The Getaway, Champagne Challenge #130 (PG-13)

[librarian_7]

AN: This was written for Champagne Challenge #130, “Getaway.” No copyright infringement intended. This is slightly out of sequence in the Josef and Lucky series, maybe. Maybe not.

The Getaway

“Now that dress is you, babe.”

Lucky stopped and took a closer look at the Canal Street store window. The dress in question combined a form-fitting strapless bodice of black leather with a long skirt that appeared to consist of black feathers.

“Josef, that is so not a freshie dress,” she responded, looking up to watch his expression.

He shrugged and slipped one hand casually into his trouser pocket. “Maybe not,” he allowed, “but I’m thinking it would go very nicely with that set of fake fangs you carry in your purse.”

“You really think—hey, wait, how did you—?”

Josef smirked. “I have my ways, doll. Now, let’s go inside out of this heat and buy you that dress.”

“I can’t believe you want me to wear black leather in New Orleans…in July,” she said. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“As I recall, the last time you wore those fangs, you nearly killed me.” He slipped an arm around her waist and deftly maneuvered her back against the brick wall, heedless of passersby. “You put me up against a wall,” he continued in a low voice, dipping his head toward her throat, “and had your wicked, wicked way with me.”

Lucky squirmed, and put her arms around his neck. “Isn’t this a little public?”

“New Orleans is as close to an open city for vamps as exists in this country. Besides,” he said with a grin, “no one would believe I was seriously drinking your blood, even in the French Quarter.”

“Not at four in the afternoon, that’s for sure.” She twisted her head and kissed him lightly on the lips. “And we’re on the wrong side of Canal for the French Quarter. It’s over that way.”

“Smart ass.”

“I have to keep up with you, don’t I?” Giving a sideways glance into the store window, she sighed. “That dress? Really?”

Josef gave the headless mannequin an appraising look. “Yes,” he said with decision. “I’ll let you pick out the next one, as long as it’s in a bright color. But this one, we’re buying. Besides, I’m not sure why you think it’s not a freshie dress. It leaves three of my four favorite spots for biting you delightfully…bare.”

Lucky shivered at his tone, and pressed her thighs together under her light cotton summer dress, feeling a faint soreness from the last time he’d bitten her. “And the fourth?”

“Sweetheart, you should know by now I never give away all my secrets.” And laughing, he led her inside.

The trip to New Orleans had been a fairy tale, so far, she thought. Josef had suggested it out of the blue—a getaway, he said, just the two of them.

That had shocked her, even as it pleased her.

“No other freshies?” she’d asked in disbelief, sinking onto the uncomfortable sofa in his office.

His smile was tight-lipped. “Just us, babe.”

“You aren’t going bottled on me, are you?” she asked in dismay.

“Do I look like Mick?” he replied, quickly following it with, “Don’t answer that.”

And she’d disobeyed, to the extent of rising and coming into his arms to say, “Mick who?”

Which pleased him enough to unbend and tell her, “I’m not planning on bottled. The local cuisine is exceptional—I can duck out for a quick bite when you’re sleeping. Or get delivery.”

“Oh.” She pondered for a moment. “I have to say, all things considered, that’s very thoughtful of you.”

He’d laughed and kissed her, then. “You do surprise me sometimes, sweetheart,” he said.

Of course, he surprised her constantly. As when, after they arrived in New Orleans, while she was expecting them to return to his favored hotel in the city, the Monteleone, the driver had passed it for a quiet side street in French Quarter. At four a.m., she had to admit, most of the streets were quiet, but this one was darker and more deserted than most.

Josef handed her out, and smiled at her confusion.

“What in the world?”

“Oh, I guess I didn’t show you my town house last time we were in town, did I?” he said, pressing a button on an unobtrusive gate set back from the street between two shops.

A tiny speaker crackled, and Lucky couldn’t catch what was asked, but Josef’s reply opened the lock on a wrought-iron gate into a narrow, shadowed passage. He took Lucky’s hand, leading her back into a lush, moonlit courtyard surrounded by three stories of galleries, all covered in carefully tended ivy. In the center of the courtyard, an ancient stone fountain danced and sparkled in the darkness, adding the gentle tones of water splashing to the atmosphere.

“This is lovely! Have you had it long?”

He frowned, thinking back. It had been—yes, “I bought the place in 1832. Lived here for a few years. Made a killing in the cotton trade, as I recall.”

Lucky was entranced with the history of it all. “And did you—did you have—?”

“Octoroon mistresses?” He laughed. “You’ve read too many romanticized historical novels, doll. Let me tell you, compared to some of what went on in this town back then, a little discreet vampirism was almost staid.”

She shivered, despite the heat. “That bad?”

“Worse. By my count, humans didn’t even begin getting civilized until the 1890s at the earliest. And that was baby steps.”

“Aren’t you dismissing an awful lot of human achievement?”

Even in the soft silver light, he looked bleak. It was one of those moments when Lucky saw every day and every night of his age standing visible in his eyes. “Oh, there were always pockets of sanity,” he said. “But I was more brutal then, myself.” He gave her a crooked smile. “I know you find me overprotective, doll, but I learned it in a hard school. I protect what I care for from the other predators out there. And I’m badly out-numbered.” He blinked, as if shaking off a bad memory, and his demeanor changed. “Come on, let me show you your room.”

He took her hand again and led her up the stairs, and around two sides of the courtyard to an airy room decorated in shades of pale green and white, dominated by an old white-painted iron bedstead with a snowy eyelet coverlet adorning the mattress. White curtains sprigged with tiny pink and green roses covered the French doors facing the courtyard, and the windows out to the street. A fan hanging from the high ceiling turned lazily, but Lucky noticed that despite the wiring being in external casing on the thick walls, central air ductwork had obviously been installed at some point, and the temperature was cool enough to make even the vampire comfortable.

Speaking of comfortable, Josef lounged on the bed, watching as Lucky explored the room. When she paused at an antique washstand holding a rose-patterned porcelain pitcher and ewer that matched the curtains, he spoke up.

“I bought that for one of my octoroon mistresses,” he said. “Laura? Linda? No, Linda was the housekeeper. Must’ve been Laura. She was a sweet beauty, I remember that. Very docile. Never a smart comeback.”

Lucky came and sat on the edge of the bed. “You old fraud,” she said, “you remember everything.”

He responded by pulling her down and rolling above her. “Old, huh? I remember why I brought you here,” he purred, before they stopped talking for quite a long while.

When Lucky awoke, it was broad daylight, and she was alone, except for the tray with a thermal carafe of café au lait, and a basket of assorted pastries. The note from Josef instructed her to be back at the house by 3:30, and not to worry if she thought she was being followed when she went out. “Overprotective, remember?” he had written.

Shopping, even by herself, had been fun. She’d wandered Bourbon Street, snickering at tacky t-shirt slogans she’d never dream of buying, let alone being seen dead in, although she did consider one black t-shirt reading “Vampire Support Group” with prominent fang marks in red. The antique stores were more entrancing, but she thought she’d be foolish to pay French Quarter prices for anything without seeing what Josef thought about it. He’d never admit it, but he was a walking consultant on things past. Especially fine things, she thought with a wry grimace.

In the afternoon, walking the Quarter with Josef was more an exercise in restraint. Her restraint of him, that is. He was in an expansive mood, ready to pull out his credit cards in every store they entered. He made arrangements to send a crate of pralines to the freshies back home, saying with a smirk that they’d been dieting too much lately. And followed it with a mass order at a jewelry store, for what he called “trinkets” for the girls. Lucky managed to keep him from spending too much on her, not wanting to cause jealousy, but he did make her show him several antique pieces she’d spotted earlier, and a couple of small, expensive items passed his careful scrutiny. The dress shopping was…crazy, and she ended up with several new outfits, including one emerald green dress Josef liked so much, he insisted on her buying two.

“Planning on ripping one off of me, are you?” Lucky had asked archly.

“It’s always a possibility,” he’d replied, with a none-too-successful innocent look.

As the shadows lengthened, Josef escorted her back to the house, and instructed her to dress for dinner out. “Not L.A. fashionable, but somewhere north of tourist casual, all right, babe?”

Lucky didn’t know how Josef managed to pick out great restaurants, considering his diet, but she was never disappointed. Tonight, she took the advice of the waitress, a tall, slender young woman with straight blonde hair in a flyaway short shag cut, and got a dish that layered crab cakes and slices of fried eggplant, covered with crawfish tails in a delicate sauce. She thought it was almost as good as the perfectly cooked asparagus on the side, with its little dish of hollandaise.

Josef, of course, ordered his usual scotch, neat. He seemed somewhat distracted, by something beyond the table, and Lucky finally twisted around to see a framed pastel portrait of three women, dressed in the dropped waist dresses she associated with the 1920s, slender beauties with an aristocratic air to them. One cool blonde, one with light brown hair, and one raven-tressed enchantress. Each of them wore a similar, enigmatic smile.

Lucky turned back to Josef. “They almost look like they could be freshies,” she said with a smile.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “They were,” he said softly, raising his glass in their direction. “I called them my Three Graces, once upon a time.”

Her eyes went wide. “Now, that’s got to be a story.”

“Not for here, babe. Another time.” He gulped down his drink, and caught the wrist of their waitress as she passed by.

She froze, at the touch of his cool fingers, her eyes flicking uneasily to his face. “Y-yes, sir?”

“Another scotch,” he said, with an annoyed sniff . “And make sure you bring me a fresh napkin, all right, doll?”

She nodded, wordlessly, and vanished as soon as he released her, straightening the high white collar and black tie of her uniform. Lucky noticed the girl’s cufflinks glinting in the lowered light, a mannish gold set with a “K” monogram.

She also noticed the fresh paper napkin went into Josef’s pocket, rather than under his drink, but she decided that was not something to comment on. She finished her dinner, dabbed at her lips with her napkin, and smiled. “That was delicious, Josef. Rich, but delicious.”

“In that case, perhaps we’d better walk a bit of it off you. Care to stroll?” He slid a very generous tip under his empty glass, and they went out into the steamy evening, Josef casting a last look at the painting, with a strangely nostalgic smile on his lips.

They walked up the levee to view the river, and browsed a few shops. Lucky was a little surprised when he steered her to the back of a shop that specialized in costumes, and suggested she try on a wig.

“Seriously?”

“Hey, you know I like a little role-playing, now and then.” He looked around, and spotted a blonde shag number. “You’d look good in that one, babe.”

Ten minutes later they were back on the street, Lucky carrying the bag with the wig in one hand, the fingers of her other hand interlaced with Josef’s. The next stop, although by now she was past being surprised at anything he did, was in a perfumery. He asked the salesclerk a few questions, and must’ve tried a dozen bottles, before deciding he’d found the right one, and purchasing a small bottle. Lucky looked at the low-priced cologne dubiously.

“I’d think this would hurt your nose, Josef,” she said.

“Humor me.” He gave his mouth a twist, as though suppressing laughter. “You know what a creature of whim I am.”

Another block down, and they were passing a bar blaring raucous Dixieland, when Lucky stopped.

“Josef, I need a drink.”

Inside, she leaned close to his ear, and said, “Okay, want to tell me what’s going on?”

He did her the honor of not disputing it. “Can’t tell the whole story now, Luck, but we’ve got an appointment, later.” He pulled the crumpled paper napkin out of his pocket and pushed it over the table to her.

Lucky opened it, and read block printed handwriting, “Café du Monde, 3 a.m.”

“What the hell?”

As the barmaid approached, he took the paper back, and shoved it carelessly in a pocket. “How about if we leave it at, ‘trust me’ for the moment.”

Lucky sipped her drink, a particularly vile specimen of hurricane, and nodded. “Always, Josef. I just like to know, you know?”

He patted her hand. “You’re remarkably good natured, sweetheart, you know that?”

She gave him a crooked smile. “I know. It’s part of my charm.” They shared a few moments of simply looking at one another. “And if we have a 3 a.m. appointment, I think I’d better catch a nap, don’t you?”

He stood, and gave her an amused look from under his eyebrows. “As long as you don’t plan on sleeping all that time,” he said.

At 2 a.m., she was awakened by the touch of his cool hand on her shoulder, and turned sleepily to smile at him. “Hey, there, hot stuff,” she said sleepily.

He sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing a hand in circles on her back. “I think that should be your nickname, not mine, doll,” he said, “but it’s time to rise and shine.”

“Unh,” she replied. “Tell me I have time for a shower.”

“You smell fine to me.”

“I smell like I just had wild sex.”

“Gee, why is that?”

“Josef, are you asking for a review? I didn’t think you were so insecure.”

“Well, that last time you only moaned my name, instead of screaming it. I thought I might be slipping.”

“Beast.”

“All right, go shower. And put on that pretty new green dress, will you? And the wig.”

“Let me guess. ‘And be generous with that perfume, doll.’”

“I’m going to have to work on being more mysterious with you, obviously.”

She rose, and swayed across the room while he enjoyed the view. “You know,” she tossed back over her shoulder, “you and I are going to have a long talk about this at some point.”

Josef laughed.

The spaghetti-strapped, vivid green dress Lucky had picked out earlier that day did look good, she had to admit, with the blonde wig. Would have been even better, though, she thought rebelliously, with her natural red hair. And she smelled, heaven help her, like a large bouquet of jasmine.

They walked the few blocks to the Café du Monde, which was brightly lit, and crowded with revelers at the end of their evening. Josef chose a table in the center of the open air café, and ordered two café au laits and two orders of beignets.

“Have a doughnut, doll,” he urged her when the plates of powdered-sugar covered pastries appeared.

She eyed them dubiously. “Grease and sugar,” she said, “yum. And it’ll get all over my dress.”

“We’ll have it cleaned. Enjoy life, doll. Take big bites.”

“Easy for you to say,” she grumbled, but she complied. Despite her care, a fine mist of powdered sugar dropped onto her chest, and she made a great show of carefully dusting it away.

Josef glanced around him, and took a deep breath. Whatever he saw, Lucky didn’t notice. “Showtime,” he muttered.

He laughed loudly, drunkenly, and the gust of his breath blew a gout of powdered sugar over his companion.

Lucky jumped back, exclaiming, “Oh, dammit! My new dress!” Heads turned from several tables around.

“Aw, honey, don’t take it so hard. Tell you what, why don’t you go see what you can do in the ladies’ room, and I’ll call the car to take us home, okay?”

“Oh, all right, but it’ll never be the same.” She wandered through the close-packed tables, talking angrily to herself.

Behind her, she heard him commenting to no one in particular, “Guess that last hurricane was one too many.”

The ladies’ room was about what she expected in a place that was open 24 hours, and frequented by drunken tourists. Still she had only brushed at herself, largely ineffectually, for a couple of minutes before the restroom emptied, except for one stall. Lucky took a few short steps to the door and turned the deadbolt.

“You can come out, now.”

The stall door opened, and the waitress from the restaurant stepped out, her blonde hair falling into her eyes. Lucky thought she looked like a scared doe, ready to bolt.

“Can he help me? Will he help me?”

“My guess is, he’s ready to try. Or else we wouldn’t be here.” Lucky smiled. “Look, Josef didn’t even tell me what the problem was—but I’ve got instructions.” She started to undo the zipper down the back of her dress. “A hand, here?”

The blonde caught her wrist. “He’s a vampire. Do you trust him?”

“With my life. Every night.”

The girl looked up, bright blue eyes knowing. “Huh. The vamps here—they mostly seduce you, use you, abuse you, and move on.”

“I think a lot of them are like that, everywhere. Not all. And not Josef.”

The girl shifted her gaze, as though she looked beyond the walls to another time and place. “I barely remember my great-grandmother, but my gran, and my mother, told me stories since I was very young. She loved him.”

“It’s a funny thing, but we all do.”

“We?”

“His freshies. We all love him.” Lucky paused, and the girl released her. “Your great-grandmother, she was one of the women in that picture, wasn’t she?”

She nodded. “It’s a shame they aren’t all like him. But at least he came to help me get away.” She sighed. “Turn around, let me get that zipper for you.”

They exchanged clothes quickly, Lucky donning the nondescript rock band t-shirt and blue jeans the waitress had worn, and the girl slipped out into the café. Not before she’d taken a last dig in her bag, and pulled out the cufflinks Lucky had noticed earlier.

She gave Lucky a crooked smile. “They were from my great-grandmother. She had them from him. Anything else, I can leave behind.” She held them in her hand, not quite knowing what to do with them.

“Try dropping them in your bra, honey,” Lucky suggested. “They’ll be safe there.”

Lucky was going to have to make her own way back to the townhouse, but Josef had reminded her she’d be under surveillance the whole time, and safe. “Over-protective, remember?” he’d winked at her as she’d left the table. She hoped the spray of perfume she’d doused the waitress with—she was really going to have to find out the girl’s name, at some point—was enough to disguise her scent long enough for Josef to spirit her out of the Café du Monde.

She wondered what sort of sleight of hand Josef was going to use to get an extra girl on his jet, and decided that if it involved her, and a certain black dress, and fake fangs….he was going to pay for it. Seriously.

Oops, she had almost started out the door when she remembered the wig. She pulled it off, and shook her hair out in long, loose waves. Starting to throw the wig into the trash can, she paused, and stared down at it for a moment, then stuffed it into the oversized bag her blonde friend had left.

“What the hell, Josef might like it sometime,” she said to herself. “And next time he says something about a 'getaway,' I'm asking more questions.”

[Lucy]

For SURE...I'll bet you have a story in you about the "Court of Two Sisters"!

[francis]

I protect what I care for from the other predators out there. And I’m badly out-numbered.

Josef is very open about his past here, even without the details you get that he has a lot of pain walking with him through the times. He seems very nostalgic in this story.

Lucky is having such a great time. I so love that he’s giving her a getaway, too. No other freshies to think about, just the two of them.

And then there’s the Monteleone mentioned, and the portrait of the three graces! I love your tie-in with your other stories.

“Enjoy life, doll. Take big bites.” Best advice of a vampire ever.

This turned from a holiday story into a mystery, and I really love how Josef protects his own, not only Lucky but the poor waitress too. A great-granddaughter of one of the graces! Which one was a blonde, I wonder…

Thank you for this getaway!

[Fishy]

Am not very well at moment - and the notice about this story was just what I needed to give me a boost! It just gave me such pleasure as I read it. Your work is sooo discriptive. I shall certainly be re-reading this story plenty of times, and it will of course get me back to starting the series of stories about the two of them again. Better than medicine!

Joseph's teasing, the way they 'banter' and the continual insights he gives Lucky into the past, his past, gladdens my heart. Trust seems to be in real abundance now and the ease between our friends must come from love. You are a writer! These two characters are as real to me as Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt and you created them. Wow!

Thank you for all the pleasure you give us, your readers. What a 'lucky' lot we are!

Fishy

[LadyAilith]

I loved this tale, but then again, I love all of your Lucky stories!

Obviously, the girl had contacted Josef for help before he and Lucky had made their way to New Orleans. Gotta give it to Josef - he's great at subterfuge! I imagine that Lucky was quite bewildered for a while...

This says volumes about how Josef feels about his responsibility toward his girls. It makes me wonder if he keeps tabs on the extended families of all of his 'girls' if they're freshies.

Thank you so very much for the taste of New Orleans! It's been a long time since I had a beignet at Cafe du Monde!

[Emma-lee]

I loved it Lucky, your stories never disappoint. I had a few laughs at some of their banter...They do fit do well together.

[AggieVamp]

Absolutely delightful, delectable & delicious!
And since I just returned from New Orleans - nostalgic Those two play so well off of each other - in a good way. Lucky knows how far she can push him - and even though he is the vampire - Josef knows how far he can push Lucky. And I promise not to go too crazy at the wonderfulness of a new Lucky story.
But YIPPEE!
Thank you for this gem...but you left us hanging...will we get 'the rest of the story'? Inquiring minds need to know!

Karen

[MickLifeCrisis]

Very enjoyable! Thanks, it was a great read!

[NightAir]

It's wonderful to see how at ease Josef and Lucky are together.

Mick's not the only one who's got a soft spot for the mortal ones. Josef's freshies (and apparently their descendants as well) mean a great deal more to him than he's willing to admit - except perhaps to Lucky.
I knew Lucky was going to keep that wig.

And I love how you incorporated the painting of the Three Graces into a Josef and Lucky story.

[darkstarrising]

First, I love how you weave various aspects of your stories together....now we know where the portrait of the Three Graces from Camino del Sol ended up.

The banter between Josef and Lucky is always spot on....she knows his number, at least most of the time.

“You aren’t going bottled on me, are you?” she asked in dismay.

“Do I look like Mick?” he replied, quickly following it with, “Don’t answer that.”

And she’d disobeyed, to the extent of rising and coming into his arms to say, “Mick who?”

But Josef here is mysterious and mischievous, at least as far as Lucky can see, on this little getaway for just the two of them. The dress, wig and perfume seem just a bit out of character, but he puts her mind to ease as only he can. What is heartwarming is that his comment about being overprotective doesn't just extend to Lucky or his current freshies. The descendant of one of the Three Graces is in need and he is there to provide for her just as her great-grandmother once did for him. Vampires not only have long lives, they have long memories as well, some of which they'd rather forget.

The fact that Josef will let his guard down and confide in her shows just how much Lucky means to him.

Even in the soft silver light, he looked bleak. It was one of those moments when Lucky saw every day and every night of his age standing visible in his eyes. “Oh, there were always pockets of sanity,” he said. “But I was more brutal then, myself.” He gave her a crooked smile. “I know you find me overprotective, doll, but I learned it in a hard school. I protect what I care for from the other predators out there. And I’m badly out-numbered.” He blinked, as if shaking off a bad memory, and his demeanor changed. “Come on, let me show you your room.”

And I have to wonder just what that bad memory was....another story, perhaps?

[allegrita]

I love the mood of this story. There's something about New Orleans - a steamy, languid, dark and lush atmosphere. And this story evokes that perfectly. I can almost taste the beignets and cafe au lait. The descriptions, as usual, are just gorgeous. I love the vamp dress... and I'm glad Josef bought Lucky two of the emerald green one. Good planning on his part, to be sure.

Josef and Lucky have a wonderful combination of ease and tension between them, and their conversation sizzles. But Josef's in a bit of a dark mood, and we soon find out a little about why he feels that way.

What a wonderful little mystery... but oh my, you certainly have left us with a lot of questions!! I'm so curious about our waitress's background, who she's running from and why, how the painting got on the wall, why Josef didn't take the freshies to his townhouse last time...

[cassysj]

Yea a new Lucky/Josef story. New Orleans is the perfect place for a Getaway for them. I love the tie in with the Three "graces".

[librarian_7]

Oh, my, so many nice comments. Thank you so much for reading...and for commenting!

Lucy--well, it's been awhile since I've been to the Court of Two Sisters...but who knows, maybe one of these times, I'll find a story there.

francis--the blonde of the Graces is Patrice, but you know, this girl could be a great-granddaughter of any of them. Glad you caught the tie-ins, and it was fun writing them! I like to think of my stories as all hanging together, somehow. Okay, maybe not all, but most of them...

fishy--so sorry to hear you haven't been well, and I'm glad to help! And as for Katherine and John, I'm guessing at some point you've read Anya Seton's "Katherine," which is a great historical novel about them. (I'm not going to say how long ago it was I read that, but I've always remembered it as a wonderful book!) Thank you so much for your support; it's a great pleasure to me to know my readers like my stories.

Obviously, the girl had contacted Josef for help before he and Lucky had made their way to New Orleans. Gotta give it to Josef - he's great at subterfuge! I imagine that Lucky was quite bewildered for a while...

This says volumes about how Josef feels about his responsibility toward his girls. It makes me wonder if he keeps tabs on the extended families of all of his 'girls' if they're freshies.

LadyAilith--Yes, I do believe he had a good bit of this planned in advance. The question is, when did he finally tell Freshie Lucky what was going on...I think, sometime between when they got back from dinner, and before they went to the Cafe du Monde.

And, I think probably for girls who are especially close, he probably gives them a means of contacting him when they have a great need...and this was apparently passed down the generations.

Emma-lee, thanks!

Ah, Karen, the rest of the story? Well, maybe...maybe. Let's have lunch sometime soon, and we can discuss it!

Thanks, MLC! I was hoping for a nice light summer caper....

NightAir, well, we do know Josef likes the roleplaying, with or without leather! And once I saw that painting in New Orleans, I HAD to use it in a story. No question.

And I have to wonder just what that bad memory was....another story, perhaps?

Yeah, well, I rather like the idea of taking Josef to Old New Orleans, someday...I have some others to get busy on first, however. And I always love your comments, dsr!

Alle, thanks so much for the comments. I love writing the banter between those two...it's a challenge! On the other hand, sometimes it just flows, and I'm fortunate when that happens, that's for sure. Yes, I think Josef had an inkling that first green dress might not make it through the trip! I know there are a lot of unanswered questions....and possibly, someday, I'll have some answers. I'll let you know!

Hey, cassy. New Orleans is always a good place for a vampire....

Again, thanks for all the responses!

Lucky

[librarian_7]

I wanted to add, just for fun, a couple of pictures, and a link that you might find interesting.

The dress:



The painting:



Café du Monde

http://www.cafeduMonde.com/main.html

Lucky

[jen]

Lucky

The ambiance here is just delicious.

Josef and Lucky are so wonderful together. Lucky is such a fabulous OC, it feels like she had taken her place in canon

Thank you!

Jenna