“What happened to the trick?”
“I don’t know. Langdon sold the house and moved back to L.A. even before the divorce was finalized. I’d read somewhere that he’d gotten a recurring role in a television drama filmed in Vancouver. I managed to stay involved in the theater, and after a while I realized I was a little long in the tooth to play the ingénue and decided I needed a change of scene. My agent wanted me to try out for Broadway, but I was already in my mid-thirties, and I didn’t want to compete with much younger actresses trying to break into the business.”
“When did you move to New Orleans?”
“Three years ago. I came down to visit a cousin, liked what I saw, and decided to stay. I was an English major in college with a minor in theater, so I applied for a position to teach English at one of the local high schools. Once I was hired, I bought a condo in the Warehouse District and convinced my cousin to sell her house and move into the first floor unit.”
“Everything fell into place for you.”
Karla nodded. “Just like a well thought-out plan. By the way, when did you move down?” Karla asked Tonya.
“January fourth.”
Karla tucked several strands behind her ear. “So you’re really a newcomer. Do you have any friends here?”
Tonya nodded. “I’m lucky to say I have quite a few.” She could count Hannah, St. John, LeAnn and Paige DuPont, Eustace, his daughters, and Gage as friends.
“Good for you. I invite a few of the teachers over to my place for informal get-togethers several times a year. My brothers come down with their families during the summer, and they always complain about the heat. I don’t have any kids, but don’t tell that to Lola. She’s a Pomeranian and a ball of fur. She issospoiled and monopolizes all of my attention when I’m home.”
“And I bet you wonder who spoiled her.”
Karla lowered her eyes. “Guilty as charged. After all, she is my baby.”
“I had a dog when I was younger, but as an adult I spent too many hours away from home to take care of a pet.”
“What about now?” Karla asked.
Tonya shook her head. “It still wouldn’t work because I leave my place before six in the morning, and I don’t get home until around four. And there’s no fenced-in yard where it could run around.” She didn’t tell Karla that a dog, whether large or small, might get into the garden, destroy the flower beds, or ingest a weed that might prove fatal.
“It’s different for me because my cousin takes Lola for walks along with her poodle. Thank goodness I had her fixed or I’d end up with a bunch of puppies, because Oreo still hasn’t been neutered.” Karla dabbed the corners of her mouth with her napkin. “We’ve talked about everything but you and Gage.”
Tonya stared straight ahead, purposely ignoring Gage’s eyes. Throughout dinner she had noticed him staring at her and Karla as they whispered softly so not to be overheard by the others at the table. “What about him?” she asked.
“Did you just meet him, or were you previously involved with each other?”
“I saw him for the first time last summer. But once I relocated we began seeing each other.” Tonya hadn’t lied. She did see Gage for the first time when she had come to Jazzes with her friends in July, but she did not know he was Eustace’s brother until he revealed it to her following Hannah’s wedding. “Why are you asking?”
“There’s a lot of talk going around about him at the high school because no one has ever seen him with a woman.”
Tonya’s eyebrows lifted as she gave Karla an incredulous stare. “Are they saying he’s gay?”
“No!” she countered. “It’s just that he’s very quiet and a tad mysterious, and because of this he’s become the topic of quite a few conversations among the female staff and faculty.”
Tonya wanted to tell Karla there were some men who preferred keeping their private lives private, while others were more open about their relationships. Initially Gage hadn’t told her he had a son, but once he felt comfortable with her, he had opened up to her. And she knew he was disappointed that his troubled boy was abusing drugs, which may have contributed to his not letting anyone get close.
“I’ve found Gage to be a very private person,” she said in defense of the man with whom she found herself enthralled.
Karla sighed. “He’s definitely a trifecta: private, talented, and kind on the eyes.” Tonya and Karla laughed loudly, causing the others at their table to stare at them.
“Do you want to let us dudes in on your little joke?” Bobby asked.
“No!” the two women said in unison.
Gage smiled and shook his head. “Well, while you ladies were deep in conversation, we dudes decided we’re going club hopping. Are you in or are you out?”
Tonya exchanged a look with Karla. “I’m in.”
“So am I,” Karla agreed.
