Page 42 of June

Enid had picked Jill up again, and they had gone to a quick dinner, this time grabbing food from a window and walking around with it while they ate and talked, but once they finished eating, it was as if they had runoutof things to talk about. That was strange because Enid liked talking to Jill, but she felt like there was this pressure on the night now. For one, this was their second date, and Jill had been interested in doing more with Enid after their last date than just that chaste goodnight kiss, so it was possible she would want something more tonight, too.

Then again, Enid was acting like a silent weirdo, so it was possible that Jill wouldn’t want anything after this awkward walk around the Quarter. It was too early for it to be as packed as it would be later, but it was still busy. She hadn’t intended on them walking around here, but after grabbing their food, they hadn’t been paying attention to where they were going, so they had ended up there unintentionally, and now, Enid wanted to get them out of thereintentionally.

“Something else? Like what?” Jill asked and took Enid’s hand when a crowd came walking toward them, laughing andtalking and not paying attention to the fact that other people were around.

Enid pulled them over to the sidewalk, which was busy but not overly so, and they were able to walk until they turned a corner, which led toward Jackson Square.

“We could walk around some more,” she replied. “But you’ve seen this entire city at least a million times, right? You probably know what’s down every alleyway and in each courtyard because you literally walk around here for a living, and that’s what my dumb ass suggested we do on our date…”

Jill laughed a little and said, “True. But walking around on a date isn’t the same as walking around for work. I really don’t mind. Like I said, it’s a nice night, and I’m having a good time.”

Their hands were still connected, so Enid looked down at them as they dangled together between them. She wasn’t sure what she was feeling, but she didn’t pull away.

“Okay. Well, we can do this for a while and then maybe check out some of the art or something.”

“I know most of the artists. Want me to show you some of my favorites? They love me because I usually send tourists their way, so if you want something, I bet they’ll give you a discount.”

“Want art?” she asked.

“I just meant that if you like something you see, they’ll give it to you for cheap because they’ve made a lot of money thanks to me and Mel.”

“Oh, I don’t really have anywhere to hang it,” she admitted. “I’m still in my old bedroom.”

“What do you have on the walls of your old bedroom? I’d love to know that,” Jill said with a mischievous smile.

Enid laughed and replied, “Honestly, not much. There’s this old, framed painting my grandma had at her house. My mom gave it to me when she died. I just don’t have the desire to hang anything up in there because that would mean that I’m going tobe there for a long time. Like, if I put a nail in the wall – that’s it, that’s the nail in my proverbial coffin; I’ll never move out of my parents’ house, and I’m claiming that room as my permanent living space. I just can’t do that.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. And you can still look if you want. You don’t have to buy.”

They walked on until they reached Jackson Square, and Jill walked them around to an artist who had chalk drawings lining the tall metal fence. The drawings were great, but Enid was mostly just standing there while Jill talked to the artist about his newest work. Enid looked around and thought of asking Jill if she wanted to grab some beignets or maybe just walk by the water, but her eyes landed on an older woman who was staring right back at her. She was a few artists down and didn’t look like one herself. She was just standing there, facing Enid. Then, her eyes lowered, and Enid wasn’t sure what she was looking at, but the woman shook her head.

Assuming the woman wasn’t shaking her head at her, Enid looked behind her and then back at the woman, who tilted her head as if Enid should know something she didn’t. The woman pointed, and Enid looked down again, seeing her hand still joined with Jill’s. Was this stranger upset that two women were holding hands? Itwasthe South, but this was New Orleans… Same-sex couples came here to party all the time.

“Hey, what do you think?” Jill asked her, pulling Enid’s attention back to her.

“Oh, they’re great,” she said and smiled before turning to the artist to smile at him as well.

When Jill’s attention returned to her conversation, Enid looked up to see the woman still looking her way, except she was smiling at Enid this time, confusing the hell out of her becausenowshe was smiling? Had Enid read her wrong, and she didn’t really care about two women holding hands? Was she maybe anolder lesbian who was happy that the newest generation could do this in public because she never could? Enid shook her head in confusion. Then, the woman started to walk toward them, and Enid didn’t know what to do. Jill was now laughing loudly at something the artist had said, and she had pulled her hand away to cover her mouth to do it, so Enid was able to take a few steps away, drawn to the curious older woman who was now walking past her.

“It’s not her,” she told Enid with a smile and just continued to walk as if she’d said nothing at all.

‘Well, that was a weird thing to say to somebody,’Enid thought to herself.‘What did this woman even mean? Did she just decide to scare someone tonight for no reason by staring at them and making a random comment? That was probably it, but that was pretty damn rude.’

Enid hadn’t had the time to fully process that interaction, though, because suddenly, Jill’s hand was back in hers, and they were walking in the direction of the water.

“Hey, are you with me?” Jill asked.

“I’m here,” she said with a forced smile because she’d just lied to Jill.

“Do you want to keep walking around?”

“Maybe by the water?” Enid suggested, wanting to get away from the Square and the woman who could very well decide to turn around at any minute and tell her something else that might freak her out.

“Sure,” Jill replied before they crossed the street and turned right, making their way up a path that would lead to the concrete trail by the river.

They didn’t say much after that, and it was nice to just walk along the water hand in hand with someone. Enid hadn’t done this in a while.

“So, we’re going to end up pretty far away from the car if we keep walking this way. Want to turn around?” Jill asked after several minutes of walking.

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