CHAPTER 19
“W hat do you have?” Myra asked.
“What do you need?” Melinda asked her back while she checked the computer behind the counter.
“Something fun. Maybe for a couple of hours.”
“Well, I have a ghost and vampire tour that’s an hour and a half, a French Quarter food tour that’s two hours, a history tour, but that’s only an hour and probably more boring, and I have the cemetery tour, too.
It starts in an hour, though.” Melinda looked away from the computer toward Myra.
“Do you want a private tour? We could arrange something custom just for you. It’s busy tonight, so I’ve got an extra person. ”
“Private? Just for me and Elisa?” Myra shook her head. “No, that would be weird, I think; just us and a guide.”
“Okay. No problem. Any of the others sound good? The food one is going to be pretty packed.”
“Not the cemetery one because I don’t know how she feels about that.”
“So, maybe not the ghosts and vampires?”
“That’s better than cemeteries, right? Cemeteries have actual dead people in them. Vampires and ghosts aren’t real.”
“Or are they…” Melinda said, lifting an eyebrow.
“Is it fun? I’ve never done one.”
“You’ve lived here your whole life, and you have never done a vampire and ghost tour?”
Myra leaned over the counter and replied, “Yeah, I live here. This stuff is for tourists.”
“Then, why are you asking me to book you a tour for a date tonight?”
“Because Elisa just moved here and hasn’t done any of this. I thought it might be fun. I’m going to get us sandwiches from Henry’s, and I figured we’d eat them at my place or hers after the tour.”
“Do the vampire one, then. It’s fun. ”
“It is fun. I’m doing that one tonight,” Rory said as she walked out of the back office. “You should come. There are, like, ten people. Right, Mel?”
“Uh…” Melinda checked the computer. “Twelve now. We just had a booking for two.”
“So, fourteen with you two. You can just hang out in the back if you want,” Rory said. “You get stickers for this one.”
“Stickers?” Myra looked at Melinda.
“They have little ghosts on them,” Rory explained. “We started it for the kids, but we had a few adults ask for them, so we just give them to everyone now.”
“Sold because of the ghost stickers, obviously,” Myra said as she laughed a little.
“Cool. We’ll see you then,” Rory replied. “Want to go to Candace’s after? I’m heading there to meet Logan, and Enid will be there with Caroline.”
“I’m kind of thinking we’ll just go home,” Myra replied.
“Hoping for more than just a goodnight kiss?” Melinda teased.
“I have no idea. It’s only our second date, and she’s never been with a woman, so I’m not about to push anything.” Myra stood up and added, “I’ll be back in a couple of hours, I guess. Rory, you promise me you won’t make a big deal or act weird tonight?”
“No, I don’t promise. It’s the ghost and vampire tour. I make great tips if I act weird and pretend everything is scary.” Rory smiled at her. “But I do promise that I won’t make a big deal out of the fact that you’re on a date. I’d like to introduce myself as your friend, though, if that’s okay.”
“Yeah, that’s okay,” she replied. “I’ll see you later.”
Myra had gotten the idea when she had been about to leave the office. It seemed like something fun for them to do where they could take a little pressure off and relax as they walked around the city. She hoped Elisa liked the idea, too.
Arriving home about twenty minutes later, she decided not to dress up tonight. They were going to keep things casual, so she texted Elisa and said as much .
Elisa Benedetti : I’m already dressed and wearing heels.
Myra laughed and texted her back, suggesting that she change. She gave her ten minutes and then walked across their driveways and rang the doorbell.
“How casual?”
Myra laughed. Elisa was standing in the open doorway, wearing yet another dress. Myra looked down and saw that she had at least changed into flats.
“Babe, casual. Jeans and a sweater. It might get chilly.”
Elisa smiled and noted, “You just called me ‘babe.’”
“I did, yeah,” she said, wondering if she’d overstepped.
“I like it,” Elisa replied and pulled Myra into the house. “I was going to change, but I thought maybe it was more like business casual or something, so I just changed shoes.”
“Business casual? For our date?”
“I’ll go put on jeans and be right back, then. Just sit on the couch. I’ll be five minutes.”
Myra watched her walk up the stairs, hurrying as she did, and God, she looked good in dresses.
Myra almost hated suggesting she change because she had loved putting her on that counter and running her hands up Elisa’s bare thighs, but she wanted her to be comfortable, so she would wait for another night to get her into a dress again.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
Myra looked up and caught sight of her date.
“You’re beautiful,” she said as she stood.
Elisa had changed into a tight-fitting pair of dark jeans and an evergreen scoop-neck sweater. She still had the flats on, but they looked comfortable enough.
“You like green, huh?”
“It’s my favorite color,” Elisa said with a smile. “Should we go?”
“Yeah,” Myra said.
“What’s yours?”
“My what?”
She opened the door and let Elisa walk by.
“Color. ”
“Oh. I guess red.”
“Red, huh? Is that why your company logo is red?”
“I guess so. I paid someone to design it. They showed me that, and I liked it, so I went with it.”
They walked outside, and Elisa locked up.
“Another food truck tonight?”
“Actually, no. We will eat, but I hope you’re not starving. I have special Po-Boys in my fridge waiting for us after.”
“First of all, after what? Second of all, special ?”
Myra opened the truck door for Elisa, and she climbed inside.
“After my surprise event. And it’s special because my uncle owns the shop. He makes the best Po-Boys in town. He has all the awards to prove it.”
Elisa chuckled while Myra got inside the truck, and after Myra pulled them out of the driveway, she took a chance and reached over for Elisa’s hand.
She let Elisa decide what to do with their hands now that they were joined, and Elisa kept them in her lap, resting on her thigh.
It didn’t take them long to get to the parking lot that was closest to NOLA Guides, and it gave nothing away about their destination, which Myra liked.
After getting out of the truck, she walked around and held out her hand, leaving it up to Elisa to take it or not.
If she didn’t take it, that would be okay, but Myra really wanted to hold her hand as they walked tonight.
Elisa glanced down and back up. Then, she winked at Myra and took her hand, entwining their fingers.
“Where to?” she asked as she kind of swung their hands back and forth.
“This way,” Myra replied.
They walked along the sidewalk, passing some drunk or semi-drunk people, people pointing at drunk people, and probably a few sober people, too.
It was still early, but the drinking started in the AM for tourists, and that was especially true during the summer and for college students who wanted to make the most of their vacations before they went back to school in a few weeks.
When they arrived at NOLA Guides, Rory was already standing outside, passing stickers to the rest of the tour group.
“What are we doing?” Elisa asked.
“Taking a tour. I hope that’s okay. My friend Melinda runs this place. It’s a vampire and ghost tour. Silly stuff, but I thought it could be fun.”
“Really?” Elisa laughed a little. “That does sound like fun. I’ve never been on a tour here. Ghosts and vampires?”
“It was that or cemeteries. We could still do that one. It leaves at the same time.”
“It just left, actually,” Rory said as she walked over to them.
“Oh. Really? We’re late?”
“No, everyone just checked in for that one a few minutes early, and it was already packed, so Jill didn’t want to wait for walk-ins.” Rory looked over at Elisa. “Hi. I’m Rory.”
“Elisa,” she said.
“Nice to meet you,” Rory replied and held out a sticker for Elisa to take.
“Rory is a friend of mine. I met her through Melinda.”
“Oh, really?” Elisa looked over at Myra and smiled. “I get to meet one of your friends?”
“Two, if you want,” she replied. “Mel’s inside. You can meet her, too.”
“Actually, Mel went out with Kyle. Enid is inside, holding down the office, but only for a few minutes because it’ll close after that.”
“Enid?” Elisa asked.
“Another friend.”
“You have a lot of friends,” Elisa noted.
“I guess so.” Myra chuckled as she took the sticker Rory held out for her and pressed it into her shirt.
“I have to get back to work, but we’ll talk later,” Rory said.
“I’d like that,” Elisa replied.
Rory moved to the front of the large group, handed out a few more stickers, and then moved everyone to the side of the building out of the way of the sidewalk so that she could introduce herself and give some details about the tour.
Myra was having a hard time concentrating, though, because Elisa had moved into her side and rested her head against Myra’s shoulder.
Myra wrapped an arm around her to silently let her know that this was good.
She kissed the top of Elisa’s head and let out a deep breath.
She hadn’t felt this at ease in a long time.
Everything was work, work, work, and the dates she’d been on since her divorce had mostly been lackluster.
Now, for the first time in a long time, Myra was excited about something other than work.
“Okay. Are we ready?” Rory asked them all, sounding excited.
“If I get scared, can I just burrow into you?” Elisa whispered into Myra’s ear.
“Absolutely,” Myra replied.
They started their walk down the busy street, and Rory talked loudly because there were no headphones or anything on these intimate tours.
She stopped them in front of an old Bourbon Street house and began talking about an old woman who had died there in the early nineteen hundreds and supposedly still haunted the place until this day.
She made it fun, pretending to be scared for a minute as she told the story, and then suggested they all get out their cameras and try to take a photo since it was rumored that the ghost would show up only in pictures.
Myra stood there with her hand on the small of Elisa’s back, rubbing it just because she could, and she smiled when Elisa reached for her phone in her purse and excitedly began snapping photos. Elisa used the flash in some, not in others, and tried zooming in on a window to get a close-up.
“No ghost,” she said, sounding adorably disappointed.
As Myra kissed Elisa’s temple and let her rest against her side again, she wondered if this woman had ever gotten to do anything fun.
They were surrounded by all these college students who were partying, drinking, and having a good time, but Elisa hadn’t been able to do that when she’d been in college.
She hadn’t been comfortable being herself and out back in the day, and then, she’d met her asshole of an ex-husband, and her whole had life changed.
“Are you having fun?” Rory asked as everyone continued to take photos.
“This is great,” Elisa replied. “How much truth is there to what you’re saying, though?”
“Oh, it’s all true. Every stop on the tour is a part of New Orleans history.
That’s why I like this tour so much: it’s a fun way to talk about history.
Her ghost has been haunting the place. It was a home when she was alive.
Then, it was a hotel, like I said, and people reported her ghost moving up and down the hallways on the second floor because that’s where she died.
Now, it’s a business on the bottom floor and two apartments, so we can’t go in, but it’s all true. ”
“That’s really cool,” Elisa replied.
“I think so. We’re about to go to a vampire’s house next, so get ready.”
Rory smiled wide and walked back to gather the group.
“Thank you,” Elisa said then.
Myra looked at her and asked, “For what?”
“For this. This is fun, and I needed a little fun with everything going on.”
“You don’t have to thank me. It’s fun for me, too. Plus, I’ve been able to have my hands all over you.” Myra pulled Elisa into her and wrapped her arms around her waist.
“I like your hands all over me,” Elisa replied, wrapping her arms around Myra’s neck.
“Yeah?”
Elisa nodded before she leaned in and pressed her lips to Myra’s softly. Myra breathed her in, and they stood there kissing for a few seconds until Myra heard a throat clear. She pulled back and saw Rory standing in front of them.
“We’re moving on,” Rory said with a smirk. “But you two can catch up if you need a minute.”
“We’re good.” Myra laughed.
“Speak for yourself. I could use a minute,” Elisa said .
Myra cupped her cheek and pecked her lips quickly.
“Later,” she replied.
They joined the rest of the group, and Rory continued to explain each stop along the tour.
Elisa held Myra’s hand for most of the walk, but when she dropped it a few times, she always made sure to remain connected to Myra in some way, like by leaning into Myra’s body or running her hand up and down Myra’s back.
During one of the stops, she moved in front of Myra, who was taller than her, and took her hand, placing it on her own hip.
Myra took it one step further and wrapped her arms around Elisa from behind, resting her chin on Elisa’s shoulder while she listened as Rory talked about another ghost. Elisa rested fully back against her, and Myra felt her sigh as if she felt the same relief Myra felt while she held her like this.
She didn’t want to let her go, but when Rory started moving the group to the next stop, she had to.
“Do that again,” Elisa said, taking her hand.
“Do what?” Myra asked.
“Hold me like that again later.”
“All the time, if you want,” Myra replied.