Jess regretted the sandals as she teetered down Bourbon Street’s busy footpaths. Blisters already formed on the tiny bones of her ankle. She should have opted for flip-flops. A neon sign above her head glowed in shades of deep purple, indicating her feet were pleading for pardon outside of a pub called Dez’s.
Rain began to pour from the eave where she took refuge. She glared at the dark clouds and considered perhaps her Maker had sliced a hole in the canopy above her to punish her betrayal. She leaned over and fumbled with the strap of her shoe. As she hopped on one foot trying to keep her bare foot from getting wet, she skipped forward and nudged an elderly lady. With surprising strength, the lady shoved Jess back into the wall. Jess giggled. Her maniacal dance was amusing, even to her, and just when she’d found delight in the way the cosmos mocked her, her heel snagged on a rock, and she landed on the wet cement with a thump.
As luck would have it, a group of guys was edging towards the bar. They stepped across her splayed body to gain entrance, none of them bothering to acknowledge or rescue her. Appalled, Jess said loudly, “So much for chivalry.”
She must have been invisible, and as the air around her thickened she watched them disappear through the door. Rather than indulge her fantasy of dissolving into the puddle beneath her, she righted herself while wiping raindrops from her forehead. She checked her reflection in the window and sighed, feeling less than appealing and completely exposed. Nonetheless, she vacillated in the door then entered behind the creeps.
The storm blew hailstones against the tinted windows, and it reminded Jess of an out of tune piano her brother had kept in their garage for years. She thought the glass would shatter, so she scurried towards the safety of the building’s center. The place was an oasis. The room was dark, lit only by miniature tea candles on the tables and a fluorescent bulb behind the bartender, which illuminated bottles of liquor above his head. There were just a few tables, and the bar ran the length of the wall. The place was small, but unlike the tourists in other bars, everyone at Dez’s seemed to share a commonality. Their comfort level and ease with each other indicated it was a local hangout, and she found herself relaxing into the vibe.
A nymph of a girl sat on a barstool, her legs pulled under her as she used the cypress counter to provide support. She leaned across the wood for a better view of the TV mounted to the wall. LSU was playing football on the screen, and a loud roar escaped the crowd when they scored a touchdown. The woman on the stool twisted around and eyed Jess when she nestled into the seat next to her. She flashed a smile exposing her perfectly formed teeth and motioned to the bartender, who ambled over to Jess.
Jess ordered a cranberry and vodka and reached for the girl’s extended hand. “I’m Jess.”
“Vi.”
Excitement rose from Vi, entangling itself in the air around the two of them. The girl emanated a genuine nature that somehow made it easier for Jess to breathe. “Vi?”
Vi laughed, her head cocked to one side exposing her long, graceful neck. “Yeah it’s short for Violet, but no one calls me that.” The bartender stopped to refill her drink, and she twisted her pout at him. “Thank you, Dahlin’.” Her rich brogue announced her residence in one of the suburbs of New Orleans. Jess’ mother had developed the same accent when she lived in Kenner as a child and then again before Jess and Jordan were born. Every time Vi spoke, Jess heard the voice of the ghost who haunted her.
Vi was lovely in a way that made everyone else look homely. Scarlet tresses styled in a pixie cut created a halo of soft curls on her head. Her eyes were emerald beacons under her lashes, and the contrast to her porcelain complexion was striking. Every feature on her tiny face was delicate and precisely placed. Wow, I bet the guys line up to drown in those green eyes, Jess thought as Vi favored her with another smile.
She crossed the pub in search of the ladies room; her perky walk alone indicated she knew the world watched. Jess felt, a bit, plain and insecure watching the girl bounce through the room. It was splendid to watch her move.
When she returned, Vi spun Jess’ bar stool around. “Sweet cheeks, this one right here is Marcus, and the tall, skinny one over there is Jeremy.”
“Nice to meet you.” Jess shook Jeremy’s hand, and Marcus forewent any pleasantries and embraced her in a bear hug lifting her from her seat.
“Now, don’t go thinkin’ you’re buying drinks tonight.” Jeremy waved the bartender over and ordered another round.
The pair appointed themselves entertainment, cracking jokes and dancing a ridiculous victory jig every time LSU scored a touchdown. When they weren’t commenting on the women who passed outside, they hung on Vi’s words, as though they waited for her to breathe, so they could too. They were, without a doubt, under whatever spell Vi cast when her eyes opened upon the world each day. Marcus and Jeremy were funny and paid for all the drinks, even when Jess insisted on switching to Dr. Pepper. They were, however, less interesting than the guys who had ignored her humiliation and possible injury, upon their arrival. Marcus and Jeremy were good looking, but the other four downright gorgeous.
They assembled at a corner table; their attention held tightly, to each other and the secrets infused in their conversations. In this one location, they held court, and when outsiders approached, it raised little response from the quartet. They were a study in brotherhood and inexplicably fascinating. As Jess watched them communicate, she realized she was surrounded by people who donned supremacy like a badge, and she felt like an outsider.
Vi watched Jess, a look of amusement coloring her cheeks. “Gorgeous aren’t they?”
Jess gasped realizing her attempts to be subtle had failed. She swallowed the lump in her throat and grinned. “Yeah, unnaturally.”
“I think they're brothers. They work at Harrah’s dealing cards and come in here all the time,” Vi said, before downing what remained of the drink in her hand.
Jess glanced back at them, no longer wary of being caught. They were looming figures, under the halo of light projected from a candle on the table. Despite their size, they were svelte and muscular. She’d noticed their fully defined biceps and stomachs, under their thin cotton t-shirts, when they’d stepped over her, outside. Their skin, like Vi’s, was a milky shade of a pearl with the same reflective quality, and Jess wondered if Vi knew more about them than she’d revealed.
The pair who sat huddled at one of the tables shared the same sandy brown hair. Across from them a blond, with hair so fair it seemed to glow, sat studying his cell phone. And, reclining at the far end of the table, his feet resting in a chair, was the most extraordinary person Jess had ever seen. His hair was coal black, and although he was not as tall as his companions, he was somehow more imposing. The color of their eyes belonged to a spectrum of hues unfamiliar to the rest of the world. The dark haired one glanced up and caught her ogling him. Jess felt like he had punched her. She struggled for a ragged breath then couldn’t expel it, so she spun in her chair and drained Vi’s mixed drink for courage.