In between bites of food the quartet talked about plays they’d seen and those they wish they had seen. Gage had one up on them because he had attended college in New York City, and whenever he wanted to see a play he would go to 47th Street and Broadway and line up at TKTS to buy discounted same-day tickets for Broadway shows. During his freshman year there had been one time when he had spent most of his monthly allowance after attending three shows that month and had to eat pasta, rice, and beans for two weeks until his father deposited money into his bank account. He had been tempted to call his mother and ask her to send him money, but thought better of it because he didn’t want his parents to know he had been that irresponsible in choosing pleasure over necessity.
The bell rang, and the three teachers picked up their trays and hurried out of the office before the start of their next classes. Leaning back in his chair, Gage laced his fingers behind his head. The meeting had gone better than he had anticipated; he hadn’t been certain whether he would be met with acceptance or resentment. The other teachers could have viewed him as an interloper—an artist-in-residence who would only be there until the end of the school year.
He wasn’t concerned as much about their reaction to him as their direct supervisor, but he was glad they were willing to work together to put on a musical production that would define Jean Lafitte High School’s music and art program for years to come.
Gage went online and searched for local businesses specializing in costumes from those worn by Shakespearean actors to Cossack dancers as a sheaf of paper filled the printer’s tray. He gathered the pages and locked them in the desk drawer. Time had passed quickly. His jazz class was about to start. After practice he would retrieve the pages and go over them at home. He had overheard teachers complaining about taking tests and papers home because they did not have enough time during the school day to go over them, and now he was about to do the same, but without complaining.
Music was his passion, and he felt he would be lost without it. However, Gage was realistic enough to know his tenure with the school would end in May, and it would be with no regrets, because he still had Jazzes.
* * *
Tonya saw it was minutes before closing time; she had just rung up the last customer’s order when she saw Hannah standing in front of her. “What brings you to this fine establishment?”
Hannah smiled. “I’m here to buy something for tonight’s dinner. St. John went up to D.C. to lecture at his alma mater as a visiting professor for a week, so I decided not to cook tonight. By the way, how is it to work for Eustace?”
“He’s a teddy bear. What can I get you?”
Hannah’s green eyes scanned the menu board. “I’ll have a container of crabmeat and corn bisque, a small order of red beans and rice, and a couple of crab cakes.” She paused. “Why don’t you double the order and come over and eat with me?”
“Are you sure?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Tonya. I also want to give you a copy of the video and an album of photos from the wedding.”
Tonya picked up a ladle and filled a large cup with the soup. “How did they turn out?”
“They’re beautiful. The photos in the garden are breathtaking.”
She remembered Gage’s comment about how she looked in her gown, wondering if the neckline had been too risqué. “I can’t wait to see them.”
Hannah pointed to the bread basket. “When did Eustace start ordering baguettes?”
“I didn’t,” said Eustace. He’d come from the back in time to overhear Hannah’s question. He walked over to the door and locked it. “Thanks to Tonya, we’ll now have freshly made baguettes. And I must admit I like them better for our po’boys. I had one this morning right out of the oven with cheese and coffee and thought I was sitting at an outdoor Parisian café enjoying the sights and sounds of the city.”
Hannah smiled. “It sounds as if you need to visit the City of Lights to experience Paris firsthand.”
“That’s not going to happen because I still have to work here,” he said as he joined Tonya behind the counter.
“Maybe you’ll be able to take a vacation once I’m able to duplicate all your recipes,” Tonya volunteered. Eustace stared at her as if she had taken leave of her senses.
He shook his head. “No, Tonya. I can’t have you take on that responsibility.”
She scooped up rice and filled a round plastic container and filled another with red beans and then covered them with see-through plastic lids. “I don’t mind. Don’t forget that your daughters are here to make sure I don’t mess up.”
Eustace adjusted his baseball cap. “I’m not worried about you messing up. It’s just that you have to be up before the sun is upandprep everything before my girls get here.”
“I’ve been getting to work at the crack of dawn for the past thirty years, so it wouldn’t make a difference if you took a couple of weeks off to go on vacation.”
“What about catering orders?”
Tonya realized Eustace was inventing excuses not to leave his business for any appreciable amount of time. “Gage can help me with those.”
Eustace stared at Tonya, and then Hannah. “I’ll think about it.”
“Don’t think too long, Daddy,” Nicole said, smiling. “You know Mama’s been complaining that you never take her anywhere, so why don’t you take Hannah and Tonya’s suggestion and go on vacation. This place will not fall apart because three women are running it.”
Eustace pushed out his lips. “I said I’ll think about it.”
“Keep thinking, and Mama will ask another man to take her away,” Nicole mumbled under her breath. “You know there’s a doctor at the hospital that’s been sparking at her for a while.”
