by Melissa Good
Dar started laughing silently, shaking Kerry a little.
“And then I kinda did stop caring.” Kerry mock sighed. “I said, ‘what the hell, Kerrison. If they’re going to think that then just thank God it’s true.’”
Dar was still laughing. “I remember that day. I realized it when I went to the bathroom and I was washing my hands and looked up into the mirror. Should have seen my face. I felt like such a goofball.”
Kerry enjoyed the low, musical sound of Dar’s laughter. She’d remembered the day because Dar had come into her office and sprawled onto her desk pointing at her throat in eloquent silence.
Too funny. “So, I do love you.” She slid Dar’s shirt up and then nipped her on her navel. “Not only do I love you, but I love being in love with you. It’s like Christmas every single day.”
Dar folded herself around Kerry and hugged her. “My birthday everyday.” She exhaled in contentment. “Do you know how nice it is to know that I don’t have to worry about half the IT planet going down? I never realized what a drag that was until now.”
“Were you reading my mind?” Kerry rested her cheek against the soft skin on Dar’s stomach. “I was just thinking that before.”
“Want to dance?” Dar asked incongruously as the music got louder outside.
“Not really.” Kerry traced a light line down Dar’s skin. “I’m just having fun lying here and messing with you.”
“Okay.”
“You could sing for me.”
“I could. But I don’t know the words to whatever that is they’re playing and I can’t compete with the volume,” Dar said in a practical tone. “Want to go find a pool and swim?”
“Hm.”
“Just want to lay here and mess with me?”
“Yup.”
That was okay with Dar. They’d gotten up early after a long night and spent the day running around. There were some concerts on tap for the next afternoon and a carriage ride planned. It felt good to just chill out and enjoy the rich, sexy sound of the music and let her mind drift.
Kerry felt Dar’s breathing even out and slow after about ten minutes of their just quietly laying there. She watched the tension in her body go slack and she hesitated, not wanting to wake Dar out of sleep when she’d just slipped into it.
Moving would. So she settled down to wait until she was sure her pillow was deeply asleep before shifting.
It was very peaceful to lie still, watching the easy rise and fall of Dar’s chest as the sounds outside started to fade off a little. She heard people laughing and the clink of glass and she shifted her gaze to look out the window at their balcony.
It was empty, just the backs of the chairs visible. Beyond that she saw the splash of light from the street and the outline of leaves from the trees in front of the hotel moving in the breeze as she watched.
It was windy outside. She saw the outside shutters moving, too. Then she saw the rocking chair outside moving gently as well.
Was that the breeze? Kerry watched the chair and her heart rate picked up a trifle. The motion was regular and casual, just as if someone was sitting in the seat enjoying the view.
So maybe it was the wind. She slowly let a long held breath out and watched the motion, which remained steady, despite the variable breeze she saw in the movement of the trees.
“Hey.” Dar’s voice broke the silence and Kerry jumped. “What’s up?”
Kerry put her head back down. “I was trying not to wake you up,” she muttered. “But I saw that chair out there moving and it was giving me the creeps.”
Dar lifted her head slightly. “The rocking chair?”
“Yeah.”
Dar studied it. Then she hiked herself up on her elbows, waiting for Kerry to lift up off her before she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. “I’ll check it out.” She rubbed her eyes. “I was just heading into a dream.”
“I know. Sorry about that.” Kerry patted her hip. “I saw you twitching a little.” She got out of bed and followed her across the floor to the balcony. She put her hand on Dar’s back as she opened one of the French doors and looked out.
The chair stopped rocking.
Kerry eased her head around Dar’s shoulder and looked at her.
Dar regarded the piece of furniture pensively. She walked out and circled the chair. She gave it a tentative push. It rocked back and forth two or three times and then settled down to a mild creaking. Dar paused and then she half shrugged and sat down in it, putting her hands on the chair arms.
Kerry sat down in the regular chair next to her. “I was expecting that chair to squeal when you sat on it.”
“So was I,” Dar said. “But this is our porch for the time being and I’m not going to surrender it to a moving chair.” She leaned back, hiking one knee up and folding her hands around it. “So now that I’m wide awake again, how about some ice cream?”
“Absolutely.” Kerry leaned over and kissed her shoulder. Then she got up and went back inside and picked up the room service menu to study the possibilities.
THE NEXT EVENING, after a long day of parade and concert watching, Dar and Kerry were seated at a table on the outside deck of a Mississippi River paddle wheel steamer cruising slowly past the dockside festivities as they waited for dinner.
“This is nice.” Kerry leaned back and regarded the scene with a smile. “Beautiful way to end up our Valentine’s Day celebration.”
“It is.” Dar sipped at a glass cautiously. “Holy crap.” She put the drink down. “You could take the paint off the hood of my new truck with that.”
Kerry chuckled. It was a bit chilly on the water, but she had a pair of heavy jeans on and a thick woven pullover. Dar had a newly bought hoodie encasing her tall form and neither of them fit into the more formally dressed couples around them.
Her mother would have been completely scandalized and she couldn’t care less. The seating hostess didn’t bat an eye either and she was glad they’d opted for the cruise rather than one or the other of the balls the concierge had tried to entice them with.
Tomorrow morning they would fly home and probably go into the office in the afternoon. She took a sip of her own drink and luxuriated in the sense of freedom. She hadn’t scheduled anything for Monday, so if they were in the mood when they landed, they could just go home and stay there if they wanted.
“Too bad Hamilton’s up in Boston,” Dar said. “Since it’s snowing there. But I’m glad he suggested this.” She indicated the cruise. “I could picture him on this, in his tux, with a mint julep.”
“I’m kind of surprised they fired him, but kinda not,” Kerry said. She smiled at their waitress as she put down two bowls of golden colored gumbo in front of them. “Those guys are in a place where they don’t want to be told what to do.”
Dar munched thoughtfully on a spoonful of the gumbo. She swallowed and took a sip of her drink. “Hope so. Then they’ll tell Alastair to get lost when he suggests I talk to them and he can finally get loose of the place.”
“Oh.” Kerry wiped her lips. “I’ve got to figure out how to make this. It’s awesome.” She poked around in the bowl. “Are those shrimp?”
“Crawdads,” Dar said. “Also known as mud bugs.” She watched Kerry’s eyes lift and pin her. “Or crayfish.” Her eyes twinkled.
“Ah.” Kerry then recognized the animals. “Same as we had at the Zydeco festival last year?”
“Right, but just the tails.”
They cruised along the river, passing a wooded section that came right down into the water, giving the impression that the trees were marching down the bank and under the surface. They were outlined in the moonlight and as Kerry looked at them she thought she saw something moving.
Then she was sure she did, a human shaped figure appearing at the water’s edge between the trees, going into the river up to their knees. “Dar...”
“I see him.”
Kerry continued spooning her gumbo into her mouth as she watched the shadowy
form. He appeared to be a black man of middle height, dressed in pants, rubber boots, a collarless shirt and a ragged denim jacket. She saw the appearance of suspenders under it all. He leaned against a long walking stick propped in the water in front of him.
There were no features to his face, but his dark skin and the night illumination could be obscuring them. Then she recalled what river she was on and smiled faintly. “Could be Jim from Huckleberry Finn, huh?”
“Could be,” Dar said. “Probably some guy they pay to dress up like that and give the tourists a thrill. Coincidence he shows up right when the boat gets there.”
“Cynical.”
“Realistic.” Dar’s blue eyes twinkled at her as she looked up across the table. “C’mon, Ker, you heard those guys.”
True. Kerry sat back as she finished her gumbo and watched the bank, the figure on it turning his head to follow the boat as it went past. So Dar was probably right that he was a bit of window dressing. She lifted her hand and waved at him and the figure tilted his head and looked back at her.
There were eyes there, she was sure of it. But they seemed too large and too luminous. She felt a shiver go down her back and then the trees were between them. “Maybe fake, but sorta creepy.” She folded her hands as the waitress removed the bowls and set down their main courses.
“That could sort of describe Mardi Gras.” Dar investigated her plate. “You still seeing ghosts, Ker?”
Kerry wrinkled up her nose in reaction.
“I think the whole idea of ghosts is pretty sad,” Dar said, carefully separating her shrimp from her grits.
“Sad?”
“Yeah,” Dar said. “The whole idea is, if you subscribe to an existence after death that you go on to some other place. Do something else, whatever. But ghosts, if you agree with the idea, are stuck here.”
“Yes, like those stories they told us the other night,” Kerry said. “They’re looking for something, or whatever.” She thought about that as she slowly detached forkfuls of her blackened catfish. “Just left behind.” She paused. “You’re right. That is sad.”
“Not something I’d ever want to have happen to me, you know?” Dar said. “I’d rather have anything happen than that.”
Kerry stopped chewing and merely sat there for a moment, staring slightly past Dar’s shoulder. She thought for a moment what it would be like to be separated for eternity from Dar and the food lost all its taste and appeal.
She put her fork down and sat back. “Boy so would I,” she said after a long pause. “I think I’m going to go throw up now.”
Dar swallowed hastily and set her utensils down. She reached across the table to clasp Kerry’s hand. “Sorry, hon. I didn’t mean to get you crazy.”
No, of course she didn’t. Kerry sniffled a little and lifted her free hand to wipe her eyes and rub the bridge of her nose. “I just imagined what it would be like to be without you.”
Dar got up and came around the table, crouching down at Kerry’s side, putting her hand on her leg. “Totally dumbass of me, Ker.” She watched Kerry give her head a little shake. “Don’t worry. There’s nothing that’s ever going to keep us apart, no matter where we are.”
Kerry peeked down at her.
“I won’t let that happen.” Dar gave her a wry smile. “Ghosts or angels or dust, you won’t ever be without me.”
At the words, the sounds around them rushed back in and the music struck up. Kerry’s body relaxed as some part of her understood the truth being spoken that had nothing to do with what was said. She glanced around, feeling a little foolish as she saw the other diner’s eyes quickly go elsewhere. “Thanks, sweetie.” She managed a grin, patting Dar’s hand. “Go finish your grits before they solidify into plaster.”
Dar waited for a moment. “You okay?” she asked, head cocked slightly to one side.
“Yes.” Kerry offered her a bit of catfish on her fork, which Dar accepted. “You knew just what to say.”
“For once.” Dar got up and went back to her chair, settling into it and returning her napkin to her lap. She looked up and past Kerry to find the people at the next table staring at her. “Is there a problem?”
“Only that people like you should keep their unnatural behavior behind doors,” the man answered. “Not ruin other people’s dinners with it.”
Kerry took a breath to turn and answer, but Dar lazily lifted one finger and wagged it slightly at her and she subsided.
“Buddy,” Dar said in a tolerantly amused voice. “If you thought that was unnatural, you’ve got a lot to learn about life. Better get started on that before you try breeding.” She shook her head and went back to her shrimp and grits, ignoring the continued stare.
The waitress came back. “How is everything, ladies?” She stood with apparent randomness between their table and the next. “Can I get you a glass of bubbly to wash that down?”
“Sure,” Dar said. “Got any Cristal?”
The waitress’s smile went from indulgent to dazzling in a flicker of an eye. “We do. A flute each?”
“Bring a bottle,” Dar countered. “And two nice big glasses.”
Kerry chuckled under her breath.
“Yes, ma’am.” The waitress left with a cheerful wave, moving past the other table without a glance.
They passed a brightly lit area that drew the other people’s attention and they were left in peace in their corner. Dar quickly consumed her grits, which had in fact started to stiffen in the cool night air. She’d already dismissed the jerk at the next table, but she could tell by the furrow in Kerry’s brow that she hadn’t.
Jerks were jerks. Dar didn’t waste her time on them. “Chew, hon. It’s too good to waste.”
Kerry paused then smiled and went back to her plate. After a minute, though, she picked up her gizmo and tapped on it briefly, reviewed the results, then texted Dar a message.
Dar fished her device out and regarded it, then looked at Kerry, her brows hiking. She watched Kerry shrug and reviewed the note again before answering.
What are the odds we’d end up sitting next to one of the heads of Aryan Nation?
Kerry put her fork down and typed back.
About the same as him ending up sitting next to Roger Stuart’s kid and a descendant of the American revolutionaries.
Dar laughed. Could be worse. Could have been Pat Robertson.
And that was also true. Kerry put her phone down and finished off her catfish just in time to smile at the waitress who returned with a gently off gassing bottle and glasses. “Can we get a couple of pieces of the strawberry shortcake too?”
“Absolutely.” The waitress finished pouring their bubbly, and then tucked the bottle into an ice filled holder against the wall of the ship. “Be right back.”
Dar lifted her glass and they touched rims. “Happy Valentine’s day, sweetheart,” she said, slightly louder than needed for Kerry to hear her.
“Same to you, my love,” Kerry responded with a wry grin before taking a sip. “But boy, am I ever going to have to bust my ass to beat this the next time.”
“GOOD MORNING, KERRY” Mayte said as Kerry entered. “Did you have a good time in New Orleans?” She put down what she was working on and focused on her boss.
Kerry grinned, walking over and depositing a handful of beads and trinkets. “I had the best time. I’ve got some pictures I’ll show you. It was a riot. What a party that is. Between the music and the parades and everything. Nonstop craziness.”
“I was watching the news on television last night. They had some video and it looked amazing,” Mayte replied. “I was hoping maybe we would see you but we didn’t.”
“Oh, we might have been in the crowd.” Kerry’s eyes twinkled. “We got to see some parades, went on ghost tours, and did a riverboat dinner on the Mississippi. We had a great time. We got home just after lunch yesterday. The flight was late, but that was the only issue we had.”
“My mama said it looked like a crazy place,” Mayte said. “But pap
a said he’d like to go there sometime, only maybe not so close to the carnival. But I think he wants to go because there are all those pretty ladies with no clothing.”
Kerry chortled under her breath. “Well, there were those there for sure. Some of them take their clothing off so that the people on the parade floats will throw favors at them. Dar threatened to take her shirt off to get me a stuffed monkey but I made her stop.”
Mayte clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.
Kerry removed the monkey from her pocket and waggled it. “She managed anyway.”
Dar entered, carrying her jacket over her shoulder. “Am I being made fun of? You were the one hankering after that coconut.”
“I would never make fun of you, hon.” Kerry bumped her affectionately as she passed. “I was just telling Mayte how you got me my monkey.”
Dar paused at the entrance to her office, looked over her shoulder, smiled and lifted one eyebrow in silent, yet sexy eloquence. Then she shook her head and chuckled, disappearing from view as she headed for her desk.
Kerry muffled a halfway embarrassed grin and moved along into her own space, tossing the monkey up and down. She went over to the built-in shelves and plopped the memento onto one of them next to a stuffed pig she’d won in a baseball toss at a street carnival a few months past.
She studied it then went to her desk and set her briefcase down, aware of Dar’s low tones next door. She sat down and started up her desktop, pulling out the laptop and setting it down on the desk. While she waited, she brought up her calendar on her gizmo, reviewing her appointments as the machines booted.
Busy day.
She was glad they’d decided to go straight home instead of coming in the previous day, though. It was nice to settle back into their space, play with Chino and Mocha, and deliver to Colleen the presents they’d bought for her. Even nicer to take a late night swim and relax in the quiet of their home.
