Page 4 of January

“For real?” Jolie asked. “You’re really serious about this?”

“Can you take time off work?”

“You want me to go with you?”

“Yes. What have I been saying?” Kyle laughed.

“I guess I could. I’m allowed five days off when someone dies, and I still have a couple of weeks of vacation saved up. I don’t want to use it all, though, because I’d like to take a real vacation this year.”

“It’s New Orleans, Jol. Itisa real vacation. We don’t have to just learn about where we come from by digging through her old house. We can learn about the city and have fun, too.”

“Oh, there’s an idea,” Jolie replied, leaning back in her seat. “Bourbon Street, beads, booze, and boys.”

Kyle laughed and said, “Sure.”

“Well, girls foryou, but I had some good alliteration going on there.”

Kyle laughed again and asked, “So, you’re in? You’ll come with me?”

“Yes. But what will we tell Mom?”

“Nothing. We just made our monthly pilgrimage to the trailer. She won’t expect another visit for a while. And if she calls or texts, we just lie.”

“Well, turnaboutisfair play. She lies to us all the time,” Jolie noted.

“So, we’re going to New Orleans?” Kyle asked.

“When I get home, I’ll look up everything I want to do, so be prepared, sister.”

Kyle laughed again.

CHAPTER 2

“Jill, have you seen my list?” Melinda asked.

“Nope. Have you seen mine?”

“I’ve got them,” their boss and company owner said, laughing as she held out two pieces of paper. “I swear, you two.”

“If you’d only get an app, we’d have our lists on our phones, and we’d never lose them,” Jill remarked.

“I like it,” Melinda said, taking her list from the boss lady. “It’s old-school, and I appreciate simple.”

“There you go. See, Jill? Simple.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Jill laughed and took her own list. “So, cemetery today. Where do you go?”

“Garden District,” Melinda replied.

“Your favorite,” Jill said.

“I do love it.”

“A lot calmer than the Quarter,” Jill replied.

“And it’s a longer tour, so I only haveitwhile you have the cemetery and Jackson Square today.”

“True. But we take a break at Café Du Monde, so I get coffee and beignets that are often boughtforme by tourists who also still tip me.”

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