Cajun Persuasion

  “No, you’ve just fallen in love with two little miracles.”

  “I have, haven’t I? But then, that’s not the only miracle I’ve fallen for.” He leaned down and pressed his lips softly to hers. Her lips looked raw and kiss-swollen from his earlier roughness. He should feel guilty, but he didn’t.

  “Oh, Aaron, don’t refer to me as a miracle,” she said, putting a hand to his face and rubbing her cheek against his chin.

  “Us, then.”

  “We are definitely not a miracle. Men and women have been doing what we just did from the beginning of time.”

  “Someone’s in an argumentative mood. Okay. What say we create some miracles then?” He rolled over on his back so that she was on top.

  He was teasing. He meant more sex. But she got an odd look on her face, as if he’d hurt her.

  What is that about?

  But then she made love to him, with a fervor that was powerful because of its tenderness. Afterward, she had tears in her eyes.

  And he had to wonder, again, What is that about?

  Some bucket lists are heartbreakers . . .

  Fleur managed to get an appointment that afternoon with a gynecologist in Houma, a last-minute cancellation. She needed to get some conclusive answers before things went any further with Aaron.

  Unfortunately, Fleur had to use Tante Lulu’s lavender tank of a car. Talk about being conspicuous! Not that she was being secretive, exactly.

  Dr. Georgette Vincent sat down with Fleur after her examination, and her question was blunt. “What happened to you?”

  Fleur told her.

  Dr. Vincent didn’t seem shocked by Fleur’s words, and she was compassionate listening to her story. At the end, Fleur asked, “Can I ever have children?”

  “No. The damage is too great. In fact, I would suggest you have a D&C. Oh, miracles happen sometimes, but your chances of ever conceiving are about one half of one percent, if that.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Fleur said. “I just needed to make sure.”

  After that, Fleur didn’t allow herself any time to wallow in self-pity, she had other equally important items on her to-do list today. She’d left Aaron sleeping back at his apartment. He wouldn’t miss her for several hours.

  She stopped by the admissions office of the branch campus of Pelican University and got brochures related to social work majors and financial aid.

  After that, she plugged a certain address into the mapping app on her iPhone and within fifteen minutes found herself on a little side street in Houma. She parked in front of a small ranch house which was neat but shabby in a neighborhood that would be considered low income. In front, there was a tricycle, and on the door, a neighborhood watch sign.

  Fleur inhaled and exhaled several times before getting out of her car and walking up the sidewalk. She rang the bell, and it was several moments before a young woman, no more than nineteen or so, wearing a waitress uniform, answered. She carried a toddler in her arms, and a little boy sucking on his thumb clung to her knees. The poor girl must have had her first child when she was only sixteen.

  “Oh, I thought you were the babysitter. Can I help you?” the girl/woman asked.

  The last time Fleur had seen her she’d been three years old.

  “Hi, Sarie.” Fleur gulped several times. “I’m your sister. Fleur.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Hope for the hopeless . . .

  “What do you mean, you don’t know where she is? You know where everyone is.” Aaron paced Tante Lulu’s little kitchen while she continued to stir something on the stove.

  “Stop yellin’. My ears are ringin’.”

  “I’ll wring something if you don’t tell me where the hell Fleur is.”

  “Now, he’s swearin’ at me.” She looked up at the St. Jude picture on the wall, as if she was talking to the saint. Then she swatted Aaron with her wooden spoon. “Sit down and have a bowl of gumbo. Then we kin talk things over.”

  “I don’t want any damn . . .” He inhaled and exhaled to calm himself down. Fleur had been gone for more than a day, and even her cell phone service had been disconnected. He was frantic. Not because he feared for her safety. She had disappeared willingly. Still . . . “I don’t want any food. Just information.”

  “Sit,” she ordered.

  He sat.

  After placing the bowl of gumbo and a slice of buttered lazy bread on a St. Jude placemat in front of him, along with a tall glass of iced sweet tea, she sat down across from him. “Tell me ’zackly what the problem is.”

  “She loves me. She told me so. Just a few hours before she left Bayou Rose. I fell asleep, and then I had to run out to the airport to take a crew out to the oil rigs for Remy. When I got back, she was gone. She left a note.”

  “What did it say?”

  “Not much. After thinking things over, she decided that we have no future. So long, it’s been nice seeing you. Blah, blah, blah.”

  “She did not!”

  “Not in those exact words, but that’s the gist of it. Did she say anything to you?”

  “Not really. She apologized fer not comin’ back here ta help me clean up and asked if she could work on my folk remedies somewhere else for a while. Said she’d come back some other time ta help replenish my stock.”

  “And you didn’t ask where she was going?”

  “Sure I asked, but she dint tell me. Said I would be tempted ta tell you if you tortured me or somethin’.”

  He rolled his eyes at the torture notion. “I love her. I don’t know what I’ll do without her.” He couldn’t stop the tears that filled his eyes. It had been a day and a half filled with emotion, highs and lows, starting with the hospital yesterday morning. That seemed like eons ago.

  Tante Lulu reached out and squeezed his forearm. “I do have one clue. I found it on the floor of my car.” She got up and went over to the counter where she picked up a folded piece of paper, then placed it in front of him.

  He shoved the food aside and unfolded the paper. It was a receipt from a gynecologist’s office in Houma, dated yesterday. He frowned. “Why would Fleur have felt the need to go to a gynecologist yesterday?”

  “Mebbe she wanted ta get some of them birth control pills.”

  “Yesterday? In the midst of all the chaos at Bayou Rose?”

  Tante Lulu shrugged. “There wasn’t so much chaos by then.”

  Suddenly, he understood. “It’s because of the babies born yesterday morning. She told me a while ago that she probably couldn’t have children. I bet she went to a doctor to find out for sure.”

  Tante Lulu nodded. “And the verdict musta been bad.”

  “Oh, man! I can see it all now. I went on and on about the babies and how wonderful the experience was. I must have made her feel awful.”

  The old lady narrowed her eyes at him. “Is that a deal breaker fer you? Havin’ yer own kiddies.”

  “Of course not. Yeah, it would have been nice. But I’d rather have Fleur and no babies than another woman with a bunch of rug rats.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “This is a mess. A total hopeless godawful mess.”

  “Hah!” Tante Lulu said.

  “Now what?”

  “You came ta the right place if yer feelin’ hopeless.”

  I’ll second that, the voice in Aaron’s head said.

  Beware of old ladies with plans . . .

  It had been two weeks since Fleur left Bayou Rose, and she was miserable. It had been the right decision, she was convinced of that. But, oh, how she missed Aaron!

  In fact, she missed Tante Lulu, too. And Aunt Mel. And all those people she had come to know so well in such a short time. Funny how sixteen years away from Bayou Black and she hadn’t missed her family, but a few weeks with those LeDeuxs and she’d been enfolded in their circle of love and friendship.

  Fleur was staying with Sara Sue, babysitting while her sister worked a double shift at an area restaurant. Fleur had sworn to secrecy her whereabouts to both Sarie
and her brother Mickey, the cop, whom she’d also reconnected with. Not that Aaron would think to look for her with them, but still, she wasn’t ready to meet him face-to-face. Her emotions were still too raw, and, frankly, she wasn’t strong enough to resist the man. Not yet. She would be later, though, she vowed. If nothing else, Fleur was a survivor.

  It was true what they said about love meaning sometimes walking away. Real love had to be unselfish. Aaron was better off without her. Eventually he would find another woman to love, who could bear his children. It was for the best.

  Even so, it was hard.

  During the past two weeks, Fleur had learned that her youngest brother, Frankie, now seventeen, had joined the Navy. Another child, born after she’d left home sixteen years ago, had died of a drowning. Her sister Lizzie, the one with Down Syndrome, had also died of some congenital heart condition; she would have been twenty-three by now. That left her older siblings, Joe Lee, Eustace, Gloria, and Jimmy.

  Why was it that some people could pop out babies so indiscriminately, and then others couldn’t have even one? She swiped at her eyes and stared at the notepad in front of her. She’d jotted down a few questions related to the folk remedy book she was working on. After finally getting both Jason, the toddler, and Miriam, the baby, down for a nap, she was preparing to call Tante Lulu. Fleur hadn’t even given Tante Lulu her phone number, but she did promise to call every day at two p.m. to check in. It was that time now.

  She scrolled down the contact list on her new phone and tapped Tante Lulu’s number.

  “Hallo!”

  “Tante Lulu? It’s me. Fleur.”

  “I know that, sweetie. How are you?”

  “Okay. I have a few questions for you. It’s hard for me to read some of the writing on these pages.”

  Tante Lulu laughed. “MawMaw had terrible penmanship and she couldn’t spell worth a darn.” She proceeded to answer all of Fleur’s questions, then added, “I need ta pay you fer yer work so far. Where kin I send a check?”

  Fleur had to smile at the blatant deviousness of the old lady. She hadn’t told Tante Lulu where she was staying, although she might have suspicions. “You can pay me next time I see you, and I’ll print out all the pages I have so far for you to proofread.” Actually, Fleur really could use the money. The five hundred dollars Mother Jacinta had given her when she left the convent was almost gone. She would need to find a job, even if she did go to college, as she planned.

  “Well, see, you kin do that real soon. The baby shower is this Saturday at two o’clock, and yer gonna be there. I mean it, girl, I expect you ta come.”

  Fleur felt bad that she hadn’t been there to help the old lady clean up her cottage following the break-in or to help her plan her big bash. And it would be big. A shower for multiple women in her family: Samantha, who had already had her twins, and Charmaine, Sylvie, Val, Rachel, and Celine, who were due to deliver in a few weeks.

  “I’ve never even met most of these women. They won’t expect me to be there.”

  “Oh, they’re expectin’ you, all right.”

  That sounded ominous. “Why?”

  “’Cause yer my associate. Besides, me and Mel need you ta come early ta help set everything up. You doan expect women the size of whales with swollen feet ta do any hard work, do ya?”

  The guilt trip now! “Where’s this shindig going to be held?”

  Tante Lulu paused before answering, “Bayou Rose.”

  “Oh, no. No, no, no!”

  “Now, girl, it’s jist gonna be us wimmen there. The men are gonna get t’gether over at the Swamp Shack. If yer worried about Aaron bein’ there, doan be frettin’. If he ain’t drunk outta his mind, or cussin’, or cryin’, he’s off ta Dallas helpin’ them Street Apostles.”

  “Crying?”

  “Mebbe not cryin’, but he’s sorta sad. Mostly mad.”

  “What’s he doing with the Street Apostles?”

  “I doan know. Mebbe he’s gonna become a priest, fer all I know. He stopped talkin’ ta me after I called him a cranky ass. Yer makin’ a mistake, y’know.”

  “About what?”

  “’Bout everything. I keep tellin’ people they gotta stop thinkin’ they kin plan their futures without help from Above. You know what they say? Let Go, Let God. Thass what you need ta do, girl.”

  “Oh, Tante Lulu! You don’t understand.”

  “I understand more than you think I do. Do you still have that St. Jude statue I gave you fer yer purse?”

  “I do, along with the medal, and the prayer card, and—”

  “Anyways, come over ’bout one o’clock. That’ll give us plenty of time ta talk and help Mel with the decorations and such.”

  “I am not ready for this.”

  “Yer ready if I say yer ready.”

  After Fleur ended the call, she just stared into space. Maybe she was ready. Connecting with Tante Lulu and the women would be a first step. Maybe later, much later, she would be able to talk to Aaron. But by then, it might not be necessary. He would probably have moved on by then.

  Yes, she would do this. And it would be fun.

  She could swear she heard laughter in her head.

  It wasn’t the God squad . . . it was the LeDeux squad . . . almost the same! . . .

  Louise Rivard had called for a pow-wow of all the LeDeux family for Saturday morning at Bayou Rose. Oh, they would be long gone by the time Fleur arrived, but there was much to be planned before that.

  Sitting at either end of the huge kitchen table were her and Aaron. Along either side were Luc, René, Remy, Tee-John, Daniel, Charmaine, Sylvie, Val, Rachel, Celine, and Mel. Rusty was outside playing ball with some of the kids and the animals. Samantha was at the hospital visiting the twins who hadn’t been released yet.

  “First off, wear a nice suit, and ditch the cowboy boots,” Louise advised Aaron.

  “What’s wrong with my boots?” Aaron asked.

  “I think he should wear a T-shirt and jeans,” Charmaine said. “Tight jeans. You have a nice butt, Aaron.”

  “I heard that,” Rusty yelled from outside.

  “Better yet, wear nothing at all,” Tee-John said.

  “Works for me,” Luc agreed.

  Sylvie elbowed Luc in the side.

  “What?” Luc asked.

  “Behave,” she warned.

  “Maybe Aaron didn’t misbehave enough,” Daniel remarked.

  “Like you’re an expert on misbehavior!” Aaron scoffed at his brother. “Some people say you invented uptightness.”

  “Who?” Daniel pretended to appear offended.

  “Everyone!” was the communal response from all present, except for Louise. She didn’t see anything wrong with a little uptightness. “I still say we should have planned a Cajun Village People act out front for when Fleur arrives, and Aaron could be coming down the front steps—”

  “—wearing nothing but his boots,” Tee-John finished for her.

  Louise rapped Tee-John on the knuckles with her notepad. She’d been making a list of everything that needed to be done for the “Fleur Seduction Project,” her name for today’s event.

  “Now for the food. Did you bring the raw oysters, Charmaine?”

  Charmaine nodded.

  “How do I know if Fleur even likes raw oysters?” Aaron remarked.

  “For a man who’s bein’ helped by his family, you sure are soundin’ ungrateful,” Louise remarked.

  “I should be doing this myself.”

  “How’s that workin’ fer you so far, boy?” Tante Lulu inquired sweetly.

  Aaron blushed and ducked his head.

  “Well, if she does like raw oysters, I suggest a batch of oyster shooters. You got any bourbon in this house?” This from René, whose band played in enough bars on the bayou that specialized in that potent drink. A raw oyster with tabasco sauce in one shot glass which was downed in one long swallow followed by another shot glass filled with one hundred proof bourbon. Yum!

  “Or you could
offer her some of Sylvie’s love potion jelly beans. They worked on me.” Luc waggled his eyebrows at his wife.

  “You said that you fell for me long before you scarfed off my chemical experiment,” Sylvie said. Sylvie was a chemist who once invented an honest-to-God love potion that she put in jelly beans.

  “It was a combination of both, darlin’,” Luc said diplomatically.

  “I brought the bouquet of white roses,” Val interjected.

  “I fixed the sound system so Fleur will be able to hear Barry Manilow songs playing the minute she gets out of her car,” René said, “though why anyone would want to listen to that crap is beyond me.”

  “Hey!” Mel said.

  “Oops! I meant to say that Barry would be serenading Fleur with sweet music in case Aaron doesn’t have the words to say how he really feels,” René amended.

  “How do you really feel?” Daniel asked his brother.

  “Bite me,” Aaron replied. Under his breath, Aaron muttered, “This is a goat fuck waiting to happen.”

  Louise overheard. “Yer not so big I cain’t soap out yer mouth.”

  After that, conversation swirled around recent and upcoming events. Yes, there would be an actual baby shower for the six women. Next week.

  Mel reported that all of the rescued girls had been taken care of in one way or another, and that included the ones who had been taken to the convent in Mexico, according to Mother Jacinta. There was still some flak over local and federal authorities investigating the circumstances surrounding the rescues, but thus far no connection had been made with the Magdas or the Street Apostles. No one seemed too concerned.

  Aaron said that Brother Brian and Brother Jake were already talking about a new mission, this time in the Philippines, of all places. He wasn’t sure if he would be involved or not because of the distance and pilot licensing issues.