his mouth and drawled, “Chère, you look good enough to eat. Lak a Christmas candy cane. Lak sweet beignets at Café du Monde.”
She laughed. “Does that line work for you, cher?”
He laughed back at her and shrugged, “Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no.”
“Well, this time it’s a ‘no’. Good luck, mon ami.”
He gave her a smart salute and no doubt watched her behind as she turned and walked back the way she’d come. She gave her hips a little extra wiggle just because she was feeling sassy.
She heard her next “pursuer” before he spoke.
“Hey, baby,” pant, pant, “where you been,” pant, pant, “all my life?” pant, pant, pant, pant.
She stopped walking, fearing the short, fat, sixty-if-he-was-a-day gentleman tracking her would have a heart attack on the beach. That’s when she got a look-see at the old guy’s attire. One of those stretchy men’s bathing suits that barely covered their you-know-what or the crack in the back. His belly hung halfway over what pretty much looked like a sling for a banana. And he had enough gray hair on his chest and arms to knit a sweater.
Is this what I’m coming to? she wondered.
Then she answered her sassy Cajun self, Heck, no!
“Sit down, Pops, and rest on your ‘laurels’,” she advised and continued on her way, chuckling.
When she got back to her blanket, she found Justin fast asleep on his back, the book still open on his chest, probably at the same page. And Adèle was asleep as well, her face on Justin’s shoulder, her little pink ruffled bottom in the air, his hand resting on her mop of still-damp curly hair. They could have been father and daughter. In fact, for a brief second, it almost looked like Phillipe lying there.
Is it possible that Phillipe sent Justin to me? That he wants me to find another love? That he chose a father for his child?
Whaaat? Forget Cajun Sass. I’m going Cajun Crazy.
Bless my heart!
And then the other shoe dropped…
Justin was not being fair with his silence. Not to Louise, not to his parents, and not to Doctor Clovis, all of whom had an interest in his future plans. But, dammit, he was waiting to hear about something important. It was a longshot that would probably never pay off, but, man, it could be so life-altering that he had to give it a chance.
In the meantime, he was studying almost full-time for his medical boards which he would take in ten more days. He’d already tied up the loose ends of his residency at the hospital and only had a few more shifts to handle before he was done.
It was almost two weeks since the wedding and his day at Grand Isle, but he’d only been able to get back to Houma a few times for in-and-out visits…literally, in Louise’s case. With his parents, it was usually a quick dinner before he was off. His brother and his bride would return soon from their extended honeymoon to Europe, which was already recovering from the war. It had been a wedding gift from the Fortiers.
In mid-afternoon, there was a knock on the door of the Creole cottage he shared with his roommate, Barry Chauvin, a fellow resident at the hospital from LSU. He heard the knock from his small bedroom upstairs, but didn’t bother to go down since he knew Barry was at home, studying for his own exams. Within minutes, Barry called out from the stairway, “Yo, Boudreaux! You got company.”
To his shock, it was his mother. All dressed up in her Sunday clothes—on a weekday—a pretty floral, belted dress with low-heeled white pumps. Minus the usual white butcher’s apron that she wore in the store. Her gray-streaked brown hair was done up in the neat Victory Roll hairstyle made popular during the war; she must have come here directly from the beauty parlor.
After giving her a warm hug, he said, “Mama, what you doin’ here? Doan tell me you were just passin’ by. I have your car here. Is Daddy with you?”
“No, no. Jist me. Drove Leon’s car. Did a little shoppin’ at Holmes Department Store, then decided to come visit you. Cain’t a mother visit her oldest son without askin’?”
There had to be more than that.
“Are you sick? Is Daddy sick?”
She shook her head as he settled her onto the upholstered davenport in the small living room while he sat beside her.
“Would you like something to drink? Sweet tea? Lemonade? There’s probably coffee, too. I’ve been drinking so much coffee while