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Chapter 35
January 2005
In the last twenty-five
years of the twentieth century, it became apparent that the wetlands
of southern Louisiana were receding. Saltwater was intruding
closer and closer on the inhabited areas near the coast. This
saltwater was killing the marsh. Not only were these fresh- and
brackish-water marshes the incubators of the state's all-important
fisheries industry, it was also the first wall of protection
from hurricane storm surges.
Scientists and environmentalists
sounded the alarm and searched for the cause. Most pointed the
finger at man. They blamed the canals dug by the oil and gas
industry to serve the drilling rigs and to lay pipelines. Others
claimed global warming was causing the seas to rise. Projects
were demanded and lawsuits were prepared.
Just as the century
was ending, the scientific community was taken aback when studies
showed what the real cause was. It was man, but not in the way
it was originally believed.
Southern Louisiana
was built from silt - billions of tons of silt carried from half
of the United States and dumped via floodwaters by the Mississippi
River. When man moved in and used his engineering genius to tame
the raging river, he sharply reduced the threat from floods by
his levees. What man forgot was that geologic forces did not
stop.
Beneath the water,
mud, and soil of this part of the state, the silt deposited by
eons of flooding was compressed into rock - sandstone and shale.
Geologists knew this, but somehow forgot that it was still
going on. Just because flooding had ceased didn't mean gravity
stopped doing its job. It turned out that the marshes were not
washing away. They were subsiding - sinking - as sandstone and
shale continued to be made by compression. The problem was that
the replacement silt was now channeled to pour into the dark
deep off the continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico, rather
than replenish the marshes of Louisiana.
How could so many
learned minds overlook this simple cause of the problem? Scientists
didn't stop to consider their own human nature. All people, even
scientists, believe the world is perfect as they find it during
their lifetime. It's easy to pretend that the forces that created
the world - be they evolution, continental drift, geologic forces,
or solar activity - have magically ended.
Now that the cause
was discovered, the solution was obvious - silt would have to
flow again onto the marshes. But was it too late to reverse the
trend? Studies were commissioned, and it was soon discovered
that, while the situation was dire, it was not hopeless. A river
diversion project on the east bank in southern Plaquemine Parish
proved that non-stop flooding over a year could make up for decades
of mismanagement. The predicament was solvable.
But it would be
very expensive. Diversion gates and pipelines would have to be
built. Towns such as Lafitte would have to be protected. Lastly,
and most costly of all, was the fate of the landowners in the
vast Barataria Bay estuary. Some land would have to be sacrificed
to save the whole, and property would have to be purchased. Billions
would be needed from the Congress of the United States, a Congress
that wasn't convinced this was a national priority, despite the
efforts of the Louisiana delegation.
Meanwhile, a more
immediate crisis surfaced. A routine check of the lakefront levees,
using the latest in GPS technology, showed that they weren't
uniformly fifteen feet. Some portions had subsided as much as
two feet. Obviously, the same forces that had damaged the marshes
had endangered the city. Money was diverted from other Corps
projects to restore those levees. The new southern levees in
Jefferson Parish would just have to wait for funding in the future.
The same technology
showed that the city as a whole had subsided. Between the lack
of new silt and the lower water table caused by the closure and
filling in of navigable commercial waterways through what was
now the central part of the city, the average overall elevation
of New Orleans had dropped from above sea level to about one-to-two
feet below.
No worries, said the Corps. The beefed-up
levee system will protect you.
~*~*~
On the Monday morning
following the Epicureans Ball, Will Darcy was just sitting down
at his desk to review the maintenance reports when his intercom
buzzed.
"Yes, Barbara?"
he asked his assistant.
"Elizabeth
Boudreaux on line one."
Will looked at the
phone in surprise. Over the weekend, he had replayed their dance
over and over in his head. He was sure that Lizzy had enjoyed
herself and his company. Her playful admonition at the end of
the ball gave him hope. He had wrestled with himself as to when,
not if, to call her. The weekend was too soon, he reasoned,
while later in the week was too long. Monday seemed right. He
would call her to ask if she had enjoyed herself, and then feel
her out through conversation to see whether or not she would
be interested in having dinner with him. Phoning her first thing
in the morning seemed too eager, so he had planned to call in
the afternoon.
And now she was
calling him. Was he wrong? Was she upset? Or maybe - she just
beat him to the punch? Only one way to find out.
"Thanks, Barbara."
Will punched the button for line one. "Hello, Lizzy."
"Hi, Will.
I hope I'm not bothering you. I'm calling for a couple of reasons.
First, I want to thank you so much for inviting me to the Epicureans
Ball. I had a wonderful time. Oh, and before I forget, Charlotte
thanks you, too."
Will could tell
from her voice that she was smiling - smiling that bewitching
smile he had admired so many years ago. "It was my pleasure,
Lizzy. I enjoyed myself, too." He decided to let the French
incident lie; no sense bringing that up again - at least, not
now.
"I'm glad
you did, because I want to repay you by asking you to have lunch
with me."
Would this woman
ever cease to amaze him? "I'd…I'd like that very much.
When would you want to do this?"
"How about
Wednesday?"
Darcy checked his
schedule. "No, I'm afraid Wednesday's booked. How about
Thursday?"
"Oh, later
in the week's not good for me."
"Well, darn."
He returned to his calendar. "When are you free next week?"
There was a pause.
"Umm…I know this is last minute, but are you free
today?"
Will started. Today?
He looked at the schedule. "We're in luck - I'm completely
at your disposal."
"Oh, good!"
"Shall I meet
you in the lobby of your building?"
"That would
be just fine. Say a quarter of twelve?"
"I'll see you
then, Lizzy."
"Bye, Will."
Will hung up his
phone and sat back with an amazed look on his face.
Well, I'll be
damned.
~*~*~
It was seldom cold
in Louisiana; but, when it was, the high humidity made it unbearable.
William decided to drive the ten blocks to Elizabeth's office
building rather than freeze in the breezy mid-thirties outside.
He parked in the garage and was in the lobby five minutes early.
He took a seat in one of the upholstered chairs, preparing himself
for his lunch date.
Remember, you
have a hard time reading Elizabeth. Let her take the lead. Don't
push, but be open. See what happens. And whatever you do, don't
screw it up!
He couldn't know
that Elizabeth was having a similar conversation with herself
in the elevator.
He teased me
at the ball - that's a good thing, right? So, maybe he's still
interested in me. Don't go all gooey and silly. Wait for the
right opportunity to apologize. Then we'll see what we'll see.
Oh, my nerves!
Lizzy walked out
of the elevator and scanned the lobby for William. She saw him
almost immediately, sitting comfortably in one of the armchairs,
wearing a charcoal gray overcoat over a black suit. She swallowed
and approached him with a cheerful smile.
"Hi, Will!
Have you been waiting long?"
Will leapt to his
feet. "No, I just got here." He smiled at her for a
moment. "Well, where shall we go?"
Lizzy gazed at the
cold, damp weather outside with disappointment. "Would it
be all right if we had lunch here? The cafeteria upstairs isn't
too bad."
"I'll take
your word for it. Lead the way." The two walked to the elevators,
Will removing his overcoat as he walked. A car opened just as
they approached. "Must have seen you coming," Will
remarked.
They had the car
to themselves and as they rode to the upper floor Lizzy explained
that, while the cafeteria was provided by the insurance company
that took up most of the building, it was open to all. "We're
really lucky to have it, especially on days like this."
"Do you eat
there often?"
"Maybe once
a week. I meet Mari there a lot. She works here, you know. Sometimes
Char joins us."
"But not today."
Lizzy smiled. "No,
not today."
The door opened,
and they joined the lunchtime crowd. Will got a plate of the
traditional Monday special of red beans and rice, while Lizzy
helped herself to the salad bar. Grabbing a couple of iced teas,
they were soon at the check-out line.
"My treat,
remember?" Lizzy said as she pulled out her wallet.
"You got it,"
Will responded. This time.
They were able to
find a table next to the bank of windows that overlooked Poydras
Street. "What a lovely view of the rain," Lizzy laughed.
"Ugh. Glad
we decided to stay here."
"How are the
red beans?"
Will tasted the
concoction of creamy beans, smoky sausage, and white rice. "Not
bad, but it needs a bit of hot sauce."
"We have a
lot of visitors here from out of town, so the food's a little
on the bland side."
"No big deal,
as long as we have this," Will said as he liberally sprinkled
his plate with Crystal cayenne pepper sauce that he grabbed from
the table. He tried it again. "Ah, that hits the spot."
Lizzy munched her
salad. "I like Crystal better than Tabasco; it's easier
to control. You can use too much Tabasco real quick."
"Yeah, but
they taste different. Gotta have Tabasco with my oysters."
"What's your
favorite place to get oysters?"
Will thought for
a moment. "Acme Oyster House is pretty consistent. But for
charbroiled oysters, I go to the source."
"Drago's!"
they said in unison.
"Those are
SO good, I could eat a dozen all by myself," Lizzy cried.
"I HAVE eaten
a dozen all by myself," Will admitted, "and a dozen
raw to chase them down." He patted his midsection. "Not
too often, mind you."
They talked of their
favorite seafood haunts for a couple of minutes while they ate.
Nothing unusual about that - in New Orleans, it was perfectly
suitable luncheon conversation to talk about where one ate the
day before and to discuss where one would have dinner later.
In most parts of the world, people ate to live, but in the Big
Easy, the residents truly lived to eat.
After exhausting
the subject, Will asked, "So, did you have a good time at
the ball?"
"Oh, yes. It
was very nice of you to invite us, especially on such a night."
At his quizzical look, she added, "It was a big night for
your family, with your sister on the court and your uncle as
king."
"Oh, that.
Well, yes, I'm glad you got to share in that. It was a big night
for Gina."
This gave Lizzy
the opportunity to find out the answer to the question that had
been bothering her. "She seems to be a very nice girl. You
must be proud of her."
"Yes, I am.
Except for the Fitzwilliams, she's the only family I have. We're
very close."
How close? Does
she know about me? About what I wrote? "Thank you for introducing us."
Will smiled. "You're
welcome, but I was glad to have Gina meet my friends."
Friends. The word was like a happy bubble in
Lizzy's throat. "Was she disappointed that she wasn't picked
to be queen?"
Will's eyebrows
went up a fraction. "Oh, no. In fact, if you want to know
the truth, she let Uncle Edward know that she wasn't interested
in being queen."
"Really? Isn't
that why people join krewes, for the opportunity of having their
daughters on the court, or be crowned queen?"
"Yeah. Dad
always wanted Gina to be a part of the krewe if that's what she
wanted. But Gina didn't need to be queen, you know what I mean?
Several of the girls on the court went to school with Gina, and
she knew a couple of them wanted to be queen badly. Their folks
were in the krewe as long as us Darcys; they had just as much
right as Gina did. So, Gina let it be known she wasn't interested."
"Do you think
she might have decided differently if your dad… Oh! I'm
sorry!"
Will's expression
was undisturbed. "It's okay. I can talk about him."
He thought for a second. "She might have done it for Dad."
"You were really
close to your father."
"Yeah. I don't
think a day goes by when I don't miss him. I see something, and
wish he were there so we could talk about it. Take the last Sugar
Bowl. He would have loved watching Gina go all War Eagle-nuts
over Auburn as they played Virginia Tech. I could just hear him
chuckling in that kind, loving way of his."
Lizzy's heart was
in her mouth. She felt that she had to reinforce the apology
in her letter, and now was the opportunity to do it. She reached
over to Will, her fingers just brushing his. He glanced up in
surprise, his dark eyes filled with wonder. She tried to form
the words.
"William…"
"Hi, Lizzy!
Mind if I join you? WHOA! Will!"
The two turned to
see Marianne, a tray in her hands, standing not five feet away.
"Hello, Mari,"
said Will. Lizzy was unable to say anything, vacillating between
annoyance and relief at her friend, realizing that the perfect
time to have a very uncomfortable talk with Will had come and
gone.
"You guys are
having lunch together?" Mari's eyes were as big as saucers.
"Yeah."
Will turned to Lizzy, an eyebrow raised. What do we do?
Lizzy smiled sheepishly
and shrugged. "Why don't you join us, Mari?"
"Thanks, but
I don't want to disturb you." A nervous grin threatened
to break out.
"It's okay,"
Will assured her. "Grab a seat."
"All right,"
Mari responded. She took a seat next to Lizzy, across from Will.
"So, what's the occasion?"
Will grinned, showing
his dimples. "Lizzy invited me to lunch."
"It's to say
thank-you for the invitations to the Epicureans Ball last week."
Lizzy was trying hard not to notice those dimples, as they seemed
to have the same effect on her as they did in college.
"Oh, boy. Do
I feel like a third wheel," Mari complained. "I should
get another table."
"Nonsense.
We're just friends having lunch. Right, Will?" Lizzy couldn't
help but bite her lip.
Will noticed the
gesture, and had to fight the urge to laugh. "Of course.
It's great to see you again, Mari."
"Well, if you
guys are all right about this." She smiled. "So tell
me all about the ball!"
Lizzy complied,
and the next fifteen minutes were spent in rehashing the events
of Friday night. As Lizzy went into great detail over Will's
Monty Python routine, Mari laughed so hard she was sure the eyes
of everyone in the cafeteria were on her.
"You didn't!"
Mari spurted. "Did you?"
Will scowled at
her. "You don't believe it? 'I don't wanna talk to you no
more, you empty-headed, animal food trough wiper! Now, go away,
or I shall taunt you a second time!'1" Mari lost it again,
and Lizzy almost fell off her chair.
The three recited
their favorite lines from the Monty Python troupe, and Lizzy
wiped her eyes after Mari's rendition of "The Lumberjack
Song."2
Mari blushed. "Okay,
now that I've thoroughly embarrassed myself in front of all my
co-workers, rescue me by telling me more about the ball,"
"Well, I got
to meet Will's sister, Gina."
Mari tried to hide
her surprise. "Wow. Sounds like a night. I wish I'd seen
tall, dark, and handsome here with corn for ears."
"I can be hired,"
Darcy said dryly. "I'm available for weddings, birthdays,
and bar mitzvahs."
"I'll remember
that for the wedding."
Lizzy turned to
Mari. "By the way, since you've got two of the wedding party
here, how's the planning going?"
"Fine. We've
booked Chris' family's church in Lafayette for Saturday, August
27. We'll have a rehearsal late on Friday the 26th. Still looking
at dresses. And, of course, there's the pre-marriage class."
She frowned. "You Catholics are sure making it hard for
a body to get married."
"Suck it up,"
Will said good-naturedly. "No jumping-over-the-broomstick
for us."
Lizzy asked, "Do
you have to take the classes in Lafayette?"
"No, that's
one relief. We got permission to take 'em here in New Orleans.
We start next week."
Lizzy faked a pout.
"Let's get to the important stuff. What about the bridesmaid
dresses?"
Mari smiled. "When
I pick my dress, then we'll pick yours."
"But what about
the color?"
"Don't worry.
You'll like it."
"Good."
"I'm thinking
orange."
"Orange!
Mari!"
"Chartreuse?"
Will glanced at
his watch. "As much as I would love to watch the cat fight
about to break out, I've got to go. Conference call in about
a half-hour. Mari, it was great to see you." He got to his
feet, his eyes on Lizzy. "Lizzy, thanks for lunch. I owe
you."
Lizzy also got to
her feet. "No, it was my pleasure."
"Nevertheless…"
he took a breath, "will you have dinner with me?"
Lizzy blinked. Will's
asking me on a date? Breathe, Lizzy! "I'd…I'd love
to! When?"
Mari sat frozen
to the spot as she witnessed the interaction. She couldn't decide
whether to jump up and scream for joy, or to slide under the
table in mortification.
Will released the
breath he was holding. "Saturday night?"
Lizzy's face fell.
"I can't! I'm leaving in a couple of days for Washington,
DC, to help with the Mardi Gras Ball."
"I thought
the Washington Mardi Gras Ball was next week."
"It is. But
Carl, Eddie, and I thought we'd get in a little lobbying for
Federal City and the National Finance Center while we're up there.
Are you going?"
"I can't -
I've got too much on my plate."
"How about
after I get back?"
Mari looked on in
amusement as the two techno-nerds dug out their BlackBerries.
"No good," said Will, as he managed the little screen.
"I've got to fly to Asia on a sales trip. Then, as soon
as I get back, I'm taking Gina to Vail over Carnival."
Lizzy looked at
her PDA with disappointment. "Then I'll have to take a rain
check until after Mardi Gras."
"I'm sorry,
Lizzy. Look, I'll make it up to you."
A small smile broke
out on Lizzy's face. "Really?"
"Yeah. How
about Emeril's after I get back? I'll get a nice table."
She raised an eyebrow
as she grinned. "All right - as long as it's a nice
table."
Will smiled at her
teasing. "I gotta go. Can I send you an email?"
"Sure."
She lifted her cheek to be kissed. As soon as it was done, she
wished she had been bolder and offered her lips instead. "I'll
walk you out. Mari, I'll be right back."
"Go, go! Don't
mind me!" Mari cried, holding back the giggle in her throat.
Will insisted on
carrying her tray, so Lizzy walked beside him. They delivered
the trays to the drop-off station and Lizzy escorted Will to
the elevators. She thought she would have the chance to speak
to him, but the waiting area was crowded.
The down arrow lit
up and the doors opened. "Will," Lizzy said, "thank
you for joining me on such short notice."
Will's smile was
relaxed, but his eyes were not. "Any time, Lizzy. I'm looking
forward to dinner."
Lizzy gave in to
the impulse and reached up to kiss him on his left dimple. Will's
eyes were wide open as she pulled back. "Bye," she
said.
Will touched his
cheek, a smile dancing on his surprised face. "Bye,"
he answered as he got on board the elevator. They locked eyes
as the doors shut.
Mari looked up to
see a very happy Lizzy return to the table. "Oh, Lizzy,
I'm SO sorry about horning in on your date!"
"That's all
right, Mari."
Mari smiled. "Well,
I think it turned out okay. You look pleased with yourself!"
Lizzy grinned. "I
am."
~*~*~
Lizzy checked her
email account upon her return to her desk.
To: eboudreaux@edno.org
From: wgd@deltaglobalshipping.com
Lizzy,
Just a note
to let you know how much I enjoyed lunch and being with you.
Good luck in DC and I'll see you after I get back from CO.
Will
PS - My personal
email is willtulane@cajunnet.net
PPS - I owe
you something. :)
-------
Sent by BlackBerry
at 1305 CST
Her coworkers were
surprised to hear a whoop of joy from Lizzy's office.
~*~*~
Rabbi Tuckmann's
office was large enough for a sofa on the far side from his desk.
Although his secretary accused him of using the sofa for the
occasional afternoon nap, it was intended for the people who
came to him for counseling. George Katz, however, preferred to
use one of the armchairs next to it.
Tuckmann quickly
glanced at his notes. This was George's second visit, and the
first without his wife.
"So, how are
things, George?" he asked.
"Good. Everything's
fine." George sat upright, his hands clenched in his lap.
"Good."
Tuckmann made a note. "And everyone at home?"
"Much better,"
George admitted. "Emma's much happier. We're talking more,
like we haven't done in years."
"And how does
that make you feel?"
"Me? Good.
I mean, Emma's happy; I'm happy. Isn't that the way it's supposed
to be?"
"Do you think
so?"
George sighed. He
hated these therapist games. "Yes, that's what I want out
of my marriage."
Tuckmann wrote again,
and George resisted the temptation of reaching over and grabbing
the notebook out of his hands. "And Abe?"
George blinked.
"Umm…Abe is…Abe. The same."
"Really?"
George thought.
"No, that's not quite true. He's been very involved in the
renovations. Drawing up the plans, working with the contactors.
It's like…" his voice trailed off.
"Yes?"
"It's like
how he was before he got sick. Engaged - involved." He grinned.
"He's been pretty good during this whole thing with all
the workers in the house tearing things up. He hasn't complained
a bit."
The rabbi checked
his notes. "Are you getting out of the house more?"
"Yeah. Last
Saturday we - Emma, Abe and I - went to an RV show." He
chuckled. "Never in a million years would I have thought
I'd go to an RV show. Emma's idea of roughing it is to drive
a subcompact to the Ritz. But we had a blast. Abe was all over
those things. He couldn't believe how much the designers could
cram into a motor home or a fifth-wheel. You know, we saw one
fifth-wheel that had a real, operating fireplace. Can you believe
that?"
"Sounds like
you had a good time."
"We did. Course,
we'll never buy one of those things, but…" he looked
out the window, "it's good to get out of your comfort zone,
you know what I mean?"
"Yes, I do."
"Next week,
Emma and I are going to do something, just by ourselves this
time. We've both lived around here all our lives, yet we've never
visited the plantation houses up the river. So, we're going on
a road trip, playing tourist in our own back yard. We're going
to spend the night at Nottoway Plantation and Inn over in White
Castle."
"That's a beautiful
place. Any issues over leaving Abe alone?"
"No. Things
went well over Christmas. Mrs. Taylor stopped by every day to
make something for him to eat. We'll do the same thing this time."
"Have you resolved
your worries over money?"
"Trying to.
The trip to St. Martin and the renovations cost plenty, and I
don't like our savings depleted to such an extent…but…"
he sighed, "having Emma back, the way she was when we got
engaged…" He smiled. "I've got the rest of my
life to make money, right?"
Rabbi Tuckmann smiled
as he nodded. "I believe that's all for today. Shall we
make it the same time next week?"
~*~*~
1 - from Monty
Python and the Holy Grail.
2 - "The Lumberjack Song" by Terry Jones, Michael
Palin, and Fred Tomlinson.
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