Page 33 of Lulu’s Recipe for Cajun Sass

Or maybe she’ll want to continue the fun, too.

I can only hope.

With the decision made, he moved his mother’s car to the end of her driveway and into her back yard so it wouldn’t be visible from the road out front. He felt kind of silly doing it, like a teenager engaged in some illicit activity, but Louise would feel better, he was sure.

When he got back to the kitchen, he filled his own plate and sat down next to the little girl. The breakfast was good, if he did say so himself. And Adèle was eating up, too. He washed his down with coffee, which he’d made in the aluminum pot on the stove, and the kid got orange juice. Searching for a kid-appropriate subject, he commented, “So, what do you think about Snow White and those seven dwarves? Somethin’ goin’ on there, I bet.” On the other hand, maybe that wasn’t kid-appropriate. He shrugged dismissively.

Afterward, he cleared the dishes and Adèle went to get her coloring books and crayons. Louise was still not up, but then, it was only seven o’clock, and he had worn her out last night.

“Why are you smilin’?” Adèle asked, spreading two coloring books on the table and the box of crayons between them. “Doan forget to color inside the lines. I kin show you if you doan know how.”

Thus, it was that when Louise finally awakened, he was saved from her tirade over his continued presence by the sight of him coloring Dumbo a pretty shade of lavender, Adèle’s favorite color.

“You’re still here,” she said as if that wasn’t obvious. What wasn’t said, but she had to be thinking was “Why?”

“Addie woke up the same time as me, and she conned me into making breakfast, and then I had to color at least one picture, and I don’t have to work until this afternoon, and…” He let his words trail off.

“Where’s your car? I didn’t see it in the driveway when I looked out. That’s why I was surprised when I came in here and saw you sitting at my kitchen table.”

“I parked the car in your back yard. Wasn’t that smart of me?”

“What?” She rushed over and looked out the living room window. The big car was parked parallel to her back porch, filling a good portion of her lawn. “You ran over my St. Jude statue and the bed of impatiens around his shrine.” Her jaw dropped at his nerve.

“Oops,” he said. “Guess I miscalculated a little bit.” Good thing she doesn’t know that I almost plowed her fig tree down.

Adèle looked up at him and giggled. Apparently “oops” was an odd-sounding word. Then Adèle admonished her aunt when she returned to the kitchen. “Doan be mad at Justin, Tante Lulu. He’s my friend.”

“Oh, really?” Louise put her hands on her hips and frowned at him. She was wearing the sleeveless, pink nightgown she’d had on last night. It wasn’t very revealing, but now that he knew what she hid underneath, well…

He stifled a grin, and said, with an exaggerated flutter of his eyelashes, “Are you hungry, darlin’?” In case she didn’t get his double meaning, he added another, “I’ll fix your shrine later.”

* * *

When saints go falling down…

Louise was falling a little bit in love. Yes, it was too soon. And there was no future in it. But what woman wouldn’t fall for a man who sat coloring a purple elephant with her child? Who cooked breakfast, for heaven’s sake, and didn’t consider it unmanly? Who made her bones melt and her inhibitions fly away with his lovemaking? She blushed to think of the things she’d done last night.

Justin went outside to move the car back to the driveway while she dressed Adèle in a violet top and white shorts with blue sneakers, forcing her to take the time to brush her hair and teeth before skittering off. The whole time the little girl babbled about something Justin had said or done. “Justin said milk makes the bones grow strong.” “Justin’s daddy has a store that sells candy. He’s gonna get me some licorice whips.” “Justin kin sing ‘Old MacDonald’ with all the voices real good, even the horse.”

Once Louise had dressed herself in black pedal pushers and a sleeveless, stretchy pink top and white sandals, her hair pulled back into a simple ponytail, no make-up, she went out to discover Justin fixing the shrine with his little helper, the two of them chatting away like longtime pals. For some reason, she was surprised that Justin could deal so well with a child, sort of bring himself to child level. Maybe it was a skill taught in medical school. Adèle didn’t usually take to strangers so easily.

“How’s it going?” she asked, stepping onto the porch.

“Pretty good,” Justin said. “Not much damage, except for a few toes that I can glue back on later after I get some waterproof adhesive.”

The statue was about four feet tall and sat on a concrete slab. Jude wore a brown robe with a rope belt and his bare feet peeping out of the hem, minus three toes on his right foot. The blue eyes of the statue seemed to be staring at her in disapproval…for the damage or for her activity of the previous night, she wasn’t sure. She would find out soon enough.

“We have to clean off Jude’s hiney,” Adèle told her.

“What?”

Justin grinned. “The statue fell backward into the mulch. We’re going to hose it off.”

“What’re you going to do about the flowers?” There were crushed impatiens and spreading vinca vines everywhere.

“Dontcha be worryin’ none, chère,” Justin said. “Me and Adèle are gonna fix everything. Right, short stuff?”

Adèle beamed.