“Thanks, babe, I’m okay,” I said.

Then Maggie said, “I’m with you, Jim, I’m right here by your side. We’ll just have to let go together then, okay?”

I felt a strange peace in me as we slowly made our way through the Quarter. I knew that Maggie had my back, but something deep inside me wanted to keep moving forward with Mama and this strange ride we were on, so I said, “Okay, and if it gets to be too much, I’ll let you know, but let’s just see this through.”

We both fell back into silence and, as the morning sun broke through the low coastal clouds, one of the old cathedral bells began to toll in the distance.