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"Aaaaaaa . ."
"Jean," the nurse said, rushing over to him. "What did you tell him?" she demanded.
"I had to tell him his brother--my father--has died," I said.
"Oh dear. Easy, Jean," she said.
His shoulders began to shake and he opened and closed his mouth to make the ugly sound.
"You two had better go now," the nurse said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble, but I thought he should know."
"It's all right. He'll be all right," she assured us, but she was anxious for us to leave.
I stood up, and Uncle Jean gazed up at me with desperation. He was silent for a moment, and I decided to hug him quickly and did so.
"I'll be back another time, Uncle Jean," I promised through my tears and then turned away. Beau followed me toward the door. We were nearly there when Uncle Jean screamed.
"P-P-Pierre!"
I turned to see him bury his head in his hands. The nurse eased him back on the bed and lifted his legs up so he was lying quietly.
"Oh, Beau," I said. "I shouldn't have come. Daphne was right. I shouldn't have told him."
"Of course you should have come. Otherwise he would have felt deserted when Pierre never showed up. At least now he understands why and he knows he still has you," Beau said, putting his arm around me.
I let my head fall against his shoulder and then I let him take me out and home to where Daddy lay waiting for his final goodbyes.
11
The Gloves Are Off
.
I told Beau to pull up to the walk a block before
my house.
"I feel like Gisselle, sneaking around like this,"
I said, "but I'd rather Daphne didn't see you dropping
me off."
He laughed. "That's all right. Sometimes
Gisselle's scheming comes in handy. Too bad she
can't learn from you as well." He leaned over to give
me a quick kiss on the lips before I stepped out of the
car.
"I'll be here tonight," he called after me. I
waved and ran up the walk to sneak back in through
