The Boudreaux Sisters

Chapter 3: Bonsoir.

As Jackie lay on his back, he could feel himself slowly gaining consciousness. In his surrounding environment, wherever he was, he could hear the sound of voices and pots and dishes clanging together. As if someone was cooking or preparing a meal nearby. The voices. He could tell he was still in New Orleans, by the sound of the southern Cajun accents and the subtle mixture of English and Creole being spoken. One was a deep masculine voice, older for sure. Then, there were two different feminine voices, both sounded mature but he could tell there was a younger woman present, as well. He could smell the faint scent of spices and seafood. Shrimp or crawfish, maybe? This is what awakened him.

Jackie couldn't remember the last time he had a decent meal. All of the hours that he spent walking from Baton Rouge to Tremé, he never stopped for a meal. He really didn't have the money to. That's the thing about prison; you literally leave out the same way you came in. Jackie was broke when he got locked up and he for sure walked out the same way, with only $5 to his name. That was courtesy of Isis. Every now and then, she'd put money down on his and Smitty's books. He was always thankful for that because Isis wasn't his girlfriend or his baby mother. They shared no type of history or anything like that. She just had a big heart.

Jackie's stomach began to growl and he slowly opened his eyes to try and make out his surroundings. As he opened his eyes, he found himself looking up at a wooden ceiling that fell into blue bricks as the walls. Jackie could tell the bricks had been painted

and suddenly, he began to remember. The blue bricks from outside of the voodoo shop he was standing a couple of feet from earlier. Jackie attempted to lift his head and raise his body when all of a sudden, he felt the warmth of a palm on his forehead, slowly nudging him back down.

"Shh shh, there, there," said the light but feminine voice. Jackie laid back down and began to blink his eyes as he felt the weight of someone by his legs where he lay. Jackie was finally able to gain vision and realize who it was that was sitting by him. The young woman he was staring at through the voodoo shop. He knew it was her from recognizing the green and black skirt and her dark red curls that were now flowing down her back. She had removed the head scarf she was wearing earlier. He watched her stir a wooden spoon into a steaming pot that sat on a table directly across from where he lay.

She looked back at him and smiled and said, "Well, hello there, mon ami. You took quite a tumble a couple hours ago. How you feeling?"

Jackie looked at her and was at a loss for words. He wanted to respond but, from where he lay, he could really notice her features and see that she was quite a beautiful young woman. Long, dark red curls flowing down her back, as she would take a piece and put it behind her ear every couple of seconds. Her skin was a light coffee color, like a piece of butterscotch candy. She looked at Jackie and smiled. He noticed her teeth were white and straight and her lips were full, hidden behind a lip gloss that shined.

"Can you hear me?" she questioned Jackie, while still smiling.

Jackie continued to look at the young woman as he watched her lean over him to

remove a washcloth that was laying across his forehead. Jackie could smell a faint lavender scent on her and he began chuckling to himself. Jackie responded faintly in a scratchy voice, "Why, yes mam. I can hear you and smell you. You smell amazing."

The young woman leaned back, smiled at him and took the washcloth and dipped it in the steaming pot she was stirring around. Jackie watched her wring the washcloth out, fold it and lay it across his forehead.

"This here, is an elixir of lavender and mint herbs that my daddy made. It helps to soothe and calm the nerves down, especially after a faint spell."

Jackie watched her reach over the table and grab a white coffee mug that had two tea bags in it. She blew over the tea to cool it and she passed it to Jackie.