Page 24 of February (New Orleans #2)

“H ello?”

“Monica, hey. It’s Sophie.”

“Hi there,” Monica said into the phone as she watched Bridgette in the conference room, talking to her parents.

“I’m free for lunch today, so I thought I’d call and see if you wanted to join me. I’m not sure when you’re heading back to New York.”

“I don’t know if I can today,” she said as she watched Bridgette stand up. “Can I text you in a bit? Somethings going on at the office, and I need to check on a few things.”

“Is everything all right?”

“Yeah. I’m here to possibly buy the company, but things are kind of spiraling at the moment, so I need to get an update first.”

“Okay. No problem. Just message me when you know.”

“Would it be okay if I bring someone with me if I’m able to make it?”

“Someone?”

“Bridgette; the woman you met by the water the other day.”

“Oh, sure. The more the merrier, I guess.”

“Okay. I’ll let you know,” Monica said. “If I can’t, we’ll still get together before I go.”

“When will that be?”

Monica watched the conference room door open, and Bridgette walked out by herself.

“I don’t know, actually. I’m not thinking soon, though.”

“That’s good. I’d love to spend more time with you before you go. You can fill me in more on what I’ve been missing back in New York.”

“I will,” she replied, wondering if she actually had anything to fill Sophie in on. “I’ve got to run. I’ll text you.”

“Okay. Bye.”

Monica put the phone down and looked up at Bridgette.

“Hey,” Bridgette said in a tone that worried Monica.

“How did it go?”

“I guess it’s complicated, but we’re going to keep talking this morning before they make any official decisions. They told me they could give me a few days, but then they started asking more questions.”

“What can I do?” Monica asked.

“Just sit here, looking gorgeous,” Bridgette teased with a wink. “I’m going to go back in there and try to take in all the questions they ask so that I can formulate my plan of attack later.”

“I can help.”

“I know you can. But I think I need to do at least this part on my own. Maybe this afternoon, we can go over everything.”

“I can work out here on other stuff for now,” Monica said. “But Sophie called. She wanted to know if I wanted to go to lunch with her today.”

“Oh. You should go.”

“I told her I needed to check on things here first, and if I do go, I told her I’d bring you.”

Bridgette smiled and said, “Go to lunch with your friend. I think I’ll be having lunch in the conference room with my parents today.”

“You sure? I can skip it.” Monica reached out to take Bridgette’s hand, but she caught Dan returning to his desk, so she stopped and put her hand back in her own lap.

“No, go. Have some fun.”

“I have been having fun,” Monica said with two lifted eyebrows aimed at Bridgette.

“Me too.” Bridgette chuckled. “Maybe we can do dinner and drinks tonight, just you and me. We can go out, but not stay out late or anything.”

“Whatever you want,” Monica replied.

“Are you being nice to me because of what I’m going through here?”

“No, I’m being nice to you because…” Monica turned to see Dan looking at both of them. “I’m a nice person.”

Bridgette laughed and said, “Yes, you are a very nice person.” She then took a few steps back and added, “I’ll talk to you later, nice person.”

“I know a great place in the Quarter. It’s one of my favorites,” Dan said. “If you two are going out later, I can recommend somewhere.”

“I think we’ll be okay. Bridge probably has a few places she’d recommend as well.”

“Yeah, but I know a bartender who gets me happy-hour prices all the time. I just need to be there to order for you.”

“Dan?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m a lesbian,” Monica said.

His face registered the shock.

“Yeah… So, enjoy your happy-hour drinks, okay? I’m going to get back to work, though.”

A few hours later, Monica left the office without Bridgette, which felt strange to her. She had spent most of the morning working on getting her inbox down to a reasonable number of unread messages and checking in with her assistant. She also watched through the conference room window as Bridgette appeared to be frustrated at times, happy at others, and angry at a few as well. Monica didn’t know what to make of that. Bridgette’s mother went to the bathroom first, but the door was closed between Monica and Bridgette with her father, who continued talking. When Bridgette went to the break room to get coffee later, her mom went with her, so Monica wasn’t able to get an update by the time she had to leave to meet Sophie.

“Over here,” Sophie said as she waved her hand for Monica to see through the crowd that had gathered in the restaurant lobby.

“Hey,” Monica replied and opened her arms to hug her friend. “It’s busy, huh?”

“We’re in Carnival season. It’s only going to get busier.”

“I thought that was really in March.”

“Starts in February. I’ve learned to love it. We get a crazy number of tourists, yes, but it’s a lot of fun for locals, too.”

“You grew up here, right?”

“I did,” Sophie replied and smiled. “It’s what made it so easy to move back. Don’t get me wrong, I miss New York at times, but I love it here.”

The hostess yelled Sophie’s last name, and they were sat quickly at a small table in the corner that almost butted up against another table for two. It reminded Monica of the cafés she’d spent time in when she’d been in France.

“So, how is it going with the company you’re buying?”

“Oh. Well… that’s interesting,” Monica said. “But it’s not something I can’t really get into. Arnette is publicly traded, and it’s not a done deal.”

“Shit. Right,” Sophie replied as she looked down at the menu. “But it’s been interesting? Is that why you’re going to be here for longer?”

“Sort of,” she said as she picked up a menu from the holder on the table. “It’s more about something else.”

“Oh?” Sophie asked.

Monica picked something quickly from the menu and put it down. Sophie, apparently, had also made her decision and dropped her menu as well.

“I met someone.”

“Met someone? You mean, someone ?” Her friend lifted an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Monica said, laughing. “I haven’t been with anyone since Lily.”

“Then, you’re definitely due,” Sophie replied, leaning over the table. “Someone in New Orleans, right?”

“Yes, which makes things complicated because she lives here, and I live there.”

“You haven’t talked about how that could work? Do you want it to work?”

“It’s really new,” Monica said as their waiter arrived.

They placed their order for drinks and salads, and the waiter left them alone to continue their conversation.

“So, you don’t know if you want it to continue?”

“I feel like I do. She’s not at all what I expected.” She chuckled. “Honestly, I thought I’d had my shot at love, and I was going to be alone or maybe date a little but not have anything serious. I’m probably taking over for Dad and–”

“Probably? Last we talked, which was, like, a few days ago, you were definitely taking over for him, and likely, soon. Did something change?”

Monica sighed and said, “Not specifically.”

“Okay. Well, the woman you met, does she want it to continue?”

“I think so. The way she holds me, Soph…” Monica closed her eyes for a second to picture Bridgette holding her that morning in the hotel room.

“And the sex is amazing, I assume?”

“We haven’t yet,” Monica said.

“Oh. Really? Why not? You only have until you leave, right? What if you decide to do long-distance, but you haven’t done that yet, and she visits you in New York, and it’s bad?”

“I can’t imagine it would be bad with us,” Monica replied. Then, she bit her lower lip and added, “And, honestly, I don’t know if I want to take over for my father anymore.”

“Really? Since when?”

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since I got down here. This place is so different from New York.”

“Tell me about it,” Sophie replied as their drinks were placed in front of them on the table.

“I’ve been so lonely, Soph,” Monica revealed. “I knew that before I came here, but I know it now more than ever, and when I go home, that loneliness will return.”

“Not if you have this new woman in your life, right?”

“She wouldn’t be there all the time. She’s not ever going to move from New Orleans. I know that. And I wouldn’t ask her to do that, either. You should see how she lights up when she talks about it. She loves it here. She even makes me love it here, too. I wouldn’t want to ever take that away from her. So, I’d be alone there unless she visited, and then, we’d have a weekend at a time, and she’d be gone again. Where would that leave us?”

“Eventually, you’d have to move here,” Sophie replied with a shrug. “If it works out. Is that what you’re thinking?”

“I’ve been thinking about that a lot, yes.”

“Really? You just told me how new this thing with her was. So much so that you didn’t know if you wanted it to continue. And now, you’re thinking of moving here for her?”

“No, moving here because I actually like it here now. It’s such a change of pace that I feel like I need. Besides, it’s possible Aaron will go to Tulane. Lily wants him to stay in New York, but he’s more interested in Tulane and LSU than he is in going to school up there. He’d be here for at least the next four years, so I’d be able to spend more time with him.”

“And there’s this new woman who also happens to live here,” Sophie said before she took a sip of her tea.

“Yes.” Monica smiled. “I haven’t decided anything yet, and I’m still here to work through the possible acquisition, but I’m trying to take the time to figure out what I want.”

“Who isn’t?” Sophie replied. “And I can definitely understand the loneliness. I feel like I’ve been single for so long, my parts are just going to shrivel up from lack of use. And when I finally do meet the woman of my dreams, she’s going to take one look down there and shake her head before she runs.”

Monica laughed and took a long drink from her cup.

“I don’t think that’s how it works. At least, I hope not. It’s been a while for me, but as far as I know, everything still works down there.”

“Being single sucks,” Sophie said. “For once, I want to meet someone whom I’m excited about from the start; so excited that I’m in lust at first sight, and it builds into love, and we get married and have babies, and it’s all just perfect.” Sophie laughed a little. “And since that’s a fantasy world, I’d settle for an excellent kisser, someone who knows how to cook would be great, and someone who makes me laugh. Is that really too much to ask?”

“No, but I don’t think you should settle, either. I never thought I’d meet anyone else, and I stopped looking. Then, suddenly, there’s this twenty-seven-year-old gorgeous redhead with these perfect green eyes, a sassy disposition, and an intelligence that she undervalues herself, and I’m smitten.”

“She’s twenty-seven?” Sophie asked a little louder than she probably anticipated.

“She is. Way too young for me.”

“Who cares?” Sophie replied. “Go for it. You’re in the prime of your damn life, Monica. You deserve happiness and to find love from someone who won’t be looking for a younger girlfriend and cheating on you.”

“So, the rumor mill made it all the way to you, huh?” she asked.

“Yeah… Sorry.” Sophie gave her a sympathetic expression.

“It’s fine. It happened. We had a few good years in there, and I got Aaron out of it.”

“And now, you have a new woman who sounds great.”

“We’ve been on a few dates, if you can call them that. I don’t know that I have her.”

“When are you seeing her again?”

“Technically, at the office when I get back after lunch.”

“What? You met her at that company you’re trying to buy?”

“Yes,” she said. “That’s bad, right?”

“Depends. Is she mad that you’re trying to buy it or cool with it?”

“That’s the complicated part, but it doesn’t have to do with us. She and I are good. I just want her to be happy with whatever the outcome is.”

“Then, I’d say have as much fun as you can with her while you’re here, but see if there’s something real to it. If there is, you will have to figure out what you want to do. Moving here for someone you just met might not be the best idea, but if you’d really consider moving here without her being here, then maybe you were meant to all along.”

Monica had a lot to think about on her walk back to the office. She and Bridgette had planned to meet at two in the afternoon to discuss what had happened with her parents, so that gave her a little time to walk around before she had to get back. Monica decided to go to the Square, which was becoming one of her favorite places in the city. She wandered by one artist’s display after the other before she heard a throat clear, so she turned to see a woman who looked familiar.

“You’re the fortune teller,” she said.

“I’m one of them, yes,” the woman replied with a kind smile. “And I saw you, so I thought I’d come over and tell you that the cards say yes.”

“Sorry?”

“I’ve read the cards for you, and they say yes.”

“You read… I’m sorry. What?”

“The cards tell me that you should go with what your heart is telling you. I think you know what I’m talking about. And I must run to set up my table, but I am certain about this, so you should be, too.”

The woman walked off then, leaving her standing there, thinking about what she’d just heard. Monica had just been picturing how her life would be if she moved here. She’d just been silently asking herself if she should seriously consider giving up her life in New York and moving to New Orleans. The fortune teller had just told her that the cards said yes.