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I nodded. Uncle Perry looked into the hallway. Ethan was now beckoning to him.
“I’ll be right back,” he told me.
I moved closer to Daddy and took his hand. He opened his eyes and looked at me again.
“Those aren’t your clothes. Those are Cassie’s clothes, aren’t they? Why are you wearing Cassie’s clothes?”
“I felt a need to be close to her,” I said.
“So you tried to make your hair look like her hair, too?”
“Yes. Cassie is still with me, Daddy,” I said. “I’ve been trying to tell you that.”
He just stared at me a moment and then closed his eyes.
“She’s here with you, too, Daddy.”
He shook his head and then opened his eyes when Ethan and Uncle Perry returned with the doctor.
“It’s not good, Dad,” Ethan said. “There’s too much brain damage. She’s already on life support.”
“I’ve made some calls and sent for another opinion, Ted,” Uncle Perry said, “but this neurologist has a very good reputation.”
Daddy groaned, closed and opened his eyes. The doctor stepped up to the bed and began explaining it all in more detail, describing the areas of the brain that were injured. I backed away slowly and then saw that Cassie was in the hallway. I looked at Ethan and Uncle Perry, who were paying close attention to what the doctor was saying, and I went out to her. There was no one else in the hallway.
“You did this,” I said. “You caused that flash of light, didn’t you? You caused the truck driver to hit them.”
“ I couldn’t depend on you. The way you were going would soon cause you to lose all credibility. Tomorrow you would have been committed, and Lucille would have become Queen of Heaven-stone. Now there’s nothing to fear.”
“But you could have hurt Daddy even more. Look how injured he is.”
“I had to make it look good, didn’t I?” she said. “He’ll be fine now.”
“What are you doing?” Ethan asked, coming out to me. His eyes were open wide. He looked up and down the hall as if he had missed someone. “Why did you come out here?”
“I hate to see Daddy in pain and so sad. He was sadder when my mother died, of course,” I quickly added, “and also when Cassie died.”
“This is a devastating tragedy, Semantha. He’s lost a second chance for happiness, and he was happy, very happy.”
“We’ll make him happy again,” I said. I looked for Cassie, but she was gone.
“Your uncle and I are taking your father up to Lucille. She’s in the ICU. They’re bringing us a wheelchair. Then we’ll be taking him home. The family doctor’s been notified and will be at the house—Dr. Moffet. He’s bringing a nurse to stay with your father tonight. She’ll be sure he’s made comfortable.”
“Yes, Dr. Moffet,” I said, smiling. “Good.”
“Maybe it’s best that you wait in the lobby and not go up with us to see Lucille,” he suggested.
“
That’s fine, yes. I’ll wait in the lobby.”
He returned to Daddy’s bedside, and I found my way to the lobby. It was very crowded, but there was an open seat next to a thin African American lady with stark white hair who was just staring blankly. She glanced at me when I sat.
“My father was in a car accident,” I said.
“Sorry. My granddaughter has epilepsy. She had a bad seizure. My daughter’s with her. It’s the third time we’ve been here this month.”
“How terrible.”
