5. Jayne

The French Quarter was honestly one of the coolest places ever. It was somehow super touristy, steeped in history, and a nonstop party. Not on every street, mind you, but there were a few that had a definite party vibe.

There were also the streets slightly off the beaten path that made you feel as if you'd stepped back in history or slipped through a rip in time. The cobblestone streets and mix of French and Spanish architecture, along with the distant clop-clop of the carriage horses, transported you as effortlessly as the wave of a magic wand.

It was thoroughly enchanting, and I saw plainly why so many people, locals and tourists alike, fell under the city's charm. I certainly wasn't immune. I lifted my face into the air as something sweet and buttery wafted past. "What is that delicious aroma?"

Sin looked around. "I think it's kettle corn." He pointed across the street at a shop selling the stuff. "You want some?"

"Believe it or not, no."

He blinked. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I feel fine. I'm just saving my appetite for lunch."

"I see." He consulted his phone. "Matt said if we're in the French Quarter, he can recommend all kinds of places to eat, depending on what you're in the mood for."

"Nothing fancy," I said. "A sandwich and french fries would be just fine."

We found a spot that had po'boys, the Louisiana version of a hoagie or a sub or a grinder, depending on where you were from, and had a great lunch. I had fried oysters on mine, and Sin had roast beef.

When we were done, we did a little more wandering around, looked in some shops, bought a T-shirt for Jack Jr. and two Mardi Gras-colored catnip mice for our furry children. The mice had feathers for tails. I had a feeling they'd be a big hit, although I also knew they'd probably get lost in under twenty-four hours.

Finally, we ate beignets, the doughnuts that the French Quarter was famous for. The golden-fried rectangles of puffy dough were heaped with a mountain of snowy white powdered sugar and couldn't be eaten without getting powdered sugar on yourself, but that was part of the experience. Honestly, they were so good that the dusting of sugar was no big deal. Wouldn't be the first time I'd gotten sugar on myself. I wasn't going to pretend like it would be the last, either.

On the way back to Canal Street to catch the streetcar, we stopped at an enormous used bookstore. While Sin looked around, I found a seat near the counter and took the opportunity to rest. Just because I was a winter elf didn't mean being pregnant didn't wear me out.

The proprietor, a man who might have been seventy or a hundred and seventy, gave me a sly look as he tugged at the bottom of his sweater vest. "You're not supposed to ask a woman when's she due, because she might just be fat, but I'd bet every book in here that's a baby and not an extra helping of grits."

I couldn't help but laugh. "You're right, it's a baby. I'm due in a couple months." I rested my hand under my belly. "We're having a boy. Jack Jr."

"Congratulations. Boy or girl, don't matter, long as the little one is healthy."

"You're right about that."

"You folks staying in the Quarter?"

"No, in the Garden District. My husband's friend has a house there."

The man's exceptionally bushy brows lifted. "You be careful up there."

"Why's that?"

"Houses been getting burgled."

"Is that right?" Matt hadn't said a thing. Maybe he didn't know. He was awfully busy. Local news might not be something he paid attention to. "I hadn't heard. Thanks."

Sin appeared just then, coming from a completely different direction than he'd started in, a stack of books in his hands.

We'd had to institute a new rule about bringing stuff into the RV. The rule was this: If you brought something new in, something old had to go out. There was only so much room.

"Don't worry, I have a few books that I'm going to donate," he said, seeing the look on my face. "As soon as I can find a place."

"Bring 'em to me," the old man said. "I'll give you store credit for them if they're something I can use."

"All right, thanks." Sin paid, took his bag, and we went back outside.

I was ready to get back. "The guy in there said there have been some burglaries in the Garden District."

Sin glanced at me. "Might be a good thing we're there while Matt's gone then."

"Or they might think the RV is a bonus burgle."

Sin narrowed his eyes. "I don't think that's going to happen. Not with us in it."

"Probably not. But Matt's house is still unoccupied. Except for Slim. Do you think we should tell Matt? He didn't say anything about the crime spree. He might not know." I was more worried about Slim than anything in the house.

"I don't think it's a crime spree, and he probably didn't tell us because it's not anything to be worried about. He's got his own security firm. And his house has an alarm system. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"I hope you're right."

He shifted his bag to the other hand and put his arm around me. "Do you want me to text Matt and make sure he knows?"

I thought for a second. "I'd hate to worry him while he's away. He's only gone for two days. I guess not."

"I will keep an extra close eye on things, okay?"

"Okay."

"Don't forget, he's got the cat sitter coming in. Anyone casing the house will see it's not exactly abandoned."

"You're right. I just got to thinking about poor little Slim and my pregnancy hormones got the best of me."

He pulled me in closer. "It's all right. We'll make sure he's just fine. We can even check on him when we get back. Hey, you could take your bath, if you want. After that, we could watch a movie in his living room on that big screen. Maybe order a pizza?"

It had been a minute since we'd had pizza. "I love when you get romantic."

He laughed. "It's a date."

"But I don't want to get in the cat sitter's way, either. Do you know what time she's supposed to come?"

"Matt texted me that she stops by at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Might not be a bad idea to be in the house and meet her, then when she's done, we can watch our movie and eat."

At six-thirty, we were in Matt's house. Sin had texted Matt to let him know, but Matt had already given him the alarm code and seemed happy, according to the text he sent back to Sin, that we were taking advantage of the tub and the big screen.

I felt a little bad that we were leaving Spider and Sugar for a large chunk of the night, but I had given them new toys. They were probably occupied with the mice. And it wasn't like we were going to be gone all night.

Charlie showed up promptly at seven, ringing the doorbell.

Sin let her in. "Hi. You must be Charlie. Matt texted you that we'd be here?" His phone rang. He grabbed it out of his pocket, looking at the screen. "Hey, it's my mom. I need to take this."

"Go on," I said. As he slipped outside via the back patio doors, I stuck my hand out. "That's my husband, Sinclair. I'm Jayne. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi! Nice to meet you, too. Matt told me you guys would be here, so no worries." Charlie gave me a nod. "I'm generally in the house about fifteen to twenty minutes, unless you want me out faster? I don't want to be in your way."

I quickly shook my head. "Do your normal routine. I don't want Slim or Matt getting shortchanged."

"Okay, cool." She looked about my age, maybe a little older, but she was taller and thinner than me. I get that just about everyone is thinner than me these days, but Charlie was lean, like a ballerina, and very pretty. Black cat-eye liner swooped off her lids, which sported a dusting of sparkling pink eyeshadow. Her hair was a lighter pink than the shadow and knotted on top of her head in an elastic, and she wore leggings, an LSU sweatshirt, and sneakers. She had a black nylon fanny pack strapped around her waist. She pointed at my hair. "I love that blue. Whoever does it is amazing. It looks crazy good."

"Thanks." There was no reason to tell her it was natural. I gestured toward the kitchen. "Slim's at his water bowl, if you're looking for him."

"Yep, thanks. That's my guy."

I was curious about Slim and his inhaler. "Do you mind if I watch you give him his meds? I've never seen a cat use an inhaler before."

Charlie laughed. "Yeah, sure, no problem. He's super good for it. Come on, I'll show you."

She went into the kitchen and crouched down next to Slim. "Hiya, Slimmy boy. How are you, big man?"

He greeted her with a chirp and a head butt to the knees, nearly unbalancing her.

"He likes you," I said.

"I think he mostly likes the treats he gets after he takes his inhaler." She scooped him up and kissed his face. "Ready for your puffer, baby?"

She carried him over to the end of the counter and opened the drawer directly beneath that area. I noticed she had a tattoo on the inside of her wrist. It was small but instantly recognizable as the Cheshire Cat.

She took out an inhaler and a long tube with an inhaler-shaped hole at one end and a round, silicone mask on the other. "This is a lot like what they use for babies and little kids. You just shake the inhaler, pop it in the end, then put the mask over his muzzle, press the inhaler to release the medicine, then watch the flap to count his breaths."

I nodded. "That seems pretty simple. And he doesn't mind it?"

"Doesn't seem to. Matt was pretty good about training him on it when Slim was young. He's pretty food-motivated. Slim, not Matt." She laughed.

I smiled. "Makes sense. Our cats are the same way. Treats and food."

She shook the inhaler, stuck it in the back of the tube, then put the mask over Slim's nose and mouth. While he breathed, she counted. I could just see the little green flap moving with his breathing.

"Nine … ten. All done! Good boy, Slimmy." She set the inhaler aside, wiped his face with a damp paper towel, and put him back on the floor. "You have to wipe the inhaler residue off their faces because it can irritate their skin." She smiled at Slim. "Such a good boy. Time for treaties!"

She gave him a small handful from the same bag Matt had dug into the day before. Slim chowed down on them immediately.

"I can't believe how well-behaved he was for that."

Charlie nodded. "Good thing, too, since he gets it twice a day. I'm going to run upstairs and clean the litter box up there, make sure there are no hairballs or other surprises, then I'll be back down to clean the litter box in the laundry room. Usually, I'd stay and play with him for a bit, but since you guys are here, I don't want to be in the way."

"You won't be in the way, but my husband and I can play with him," I said. I was happy to wait until she was done to take my bath. Sin still had to order the pizza, anyway.

"He's got toys in that basket at the end of the couch, and he really loves the feather on the string. That's the black pole sticking out there."

"Okay. We'll make sure to give him some time with that."

She headed off upstairs as Sin came back in from the porch. I couldn't tell anything about the phone call by the look on his face. "Everything all right?"

"Everything's great. She was mostly calling to check up on you and the baby." He rolled his eyes. "I used to be her baby…"

I snorted. "You still are, but a grandbaby is a big deal."

"You're telling me. I keep explaining to her that we don't have a lot of room in the RV for extra stuff."

"It's really sweet how excited your parents are."

"It is." He looked around. "Did Charlie leave?"

"No, she's upstairs cleaning the litter box and whatever. I told her we'd play with Slim, since she usually does that."

"I can do that while you're in the tub. We're still on for pizza?"

"Yes, definitely."

About ten minutes later, Charlie came back downstairs, cleaned the litter box in the laundry room, then came back out. "All right, I'm done. It was nice meeting you. You guys have a good night. I'll be back in the morning to take care of him."

"Nice to meet you, too," I said.

"Thanks," Sin said.

We both gave her a wave. When she was out the door, Sin pulled me into his arms. "How big is that tub?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen it yet." I gave him a sharp look. "Are you saying I'm not going to fit?"

He laughed. "Not at all. I was wondering if there was room for both of us."