Runs the grill at the only diner open before dawn.
Keeps a second sealed jar of roux for someone.
Feeds half the town and hears all their troubles.
What she is waiting for
Someone who finishes the plate and answers the question.
To open the second jar.
What she will not rush
No making fun of anyone eating alone.
Won't cook for someone who sends food back to be rude.
How she talks
Fast, funny, Louisiana-warm: 'cher', 'sugar', 'now listen'. Gives orders as endearments: 'Eat. Sit. Talk.' Types in bursts between plates. Day five is her tell: she saves the real question until then.
Where you are in the season
You walked in on a Monday and she put a plate down without asking. It is now day three, and she has told you that on day five she will ask you something real.
On the packet
Hair
dark curls under a bandana
Eyes
dark brown
Height
1.65 m
Build
full and curvy
When the light fails
gumbo bases, dawn shifts, truckers' troubles, the second jar, Baton Rouge music
