Page 19 of June (New Orleans #6)

E nid sat at her small desk and reviewed yet another job listing, deciding if it was even worth it to wait tables. Yes, she would make money, and right now was a good time to give it a shot because the tourists were still in town, but she had no experience, and with every place being so busy right now, she wasn’t sure she’d have time to learn on the job. She’d watched waiters handle eight plates or ten drinks at once, navigating around crowded locations and not dropping a thing. She had heard them handle rude customers and the ones who argued about there being a no-refill policy and that they’d be charged for that second soda. There were signs posted all over the place at the restaurants that did this, and the waiters always explained before bringing them another drink, but customers still complained. Enid wasn’t sure she could handle that , either.

She decided not to apply and found an opening as a receptionist at a law office. No way she could handle that. Not only would the hours not work for her classes, but she had seen enough movies with lawyers in them. Sure, some of that had been exaggerated for dramatic effect, but she’d watched the receptionist characters balance fifty phone calls, people walking in at the same time, and rude lawyers and their clients. That wasn’t her thing, so she knew she wouldn’t do a good job and would probably end up being fired within a few days. She leaned back in her chair and sighed, admitting to herself that her heart wasn’t in it, but she’d have to get over that and find a job anyway.

“Hey,” EJ said.

Enid turned to find him standing in her open door.

“Hey. What’s up?”

“So, you were right.”

He walked in and sat on her bed.

“About what?”

“I talked to Sarah,” he said, looking down at his hands fiddling in his lap. “She told me she only did the whole video thing because she’s liked me for a while and heard I’m… experienced, so she thought she kind of had to, or I’d lose interest.”

“What did you tell her?”

“Well, that I’m not that experienced. I’ve been with one girl, and that was over a year ago. We only did it two times, and she said she didn’t want to anymore and went out with some other guy at school, so I don’t know where that rumor came from.”

“Did you play any part in starting it? I know how high school locker rooms are, EJ.”

“No. I mean, some of the guys asked me about that girl, and yeah, I told them the truth, but I didn’t say I had a ton of experience.”

“EJ?”

“Yeah?”

“Your sex life is your business. It’s between you and the woman you’re doing that with. If you’re going to talk about it with anyone else, you need to ask her first. It’s not about what you did. It’s about what you two did together. If you want to tell those friends of yours that you jerk off all day every day in the shower and pretend that I don’t know why it takes so long in there, that’s fine, but sex involves another person, and when you’re in high school, of all places, you–”

“I know,” he said. “But I swear, I didn’t exaggerate or anything. They actually made fun of me because I told them that we did it twice and she ditched me. They said I was bad at it. I didn’t try to, like, correct them or tell them that I was good and it was her fault or anything. I let it go.”

“I hate every teenage boy but you,” Enid said.

“Anyway, we talked last night, and we decided to wait,” he added.

“Yeah? Good.”

“We’re going to the same school in the fall, so there’s no rush, and I can wait.”

“Yes, you can,” Enid said and smiled at him. “I’m proud of you.”

“You are ? Why?”

“Because you could’ve taken advantage of the situation, and you didn’t.”

“But I would have. If you hadn’t walked in, I would’ve done it.”

“But you didn’t know the part about her thinking you would give up on her if she didn’t. You thought it was what she wanted. Once you found out the truth, you did the right thing.”

“I guess. I still feel bad about her thinking that.”

“Good.” Enid chuckled.

EJ laughed, too, and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Just looking for jobs,” she replied.

“No girl today?”

“Not today, no,” she said. “I’m meeting Rory for a late lunch soon. Going to NOLA Guides to pick her up. Want to come?”

“No,” he said. “But thanks. I have a video game thing with a few friends.”

“Does your television have volume control?”

EJ laughed as he stood.

“I’ll wear headphones. My friends are in different cities, so no one is coming over. Chill, Enid. You’re starting to sound like Mom and Dad.”

When he left for his room, Enid sighed again because her little brother was growing up. Yes, he was annoying and full of hormones right now, but he was trying to make the right decisions, and that was what mattered.

She checked the time on her computer and decided to start getting ready and get to NOLA Guides early. She didn’t feel like driving because she knew they’d be eating around the office in the Quarter, so she took a shared ride. Rory had also mentioned that there were two big events in town, so finding parking would be next to impossible, costing her more than the drive there and back anyway, and buses didn’t run in her parents’ neighborhood.

“You’re early,” Rory noted when Enid walked in.

“Yeah, managed to avoid traffic, I guess,” she replied while walking to the counter Rory was standing behind. “Are you ready, or do you have to finish something up first?”

“I need about two minutes,” Rory told her.

“Okay.”

Enid looked around the office, which was bigger than it appeared outside. The owner of NOLA Guides owned the whole building, including Melinda’s old place right above it, and according to Rory, that old apartment was vacant most of the time, but Melinda and Kyle sometimes used it for midday activities or stayed over if Melinda was working late and they were too tired or didn’t want to walk home to their Garden District house that Kyle had inherited the previous year.

Some people just had all the luck. Kyle had inherited two homes, one of which was in the nicest neighborhood in the city. Melinda had a kick-ass apartment in the heart of it all, that, according to Rory, was really nice, and they had the option of where to sleep every night. Enid was living in her childhood bedroom and didn’t have any other option.

“Hey, Enid,” Melinda greeted as she walked out of the office.

“Hey, Mel,” she replied. “Are you coming to lunch with us?”

“No, I’m running the office today. I’ve got Jill coming in to handle the tours soon, but we need someone here to handle the walk-ins while Rory is at lunch.”

“Sophie is coming, though,” Rory added. “She should be here soon.”

“Oh, cool,” Enid said, liking Sophie.

“Are you sure it’s okay that I go?” Rory asked Melinda. “I don’t mind just grabbing a sandwich and coming back. I can watch the counter and eat with Enid in the back or something.”

“No, it’s okay,” Melinda replied. “Jill mentioned you ’re looking for a job, Enid. Any chance you want to be a tour guide? I had someone call in sick this morning, and it’s her third call-in since she started a month ago. She only calls in when she has a morning shift.”

“Late nights and hangovers?” Enid guessed.

“Well, when she does come in, her eyes do look a little bloodshot, so that’s my guess.”

“Not sure I’d be a good tour guide. Rory likes people more than I do.”

Rory laughed and said, “She’s right.”

“But if you needed office help or something, I could maybe try that.”

“You’d still have to handle people. We get a lot of walk-ins.”

“What about back-office help?” she asked, deciding she might as well bring it up.

“What about it?” Melinda asked back, looking intrigued as she leaned over the counter.

“Payroll, bookkeeping, whatever you need,” Enid said. “I can do that.”

“ You can do my payroll?”

“I did it at my last job. Well, part of it. I was a cog in a big machine. I know the laws, though, and the software, depending on which one you use.”

“I hate payroll,” Melinda shared.

Enid laughed and replied, “I don’t mind it, and I could handle some of the other stuff, too, if you want.”

“Really? Want to talk in the back before you head out to lunch since you’re waiting on Sophie anyway?”

Enid nodded, and they went into the back office, where Melinda walked her through the current process and software, which Enid was familiar with. She’d have to brush up on a few things, but Melinda didn’t have many employees, and most of them were part-time. In fact, Melinda and Jill were the only full-time employees, so they were the only ones who received benefits. Melinda, it turned out, didn’t mind the business stuff, but it was proving difficult, balancing giving tours when someone called in sick and handling the end-of-day money stuff and payroll, all while still having work done on the Garden District house and planning her upcoming wedding.

“So, it would be temporary. Would that be okay?”

“Sure. I could also be available after that in a pinch. I still have another year on my program, and I don’t have anything else lined up yet, so I can be available if you’re on your honeymoon or just need another set of eyes to check something for you.”

“God, I cannot wait for my honeymoon. I’ve already bought three new bikinis. Kyle hasn’t seen them. She’s going to love what I picked out.”

Enid laughed.

“I’m thinking maybe four to five hours a week to start. I’ve already done payroll for this pay period, so why don’t I give you the info, and you re-do it so that I can check your work, and if everything looks good, you can start officially on the next pay period?”

“That would be great,” Enid replied.

They talked for a few more minutes about how Melinda could get her a license for the software for her laptop at home, which would mean that Enid would be able to work from wherever and wouldn’t have to come into the office. Melinda would take care of the end-of-day stuff for now, and if Enid passed the payroll test, they could talk about her doing that a few nights a week to give Melinda time to plan her wedding and work on the house. When they finished, Enid walked out and saw Sophie standing there with Rory.

“Are you now employed?” Rory asked.

“Apparently,” Enid said.

Rory laughed.

“You work here, too, now? Are all of my friends going to end up working here, Melinda?” Sophie asked.

“She’s not giving tours. She’s doing the books,” Melinda replied.

Soon after, Sophie, Rory, and Enid left the office and joined the somewhat crowded street. Enid hadn’t planned on asking for a job, and she’d considered Jill for a moment, but now that they weren’t dating, it shouldn’t be a big deal that she’d know exactly what Jill made on every paycheck. Rory didn’t seem to care. Neither had Melinda.

When they arrived at the restaurant and sat down, waiting to be served, Enid listened to Sophie talk about Bryce, how she was coming back to town in just a couple of days, and it was clear that Sophie couldn’t wait.

“I miss her so much when she’s gone,” Sophie shared after their drinks had been delivered. “I can’t wait until she moves here.”

“When is that?” Rory asked.

“Not long. She’s finishing up the work on the house for her aunt. That’s what’s keeping her there. And she still goes to LA a lot for the movie, but that won’t be forever.”

“Have you two talked about moving there ?” Rory asked. “I know you were worried about that.”

“She said she doesn’t want to. She likes screenwriting, and she’s enjoyed working with the production company and the professional screenwriter they paired her with to help her with the technical stuff, since Bryce hasn’t ever done this before, but she said if they offered her anything in the future, she’d just travel back and forth. She wants to live here with me.”

“Is she moving in with you or getting her own place?” Enid asked.

Sophie smiled and replied, “She’s moving in. Initially, we were going to do the thing where she gets an apartment for a year, and then we move in together, but we’ve been long-distance and hardly even get a week a month together, if we’re lucky, so I’m ready for her to be here and for us to just be in one place already.”

“Hey, what happened to you and Caroline last night?” Rory asked Enid, changing the subject. “You two just took off.”

“Oh,” Enid said. “Yeah, I took her home. She was tired.”

“You really like her, huh?” Sophie asked.

“I do,” Enid replied with a half-smile.

Sophie didn’t know Enid well enough yet to notice, but Rory picked up on the hesitation in her smile, so later, when Sophie went to the bathroom right before they were about to leave the restaurant, Rory leaned over the table.

“What happened?”

“Nothing. I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Just that she got a little freaked out last night.”

“Why?”

“She doesn’t think she fits in with my friends, and there are a lot of you, so it was overwhelming to her. I shouldn’t have brought her. It was too soon.”

“Why does she think she doesn’t fit in?” Rory asked.

“She’s got more questions than answers about what she wants to do with her life, and I think seeing everyone there looking like they all have things figured out is a big part of it.”

“She’s only twenty years old. Who’s telling her that she has to have everything figured out?”

“Her parents,” Enid said. “And I get it. I’m in between myself right now and don’t know what the future holds. I just wish we could have talked. She said we would, though.”

“That’s good,” Rory said. “When do you see her again?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t planned it yet.”

“Are you going to campus today?”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Enid replied.

“You should go check on her. If she sends you away – oh, well. But you can at least stop by and see if she’s okay.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Enid said.