10. Daisy
DAISY
“All right, I’m starting to see what you’ve been raving about,” Annelise said on Sunday.
I was beyond happy that my best friend had come to visit me. We spent Friday evening in the French Quarter, and yesterday we did tours in the Garden District and the famous cemeteries. Today, I wanted to show her the best parts of the Quarter.
“It’s got a certain charm that other American cities don’t. Well, our hometown doesn’t, anyway.”
“It’s unique for sure.”
Annelise had moved away from home, but not too far—just in the neighboring town. She was married to her high school sweetheart, Kevin, and visited her family twice a week and updated me on all the goings-on. Not that there was a lot going on in our small hometown.
“I feel like such a bad daughter for not being home in so long,” I confided in her as we strolled down Dumaine, eating ice cream. The day was surprisingly hot, so the dessert seemed appropriate.
“Your folks know you’re independent. They’re the same way too. But don’t you miss home sometime? ”
I bit my lower lip. “Honestly, no. I like this.” I waved my free hand around. “Moving to new places, exploring. I like adventure. Although, I’d love to find my dream job here.”
“Or maybe you could keep your current job, huh?”
“It’s not bad,” I admitted. “The pay is very good.”
“Especially with the hot boss?” She waggled her eyebrows.
“Hey, I didn’t tell you that so you could tease me.”
“But what else is a best friend for?” Annelise asked.
“Oh, you’re mean.”
“But you love me.”
“Of course I do.”
“Hey, how about going in here?” she said, pointing to a store selling charms and crystals.
“Sure.”
New Orleans was full of such small shops with the most random products, but I loved them. This one in particular was truly tiny and smelled a little stuffy. If I were by myself, I wouldn’t linger, but Annelise was ecstatic.
The sales associate was a young woman who seemed to be barely eighteen. For some reason, I expected this place to belong to an old matriarch or something. Talk about preconceived notions.
“Are you searching for something specific?” she asked Annelise.
“No, I just like to look at the stuff.”
The woman grinned. “Oh, I totally get it. Be my guest. I won’t disturb you. I know how it feels to want to just browse at your leisure without anyone pressuring you to buy anything. I’ll just get back to my book.”
Without another word, she headed to a cozy armchair and sat down with a book.
“Looking for something to buy for Kevin?” I teased Annelise.
“Ha ha.” Her husband forever made fun of her obsession with crystals. “No, I’m taking advantage of the fact that he isn’t here to just indulge myself. ”
“How is life with Kevin?” I asked as she inspected a small round quartz.
“Just as in love as we were in high school. Despite his growing beer belly and the snoring. We’ve got to find a solution for that.”
I giggled.
“Hey, don’t laugh. It’s a thing, you know.”
“I wouldn’t know, actually.”
“I keep thinking maybe I can convince him to have separate bedrooms.”
I gasped.
“Yeah, that’s usually how people react, but spoiler alert, sex doesn’t have to happen in the bedroom. In fact, it never happens in the bedroom for us.”
“What does Kevin say about this?”
“He thinks it’s weird, although I think he secretly wants to have his own space as well.” She looked up from the counter. “Well, all right. I’m done.”
“You’re not buying anything?”
“No, I just wanted to look.”
“No judgment,” the girl called from her armchair. “Hope you enjoyed, and maybe I’ll see you again.”
“Thanks,” I said as Annelise smiled and waved at her.
“Damn. Is everyone here so nice and relaxed?” Annelise whispered.
“Ah, no, I think she was just more interested in her book than us,” I admitted as we headed back out to the street. “Hey, what would you think if I treated you to the best Sazerac in town?”
She threw her head back, laughing. “It’s so early in the afternoon.”
“Well, why not? It’s Sunday, and we’re off until tonight.”
Annelise pouted. “I can’t believe your boss is making you work on a Sunday evening.”
“He’s not, but I want to be there on the opening night of the event. I think it’s important for me. Besides, you were the one who said you wanted to catch up on that series. So, let’s get you good and drunk before that. And I know the bar that has the best Sazerac.”
“Yum,” Annelise said.
“It belongs to one of my boss’s brothers.”
“Ah, of course. Is there something that family doesn’t do?”
“I’m not even sure,” I admitted.
I took her hand, and then we interlaced our arms the way we used to do in high school as we headed toward Julian’s bar.
“Are bars open all day here, around the clock?” she murmured.
“I bet a few are at least.”
We arrived in front of the red building soon enough. There wasn’t much going on inside. It wasn’t empty by any means, but we had plenty of room to choose a seat at the bar and ordered our Sazeracs almost immediately.
Once the bartender set them before us, we lifted our glasses.
“Cheers,” I said with a grin.
“Cheers,” Annelise replied as we clinked glasses.
I giggled.
“What?”
“I just remember the first time we snuck alcohol, and I thought my parents wouldn’t notice.”
“Oh yeah. We were dumb, weren’t we?”
“No. We just had a very good opinion of ourselves.”
“We had a fantastic childhood,” she said.
“I agree.”
“I hope to give my own children the same.”
I gasped. “Wait, are you pregnant?”
She shook her head. “Nah, I wouldn’t be drinking Sazerac if that was the case. But Kevin and I are finally ready to start seriously trying.”
My friend had confided in me that she hadn’t been sure about wanting kids for many years, but now it seemed she was .
“Cheers to that. That’s great news.”
“We’re just taking it slow, without pressure. He’s enjoying that I’m not obsessed with using condoms anymore.”
“Oh, I bet he is happy,” I said, chuckling, but something went all mushy inside me.
My God, my best friend is going to have a baby soon.
I was getting ahead of myself, of course, because those things could take time. But still, I was proud of her for moving forward with that decision. And a little sad at the same time that my life was at a standstill in comparison.
“And how about you?” she asked.
I shrugged. “You know me. I never think about it.”
Only that wasn’t entirely true. Now that she’d mentioned babies, I could imagine myself holding one.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Annelise asked, and I realized she’d been watching me this whole time.
“Not even sure, to be honest.”
I sighed as we both finished our Sazeracs. “I really want another one, but I don’t think that’s wise.”
“No, this stuff is strong,” Annelise said. “And really good, though I haven’t had enough of them to really say if this one’s the best.”
“Well, you’ll have to take my word on it because I have.”
She grinned. “Works for me.”
“Ready to continue today’s adventure?”
“Sure. What are we doing next?”
“Well, let’s just keep walking through the streets and see what takes our fancy.”
After paying, we once again interlaced our arms as we left the bar and strolled down Dumaine.
As Fragrant Delights came into view, I had an idea. “Anthony’s grandmothers own this. They make custom-made perfumes.”
“I’ve always wanted to get one of those.” Annelise sounded beside herself. She glanced inside. “They have a few customers already.”
“Let’s go in!”
I was ecstatic. How did I forget about this? I’d planned to come here ever since Anthony told me about it.
I opened the door and was charmed before I even took the first step inside. The place was so calming . There were shelves upon shelves with all sorts of bottles. I even spotted a few crystal displays. Various fragrances wafted through the air.
I was falling in love with Fragrant Delights.
“Daisy,” Isabeau replied, immediately coming up to me. Celine stayed with the other customers.
“Hi, Mrs. LeBlanc. This is my best friend, Annelise.”
“Call me Isabeau.”
“Hi! I can’t believe you do custom perfumes! I’ve always wanted one,” Annelise said.
“We’d be happy to whip something up for you.” Isabeau smiled at her, then looked at me. “Daisy, I’ve got something special for you. Let me finish up here and I’ll bring it right away. I was going to give it to Anthony, but this is even better.” She winked at me, reminding me a bit of Anthony.
Once she left, Annelise turned to me. “How are you so cozy with her already?”
“I’m not. I just met her once.” I was stunned.
“So, where did the wink come from?”
“I’d like to know that too.”
While the two of them chatted with their customers, Annelise and I quietly looked at the bottles on the wall. The writing on the labels was exquisite, and the LeBlanc-Broussard logo was identical to the one above the store.
Once the customers left, Celine clapped her hands. “Lovely. Now we can focus on you two. Annelise, right? You come with me, and I’ll ask you a few things to determine what would work for you.”
“And you’re with me,” Isabeau informed me .
Celine threw Isabeau a glance but didn’t say anything.
“Excellent,” I exclaimed.
“What’s your favorite perfume?” she asked me.
I didn’t even hesitate. “Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel.”
“That’s a good one.”
“My mom gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday, and I’ve been loyally using it ever since. I tried to change it over the years, but nothing worked.”
“Tough customer, then,” Isabeau said with good humor. “Let’s see if we can do better. Are you close to your parents?”
“Yes, very. Though I was just telling Annelise that I haven’t visited them in a while.”
“Oh, I’m sure they understand. Youngsters these days like to explore the world rather than stay close to home.”
“Not true in your case, though, is it?”
“No, we’re tremendously lucky! All of our grandkids wanted to stay in New Orleans.” She set several small bottles on the counter. “Give each of them a sniff and tell me what you think. Especially this one.” She tapped a small dark blue bottle.
“What’s that one?”
“Freesia.”