Travelers

Chapter 7

Chapter 7
 
Merry-
After horseback riding Benedict and I walked into the apartment. Benedict groaned and said,"I am so sore! Why is this even considered fun?!" I laughed and said,"well you city folk have gotten weak." I watched as he slowly sat down on the couch. He said,"well I wasn't meant to be on a 6 foot something horse for six hours!" I laughed and said,"well looks like you could use the shower first." He said," I can't move. It hurts to bad." I went to him and pulled him up. I said,"stop being so weak. You should try riding for 12 hours straight on a cattle drive for three days." He groaned again and say,"never!" I said,"just for that. We are gonna do a cattle drive sooner or later." He ran awkwardly from the room and into the bathroom. I plopped down on the couch and turned on the tv. After Benedict got out of the shower I went to shower.
  After I got out I walked in the living room only to see two people  with Benedict, who was siting in the couch. One of the men had a gun to his head... the other man was my brother. I said,"what in the world is going on here?" Jerry looked at me and said,"your coming home." I said,"no. No I'm not. Leave." Jerry said,"I'll deal with you in a minute. Right now... I have to kill this one." I walked over to the other man and stood in front of him. I said,"you want to kill him, you'll have to shoot me first." The man looked quickly to Jerry. He knew he wasn't aloud to hurt me in anyway. I said,"Jerry. This is my life. You chose to lead the family business. Tom chose to be a drunk. And I chose to live my life as I choose." Jerry said,"sis, we are trying to protect you." I said, my voice raised," PROTECTING ME? How was mother making me work 24/7 protecting me? How was her keeping me in the building for weeks on end without leaving, protecting me? HOW IS her hitting me after every stupid mistake I make because I refuse to take part in the business, protecting me?!" Jerry looked shocked. After a minute he said,"Merry... I didn't know." I turned and said,"just go away." Jerry said," okay... call if your in trouble." Him and his friend left. I said,"are you okay?" He nodded and stood up, grimacing from being sore.(rather like how a pregnant lady stands up.) It was very funny. He said,"are you?" I said,"I've moved on. We should probably leave today... sorry to cut the beach short." He hugged me and said,"ah we can go to another beach later on. When you can get in the water." I blushed and said,"uh... okay." I pulled back and we both went into our rooms to pack. Once we were packed Benedict said," I got us last minute tickets on a plane to New Orleans, Louisiana. We can stop at McDonalds fin the way to the airport." I said,"NOLA! Here we come!"

Benedict-
  After three and a half hour flight to New Orleans we got our stuff and found a hotel. Merry said it was called the French Quarters. That they were the best hotels in the city. We both stood on the balcony and watched the night excitement getting started. It was 9 o'clock now. I said," I heard how much they party here, but I didn't think they partied for no reason..." Merry laughed and said," welcome to New Orleans then. Where everything is an excuse to get together for gumbo, good jaz music, and a good party." I asked,"what's the excuse now??" She said," I think it's... the day before a dragon boat festival..." I asked," dragon boat festival?" She said,"where they row dragon boats like I'm the old days. To the beat of a drum. It's cool to see." The people were drinking and dancing around, whereing all sorts of  clothes. Merry said,"I don't think it's a good idea to go down there. There's a reason it's called sin city..." I asked," is called sin city? Why?" She said,"cause everyone gets drunk and does some bad things. Let's stay up here tonight." I said,"okay." We watched everything going on below in the streets till midnight and then decided to go to bed.
  When I got up Merry was in the shower so I walked back over to the balcony. The party was still going, but with a lot less volume... as most people ad already left drunk. When I walked back in Merry was just walking out of the bathroom. I went to shower while she went back in her room. When I got out of the shower I saw Merry had a facial on and was doing her nails. I said," you look like a zombie." She glared at me and said," I should smear some of this on your face. You could use it." She smirked as I said," ooohh no! Not getting me." She said," relax. My nails are wet so I can't do anything. That saying really is true." The last part she mumbled to herself. I asked,"what saying?" She said,"they say a woman is only weak when her nails are wet.which is so true." She laughed. I said," so what's up for today?" She said,"well... want to see those dragon boat races?" I said," definitely!" She said,"then we can have lunch at one of the restaurants here... speaking of food. Can you grab my water that's boiling on the stove and pour it into the oatmeal."

Merry-
  Benedict got up, poured the water and brought it over to me. I said,"thanks. After lunch we could do one of the river ferry. The view is pretty as the sun sets." Benedict laughed and said,"looks like you've been planning to come to New Orleans for a while." I blow my nails and say,"NOLA fascinates me. The history is fascinating." I wave my hands around, trying to dry my nails faster. I eat my oatmeal carefully then take off my face mask in the bathroom. I say,"it's 9:45... the dragon races start at 10. Are you ready?" He says,"yep." We both grab our backpacks, walk out of the French  , and down the street. We made our way around the drunk people still partying. We walked to the end of the street where a Trolly was rolling by. We ran and jumped on. We jumped off a few streets over. There was already a crowd gathering to watch. We quickly find a good place so we can see. At 10:00 on the dot the gong struck and the dragon boats took off. Each boat had its own drum and the rowers rowed to the sound of the drum. After an hour one of the dragon boats finally won. We walked towards one of the restaurants. We sat down at one of the tables outside. Someone walked over to take our orders. I order something that was hard to pronounce and Benedict ordered the same. After the waiter took our orders and left I asked,"what did you think of the dragon boat races?" He said," it was interesting to watch. I've never seen a dragon boat race." After a few minutes the waiter brought our food and we bit into it. Benedict immediately gulped down half of his water. He said,"wahh?" I laughed for a full five minutes. I asked,"do British people not eat spicy food?" He said," this isn't spicy! This is like lava!" I said," this is nothing. They'll eat the peppers whole as if they were candy. Even I can't take that. But you should order something else." He asked," what ISNT spicy here?" I said," well... the roast beef sandwiche." He nodded and ordered a roast beef when the waiter came back. I asked," How long do you want to stay in NOLA." He said," I don't know. When ever you want to leave. This city is what you want to see, I love to see what makes it so amazing it stands out to THE MERRY...hold up! " I asked," what?" He said," I don't even know your last name!" I laughed and said," My full name is Merry Beth Johnson. What's yours?" He said?"Benedict John Martin." I said," I can't believe we are just NOW getting to last names. Wow" he said,"yeah... You call New Orleans NOLA. What does that stand for?" I swallowed the food in my mouth and said," Now Orleans, Louisiana. NOLA." He said," oh duhhh." The waiter brought him his sandwiche and he started to eat. I said,"  well, on the ferry ride there is ballroom dancing, classicical music, and dinner as the sun sets. It's one of those blast from the past rides. Then we could watch the parade tonight. Anything you want to see?" He said," nah, I'm super excited for our next stop, Houston , Texas. We can hang out here for however long." I said," why not leave first thing in the morning. A full day is good... WIAT!" He looked startled and said," what?" I said," I have to go get a New Orleans t shirt. Be right back. I'm gonna go across the street toute one." He nods and I walk across the street to a gift shop. I quickly spot a "New Orleans, Louisiana. 1718." When I walked back over to Benedict he was done eating and was waiting on me.

Benedict-
When Merry got back we walked to the ferry which was already boarding and got in. It was interesting to say the least. We were given "costumes" old fashioned ones. 1950s I think. We both change and start to explore the ferry. We first see the main deck we're the slow classical music was playing quietly while people mingled and drank. The second deck there was high paced music for dancing. Merry and I immediately began to dance. We both were pretty bad at it though.
  After dancing we ate dinner and then watched the sun set over the Mississippi River. Once we had changed, the boat docked, and we got off. We rode a trolley back to the Main Street where a parade was going by. We watched them till 11:00 then went up to our room in the French Quarters and went to bed.