And there were tourists on the street sizing up the guides and the mules.

“I guess we should get to work,” Katie said. “And I’m calling it quits in a bit. I came out here super early today.”

“Cool. I’m staying on until ten, and Matt said he’d be out here until midnight, which seems about right since he showed up an hour ago.”

Their hours were loose. They just needed good reports from those who rode in their carriages. With the internet and customer reviews, it made for keeping a business nicely afloat.

“Okay, sounds good. Oh, see that little girl heading toward Sarah? I’m going to jump on it—I love taking kids these days.” Katie said.

“Grab that group,” Lorna said. “I see a crowd of young men coming. I’m going for them. Maybe I can meet a good one this way. I will not close my mind to the possibilities.”

Katie waved at her and strode back toward the little girl and Sarah. She still had a few bits of apple in her pocket. The child’s mother was near, so she asked if it was okay to let the girl give the mule the treats. A few minutes later, they were off, and Katie was glad. The little girl and her mother also had a dad and two teenage boys with them. The father told her in a whisper before climbing up that he didn’t want to hear about the Axeman. She nodded.

“Hey! There’s the place we had beignets,” one of the kids said.

And Katie was happy to tell them Café du Monde had been there since 1862, a coffee shop for the French Market, which had also offered goods and a sales venue for many of the Italian immigrants who had come to the city as well.

New Orleans had been under the French flag, the Spanish flag, the French flag again, and then become part of the United States. People in the city were from all over the world; many still had French roots, but the English had flooded in, a revolution had caused Haitian people to come, and almost every nationality known to man might be found in the backgrounds of many current residents.

“It’s a great big melting pot.”

“All-American,” the dad said cheerfully.

Katie was enjoying giving a tour to this lovely group. The kids loved her stories about Lafitte and Jackson and how they won the Battle of New Orleans.