By Alice Woodrome
Date: 5 March 2001

The Gift

"French Quarter" acrylic painting and words by Alice Woodrome (c)

It would be a gift they gave each other: a year in the French Quarter. Rita would work as a waitress for six months while Michael learned to write, and then Michael would wait tables while Rita painted. There would be music and dancing under the black lace balconies at midnight; and life would be a celebration.

Rita sold a few watercolors in a gallery on Canal Street and one of Michael's short stories was published, but neither could claim success. When the night-life lost its shine, they began to walk together at daybreak and found the subtle charm in the deserted alleys and crannies that had been overlooked in the glare of the street lamps.

Rita and Michael learned a lot about each other and about life in that year, but when it was over they were ready to move on. They still come back on their anniversary to walk hand-in-hand past the French Quarter's mysterious doorways at dawn.