the state? You barely saw me those two years. It was more than a year after Katrina."
Jules stopped talking for a minute, and only the fact that the motion was so ingrained did she actually keep rowing. "Wait. That's important. After Katrina, would she have tried to find Evie's body? Of course she would have. And bodies were lost all over the city when the flooding happened. She would have had to work to find Evie. And she was too old, that means she'd have had to find someone to do it for her. The obvious choice would have been me, but I wasn't here. So she'd have hired someone. The whole story is with Evie's body!"
Jules looked around, realizing she had overshot her turnaround by a lot. She got the boat turned around and rowed back to the boathouse. She put the boat away and pulled on a hoodie as she went back to her car.
Jules debated calling Gen, but then remembered she was trying not to rush things. She drove home, ate a quick dinner, and changed her clothes. She loaded Samson in the car and took him to the dog park. After an hour having him chase a tennis ball and play with the other dogs, she headed back home to sleep.
*~*~*
The next morning, Gen met up with Jules in the faculty room. "Jules, I think I know where the rest of the story is."
Jules smiled at Gen and filled her coffee cup. "Where?"
"In Evie's grave."
Jules took a sip of her coffee and looked at Gen over the rim of the cup. She was wearing a pale blue button down with yellow stripes, paired with a brown skirt. Jules found her eyes focusing on the soft looking skin exposed in the unbuttoned V of the shirt. "Yeah, I think so too."
Gen smiled knowingly at where Jules’ focus had rested. "Any idea where it is?"
Jules shook herself out of her daze and shrugged. "No clue. I mean, she was executed, right? That means she'd have been buried by the state."
"Or her family. So we're back to square one."
"Nah, we're at least at square five now, right?"
Gen rested a hand on Jules' forearm, her fingers rubbing the crisp fabric of her deep purple shirt. "So, any hints about Saturday," she purred.
Jules' eyes widened. "Not that I'm complaining, but that was a big shift you made just there."
Gen blushed and bit the corner of her lower lip. "Angie has been driving me nuts lately. So I'm just giving her a little payback."
"Ah, okay. And as for Saturday, I was thinking maybe dinner." Jules was trying to stay calm but she really liked that Gen was laying claim to her in front of her ex.
"Vague, but okay."
"Well, do you like sushi?"
"I do."
"Perfect, I know just the place." Jules grinned, wanting to keep the place a surprise.
"Oh?"
"Yup."
Gen started fiddling with the buttons on Jules' vest. "You're not going to tell me where?"
Jules took a shuddering breath. "No, and you can't tease it out of me."
Gen laughed but before she could try again, the warning bell rang and both women walked to their classrooms.
*~*~*
Between thinking about her date, running her team ragged, and the stacks of grading that she'd slacked off on, Jules actually didn't think much about the letter for the next two days. She still spent as much time as she could with Gen while they were at work, and they texted some in the evenings, usually while Jules was training with her team.
Saturday arrived and Jules woke up at seven. She rolled out of bed, put on her rowing clothes, fed Samson, and got in her car to drive down to the Orleans Canal to meet up with her rowing club. She had always preferred rowing singles, but a few friends of hers from high school needed another for their coxed eight team, and Jules had said yes, and then she'd brought in Becs a few months later.
Jules drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as she waited at the red light. She sighed in frustration at herself and turned on the radio as a distraction. Mercifully, the light turned green and she put the car into gear focusing every available cell in her brain on the lyrics of the Foreigner song on the radio so
Jules stopped talking for a minute, and only the fact that the motion was so ingrained did she actually keep rowing. "Wait. That's important. After Katrina, would she have tried to find Evie's body? Of course she would have. And bodies were lost all over the city when the flooding happened. She would have had to work to find Evie. And she was too old, that means she'd have had to find someone to do it for her. The obvious choice would have been me, but I wasn't here. So she'd have hired someone. The whole story is with Evie's body!"
Jules looked around, realizing she had overshot her turnaround by a lot. She got the boat turned around and rowed back to the boathouse. She put the boat away and pulled on a hoodie as she went back to her car.
Jules debated calling Gen, but then remembered she was trying not to rush things. She drove home, ate a quick dinner, and changed her clothes. She loaded Samson in the car and took him to the dog park. After an hour having him chase a tennis ball and play with the other dogs, she headed back home to sleep.
*~*~*
The next morning, Gen met up with Jules in the faculty room. "Jules, I think I know where the rest of the story is."
Jules smiled at Gen and filled her coffee cup. "Where?"
"In Evie's grave."
Jules took a sip of her coffee and looked at Gen over the rim of the cup. She was wearing a pale blue button down with yellow stripes, paired with a brown skirt. Jules found her eyes focusing on the soft looking skin exposed in the unbuttoned V of the shirt. "Yeah, I think so too."
Gen smiled knowingly at where Jules’ focus had rested. "Any idea where it is?"
Jules shook herself out of her daze and shrugged. "No clue. I mean, she was executed, right? That means she'd have been buried by the state."
"Or her family. So we're back to square one."
"Nah, we're at least at square five now, right?"
Gen rested a hand on Jules' forearm, her fingers rubbing the crisp fabric of her deep purple shirt. "So, any hints about Saturday," she purred.
Jules' eyes widened. "Not that I'm complaining, but that was a big shift you made just there."
Gen blushed and bit the corner of her lower lip. "Angie has been driving me nuts lately. So I'm just giving her a little payback."
"Ah, okay. And as for Saturday, I was thinking maybe dinner." Jules was trying to stay calm but she really liked that Gen was laying claim to her in front of her ex.
"Vague, but okay."
"Well, do you like sushi?"
"I do."
"Perfect, I know just the place." Jules grinned, wanting to keep the place a surprise.
"Oh?"
"Yup."
Gen started fiddling with the buttons on Jules' vest. "You're not going to tell me where?"
Jules took a shuddering breath. "No, and you can't tease it out of me."
Gen laughed but before she could try again, the warning bell rang and both women walked to their classrooms.
*~*~*
Between thinking about her date, running her team ragged, and the stacks of grading that she'd slacked off on, Jules actually didn't think much about the letter for the next two days. She still spent as much time as she could with Gen while they were at work, and they texted some in the evenings, usually while Jules was training with her team.
Saturday arrived and Jules woke up at seven. She rolled out of bed, put on her rowing clothes, fed Samson, and got in her car to drive down to the Orleans Canal to meet up with her rowing club. She had always preferred rowing singles, but a few friends of hers from high school needed another for their coxed eight team, and Jules had said yes, and then she'd brought in Becs a few months later.
Jules drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as she waited at the red light. She sighed in frustration at herself and turned on the radio as a distraction. Mercifully, the light turned green and she put the car into gear focusing every available cell in her brain on the lyrics of the Foreigner song on the radio so
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