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"I carief I wanted toa choice?" asked Gaotten stuck I haven’t even been able to paint Nothing" She waved toward her studio "But after seeing the size of their loss, eable And this"--she looked around the rooe it With friends I called up Evie and invited thee had ement, which Clara supposed was true in a way They were bound to their hoh, and Clara could hear that part of her wanted to co, the loss too new, the desire to isolate too powerful And then there was the guilt

Clara kne that felt

"The painting will come back," said Ar his eyes for the truth, or evidence of a lie

He smiled and nodded "Without a doubt"

"Merci," she said "Ruth’s helping me"

"Ruth?" both Armand and Jean-Guy asked at once Neither had realized Clara had a creative death wish

"Well, to be honest, more as a cautionary tale" Clara looked over at the old poet, as having an aniround they saw Reine-Marie with a fixed smile on her face as Professor Rosenblatt entertained her with anecdotes froorith," said Jean-Guy, and walked off

"Not that I’ back to Clara, "but I’ why you invited them?"

He looked toward Mary Fraser and Sean Delorme, then over to Rosenblatt

"They don’t know anyone here," she said "I thought they ht be lonely Especially the professor I wanted them to feel welcome We all want that"

"True And the fact they have inforun?"

"Totally irrelevant Never enteredit up, since they won’t talk, what can you tell us?"

"Us?"

"Me Spill"

He s you don’t already know"