Lamar pulled her closer to his side. “I think I would enjoy them more if I could understand what they were saying, because they talk funny.”
She stopped mid-stride and would have tripped if Lamar hadn’t steadied her. “Talk funny? You’re got to be kidding me, Lamar. You folks down here talk funny.”
“So do New Yorkers, when they sayearlforoil, andturdy-turdforthirty-third. I didn’t know what the heck this dude was saying when he talked about anearl burner.”
“That’s Brooklyn. They speak differently from people in Manhattan.”
“All New Yorkers talk funny, even those upstate.”
“Please don’t diss my state, because it’s all I know and love.”
“For now, sweetie. Once you move down here you’ll become a bona fide Louisianan. After a whiley’allwill roll off your tongue and you’ll cut the ending off your words. It’ll no longer be good morning, but mornin’.”
“I ain’t giving up the Apple that easily.”
“You will when the Easy puts a spell on you that you won’t be able to get rid of. Look at Jasmine.”
“What about her?”
“She’s adapted well to the South.”
“That’s because her father is a Southerner, and as a kid she used to spend her summers in North Carolina, while I spent my summers in Nueva York and only went to Puerto Rico for a relative’s wedding or funeral.”
During the return walk to the parking lot, Lamar decided to test her by rattling off a series of Southern colloquialisms, and she was unable to translate fewer than half. It didn’t take her long to conclude she would never be bored spending time with him, because he made her laugh, and that was something she hadn’t done enough over the past few months. Chronic pain before and after surgery from her ruptured appendix had left her out of sorts, and knowing she wouldn’t be able to attend Tonya and Gage’s wedding had exacerbated her depression. Her dark mood finally lifted with Jasmine’s wedding, but descended again with her ex’s asinine stunt.
Her skies had brightened once again with her return to the Crescent City. This time she was given eight weeks to acquaint herself with what would become her new city and begin the process of becoming an innkeeper.
* * *
Nydia knew she had misjudged Lamar when he parked his car under a porte cochère. She stared through the windshield at an expansive open courtyard. It was a Garden of Eden with towering oak trees draped in Spanish moss, with ferns, rose bushes, and enormous banana-type leaves growing in well-ordered abandon. A large marble fountain with the sculpted figure of a cherub holding a water jug had become the courtyard’s focal point. A number of tables were positioned near a large fire pit. Lamar’s house was similar to other traditional nineteenth-century Creole residences with beautiful second-story cast-iron balconies like she’d seen in the older sections of the city. She did not know why, but she would have thought he’d have preferred a more contemporary home.
Lamar assisted her out of the vehicle, and she walked ahead of him, her eyes taking in everything around her. She felt the heat from his body as he rested his hands on her shoulders.
“What are you thinking about?” he said in her ear.
“This courtyard is magnificent. Weather permitting, it is the perfect place to begin watching the sun rise and end the day under the stars.”
“It is,” Lamar agreed. “Whenever Kendra invites the twins and the two Kelly girls, who live next door, for a sleepover, they pretend they’re princesses and use the courtyard as their castle.”
Nydia glanced up at Lamar over her shoulder. “You must have the patience of a saint to put up with five girls sleeping under one roof.”
“I’m used to it. Do you want to see inside?”
“Yes.” She felt the courtyard was large enough to hold an intimate dinner party or a buffet with at least fifty or sixty people.
“The garage used to be a carriage house,” Lamar explained as he led to a door at the far end of the courtyard.
“How many bedrooms do you have?”
“There’s four on the second story and three on the first. I’ve converted one on the first floor into an office, and Ramona has her own suite, and the extra one is now a laundry room.”
Nydia flashed a knowing smile when Lamar unlocked the door to reveal an ultramodern open floor plan with the family, living, and dining rooms flowing into a kitchen with top-of-the line appliances. Shades of brown, blue, and off-white were tasteful and inviting.
“Nice.” She also noticed working fireplaces in the family and living rooms.
“I can’t take credit for anything you see here. Valerie hired an interior decorator once the renovations were completed.”
She wondered if Lamar had changed anything in the house since his wife’s death, or had left it intact because he wanted to preserve her memory. Nydia walked into the gourmet kitchen with Viking appliances. “You can do some serious cooking in this kitchen,” she said, smiling and meeting Lamar’s amused expression.
