'I'm afraid so. The move and all hasn't helped, either. He used to be so proud of the way he kept his room.'
'I know,' I said. 'I remember.'
'Oh, you've seen him there?'
'Not exactly,' I said. This nurse hadn't been working here when I had been forced to stay, so she didn't remember me. But I saw no point in bringing all that back.
With Beau still right beside me, I walked down to Uncle Jean, who sat staring at his hands. His golden hair was disheveled, and he wore a pair of creased pants and a creased white shirt with some food stains on the front of it.
'Hello, Uncle Jean,' I said, sitting down beside him. I took his hands into mine and he turned, first to look up at Beau and then to look at me. I saw a note of recognition in his blue-green eyes and a small smile start at the corners of his mouth.
'Do you remember me? . . . Ruby? I'm Pierre's other daughter. I'm the one who's been sending you all the letters.' His smile widened. 'I've come home from school because . . . because there's been a tragedy, Uncle Jean, and now I've come to tell you because I think you have a right to know. I think you should know.' I looked up at Beau, to see if he thought I should continue or not. He nodded. Uncle Jean was still gazing at me, his eyes moving slightly from side to side as he studied my face.
'It's Daddy, Uncle Jean . . . he's . . . his heart gave out on him and he's . . . he's dead,' I said. 'That's why he hasn't been here to see you; that's why you've been moved to this ward. But I'm going to complain about it to Daphne and I'm going to see to it that they get you back in your room. At least I'll try,' I said.
Gradually, the small smile that had been on his lips wilted, and his lips began ever so slightly to tremble. I put my hand on his shoulder and rubbed it gently.
'Daddy would have wanted me to come here, Uncle Jean. I'm sure. He was very unhappy about what had happened between the two of you and he was very sad about your sickness. He wanted so much to see you get better. He loved you very much. He really did,' I said.
Uncle Jean's lips quivered more. His eyes began to blink, and then I felt a trembling in his hands. Suddenly, he shook his head, softly at first, and then more vigorously.
'Uncle Jean . . .'
He opened his mouth and then closed it, shaking his head harder. The nurse and the attendant drew closer. I looked up at them when Uncle Jean began to make an unintelligible sound.
'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 the side entrance.
The house was very still when I entered. I went around quietly and started up the stairs, which seemed to
