"You won't. Anyway, the difference with Posy
was no matter what they did to her, what negative
reinforcement they applied, she smiled at them. And
then she would oo and make up a story about it like
she had to clean the pigpen all by herself because we
were too busy or she was good at it. They would just
act angrier and angrier at her. She never let them
make her face reality. You know she never had a
mattress, pillow, and blanket the whole time she was
here."
"How could she stand that so long?" Teal
asked.
Gia shrugged. I began to wonder if she didn't
admire Posy as much as she pitied her.
"She told me she was used to sleeping on hard
surfaces. She liked to go camping, and mattresses and
sheets and pillows made her itch and sneeze. I
actually believed her for a while. She was really good
at it, at telling tales. I can just imagine the stories she
had people believing. It must have driven our Dr.
Foreman bonkers.
"But... Natani liked her," Gia said wistfully. He
favored her, talked to her all the time, taught her stuff,
like how to meditate and step out of pain. That's the
way she put it. I know the good doctor wasn't happy
about that and eventually told him to stay away from
her."
"Why does he obey her, work for her?" Teal
asked.
"His granddaughter was a drug addict. She