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I turned to face him. “Nothing, Will. You’ve made your choice. There’s nothing more to<br />
do.”<br />
Tears spilled down my cheeks. He reached out to wipe them, but I moved his arm<br />
away.<br />
“Please don’t go, Cassie,” he whispered, begged.<br />
I plucked my coat o the rack and threw it on, leaving the door open as I walked out<br />
of Café Rose. As I went south on Frenchmen, the cold rain began to subside. My walk<br />
turned to a jog at Decatur as I made my way through the French Quarter, already<br />
waking up to the day’s festivities. At Canal, Mardi Gras madness was gearing up and I<br />
moved through the crowd at a crazed pace. I had to get out of here. At Magazine, when I<br />
bent over, gasping to catch my breath, I realized I was still wearing my waitressing<br />
apron. I didn’t care. Images of my body entwined with Will’s ashed through my mind.<br />
His kisses, his chest exing beneath me, the way he cradled my head in his hands. I<br />
clutched my side as the sobs wrenched their way to the surface. My Will, my future,<br />
dissolved. Just like that. I let a packed bus pass, then another one. I decided to walk to<br />
Third Street so I could keep crying, not caring who saw me, the throngs of tourists<br />
fighting for a prime spot on the parade route.<br />
Oh, Will. I loved him, but there was nothing to do. I couldn’t be the woman who took a<br />
father away from his baby. One perfect night, that’s what we had, and now I had to let<br />
it go. I’d learned from the other men how to be with them, then let them go. Could I do<br />
this with Will? I had to try.<br />
Crossing under the Pontchartrain Expressway, I started to feel my body relax as the<br />
tourists thinned out. The dank smell of the French Quarter gave way to the scent of<br />
owering vines snaking up the houses in the Lower Garden District. The rain had<br />
stopped and the widening sidewalks put my heart at ease.<br />
Turning up Third, I was reminded of my rst foray down this lush street and how my<br />
fear had stopped me in my tracks so many times that day. Now, I stood here again,<br />
soaking wet, my heart bruised. I was once so afraid of the world. And even though I was<br />
in pain, the fear was gone, replaced with a true and real sense of myself. I had my feet<br />
on the ground. I was heavy-hearted, but I would survive this and be made stronger. I<br />
knew what I wanted. I knew what I had to do.<br />
Danica buzzed me past the entrance. I made my way slowly across the courtyard,<br />
marveling at how spring came to New Orleans in February. Before I even knocked on<br />
the big red door, Matilda opened it, an expectant smile on her face.<br />
“Cassie. Are you here for your final charm?”<br />
“I am.”<br />
“So you’ve made your decision?”<br />
“I have.”<br />
“Are you saying goodbye to us, or are you choosing S.E.C.R.E.T?”<br />
I stepped over the threshold and handed Danica my wet coat. “I’m choosing<br />
S.E.C.R.E.T.”<br />
Matilda clapped her hands, then placed them on my cheeks.<br />
“First let’s dry those tears, Cassie. Then we’ll phone the Committee. Danica, put some