NOLA by Alexie Aaron

too.  He told me that, as he said, ‘ coyote piss will keep away rabbits and deer.’  You see, they recognize the scent and stay away, fearing the predators are in the area.”
    Murphy listened to the young woman, nodding.
    “I’ll call and tell Ted he needs to buy some tomorrow.  He will be back in the morning, won’t he?” Sabine asked.
    “Yes.  PEEPs are at a library not far from here.”
    “Aren’t you part of PEEPs?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then why aren’t you there too?”
    Murphy frowned.  “Not needed.  They call me ‘the big gun,’ and they said I would be bored there.”
    “I think they should let you make up your mind if you’re bored.  I’ll call Burt and…”
    “No!” he said and wished he hadn’t said it so strongly.
    Sabine didn’t appear to be offended.  “I see, you would rather talk to him yourself.  Good plan.”
    Murphy felt the kindness radiate off of her.  Even in OOB form, Sabine cast off a good vibe.  “Would you like to see some flowers?” he asked.
    “Already?  It’s still winter.”
    “On the sunny side of the hill, there are crocus and snowdrops,” he said, leading her there.
    The hillside was almost covered with the emerging flowers.
    “Oh my,” she said as they approached.  “I could just roll in them.  Stephen, they are beautiful.”
    “There were more, but the deer…”
    “Coyote piss,” Sabine said with her hands on her hips.
    “Coyote piss,” he agreed.
    “Well, I better get back now.  Tauni Cerise, she’s my nanny, worries if I’m gone too long.  It was nice to talk to you, Stephen.  If you ever want to visit me, just take the vortex and think…”
    “Take me to Sabine’s place,” Murphy said.
    “Yes!  That will get you there.  Bye, Stephen, have a nice night,” she said airily as she left.
    Murphy pushed his hat back on his head and had trouble for a minute remembering what he was doing before Sabine came along.  “Trees!” he said loudly.
    Maggie came bounding back towards him.  She had no idea why he had walked away and was talking to himself.  Mia, too, talked to herself a lot. Maybe it’s what people and ghosts do.
     
    ~
     
    The desert of crème brûlée was served with bitter espresso.  Mia had to refrain from making the little noises she made when she was enjoying something sweet.  She didn’t want to mortify Ralph. She caught him looking at her from time to time, and aside from almost using her salad fork on the fish, she managed the utensils like a debutante.  It was exhausting navigating through the meal.  She had a priest on one shoulder and a Voodoo priestess on the other.  They had no problems with the silverware.  Their manners bore witness to good breeding.  Mia felt like she alone represented the barbarian caucus.
    “I think everyone is finished.  We’ll stay here and begin our meeting.  This way, coffee can be drunk and cookies can be snacked upon as need be.”
    “I don’t know how anyone could eat any more,” Wendy declared.
    Mia waited until all eyes were back on their hostess before she took a cookie.
    “This year, we have seen the numbers of wandering souls quite depleted. Some of our resident mediums have complained that their spirit guides are reluctant to appear within the city limits,” Honor reported.  “I almost feel like it was a mistake calling you all here.  Still, we will do our spirit walk tomorrow afternoon.  I think that we should concentrate our walk in the 9 th Ward like last year.  I’d like us to meet at the Upper 9 th Ward at the Musicians’ Village at three o’clock.  This area has had the most recent renovation.  We will progress through the area, hitting spots where my spirit guide has seen lost soul movement.  We’ll continue on into the night.”
    “Mia, since this is your and Ralph’s first walk, I’m going to ask one of the others to be kind enough to stick with you.”
    “They can stick with us,” Monique offered.
    “You want to put another