“They live in a crappy world and have to do some crappy things. I don’t think I could make it even a single day in that world. How about you?”

Charlotte grimaced. “There’s never any hot water and they stay filthy. I like it better as an imaginary world. I am all about the modern conveniences we have. No makeup or lipstick. Savage.”

We listened to the piano over the steady hum of the people talking as we sat in Pat O’s patio bar, smelling the rich French sauces being prepared in the kitchen. Neither of us brought up what was really on our minds. Always on our minds - the serial killer staling the French Quarter streets. Any distraction from the searing fear gripping me and every other woman in the city was a welcome relief.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed two guys approaching us. I turned to Charlotte and said, “Incoming,” expecting them to make the usual strafing run on Charlotte and then move on.

She looked up at them and said, “Hi, Brad, wasn’t sure you were going to make it. Who’s your friend?”

Oh, shit, she knew them. It dawned on me that I’ve been ambushed. She suckered me in with the whole catch up on the Walking Dead ploy to get me here to meet this guy.

“Charlotte, I’d like you to meet Tom Sanders,” the slightly shorter one named Brad said as he gave Charlotte a knowing smile.

“Pleased to meet you, Tom. This is my friend Alexandra Lee. Would you like to join us?”

Brad and Tom both told me how happy they were to meet me. I smiled and said the same. I had a death grip on my martini and sucked a huge gulp down. Brad and Tom ordered beers and Charlotte broke the silence.

“So, Tom, what do you do?”

“I am a marine biologist,” he answered. “I’m studying the effects of the BP spill on the marine life in the Gulf.”

“You are not a native New Orleanian?” I asked.

“No, a Northern California boy.”

“Northern California. You are a long way from home. Is this your first Mardi Gras?” Charlotte asked.

“No, I’ve been in New Orleans for six years. I did my post-graduate work at Loyola. I took summer courses at LSU in Baton Rouge too.”

Tom looked at me and asked, “What do you do to pay the bills, Alexandra?”

I fidgeted with my drink cup. I was captivated by his cornflower blue eyes. He was ruggedly handsome, strong and lean. His gaze was intense, excluding the world and focusing solely on me.