"All right!" "Awesome, man." "That was just awesome." "Yeah, you're right." "The legendary Coco Robicheaux, live in the studio on this beautiful December morning here at the reconstituted, rededicated, relocated WWOZ in the completely soulless faux French Market, a shameful shell and shadow of its former self." "What's up with that, bro?" "Are they gonna let OZ go back to Armstrong Park?" "I don't think so, bro." "I don't see it." "Not in the cards." "You don't get the good ancestor vibe up here." "All tourists and T-shirts." "Hey, you're preaching to the choir, man." "You're preaching to the choir." "So... what are you doing there?" "Tell the folks at home, Coco, a little play by play." "Well, if OZ can't go back to Congo Square, we're gonna bring Congo Square to OZ." "Bringing the mountain to Mohammed sort of thing." "By lighting these spirit candles... we're gonna summon Erzulie Dantor to us." "Cool." "Coco Robicheaux runs the voodoo down live." "Coco, this Azalea chick who's gonna drop by..." "Erzulie Dantor." " The loa of New Orleans." " The loa." "Yes, indeed, a loa, just what we need." "The black Madonna, the beautiful mulattress whose earthly incarnation was Marie Laveau." "The voodoo queen of New Orleans." "Cool." "And... the loa of lesbians everywhere." "Lesbians." "Very cool." "Coco, didn't you burn your apartment down some years ago... candles," "Café Brasil?" " Hopefully that ain't gonna happen here." " Yeah." "Oh my God!" "What?" "It's a chicken... a chicken." "It's a live chicken." "Ladies and gentlemen, a live chicken in the studio." "The loa needs proof of our devotion." "Yeah, what woman doesn't?" "Ah, Barbancourt." "OK, that would be..." "that would be a knife." "It's a big one." "Are we... entering some sacrificial realm here?" "Why don't you play the next cut on that CD as I summon the spirits?" "OK." "Me trying to scramble my breakfast on a hot plate." "Life on the frontier." "Excuse me." "Hang on, hang on." "Let me turn down the radio." "Oh, who knows?" "Entergy says there's still water in the lines." "God, Julie, you're a life-saver." "Fantastic." "Thanks." "Shit." "Shit." "Shit." "Mom is sure, but Sheriff says he never had him." "Sheriff said nothing went wrong at OPP too." "Most of the OPP prisoners went to Hunt up in St. Gabriel." "Yeah, and after Hunt, DOC dispersed them." "I know that." "All over the great state of Louisiana." "But how can I find him, Andi?" "That's what I'm asking." "Which parish?" "Well, it's not like the state exactly kept track of who went where." "Didn't even really know who is who." "The prisoners had wristbands, but they took 'em off, stole 'em." "And all the records underwater..." "So we've been going parish to parish filing motions compelling the local sheriffs to provide us with a list of all the names of OPP prisoners in their custody." "So if Daymo got picked up just before the storm..." "Something minor?" "He's doing Katrina time in East Jesus." "Most likely he'll be released for time served once you find him." "Family hasn't heard from him?" " Still at the same number?" " His mom is." "We found inmates incarcerated for months not given a phone call." "That's disturbing." "I'll start on it this week, Miss LaDonna, guarantee." "I've been hearing that song." "You know what else I've been hearing?" "That goddamn blue plastic tarp flapping around my roof." "I hear it in my sleep." "When are you gonna get started for real?" "I need more money for shingles." "Mister, I already gave you money for shingles." "I had to use that for something else." "Emergency." "Somebody else's roof." "This here is an emergency too, Mr. Riley, feel me?" "My roof is the only roof you need to be worried about today, tomorrow and the next day." "Yes, ma'am." "Understood." "I'm going to Baton Rouge to see my kids and my husband." "I'm back tomorrow." "If that roof ain't right, I'm going courtside on y'all." "Shingles will be here." "I swear." "I've seen worse." "What'd you get up in here?" "A foot, a foot and a half?" " Bad enough." "No insurance." " No insurance?" "No flood insurance." "The bank said I didn't need it." "I'm on piers, me." "Never thought I'd get water up in here." " Ain't like Gentilly where you're at." " Yeah, well." "You sure you want to sheetrock over all this?" "It gets wet, you gotta gut it again." "In these old houses they knew what they was doing." "Cypress, plaster." "Floods, just air it out." "This plaster's not in bad shape." " Look at it." "It's all cracked and shit." " I can fix that for you." " Expensive?" " You want it done right?" "Let me think about it." "I mean, what's the chances it's gonna flood again?" " What's the chances it won't?" " Might be easier just to sheetrock it." " Easier, yeah." "But you'll ruin the profile." " Ain't that what people do?" "Tack sheetrock over perfectly good plaster?" "Sure." "People do a lot of dumb shit 'cause it's easier." " Let me think about it, all right?" " All right." "Got errands to run next couple of days on my lunch break." " You gonna be here?" " Yeah, not a problem." " Thank you." " Thank you." " Thanks a lot, guys." " That was fantastic." "Where are y'all from?" " Wisconsin." " Yeah, Madison." " Been here before?" " First time in New Orleans." "For me too." "Well, it's different, huh, from Wisconsin?" " Oh, yeah, way different." " Yeah, definitely." "We came down with our church group." "To, you know, gut houses and stuff." "God bless." "We want you to know we really appreciate what y'all are doing for New Orleans." " We wanted to help save it." " Totally, yeah." "Good luck with that." "When we saw everything in the news, what was going on in the Ninth Ward..." " I mean, it's just so awful." " So heartbreaking." "Yeah, yeah, everybody talking about the Lower Ninth." " Sonny." " Let me ask you something." "You ever even heard of the Ninth Ward before the storm?" " Well..." " So why are you so fired up about it now?" "Anybody have any requests?" "What about, I don't know, something authentic?" "Something authentic." "Real New Orleans music?" " When The Saints Go Marching In?" " I love that song." " OK." " That's real, isn't it?" "Yeah, yeah, Saints is real all right." "Saints is as real as it gets." "The thing is, traditionally, Saints is extra." " How come?" " Well..." "Because every cheesehead from Chowderland wants to hear Saints." "He's kidding." "We love to play Saints." "Yeah, we do." "It's hip." "It sends us." "You know, you don't even have to play it." "We do." "You requested it." "Actually... you said Saints, not us." "20 bucks." "But only if you like it." "Annie." "The good doctor." "Yeah, a little voodoo dirge to brighten up the day." "An homage to you and Coco." "That was historic, man." "Darnell thought so too, but just not in a positive sense." " Right." " I had to remind him it was radio and that you couldn't actually see the blood spurt." "Yeah, best left to the imagination." "I did what I could with soap and water, but you might want to paint over." "Oh, hell, no, man." "I say we leave it up there for the sheer gris-gris of it." "Don't fuck with it." "That's bad juju." "Darnell doesn't get it, man." "That was some deep New Orleans shit." "You can't plan that kind of magic." "The man has no sense of theater." "So few do." "Take care, Davis." "All right." "Can I help you?" "Yeah." "I'm looking for George Cotrell." "He ain't been back." "Keeping an eye on his house till he comes home." " You heard from him?" " Nah." " Any idea where he at?" " My cousin says Oklahoma City." "Oklahoma City?" "Man." "Yeah, right." "He'll be back, though, when he get tired o' eating that food." "Where I'm at." "You hear from him, tell him his chief is looking for him." "Big Chief Lambreaux, huh?" "I heard George talk about you." "How can I reach your cousin?" "Robbie?" "Man, he's still working on getting a phone, him." "Shit." "Where he staying at?" " Calliope." " Calliope?" "The Calliope closed." "All the projects closed." "Squatting." "Man, Robbie been squatting down there." "All right." "Peace, baby." ""In accordance with university policy."" "I mean, look at this." "It's unbelievable." "Two departments, like that." "160 tenured professors." " How can they do that?" " How can they do that?" "Well, they can and they have and they did." "It is a done deal." "Gone." "Civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science." "I mean, sure." "Why would the university train people who know how to build things like, oh, say, computer systems, power grids, levees?" "Hey, who needs them?" " Seems kind of crazy." " Gee, you think?" "I mean, look what they're keeping." "Musical theater, digital media, medieval studies, women's studies," "Jewish studies, African studies." "It's all about identity." "Let's not learn how to actually do anything." "Let's just sit and contemplate the glory of me in all my complexities." ""Who am I?" ""I am black Jewish woman." "Hear me roar."" "Jesus, what else?" "Russian." "Can't get along in the world without that." "Portuguese." "Well, that actually could come in handy in case any Brazilians come up here looking for Mardi Gras work." " What about English?" " We're useless." "We're safe." "I heard they might cut the grad program." "Listen, if you have to transfer somewhere to finish your dissertation, I'll keep working with you." "Fuck, I might even go with you." "The thought of teaching intro lit to a bunch of freshmen who haven't read anything more challenging than Harry fucking Potter makes me want to puke." "Maybe I'll just chuck teaching altogether and finish my novel." " The one about the flood?" " The 1927 flood, right." "You know, what the hell?" "I'm already 250 pages in." "Maybe it's time to tackle that bad boy again." "Couldn't be more topical, right?" "Davis, didn't we recently float you a sizable sum?" "Right after Thanksgiving. $750." " Thank you, Melba." " Thank you, Melba. 700." "Pop owed me 50 from the LSU-Alabama game." "Would you mind bringing in the plants from the patio?" "What for?" "Radio says there's a hard freeze warning tonight." "That's for the Northshore, sugar." "They'll be all right." "I'll cover 'em." "My situation became untenable." "Darling, what does that mean?" "Davis." " Papa." " Roger." "Davis needs a new job." "No, a loan." "I need a loan." " What happened to WWOZ?" " I'm moving on." "Well, maybe you can find something that pays an actual salary." "They paid me." "Senior staff." "Fundraising expertise." "Plus, you forget, I have my gigs." "Everyone's looking for good help." "That's true." "The city is desperate, darling." "One of my patients mentioned something." "A hotel in the Quarter." " What about the loan?" " Contingent upon." "All right." "We got bills to pay." "I'm trying, baby." "What can I say, Desiree?" "I got a job." "Difference between a gig and a job, Antoine." "You gotta get a job." "I got a job." "I'm with Kermit." "That's a gig once a week and it don't pay enough." "And you come home smelling like cigarettes and pussy." "Now, you see, that ain't true." "That ain't pussy." "Well, what is it if it ain't pussy?" " Barbecue." " Barbecue?" "Yeah, Kermit's barbecue." "Kermit barbecue tastes right, but not that right." "Some people swear by it." " Where are you going?" " I got a gig, all right?" "A gig, not a job." " In Algiers." "Don't wait up." " A gig in Algiers?" "Algiers, all the way to the West Bank." "For you, girl, I'm crossing mighty rivers and shit." "Get a job job, God damn it." " Tyrell!" " Yes, ma'am." "Get your ass in this house!" "Toni's working with these lawyers." "They're checking all the parishes." "Alcide, elbows." "You tell your mama?" "I don't want to get her hopes up, not till we know for sure." " Know what?" " Where your Uncle David at." "How's the roof?" "The contractor'll say for sure when I get back tomorrow." "You're leaving tomorrow?" "Don't do that, Alcide." "Don't sulk." "I'll be back next week." "I have to check on Nanan, take care of the bar." "You know, your mother could move up here, be close to the kids." "She should move up here." "There's no doctors, there's no hospitals there." "New Orleans is no place to be old, not now." "You know why she can't move up here right now." "Besides, it's her home." "She's never been anyplace else." "Not even Baton Rouge?" "No, baby, not even Baton Rouge." "We..." "We should talk about putting the bar on the market... once the roof's fixed." "People are looking for houses to live in right now, not bars." "People always need a drink... now more than ever." "Gigi's got a loyal clientele." " Who is Gigi, anyway?" " Nobody knows, darling." "That's just the name it came with." "Been Gigi's for as long as anybody can remember." "I grew up in that bar." "Daddy left it to me." "My practice is here now, LaDonna." "The kids are in school." "Our life is here." "That's nasty, Daddy." "It will clear." "It's just gotta run." "I'd get a filter." "When the power supposed to come back on?" "Entergy man was here this morning." " You got plans for the holidays?" " Stay here, I guess." "You should come to Houston." "Davina gonna burn through every one of Mama's recipes." "Your sister and I parted on fractious terms." "She's gonna be more mad at me than you." "I talked to her today." "She's thinking I can come all the way down here and rustle you back to Houston." "You could tell her I tried harder than I did." "Let me call you out for stubborn." "Come on, Daddy." "You know she wants to see you." " Cheri coming in from Atlanta with the kids." " And you?" "I got gigs." "But I'll definitely be there Christmas Day." "In and out like always." "Never could stand to be around us for too long." "Oh, man, come on." "It ain't like that." "In fact, I'm gonna stay around a couple more days." "Got a recording session." "Toussaint." "Toussaint, huh?" "You deigning to play local?" "Yeah, I'm deigning." "You don't think I can play straight-up New Orleans RB in my sleep?" "But can you swing?" "Not all you modern jazz cats can, you know." "You sound like Wynton." "I hope so." "So what about Sunday?" "Indian practice." "You find anybody?" "I'm working on it." "Some up in Baton Rouge, some over in Houston, some I don't know where yet." "I wish I could stay, Daddy." "Got a full plate up in New York." "Lincoln Center." " A lot of love for New Orleans right now." " I know." "Everybody loves New Orleans music." "New Orleans people... round the damn clock." "Requisitioned a boat from one of my neighbors." "I hear that." "Ten days straight." "It was heavy." "I seen stuff would curl your hair." "Shit, I was in Anbar, baby." "You're not curling his hair." "I'm sure it don't compare." "How many you rescue, all told?" "A couple of dozen, maybe, plucking them off rooftops, out of the trees." "I thought they made everyone leave after a week." "Mandatory evac." "We said, "fuck that."" "Grabbed all the bottled water and beer we could find," " borrowed a generator." " You were digging in?" "National Guard patrols would go through after curfew." "Annie would go out and flash 'em." " Really?" " Yeah, like it was Mardi Gras come early." " And they'd drive away happy, man." " Yeah, I hear that too." "No rules." "Just making it up as we went along." "We'd go out, do what had to be done, man up, you know?" "I do." "I bet you two had a lot of sex, huh?" "Yeah, it was paradise, man, the Garden of fucking Eden." "Excuse me." "Gotta go see a man about a horse." "Did he really do all that hero shit during the storm?" " He says he did." " You believe him?" "I wasn't in the boat." "Welcome to the Spotted Cat." "This is a new one, dedicated to everybody who hasn't come home yet." "Yeah, baby." "Lucky to have you." "My pleasure." "What about next week?" "No, Bobby's back next week." "I heard about something on Bourbon Street." " Bourbon Street?" " There's pride on Bourbon Street." " Pete, Al, Gary Brown." " Back in the day." "There's cats there now that can hold their heads up." " Let me get that number." " All right." "Hey!" "Antoine Batiste." " Maestro, I didn't see you." " Slipped in at the end of the last set." " What you doing over here?" " Living with my daughter." "Lost her roof." "We all in a FEMA trailer parked in her driveway." "What about your house?" "Like I tell folks, I had a foot and a half of water on my second floor." "Man, I'm sorry to hear that." "Man, I used to dread going over to your house after school." " I was that hard on you?" " No." "It was those two buses going to Bayou St. John." "Fighting them white kids on Esplanade going, Seventh Ward kids coming home." " You were easy." " My best student." "No, I wasn't." "Freddie Lonzo was." "Yeah, you're right." "All right." "You playing?" "Don't even have a horn, me." "You lost all your instruments?" "Even the 'bone that Kid Ory gave you?" "Should have put all that stuff on the second floor, but I didn't." "Oh, man." "That's tragic, really." " One of the good gigs, huh?" " That's what I hear." " Bourbon Street." " Nothing to be ashamed of." "Pride on Bourbon Street." "Yeah, that's what they say." "His cousin says he's been squatting here in the Calliope." "We had squatters." "Run them off." "Ain't cheap, all this security." "Spend all this money just to seal these up?" "I know." "People want to come home, no place to live." "You know they've been wanting to tear these projects down for years." "Yeah, but now when there's a crying need..." " Calliope didn't take much water." " Most of 'em didn't take none." "Stood up to the wind just fine." "You know when these houses were built?" "'40s." "They've been through some hurricanes." " It makes no sense." " Nope." "Yeah, what does these days?" "Oh, it's a..." " Alcide made it in art class." " Thanks." " It's good." " It's an elephant." " Oh, yeah." " And you ought to come see your kids." "Oh..." "Desiree, this is LaDonna." "You know, my ex." "Y'all met, right?" "And who is this?" "Honoré Antoinette Batiste." "Didn't tell me you had a new baby." "Never came up." "I'll tell your sons they have a new half-sister." "Another one." " Never came up?" " Come on now, baby." "Don't you "baby" me." "And what does she mean by "another one"?" "You know..." "So, pretty straightforward." "Any questions about the system?" "Check in, check out, credit cards, parking?" "No, like you say, straightforward." "And if guests need dinner reservations or anything, just refer them to the concierge." "Concierge?" "Got it." "I'm-a kill that man twice." "You seen that son of a bitch Riley?" " Nope." " I'm-a book his ass." "He been here at all?" "Nope." "Toni, what are you doing here?" " We found him, LaDonna." " What?" "David." "Daymo." "We know where he is." " Where you been?" " I had to step out." "What's the problem?" "Where are my tools?" "I wasn't gone but ten minutes." "We still don't know why he was picked up in the first place?" "Sheriff won't put me on a phone list till there's paperwork saying I'm David's attorney." "How long will that take?" " It could take a few days." " And then what?" "Well, we gotta get Daymo in front of a judge." "We drive up there, post bond, pay a fine, and assuming they're not holding him on anything serious..." " They'll let him go?" " Yeah." " It might take a few days." " Why?" "The parishes get FEMA money for every OPP prisoner they house, and some of them tend to drag their feet, especially the poorer ones." "I swear." "I could front you." "I could ask my son, come to that." "Ain't the point, huh?" "I can get new tools." "I let somebody punk me." "I'll ask around." "And the elevators are just across the lobby." "I need to step out for a few minutes." "If anybody needs to find anything on Bourbon Street, tell them." "If they need reservations or directions anywhere," " even the Quarter, I'll be right back." " OK." "Hey, which way to Bourbon Street, little buddy?" "Just..." "OK, exit the front door..." "That's why they call it the Inn on Bourbon." "Watch where you step." "We always do." "What the fuck?" "CLOSED" "Donny, pay attention, man." "We're going over here." " Oh, Trombone Shorty, my man." " Antoine Batiste." "Hey, do you think the Hall ever coming back?" " Man, I don't know." " Thanks for that second line, bro." "Not a problem, man." "Listen, if you ever need me to fill in for you..." "My first call." "You got a gig?" "Oh, nah, nah." "No shame." "There's pride on Bourbon Street." "No, I'm just cutting through the Quarter, gonna go hang with Kermit." " I thought Kermit had a gig tonight." " Oh, yeah, you're right." "But... you know, I'm gonna catch him before he goes." " See you, Shorty." " Be good, Antoine." " See you, bro." " Nice to see you." "Button, please." "Joe Foxx, that piece, that moment that you and Sam just played..." "Don't play that." "At that spot we need Amedee and Breeze to really shine on the reeds, so you have to be out of the way." "So let's do it again." "He thought he could slip it by you, eh?" "How about that?" "NOLA's great." "Napoleon House around the corner, great also." " Can we walk there?" " Yeah." "St. Louis and Chartres." "Thank you." "Totally, but shouldn't we stay close to the hotel?" " Yeah, I don't know." " Maybe we should ask someone." "Can I help you?" "Maybe you can recommend someplace where we can hear music?" "We heard Snug Harbor." "Snug's good." "There's nothing wrong with Snug." "But if you want to get off the beaten path..." "Yeah, sure." " Don't we?" " Absolutely." "I could tell." "I said to myself," ""Here are some intrepid young folk in search of the real New Orleans."" "Right there." " Bullet's?" " Yeah, long story." "Is the neighborhood..." "Is it safe?" "Never safer." "All the crime's gone to Houston." "Give that to the cab driver." "If he says anything, you tell him that you're sure." " OK, thanks." " All right, thank you." " Thanks." " Oh, I'm so excited." "Galactic is at d.b.a. Elvis, can you hang?" "That's a funk group like The Meters, right, but white guys?" "You say that like it's a bad thing." "It's been a long day, Sam." "I don't know." "Hey, Delmond, you tell this guy that New Orleans don't get started till after midnight." " You're down, right?" " Yeah." "Galactic?" "For real?" "A funky, good group." "What else you need to hear, son?" "Well, I guess I could go and get gussied up and put on a shirt that doesn't stink and maybe I can shoot down there later." " All right." " You go back to the hotel room, you're in for the night." "Don't lie to Big Sam." "You know, you don't understand the burdens of an Englishman abroad." "I've got tea to steep and toast to burn." "And then I've got my reputation to think about." "I've got four, five songs to write before midnight... d.b.a., Elvis." "Do not disappoint me." "I would not dream of it." "Thank you." "Thank you, guys." "How are y'all feeling?" "I see a lot of friends in here." "We got a special guest in the house tonight," "New Orleans's own Delmond Lambreaux." "Sit in, man, come on." "Put your hands together and get him up here." "Yeah, I got you." "What's happening?" "Young man, get up here." "What's up?" " Blackbird special?" " Right behind you." " Safety meeting after the set?" " Desitively." "I had no idea." "Sorry, Chief." "Like you didn't know." "More than a thousand invested in there." "Some of them tools you can't buy for money." "They don't make 'em anymore." "I just want my 250 back." "I don't owe it to you." "The man you bought it from does." "I see him I'll be sure to mention it." "A little sneak thief named Skinny." " Where he stay at?" " Gert Town." "He around the town most nights, though." "Where?" "Mid-City, Lower Garden, Muses." "Copper mining." "This is the Seventh Ward, see." "St. Aug's right up the street." " St. Aug?" " St. Augustine High School." "Greatest damn marching band in the land." "I'm Sixth Ward, me, across Esplanade." "Why is it called Bullet's?" "See the proprietor over there?" "The guy with the leather jacket and that thingy around his neck?" "Oh, the chicken foot?" "No, the dude next to him with the baseball cap." "Oh, yeah." " He got shot in the head." " Really?" "Yeah, he walked into a store to buy some cigarettes just when it was being robbed, straight up." "And that's why they call it Bullet's?" "No, it's called Bullet's 'cause after he got shot, the doctors left the bullet in there." "They didn't want to take it out." "But he could feel it." "Turned his head to the right, the bullet slid left." "Turned his head to the left, bullet slid right." "It was driving him crazy, so he tried to take it out on his own self with a straight razor." " No way." " No." "Yeah, so once he's done that, his mother said, "You're crazy,"" "made him go back to the doctor and get it taken out, you know, properly." "That's a true story." "You could ask him if you don't believe me." "I wanted to bring to the bandstand, straight from his Bourbon Street engagement, that notorious Antoine Batiste, but he all up in that pork over there." "Damn right." "Wash up, man." "Get your 'bone, Batiste." "Baby J, put that tray down." "It's your time to shine, baby." "Well..." " You're gonna play?" " That's so cool." "Yeah, you know, I gotta give the people what they want." "Listen, excuse me." "I'll be right back." "Don't you go nowhere." "Oh, my God." "Buy you ladies a drink?" "OK." "Oh, shit, five-oh." "Five-oh, five-oh." " Shit." "Oh, shit." " Man, now what?" "So about that gig..." "Good evening, officers." "How y'all doing?" "Step back." "Pick it up." " Officer..." " Don't make me ask you again." "Turn around, put your hands behind your back." " Shit." " This ain't right, man." "You want to go too?" "I'll run all y'all." " Hey, grab my horn, man." " Yeah, man." " Anybody you want me to call?" " Nah." "Fuck the police!" "As a matter of policy, we do not send guests outside the French Quarter." " Liability issues." " They wanted something more real." "So you sent them to the Seventh Ward?" "They never came back to their room last night." "Is that your idea of real?" "They were due at the house they were working on at eight this morning." "It's now noon." "The church group is freaking out." "Parents are flying in from Madison." "And now the police are actively involved." "Actively, NOPD?" "Isn't that an oxymoron?" "Mr. McAlary... at this point your position here is..." " Untenable." " That would be the word." "This is so good, darling." "Just yummy." "I don't usually care for duck." "Too rich." " But this is first-rate." " Thank you." "You don't think it's too rich?" "Molasses and bourbon?" "That's what I like about it." "It is so damn rich." "You know what they say here." "If it's worth doing..." "It's worth overdoing." "Speaking of overdoing..." "Check it out." "For Madame, a Creole cream cheese cannoli" " with pistachios and satsuma sorbet." " Oh, my." "For monsieur, a sweet potato pecan tart with Steen's cane syrup." "Oh, Toto, we're not in Huntsville anymore." "And to share, café au lait pot de crème with mudslide cookies." "Just kill me." "Kill me now." "I'm trying, Daddy." "Thank you, Jacques." "I wanted you to taste the new menu so you'd know you're not throwing good money after bad." "Oh, we know you can cook, sweetheart." "I had to fix the exhaust system and the roof just to reopen, that was 50 grand, plus the new walk-in, that was another 20." " You told me you had insurance for all that." " Insurance hasn't come through yet." "I'm still waiting on my SBA loan." "I had to use the contingency fund." "That's what it's for, right?" "Thank God." "But now I'm behind." "If I can just... if I can just hang on until I can get staffed up, be open full-time," "I can catch up a little, pay my bills." "I mean, we're jammed every night." "The restaurant is gangbusters, really." "What do you need?" "20, 25." "Once the insurance comes through, I can pay you back." "I know money's tight." "We can do five." "Or six." "OK, that's... that's good." "That'll help." "I'll find the rest somewhere." "A roach." "I mean, give me a ticket." "But throw me in jail?" "Yeah, well, he had no choice." "You were up in his face." "What he supposed to do, ignore it?" " Thanks for dropping the car." " It's OK." "I'll take a taxi home." "I'm gonna pay you back, you know." "For going the bond." "I'm sorry I can't stay for practice." "You ain't never really cared for it." "That ain't true." "I loved growing up with the tradition, but the Indians, that's your thing." "Always was." "This city..." "It's like they breed." "Buckhead beef, Louisiana seafood," "Captain Dino... have to pay the shrimper, right?" "Triage." "Cusimano Produce, Brown's Dairy," " TLC Linens." " Ask them can we go another 30?" " If they say no?" " Take whatever they can give us." "If they still say no?" "Pay Cusimano, buy dairy at the farmer's market, and we'll start washing our own tablecloths." " You don't want to do that." " The fuck?" "How long you been standing there?" "People just put that in." "Oh, is this your house, man?" "I'm sorry." "I didn't know, man." "I can build a house from scratch, roof to foundation." "What can you do, tear it down?" " That's easy." " OK, pops, I'm gone, man." " You took my tools." " I didn't take no tools." "You did." "You just didn't know who you were taking it from." "OK, you somebody." "Good for you." "But I didn't take no tools." "You need to understand what I'm telling you." "Fuck you, old man." "Fuck that." "Motherfucker!" "Hey, it's the hotel guy." " Oh, hi." " Hi." "Oh." "Good." "You guys OK?" " The time of our lives." " Oh, yeah." "We met the most interesting man." "Oh, my God, a tall guy." "He had this, like, gold tooth with, like, a ruby thing on it." " Elmore?" " Yeah, Elmore." " Oh, my God." " He showed us the best time." "The real New Orleans!" " Great." "OK, great." " It was the best." "Did you guys check in with anyone?" "You might want to call the hotel." "They're a little concerned." "We need to get some breakfast first." " We're a little hungover." " OK." "Clover Grill, Bourbon and Dumaine." "Thanks." "Thanks again, man." " Sure." " Yeah." "Oh, my gosh, I'm so hungry." "Like, starving." "Now where the fuck am I gonna eat breakfast?" " I'm going." " OK." "Sofia ready?" "Can't you hear her pouting?" "Now that you mention it." "You're working on the novel?" "Thinking about it." "Timely." "Which worries me." "I don't want to be accused of cashing in on the storm like some other schmucks I could mention." " You were there first." " Did you get your hair cut?" "Last week." "Well, it looks good." " Drive carefully." " You too." "I'll see you tonight." "Ready?" "Come on, let's go." "I need to get back home at a reasonable hour." "I hate boarding school." "Another week or so, you're home for the holidays and you're back to stay." "It's a sea cruise, honey." "Where am I gonna go to school?" "Tulane's working on something for faculty kids." "Lusher." "Lusher's not a high school, daddy." "They're adding a high school." " Plus, it's public." " Not anymore." "It's charter." "Where are they gonna put the high school?" "They're taking over Fortier." "What about the Fortier kids?" " Where are they gonna go?" " Somewhere else, I guess." " That's not fair." " Probably not." "It's where we're at now." "Do you want to go to school in New Orleans?" "So this is how it works." "It's a zero sum world." "Somebody wins, somebody loses." "Come on, honey." "This is not my son." " Ma'am?" " There's been a mistake." " David Brooks." " No, it's not." "Tell them your name." "Like he say, Dave Brooks." "Not my David." "Not my boy." "Where's your brother?" "I don't know." "I heard you was looking for me." "George Cotrell." "You back?" " Where you staying?" " With you, I guess." "You called practice, right?" "This it?" "Just us?" "For now." "Most of 'em still gone." "I spoke to everybody except Jesse." "You go by his place?" "Lower Ninth still closed." "Open in a couple of weeks maybe." "Well, gotta start somewhere."