Chapter 1
Sprawled on a chintz-covered recliner in the sitting area in one of DuPont House’s suites, Tonya Martin crossed her bare feet at the ankles, while her friends claimed matching chairs with cushioned footstools. She had spent the past half hour talking to them when she should have retired for bed.
Earlier that morning, Tonya, Jasmine Washington, and Nydia Santiago had flown into the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and then crowded into a taxi for the drive to the Garden District. They had come to New Orleans for Hannah DuPont-Lowell’s wedding to college professor St. John McNair. Boarding the same aircraft with her friends helped Tonya to overcome some of her anxiety about flying. Her fear had come from a return flight to the States from France during which the jet’s landing gear failed and the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing at New York’s JFK airport. Several hundred passengers and crew used the chute to exit the aircraft, and Tonya wound up with a severely sprained ankle that kept her off her feet for several weeks.
Fortunately, the mid-October weather was much more tolerable than it had been during her first visit to the Big Easy. Then the late-June record-high New Orleans temperatures and humidity had sapped all of her energy. At that time Hannah outlined her intent to transform her historic ancestral home into an inn and convert the two guesthouses on the estate into a café and supper club. The corporate attorney wanted Tonya to invest in the venture, while offering her a twenty-five percent share in the new business as the executive chef.
“I still can’t believe you’re going to move down here.”
Tonya stared at Nydia for several seconds, and then a hint of a smile tilted the corners of her generous mouth. When she worked as assistant chef for Wakefield Hamilton, a private international investment bank, she was familiar with all personnel on sight or by name, but it was not until she and dozens of other employees were unexpectedly let go, with generous severance packages, after the bank merged with another institution and she, Jasmine, the assistant director of personnel, and accountant Nydia spent several hours at Hannah’s high-rise apartment that the four bonded over omelets and brunch cocktails. They had talked for hours about what they wanted for their futures, and once Tonya revealed she was going to wait until after Labor Day to look for another position, the others also agreed to do the same.
“I also can’t believe it,” Tonya said. “In less than four months I’ll become a Louisianan and I’ll eventually run my own restaurant for the first time in my life.”
Nydia ran her fingers through the wealth of thick, black, shiny curls falling over her forehead as a smile crinkled the skin around her large hazel eyes. “I believe everyone should work for themselves at least once on their lives.”
Jasmine nodded. The former interior designer turned human resource specialist attempted to lift her arched eyebrows. The masque on her face was drying and beginning to crack, which meant it was time for her to remove it. “I hear you, Nydia. I do miss running my own shop.”
Twin dimples appeared in Tonya’s cheeks as she pursed her lips. “What’s stopping you?” she asked Jasmine. “Even if you don’t want to go back to interior decorating, you can take Hannah up on her offer to help her run the inn.”
Jasmine twisted several strands of hair around her forefinger. “It sounds tempting, but I’m not ready to leave New York. Everyone and everything I have is there. And as my parents’ only child, I want to be there for them, even though they are still active. They belong to a bowling league and are very involved in their church.”
“Are they retired?” Nydia asked.
“Yes. My father was a high school principal, and my mother a trauma nurse.”
Tonya crossed her arms under her breasts. “Would they be opposed to moving down here with you?”
A beat passed before Jasmine said, “I don’t know. They would have to sell their house, while I would have to find a buyer for my condo.”
Nydia made a sucking sound with her tongue and teeth. “I’ve seen your condo and trust me, my friend, you wouldn’t have a problem unloading it. I’ve saved enough money for a down payment, but there’s no way I’m going to purchase property when my boyfriend can’t come up with at least half.”
Tonya frowned. “I thought you’d stopped seeing him.”
A slight blush darkened Nydia’s gold-brown complexion. “We still talk.”
Tonya’s frown deepened. “Are you talking or sleeping together?”
Nydia managed to look contrite. “Both.”
Jasmine narrowed her eyes. “Didn’t you promise us you would get rid of the bum? Don’t be like me,mija. I know as a woman you have physical needs, but you can’t let that cloud your judgment when it comes to letting a man use you, even if it’s only for sex. He will keep coming back, talking out the side of his mouth, because he knows you better than you know yourself.”
“Why do you sound like such a man hater, Jasmine?” Nydia asked.
Jasmine recoiled as if she had been jabbed with a sharp object. “Is that what you think? That I’m a man hater because of my lying, cheating-ass ex-husband?”
“What else could it be?” Nydia countered.
Tonya knew it was time to intervene before the two women said something they would later regret. Their friendship was still too new and much too fragile to withstand a barrage of verbal insults. “Calm down, Nydia. Jasmine is trying to look out for you because she doesn’t want you to go through what she experienced with a man she loved and trusted. I know nothing about your boyfriend other than what you’ve told us, but if you were my daughter I’d tell you what I said the last time we were here. Get rid of him and block his number. You’ll never be able move on until you do. I’m going to ask you one question, and then this topic of conversation is over. Do you love him enough to want to spend the rest of your life with him?”
The seconds stretched into a long silence, and then Nydia said, “I don’t think so.”
“If that’s the case, then kick his sorry ass to the curb,” Jasmine whispered.
Raising her arms above her head, Nydia exhaled an audible breath. “Maybe I need to get out and find someone else.”
Jasmine shook her head. “I wouldn’t recommend that. Take some time to find out who you are, what you really want in lifeandin a man; otherwise you’ll end up in the same situation just because you don’t want to be alone.”
Tonya nodded. “Jasmine’s right.”
