OK, so this chapter started to get long so, it will be split into TWO parts. Hooray! OK, enjoy.

Tiana and Naveen were on their short lunch break, eating on a bench in the nice warm sunshine. Tiana had eaten slowly, but Naveen devoured his lunch in no time before pulling out a piece of paper, a pen, and a tray he had grabbed from the restaurant. He was using it as a level writing surface. Tiana watched in interest for a while as his pen moved back and forth across the page. Finally, she decided to speak up.

"What'cha scribbling there?" she asked curiously. Naveen stopped and rolled his eyes.

"First of all," he said, holding up his thumb, "it is not scribbling. I spent years with my tutors perfecting my handwriting and I have gotten many compliments on it. Nobody has called my wonderful penmanship scribbling until today. Secondly," he held up his index finger, "I am writing to my parents to tell them about you, our engagement, and to say they should come to town so we can have the wedding as soon as possible. After we save up enough money to fix up the apartment above the restaurant, of course. Oh, and it might be best to tell them that my valet is in jail." He went back to writing, not noticing Tiana's eyes bugging out of her head.

"Okay," Tiana said after she took a deep breath. "First of all, we told Mama ten days ago! You should've written to them then!" Naveen stopped writing again.

"Well I was trying to think of a way to word it in a letter! I am still not sure what their reaction will be. Either they will be in so much shock that they faint or they will think I have gone insane and will come here to take me away to an institution." Tiana rolled her eyes and Naveen ran a hand through his hair. "I am doing this for you." His eyes went big as he grabbed her hand and kissed it. Tiana rolled her eyes again.

"I'll forgive you for waiting," she decided. "I was nervous telling my Mama, too." A couple of girls stopped nearby to ogle and giggle at Naveen. Tiana waved at them with her left hand, making sure the ring was visible. Their faces dropped and they hurried along. Naveen laughed.

"Very subtle," he muttered. "What was the second thing?" he asked. "You said 'first of all' but did not say anything about what the second thing was."

"Oh!" Tiana declared in understanding. "Oh, that. You count on your fingers funny. A lot of people here start counting with their index finger, not their thumb." She counted to five, demonstrating for him. Naveen raised an eyebrow.

"No, that is strange," he asserted, pointing at her hand. Tiana laughed and Naveen went back to his letter.

There had been some stormy seas so it took a little longer for the letter to reach the country of Maldonia. Nearly a month to be exact. After it reached the King and Queen in their castle, they spent a week discussing all its contents. They soon decided it best to pack up and head to New Orleans themselves, leaving their younger son in the care of tutors, chambermaids, and servants. They sent a letter ahead of them to their son, letting him know of their arrival. Even when they were on the ship, the two parents were reading over their older sons' letter with a mixture of confusion and concern. Neither knew whether they should be happy or angry.

While resting in the cabin, Naveen's mother, Queen Sarita, read over the letter for what felt like the hundredth time:

Dear Mother and Father,

I apologize for the long delay in the letter. Much has happened since I entered the city of New Orleans. Lawrence was jailed very early on in the trip for plotting against Mr. Eli La Bouff. The jail time will do him some good, I assure you. I have been doing fine without him.

The city is beautiful and jazz plays from dawn to dusk up and down the streets and I am fortunate to have made many friends while here. But I am most fortunate for meeting one girl in particular. Her name is Tiana, and she is my Evangeline. She's so very different from me and that is what really grabbed my attention and made me fall in love. Not a day goes by where she isn't thinking of an idea for how she wants her restaurant to be. She worked very hard for it for a long time and now she has the building she dreamed of, which we are repairing now. I got a job with her to help raise money for repairs. We want the restaurant to be the best in New Orleans. Yes, you read right: I have a job.

I worked up the nerve to ask her to marry me last week and she made me very happy by accepting my proposal. We do wish to be married soon so the sooner you get to New Orleans, the better. I am sure you two do want to meet your future daughter-in-law before the wedding. Tiana and I wait for your arrival and word from you soon.

Abinazza!

Your Son,

Naveen

They had sent him to the city of New Orleans a carefree playboy who needed to shape up. They didn't expect for him to get engaged. No, no. They did expect that. He would get engaged to a rich girl just to get his riches back. But a job? Part of the letter either had to be an exaggeration or a lie. They intended to go to New Orleans to find out the truth. And if it was all a lie, they just might drag him back to Maldonia. New Orleans seemed more like a vacation than a punishment for their son.

When the boat-much larger and more extravagant than the one their son sailed in on- arrived in New Orleans, there was a large crowd waiting for them, of course. Cameras flashed while the royal couple smiled and waved to the masses. They noticed a large sign in the back right in front of a parked car:

WELCOME TO NEW ORLEANS, KING DAX AND QUEEN SARITA OF MALDONIA

THIS SIGN PAID FOR BY ELI LA BOUFF

"Naveen must be with Mr. La Bouff," Queen Sarita whispered into her husbands' ear. He nodded and with a wave to their attendants, they started making their way down the gangplank and the crowd parted for them. Naveen was not in the car, but a large red-haired man was. He got out of the car at their approach and bowed low to them.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the man said. "I'm Mr. Eli La Bouff, but everyone calls me Big Daddy. Y'all must be Naveen's folks." Big Daddy shook Dax's hand and kissed Sarita's. "Well, we best get going if you wanna see your boy." He held the door open for them, letting them climb in back. Big Daddy sat next to the driver. Servants followed behind in horses brought all the way from Maldonia.

"May I ask, Mr. La Bouff," Dax began formally, "where exactly is Naveen?"

"Workin'," Mr. La Bouff shrugged. "He couldn't get away from his job today. Otherwise, he'd have been down at that dock waitin' for y'all."

The king and queen were in shock. Could their lazy, carefree, never-lifted-a-finger-to-do-one-bit-of-work-a-day-in-his-life son actually have gotten…a job? If that was true, could the other part of the letter be true, too? Might there actually be a girl?

The car parked outside of a café. Duke's Café to be exact. Still getting over their shock, the King and Queen followed Big Daddy into the café. There were a few other patrons in the diner, plus one waiter putting plates down on a table. When the waiter spoke, Dax and Sarita went into shock again.

"Beignets all around, yes? I do not blame you, I love them, too. We are making more sweet tea right now, sir, if you desire more. I will be out with your refill in just a moment." Yes, it was Naveen who had placed the food on the table. It was Naveen who ducked into the kitchen with a glass in one hand and a tray in the other. It was Naveen who reemerged with the gentleman's drink. It was Naveen who wore the yellow shirt tucked into khaki pants, an apron tied around his waist, pencil behind the ear, and notepad tucked in an apron pocket. And it was definitely Naveen who spotted the group at the door.

"Ashidanza!" he exclaimed, rushing over to them."Mother! Father! You're here! And I see you have brought the help, too." He hugged his parents and shook hands with the two guards that had followed them in the restaurant. "Please, please, sit down. I will get tea made for you. Thank you for bringing my parents here, Mr. La Bouff. I would have loved to be at the dock-"

"Now don't y'all worry about it," Big Daddy interrupted, waving his hand. He eased his weight into his chair only after Sarita and Dax had. "It was my pleasure. Y'all got some mighty fine folks right here." He looked around, as if there might be eavesdroppers, and leaned in closer to Naveen. "But if you really want to thank me, boy. You could bring me out some o' them beignets."

Naveen smiled a little uneasily. "I'd love too, Mr. La Boufff, but…" Now Naveen paused and looked back to the open window to the kitchen. "Tiana is not working right now. Your daughter dragged her off for shopping." Mr. La Bouff straightened up automatically.

"I'll just have some sweet tea, then. Save room for dinner, tonight." Naveen wrote the order down and walked off. Big Daddy sighed and turned to Sarita and Dax. "There's really no point in having beignets unless Tiana makes them. It's best we hold off until dinner tonight, anyway. Tiana's makin' a big dinner tonight at our place." Sarita and Dax looked at each other again. There was that name again: Tiana. She was becoming more of a reality and less of some hoax pulled by their son.

"I am taking a short break, Parker!" Naveen called over his shoulder, carrying three drinks in his hands.

"Yeah, it best be short!" the grubby cook called. Naveen narrowed his eyes over his shoulders.

"I have not seen my parents in months!" he said indignantly. Parker took one look at Naveen's parents, dressed in royal attire, and he dropped his head quickly, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. Naveen, feeling satisfied, gave them their drinks and then dropped ungracefully into a chair. His shoulders slumped. He was exhausted, his face and body said it all.

"You have been working!" Sarita cried proudly. She draped an arm across his broad shoulders. "Dax! Our son has been working."

"I told you I was working in the letter, no?" Naveen mumbled.

"Well, we thought that was a joke," Dax said bluntly. Naveen groaned and dropped his head on the table. Sarita narrowed her eyes at her husband.

"But we are so very proud of you! You have a job!" Sarita just had to say it. It was still just so unbelievable, even when the reality was right there in front of her. Dax took a sip of his tea and coughed. The order had been misunderstood and three sweet teas had been brought out. But the sweet tea wasn't bad so he drank it anyway.

"Well, I have to work." Naveen lifted his head and stretched his arms over his head. "Tiana and I still have to save money for the repairs for the restaurant. We finally have the roof fixed, but then there's still the inside. We've already decided to make the upstairs our home just to save money. At this rate we'll have the restaurant done…" He paused to do the math. "…in another lifetime. Maybe less."

"The girl is real, too?" Dax asked, clearly shocked. Naveen groaned again and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes, Tiana is real. Honestly, you do not believe anything I say anymore, do you? Faldi faldonza! She will not like that you thought she was made up."

"Ah, nah," Big Daddy said, "she'll just think it's real funny, is all." Naveen nodded in agreement.

Dax worded his next question carefully. "This…Tiana…she has no money? Is that why she works?" Sarita wanted to swat her husband's shoulder, but Naveen spoke without any anger.

"No, no money. She's been working two jobs for a long time to save for her restaurant. I have persuaded her to drop one since I took up a job here, too to help." A customer tapped his shoulder and he stood up immediately. "I am sorry, sir. How may I help you?"

"No help," he said. "Will this cover the bill?" Naveen looked at the notepad and back at the money in the man's hand.

"That is too much," he protested.

"It's your tip too, son." Naveen nodded and the man pressed the money into his hand. He and his party left, leaving Naveen, his parents and Big Daddy alone in the restaurant. Naveen crossed the room to put the money away in the register.

"Go home, Naveen," Parker barked. He was hanging up his apron. "Business is slow today and there ain't nobody gonna come in here 'till five."

"Of course!" Naveen said excitedly. He threw his apron in back and took the drinks away to the kitchen. He came back, big smile on his face, but he was still so tired-looking. "Mr. La Bouff, would you like to go by-"

Naveen never finished his thought because Big Daddy knew exactly what he was thinking. "The restaurant?" he asked. "I was hopin' you'd say something like that."

"Come on Mother, Father. I will show you Tiana's dream."

"Naveen, we cannot fit all of us in the car," Sarita protested.

"I know," Naveen said. "But the restaurant is in walking distance."

"You see the roof?" Naveen asked, pointing to it. He wore a very proud look on his face. "I helped do that. I had many splinters in my hands at the end of the day, but I wanted to get the roof done for Tiana." Only now did his parents look at his hands. They were hard and callused and bruised. He never let his hands get like that before, except for the callused finger tips from playing his ukulele. Naveen reached into his pocket and pulled out a key, using it to unlock the doors to the old sugar mill. The inside was still in need of repair, but it had come together some. The windows were shining, the ceiling no longer had holes in it, and the thick coating of dust and cobwebs was gone.

"Well y'all definitely put quite a bit of work into this place," Big Daddy observed. Dax and Sarita glanced at each other. The building was still in quite a state of disrepair, but Big Daddy said it had improved. How bad had it been before?

"Tiana has big plans for this place," Naveen explained. "This will be the dining area. Over here, we will have a stage with a real band playing jazz into the night. And Tiana said I can play with them, too. Down here, we will let people dance to their heart's content. The kitchen is all the way in the back, of course. And up there," Naveen pointed to the ceiling, "will be the first chandelier Tiana can get her hands on." His grin faded and turned into a sigh. "It will just take much work to get that as it will to do anything in this place. Her dream is to own and run her own restaurant, she has the building, but without this place up and running, her dream is only halfway there."

Naveen stopped talking, but just paced around the restaurant sadly. Sarita looked around the building, too. She strolled from end of the room to the other, looking at every last detail. This place had potential, it was just hiding in the woodwork. She had a thought. Dax had the same one at the same moment.

"Naveen, when is dinner tonight?" Sarita asked.

"Six," he yawned. "I hate to leave, but I am exhausted. I will go take a nap before dinner tonight. Abinazza." They left the restaurant, Naveen locking the door. He took a trolley back to the La Bouff house and Mr. La Bouff took the Sarita and Dax back to their ship. They had much to discuss about what they had seen since entering the city of New Orleans.

Wow, this one is very Naveen-centered. Tiana will come back next chapter. Now for some explanations.

1. In my experience, I have seen more people start counting on their index fingers first and thumbs last. But my German teacher said that a lot of Europeans will start counting on their thumbs. She learned this the hard way when she accidentally order two beers.

2. Sarita is Indian (Sanskrit) for "river". Dax is French for "leader." Go figure.

3. Yes, I honestly think Big Daddy would get that big sign and then give himself credit.

4. I think Maldonia is either in the Mediterannean or maybe possibly in the Indian Ocean. I like to say Mediterannean because despite his dark skin, Naveen seems VERY European. I don't know why, he just does. I look at him and think "Europe." I also think "Damn sexy" but that's another story.