Page 22 of The Lady on Esplanade
She shook her head.“No.It was Adele.I was jealous at first, because she was so gorgeous and I knew I wouldn’t stand a chance if she showed any interest, but Henry only had eyes for me.”Her smile seemed sad, and I thought it was because of the memory of her long-lost friend.“Besides, Adele didn’t like Henry all that much.”
“Because he went to Alabama?”Jolene asked.
Camille grimaced.“I think it was because Adele had met Buddy and they were dating long-distance at that point.Henry wasn’t Buddy.That was probably the main reason.Even when Buddy was away with the Army and they didn’t see each other for a year, he was everything to her.”
“Not to mention that Henry’s a bit of a jerk,” Sam muttered in my ear.She yelped, presumably another victim of Jolene’s sharp index finger.
I brushed my hand across the smooth yellow pine countertop surrounding a pretty round porcelain sink painted with pink peonies, the small cracks in the enamel identifying it as an antique.“This is stunning,” I said.
Sam moved to stand next to me.“Did Beau pick this out, too?”
Mimi shook her head.“No.I’d been keeping it in the storeroom at the shop, waiting to find the perfect place to use it.Adele chose it for Sunny’s playhouse.We were going to build one right here.Then, well…”
“Katrina came,” Sam said.“And everything changed.”
Mimi nodded somberly.“So many people just…gone.Like Buddy, and Adele.”She took Camille’s hands.“I’m just so happy to see you again.We weren’t even sure what had happened to you and Henry.We tried to find you, but everything was such a mess after thestorm, and Adele and Buddy were gone, searching for Sunny—” Her voice caught.She dropped Camille’s hands and retrieved a watering can from a shelf.
Mimi stuck an index finger into the soil in one of the pots.“I never know when I’m supposed to water them.Too little, and they shrivel.Too much, and they drown….”
“It’s all my fault.”Camille’s voice was so quiet that I wasn’t sure she’d said anything at all.
Mimi quickly set down the watering can before turning to embrace her, cradling her head as if she were a child.“Oh, sweetheart, please don’t say that.How could you even think that?”
Camille pulled away, using the sleeve of her cardigan to wipe her eyes.“When Sunny disappeared, Buddy was frantic.It was clear that the police weren’t doing enough to find her, and there was a big storm coming—although nobody knew just how big.”She glanced up at Mimi before continuing.
“I told him that if he kept badgering the police they’d arrest him for harassment and put him in jail, and then he couldn’t be any help at all.So I suggested that he go out on his own and look for Sunny.”Camille clenched her eyes tightly.“He didn’t want to leave Adele and Beau, but I promised him that Henry and I would keep them safe.”She gave a choking sob, the tears flowing freely now.“But I was wrong, wasn’t I?I should have known that Adele loved him too much to let him go alone.”Facing Mimi, she said, “Adele knew that Beau would be safe with you.I even told her where I thought Buddy had gone, so she’d have a place to start.If I’d known neither one would come back, I would have never—” Her words were swallowed by more sobbing.
Mimi drew her into another embrace.“You couldn’t have stopped her.Believe me.I tried.So did Beau.That’s why he’s still conflicted about her love for him.He doesn’t think that a mother who loves her child could ever willingly abandon him.”Mimi gently pressed Camille away from her to look her in the face.“And regardless of who suggested where Adele should go look for Buddy, she would have madethe same decision.Because you’re right—she knew Beau was safe with me.But Buddy and Sunny were out there, someplace where they definitely weren’t safe.As a wife and mother, Adele did the only thing she could think of to try to bring them back.”
“It’s not like she had a choice,” I said, my eyes stinging.
Sam rubbed her hands over her face.“Try telling that to Beau.I’ve stopped trying.”
Jolene crossed her arms.“I know.And so has Nola.But that boy’s as stubborn as a mule stuck in cement.”
Camille pulled away again, then cleared her throat.“Would you excuse me, please?I need to use the ladies’ room.No need to show me the way—it’s been a while, but I remember where it is.”
Wearing a wobbly smile, she let herself out of the greenhouse.Mimi was the first to speak.“She must miss Adele terribly.They were both only children, so they considered themselves like sisters.They say blood’s thicker than water, and I think a close friendship like that becomes like blood.It breaks my heart that she’s been holding herself responsible all these years.We made the best decisions we could at the time.But sometimes wrong decisions made before a storm hits can turn out to be worse than the actual hurricane.”
Sam slid her arm through Mimi’s.“I think we need to take you inside.”
Mimi patted Sam’s hand.“I’d like a few minutes alone before going back inside, if that’s all right.Could you please tell Lorda in the kitchen to go ahead and put the food on the table and let everyone know that we’ll be eating in ten minutes?I’m afraid it’s just my jambalaya and fried okra again, but it’s Camille’s favorite, so I thought it was appropriate.”
“No apologies needed,” Jolene said.“I’d walk a mile barefoot over hot coals to eat your jambalaya on any day that ends with Y.Take as long as you need.We’ll even help Lorda, if only to keep Nola from eating all the corn bread before it makes it to the table.”
“Funny,” I said, grateful for the soft smile on Mimi’s face.
We left Mimi and headed to the kitchen, where Lorda, the Ryans’longtime housekeeper, was taking out of the oven a baking pan filled with golden yellow sweet corn bread.I began salivating as soon as I saw it.
“I’ll be right back,” I said to Jolene and Sam.“I’ll let the guys know that dinner will be out shortly.”I headed through the kitchen to the back hallway, noticing that the powder room was empty as I passed it.I entered the parlor expecting to see Camille, but though the men were exactly where we’d left them—including Henry, with his feet still propped up on the coffee table, the almost-empty bowl of nuts now in his lap—there was no sign of her.
“Has anyone seen Camille?”I asked.Beau and Christopher stood as I entered, while Henry remained where he was and put another handful of nuts into his mouth.
“She went that way,” Henry said with a full mouth, his index finger pointing toward the foyer.
“Thanks,” I said.“Mimi sent me to tell you that dinner will be ready in ten minutes.”
I left them and headed to the foyer, stopping abruptly at the foot of the stairs.The old baby doll that I’d seen Christopher place inside the cabinet sat propped on the third step, its heavily lashed eyes focused on the front door.Holding back a ripple of revulsion, I picked it up, careful to keep it away from my body.My gaze traveled to the cabinet door, and I felt an odd relief that it was partially open, which had to mean that someone—an actual living, breathing someone—had opened it.Or it hadn’t been closed properly, so the doll fell out, and someone, possibly Camille, had put it on the step.
