That damn dream about him in all his glory had started the morning off with a bang. And it only spiraled out of control when she heard him knocking on the door one second and barreling through to her living room floor the next.

They spent the majority of the day making a pitiful attempt to ignore one another. Baby Jade cleaned, mopped, and rearranged her closet, leading her to think she might actually make it through the day, but the incessant flirting over lunch was too much to bear. It was different from anything she had ever experienced before. Who knew flirting could be absolutely raw and honest?

They ate lunch and enjoyed a couple of drinks. Baby Jade had too much wine for the middle of the day, leaving her more loose-lipped than usual. When Lucky told her he couldn’t make himself get up and leave although he knew he should, Baby couldn’t stop the words from pouring out. As soon as she said that she didn’t want him to, the floodgates opened. She went on to tell him things she had never shared with anyone before. Ma’Linn was the only person who knew such intimate details of her life. She replayed the events of the afternoon over in her head.

***

“Yeah, after the major meltdown, Momma spent the next decade in and out of institutions. By the time we finally got her into Pecan Grove, she’d been all over the state,” Baby explained.

Lucky leaned into her, hanging on her every word. “Damn, that must have been hard. Especially being young. No dad around or family to help out?”

Baby snatched a piece of her hair and twirled it around her index finger, the questions making her anxious. However, for some reason she couldn’t stop. He was damn easy to talk to, and it made her uncomfortable.

“No, I never knew my dad and Momma was never willing to talk about him. I learned early on not to ask. I guess it was one of her triggers.”

“That sucks. Sorry.”

“It’s all good. I lived with Ma’Linn on and off. She’s my neighbor, a feisty old black woman with a heart of gold. Never underestimate her. She’s crazy.” Baby laughed, thinking about her nosey friend and wondering why she had not popped in yet. “When I wasn’t living with her, I was on my own.”

“That’s how you started dancing?”

“After a while, yes. It’s not ideal and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. But at the time, it got me off the streets.”

Lucky offered a weak smile. Baby had seen that smile before. It reeked of pity. She decided it was time to turn the tables.

“You said you lived in the city before. What brought you back?” she asked.

“Well,” he started as he readjusted himself on the couch, visibly uneasy. “I have some business stuff to take care.” Baby remained silent, pausing for him to continue. “Some family stuff.”

That was the opening she had been waiting for, “Family? Your family is in the city?”

Lucky rubbed his hands up and down the front of his jeans. She had succeeded in putting him on the hot seat. “Yes.”

“You’re from Orleans?”

He gave one slow nod.

The way he was acting made her anxious for him. The wine had gone to her head. She knew she should stop, but kept barreling forward. “Why did you leave in the first place?”

Lucky exhaled, letting out the deep breath he appeared to have been holding as he leaned back into the couch. “Damn, you don’t let up, do you?” Offering an ill attempt at a grin. “Ok, I’m gonna throw it out there. Yeah, my family is from New Orleans. I was born and raised in the Garden District. Please, try to hold back the eye rolling.”

Baby playfully tapped his arm. “I’m not rolling my eyes. I wouldn’t have guessed it is all.”

“I’m actually happy to hear that. It means all of my hard work of going incognito is paying off. I try to keep that bit of information to myself.”

“I can’t help but feel like there’s more to the story.”

“Yeah, a lot more.” Lucky closed his eyes, pulling in air through his nose before letting out a deep sigh. “My last name is Gauthier. As in Gauthier Offshore Services.”

The name caused Baby Jade to furrow her brow. Her mouth fell and she wrinkled her nose. She knew the name all too well. There wasn’t a person alive or dead who had lived in New Orleans within the last two hundred years who had not at some point come across a Gauthier, or at least heard the name. Unfortunately for Baby, the encounters she remembered involved grab happy millionaires who didn’t like to take no for an answer. Her stomach knotted as he continued.

“My family’s been working in marine transportation for years. They’ve done quite well for themselves. After high school, I went to college to get my Master’s in Business Finance. I was on the right track to make the old man proud.

While I was at LSU, I met a girl. Her name was Carrie and we got pretty serious. We dated for two years. Turns out, we had the same goals and dreams. She came from a well-off family, not as well-off as mine, but they weren’t left wanting for anything. My parents didn’t care for her, but that was no surprise since they always thought everyone was beneath them.”

Lucky took a quick swig from the Shiner bottle. “In our last year, we were starting to look forward to our future and make plans for after college, but Carrie found out she was pregnant. It was a huge blow. We were always careful. But after the initial shock wore off, I was kind of excited, more than Carrie was anyway. It messed with her timeline, her five-year plan. After some careful consideration, and against my parents’ wishes, I proposed. I figured it was the right thing to do and, with some hard work on both our parts, we could still make something of our lives. I saw a light at the end of the tunnel when she said yes.”

The way Lucky’s shoulders sagged and he ran his hands over his jeans, Baby knew whatever he had to say was going to be difficult.

“I’m guessing she didn’t agree?” Baby asked in a whisper.

He lowered his head and shook it from side to side.

“I’m sorry, Lucky. You don’t have to say anything more.” She didn’t want to drag out his obvious pain.

“No. I haven’t ever gotten this far. No one knows this part of my life.” He finished the second, and last, bottle of Shiner. “May I?” he asked, gesturing to Baby’s half glass of wine. She scooted the glass in his direction. He picked it up and took it down in one gulp. “No, Carrie didn’t agree. I’d come home from a weeklong stay at my parents, trying to smooth over the engagement. Carrie and I shared a small apartment near campus. When I got home, she and a friend of hers were in the middle of packing her bags. I had no idea what was going on. She wouldn’t tell me anything. They kept filling bags and boxes. Carrie looked like hell. She was in an old pair of my football sweats, no makeup, and messy hair, which was unlike her. She looked as if she rolled right out of bed. I tried to find out what was going on, but she refused to talk to me. After everything was loaded in the car, Carrie grabbed her purse and got ready to walk out the door for the last time. I couldn’t let her go. I grabbed her by the arm. I wanted her to talk to me, to tell me what happened. Everything was fine a week earlier. I was confused.”

Lucky ran his hands through his hair, and then he blindly stroked his beard. Baby Jade remained silent because she didn’t want to interrupt his train of thought. His eyes were dark and distant; she knew this was hard enough for him without her jumping in.

“I guess I was kinda scared too. I didn’t know what was happening. I was losing the only thing I thought meant anything in my life. My fiancé and my baby. My entire life was walking out the fucking door and I needed answers.”

He inhaled and let it out in one long breath. “Like I said, I grabbed her by the arm to stop her from leaving. When I did, Carrie doubled over and cried out in pain. Her purse fell to the floor. I tried to help her, but she wouldn’t let me touch her. I bent down to pick up her stuff. I felt like a complete asshole. I started shoving everything back into her bag. There was the usual chick stuff like lipstick, tissues, her wallet, and other girly shit. There was also a set of papers, stapled together with a logo of a female figure with some squiggly blue lines. It said Women’s Health Care Center on the front page and had her signature scrawled across the bottom with a ton of initial marks. I don’t know why, but I wanted to know what the hell it was. I flipped through the stack of papers and found this.”