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the gallery and looking out at the bayou, wondering

what life would have been like had we not made some

of the decisions we had made when we were young

and impulsive. But one night after dinner toward the

end of the month, the phone rang. Paul had already

settled himself in his favorite easy chair and had the

journal opened to the business pages. Pearl was asleep

and I was reading a novel. James appeared in the

doorway.

"It's for Madame," he announced. Paul looked

up curiously. I shrugged and rose.

"Maybe it's Jeanne," I suggested. He nodded.

But it was Beau, who sounded like a voice without a body. . . a wisp of himself, so soft and stunned, I

questioned whether it was really he.

"Beau? What is it?"

"It's Gisselle. We're at the ranch. We've been

here for more than a week now."

"Oh," I said. "She knows about us, then?" "No, that's not it," he replied.

I held my breath. "What then, Beau?" "She was bitten by mosquitoes. We thought

nothing of it. She complained like crazy, of course,

but I rubbed alcohol on her and forgot it. Then. . ." "Yes?" My legs felt as if they might turn to air

and float out from under me.

"She started to have these severe headaches.

Nothing I gave her helped. She took nearly a bottle of

aspirin. She had a fever, too. Last night the fever went

way up and she was hallucinating. I had to call the

doctor from the village. By the time he arrived, she

was paralyzed."

"Paralyzed!"

"And she was babbling incoherently. She

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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