| |
BRIDGETTE HAD FOUND herself awake an hour before her alarm clock was set to go off. She groaned and threw the covers off of her. She may as well start her day; there was no sense in dozing off for an hour. Marquette Plantation Bed & Breakfast had been open for three months now and she had a full house. She needed to make sure there were plenty of breakfast items prepared.
She was glad that she opened the plantation as a B&B. At first, business had been slow, but it was picking up. A few of the locals did not like that the house was open to the public, but she ignored their criticisms. Those that supported her were greater than those criticizing her.
She was planning a luncheon for the Historical Society. If this went well, they were considering having their monthly meetings here, which would help her with advertising. Word of mouth was always the best form of advertising, and the members of the Historical Society loved to gossip.
As she walked into the kitchen, she noticed an unusual blue light coming from the dining room. It made the hallway appear dark and eerie. She walked into the room to see what was going on. The blue light seemed to pass through the French doors and straight outside. Following close behind, the first hints of morning light greeted her. Traces of a light fog clung low to the ground and created a ghostly and suspenseful atmosphere. The blue light hovered just above the courtyard.
Suddenly, a low moan filled the air, and it felt as if ice water washed over her. The air around her grew cold as the blue light took off and headed toward the bayou before the dense forest swallowed it. To date, this was the most bizarre occurrence she had experienced here.
*
AS BRIDGETTE ARRANGED the various breakfast pastries for the guests this morning, she heard Delores enter.
“Good morning.”
“Morning, cher. Did everything go well last night?”
“Last night was great, but this morning was strange. There seemed to be an eerie blue light hovering in the dining room early this morning. I followed it outside, but it disappeared in the woods.”
Delores gave Bridgette a warm hug, "Ah, cher, I am sure it gave you the freesons."
This statement took Bridgette's mind off her worries for a moment, "Freesons?"
“That's what we call goosebumps.”
As they talked about the strange occurrence, guests filtered in for their breakfast and coffee. One of her guests from North Carolina came up to her, “I heard that this place was haunted which is the main reason I decided to come here. I am so glad I did. Did you hear the cries this morning?”
Bridgette looked at her surprised, “You heard that?”
The lady could barely contain her excitement, “Oh yes. It woke me up from a sound sleep.”
“Oh, I am so sorry. I hope that it did not scare you.”
The lady exclaimed, “Oh my, no. I jumped out of bed to see what was going on. I stepped out onto the porch in hopes of seeing something, but, unfortunately, I did not. I am trying to convince my husband into staying another night. That is, if you have a room available for tonight.”
Bridgette wearily shook her head. She did not like that her main guests were the ones who hoped to see a ghost; she wanted them to be interested in the history here. “I will have to check and see. Why don’t you stop by the front desk after you talk to your husband? I am sure something can be arranged.”
She smiled at Bridgette, “Oh my, thank you.”
As the guest walked away, Henry, the local postmaster, walked through the front door. "Good morning, Henry. How are you doing today?"
"I am doing fine. You have a package today."
Bridgette beamed when she saw that it was from Haley. "Thank you Henry.” Waving her hand towards the buffet table, "Help yourself to some goodies and the coffee is nice and strong this morning."
"Thank you Miss Bridgette, you are too kind to me."
After Henry left, Bridgette opened the package Haley sent to her. Bridgette chuckled when she unwrapped the book. Inside the book was a card. Bridgette opened the card and snickered, "Thought you might need this to help you talk to the ghosts."
She sent a text to Haley, "Thank you so much for the book."
"I found it in New Orleans. I immediately thought of you when I saw it in the voodoo shop's window.”
"It is perfect. Mwah.”
Before Bridgette could put away her gift, there was a knock at the door. When Bridgette opened the door, she grinned at her unexpected guest. "Mr. Hebert, it is so nice to see you.”
Allen Hebert, or Tootsie as his friends called him, had been one of her dad's closest friends. He was one of the sweetest men she had ever met - besides her dad, of course.
"I hope you don't mind, cher. I just wanted to see how things were coming along,” with the sadness in his voice, he continued, "and I was missing your dad, and thought perhaps coming here would bring me closer to him."
"You are always welcome here Mr. Hebert. I miss dad too. It has been so hard living here and not thinking about them."
"Mais, I have to tell myself that they are in a better place. That your dad is no longer in pain. But some days it is hard."
Bridgette nodded her head, "Yes, sir, it is. But I know they would not want us to stay sad. They would want us to enjoy life."
Mr. Hebert's eyes brimmed with tears, "I know that in my head. Just doesn't feel that way right now."
Bridgette, overwhelmed with empathy, fought back the tears. "We’ll help each other through this. It won't always hurt this much."
Delores walked into the room, "I thought I heard your voice, Mr. Hebert. It is so nice to see you today.” Leading him into the dining room, she told him, "I fixed some crawfish etouffee for lunch. Won’t you please join us?"
Mr. Hebert laughed, "Etoufee sounds perfect.” He said in his heavy Cajun accent, "We can eat and remember our old friends as we talk."
As the three ate and remembered Bridgette’s parents, they savored their meal. Mr. Hebert stated after the meal, "Ah, c’est bon.” He wiped his mouth and put his napkin on the table. Patting his hand on his stomach, he told Delores, "It was just as good as mamere's cooking."
Delores snickered, "You crazy old coot, no one cooks better than your mere did, but I'll take the compliment."