Page 102 of The House on Prytania
“Not in freezing cold weather. We can make this work.” I lookeddown at the hardwood floor that didn’t even have a rug. “We can take turns sleeping in the bed and use my backpack as a pillow on the floor.”
He didn’t look convinced. “I’ll let you get settled and freshen up while I go back downstairs and ask about a place around here for dinner. I’m starving.”
At the mention of food, my stomach began growling. “I’ll meet you downstairs in ten minutes. I think I have a pair of dry socks in my backpack I need to change into, and then I’ll be right down.”
As soon as the door shut behind him, my phone binged with a text from Sarah.
Can I put lemon juice on last page of clientele book? Dad says spies do
Very old school but I say yes
Gd bc I already did and saw hidden words. Can I do whole page?
I sighed out loud. She was way too much like Melanie.What words did you see?
Dear Mother
Wow let me know the rest when u finish
Also I’m resending all pics from cemetery note shadow and orbs around names wet handprints too
The pictures were still downloading when she sent me a final text.Gotta go mom calling me to eat.
I stood staring at my phone as the photos slowly began to download, the hotel’s Wi-Fi apparently powered by hamsters on a wheel.I closed my phone, knowing that it would take much longer if I stared at each pixel, and I began to search through my backpack for anything resembling a toothbrush or toothpaste. I remembered laughing at both Melanie and Jolene as they told me that I should always have an emergency stash of toiletries and makeup with me just in case. In a pinch I figured I could use the edge of my notepaper to floss between my teeth, but that would have to be the extent of my nighttime routine.
A thump sounded on the door, and I took the one step to cross the room and answer it. Beau stood on the other side holding his cooler from the truck. I backed up to allow him inside and watched as he kept his head ducked as he set it down, filling the space between the bottom of the bed and the door.
“Restaurants all closed early because of the weather, so we’re going to have to make do. I can’t promise that my snacks are more nutritious than those in the vending machine in the lobby, but at least we’ll have a variety. And now we have someplace other than the bed to sit.”
While he set out our feast of bottled water, candy bars, and salty snacks on the tiny bedside table, I texted Jolene to let her know that I was okay but that Beau and I were snowed in for the night and expected to return the following morning. Her response was only a wink emoji.
As I bit into a Snickers bar, I asked, “You don’t happen to have any toothpaste or a spare toothbrush with you, do you?”
“I could pretend to go check or just tell you right now that I know that I don’t. And they don’t have any downstairs, either. I already asked. At least there’s soap and shampoo in the bathroom.”
I nodded casually, as if this were a normal dinner on a normal night. But there was nothing normal about any of this, and I was almost preternaturally aware of the bed I sat upon and how very small it was. “Did you let Mimi and Sam know that you wouldn’t be home tonight?”
“Yep. Mimi told me to stay warm and she’d see me tomorrow. Sam said I should sleep in the truck.”
I groaned. “I am so sorry. This is all my fault. You gave me a choice, remember? And I obviously made the wrong one. Look, nobody’s sleeping in your truck. I’ll sleep on the floor, okay? I’ve got my backpack for a pillow, and Jolene’s down coat will make the perfect blanket. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re not sleeping on the floor, Nola. We’re both adults. I think we can manage sharing a bed to sleep without any...” He waved his hand in the air.
“Hanky-panky?” I suggested, recalling the word my dad would use when warning me about my curfew and boys in general before I headed out on a date.
“That’s one word for it, I guess, although I can’t say I’ve ever heard it actually spoken out loud by anyone under fifty. But yes, exactly.”
I glanced at my phone. “Sarah sent me the photos she took at the Broussard tomb. They’re still downloading, but she said there are some interesting anomalies.”
“Like what?”
“I’ll let you see for yourself as soon as they finish downloading.”
He shifted his gaze to the small lamp nailed to the wall behind the bed, the only source of light in the room. “I’ll look at them tomorrow. I’m so tired that my eyes are crossing.”
My phone binged with another text from Sarah.
Omg the lighter works!!! Started from bottom line definitely from Jeanne more soon
