Catching up with Linc at the Little Cafe in town is always a treat. We enjoy spending time together. I’m sitting here on my lunch break, waiting for him to arrive, while Lenny, the old black jazz musician, is playing his saxophone across the road. He plays beautifully. He just sits there on an upturned wooden crate on the corner of the street, having a smoke around lunch time each day, talking to the residents or playing his saxophone or trumpet for the town.
Miss Catherine told me Lenny turned up in Connard around twenty years ago. He’s a little sweet on her, and she doesn’t mind the gentlemanly attention he gives her when she’s in town. I’m beginning to think they would make for a great elderly couple. She told me he was once part of a famous all-black jazz band. She’s always polite when he woos her with a special piece of music every time she walks past his corner. It’s like he’s trying to talk to her through his music, but she never extends any invitation to him.
Sometimes, I see Lenny watching me curiously when I’m running errands for Boxer or taking a walk on my break. I’m not afraid of him. I’m more inquisitive of the looks he gives me and what he’s thinking. He couldn’t possibly know about my past, but he looks at me like he knows something. When I start to feel conscious of his watchful eyes, I look over at him, and he will be giving me a big, toothy smile, and that settles my thoughts. He will bob his head as he lifts his chocolate brown, felt, pork pie hat, and say, “Miss Whisper, nice day for a walk.” Then I feel relaxed again.
Suddenly, an overweight, dark-haired man pulls the chair opposite me out, inviting himself to my table, startling me out of my thoughts. He is direct, holding his hand out for me to shake, which I do. “Whisper, I presume. My name is Jonathan Boothe. I am William Dupré’s lawyer.” He licks his lips. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, my dear.”
I snatch my hand back out of his and he gives me a sleazy smile. I don’t like him at all.
“It has taken me a while to track you down, but now that the papers have been served to the other party, I must reveal to you a document that William had in place in case he departed this world before his time.”
He raises an eyebrow at me knowingly.
What does he know?
“I don’t understand.” Nobody is supposed to know about my past.
“I’m just William’s lawyer who is passing on this document to you.” He gives me a smirk. “It took me too long to locate you...Miss Whisper...De Ville.” He says my last name on a horrid sneer. “Where have you been hiding, my dear? I thought you had skipped town, long gone, but on a third attempt, to my surprise, I found you right here.”
I need this man away from me because he talks like he knows things about me. He waits for my response to his remark. I give him nothing but silence. Boxer and Miss Catherine drilled it into me to never talk about my past, no matter what.
My hands are starting to tremble, and I can feel myself sweating. I want this man to leave me alone. There’s something toxic about him; I feel it in my gut. I start to get up and move away because he’s sending my mind into a tailspin.
He grabs my arm and wrenches me down hard onto my chair, my elbow slamming into the table top. He’s a lot stronger than he looks. His calm façade is slipping as he grits his teeth together. “Now, now, let’s not be hasty. I only want to talk to you…unless you want me to tell your secrets to the good townsfolk?” He lets go of my arm when he sees I’m not going to get up again.
Did he just threaten me?
I watch him lick his bottom lip slowly as he studies me, his mask firmly back in place. I do not like the way this man makes me feel. He’s about William’s age, and I want to get away from him now, but he knows things. The sooner I hear him out, the sooner he will leave me alone. I can hear Lenny has stopped playing his saxophone and I start to look over to him, when the lawyer continues talking.
“Listen up, missy.” He looks over at Lenny calmly. “I can see I’ve already attracted a little attention around here, so I am forced to be brief.” He takes an envelope out of the inside of his suit jacket and slides it across the table to me. “Take it and enjoy your rewards.” He then looks back across at Lenny, who I can see has put his saxophone down and is making his way across the main street towards me, going as fast as his eighty-year-old frame will allow him, while he stops a car with his hand held up in front of himself. I turn back to the lawyer and he’s gone.
“Miss Whisper...” Lenny’s calling out to me as he nears me, watching that horrible man as he hurries off down the road to his car. I stop watching him and focus on Lenny. I feel better now that the lawyer is gone and quickly fold the envelope and put it inside my bag. I will look at it later. I can’t afford to draw unwanted attention that will bring questions. I need to stay under the radar in this town.
Lenny has reached my table, and he looks at where the lawyer has gotten into his car and driven off, and then back at me. “Miss Whisper, are you all right? I couldn’t help noticing that man had sat himself down uninvited. I know you are waiting on that nice boy, Lincoln.”
I put on a calm voice as I wipe my hands on my jeans under the table. I give Lenny a confident smile and tell him I’m fine. I give no more information, and for that, I feel bad. What could I tell him that wouldn’t get me more questions?
I thank Lenny for his concern and tell him how wonderful his music playing is just as Linc turns up. He gives Lincoln a nod of his head and then leaves me to go back to his corner. I know he wasn’t pleased with my vague reply and he was genuinely worried about me, but he was gentlemanly enough not to enquire any further.
“Hey, Whisper, sorry I’m late. I had a few last minute things that needed my urgent attention.” Lincoln has taken to giving me a peck on the cheek when he greets me, and today is no different. “What was that all about with you and Lenny?”
Great, now I have Lincoln noticing a little something was going down between the two of us. Fanny, our waitress, comes over when she sees Lincoln seated and notes our orders, and I take the opportunity to change the subject.
“Linc, why aren’t there any people in this town my age? My only true female friend is Miss Catherine.”
He thinks about my question. “This doesn’t seem the type of town for young people to want to stay around in. There really isn’t much to do here. I could see them gravitating to New Orleans, which would have the entertainment that young people enjoy and the job opportunities.” He really is a beautiful man, very kind and patient with me. He’s looking very handsome in black jeans, boots, and a long-sleeved button up.
“Why are you here in Connard?” I have wondered where he goes when he isn’t here, but I never wanted to pry. From the look on his face, I can tell I have surprised him with asking a personal question.
“Look at you getting all nosy on me.” He’s stalling for time. “I sometimes work for Boxer, so I’m here when he needs me, and sometimes I’m here because I want to be here, and other times I work somewhere else for a little while.” He shrugs off his casual response to my curious question. I’ve never wanted to pry because Lincoln has never asked about my time with William, and I know Boxer has secrets too, so I can’t help being inquisitive about the both of them.
Fanny brings over the coffees and sandwiches, and Lincoln, being such a big guy, starts inhaling his lunch. This looks like a snack for him, not a lunch.
I raise one eyebrow at him. “You cutting down on your food intake today or something?” He just laughs at me and shakes his head, while I nibble on my sandwich. I’m still not used to eating a lot of food in one sitting. Once he has finished his, I offer the other half of mine. Lincoln takes it, knowing my eating pattern. He never pushes me to do anything I don’t want to do. He’s very easy for me to be around.
I’m definitely curious to know more about Linc. I take a sip of my coffee, ready to ask my next question. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
He smiles a very knowing smile at me and replies, “No. I have a boyfriend.”
“Oh. Wow!” I know my eyes must have gone huge because Lincoln’s shaking his head and laughing at me again. I don’t know what else to say, so I take another drink of my coffee. That will teach me to be nosy.
Lincoln pulls out his wallet and shows me a picture of a really nice looking guy wearing glasses. “That’s Joel. We have been seeing each other for a few months. He lives in New Orleans and is a computer genius. You met him when he helped me with the armoire.” He lowers his voice and brings his head close to mine across the table. “Boxer knows him, and we got together after he came to help Boxer clean William Dupré’s home of your existence, and that’s the only thing I’m gonna let you get out of me.” He sits back and says louder, “We kind of hit it off. We enjoy each other’s company, and we are exclusive.”
I can see how relaxed he is talking to me about Joel. “I’m happy you’re happy. You shouldn’t be spending all this time with me, when you can be catching up with Joel.”
“I enjoy your company too. You’re a great girl. You should come with me one day and we can make a night of it in New Orleans with Joel and his friends.”
I know Lincoln means what he says. “I would like that.” I think I’m ready to be around a city of people and nightlife. This town and its small population have been good for me as I adjusted to belonging somewhere, but there are no people my age.
Lincoln gives me a serious face. “I do want to see you happy.”
I take his hand and squeeze it. “I really do like having you as my friend, my only friend, here in our twenties.”
“Well, we better find you some more before you turn into a spinster with a house full of cats.”
I laugh off Linc’s comment, but is that what I have in store for me staying in this town? I want to travel a little, but I want this place to be my base. At the moment, I’m comfortable where I am and with the people I have put my trust in.
I know I’m free to do as I please, and this has been enough for me, but I’m young and I know there’s a big world out there for me to one day conquer.
I think another change of topic is due. “Does Boxer know about you and Joel?”
Lincoln shrugs. “No reason to really tell Boxer. It’s private. I don’t feel it makes a difference to my work ethic.”
He looks at his watch and pulls some cash from his wallet then sets it down on the table. “My turn today,” he states. I go to protest, but I know there’s no point. “I actually have to cut this lunch a little short and get going, but how about we go for a ride on the bikes later this week? I know Boxer’s away at the moment and won’t be back for a few days, and this will be the first time it’s only you and Miss Catherine—”
I cut him off. “We’ll be fine. I will be fine.” Having Linc here, I almost forgot about the document I was just given. I worry my bottom lip thinking about what I should do.
Linc watches me for a few beats, hoping I’ll talk first. “Babe, what is it? I have to leave, but I gotta know what it is that’s worrying you.”
I exhale loudly because I can do this. I’m about to let a wall down and show Linc the letter. “Lincoln, Joel is so very lucky to have you. I just wanted to say that, and I’m so grateful to have you in my life. You really are my best friend.”
I’m just about to reach for my handbag, when his phone starts ringing. He looks at the caller ID and holds one finger up at me as he steps away from the table to answer the call. He looks upset as he listens to the caller. Before he disconnects, I hear him say, “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I get up from the table and walk over to Linc’s side. He’s running his hand through his hair and pacing back and forth, clearly upset.
“Are you all right, Lincoln?” I know he isn’t. I touch his back lightly before he spins to pace again.
He gives me a grimace, which I haven’t seen on Lincoln before. “Whisper, what was it you wanted to tell me before?” He’s changing the subject and trying to behave in a manner that won’t alert me to his distress.
“Nothing, I’m fine. Do you want to talk about that phone call?” I forget my own worries because the caller has severely upset him.
“Whisper, something has just gone down and I don’t have the time to talk about it now. I need to find out more information first.” He sees my worried look and tries to reassure me he is fine by enveloping me in a warm hug. “I have to get going.” He steps back and ducks his head to look me directly in the eyes. “Are you sure you’ll be all right?”
I know he needs to hear I’m okay because this is Lincoln, my friend and all round good guy. I also know he needs to be somewhere urgently and I’m holding him up.
I brush off my worries. “Nothing that can’t wait a few days. Please, you go and do what you need to do, and I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.” I give him another hug and a kiss on the cheek, something I never do to him. I just feel like he needs some comfort from me. He pulls away and I give him my most convincing poker face.
He checks his watch again and starts walking backwards, away from me. A black SUV pulls up to the curb a half-block up the main street, and Lincoln waves to me. “Later, babe,” he says, then turns around, jogs to it, and jumps in. The driver executes a speedy U-turn and drives away from me.
All of a sudden, I get a chill up my spine. I put my dark sunglasses on and casually look around the street. I can’t see anything out of the ordinary, but the feeling won’t subside. I decide to head back to the bar at a brisk walk and get back to work.