Marie studied them thoughtfully in silence. “I don't think I can.” She said. “I think you and I could lead them to some beautiful place for lunch, but when I look to see what road these two are taking, I don't see anything at all.”
Kerry felt a weird prickle go down her spine, and she felt Dar's thigh twitch under her fingers. “Is that good or bad?” She finally asked.
“For me? Terrible.” Marie laughed. “Honey please don't be telling everyone I said that. I got my reputation to think of.” She sobered, and paused briefly. “But you? I talk to people and I kind of guess where they're going, if you know what I mean. What they said, what they do, what they want.. when people come to ask for their fortune, they want what they want, you know?”
Dar nodded. “Yeah.”
“That's what she asked me.” Charles said. “If I told people their future, or what they wanted their future to be.”
“Mm but people who go chasing off big scary ghosts? I don't know where to begin to tell you what you're going to get yourselves into.” Marie said. “So what about that lunch? I got me a place you can get the best fried chicken in New Orleans. That do you?”
“Fried chicken? Always.” Dar amiably agreed. “Let's go.”
Kerry slid off the stool, with a strong sense that the two fortune tellers were diverting their attention away from the arcane. She could tell they were both a little uneasy with her and Dar, and as she followed them out the door, she also had the sense that someone inside the store was still watching them.
Or maybe it was just her imagination again.
**
“Well.” Kerry sucked on a bit of sugar candy as they walked down the sidewalk back towards Jackson Square. “That was, for sure, the best fried chicken I've ever had.”
“For sure.” Dar agreed wholeheartedly. “And I'm willing to bet I've had more of it than you have.”
“Probably true.” Kerry agreed. “Wow, it was good.” She felt pleasantly stuffed, and equally pleasantly surprised at the southern style sides that even seemed new to her partner. “I've got to try making that corn bread.”
“You can try any of that on me any time you want.” Dar said. “So, more shopping then back to the hotel to get ready for our Boos and Booze tour?”
Kerry snickered. “Now that I know it's all fake, I'm going to have a much better time.” She admitted. “That was fun, Dar. I'm glad we ran into those two. Except it was kind of weird that they just decided to go to lunch with us and left off all the fortune stuff.”
“Did we freak them out?” Dar wondered. “Hey, want a cup of coffee?” She pointed. “There's a cafe, and I think there's a parade coming.” She pointed down a side street, where the sounds of music were suddenly loud and present.
“Mm. I see cheap plastic beads in my future.” Kerry contentedly followed her over to the cafe, mounting the steps and taking a small table off to one side. “Have I told you how much fun I'm having at our Valentine's day celebration? I”m going to have to work my butt off to match this next year.”
She sprawled in a chair, glancing around at the rapidly filling up cafe as others heard the approach of the parade and decided to get a good spot to watch it from. “I think you freaked them out.” She said, after the waiter left with their order. “With all that old soul stuff. What did you think about that?”
Dar leaned back in her chair and hiked one boot up onto her opposite knee. “I don't know. I'm not sure what that was about. I don't feel like an old anything right now.” She rolled her head to one side and gave her partner a grin. “Didn't make sense to me. I think they were trying to tie that into reincarnation, but I don't think I've been here before.”
“Mm.” Kerry considered that, as she watched a young couple at the next table sharing a kiss. The other onlookers watched with wry bemusement, but she wondered if that would still be the case if she and Dar were to copy them. “I don't feel like I've been here before either.. “ She mused. “Well, except for when I met you.”
“Me?”
Kerry nodded. “Remember when we met, we were racking our brains to figure out where we knew each other from?” She reached over and curled her fingers over Dar's. “But we never could, because we never had met.” She watched Dar's pale eyes intently study her. “But when I met you, I felt like I'd always known you.”
The parade was getting closer and louder, and the street was filling with watchers. Dar's gaze went internal for a few minutes, until the waiter came back with their cafe au laits accompanied by small crunchy biscuits She nodded absently, then returned her attention to Kerry. “Yeah, maybe.” She conceded. “I definitely felt a connection to you. Always have.”
Her phone rang, and she pulled it out and answered it, holding her other hand over her ear, as she rolled her eyes at Kerry. “Yeah, I'm here. It's loud. Sorry about that.”
Kerry leaned back and watched the parade, the crowd near the street all cheering and reaching towards the floats, who were again tossing things at them with cheerful abandon. Rather than stand up and attract them, she settled for watching the street side participants instead as she listened with one ear to Dar's conversation.
“Alastair, they're out of their minds.” Dar spoke, after a long period of listening. “There is no way I'm going to agree with that, much less the client. Why should we? You know perfectly well how I got involved in that, hell, Hamilton was there.”
She listened again. “They did? Okay, well, then they're more brainless than I figured.” She shook her head, and glanced at Kerry. “They fired Hamilton.”
Kerry wasn't surprised to hear it. After the last round between the Louisiana lawyer and ILS she'd figured him for short term. “Is he coming here for Mardi Gras? Maybe we can have dinner with him.”
Dar paused in mid word, and her eyes twinkled. “Good point. Is he coming to visit the family? He know we're here?” She grinned. “I'll text him. Anyway, Alastair, they need to just move on. They probably don't want any part of it anyway, it could get a little squirmy for them from a publicity standpoint.”
She listened for a minute. “Because the contract involves domestic surveillance.” She said. “That enough for you?”
Kerry could hear the exasperated sound coming from the phone. “Didn't he know that?” She frowned. “Have him tell them from me that as the ex VP of operations, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.”
“That's just what Kerry just said.” Dar said into the phone. “Or better yet, have your friend the vice president explain it to them, because I saw that memo about who could or couldn't bid. Doesn't he owe you one?”
“Poor Alastair. Isn't he retired yet?” Kerry sipped the rich, fragrant coffee.
“Exactly.” Dar said. “It's a contract based on delivery objectives, they're not funding anything. I just gave them a framework and brought on some programmers. I don't even know how much margin its even going to end up having.”
“You sound so sexy when you talk like that.” Kerry commented.
“They did?” Dar sounded surprised. She looked back at Kerry. “Mariana and Duks resigned.” She told her. “That's why Alastair's still around.”
“Poor Alastair.” Kerry repeated, shaking her head. “Maybe they'll open their own accounting and HR firm and we can outsource to them.” She winked at her partner. “Hey, didn't you say Alastair was a pilot? He want to come be our private plane guy?”
“Are you listening to this?” Dar started laughing. “Kerry's got a business plan for everyone.” She gave her a fond look. “I don't think Alastair wants to move to Miami, hon.”
“Pfft.” Kerry saw another float heading their way and she stood up and went to the rail to see better. “Oh wow. Look at those costumes.”
Dar leaned back and admired her partners profile. “So anyway.” She said. “I'm sorry it's such a Mongolian, Alastair. Seriously, anything I can do to help?”