take you to lunch at my favorite restaurant on the
dock. After all," he added with a laugh, "this is the
deluxe tour."
It was a wonderful trip. We laughed a great deal
and the restaurant he'd picked was wonderful. It had a
glass dome so we could sit and watch the steamboats
and barges arrivin
g and going up the Mississippi. While we ate, he asked me questions about my life in the bayou. I told him about the handicrafts and linens Grandmere Catherine and I used to make and sell. He asked me questions about school and then he asked me if I had ever had a boyfriend. I started to tell him about Paul and then stopped, for not only did it sadden me to talk about him, but I was ashamed to describe another terrible thing that had happened to my mother and another terrible thing Grandpere Jack
had done because of it. My father sensed my sadness. "I'm sure you'll have many more boyfriends,"
he said. "Once Gisselle introduces you to everyone at
school."
"School?" I had forgotten about that for the
moment.
"Of course. You've got to be registered in
school first thing this week."
A shivering thought came. Were all the girls at
this school like Gisselle? What would be expected of
me?
"Now, now," my father said, patting my hand.
"Don't get yourself nervous about it. I'm sure it will be
fine. Well," he said, looking at his watch, "the ladies
must all have risen by now. Let's head back. After all,
I still have to explain you to Gisselle," he added. He made it sound so simple, but as Grandmere Catherine would say, "Weaving a single fabric of falsehoods is more difficult than weaving a whole
wardrobe of truth."
Daphne was sitting at an umbrella table on a
cushioned iron chair on a patio in the garden where
she had been served her late breakfast. Although she
was still in her light blue silk robe and slippers, her
face was made up and her hair was neatly brushed. It
looked honey-colored in the shade. She looked like