It was near impossible for Safiya to find a parking spot near the bar, so she circled around until
something opened up. It was two blocks from the bar, but it would do. She placed her brother's things
into her tote bag and started walking.
It didn't take long to reach Sanctuary - in fact, she swore it took longer to find her wallet and show her
ID to the man at the door than it did for her to walk there from her car.
She snagged a free and clean table, placing her bag on the surface. She took a deep breath before
pulling out the portfolio first, fingers running over her brother's name engraved on the front. Before she
could flip it open, a waitress approached, ticket pad in hand.
"Hi. What can I get for you?" She asked. Blue eyes, blonde hair, and a body with curves for days, she
was beautiful and nearly stole Safiya's breath away.
Safiya stuttered for a moment, finally clearing her throat and offering an apologetic smile. "Can I start
with some gumbo? I haven't eaten anything today and I probably should before I start drinking."
The waitress nodded. "Good idea. I'll be back in a few minutes, cher."
Safiya watched her leave before returning her attention to the portfolio. Certificates, essays, things
she couldn't identify were placed neatly in clear plastic sleeves. Her brother wasn't in school just for
history - he'd been well on his way to being an archaeologist. Dylan was brilliant, and Safiya easily
lost herself reading his work.
She was in the middle the portfolio when the waitress brought her her food. The smell alone warmed
Safiya, as well as making her stomach grumble. Placing the portfolio back into her bag, she pulled
her meal closer to her and began to eat, groaning softly at the taste.
"Hey," A man came up to her table, flashing a smile and holding out his hand. "Jake. Don't think I've
seen your pretty face around here before."
"Safiya." She spoke around a mouthful of gumbo, wiping her hand on a napkin before shaking his
hand. "I'm just visiting."
"From where?"
"Out of town." Safiya smiled sweetly, swallowing what was in her mouth. "Visiting for a funeral."
Jake's expression went from flirty to grave in moments, his beer bottle tipping in her direction. "Sorry
for your loss."
Safiya nodded politely. "Thank you. Are you from around here?"
He perked up at the change of subject and nodded. "Yes ma'am. New Orleans, born and bred."
"Exciting. What all is there around here?" Safiya let him talk while she ate, trying to polite but hoping
to give off the vibe that she wasn't interested in seeing him outside this encounter.
Once she was finished eating, he set his bottle down and offered his hand to her again. "Care to
dance?"
"No thank you. I'm not really in the spirit. I'm kind of a buzz kill tonight. Sorry."
"Nothing quite picks you up like a good beat and a great partner." He insisted, moving his hand in the
'come here' fashion.
"Jacob Danvers," The waitress approached with a tray full of dirty dishes, tsking at Jake who'd
rescinded his hand. "Are you bothering someone who's clearly told you no?"
"Not at all, Miss Aimee. She declined, I'll respect that." He tipped his head at the two of them, grabbed
his beer, and went in search of someone else to bother.
Aimee turned to Safiya with a smile, taking her dishes and placing them on her tray. "The men here
may be pushy, but they're harmless. Feel free to signal any of the staff if someone makes you
uncomfortable."
Safiya nodded. "Thank you."
Aimee gave a small bow then moved off to the kitchen to deposit the dirty dishes. Safiya reached for
her bag but stopped, reaching for a napkin to clean up her face - surprisingly no make up rubbed off
except for a little foundation - and moved to a free seat at the bar.
It wasn't too long before the bartender made his way to her, flashing a wide smile. "What can I get you,
cher?"
Safiya opened her mouth to order, then pointed behind her in the vague direction of the door. "Twins?"
Though the man she was referring to was nearly identical to the one before her, there were subtle
differences that had her questioning him.
This man's hair was a darker blond by a shade or two, and his muscle was leaner than that of the man
at the door. The bartender also looked to be leaning, favoring one leg like the other was injured.
The bartender shook his head to her question. "Quadruplets. Dev's the one at the door. I am Cherif."
Safiya tapped her fingers against the counter in a silent triumph. "Nice to meet you. What would you
recommend a grieving orphan who needs to drive to her hotel tonight?"
His smile faltered briefly before he shrugged. "Water." He grinned at the little laugh that he'd pulled
from her lips. "How about a virgin cherry daiquiri?"
Safiya faked a frown before smiling again. "If you insist."
Cherif saluted her before moving to make her drink, leaving Safiya to admire him in silence.
He was tall - taller than she was, and that was the most attractive quality in Safiya's opinion. That
could explain why she was attracted to everyone. At five foot three, everyone was taller than her. It
didn't help she was a sucker for blue eyes, even if they were framed by long blond hair.
Cherif returned moment later with her drink. "What's brought in here tonight? Bad day?"
Safiya opted out of telling him her sad back story. "I was at Tulane earlier and this kid Alex said it was
his family's bar. I don't trust myself to be alone right now, so here I am."
Cherif's face lit up. "Alex is my nephew. He was nice to you, wasn't he?"
"Very. He was very helpful and sweet." Safiya sipped her drink. "This is amazing."
"Sounds like Alex. And thank you." He apologized quickly and moved to serve others, returning when
Safiya was halfway finished with her drink. "Can I make you another drink, cher?"
Safiya shook her head. "No, I just have a question. My brother Dylan used to work here. Alex said
one of you helped him with some money?"
Cherif seemed stalled by her words, possibly putting together her words about being an orphan and
the ones about Dylan being her brother together. He nodded slowly, only speaking once the smile
returned to his face.
"I knew you looked familiar. Dylan was a good kid." He said kid, but Safiya and Cherif couldn't be that
far apart in age. "Yeah. My brother Remi pulled some pool sharks off him and paid them off. Told him
to repay the bar by working for free." Cherif snorted. "We still paid him, we just didn't tell Remi."
Safiya smiled. "That was very kind of him. I'd like to thank him if I could."
Cherif leaned over to the other bartender, mumbling into the other's ear. He leaned back to Safiya and
gestured to the man he'd been speaking to. "Follow him. He'll take you to the kitchen and grab Remi
for you."
Safiya nodded and finished her drink. "Thank you for the drink."
"Come back again." They waved to each other, Safiya hopping off her chair and following the other
bartender toward the kitchen.
She stopped by the door, the bartender taking a deep breath before opening the door and going into
the kitchen.
.
"Remi." Called the voice of his least favorite bartender.
"Fuck off." He called back, continuing to scrub the load of dishes Aimee had brought him.
"There a lady out here who wants to talk to you." The voice continued, unswayed by Remi's aversive
attitude.
"What about my first statement didn't you understand?"
"She wants to talk to you about Dylan Collins. That kid you bullied into working for us? It's his sister."
Remi snorted before he heard the last sentence, those words finally giving him pause. Sighing, he let
one of the others take over the sink and dried his hands. Taking off his hair net and stuffing it into his
apron, he followed the other out to were a small woman stood.
She was barely tall enough to reach his bicep, and she was thin enough to seem fragile. It didn't help
that her cheeks were tear-stained, brown eyes looking from the bartender to him.
"Remi Peltier." He spoke first, her eyes going wide before offering a smile and her hand.
"Safiya Collins." She had a firm handshake, Remi pleasantly surprised. "The...uh…other b- your brother
told me you helped mine and I just wanted to thank you."
Remi side eyed Cherif, who was not even trying to hide that he was watching them - probably ready
to jump in incase Remi said something offensive. Remi snorted and dropped her hand, reaching
behind him to untie his apron.
"Seeing as how I'm due for a break, mind if we talk outside so I can smoke?" He asked, throwing his
apron behind the bar.
Safiya shook her head, stepping out of the way so he could push through the crowd. People seemed
to part and let them right through, as Remi was sure the look on his face said the first person to get in
his way would regret it.
He waved a hand at Dev, who greeted them as they left and walked a little ways from the bar. Remi
took a seat on a nearby curb, gesturing for Safiya to join him. She did so hesitantly, laying her bag on
her lap.
"So Dylan," He scratched a finger along his jaw as he thought. "Good kid with a smart mouth. Good at
pool, but not the best. My brother Etienne convinced him to gamble one day. I guess he bet money he
didn't have and couldn't pay up. I told him he'd make it up to me by bussing tables and not touching the
pool tables until he'd paid me back."
Safiya was almost too afraid to ask, but she had to. "How much did he owe?"
"A thousand and something. It wasn't really that much, but I guess to a student that was like not eating
for a few months. I only helped him out because my brother and my nephew vouched for him and
begged me to. Like they couldn't have done it themselves." He shook his head.
Safiya smiled softly, staring long enough to make him uncomfortable before she glanced away. "Thank
you for helping him." She smoothed her hands over her bag. "I wish I'd helped instead, but I'm glad to
know at least someone was there for him."
Remi tilted his head to the side. It was his turn to study her. "Y'know, he never said anything about a
sister. He didn't talk about his parents much either."
He knew he'd struck some kind of chord when her eyes welled up, regretting his choice of words. "Yeah
um….we hadn't spoken in over ten years. Except once when he called me asking for money he needed
to repay someone." She hung her head and let her hair cover her face, Remi looking away and allowing
her to have a moment. "My own twin and I held a pointless grudge. Now he's dead and I can't do
anything about it."
Those words stole the air right from Remi's lungs - they were the words of his worst nightmare. The thing
he'd been dreading for years coming from a stranger. He choked and gasped, hitting himself in the chest
to pull that missing air back in.
Safiya looked at him with wide eyes once again, reaching out as if to help him. "Are you okay?"
As soon as he could breathe, he answered "I'm fine." and stood up. She scrambled up after him, holding
his arm briefly for balance before letting go.
"Are you sure?" She asked, still concerned.
"I said I'm fine. I've gotta get back to work." He walked back toward the bar, not bothering to look back
and see if she was following.
Safiya watched him walk away, fearing she'd said something to upset him. Thinking over her words, she
drew a blank on what could have caused such a violent reaction. And with his dismissive words, she
wasn't sure going after him was the brightest thing to do.
Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she ran across the street and headed for her car. Once she reached it,
and out of habit, she checked under the car and the backseat for unwanted guests before getting into the
driver's seat.
She supposed she could head over to her parents' home, start cleaning things out, but she didn't have
the ambition to clean up their lives at the moment. She gripped her steering wheel, waiting for the
opportunity to pull away from the curb and thinking about what to do. If she was being honest with herself,
she was tired and just wanted to sleep for twelve hours.
She wasn't in a hurry to leave New Orleans - she didn't have anywhere else to be. Her most recent book
was still being processed, so until that was done she had all the free time in the world. Pulling away from
the curb she headed for her hotel.
It wasn't terribly fancy, but it was definitely on the higher end. She was on the second floor, and once she
made it to her room she crawled onto the bed, bag beside her as she closed her eyes and took a long
needed rest.
When her eyes opened again, the clock on the nightstand read 2AM. She groaned and sat up, rubbing
her face and sleepily realizing how gross she was.
She crawled off the bed and went to her suitcase, searching for her bedtime shirt and pajama shorts as
well as grabbing a change of underwear before heading for the bathroom. She groaned again when
turning the light on, making a face at her reflection twice before turning on the shower.
Setting the clean clothes on the counter, she stripped out of her jeans and sweater, tossing them as
well as her blue bra and panties into the corner to be gathered in the morning when she cared more.
Stepping into the shower, Safiya sighed contentedly as the warm water ran over her skin. Only once
she was soaking wet did she remember her shower bag - her body wash, shampoo, and conditioner
were still in her suitcase. She glared over to where the hotel soap was, hating every moment she was
scrubbing herself down with the orange scented bar soap.
With the shampoo and conditioner sufficiently doing the job, she left the shower and toweled herself dry
before pulling on her night clothes. Feeling better now that she was clean enough, she turned all the
lights off and climbed back into bed.
An hour spent tossing and turning told her she was done sleeping for a bit, so she turned on her
bedside lamp and pulled out the file of her brother's things she'd received from Julian.
Most of it seemed to be class work and research he was doing, and to her it was boring. All it did was
spark a novel idea in her head, and the more she read, the more the plot in her mind evolved. She'd
decided by 4AM that she would write this new book and dedicate it to her brother.
Flipping briefly through the last few pages, a picture caught her eye. It was a tapestry of a man
surrounded by animals, with a text along the bottom in a language she'd never seen before. Her
eyebrows knitted together as she stared at it, wondering if it was perhaps an ancient language Dylan
had been studying.
On the back was her brother's chicken scratch, her tired eyes not able to read more than a handful of
the words. Deciding to come back to it in the morning, she put it away and shut the lamp off, dreaming
of this new plot she was eager to begin writing.
