8. Café Du Monde

Café Du Monde

It was nearly dawn by the time I made it back down to the riverfront. My stomach growled, and I dug out my wallet and counted the last of the money. "I've enough for a coffee and beignets." It was extremely early, but people were already lined up outside the takeout window. I joined them, thinking we could share the treat, but I didn't say anything out loud, not wanting to give the others in front of me in line a reason to shoot dirty looks at me for talking to myself. Once I received my order and paid, I walked down to the riverwalk since we were so close. There were some benches near the stairs, and from there, I could see the wharf, the paddle boat, and the bridge, all sitting on the murky brown water as the sun came up. I sipped my coffee and set it on the ground in front of me so I could eat my donuts. "Want a bite?" I asked Luc.

"No. Thank you."

"Not fond of sweets?"

"It's not that."

"You seem a little huffy. What's wrong?" I took a big bite, getting powdered sugar everywhere. All over my face, my shirt, my lap. I didn't care. It was a part of the experience. Luc seemed oblivious, his mind on other things. "Okay. What's up?"

"We have to figure out how to pay for what we need with the voodoo priestess. We may have your problem settled, but mine is still…"

"I know. I haven't given up. We need time to think, and we've been moving since we met."

A young couple walked by close enough that they could have heard me. I smiled and took another bite of beignet. They veered away, looking at me fearfully but kept walking.

But Luc was right. We had a big problem. I had nothing. Dead broke. And busking wasn't going to raise enough money. For anything. There was only one way I knew how to do that. Gambling. The one thing I really shouldn't even be thinking about, but I was. That made me a shitty person—beyond shitty.

And I did not want Luc to see me like that. I was about to go down a dark path. How I wished things could be different. After finally getting this mountain of debt off me, I could start fresh. But that was bullshit. The truth was I was about to be homeless and hungry. How would Luc look at me then? I couldn't even survive, let alone come up with some way to pay a voodoo priestess to save him. No matter how much I wanted that.

Jude-the-goon was going to be watching me. I had no doubts about that. Marcello made that perfectly clear. No more gambling. But I had to. And I had to be honest here, with myself if no one else…the truth was that I wanted to do it. I already missed the feeling of living on the edge of a knife. Would my number come up? Would my card be dealt?

Luc had no idea what was going through my twisted brain, but he could surely feel its vibe. He was as worried and desperate as I was. "Hey, Austin. Maybe we could catch that Grunch and use it for the zombie payment? A life, and a nasty one. We'd be doing the city a favor."

I scoffed at that. "That's a bit silly and way too dangerous. No way are we catching that thing."

"Even if Cecile helps?"

"No. And I don't think she would anyway." I didn't want to get the Rougarou involved in this.

"Well, I have the sacrifice. Maybe part of the payment could be the ring. We sure won't need it anymore. So we're two-thirds of the way there. Let's stay positive." He spun around and tipped his hat.

"Right. Positive." I had to agree. He wasn't wrong, but I still felt like a loser. I needed that last third, and I had no other way to get it. I needed to hit the tables. Maybe an underground room. I knew people did sports betting online, but you needed a phone or a laptop for that, and I had neither. "Luc, uh…"

"Yeah?" His eyes sparkled with hope I didn't share.

I tossed my empty coffee and beignet wrapper in the nearest garbage can and tried to wipe the evidence from my face, hands, and clothes. Though, I didn't think I was any more successful at that than managing the rest of my life.

"Austin? What's up?"

"It's just…Uh… You don't know me. Not really. You think you do. I mean, this has been fun, but I'm a broke-ass loser. I'm afraid to go back to my apartment now. Rent is due and I don't have it. I think there's about five bucks left from what you made."

"We can get more. We can figure it out together."

He stared at me with that please don't break up with me expression written all over his face and body. I'd seen it a million times, but never had it broken my heart. And was that what this was? A breakup? I couldn't think of anything else to do or say. I was going to have to take risks that I didn't want Luc watching. Especially if something went wrong.

I slid the ring off my finger. Luc's figure wavered. He frowned, wrinkles marring his brow above his nose. Then he was gone. It wasn't the way I wanted to remember him. But it was what I had. In the distance, I heard his sad song for Rose for a long, slow moment before it faded to nothing.