Kerlerec Street
Thirsty Work — Chapter 9: crash pad in the Quarter
Two young women from California travel to New Orleans in search of redemption after the death of their mother. Carolee thinks she will show her little sister the world, but what they find in the barrooms of the French Quarter at Mardi Gras is more than she knows how to handle, or could have imagined back home. This is the ninth chapter of the novel Thirsty Work.
Cathy took half the time Carolee did in the shower, then threw on some clean clothes before they went down to the motel diner to eat, where they were relieved to see no sign of the desk clerk. The place was almost empty. A very drunk or very tired man snored over his coffee at the counter. A bored looking young woman sat behind the cash register chewing gum. Cathy ordered a hamburger. The heavy food felt good in her empty stomach.
Carolee ate her meat and potatoes special in silence, drank a glass of cold milk, then twirled her fork around in the peas. Cathy could tell something was coming from a mile off. She wasn’t surprised when Carolee started talking in a halting voice, “Cathy, I’ve been wondering…”
Cathy could see Carolee was struggling with some kind of difficult question, but didn’t feel inclined to help her out. She continued working on her French fries, dipping each one deliberately into…
