Page 49 of The Lady on Esplanade
I dropped to my knees.My heart hurt at this street-smart kid crying over someone else’s pain.I nodded.“I think we’ve known it for a while, but now we might have proof.”
He looked away to wipe at his face with the heels of his hands, then turned back to me.“My granddaddy and uncle ain’t never been found, neither.Or they be buried but nobody knows who they are.They be gone, but Meemaw likes to pretend they comin’ home soon.”
His body was stiff as I put my arms around him.I held on until I felt the shift in his spine, and his arms came around me as his head lowered onto my shoulders and he began to sob out loud.The waves of hurt and destruction from Hurricane Katrina continued to be as real and solid throughout the city as if it had happened yesterday,affecting even those who hadn’t yet been born when the storm decimated the city.
Despite all the strides in the redevelopment and rebuilding of New Orleans that had transpired over the last two decades, shadows of loss haunted the streets and people.Katrina was a wound that refused to heal long after the levees were rebuilt and the last victim was claimed.
I waited until Trevor’s sobs subsided and he pulled back before I stood, being careful to ignore his reddened eyes and the wet spot on my shoulder.
“You gonna call Sunny now?Beau and Miss Mimi gonna need her back.”
Yet again, I was amazed at the astuteness of this twelve-year-old.I wasn’t sure that even my brother, JJ, who was the same age, would have thought the same thing.“Yeah, that’s my next phone call.”I moved to the sink, where I soaked a paper towel in cool water, then filled a glass from the bottled-water dispenser.No one drank New Orleans tap water, even in times of distress.
“Here,” I said, handing them both to Trevor.“Wipe your face, and then go give this glass to Miss Mimi, all right?”
He nodded.“Do I have to talk to Henry?”
“No.Are you mad because he wouldn’t let you play video games?”
“And because he lies.”
I raised my eyebrows.“Yeah?Like, about what?”
He shrugged.“Stuff at the shop.Like, I’ll put something in the stockroom, and when Christopher can’t find it Henry blames me because he’s moved it.”
“I’m sorry.Would you like me to talk to Christopher about it?”
He thought for a moment and looked up at the corner of the room before shaking his head.“No.Christopher says that I need to learn how to fight my own battles.So I’ll do it.Just gotta make sure Henry isn’t listening.”He leaned forward to whisper in my ear.“He likes to spy on people.”
“That’s not good.Let me know if you need an adult to step in.”
After a brief hesitation, he nodded, then left the kitchen, headed for the study.
I pulled out my phone again and opened the contacts app.I had yet to permanently delete Michael Hebert’s contact info, although I’d blocked his number more than once.We had had the opportunity to talk amicably at his parents’ beach house in Mississippi the previous month, but that had been before I’d discovered the truth about his family’s involvement in Sunny’s kidnapping.We hadn’t spoken since he and Felicity/Sunny had escaped to New York City, where Felicity had been living before she’d discovered her true identity.
My thumb remained poised over his number while I gathered courage; then I quickly tapped on it before I could talk myself out of it.He answered in the middle of the second ring.
“Nola.”
“Hello, Michael.”I waited for him to say something.When he didn’t, I said, “I need to speak with Sunny.”
“She still goes by Felicity.And why do you need to speak with her?”
I decided that being direct would be the most efficient way to get what I needed.“Because we’re pretty sure her mother’s body has been found.I don’t know any of the details yet, but I know there will be a funeral after the coroner releases the remains.Beau and Mimi need her here.”
There was a pause, and then: “Hold on.Let me get her.”
I heard muffled voices in the background, and then a female voice came on the phone.“This is Felicity Hebert,” she said, her voice almost confrontational.Not that I blamed her.She’d been lied to her entire life and probably wasn’t sure whom she should be angry with.She might even blame me for my role in her adoptive father’s incarceration and the family’s turmoil and stress over his upcoming trial for kidnapping and related charges.
“Hello, Felicity.This is Nola Trenholm.We didn’t get a chance to speak when you were here—”
“I know who you are.Please tell Mimi that I will be there as soon as I can.Can I send you my flight details?I don’t want to burden Mimi right now.”
“Of course.I’ll even pick you up at the airport.”I didn’t consider how I didn’t have a car until the words were already said.Maybe Jolene could drive.Or Cooper.I’d think about it later.
“Thank you.I’ll have Michael give me your number so it’s on my phone.”
“Okay.And please give me yours—” I stopped because she’d already disconnected the call.
