"And I'll go in to see Gisselle and tell her the
truth, but she won't believe me, Daddy. You'll have to
come up and speak with her, too," I told him. He
nodded.
"I will." He kissed me and held me for a
moment. "Gabrielle would be so proud of you, so
proud."
He straightened up, pulled back his shoulders,
and left. I gazed at Uncle Jean's photographs for a
moment and then I went to tell my sister who her
mother really was.
"Where have you been?" Gisselle demanded.
"Mother's been home for hours and hours. I kept
asking for you and they kept telling me you weren't
here. Then Mother came by and told me you ran
away. I knew you wouldn't stay away long," she
added confidently. "Where would you go, back to the
bayou and live with those dirty swamp people?" Because I didn't say anything immediately, her
smile of self-satisfaction evaporated.
"Why are you standing there like that? Where
were you?" she wailed. "I needed you. I can't stand
that nurse anymore."
"Mother lied to you, Gisselle," I said calmly. "Lied?"
I walked over to her bed and sat on it to face
her in her wheelchair.
"I didn't run away," I said. "Don't you
remember? We were going to the institution to see
Uncle Jean, only--"
"Only what?"
"She had other intentions. She brought me there