’s grave for earth, a bowl of water, incense to represent air and the flame of a black candle for fire. Are you with me so far?”

“Yup.” I leaned in closer to the table, so I could see all the ingredients she was using.

“I’m not making it for you.” Aunt Mae shoved the materials towards me. “Each queen has to make her own gris-gris, so it caters to her specific energy. Go on now.”

I eyed the herbs, oils, and stones, completely unaware of which ones to take.

I could sense Aunt Mae observing me and felt myself flush. “You like cooking, don’t you Arelia?” she asked.

How did she know? It was an embarrassing hobby of mine. I guess that’s why I always ended up working in restaurants and hotel kitchens, so I could be close to all that amazing New Orleans food. It was just something about the way flavors and scents blended together that drove me crazy. I was really big on smells, fanatical actually.

“Maybe,” I said.

“Well, this isn’t any different from cooking, you take a little bit of this, a bit of that, every queen has her own flavor. You have to develop your own style, before you know it; all of this will come naturally to you.”

“Okay.”
 
I grabbed a bit of cypress tree roots, cayenne pepper, sulfur, my hair, snakes sheds, black beans. Seven ingredients. An odd number.

After I was done placing them in to a small cloth bag, Aunt Mae instructed me to anoint the package with Van-Van oil, and call upon Erzulie to bless it. What felt like hours later, I had made my very first gris-gris charm. How effective was it actually going to be?

“You are never to take this off.” Aunt Mae warned. “There’s no question that Louis is still roaming around. From what you told me, it seems to me that he wants to communicate with you and is using every means to do so.” She practically cut off my circulation as she tied the small charm to my wrist. “Now, go on upstairs and take a spiritual bath. You don’t have to help out with dinner, if you’re not up to it.”

“No, I want to. I want some normalcy,” I said, as I took the black seven day candle from her hand. In reality, I knew that things would never be normal again, but I wanted to pretend they were for just a while longer.

Chapter 14

I wanna marry a billionaire so frickin’ bad

After another nasty red spiritual bath, I stood outside our bedroom door and listed to a very angry Sabrina rant and rave.

“Again! This is beyond ridiculous; tell her to get over it already. The rest of us have. Everyone in New Orleans knows! They all think it’s a big joke.” There was a pause.
 

“No! That’s not fair.”

I silently entered the room and sat on a plush satin covered chair. While I towel dried my hair, I watched as Sabrina paced around the room in her favorite pink La Perla bathrobe and screamed into her phone. I knew she was talking to her dad.

“How many years has it been?!” she shrieked. “Fine!” she hung up and plopped down on the enormous bed.

“Wanna talk about it?” I cautiously asked.

“No.” She stared listlessly up at the canopy.

A firm knock on the door interrupted us and immediately perked Sabrina up. “Do you think it’s Lucus?” Her blue eyes filled with enthusiasm.

I shrugged. “Dunno.”

She quickly got up and shook out her hair, ran to the mirror and put on another layer of gooey lip-gloss.

I got up to answer the door, but she nearly tackled me before I reached it.

“No, let me get it.”

“It’s all yours.” I hoped it wasn’t him; I didn’t want to watch her fawn over him and say stupid things like heaven forefend and sugar. I needed to tell her that maybe I liked him, or did I? Why couldn’t I just make up my mind already?

Sabrina’s face dropped when she saw it was Henri on the other side. “Oh, hey.”

“Well don’t look so happy to see me.” Henri gave her a bright smile and handed her a large pink box with a puffy white bow on top. “Here, maybe this will cheer you up.”

“Is it from Lucus?” She eagerly asked, as she grabbed the box out of his hand.

“I don’t think so,” said Henri. “It was delivered just now. I’ll let you girls get ready for dinner.
 
It’s going to be a good one. I can smell the sea-food okra gumbo from here.” Henri closed his eyes and inhaled sharply before he gave us anther brilliant smile and left.

Sabrina placed the box on the bed and immediately tore open the card that came with it. After she finished reading it, she let out a huge groan and tossed it on the floor.

I picked it up, sat on the bed and read it.

Sorry, we’ll be in Morocco for longer than planned.

Enjoy the Naeem Khan and Elie Saab dresses and the new credit card; remember you’ll never be as thin as Arelia if you don’t stay on your diet.

Mom

I let out a low sigh, another present to make Sabrina forget that her parents were never around.

“Oh my god!” Sabrina’s moodiness rapidly vanished once she saw what was inside the box. She pulled out an off the shoulder pink satin gown. “It’s stunning! Classic Naeem! There’s one for you too,” she said, as she demonstrated a floor length emerald green gown. “The Naeem is mine and the Elie is yours.
 
She tossed me the green dress.”

“Thanks,” I said, as I held the extravagant dress and ran my fingers over it. Its silky, lightweight fabric felt so smooth and inviting against my freshly washed skin. I know to most people accepting ridiculously expensive presents would make them uncomfortable, but if I said I didn’t want the dress, Sabrina would never use it, and it would end up in the trash the following year.

She thought people who sold stuff on e-bay were desperate, and she would never sink to that level. I wasn’t exactly sure where I’d ever wear it, but it definitely didn’t deserve to end up in some stinky dumpster.

“Let’s wear them now!” Sabrina’s eyes gleamed.

“So we can get gumbo and Hurricanes spilt on them? We’re working remember?” I reminded her.

“Who cares? If I have to be around that snotty Mrs. Dreaux I want to look good doing it. Plus, Lucus will be there, and this will remind Ivan that he’s way beneath me, and he has no chance of ever touching me again.”

She took the dress and stood in front of the large oval mirror and did a little twirl. I had wondered when Scarlett was going to make her appearance.

Crap, for two seconds I had forgotten about the Dreauxs and Tony, I knew I would see him downstairs. I didn’t want to spend all night avoiding him and watch Sabrina drool over Lucus. I stretched myself out on the bed and thought of an excuse. “Sabrina, I don’t think I can go help out downstairs, I have a headache. I think its heatstroke or something,” I moaned. What a lame reason.

Immediately, Sabrina whipped around and eyed me suspiciously while she raised an over plucked eyebrow. “You’re lying,” she said easily.

I placed my hand on my head and made my most dramatic headache face. “No, I’m not.”

She walked over to the bed and examined me closely. “Yes, you are! You’ve never missed a day of work or school in your life.” She grabbed my wrist and started to pull me out of bed.

“No, I’m serious.” I shook her off and buried myself under the luscious duvet even though it was scorching.

“You know, I’m not going to stop tormenting you unless you come downstairs with me. I’ll start to sing,” she warned.

Oh God, Sabrina was a worse singer than I was.
 
What was my problem? I was fine running around appeasing spirits and hanging out with ghosts, so why was I being such a baby?

“Don’t, please!” I begged.

Sabrina ignored me.

I wanna marry a billionaire so frickin’ bad/ He’ll buy me all the things I never had/I wanna be on the cover of Socialite Scene smiling next to…

 
“Fine!” I surfaced from under the covers. “You win. I’ll go downstairs, but I’m not wearing that dress.”

“Yes you are, and I’m blow drying your hair and doing your make-up. Lucus is off-limits, but Tony isn’t, he’s almost as hot.”

I groaned as I sat in front of the enormous mirror and let Sabrina work her magic. A million years later, my dark hair fell into long, loose waves, and my face looked almost lady-like and presentable. Sabrina had done me up in a subtle grey smoky eye and a soft pink lip-stain, so that my large eyes and lips were highlighted, but not so much that I looked like a Mardi Gras drag queen. The Elie Saab actually fit well and didn’t hang off my thin frame; I guess that’s why it cost thousands of dollars.

I gave Sabrina a tight hug. “Thanks, even though this is going to be torture.”

She rolled her eyes. “Please, you look hot. Plus, you have Tony to play with. Now how the hell am I going to cover up this sunburn? I don’t want Lucus to freak out or anything.” She leaned in towards the mirror and poked her red skin.

As I sunk into a chair,
I wanted to scream I don’t want to play with Tony I want to play with Lucus, I think!!! I hate Tony!!!

“God, this is hideous.” Sabrina whined as she slathered on layers of foundation. The more she piled on, the faster it slid off. “I need to take another bath! Argh this heat is impossible!”

“I’m going to head downstairs; you’re going to take forever, aren’t you?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

“No, I’ll just be twenty minutes.” Sabrina lied. “But you can go ahead without me.”

“I’ll see you down there,” I said, as I turned around to leave.

“If you see Lucus, tell him to save a glass of champagne for me.”

“Sure,” I mumbled. Secretly, I shuddered at the thought of her and Lucus sipping champagne together. It was going to be
another
long night.

Chapter 15

Somebody That I Used to Know

As I made my way down the long hall, I saw Ivan come out of his room and head for the staircase. I smirked; he was finally forced to wear his penguin waiter uniform. I stopped and let him walk ahead.
 
I didn’t want him to see me and make some stupid comment. He sensed that someone was behind him and turned around. A smug smile washed over his face when he saw me.

“Queen Arelia, you look absolutely ravishing tonight.
 
Green really is your color.”

“Shut-up Ivan.” I got out of my deer in head lights pose and sprinted to the spiral stair case.

Ivan followed. “See you got all that mud off, you wash up pretty nice.” He clutched a piece of my hair and gave it a nice long sniff.

I slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch me, ever,” I said, as I recalled Aunt Mae’s warning. Never let weird people near you. I turned my back on him and practically ran down the stairs, a move that I regretted given the fact that I was wearing Sabrina’s insanely high Jimmy Choos.

Downstairs, the main floor looked unearthly. Marble floors gleamed, crystal chandeliers sparkled and the sound of a lively jazz band radiated from the ballroom along with the chatter of slightly drunk guests. Waiters buzzed around the halls as they carried flamboyant trays full of Hurricanes, Mint Juleps, Sazeracs and champagne.

It was a living, breathing fairytale, but I couldn’t help think back to the slave cabin, the rats and Louis Beau. I was beginning to understand why Lucus felt so guilty. He lived a life of incomparable luxury while Louis had lived one constrained by the ugly hand of oppression and poverty. Clearly, there were no winners in this situation.

I felt like a stiff, paranoid imposter in a fancy dress, as I made a dash for the kitchen. If I was careful maybe I could avoid Tony and the Dreauxs for the rest of the summer. Sadly, my hopes were destroyed when I clumsily ran right into Tony’s once very comforting chest.

“Arelia.” His icy blue eyes widened with shock as I crashed hard into him.

“Oh hey, what are you doing here?” I tried to act all cool and surprised, while on the inside, my stomach twisted into a thousand knots. Where was Lucus?

I didn’t want to admit it, but Tony looked good. His usually pale skin was tanned from the summer sun which made his eyes stand out more, and his sandy-blond hair was cut at just the right length. Of course, he was dressed in an expensive suit and wore too much cologne. Although he had that boring type of beauty that belonged on a Gap ad, it had driven me insane last summer.

He eyed me from head to toe while he sipped on a Sazerac. “You look beautiful,” he said, when he finally spoke.

“That’s great that you approve, hopefully your mommy and daddy do too,” I said sarcastically.

He reached out and took my hand. “I never apologized for what happened.”

I shook my hand free. “I don’t need your fake apology.”

A slight frown formed on his full lips, and for a second, he looked genuinely hurt. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

I crossed my arms and took a deep breath.

In my dreams, those were the words I had hoped to hear. A few months ago those were the words that would have made everything okay, but now nothing made sense anymore.
 

I wasn’t quite ready to accept his stupid apology. “What are you exactly sorry for, Tony? The fact that you were too embarrassed to be seen with me in public the whole time we were supposedly going out? Or are you sorry for not defending me when your mom found out and called me an inappropriate charity case in front of the entire hotel kitchen? Wait, no I think it’s because you swore that you loved me then cheated on me with Melissa just because she had mommy and daddy’s stamp of approval!”

“But…” He tried to interrupt.

“Wait, or is it because I overheard you say to your Dad that you could never be serious about a girl like me? So he had nothing to worry about. Whatever that means!”

He looked down at his shiny shoes, unable to meet my eyes.

“I thought so. You don’t even know the meaning of the word sorry. You’re pathetic,” I said, as I walked away and left him standing there.

When I got to the kitchen, I was shaking. I had waited so long to say the things I did, and while I felt liberated, I also felt a little depressed. I hadn’t expected to feel the way I did when I saw him, and that scared me. I had loved him once, and it had been painful. I never ever wanted to love him again. I just wanted him to be somebody that I used to know.

Luckily, the busy kitchen provided a convenient distraction and pulled me out of my angst for a few minutes. Cooks shuffled around mixing pots and pans full of seafood okra gumbo, shrimp creole, crawfish etouffée and red beans and rice. Counters were covered with what seemed like an infinite number of trays that held crawfish boulettes, shrimp remoulade and Louisiana crab cakes. I mindlessly watched as a couple of bartenders argued over the correct amount of rye whiskey needed to make the perfect Vieux Carre.

“So, why are you playing dress up tonight, queen?” Ivan’s arrogant voice snapped me out of my moment of peace. He idly leaned against a counter and loosened his tie.

“It’s none of your business,” I said.

“So where did you run off to today, slacking off again?”

God, what was his problem? “Why, did you miss me?” I asked.

“Don’t flatter yourself, queen.”

“Then why the hell do you care?” I couldn’t keep my mouth shut for any longer. “From the moment, we met, you’ve had it out for me, why is that?”

He shrugged. “I’ve gotta pass the time somehow. It’s a toss between watching fat Dumpty stuff his face or torment you. I choose you; you’re so much more fun.”

Thankfully, a cloud of Chanel 5 followed by a very pink Sabrina breezed into the kitchen. Dressed in her new dress, a slew of overpriced jewelry and thirty layers of makeup complete with fake lashes, she exuded confidence. That was until she saw Ivan.

“Ew,” she muttered, as she grabbed a glass of champagne off the counter and tossed it back.

Ivan gave her a smirk. “The feeling is mutual Barbie. Although, you didn’t say that the last time we were together, did you?”

“You’re such a jerk!” she shrieked, as she grabbed a Sezerac and threw it on his face.

Ivan didn’t twitch as the cocktail hit him. “I’ve been through much worse princess. Besides, a little liquor never hurt anyone.”

“You’re such an ass!” Sabrina grabbed another champagne glass before she took my hand and pulled me out of the kitchen. “God, can you believe him!”

“Sabrina, we have to go back there, they expect us to help out.” Even though I had been given a free pass for tonight, I didn’t feel comfortable lounging around and getting paid for nothing.

“We can help out in the ballroom,” she said, as she adjusted her push-up bra.

“How?”

Her eyes gleamed. “Okay, I want to see if Lucus is there,” she admitted.

I couldn’t handle the freak show that I knew was waiting for me there. Mr. Dumpty, Tony, Mrs. Dreaux and most importantly, Sabrina making not so obvious passes at Lucus.

“Please,” Sabrina begged.

It was either the freak show or Ivan in the kitchen, so of course the only choice was the less painful of the two.

Cocktail hour was in full swing in the ballroom. Before I could take in the entire scene, my view was blocked by an obviously drunk Mr. Dumpty. He wore his customary Hawaiian print shirt and too tight khaki shorts which coupled with his peeling sunburn, didn’t do him any favors.

“Don’t you ladies look lovely tonight,” he slurred, as he leered at us with his beady eyes. “That dress looks beautiful on you Sabrina. If only I could find a way to import a fine Southern Belle like you back to New York.”

“This old thing? Why you really are too kind. I’d love to see New York one day if I can stay at the right hotels, that is.” Sabrina channeled Charlotte from
The Princess and the Frog
, as she pretended she hadn’t spent the last four hours getting ready.

Mr. Dumpty quickly chugged down the rest of his Hurricane. “You wouldn’t mind doing a fat tourist from New York a favor by taking a spin with him on the dance floor?”

“I’m not sure, sugar.” Sabrina’s heavily made up eyes frantically searched the room, probably for Lucus.

“Oh, please, my wife is infatuated with the owner’s kid. Ever since, she danced the waltz with him, she hasn’t stopped talking about how much of a gentleman he is. She even had the nerve to accuse me of being a slob.”

Mr. Dumpty pointed to the corner of the ballroom where a slightly drunk Mrs. Dumpty had Lucus backed up against a wall. She had her hand on his broad shoulders and leaned dangerously close to his mouth while she spoke. It was a clear case of sexual harassment, but Lucus was so serene about the whole thing. I couldn’t help but laugh as he nodded in agreement with every word she said, not at all disgusted by her behavior.

“Well then, I’d be delighted to.” Sabrina grabbed Mr. Dumpty and dragged him onto the dance floor. It was an obvious attempt to get Lucus’ attention. Her eyes were fixed on him, as she dramatically stepped on the dance floor.

Mr. Dumpty was so excited that he carelessly tossed his glass on the floor. I sighed as I eyed the mess.

“Arelia, I see that you’re making some sort of effort to look presentable.” Mrs. Dreaux’s snotty voice interrupted my thoughts. With her hair pulled up into a severe bun and her lips painted crimson red, she looked stiff as ever. Tony stood silently by her side. He observed the mess on the floor still unable to look directly at me.

I took a deep breath and gave her a small smile.

“Playing dress up in nice, isn’t it?” She watched me, as she sipped her champagne obviously hoping for a reaction.

A flashback from last summer hit me. Tony and I had been caught making out in a broom closet and Mrs. Dreaux had been livid. She had been mortified that her absurdly privileged, only child was slumming it with the kitchen staff. She had screamed something along the lines of me being an unworthy peasant, and I had screamed back at how she was nothing but a gold-digger. Instead of being upset, she just laughed at me. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction this time around.

I cleared my throat. “Excuse me,” I said. “I have to go find someone to clean up this mess.”

 
“You seem to make a mess everywhere you go, don’t you?” She challenged me with her frosty blue eyes before I had a chance to make a run for it. “You sure made a mess last summer thinking you belonged somewhere you didn’t. Since
you’re the help
, my glass is empty go on and get me a re-fill.”

I felt like pulling her stupid bun right off her head. She stressed the word help like it was something utterly offensive. “There are plenty of waiters, I’m sure one will be happy to fill up your glass.” I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms.

She tapped her manicured nails against the champagne glass. “It’s just like you brush off your responsibilities and look for an easy way out. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re caught in the broom closet with that LaPlante boy. You’re probably secretly hoping he’ll be your next meal ticket, aren’t you?”

“Mother, that’s enough.” Tony finally got the guts to say something.

What was the point of arguing with her? Obviously, she had issues if she got her kicks out of making a teenager feel bad. Still, I couldn’t hold back the tears and was mortified when one bounced off my nose. Was I really that unworthy?

I needed fresh air. Luckily I was able to make a mad dash out the front door without attracting too much attention. Outside, the warm night gave me a sultry greeting, and the smell of honeysuckle gave me a tender kiss. I took off the stupid Jimmy Choos and ran down the oak-lined path until I found the white bench where Lucus and I had sat. At that moment, I wished that he were there with me. I wondered if Mrs. Dumpty still had him corned or if Sabrina had pounced on him. For whatever reason, I wanted desperately to talk to him. He was an awesome listener.