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After lunch we let Pearl take a nap. Beau and I sat outside with Paul's sisters drinking cafe au lait and listening to them complain about Paul's behavior and how their mother was so beside herself because of it, she wasn't seeing anyone or leaving the house.
"Has she been to the hospital to see Ruby?" I asked, very curious.
"Mother hates hospitals," Toby said. "She had Paul at home because she hated being around sick people, and it was a difficult birth. Daddy had to plead with her into going there for our births."
Beau and I exchanged knowing glances, understanding this was part of the fabrication Paul's parents had created to cover up Paul's real mother's identity.
"Are you two going to the hospital to see Ruby?" Jeanne asked.
I thought how Gisselle would respond to such a question first and then replied, "What for? She's always sleeping, isn't she?"
Toby and Jeanne glanced at each other.
"She's still your sister. . . dying," Jeanne said, and then burst into tears. "I'm sorry. I can't help it. I really loved Ruby."
Toby threw her arms around her, rocking and comforting her and shooting glances of reproach my way.
"Maybe we should go to the hospital, Beau," I said quickly, and rose from my chair. I couldn't sit out there with them any longer and pretend to be insensitive, nor could I stand their sorrow over what they thought was my demise.
Beau followed me into the house. He caught up with me in the study, where I, too, had burst into tears that fell scalding on my cheeks.
"Oh, Beau, we shouldn't have come here. I can't stand all this sorrow. I feel it's my fault."
"That's ridiculous. How can it be your fault? You didn't cause Gisselle to get sick, did you? Well . . . did you?"
I ground my eyes dry and took a deep breath. "Paul reminded me of the time I once went with Nina Jackson to see a Voodoo Mama, who put a spell on Gisselle. Maybe that spell never stopped."
"Now, Ruby, you don't seriously believe--"
"I do, Beau. I always have believed in the spiritual powers some people have. My grandmere Catherine had them. I saw her heal people, comfort them, give them hope, with merely a laying on of her hands."
Beau grimaced skeptically. "So what do you want to do? Do you want to go to the hospital?"
"Yes, I have to go."
"All right, we'll go. Do you want to wait for Pearl to wake up or--"
"No. We'll ask Jeanne and Toby to look after her until we return."
"Fine," Beau said.
"I'll be right down. I've got to get something," I said, and started out.
"What?"
"Something," I said firmly. I hurried upstairs to what had been my suite and slipped in without anyone seeing or hearing me. I went to the dresser and opened the bottom drawer where I had the pouch of fivefinger grass Nina Jackson had once given me to ward off evil and the dime with the string through it to wear around my ankle for good luck.
Then I went to the adjoining door and opened it slightly to peek in on Paul. He was fast asleep in his bed, hugging his pillow to him. Over his headboard, hanging like a religious icon, was my picture in a silver frame. The pathetic sight brought hot tears to my eyes again and made my chest ache with the weight of such sadness, I couldn't breathe. I felt as if I had thrown myself into the pot and it was up to me to keep from being boiled.
I dosed the door softly and left the suite. Beau was waiting at the foot of the stairs.
"I've already spoken to Jeanne and Toby," he said. "They'll look in on Pearl until we return."
"Good," I said. Beau didn't ask what I had gone upstairs to get. We drove to the hospital and inquired at the nurses' station for directions to Gisselle's private room. The nurse Paul had hired was sitting in a chair near the bed crocheting. She looked up with surprise, her mouth agape.
"Mr. Tate told me his wife had a twin sister, but I've never seen so identical a set of twins," she said, regaining her composure.
"We're not so identical," I said sternly. Gisselle would have said something like that and would have made her feel uncomfortable. The nurse was happy to excuse herself while we visited. I wanted her out of the room anyway.
