Anniversaries
A New Orleans Magick Story
by Tal Greywolf

---

"You've Got Mail."

The old man turned around in surprised, his attention suddenly shifted away from
the customer in the store.  Over in the corner, the computer flashed a little
mailbox icon, indicating a new message had arrived for him.

He completed dealing with his customer, a young man who had decided to purchase
a horsehair bracelet for his girlfriend.  The man had suggested wanting to
'horse around' with his girlfriend, and the old man recommended the bracelet.
Later on, they'd both discover that horsing around was literal in this case, but
by then the old man would be far away from the area.

Going over to the computer, he brought up his mail program and read the message.
Whoever sent him the mail must have known how to reach him.  There weren't many
who even knew where he was, much less knew about his net access.

His eyes scanned the message, then slowly he started to chuckle. "Oh, my," he
said to himself.  "This could be quite interesting."  His plans suddenly were
changed, as he had a party now to attend.

---

"Sirra?"

Rajah looked up from the tome he was working on, his eyes fixed on the young
page standing in the doorway.  "Yes, my child?"

She moved forward and dropped to one knee, bowing in supplication before her
master.  "A message has arrived for you," she in a low voice, and held out a
scroll in her hand.  Rajah took the scroll from her, and opened it up to read.

A sound of surprise came from him, then a low laugh.  "Well, well," he said,
making the page look up at him.  He smiled at her and gave a sly wink.  "Tell
the rest of the council I'll be away for a day or two," he informed her.  "It
seems I have been invited to a very special event."

---

The rustle of papers filled the room as Marco sorted through his mail.  Odd, how
even being a vampire can't keep from stopping offers from coming to him.
Everything from sweepstakes to refinancing mortgages to the latest catalogues
clotted his mailbox.  Junk mail, he thought. The bane of the modern age,
drowning civilization in piles of four-color glossy images and mass offerings.

One item caught his eye.  A simple, cream-colored envelope with a local
postmark, but no return address.  His own name and address had been neatly
written using a calligraphy pen, which spoke either for eccentric behavior or
trying to tickle his vanity.  Likely the second, but Marco knew enough
eccentrics through the years.

He reached for the letter opener, and slid out the single sheet of paper within.
Reading the message, he let out a soft whistle, then stood up from his desk and
headed into the living room.  Tasha was sitting there, watching her favorite
soap opera on the television.

"Tasha, what's our plans for Friday?"

She looked up at him.  "Nothing that I can recall, why?"

Marco gave her a warm grin.  "We're going out to dinner."

---

"Rhiannon?  This is Gregory."

"Greg!  I was going to call you.  Did you get a letter yesterday?"

"That's what I wanted to talk with you about.  I just got off the phone with
Marsha, she got the same invitation."

"Marco did as well, and so did Henry, Raynard and Diane, and a few others I know
about."

"Angela over at the NOPD dropped by here at work, asking me about it.  Whoever
sent it out sent it to all the folks who either know them or had met them in
passing."

"Yeah, or is good friends with them.  Thought about what you're giving for a
present?"

"I've got something in mind, but what do you give someone who's able to have
anything they want?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something.  Anyways, Angie's going shopping with me
over at Lakeside, so we'll drop by later to give you a lift home."

"Thanks, I'll need it after today.  See you two later."

---

Andrew blinked at the special card and note, then handed it back to Aluria.  "A
special anniversary dinner?"

"That's what it says."  Aluria looked as puzzled at the card as he was.  "I
didn't think anyone knew when our anniversary was, but someone found out.  The
place that'll be holding the dinner is Bayona on Dauphine, and all they said was
that the gift was from an anonymous benefactor."

"Huh."  Andrew shook his head.  "Well, I'll admit I was thinking about taking
you out to dinner for our anniversary, but it looks like someone beat me to the
punch."

Aluria giggled, and lightly swatted Andrew.  "You'll find another way to treat
me."

"What, as if I don't already treat you well enough?"  Andrew grinned, and gave
her a light tickling.  She squealed, and faded into mist.

"Watch it, I know where you live," she said, swirling playfully around him.
Andrew giggled, tickled from all direction by the playful djinna.

---

"Now, we have a special event scheduled for the upstairs room."  The matre'd
passed out a sheet to the rest of the staff.  "First arrivals are scheduled for
around 7:30pm and are to be directed via the side entrance.  The main guests of
honor are expected at 8:30pm, and will be escorted to the upstairs room.

"Several of the attendees will likely have rather unusual requirements as far as
meals go.  Any questions can be directed to myself or to the chef, as we've had
prior experiences with the individuals in question."  He glanced at the small
collection of waiters and waitresses, all nodding in understanding.

"Remember, this is meant to be a very special dinner for the guests of honor,
which means we should do our best to make it worthwhile for those attending it.
Any questions?"  At the silence from the gathered, he nodded.  "Good.  Let's
make this a night worth remembering."

---

Paul Martin sat in the room, surveying the arrangement.  So far, everything
looked perfect, from the table settings to the decorations on the wall.  A
signal from a small remote would unfurl the banner, and party favors were close
at hand for everyone to use.  With a touch of luck, tonight would turn out to be
one of his best party arrangements.

"Paul, where do you want this?"

He turned to look at a young woman standing with a box in her hands.  She was
dressed in a formal gown, with a bit of Hellenic style to the design.  Paul went
over and took the box from her, smiling a bit.

"You shouldn't have brought that up here, Tina," he replied, his voice light
with amusement.  "It could have waited a while."

"Well, I wanted to make sure nothing was left in the car," Tina replied, looking
about the room and nodding in appreciation.  "Looks good," she added in
approval.

"Thanks."  Paul surveyed the room one more time, the name plaques positioned in
front of each seat, names that in some cases he recognized.  Marco Deloitte, for
instance, one of the richest men in New Orleans.  Others he knew in passing or
from previous events he had arranged.

"So how is everything going?" a voice said close by.  Paul turned to see James,
James Martin, walking over to him from the main door.

"Everything is ready for tonight," Paul said.  "I take it you handled sending
out the invitations?"

James gave a sly grin.  "Oh, everyone who needed to be notified has been."  He
looked around and nodded in appreciation.  "Thanks for your help with this," he
added.

---

By 8pm the majority of folks had arrived, and the conversation was lively.
James walked around from table to table, greeting folks and catching up with the
latest news.  Paul and Tina were busy in a deep conversation with Rhiannon,
Gregory listening with amusement, while Henry Voss was talking shop with Rajah.
James merely chuckled at that, hearing the conversation go from English to
German to Persian randomly.

Glancing at his watch, he noticed the time and rapped a glass, bringing the
conversations to a halt.  "Folks, I know you all are catching up with each
other, but I'd like to say that our guests of honor are about to arrive.  So,
without further ado, let's warmly welcome Andrew and Aluria Davis."

At that very moment, the two individuals appeared in the main entrance, both
dressed in formal outfits.  There was a cheer from the party attendees, making
both of them blush visibly as James led them to their table.  At the same time,
the staff of Bayona began to serve everyone their meals, going from person to
person with precision.  The smells of the meals filled the air and folks
murmured with appreciation at the work the chefs had performed for tonight.

But before anyone could enjoy their meals, James called for everyone's attention
once more.  He stood on a small podium, so that everyone could see him with
ease.

"Ladies, gentlemen, honored guests and naturally our dear couple, tonight is the
20th anniversary of Andrew and Aluria's marriage.  And we are gathered here to
celebrate that union, one that's been filled with love and compassion.  But
there is another anniversary that we must also recognize, one that we all
experienced.

"As you know, next week will be the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.  It
was one of the worst disasters that this city had ever experienced, more so than
storms such as Betsy and the 1947 hurricane.  Many lives were lost from the
storm, some were good friends who we knew and cared for."  Several heads nodded
at that, recalling the losses that still hurt.  Marsha and her wolf pack,
Marco's fellow vampires, Diana and the loss of Metamorphos.

"We all felt the pain not only from individual losses, but the very soul of the
city was damaged.  But souls and cities heal over time, and so has our city, the
place we love, the home we have, the love that we all share for our community,
both the mundane and magickal.  And we will continue to heal, to make our place
a better home, and to reach out to those who hear the call of this place and
welcome them with open arms.

"So here is to New Orleans, with all its scars that are still healing to this
day.  We've seen the worst, and the best in ourselves, in others, and we will
never forget."  He lifted a glass from the table before him, and held it up.
"To our New Orleans, long may it live, grow and love."

"Hear hear!"  That came from Marco, who held up his glass.  "To New Orleans!"

"To New Orleans!"  The cheer shook the walls of the dining room, and echoed
outside, making passing tourists look up in wonder.

---

The rest of the dinner and party progressed quickly, and James felt quite
satisfied.  It wasn't until the end that Andrew and Aluria managed to come over
to where he was sitting, and catch his attention.

"This was your doing, wasn't it?"  Andrew didn't exactly make it an accusation,
but James grinned back.

"Come on, you know me.  You think I was going to pass up a chance to give you
two a reminder of just how many folks care about you?"

Aluria laughed at his words.  "James, you are incorrigible.  But speaking for
both of us, thank you for tonight."

James grinned.  "Oh, I'm not done yet."  He reached into his vest, and pulled
out an envelope.  "Two all-expense paid tickets for you two on a Carnival Cruise
to Mexico next month.  Since I seem to recall you wanted to go see the Mayan
temples, I thought it'd be a perfect time for you both."

Andrew took the envelope from James.  "You know we owe you for this," he said.

"You two don't owe me a thing."  James was firm.  "Just enjoy yourselves.  Now,
shoo!  Go say hi to the folks you haven't had a chance to yet."

Aluria giggled, and they both left him to himself.  He sighed gently, then shook
his head.  He glanced at his watch, then stood up and started to walk out of the
room.  He managed to make it to the steps when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Marsha stood there as he turned out, a surprised look on his face.  "Mind if I
join you?" she said as she took his hand in hers.

"I suppose not," James said, walking slowly down the stairs and through the door
onto Dauphine, the tourists having mostly disappeared or wandering about Bourbon
St.  They walked towards Canal St. where James' car was parked.

"That was nice, what you did tonight," Marsha said quietly.  James tilted his
head a bit, then chuckled.

"You always know when I'm involved, don't you?"

"Oh, come on, this has your scent all over it."  Marsha grinned at James as she
slipped in the passenger side while James got behind the wheel.  "Besides, you
can't hide it that well.  Maybe others might guess, but I know."

"That's what I get for having a werewolf for a lover," he chuckled, navigating
his way onto Magazine St.

"I don't hear complaints from you, wolf or human."  Marsha winked warmly.  "Care
to have a run with me through Audubon Park?"

He leaned to kiss her for a moment before going back to paying attention to
driving.  "Maybe tomorrow night, wolf.  Right now, I think a good night's sleep
is what I need.  But first, I need to get us safely home, with no distractions."

She let out a soft sigh.  "Ok, it's a date," she said, leaning against him.
"And no more distractions."

---

Anniversaries
copyright 2015, Tal Greywolf
All rights reserved