The House on Prytania (Royal Street #2)(98)
Author: Karen White

 

“Looks great.” I walked around her, admiring the stitched flames on the bottom of the tunic recalling Joan’s sad end on a fiery stake.

 

“Thanks—but not as great as Cooper will look in those tight football pants,” she said, winking at me.

 

“Sadly, he’s going as Sean Payton.”

 

Sunny stared blankly at me.

 

“Y’all are pathetic,” Jolene said. “I had to explain to Nola, too. Sean Payton was the Saints’ coach in 2010 when they beat the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl. I personally don’t think anyone should be allowed to even live in New Orleans without knowing that important fact. It’s as important around here as knowing that Christmas is December twenty-fifth. Or when hunting season starts.”

 

I let that sink in before I turned to Sunny. “Trust me, I wouldn’t mind seeing Cooper in those pants, either, but he didn’t have a lot of time to come up with a costume, and all he needed was a black sweatshirt and visor with the Saints logo and a headset to dress as Coach Payton. Done and done.”

 

Sunny replaced me at Jolene’s vanity. “You know,” I said, “I don’t think Joan of Arc wore makeup when she was leading her troops against the English.”

 

“How would you know?” Jolene asked. “You weren’t there, so I say it’s open to interpretation.”

 

Sunny’s laughter burbled out of her like shiny bubbles, a sound I’d come to love and would try to coax from her whenever we were together. I even found myself anticipating working with her once Beau gave us the go-ahead on the Esplanade house.

 

“Are you nervous about meeting the Sabatiers for the first time tonight?” I asked Sunny.

 

“A little. I’d hoped to have met them before tonight, but Beau wouldn’t let me until Christopher had a chance to make sure everything Angelina told you was fact. Which makes tonight even more special, since we can officially let go of the past.” She beamed at us in the mirror over the vanity.

 

Jolene began pinning back Sunny’s hair before starting the makeup process. Sunny closed her eyes as Jolene began smearing something she called primer on Sunny’s face. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out. I’ll go sit on the couch so we don’t miss the doorbell.”

 

“Hang on,” Jolene said. She grabbed a tube of lipstick off the dressing table and tossed it at me. “Don’t forget your color.”

 

I caught it, then left the room. After realizing that my pants didn’t have pockets, I stuck it in my bra. Jolene had let me borrow an evening bag, but it didn’t work with my costume, so I was making do without it.

 

I had just plopped down on the couch when the landline phone began to ring. I jumped up, headed down the stairs, closed the front door behind me, and sat on the steps to wait.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

• • •

 

In typical Louisiana fashion, the temperatures were back up to the high sixties and lower seventies by the night of Mimi’s cathedral fund-raiser, dubbed All Saints No Haints. Mimi admitted to having had help with the name from Sunny.

 

Michael arrived at the apartment first, and seeing him again after our beach weekend was just as awkward as I’d expected. We’d parted amicably, but I’d expected at least a text if we really were friends. Granted, I hadn’t texted him either, so maybe we were in the wait-and-see phase.

 

He wore a Franciscan habit and worn brown sandals that I recalled seeing him wear at the beach house, and a stuffed bird was perched on each of his shoulders. He kissed my cheek in greeting. “I would say that you look beautiful, but the football jersey is distracting me.”

 

I turned so he could read the name BREES on the back. He laughed out loud. “Ah, that saint. I wish I’d thought of that before Jolene suggested Saint Francis.” His smile faded as I turned back around to face him. “Are you okay? I mean, with me taking Sunny?”

 

I waved my hand. “Why shouldn’t I be? We’re still working on being friends, remember?”

 

“Yeah. I just—well, I wanted to be sure. No hurt feelings, right?”

 

“No hurt feelings,” I said, giving him a thumbs-up like I was on a tarmac guiding planes.

 

A red Ford pickup truck slid into a parking spot in front of the house and a young dark-haired man wearing another Saints uniform stepped out.

 

Connor Black greeted us with a wide, easy smile as I introduced myself. I saw the strong resemblance to his sister, Meghan—but without the pearls and Kate Spade. Turning around, I showed him the back of my jersey and he laughed. “Oh, man—I thought I was being so creative dressing like Drew Brees. I guess great minds think alike.”

 

“At this rate, we’ll probably see the entire team roster at the party,” Michael said. “It’s so much easier than coming up with an actual saint and an appropriate costume.” He shook Connor’s hand and introduced himself.

 

I checked the time on my phone. “I’m still waiting for my date, so why don’t y’all go on upstairs? Jolene left snacks and libations on the kitchen table, so help yourself. I’ll shoot Sunny and Jolene a text to let them know you’re coming up. They should be done by now.” I thought for a moment, recalling that I was talking about Jolene, then amended my statement. “Or within the half hour.”

 

As soon as they left, my phone binged with two texts, one after the other. The first was from Cooper, telling me that he was running late but he was on his way. The second was from Sarah.

 

 

Did u look at pics yet?

 

 

 

I hadn’t, and since Beau was clearly not interested in discussing them with me, I’d deleted them from my phone.

 

 

No why?

 

 

 

Three dots appeared, and then a single photo came in as a text attachment.

 

 

I was bored in science class and looked at pics instead and thought this might b important

 

 

 

I clicked on the picture to expand it. I see it what am I looking for?

 

My phone rang, and I heard Sarah’s voice. “I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but it’s easier to talk IRL than text. Look at the photo again.”

 

I put her on speaker so I could open my screen to the photo. “Okay, got it.”

 

“See the names in the second column on the stone slab?”