As the party moved into the dinner hall, practically every person there came by to greet Maggie and Layla and me. It was like we were being accepted into the largest family in New Orleans. Everyone wanted to hold or see Layla and say something to her. It was amazing and overwhelming. I felt a lot of feelings that night, but for the most part I just couldn’t get my head wrapped around why Mama Vermillion was doing this. I decided to talk to Maggie about this tonight when we got home.

We made the rounds, greeted everyone we could and then had a little dinner. And then right after dinner we said our goodbyes. Layla was usually in bed by 8pm, and by 7:30pm she was already getting fussy. She was ready to go and so were we.

Entering the streets of New Orleans, we already had a sleeping baby in the stroller, so this gave Maggie and me the perfect time to talk. As we left the Square and turned towards home, I said to Maggie, “What an amazing evening!” I expected Maggie to chime right in, but instead I heard only silence.