September 3 Storm stalls off Louisiana coast

The clouds had been gathering for days but I had other things on my mind.

"You gotta see this place, come on "

I jumped, so eager to show her my discovery.

" You dumbo " Alice laughed at my stumbling and waited until the bus came to a halt. The Hotel needed no introduction but I found myself throwing my arm to the sky as if I were unveiling it for the first time.

" When did this open ? " She asked, but I could see her smile. She got it, she understood why I was excited.

" Not sure," I grinned, " do you want to go in Mrs Ramone ? " I'd read that Paul McCartney used the name Ramone when he booked into hotels to keep his identify secret and it had turned into a private joke between the two of us.We linked arms and walked up to the entrance.

The building I'd got so excited about looked like a miniature bavarian castle, from the road you could see groups of robed monks walking and tilling the land, picking fruit and fixing old fashioned tools. It seemed alien, as if someone had looked at Louisiana, took a cigarette and burnt a hole in it, revelaing another place underneath. I scanned the edges for scorch marks.

" And you're sure they have rooms available? "

" Well I don't know dummy, that's why we're here ".

I'd been with Alice for three months almost, a long time in those days, we'd met through my cousin, hitched down to Baton Rouge a couple of weeks before but this would be the first time we'd stayed in a Hotel. Alice squeezed my hand as we entered the foyer and asked  for a room, the man behind the desk was almost as young as we were with soft features and a smudged little mouth that looked like it'd been drawn on with a kohl pencil.

" Will you be requiring a double bed or two singles "

I concentrated on stopping myself blushing and asked for a double, adding we'd prefer one on a higher floor if possible.

" The highest you've got " smiled Alice.

Our man smiled and we filled in the registration details and then he handed over a key.

" the highest we've got ".

The room was on the fifteenth flooor and overlooked a small orchard and behind that we could see the Gulf of  Mexico. We sat and watched the monks as they took their evening air drinking a bottle of wine Alice had brought with her. I drew the curtain a little after ten and we went to bed.

We stayed for ten days in the end, watching the monks and drinking wine. The last couple of days were spent discussing our plans, what we'd do next, I spoke of buying a car and one day visiting Europe, Alice spoke of walking in the orchard and never leaving the Hotel. We talked about it for a few days and then spent our last night together watching the storm bloom and then blow itself out, way over in the distance. The air cleared as the sky brightened. She wore a light blue dress that day, I can see her sat there at the window, looking out to sea, smiling and saying that everything would be just fine now.