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Merriwether and India Wilkes and the other womenShe intended to
have
a wonderful time, to dance every dance, to be part of things againBy
January fifth, the day before Carnival, all Atlanta was gala with
preparationThe mayor's office had ordered that all businesses be
closed on the sixth and that all buildings on the parade route be
decorated with red and white, the colors of Rex, the King of
Carnival
Scarlett thought it a terrible waste to close the store on a day when
the city would be jammed with people from the country, in for the
celebrationsBut she hung big rosettes of ribbon in the store window
and on the iron fence in front of her house, and just like everyone
else she goggled at the transformation of Whitehall and Marietta
streetsBanners and flags bedecked every lamp standard and building
front, making a virtual tunnel of bright, fluttering red and white for
the final leg of Rex's parade to histhroneI should chloe white have brought Wade
and Ella in from Tara for the parade, she thoughtBut they're
probably still puny from the chicken pox, her mind quickly addedAnd
I don't have ball tickets for Suellen and WillBesides, I sent great
piles of Christmas presents to themThe incessant rain on the day of
Carnival soothed any vestige of compunction about the children
They couldn't have stood out in the wet and cold to see the parade
anywayShe wrapped herself in a warm shawl and
stood
on the stone bench near the gate under a big umbrella, with a clear
view over the heads and umbrellas of the spectators on the sidewalk
outsideAs promised, the parade was more than a mile longIt was a
brave and sorry spectacleThe rain had all but destroyed the
medieval-court-type costumesRed dye had run, ostrich plumes
dropped,
once-dashing velvet hats sagged over faces like dead lettuceThe
marching heralds and pages looked cold and wet, but determined; dolce |