Page 48 of Lulu’s Recipe for Cajun Sass

“Oh, Justin! You have to study for your medical boards. You only have a few days left.”

He took her concern as a good sign. “You do care about me.”

“Of course I care about you. Women aren’t like men. We can’t turn love on and off like a faucet.”

He decided not to argue with her over-generalizations about men, which obviously included him. And besides, she must mean that she still loved him. “Louise, let me come to your cottage so we can discuss this face to face.”

“No. Absolutely not.” He could hear her take a deep breath before adding, “Justin, I’m not angry with you. Just disappointed. I had built up in my mind this foolish fantasy of you and I being married, partners in a unique medicine/healing arts office, probably in Dr. Clovis’s mansion. Talk about! That’s why I took your news so hard. But that doesn’t mean I wish bad things for you. Concentrate on studying for your exams. After you pass them, as I’m sure you will, we can talk again.”

“But—”

“It’s the best way. We both need time to think. It’s only another week.”

He was afraid that, if he didn’t resolve this now, her feelings toward him would be cemented. Too much thinking wouldn’t help his case, he was sure.

“Look, Justin. Your tests are on September tenth and eleventh. Come see me after that. But don’t contact me before that. I mean it, Justin. No phone calls, no visits, no letters. Nothing.”

“All right. The train takes two days. So, I’ll be back here on September fourteenth then,” he said. “Okay?”

“Okay. Best wishes on your tests. I’ll say a prayer for you.”

Her words sounded so calm and positive, but Justin wasn’t fooled. “I love you, Louise,” he said again.

She didn’t respond. In fact, he heard the click of the phone, then a dial tone.

Chapter 10

I’ll walk alone…

Louise went about her business for the next week with a heavy heart, but she was getting by.

This was unlike the time after Phillipe’s death, the period when she’d suffered from what she called her Big Grief, when she’d been reduced to a zombie-like depression, combined with a period of wild, boozy, promiscuous behavior, until she’d learned of her pregnancy. Her mother had come to her aid then.

Ahem, the voice in her head said.

My mother and St. Jude, she corrected.

Thank you very much.

Did this mean that she didn’t love Justin?

No, she definitely loved him.

As much as she’d loved Phillipe?

No.

Yes.

She couldn’t decide.

Maybe it was just a different kind of love.

So, Louise went out onto the bayou to gather her herbs, and thought about Justin. And her heart hurt so bad....

Could I really live anywhere other than the bayou?

Maybe a day or two. Even a week. But more than that…I don’t think I could breathe.