“Thanks! Eh, isn’t it a little early?” Jimmy laughed, realizing that there was definitely a lot of alcohol in the mix.
“Nah,” Rowena argued. “They’re mimosas! They have vitamin C, it’s good for you. Jimmy, meet Jerry.” She gestured to the tall gentleman.
Jimmy recognized him as their limo driver from yesterday. “Good morning!” He waved with a little smile.
“Bonjour,” Jerry greeted in a deep, rough French accent, smiling politely as he began to plate the eggs.
Rowena patted the seat next to her for Jimmy to join her.
“So, are you serious about maybe not exactly being at the club by noon?” Jimmy asked, sipping at his drink.
“Mmm, why?” Rowena asked playfully.
“Would it be okay if we made a few stops then?”
“Like what?”
“Well, I guess I need to get all those clothes back to my place, right? And Maury wants to see me—”
“Give me your keys,” Rowena said abruptly, wiggling her fingers at him.
Jimmy frowned, but reached into his pocket and offered out his keyring.
Rowena took it and smiled sweetly at Jerry. “Hey, Jerry? Could you be a dear and get somebody to take Jimmy’s stuff back to his place? Maybe wash it, hang it up and stuff, too?”
“Of course,MademoiselleLegrand,” Jerry said, nodding as he accepted the keys and tucked them in his pocket.
“Holy crap,” Jimmy exclaimed, blushing wildly. “You guys really don’t have to do all that!”
“Jimmy, your apartment is really depressing,” Rowena sighed dramatically. “I don’t wanna go back there, I’ll be honest. Unless it’s to burn all your old clothes. Then maybe.”
“It is no problem,monsieur,” Jerry assured him, smiling warmly as he offered them each a plate of eggs and fresh fruit. “You’re the Legrands’ guest, it’s our pleasure.”
“Jerry, baby, you’re amazing,” Rowena gushed, blowing him bunches of kisses and eagerly digging in. In between bites, her eyes danced over to Jimmy. “Mmm, where else did you want to go?”
“Mostly just to see Maury,” Jimmy said, moaning happily as he ate. They were the most amazing eggs he had ever tasted. Jerry was indeed incredible.
“How did you meet Maury?” Rowena asked curiously, her brows quirking up. “Come on. It’s story time.”
“It’s all because of the phone company,” Jimmy explained, smiling fondly. “See, it started when my mom used to work in the jewelry store next to the pawn shop. She worked there a few days a week, you know, cleaning jewelry and doing repairs. The phone in the store kept going out, like all the time! The phone company kept fixing it, and it would still go out, like at least once a week.”
Jimmy knew his face was lit up like a Christmas tree, always happy to share memories of his mom.
“So she kept going over to Maury’s to use the phone to call home. Don’t let him fool you, he’s a sucker for a damsel in distress. He let her come over to call home and soon, they became friends. Maury always told her dirty jokes, loved to make her blush, and then she introduced my dad. He’s a doctor and he’s been taking care of Maury’s kids since before I was even born.”
Rowena seemed completely enraptured by the story.
“Maury has three sons, and the two youngest were always getting sick,” Jimmy went on. “Especially Junior, he had really bad asthma. They couldn’t afford to go see a doctor or any of the medication, so my dad would sneak it over to the shop with my mom. Said it was payment for letting her use the phone.”
Then the lightness Jimmy had been feeling dwindled.
“It’s just... the day she died,” he said absently, his mind starting to wander, “the phone...” He thought of Cold’s voice, purring seductively in his ear, to snap himself out of the bad memories. “Anyway! Sorry. So, yeah. When I finally turned eighteen and got away from you know who, Maury was the first person I ran to.”
“You mean Detective Duplin,” Rowena said with a thoughtful bite of egg.
“Yeah,” Jimmy said sullenly. “He... well, I guess you know now. We haven’t talked in a very long time.”
“Come on, sweetie,” Rowena soothed, patting Jimmy’s arm gently. “You can give me all the dirty details on the way.” She guzzled her drink, picking up the pitcher and her giant purse from the floor with a grin. “Jerry, we are ready!”
