Page 11 of July (New Orleans #7)

“H ow am I supposed to do this?” Jill asked from her swivel chair in the back office of NOLA Guides.

“She’s a very good kid. When Ky and I watched her last night, she was polite and spent most of the night in her room, working on homework,” Melinda said from the other swivel chair in the room.

“No, not Juni. I mean, yeah, Juni – I still have no idea how to parent a kid for the next month. But I meant Willa.”

“Who’s Willa?” Melinda asked.

“Her date,” Rory said as she walked into the office.

“She wasn’t my date. I just invited her to have drinks with all of us.”

“Please, you two were flirting all night,” Rory remarked.

“Who was flirting?” Enid asked, walking in.

“How many more of you are out there?” Jill asked. “It’s like a clown car.”

Melinda laughed and replied, “Asher and Linden are on their way. We’re going to lunch with them to talk wedding stuff. Bridge and Monica are joining us. But back to you now. Willa? Date?”

“It wasn’t a date,” Jill argued. “I want one, though.”

“I wish I would’ve been there,” Enid said. “Why didn’t I get an invite?” She leaned against the wall by the door.

“You were with your girlfriend, I’m guessing,” Jill said.

“She’s been sketching a lot lately, and I’m one of her favorite subjects,” Enid revealed.

“Gross. Were you naked, Enid?” Jill asked.

“Did you just say, ‘Gross?’” Enid asked with a laugh. “Like, a month ago, you had your tongue down my throat and wanted to sleep with me on our first date.”

“The first date? Really, Jill?” Melinda teased.

“What? She’s hot.” Jill shrugged a shoulder. “Can we get back to Willa now?”

“She’s hot, too,” Rory said.

“She is , right?” Jill asked and sighed. “And her hugs…”

“There was a hug?” Melinda asked.

“There was the hug,” Jill said. “And it was just what I needed, and she somehow knew that.”

“So, who is this again?” Enid asked.

“She’s Juni’s summer school teacher. She’s thirty years old and has gorgeous brown hair and blue eyes. She’s also the woman we saw in the Square when that crazy old lady told me to pay attention and pointed at her.”

“Hold on… You didn’t tell me that,” Rory spoke. “The psychic told you to pay attention to someone, and then that someone showed up in your life unexpectedly? Now, she’s hugging you at bars, apparently, and you’re thinking about her a day later?”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Jill replied. “We just happened to be there at the same time, and the crazy lady was there, too, looking for someone to freak out, I guess.”

“Jill, we told you about her,” Melinda said with a laugh. “She knows things.”

“Back to Willa. I want to ask her out,” Jill said.

“So, ask her out.” Enid shrugged.

“How the hell do I do that? I only asked her for drinks because I thought I would have Juni for, like, two more days. Now, my mom’s not coming back until probably August, while Willa will be her teacher the whole time and I’m like a junior parent.

On top of that, I have to actually watch the kid.

Asking for one night off because Mel and Ky wanted parent practice is fine, but asking you to watch her a few times a week or overnight if I want to stay over with someone is a whole other story.

She’s my sister, so my responsibility. Well, she’s really my mother’s responsibility, but she , apparently, did not pay attention when her own parents were teaching her about responsibility growing up. ”

“What did she say when you talked to her?” Rory asked.

“That they have more tests to run on both of them and she doesn’t have any answers yet.

I asked if they were okay, and she said that they were.

They have mild fevers off and on and a few other symptoms. My grandma is coughing a lot, but she’s been a smoker her whole life, so that’s not really new.

I’m trying not to worry about them too much since I have enough to worry about now. ”

“I think if you like the woman, you ask her out, and you figure out the rest,” Enid said.

“I can babysit,” Rory offered. “If you need someone and I don’t have to work. Now that I’m here mostly full-time, I only have my one regular nanny gig. When school starts back up, that’ll change, but I can probably watch her once a week, at least.”

“Thanks, Rory.” Jill smiled at her. “Willa would have to say yes first.”

“But she gave you the best hug ever. I’m sure she’ll say yes,” Melinda teased.

Jill rolled her eyes and said, “I didn’t want to let go.”

“No?” Enid asked.

“No.” Jill shook her head. “I just wanted to stand on that stupid sidewalk and let her hold me. No offense, Enid, but I’ve never really felt that before.”

“None taken. Though, you did say me naked was gross earlier, so I’m still taking offense at that one.”

Jill laughed and replied, “I never saw you naked, so I wouldn’t know anyway.”

“Sorry; are you talking about my girlfriend?”

Jill turned to see Caroline standing in the doorway.

“Yeah, just upset that I never got to see her naked,” she joked.

“I’m not,” Caroline stated.

Enid just laughed and asked, “What are you doing here? Were we supposed to meet for lunch or something?”

“No. I was just at one of the galleries, checking it out, and I thought I’d stop by to say hello.” Caroline leaned in and kissed her girlfriend. “I came at an interesting time, I see.”

“Jill has a crush,” Enid revealed.

Caroline lifted her eyebrow and asked, “Yeah? Not on Enid, though, right?”

“Not on Enid.” Jill laughed. “On Willa.”

“Who’s Willa?” Linden asked, walking into the office.

“Seriously? How many of you are out there?” Jill asked.

The office could barely fit four people comfortably, so it was getting a little crowded.

“No one is at the counter, so I just came back,” Linden said. “Ash is outside on the phone.”

“Give me a minute, and I’ll be right out,” Melinda said. “Are Bridge and Monica out there yet?”

“I didn’t see them,” Linden replied. “So, what are we talking about?”

“Jill’s crush on Willa.”

“You have a crush?” Linden asked.

“I like a woman. I wouldn’t call it a crush.”

“Who is she?”

“We’re not doing this again,” Jill said. “I will just record myself telling the whole story and send everyone the video so that I don’t have to repeat myself twenty times.”

“I’ll wait for that video, then,” Linden remarked playfully. “And you have a walk-in.” She hooked her thumb to the front.

“I’ve got it,” Rory replied and left the crowded office.

“And I have a lunch to get to,” Melinda said, standing.

“I should go, too. You’re working,” Caroline spoke.

“You can watch me do the books,” Enid offered in response.

“That sounds… not exciting at all. Can I just see you later?”

“Sure,” Enid replied, laughing before she leaned into a kiss Caroline gave her.

Jill was glad to see that those two were still together and clearly happy, even though she’d had a couple of dates with Enid and thought that they’d gone well.

Enid only had eyes for Caroline, though, so Jill needed to find a different woman who only had eyes for her.

She wasn’t sure if that was Willa, but last night, she had really loved that hug.

She hadn’t ever really told her life story to anyone she had dated.

She supposed it was because she was a private person when it came to things but also because it wasn’t some sob story.

She didn’t want or need pity from anyone.

She just knew what it was like to have a mother completely shift her attention to a man and then their daughter right when she’d been a teenager and could’ve used her mother the most, but it wasn’t like she had had the worst upbringing, even among her own friends.

She had gotten a decent education in high school and had been able to go to college and earn her degree.

She had never gone without food or shelter.

She really had nothing to complain about in the overall scheme of things.

Watching her mom choose two other people over her time and again and then never going home during college had been hard, sure, but it wasn’t the end of the world, and she was an adult now.

She hadn’t told her entire life story to Willa or anything, but the fact that Willa knew about Juni right off the bat and about her mom’s irresponsibility felt good.

It felt like if Jill did ask her out and Willa said yes, they would be starting in a good spot.

Jill wouldn’t have to be the life of the party or the one who always made the jokes to avoid talking about anything real.

Jill looked down at the desk when she heard her phone ring.

“Shit. That’s my grandma.” She picked up the phone and rushed out of the office, turning to go up the stairs that led to Melinda’s old apartment, which she knew would be unlocked. “Grandma?” she said into the phone as she opened the door.

“Hey, honey.”

“Is everything okay?” Jill asked as she walked inside the apartment and closed the door behind her.

“Well, I’m not sure. That’s why I’m calling.”

Jill sat in a chair at the kitchen table and asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Why?”

Jill scrunched her nose and said, “Because you’re sick.”

“I’m not sick,” her grandma replied. “Who told you I was sick?”

“Mom,” she said instantly. “What do you mean you’re not sick? Grandpa?”

“He’s fine. We’re both fine. Why would–” Her grandma stopped. “Where is your mother?”

“What are you talking about? She’s with you,” Jill said.

“She was supposed to show up yesterday for a visit, but she didn’t. We’ve been calling, and it’s gone straight to voicemail every time.”

“Hold on.” Jill shook her head rapidly, trying to figure out what was going on here. “She’s not there? She’s not with you? You’re not sick?”

“No, we’re fine. Your mother called the other day and said she’d be stopping by for a little visit with Juni. We made up the guest room for them, and they didn’t show. They were supposed to be here by dinner. Where’s Juni?”

“She’s fine. She’s in school right now. I dropped her off this morning.”

“Then, where is your mother? Why did she tell us she was bringing Juni?”