Page 35 of June

“Yeah,” Enid replied.

They left the apartment and made their way to Enid’s car. Jill hopped inside without preamble, and Enid got in the driver’s seat. She joined traffic and turned the radio down a bit so that they could talk without yelling at each other.

“So, how was school? You had class today, right? Rory said she bumped into you on campus.”

“Yeah, I had a class. No big deal. It was boring.”

“Aren’t most classes?”

“Pretty much,” she replied.

“Do you have to go to grad school to do what you want to do? It didn’t sound like it the other night when we were talking at the bar.”

“I don’t have to, but MBAs get better jobs usually, or they get paid better, at least. I got that good job out of undergrad, so I thought I was fine and didn’t need the advanced degree. I hadn’t exactly planned to be back here so soon.”

“I wonder if I should go back to school sometimes. I mean, I’m a twenty-six-year-old tour guide. It’s not what my parents dreamed for me, you know?”

“What else would you like to do?”

“Nothing. I like what Iamdoing. It’s just that it barely pays the bills most of the time. When I wanted a new apartment, I had to save up for the security deposit. I get benefits because I’m full-time, but they’re not that great, and I don’t exactly have a 401(k), either.”

“But you like what you do? That’s got to count.”

“It does, but it’s not exactly reliable. I’m paid hourly, but not much because I make tips. Tips are good on some tours, and on others, I get hardly anything. At least one tour a week, there are no tips at all, and I put a lot of work into my tours.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are the scripts and the locations we have to visit, but I do extra research. I try to add on to the tours however I can. Sometimes, it’s researching the history of a location; it’s telling a story of a ghost with dramatic flair. Other times, it’s taking them a little out of the way to show them something not included in the tour. I do a lot of that research off the clock, so when Idon’t even get a single tip, it kind of sucks. Some weeks, mostly during the summer, the money’s good. When the off-season hits, the tours aren’t as packed, and the tips dry up a bit, so there’s a seasonal element to it, too.”

“If you get promoted to manager, would that help?”

“Sort of,” Jill said. “I would be paid more because it’s a salary position, and the benefits would be a little better, but I’d miss out on at least some of the tips, so it might still be the same amount of money or maybe even less than what I make in some months now. It’s more regular, though, so it would at least be a consistent paycheck.”

“Well, that’s better than whatIhave right now,” Enid noted as she turned right.

“Why don’t you come work with us, Enid? Your best friend works there, and so do I. Mel is cool. She’s a great boss. Plus, you know her already. It could be fun.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I’d be interested enough in it to put in all the work you do for it.”

“I can tell you some of my secrets,” Jill offered.

“Oh, yeah?” Enid chuckled.

“Well, yeah. You’re buying me dinner tonight. It’s the least I could do.”

When they arrived at the packed restaurant, they only had to wait a couple of minutes for their table. Enid hoped Jill didn’t mind that it was a chain place with jalapeño poppers and that there wasn’t much New Orleans about it, but even if Jill did mind, she didn’t say anything to her, so Enid just picked up the menu when the hostess walked away and tried to find the least expensive thing on the menu for herself. Finding a salad and feeling like that could work, she looked across the table at Jill, who was still looking down at her own menu. Enid smiled.

“Are you staring at me?” Jill asked.

“Maybe a little,” she said.

Jill looked up and replied, “Just checking.”

Then, she winked at her, and in that moment, Enid felt awful. She was on a date with this beautiful woman who was funny and had just flirtatiously winked at her, but Enid was thinking about green eyes instead of blue. Not knowing what to do about it, she made conversation until they ordered, and they just continued chatting until they were finished with their food. Jill told her about the tours she regularly gave and shared a few funny stories. Enid talked to her about school and her ex-girlfriends. They laughed about them and decided against dessert. Enid paid the check, and about an hour after the date had started, it was over because she hadn’t planned another activity. Maybe she should have done so, but Jill didn’t say anything when they got in the car, so Enid drove them back to Jill’s place.

“So, do you want to come in?” Jill asked her when they got to her front door.

Her hands moved to Enid’s belt loops, and her fingers slid through them, pulling Enid a bit until she was just inches away from her.

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