Page 14 of February (New Orleans #2)

M onica heard her phone ringing, but she could have sworn she’d had it on do-not-disturb until eight. She opened her eyes reluctantly and reached for it on the table next to her bed. That was when she saw Lily’s name on her screen.

“Fuck,” she muttered groggily.

Lily was one of the people on her phone for whom do-not-disturb didn’t apply to in case something happened to Aaron. She didn’t want to take the call because she knew what it was about, but she’d only be delaying the inevitable, and it was better to have this out while she was alone in her hotel room and not in the office later.

“It’s six in the morning, Lil,” she said as her greeting.

“I have meetings all day. I assumed you’d be up. You’re always up by six.”

“Not anymore. What’s up?” she asked and rolled over onto her back.

“What’s up? Since when do you say, ‘What’s up?’” Lily asked.

Monica wasn’t sure when she’d last asked someone that question, but she had been hanging out with a younger crowd the previous night. Maybe she’d picked it up along with the headache she had forming now that she was awake.

“Lil, I still have an hour to sleep before I have to get ready for work, so…”

“Aaron’s visit. He said you’re in New Orleans.”

“I am.”

“Why?”

“Work,” she said.

“Since when do you travel anymore? You stopped that a while ago.”

“Since now,” she replied. “I’m here for a few weeks. I’ll make sure he’s taken care of, okay?”

“I don’t want him to go to school down there,” Lily stated.

“Well, it’s not really your choice, Lily. It’s his college experience. He should get to choose it.”

“Columbia is by far the better school, and it’s here.”

“But your son doesn’t want to go there.”

“I’m glad you brought that up. He is my son.”

“Don’t go there, Lily. We’ve had this argument before. I’ve been there for him since the moment you and I started dating.”

“I know. But he’s not yours, Mon. He’s mine and my ex’s.”

“I’m your ex.”

“You know what I mean. It’s not up to you where he goes.”

“I’m not making it up to me. He wants to go to Tulane or LSU.”

“Because of your connections.”

“I haven’t promised him anything. He called and asked me to talk to you about school and mentioned that he wanted to go to this weekend thing. It happens to coincide with me being down here. Don’t you want him to go where he wants to go?”

“I want him to stay close to home.”

“Why? You’re never there.”

“That’s not fair. I work.”

“All the time. And I do, too, but you’re asking Aaron to make an important decision about his school based on what you want. You want him to stay close, but you’re never home. If you are, you’re with your girlfriend, and your time is focused on her.”

“No, it isn’t. How would you know that, anyway?”

“Aaron stays at my place a lot, Lil. We talk. Why would he want to stay close when you’re not there or focused on him? You hardly ever showed any interest in his activities and school when he was growing up. But now you are? Right when he’s about to leave and make a pretty important decision? He wants what he wants.”

“Well, I told him I’m only paying for Columbia.”

“That was stupid,” she said.

“What’s gotten into you? You’re acting weird.”

“That’s not really any of your business anymore. If Aaron chooses another school, I’ll pay for it. It’s not like his other mother is going to help.”

“You can’t go against me like that, Monica.”

“Lil, he’s eighteen years old – this is his call. I’m not trying to go against you. I’m trying to make sure our son goes to the school he wants so that he’s not miserable somewhere else. And yes, he is my son, too. His other mother may have been there for the first three years, but she left and didn’t even fight for him. You and I met, and I fell in love with Aaron. I helped raise him. You know that. For you to keep pulling this ‘ your son’ bullshit is tired and old. I’m done with it. I hope you can find a way to let him go where he wants to go because if you don’t, you’re risking your relationship even more than you already have.”

“It’s my relationship with him,” Lily replied.

“Right now, our son is acting with more maturity than his mother, so I’ll show him around Tulane and LSU, and if he decides to go to one of those schools, I really hope you can find a way to be okay with it.”

“Monica, I don’t want you involved in this. You’ll persuade him.”

“Why would I do that? I didn’t go to school down here. My dad did. I’ve never even been here before. I don’t live down here. I have no vested interest in him going to any school in particular. I want him to go where he wants to go.”

“He’s close to your dad.”

“Because to Aaron, that’s his grandpa, and he loves him. He trusts him and takes his advice, so he wants to explore all his options. Look at it this way, Lil: he might hate both schools. Wouldn’t you rather have him come down here to find that out and change his mind than force him to go somewhere else and leave him always wondering if he would have liked someplace else better?” When Lily didn’t say anything, Monica added, “I already bought him the flight, and I’ve got him a room down the hall from mine in the Four Seasons. He’s going to be the only eighteen-year-old not staying in some cheap hotel in the Quarter. We’ll do a couple of campus tours. If he hates it here, he’ll at least know that. And if he loves it, you need to figure out how you want to handle it.”

“I want him to be happy,” Lily said. “But Columbia is the better school.”

“For you, maybe. It doesn’t have to be for Aaron. At least, not right now.” Monica sighed. “Look, now that I’m up anyway, I’m going to get dressed and grab breakfast before I have to get to work.”

“What are you even doing down there?”

“Doesn’t matter. I need to take a shower. I’ll pick Aaron up at the airport, okay? You don’t have to worry about him. And I’ll make sure he gets back home safely armed with the info he needs to make the right decision for himself.”

“Whatever. Just do whatever you want. You always do, anyway.”

“Lil, don’t call me trying to start a fight. We’re not married anymore. I don’t have to argue with you or even talk to you, honestly. I’m answering your calls only because of Aaron. Just go enjoy your life and don’t worry about what I’m doing or not doing, okay?”

Lily hung up the phone.

“Yet another thing you’ve done to validate my decision to leave,” Monica said into the phone after the call had already disconnected. “Fuck,” she added, feeling the headache hit her even more now because she went to sit up in bed.

She found some pills to help with that and downed a bottle of water before hopping into the shower, letting the water remain cool on purpose. Then, she readied herself by wearing the other pair of jeans she’d brought with her, determined to go shopping that night for some more casual clothes to get her through her remaining time here. She threw on another of her white button-downs and wished she had a sweater to wear over it that she hadn’t worn before. She had a jacket with her that she put on to combat the cool morning air, but she wished she had Bridgette’s leather jacket to wear. It had been so soft and warm that she’d almost asked if she could wear it that night and return it later.

At the café, Monica sat down at a table and looked at the short menu for the first time. The specials were written on a blackboard, but there was no mention of the French toast she’d had yesterday, so she decided to try the grits that Bridgette had mentioned. She’d never had grits before and wasn’t sure if she’d like them, so she got them with cheese and bacon and also ordered a side of eggs and a fruit bowl, just in case. She ordered her coffee as well as a tomato juice, and when her food arrived, her stomach growled.

“Well, someone’s hungry,” Bridgette said.

Monica turned to look up, surprised to see her there.

“Oh. Yeah. I didn’t think you’d be here this early.”

“I got here before you yesterday, remember? Can I sit?”

“Of course,” she replied as she motioned to the empty chair.

“I was just going to grab coffee and a muffin to-go, but I saw you with grits and had to see you try them.”

“They didn’t have the French toast,” Monica replied.

“Well, go on; give them a try. You also got bacon and cheese?”

“Yes. It sounded the most breakfast-like.”

Bridgette smiled at her and asked, “Can I steal a strawberry?”

“Sure,” Monica said.

Bridgette picked up Monica’s fork, stabbed a berry, and brought it to her mouth while Monica watched for probably a little too long before she cleared her throat and dug her spoon into her grits.

“Here I go. Wish me luck,” she said.

Bridgette chuckled, and Monica took her first bite, deciding she’d be having grits for breakfast again.

“They’re good,” she noted, sounding surprised.

“I told you.”

“Like, really good.” Monica took another bite.

“I’m glad you agree.” Bridgette laughed. “Now, I won’t bother you anymore. I just wanted to see if you liked them. I’ll–”

“You’re not bothering me,” she interrupted. “Seriously, stay. You can help me eat this since I like the grits. I got the other stuff in case I didn’t.”

“I guess I can steal another strawberry, at least,” Bridgette said before she stabbed another berry and ate it. “So, how are you feeling after last night?”

“I have a little headache, but it’s going away. I think I just need to eat.”

“That’s good,” Bridgette said.

“How do you feel?”

“Well, I didn’t really drink, so I’m good. You, on the other hand, had a few, and at least two of them were extra sweet, so you might not have realized how much alcohol was in them.”

“I was with you, so I wasn’t worried,” Monica said.

She knew that to be true. The feel of Bridgette’s hand on her back as they’d walked through the crowd had made Monica feel not alone for the first time in a very long time. She knew Bridgette wouldn’t let anything happen to her and wouldn’t let her drink anything that would cause her to fall over, drunk.

Bridgette stared at her for a long moment before the waiter arrived.

“Can I get my usual and a blueberry muffin to-go?”

“To-stay,” Monica suggested.

“Are you sure?”

Monica nodded.

“Okay. Never mind. I’ll have it here.”

The waiter nodded and walked off.

“So, you’ve been dressing casually lately.”

“Is it bad? Have your parents said something?” Monica asked before she took another bite.

“What? No, they haven’t said anything. They probably haven’t even noticed. I’m just saying that I like it.”

“You do?”

“The casual look works for you.” Bridgette shrugged a shoulder.

Monica swallowed and told herself not to take that at the flirtatious comment it had sounded like. Then, her phone beeped. She glanced down and rolled her eyes.

“Everything okay?” Bridgette asked.

“It’s my ex. She called this morning, upset about Aaron coming to visit schools. We fought, and now she’s texting me saying she doesn’t want me to pay for his school because it’s not my place.”

“You’re his mom.”

“Not to her. As much time as I spent as Aaron’s parent during my marriage to Lily, she never really treated me like a co-parent. It’s worse because his other mother hasn’t been involved in his life, so it’s not as though I would have been stepping on her toes. I just want Aaron to go wherever he wants, and Lily is hell-bent on him going to Columbia.”

“You offered to pay for him to go down here?”

“If she won’t, yes. I’d already planned on paying for half of it, or at least, his room and board or rent or something, but if she doesn’t take care of it if he chooses another school, I’ll do it myself.”

Bridgette smiled a little.

“What?” Monica asked.

“You sound like a good mom.”

“Thank you,” Monica replied, feeling the blush creep on her cheeks.

“Bridge?”

She and Bridgette looked up at the same time. Monica didn’t recognize the woman, but Bridgette seemingly did.

“Toya, hey.”

Toya… This woman was Bridgette’s ex-girlfriend, unless Bridgette knew two women named Toya and completely froze around both of them.

“It’s not French toast day,” Toya noted.

“I know. I was going to grab something to-go, but…” She looked at Monica. “This is Monica. She’s in town to work with my parents, and I sort of interrupted her breakfast.”

“Nice to meet you,” Toya said.

“You too,” Monica replied before she looked down at her food, feeling no longer hungry, and took one more bite of her grits and a sip of her coffee.

“I just came in for coffee,” Toya said as she pointed to the counter.

“Okay,” Bridgette replied.

“I think I’m finished,” Monica said. “You can have my seat, if you need it.”

“You just started eating,” Bridgette noted.

“I wasn’t really all that hungry,” she lied. “I’ll pay at the counter. You two can have the table. Bridge, feel free to finish it for me.”

“Monica, you–”

“I have to call Lily back now, anyway. I’ll see you at the office.”

She didn’t have to call Lily back and wouldn’t call her at all, if she could avoid it, but seeing Bridgette with her ex made her heart beat loud and wild in her chest. Toya was young and beautiful, just like Lily’s new girlfriend, and Monica had been stupid to think that Bridgette had been flirting with her.

“Monica, just wait. I’ll walk with you.”

“You haven’t even gotten your food yet,” she replied and picked up her bag. “I’ll see you there.”

She walked to the counter without waiting for a reply and asked for her check and another coffee to-go. Then, she watched as Toya sat down across from Bridgette in her old seat and wished she’d had the courage to stay.