Previously:

Luck abandoned the presents and saw that Charlie had made hamburger steaks with gravy, baked potatoes with butter, and broccoli. He was starving, and he enjoyed every bite.

"It's delicious."

Charlie smiled.

"Thanks. Well, we managed to get halfway through."

"Let's do a little more tonight, so we'll have time to pack tomorrow."

"All right."

They continued to work on the presents and letters until they could barely keep their eyes open. Charlie yawned as they headed for their bedroom. Luck walked in behind her and put his arms around her.

"I don't know about you… But I have a little energy left."

Charlie suddenly found that she had energy left too.

"So do I."

Charlie turned around and kissed Luck, and she kept kissing him as he backed her toward the bed.

Chapter 19: Bon Voyage

"Well, that's the last of them."

The next day, with those words, Charlie finished closing up the last thank you letter. She wrote down the address she wanted it sent to on the envelope and added a stamp. She put it on top of the stack of other finished letters she had made. Luck picked up the stack and added it to the bag in which they had already placed the ones they had finished the day before.

"Keith's said he'll mail them for us. We can drop them off at the office on our way to the train station tomorrow."

It was already very late in the day, almost dinnertime.

"All right."

Charlie stood up and followed him into the bedroom to pack for the trip.

"How many days will we be there?"

"Three in the city and about two on the train. Our hotel is in the French Quarter. Place d'Armes. Do you know it?

"I know it. It's on St. Ann. St.. That's a good spot. It's close to everything."

"So I chose well?"

"Yeah."

Charlie picked out three days' worth of her lightest clothing, hoping they wouldn't be too warm in New Orleans. She hadn't been exaggerating when she warned Luck about the heat and humidity.

Luck followed her lead. Soon they were packed and ready to go. They made sure they had everything they would need and placed it all near the door, so they could just grab it on their way out in the morning.

"I'll make dinner."

Charlie made a mild jambalaya with a side of peas. As usual, it was delicious. Luck got a kick out of how much tabasco sauce Charlie added to her own serving of it. She had kept the spice to a minimum just for him.

When they finished, Luck did the dishes while Charlie relaxed. When he had finished, she took his hand and led him into the bedroom, smiling coyly at him. Luck smiled slyly, looking very fox-like.

—∞—

The next morning. Pennsylvania Station.

Keith and Berga were seeing Luck and Charlie off.

"Be sure to actually see some of the sights, other than your hotel room, while you're there."

"…..."

"We will. See you in a few days."

"Bye, for now."

"Yeah, see you later."

"…..."

Luck and Charlie took their luggage and boarded the train. They found their compartment, settled in, then went to the dinning car to have some coffee. Just as they were sitting down, something surprising happened.

"Charlie Azzura?"

Having only very recently become 'Charlie Gandor', Charlie responded to her maiden name and looked around. Her eyes widened when she spotted a familiar face.

"Lottie Beaumont?"

Luck looked, too, and saw another couple about their ages. The young woman had honey-blonde hair, pale green eyes, and a light spray of freckles across her face. The young man had dark hair, deep blue eyes, and he seemed just as surprised as he was that the two women seemed to know each other.

"Oh, it is you!" Lottie said, smiling brightly. "We haven't see each other in ages."

"Not since your wedding, right?"

From that Luck assumed this was one of the friends Charlie had told him about, one who had drifted apart from her after getting married.

"How have you been? Henry, this is Charlie. Remember, you met her at our wedding."

"Ah, your friend from finishing school?"

"Finishing school?"

Luck was surprised to hear that. He looked at his wife, wondering if there hadn't been some sort of mistake. Charlie had never mentioned she went to a finishing school before.

"Yes, Mrs. Aggie thought it would be good for me." Charlie smiled wryly and greeted her friend. "Hi, Lottie. Long time no see."

"Oh, we simply have to catch up. Come, let's sit over here."

Lottie sat down at a free table and looked expectantly at her. Henry took a seat next to her.

"Do you mind?" Charlie asked Luck.

"Not at all. I'm looking forward to hearing about finishing school Charlie."

"You didn't tell him?" Lottie pouted.

"Other than my friendship with you, I didn't really have fond memories of the place."

"Why not? You passed with flying colors."

"Only because I didn't want to embarrass Mrs. Aggie. Although, I suppose the academics they taught us was interesting."

"Well, putting that aside, how are you doing now? What have you been up to?"

"Well, I've been singing and playing the piano for a living, and just recently, I got married. This is my husband, Luck." Luck was happy to hear pride in her voice as she introduce him.

"Really? That's amazing! And here I was worried you would never get married."

"And why is that?" Luck asked.

"Well, because of her past… you do know about that, don't you?" Lottie had lowered her voice as if she were guarding a secret.

"I'm aware. What of it?"

"You've found yourself a great guy," Lottie told Charlie before answering Luck. "Most of the guys in our social strata didn't want to know her because of it. And the ones who did… well, it was because they were after only one thing, and then they avoided her once they realized they weren't going to get it."

"Their loss is my gain."

But it made Luck angry that Charlie had been treated that way.

As if sensing this, Charlie put her hand over his and held it. She looked at him, and he saw she was happy. Luck relaxed a little bit.

Lottie smiled watching them. "You two really love each other, huh?"

"Yes."

Charlie and Luck gave the same answer at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled.

Lottie's smile became even brighter.

"Wow. You two are too cute for words."

"What about you and Henry? You still seem inseparable. What were you doing up here anyway?"

"Yep, we annoy everyone around us with how close we are. We just wanted to see the sights, take in a show, do some shopping… But what were you doing up here? Last I saw you, wild horses couldn't drag you from New Orleans. You loved that city."

"Well, you remember Dino?"

"Vaguely. He was the no-good brother who was always causing trouble, right?"

"Right. He got himself into trouble in New York, and I had to come up and get him back for Mrs. Aggie. He went home, and I stayed to take care of the trouble, and I met Luck."

"Does that mean you're living in New York now?"

"Yes, we're just going to New Orleans for our honeymoon."

"Oh, I see. When you said recently, you really meant it. I guess we won't be seeing much of you, then."

Lottie wore a knowing smile that made Charlie blush a bit.

"But maybe we can at least have dinner together?"

"Uh..."

"Yeah, you're right. Dinner is supposed to be romantic. Late lunch, then?"

"I'd like that."

"Good. Now that that's settled, let's get back to catching up."

"I still want to hear more about this finishing school you went to."

"There's not much to tell. I did my time. That's all."

"Did your time?" Luck was a little amused. "You make it sound like a prison."

"Well, in a way… It was especially hard on free-spirited girls like Charlie."

"I can believe that."

"So, enough about that. What have you been up to since you got married?"

Lottie spent her days supervising the servants in their house and attending social events, while Henry was independently wealthy. They lived in a beautiful white mansion in the Garden District, and Lottie had made friends with the other ladies in the neighborhood. They often had tea together and chatted about the latest news and fashion. When Lottie was bored, she went shopping. She also worked with a few charities. Henry's main passion (other than Lottie) was golf, and he owned and managed a race horse.

It was a world Luck was completely unfamiliar with. He looked at Charlie, who didn't seem surprised, remembered that the Azzuras used to be wealthy, too, and wondered how Charlie had lived while she was with them. She had shared stories about when she was younger and first taken in by them, while they were still getting used to each other, but he realized he didn't know much about her later life with them.

"So, what about you?"

Lottie had finished talking about herself and wanted to hear all about Charlie and Luck now.

"Well, there isn't much to tell. Like I said, I sing and play the piano for a living. Luck runs a Jazz hall with his older brothers."

"Oh, is that how you met? You performed at his jazz hall?"

"Something like that," Luck said.

"Have you made any new friends?" Lottie asked Charlie.

"Yes. I met them playing the piano, too."

"Amazing. You've always been like that. Everyone always wants to talk to you after they hear you play."

Lottie looked at Luck.

"The one time this girl 'misbehaved' was when the music teacher told her to play her favorite song, and she rolled out a lively jazz tune. Everyone who had been keeping her at a distance suddenly wanted to make requests."

"Well, everything was classical, classical, classical," Charlie said. "The lack of variety was killing us. I think a little rebellion is healthy."

"Right. If there were no rebellion, we wouldn't have a country."

"I remember you said that in class, and Mrs. Beauchamp got all ruffled and said, 'That was different!' But how it was different, she wouldn't explain. I think you really got her."

"She was extra strict with me after that..." Lottie said wryly.

"So your mouth has been getting you into trouble as far back as that, huh?" Henry said.

"At least," Lottie said, sighing.

"What trouble are you in now?"

"Nothing, at the moment."

"At the moment?"

"Well, there have been a few incidents..."

Lottie looked a little guilty.

"But she's worth the trouble."

Henry smiled and held her hand.

"You've found yourself a great guy, too."

"Haven't I?"

Lottie smiled at Henry.

"So, what are you going to do once you've stopped playing?"

She turned her attention back to Charlie.

"Huh?"

"Well, you're married now, so you won't work anymore."

"Actually, I plan to keep working."

"Still?"

"Musicians are a different breed," Henry said. "I've heard they're like sharks: They have to keep playing, or they'll die."

"I'd say that was accurate," Charlie said. Miss Kate may have stopped performing for the public, but Keith had bought her a small organ to play on at home, and she would also play for their guests.

"You wouldn't actually die."

"Maybe on the inside."

"You're more fragile than I thought."

"'Fragile' is not a word I'd use to describe my wife."

"Oh?"

"I've seen her make a grown man cry. About a month ago, a man tried to mug us. Before I could make a move, she was already defeating him."

"I didn't know you could fight, Charlie."

"Some of my new friends taught me a few moves for self-defense."

"Mrs. Beauchamp would be appalled."

Charlie and Lottie laughed.

"You still look as delicate as ever, though."

"Well, looks can be deceiving."

"Clearly."

A waiter came over to them.

"Can I interest you in the lunch menu?"

They hadn't realized they'd been talking for so long, but they all suddenly felt how hungry they were.

"Yes, thank you."

The waiter passed out menus to them and waited while they looked them over. Charlie saw corn and crab bisque soup, stuffed crabs, crawfish etouffee, and seafood gumbo on the menu.

"Is your chef from New Orleans?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"The items on the menu."

"There's a lot of seafood."

"Seafood? Oh, my apologies. That's the menu for the return trip. You see, we get our seafood fresh from our destination. I'll fix that for you."

The waiter took the menus back. And went over to the bar, where he retrieved a different set of menus and then returned to them. He handed the menus out. This time the menu had: filet mignon, clam chowder, lobster, and pork medallions with a lemon-butter sauce.

Lottie and Henry immediately ordered the steak. Luck also ordered the steak, but Charlie seemed torn. She bit her lip.

"You can't decide between the steak or the lobster, can you?"

Luck smiled wryly.

"You know me so well."

"Go ahead and get the lobster, and we can trade half and half."

"Great idea. That way we can both get a little surf and turf."

"Surf and turf?" the waiter asked.

"You know… 'surf' as in 'from the sea' and 'turf' as in 'from the land'."

"That's clever. I'm going to tell the chef that one."

"I like that idea. We should try it, too."

"If you really want to."

"I'll change my order to lobster, too."

The surf and turf was delicious. Charlie and Luck shared the sides that came with the different meals, too. Cheesy scalloped potatoes with fresh peas and buttery boiled potatoes with asparagus. They weren't disappointed. The meals were worthy of first-class. But just as they were finishing up, Lottie winced and held a hand to her head. She let out a low moan.

"What's the matter, Lottie? One of your headaches?"

"Yes… I need to take something and lie down."

Lottie was in immense pain, as if someone had shoved a red-hot poker through her skull. She staggered to her feet, and Henry stood to help her.

"I'll see you later, I hope..."

"Try to take it easy," Charlie said, feeling sorry for her.

"Must be a really bad headache," Luck said.

"Yeah. She's been like that for as long as I've known her. She'll suddenly get excruciating headaches and have to lie down."

"There's no medicine she can take for it? It sounds like a migraine."

"The usual remedies aren't enough for her."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah. She's so cheerful, you'd never know she has a problem."

"I'm sure her husband is taking care of her."

Luck leaned closer to Charlie and lowered his voice.

"Why don't you let me take care of you?"

Charlie blushed slightly and smiled. She nodded and took his hand, leading him from the dining car to their room.