Jimmy Fox - Nick Herald 02 - Lineages and Lies (30 page)

And then she was gone.

After a long time watching the milling crowd, Nick hailed a passing waiter.

“Half a muffuletta. Bag of Zapp’s chips, extra spicy. Another Abita Golden—make that two,” he said telegraphically.

A slight elevation of eyebrows and a subtle nod from the young man confirmed the order. The waiters were like that at Napoleon House; they didn’t get chummy even with longtime customers.

Nick had decided to spend the evening right where he was. No one waited for him at his apartment, a few blocks away. Here, at least he was surrounded by people, strangers though they were. He didn’t want to be alone in his exile tonight.

Tilting his chair back against the graffiti-covered wall, he returned to the poetry of Wallace Stevens.