Page 80 of The Shop on Royal Street
“I could really go for a chili cheese omelet at the Camellia Grill. I’ve never had one, but I’ve sat next to enough people who have and it’s time to try it.”
“That’s my favorite place. I don’t know if we can beat the Baked Alaska from last night, but their chocolate, cherry, and Oreo freeze is pretty good. So’s their pecan pie.”
“I guess we’ll have to get one of each and share.”
“Sounds like a plan. Pick you up at six?”
“Perfect. But can you pick me up at my house? I need to go there after work to see where we are with the renovations. I’ve got spreadsheets tacked up on most of the walls and I need to make sure the guys are filling them in each day so I can track our progress and make plans for the next steps.”
There was a brief pause. “Spreadsheets?”
I sighed. “I’ll explain later.”
“I’ll look forward to it. How about I pick you up at five thirty so you can give me a tour? Let my uncle know what he missed out on.”
I felt a small swell of pride. “I’d love to show you around. See you at five thirty.”
My phone rang just as I hung up with Michael. I immediately hitdeclinewhen I saw it was Beau calling, then silenced it and got back to work.
•••
When I met with Trevor after work on our corner of Canal and Royal, he looked disappointed that I wasn’t carrying an extra bag. “Sorry—Jolene’s out of town.” I made a point not to mention the banana nut muffins since I hadn’t brought them, needing to make them last until Jolene returned. I took hold of the bike’s handlebars. “Did you find the item I asked about?”
“Yes, ma’am. It wasn’t easy, neither. It’s gonna cost you.” He reachedinto his backpack and pulled out a rumpled brown paper lunch bag, the creases gone soft with use, and handed it to me.
I didn’t open the bag fully but peeked inside, satisfied to see a silver flask at the bottom. “Where’d you find it?”
“Some drunk college kid in Jackson Square. He was trying to get money to get his palm read, so I saw an opportunity.” He grinned, his white teeth flashing.
“You’re a smart boy, Trevor. How much do I owe you?”
“It cost me twenty, so I’m thinking forty for my trouble. And you might want to wash that thing before you use it. I saw the guy puking right before I bought the flask from him.”
“Lovely. Don’t worry—I will.” I pulled two twenties from my wallet. “Thank you.”
“And an extra five, ’cause I added two candy bars at the bottom of the bag for you and Miss Jolene.”
I took out my second-to-last bill, which happened to be a five, and handed it to him.
He tilted his head, creasing his brow. “How come you want that for, Miss Nola?”
“For the same reason everybody else who has one does, I guess.”
“To get drunk?”
His words startled me. “No. Of course not. It’s just that sometimes, like when I’m at work or someplace where I want something to drink and it’s not easily accessible, a flask can come in handy.”
“Uh-huh.” Trevor looked at me as if I’d just told him that Santa was real. I hoped the disappointment in his brown eyes had just been my imagination.
I looked at him over my sunglasses. “And don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. I could have gone into any store and bought one, but I wanted to give you my business.” Eager to regain my footing, I said, “How’s school?”
He scuffed the toe of his sneaker against the pavement. “It’s good, I guess.”
“You guess?”
Trevor’s narrow shoulders moved up in a shrug. “My teacher says I’m smart ’cause I got a curious mind, but says I need a computer at home so I can look up stuff. She must think I’m Jay-Z or somethin’.”
“I’m sure she didn’t mean for you to buy one. There are computers to use at community centers and libraries, too, you know. For free. But you can always work and save toward getting your own.” I pulled out my last bill, a twenty. “How about you put this in a special place for your computer fund? We can both start thinking about ways to earn some extra money, okay?”
