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like me, was not proficient in the kitchen. The main thing I did with stoves was dust them. If we lived together, we would probably starve.
    “I am fortunate enough to have this chef preparing meals for our customers around New Orleans. He works magic in the kitchen and will do the same thing for you during this trip,” Gil said, and a slight man stepped near, the chef’s hat enhancing his stature. “This is Adam Hebert, who works magic in a kitchen.”
    Gil moved away. He had the decorum not to look at me.
    His chef spoke with a Cajun patois. “I’m the lucky man for getting to work in one of Mr. Thurman’s Cajun Delights restaurants. During most of your meals on this trip, you will be able to select Cajun dishes. For breakfast, you could have grits and boudin, which is a type of pork sausage, with eggs and biscuits and hash browns made with smothered onions and green onions and potatoes and mushrooms. You might also choose beignets coated in powdered sugar and café au lait. Y’all pass a good time on your trip now and have fun eating.”
    “I want that,” Jane said once the chef quit talking and our waiter approached.
    “What?” the waiter asked.
    “Everything Chef Hebert mentioned.”
    The waiter smiled, nodding as each of us ordered the same thing.
    “He made me really hungry,” Randy told us.
    Sue faced me, thick makeup under her eye smudged, so that the purple area looked almost black. “So Mr. Thurman came on this ship after you, huh?”
    My cheeks burned. “I was so wrong.”
    “I can’t believe you told him off, and all he did was bring a chef on board.”
    “I need to apologize.”
    Tetter leaned toward me. “When was the last time you saw him?”
    “A few weeks ago.”
    “And he didn’t tell you he was coming on this ship?” Sue asked, tone snippy. “Then you two mustn’t be as close as you think you are.”
    “Lay off, Sue.” Jane stretched out her hand as though needing to protect me. “I’m sure Cealie feels bad enough.”
    I nodded, lips tight, attitude grim. Maybe Sue was right. Gil and I weren’t as close as I thought.
    “Look at that man’s plate. I could snitch a chunk of boudin from it,” Randy said.
    Tetter grinned. “It does smell good.”
    “You want me to grab some for you?” Randy asked her, face serious. She lowered her eyes and shook her head. The moment struck me as a flirtatious game between teenagers. But these were adults, and they were married. To other people.
    A sausage aroma wafted from the next table. Enticing, the scent carried a slight peppery tang. The French toast smelled sugary.
    “So are you going to apologize?” Sue asked me.
    “To…?”
    She shook an index finger. “You know who. You know perfectly well what you did to that man. You told him off—right in front of all of us.”
    “All right, Sue. That’s Cealie’s business. She can tell him she’s sorry or leave things as they are. It’s her life,” Jane said, face tight with anger.
    Sue splayed her fingers on the table and shoved up to her feet. “All of it is her business, as far as I’m concerned. And yours. And yours, Randy. You, too, Tetter. I don’t even know why I was invited to come on this trip.” She whipped toward the entrance and took off, a statuesque figure, tightening her wrap around her shoulders.
    “She is so annoying, sometimes I really could kill her.” Jane shook her head.
    “Don’t talk like that.” Tetter shuddered. She looked brittle and fragile, not at all like the outgoing chatterbox from our class.
    “I mean it. She’s just as aggravating now as she was when she was a boy back in school,” Jane said.
    Skin above Randy’s eyes crinkled. “What do you mean, ‘as a boy?’”
    Tetter shook her head at Jane, probably not wanting her to reveal Sue’s secret.
    I sipped the orange juice a waiter brought, not taking part in the discussion. I remained too unhappy with myself for having judged Gil’s actions. And I had really misjudged them.
    Jane