4
They separated at the curb outside, Zach being steered gently, but firmly away by Becca. Laura had her car back from Frank and had offered Archie a ride to his hotel before Zach could. It wasn’t a desire to navigate New Orleans streets during Mardi Gras season as much as it was an assertion of her independence, though thankfully most of the traffic, party and otherwise, had died down.
It was humid, but cool enough it wasn’t unpleasant. According to the news, there was a cold front coming. Or maybe it had already arrived. The word cold covered a range of temperatures from actual cold to “not as hot.”
There were shadows outside the light caused by the storefronts and streetlights, but they weren’t deep unless one wandered where one shouldn’t. Laura felt Archie’s gaze on her while they w
