Unbuckling her seat belt, Nydia leaned over and hugged Jasmine. She had no idea her friend was experiencing so much uncertainty. She’d believed Jasmine had found her prince and they were going to live happily ever after.
“Weren’t you the one who told me even though you were married to Raymond for twelve years you still didn’t know him?”
Jasmine blinked back tears before they fell. “Did I?”
“Don’t play yourself,mija. You know right well you said it. Look at Hannah. She was married to her first husband for almost thirty years, and she had no idea he was sleeping around until he had a heart attack and felt the need to confess his sins.”
Shaking her head, Jasmine emitted an unladylike snort. “That’s when she should’ve smothered the cheating bastard with a pillow!”
Taken aback by Jasmine’s outburst, Nydia gave her a long, penetrating stare. “Now, who’s angry?”
“I’m not angry, but bored as hell. I’m not used tonotworking. That’s why I took that part-time position with the social services program last year. And I’m jealous of you because you manage to keep busy doing the books for your restaurateurs, and now you’re working up the financial records for the inn. And don’t forget you’ve offered to teach Lamar’s daughter to makepasteles. Right now I’ve hit a brick wall with shopping for things for the new house because I’m not certain what paint colors I want or the final dimensions of some of the rooms.”
Now Nydia understood Jasmine’s frustration. She wasn’t one to sit around and do nothing. As a creative person she had to keep busy. “I saw a needlecraft shop along a side street in the Upper French Quarter, and it reminded me that you knit and crochet. Why don’t you take it up again and make a few pieces for the baby?”
“What were you doing in the Upper Quarter?”
Nydia smiled. “After Lamar and I left Momma’s Place we went for a walk because I wanted to see the French Market. Then we went back to his house, and I saw how you’d decorated his daughter’s room.”
Jasmine’s expression brightened. “I loved redecorating her room. Even though I’m a resource specialist, decorating is still my passion.”
“Well, you’ll have your work cut out for you once you move into your new home. You can strap man-man or little mama on your back like the women in Africa and do your thing.”
“You’re right. I do have something to look forward to.”
Nydia angled her head. “Are we finished with this pity party or you do want to hang around for the after-party?”
“I’m done,” Jasmine stated firmly. “I’m going inside to tell my man that I’m ready to look at vacation homes, and I want it big enough so we can invite friends and family for one humongous sleepover.”
“That’s my girl.” Nydia got out of the minivan and walked with Jasmine into the hotel.
“Tell Lamar I said hello when you see him,” Jasmine as she headed for the elevator that would take her to her suite.
“Catch you later,mija.”
“Luego, chica.”
Nydia made it to her suite and set the leather tote with the laptop on a chair in the dining area. Spending several hours with her fellow innkeepers was definitely an eye-opener. Hannah and Jasmine were upset because they’d believed renovations on their properties were going much too slowly. She could understand Hannah’s frustration, because the projected grand opening had been pushed back a number of times, pending approval of permits and the malfunctioning of the massive wrought-iron gates protecting DuPont Inn. The workmen were currently installing the elevator in the main house and working on converting the guesthouses into the café and supper club.
It wasn’t as if Hannah and Jasmine didn’t have somewhere to live. Hannah lived with her husband in a large house in Marigny, and Jasmine in an adjoining luxurious suite at the Louis LaSalle.
And Nydia had not lied to Jasmine about not concerning herself with anyone or anything but her health, because she had not realized how close she was to dying until she was informed she would have to spend days in the hospital and be given massive doses of antibiotics to offset the sepsis.
All three future innkeepers had married men who loved and protected them, and that was what Nydia wanted if or when she fell in love and married.
Chapter 16
Lamar was waiting on the street in front of his house when the taxi pulled up. Nydia had sent him a text informing him she would arrive around ten that morning. The last time he spoke to her he’d volunteered to pick her up, but she rejected his offer because she had someone who would drop her off. He’d thought that someone would be Jasmine and not a taxi driver.
He opened the rear door and picked up a large covered wicker picnic basket off the seat, and then extended his hand to help Nydia out. She held a large bouquet of flowers wrapped in colored cellophane in her left hand. Leaning down, he kissed her cheek. Lamar had stored everything about Nydia’s face in his indelible memory, and he found her equally beautiful with or without makeup. She’d brushed her hair and held it off her face with a wide white headband. With her bare face, long-sleeved black polo, jeans, and black ballet-type shoes she looked like a fresh-faced college coed.
“Hola.”
“Hello yourself,” she said, smiling. “Wait, I have to pay the driver.”
Lamar rested his free hand at the small of her back. “Don’t worry. I’ll pay him.” He waited for her to walk through the porte cochère to set the basket on the ground and reach into the pocket of his jeans for a money clip. He paid the man and then followed Nydia, opened the door, and stepped aside to let her enter.
“What on earth is in this basket? Rocks?”
