Page 74 of The House on Prytania
CHAPTER 24
Jolene dropped me off at the Ryans’ house on Prytania on her way to take Sarah to the Past Is Never Past. Not a big fan of antiques, for obvious reasons, Sarah was there mostly to meet Trevor when he showed up after school and to walk through the Quarter with Jolene. I strongly advised them both to avoid Bourbon Street. Thank goodness it was fall and the eau de Bourbon stew wasn’t as strong as in the summer months, but there were still things on Bourbon Street that I warned Sarah would scar her for life. Granted, it was a weekday afternoon, but still. Not only cockroaches mated out in the open if given the opportunity.
Sunny ran down the walkway to greet us. “So happy to see y’all,” she said, then winked at Jolene. “Did you hear how easily I slipped in that ‘y’all’?”
“I did,” Jolene said. “I’d say you’re hovering right below the Mason-Dixon Line, which is better than last week.”
“Where was I last week?”
“Maine,” Jolene said with a straight face, making Sunny laugh.
She laughed easily despite the last few traumatic months, which was a relief given her childhood nickname. But right now, with thesun glinting off her golden hair (which was still the wrong shade, according to Jolene), all she needed to do was add a yellow ribbon to look exactly the way one could imagine the grown-up version of Sunny should look.
Sunny opened the hourglass gate for me, and surprised me with a hello hug. Turning back to the car, she said, “Don’t y’all want to come in for a bit? Mimi and I were in the back garden, and I was helping her get it ready for the big party. I bought us matching monogrammed gardening gloves, but Mimi has a huge collection in her gardening shed that y’all can borrow. She taught me how to make sweet tea, and there’s a fresh pitcher in the fridge if all y’all would like some.”
Jolene grinned. “Your correct usage of ‘all y’all’ is very impressive, Sunny. Sounds a lot more like me than Mimi, but I figure you already know that and can slide into her accent, too. That’s a talent, by the way. I guess my own accent is too strong to disguise. My high school French teacher gave me a passing grade halfway through the semester just so that I’d stop coming to class and butchering the language. She said there hadn’t been that kind of a French slaughter since Waterloo.”
“Isn’t that an ABBA song?” Sarah asked.
“And you’re one of the few people under fifty who knows that,” Jolene said. She turned back to Sunny. “We would love to join you, but Sarah and I have plans. Hopefully we can come back before Sarah leaves on Sunday.”
Sunny moved closer to the car. “Have you come up with a plan for your beach house visit?”
“Not yet,” I said. “I’m guessing that’s why Beau wanted to see me today. To be honest, I’m not really sure what he hopes I’ll discover. I mean, I doubt I’ll find Antoine Broussard’s journal lying out in the open where he admits that he killed his daughter, or even Jeanne Broussard’s diary saying she was being molested by her uncle. If they ever existed, I’m sure they’ve long since been destroyed. I don’t think there’s even a slim chance of that murder ever being solved.”
“And you know what?” Sunny said. “I’m fine with that. I’m backand Mimi is happy.I’mhappy, even though I’ve just been through some of the worst months of my life. I think at some point Beau is going to have to realize that things are good right now, and there’s no need to stir the pot.”
“At this point, I think if I can just convince Beau that I’m working hard to find answers, and Mimi keeps him occupied with this ‘murder house flip’ idea, maybe he’ll lose interest. The only thing I can think of that might help is reaching out to Michael’s biological parents—wherever they are.”
“Why would you want to do that?” Sunny had raised her voice, making the three of us turn toward her. Even Sarah looked up from her phone. Sunny grimaced. “I’m sorry—didn’t mean to shout. It’s only that I just finished saying how happy and settled everyone is right now. I don’t understand why you’d want to rock the boat by contacting Michael’s parents. It seems to me they left for a good reason and have stayed away for the same reason. Can’t we just let them be?”
“I’m sorry. I am. And I do understand. But don’t you want to know if they’re connected to your kidnapping? Even if they aren’t, they might know who is. At the very least, I need to ask so that I can tell Beau I’ve exhausted that line of questioning. Then we can all move on. Do you think you can live with that?”
Sunny was silent for a long moment, making us all shift uncomfortably. Then her face transformed from distressed concern to relaxed understanding. “Yes. Of course. Don’t stress yourself. Just go to the beach house and have fun. Sam and I can help you figure out what to tell Beau later.”
“Now, that’s a plan I can live with.” I stepped back from the car. “Tell Trevor I said hello and that I’m still waiting for that fanny pack I said to be on the lookout for.”
“You do not need a fanny pack, regardless of what the Instagram influencers are saying,” Jolene said. “They are tackier than white shoes with dark stockings. You just need to carry a pocketbook like a normal person.”
I started to respond, but she was already rolling up her window. She and Sarah waved as Bubba squealed away from the curb and drove away.
Sunny linked her arm through mine to show that we were still friends. “She’s right, you know. Unless you’re ninety years old, you don’t need a fanny pack. Tell me what you need it for and maybe I can make it for you. My mom taught me how to sew, and I made most of the costumes for all the high school productions. I really wanted to be on stage, but I never quite made the cut, so I was the star of the costume department instead.” She laughed her bubbly laugh, contagious enough that I laughed, too.
We stopped on the front porch. “I’m wanting something like my backpack but smaller. Something I can wear with dresses when I’m not wearing jeans, so that I have a place for my phone and keys.”
“You mean like a purse?”
“Yeah. Sort of. But I don’t want to be fussing with where to put it, so I want something I can strap around my waist and forget about.”
“I’m actually with Jolene on this one. They do make purses called crossbodies, you know. They’re smaller and you just wear them across your body.” She was speaking slowly to me, the way elementary school teachers spoke to their charges.
“I know. But the ones I’ve seen are so... purselike. I wanted something soft and slouchy that would blend into whatever I was wearing. Like a fanny pack.”
She opened the front door and ushered me in. “I have an idea of something, but it’s going to be a surprise. And it won’t be a fanny pack.”
I followed her inside. As she closed the door, she said, “Is there a date with Cooper I need to know about? I work best with a deadline.”
My cheeks flushed. “He’s new in town and I’m happy to show him around. He’d like to take a look at the house on Esplanade, too, so I figured I could show him. Just to be clear, I’m not interested in a relationship right now. He’s an old friend, and I might want to weara dress now and again, like when my jeans are being washed. Jolene has a closetful of purses, but I’d like something that’s more me.”
