I Spy

[Nora Sheeley]

26 November 2016

 

The air was cool and the windows of the Black Nissan GT were rolled up tight and the defroster at a minimal against the fog inside, Etta James crooning 'All I Could Do Was Cry,' coaxing evocative emotion from a deep hallow which was another lifetime ago. The rain ran in a steady stream down the windshield after the slick sports car pulled into a parking slot about a half block from The Book of Kells. She abandoned her normal leather for a heavy duty, weather resistant jacket with matching black cargo pants. Underneath she wore a Kelly green wool turtleneck sweater with matching cable-knit stocking hat, making hazel eyes pop with intensity.

 

Understated and functional Doc Marten boots splashed through the puddles and continual torrent falling like a relentless barrage of bullets from the sky. Winter hadn't taken hold yet, and sure enough as whoever got the baby in the King Cake would host the next party, there would be sleet on the way at any moment. Nora only hoped she could return to Woodmere and her cozy 2 bedroom apartment to enjoy the fireplace later that afternoon. Thoughts of a heavy duty pick-up were a swift flash of contemplation before they were washed away. She had AWD, and that was enough.

 

New York could be an ugly and dismal place, especially this time of year with the Thanksgiving holiday celebrations avoided, but still Nora found herself day dreaming more and more of her home. It might well have been her one vulnerability by way of distraction. She had been a trained operative of the United State's former Central Intelligence Agency, college-educated, military trained and learned in the school of life. Though the French Quarter was gone for good and with a final death worse than anything old Katrina could have done, it lived strong in her heart. Maybe she should have listened to a playlist with more grit, but the ladies of the blues would have their voice and Nora was not about to fight the current on that one.

 

A nice young man, introducing himself as Jesse, had been helpful and kept the balance between gracious without being overbearing, allowing warm greeting and assistance if necessary while Nora browsed slowly through the shoppe. Finally, forty-five minutes passed as Nora sat at a small bistro table and sipped an exotic blend of raspberry leaf tea with a hint of lemon balm. Between the steaming cup and its general properties, she was feeling the tension ease away like a seasoned magus wielding rudimentary magic. Familiar with a few points of organic medicinal purpose from fieldwork abroad in earlier years when it was easy to travel to the ends of the earth, she expected to alleviate the early melancholy onset of anticipating the 'winter blahs' and keep away any thought of a cold to slow her down this season.

 

Nora Sheeley had positioned herself strategically. Her browsing has served double purpose as mind entertainment and appreciation of the wares peddled as well as time to properly 'case the joint' and experience the different vantage points and the related exits. Movement and schedule, such as they were for Jesse and another woman who she heard him call Lisa when they were speaking near where she had been paused looking over strange little figurine that looked like a deity from some foreign land. The symbology was alien to her, but she suspected some religious or occult significance from across the pond. She was somewhat familiar with native tribe to North and South America as well as some of the mythology and cultural aspects from Russia, France, Spain and Italy during her language classes at NYU and had picked up some random things during her ROTC time.

 

That was about where her knowledge on the matters ended. She researched on a need-to-know basis for the most part anymore with limited time and resources, using her down time to try to get up to speed on the plethora of new races, organizations and species out there. She was on her own and though she had been building assets with a strong and steady consistency and persistence that spoke highly of her resilience, there was just not enough hours in the day for that kind of crash course. What's a girl to do but make lemonade with the lemons life gave her? Nora liked to experience life - and on her own terms - whenever it was possible, a realistic optimist until the end who when she made a decision to thrive, would damn well do just that without letting any obstacle get in her way. And right now, the reason for her visit was not just a mere shopping trip. Nora Sheeley was looking for something and was bearing down on a strong lead for her client.

 

But, it had been too long. Far, far too long for this to pan out the way it should. Something was amiss, afoot - or just plain 'off.' Nora made sure she was paid up and a generous tip was left before she made her way out of the establishment. Back in her car, she shot off a quick text noting her progress - or lack thereof, and set the phone by the gear shift. It was time to go home and relax, maybe pick this up and give it a go another day. Awaiting her at home was the invitation of a nice, cozy fire and a warm, stiff drink. The solitude was something she both coveted and was starting to treasure. With all the nut jobs out there, and an already distrustful and cynical persona, Nora Sheeley found great comfort in her simple and predictable surroundings. She liked being an island and avoided anything or anyone that might disrupt her personal life or garner effort as far as trust went and she'd never get back that feeling she'd had so many years ago, growing up in the heart of New Orleans and its surrounding bayous.