THE JADE STONE AND MAMA

This is a blog from the archives. One of my favorites about my mama.

April 22, 2015

             My mama had a mischievous eye.  Occasionally she delighted in bringing it out to wink in merriment. Once when she and I were returning from Grandma and Grandpa Georges in Hattisburg, Mississippi, she decided we'd drive to New Orleans and spend the night before coming home.  I thought nothing about it because I was used to those, spur of the moment type excursions, on Mama's part.

            We stopped for lunch somewhere on Magazine Street, Mama’s favorite place in the world to go antiquing.  She could spend days just enjoying all the unique shops up and down this street.   After ordering our shrimp po boys and while waiting for our meal, Mama began eavesdropping on the people in the booth just behind her, another of her favorite pastimes.   As they ordered, they were talking about a certain large expensive piece of jade, from Burma, they had seen on Magazine street, on their last trip during Mardi Gras and had come back from Dallas to purchase it.  During the conversation the couple mentioned the shop's name and described the jade in detail to their friends who had traveled with them.  The lady said, “Let’s enjoy our meal and dessert and then go purchase this jade. There’s no hurry.  I had called and they know we are coming.”

  Mama looked at me, a twinkle in her eye, “Quickly finish your meal,” she said.  “I know that shop.  Let's have some fun.”   We rushed through our shrimp po boys and left straight for the antique shop, just two blocks away.  

When the people arrived to acquire the jade, they found Mama at the counter holding that beautiful stone trying to decide whether she would purchase it.  She kept going on and on about its quality and how her daughter would love to wear it at her wedding.  She told the shop owner that we had come from Dallas for this stone. “You do remember our phoning about this, don’t you? We wanted it for our daughter’s wedding,” she said, smiling at me.  The couple was restless and nervous as they watched in horror.  “Napoleon, Mama said, addressing me, don't you think this would look perfect on your sister?  Sweet daddy won’t mind.  His precious darling is marrying someone with almost as much money as we and Daddy would LOVE to show off by buying something expensive for his precious little girl.”  I nodded, used to playing along. Mama stood silent for the longest time before putting it down.  She started to walk away but quickly returned to the counter and examined it some more. Finally, Mama said to the owner, “Could you hold this beautiful stone while I retrieve my daughter?  It won't take a second,” she said, “She’s down the street purchasing some antique armoire for her new house on the lake.  Darlin’, I'll even leave my son, Napoleon, here until I return.”  He agreed.  The couple was devastated. Mama turned, smiled while greeting the couple, walked to the door, and left. 

 I watched the color leave their faces.  The wife was about to cry.  She kept whispering to her husband to do something.  He stood his ground, however, while standing there in his cowboy boots and leather Stetson hat, appearing as if his temper would flair at any moment.  I was afraid that if mama didn’t return soon, from around the corner, he would be rude and force the owner to let them procure it, after all they had come all the way from Texas for this stone.  I averted my eyes from them as they stood there, uncomfortable in their silence with hatred in their eyes.

I thought Mama was hiding around the corner a wee bit too long and was about to bolt for the door. The man in the Stetson hat began pacing the floor while the wife continued crying.  

Just as I felt Mama had abandoned me, she returned and said, loudly, from the door. “Oh, never mind about holding that jade. I can't find my daughter.  Come on Napoleon, let's go.  I changed my mind concerning the jade.”  The expression on that woman’s face was priceless, tears smeared her mascara.  The man practically knocked me down rushing to the counter, checkbook in hand. 

 Mama and I stood outside on Magazine street laughing. 

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