Love In the time of covid

Chapter 44

Giselle had arrived in New Orleans and took a 20 minute ride in an Uber to her cousin Gabrielle's house.

When Gabby opened the door, she was of course surprised about Giselle's unexpected arrival but was glad to have her nonetheless. It had been just about 3 months since she saw her last at Vivian's funeral. They didn't grow up in the same state but had been close as kids when they took turns visiting each other on school breaks.

"Hey cousin. Is it ok if I stay with you for a couple of days?" Giselle asked shyly as she gripped on to the strap of her weekender bag.

"Absolutely Elle." Gabby said as she stepped forward to bring her in for a hug. "Not that I'm not happy to see you but what brings you to town?"

Giselle swallowed the big lump sitting her throat after being asked the question. "Chris and I had a falling out and I needed some space to think."

"Oh honey. Come inside." Gabby said as she took her hand and pulled her through the door way. "Duane. Come downstairs." She called through the house for her husband.

It was only a moment before Duane joined them after hurrying down the steps. "Giselle what are you doing here?" He asked when he saw her standing in the living room with his wife.

"She's going to be staying with us for a little bit. Can you take her bag upstairs?" Gabby explained to her husband before Giselle had a chance to answer.

Duane came to stand with them next to the couch and brought Giselle into a hug. "It's good to see you again. How are you?" He inquired after pulling back.

"Not good. I just wanna lay down. It was a long flight." Giselle told him, looking back at him with tired eyes.

"Well let me take your bag and I'll show you to the guest room."

"No it's ok, I remember where it is." Giselle politely declined his offer as she stepped around them and headed to the stairs. "I'm just going to take a nap for a little while."

"Ok. I'll come get you for dinner." Gabby offered as she stepped forward to wrap an arm around Duane's waist. "Let me know if you need anything."

Giselle offered them both a weak smile and nodded before heading up the wooden steps that creaked from her movements.

It was an old house she always adored. One that was built at the turn of the century and shared some of the history with the famous city. There were high ceilings and the original crown molding was still intact. There were French doors that led into every room and balconies that looked out over the city. Gabby and Duane had bought it when he had finished his residency and she had finally been made junior partner at the advertising firm she worked for.

Giselle reached the guest room at the end of the hall and let her bag drop to the floor with a thump. She toed off her shoes and walked to sit down on the bed before taking out her phone to check what messages she had missed while she traveled. She had kept it turned off the entire day, not wanting to address what had happened with everyone.

When the screen came to life, Giselle had 3 voicemails each from both Trina and Chris. There were also 10 texts from Chris and 5 from Trina. She ignored them and dialed Malcolm's number first.

"Hi mommy." Jeremy answered the phone excited to speak with his mom. "Happy new year."

Giselle smiled at hearing his voice. She felt bad for not going home to be with him but she needed this and hoped Malcolm would understand. "Happy new years baby. Did you have fun at the party?"