Page 78 of The Lady on Esplanade
Love, Cooper
I stared at the signature line, reading it over and over.Love, Cooper.And then back to the word “rousing.”If I weren’t only in my twenties,I could have sworn I was having a hot flash.I’d have to ask Melanie about it, although she was still denying that she was anywhere near menopause.
I considered calling Cooper for a discussion, or at least an explanation, but I had no idea what the time difference was between New Orleans and Malaysia.Besides, he had already told me that finding availability in his schedule to talk would be problematic and that he would call me as soon as he was stateside again, on Friday.
“Supper’s on the table,” Jolene announced.
I placed the card and envelope on the tray table and pulled myself up to a sitting position.
“Oh, no, you don’t.”Jolene rushed over to my side, followed quickly by Sarah.“This is the sort of thing I told you that you need to watch out for,” she said, looking at my sister.“Nola puts mules to shame with her hardheadedness, and if she didn’t sing so beautifully I’d say she was deaf, too, because she apparently didn’t hear a word Dr.Longo said about taking it easy.And she isnotto put any weight on that foot.”Jolene scowled at me, making me surprisingly grateful that she was leaving the next day.
She crossed the room to retrieve my scooter, sparkly streamers flying from the handlebars.“This is a special treat, so as soon as your last bite of dessert is gone, you’re going right back to the couch and elevating your foot, you understand?I know you’re thinking that once I’m headed to Mississippi you can do what you like, but I’ve already had a long sit-down with Sarah so that she understands her responsibilities.I’ve also bought two rolls of duct tape just in case.”
“I really don’t think—”
“And she taught me how to use them,” Sarah said, her face serious.
Jolene turned down offers of help from Beau and Jaxson.“We gotta see that Sarah can do this on her own, or back to Mimi’s we go.”
Sarah sent me a desperate glance, and I gave her a brief nod.“We got this.”That was something my mother used to say, and it surprised me that it was the first thing that came to me.“My other leg is verystrong, so you don’t have to support all my weight, okay?Just hold the scooter steady and maybe take my elbow to help me stand.”
With minimal effort, Sarah and I managed to pull me off the sofa and onto the scooter.It helped that Sarah had a lot of upper-body strength owing to being on the Ashley Hall archery team.She was also tall for her age.We wore matching smiles of satisfaction as we faced Jolene.
Beau actually clapped.“Well done.Everybody make room so Nola can practice navigating to the dining table.Watch out, because she might run you down.We all know how much she appreciates Jolene’s cooking.”
I aimed the scooter directly at him, but he stepped out of the way in time, so I unfortunately missed him.Two chairs had been set up for me at the table so I could elevate my leg on one.After I’d sat down, I patiently waited for Jolene to place a napkin in my lap even though it was clear that I was more than capable of doing it myself.I didn’t want to give her any reason to suggest going back to Mimi’s again.
“You didn’t have to do this, Jolene.Sarah and I would have been perfectly happy with a pizza or frozen dinners.”
“Speak for yourself,” Sarah said, reaching for Jolene’s homemade dinner rolls.
“You know how much I love to cook, and it’s a pleasure to see so many faces at my table.”Smiling graciously at Camille, she added, “Especially a new face.I suggest that you serve yourself before the food comes to Nola, or you’re likely to miss out.She’s so skinny that she has to run around the shower to get wet, but she has the appetite of a linebacker, bless her heart.”Jolene handed the bread basket to Camille just as Beau’s phone rang.
He excused himself and stood.“It’s Sam.Go ahead and start.I’ll be right back,” he said before stepping into the kitchen.
I could hear the low rumblings of his voice but couldn’t make out the words he said.Not that I was trying to eavesdrop, of course, butit wasn’t like he was whispering.When he returned, he wore a grim expression.
“Everything all right?”Camille asked with concern.
Beau sat down again and pulled up his chair.“Sort of.There was a fire today at the complex where Sam lives.Fortunately, it was in the middle of the day, when most of the residents were at work, but it seems it was set deliberately in another part of the complex to distract first responders from a burglary call that had gone out from Sam’s building fifteen minutes earlier.”
“Oh, no.Is Sam all right?”Camille pressed her hand against her heart.
“She is.The door to her apartment isn’t, though.Hers was one of two apartments where forced entry was attempted.Unfortunately, they succeeded with hers.”His eyes met mine.“Don’t worry.The rings are still there.The burglar made it to the closet where the safe is but didn’t manage to open it—if he, or she, even tried.Police are dusting it for fingerprints.Only Sam’s AirPods and a small Bluetooth speaker were taken—probably because they were the only things of value that were portable.”
“Well, that’s a little too close for comfort,” I said.“Maybe you should put the rings in a safe-deposit box?”
“That was my original plan, but the funeral is tomorrow, so I can’t make it to the bank before it closes for the holiday.I’d rather put them someplace where I can easily access them night or day and on weekends so that when Mimi says she’s ready I can retrieve them.”
“You can keep them here,” I said, “since now we have alarms on the doors.And a Barbie head.Besides, we have nothing of any value here except for Jolene’sWizard of Ozcollectibles.”
“And my fine china, don’t forget,” Jolene said.
“I don’t think anybody’s going to break in to steal china,” Jaxson said.At Jolene’s hurt expression, he amended, “I mean, if it were a robber with any sense of taste and style, that’s the first thing they’d go for.But for most criminals it’s too fragile and heavy to grab andgo.My guess is that fine china is very low on the list of items stolen during robberies in this city.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” Jolene said, passing a bowl of her mashed potatoes with candied bacon bits to Camille.“And I think it’s a good idea to keep them here for the time being.The room at the back of the apartment that Nola uses as her office and music-writing room looks like a hurricane tore through it, and even she can’t find anything in it.I think she uses the mess as an excuse not to write any songs, since her guitar is completely buried, but that’s a conversation for another time.”
I narrowed my eyes at her and didn’t bother to hide dropping a piece of ham on the floor for Mardi.
