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doing
in my bed. He guffawed and told her my bed offered more
support." Ray had started laughing so hard he had tears in his
eyes. God I miss those times. I regret it all changing in some
ways.
"As she was throwing her tantrum, Meaghan burst through
the door asking me if she had left her red thong there."
"Meaghan? How many women did you have, bro?"
"Robert went out with Meaghan, not me. She was a little
sister for our fraternity. Anyway, Robert had fallen on his bunk
laughing. Juliana took the red thong and ripped it apart before
she stormed out the door.
"Robert stood and hugged Meaghan. He said, 'For that
performance, you get dinner at Antoine's this weekend.' Then,
he turned to me and said, 'What? No thanks for getting that
wench out of your life? Ray, that girl was set on marriage. I
don't think that's what you want.'
"Shit!" He wiped his eyes with his thumbs. "He was so
right at that moment in time. Juliana was, indeed, married to
someone else in less than a year.
"Oh, we had so much fun. Like when we went to Mardi
Gras the same year that…" Ray stopped as he remembered the
tragedy his real brother had endured, being mugged and
suffering brain trauma and ultimately an aneurysm that caused
him to have schizophrenic-like symptoms, which made him the
target of Latrice Descartes.
"Don't stop. I'm fine. Everything worked out just perfectly
for me," Raif prompted.
Ray nodded. "We didn't go with the other guys, the guys
that beat you up. We stopped to get a tattoo. His was hideous.
It was this ugly red-and-black two-headed serpent.
"After we graduated, Robert went to law school, and I went
to the police academy. I started dating Mia after I came on the
force. Robert finished law school and came to work in the
prosecutor's office. You pretty much know the rest."
"Yeah, I do. I have an idea. It's time for a road trip for
brothers."
"What are you up to? The last time we took a road trip, we
met our birth mother."
"Yep, and look how well that turned out. I'm your big
brother. Do you trust me?" Raif slapped his thighs with open
palms and smirked.
"Yes, I trust you."
"Your car or mine?"
"Yours is more environmentally friendly. Besides, I don't
know where we're going, and you only had two shots. I had
three. You drive."
Raif pointed at the shot he had never taken. "You take it. I
wouldn't drive if I did." Ray downed the drink.
Both men called their spouses who asked no explanations,
and Raif headed toward New Orleans.
4
Marked for Life
"So? Where are we headed?" asked Ray as he relaxed in the
passenger seat of Raif's state-of-the-art hemp-oil-burning
    Lexus.
"New Orleans. Bourbon Street."
"Why? You hate the big city."
"I do, but we're going to get tattoos."
Ray laughed so hard he coughed. "You have never had a
tattoo. Why would you want one now? What would you get—a
great big teddy bear?"
    "Funny, Ray. No, I know exactly what we're getting. These
are special that only we as brothers can get to mark us for life."
"We don't need tattoos to be joined for life."
"No, we don't. They're just symbolic. We'll create a new
memory, a good memory, to help ease the pain of old
memories. This brother will never betray you."
"Thanks, Raif, but you don't have to get a tattoo for me to
know that."
"Then humor me." He glanced right. "Maybe I need this."
"All right. It's a long drive for a tattoo."
"So, we'll have a couple of hurricanes and some dinner at
The Top of the World and crash at a hotel because we'll be too
drunk to drive home."
"Oh, this I have to see." Ray chortled. "Have you ever been
drunk?"
Raif laughed. "Not since before my last Mardi Gras."
"Then, it's time. Let's go have some fun.
♥♥♥
Raif parked in the garage of Harrah's Hotel and Casino. He
locked his car and retrieved an overnight bag from his trunk.
    Bewildered, Ray asked, "Did you plan this from the getgo?"
"Yep. I have a pair of jeans, a shirt, and underthings for
you, too. Let's check in."
"Check in? Did you already make a reservation?"
"Yep."
The