She continued to explore the attic. I looked closer at the bassinet. It seemed very new, maybe even never used.
"Maybe this was all fixed up for someone and she never lived in it," I suggested.
"Yeah. That could be. You know what I noticed about this attic?" Alanis said, settling on the small settee.
"What?"
"It's clean. Look at the coffee table." she said and ran her hand over it. "Not much dust. Nothing like some of the furniture in the house."
"Maybe your mother cleaned it."
"My mother? No way. She don't do one thing more than she has to," Alanis said. Then she smiled. "Neither do I."
We heard what sounded like a door open and close below,
"Let's get down," she said, rising quickly. "But remember. This is our new secret."
She hurried ahead. We descended the stairs as quietly as we could. At the bottom, she checked the hallway first, and then we slipped out. She locked the door again.
"I'm going to put this key back. too. Just in case," she said. "I'll go down and spend some more time with her so she don't get suspicious."
"Why should she?"
"I don't know. I wanna watch some more television anyway. If she's asleep. I'll turn on something I like." She patted the door with her palm. "Our place," she said. "What should we call it?"
I shrugged. "I don't know."
"How about Hideaway Hotel? Every time we go there, it will be like checking into a hotel someplace."
"Okay," I said. Why did we have to call it anything or pretend anything? She was getting to be like Great-aunt Frances, pretending and creating her own little world. I thought.
"Damn, girl. Stop scowling. We're gonna have fun whether you like it or not," she said as she turned and headed for the stairway. I watched her go, and then, instead of returning to my room. I returned to Grandmother Emma's and Ian's letters. I really felt I needed to be close to him at this moment, even if he was writing things that made little or no sense to me.
I took out the bag and plucked the next one, slipping it out of the envelope.
.
Dear Jordan,
Today I spoke to Mother using telepathy. I could hear the joy in her voice when she realized it was I. She thought we had deserted her. I explained what I could, but I don't blow -where you are or what you're doing since I have had no letters back from you
and Grandmother Emma attorney won 't tell me -anything. Mother immediately said your not writing back to me it-as probably Grandmother Emma's doing and then I told her about Grandmother Emma being in the hospital. I told her everything-Grandmother Emma's lawyer would tell me.
She felt sorry for you because youwere alone in that big house. She told me to tell you not to worry, that she -would get better someday soon and she would come for you. She asked that you just be patient.
Of course, I told her where I was and what was happening around me. Guess what? She said she already knew, She said Father had come to see her and told her everything
She said he sat there for an hour in his wheelchair and he cried and apologized.-I told her to be careful about believing
anything he says. She was sorry that I -was so skeptical. That means doubting.
She asked me to be patient, too, but I don't think I have much more time. I'll explain why in my next letter.
Ian
.
I wondered when our father had been there with our mother. Why hadn't he ever told me or taken me? Unless he'd gone there after I'd left the house, but then why hadn't he told Mother where I was? I'd have to get Great-aunt Frances to send out my letter as soon as I finished reading all of Ian's. He would know the answers.