Page 147 (1/1)

I sat back at that, suspicion working a slow path throughover to retrieve a newspaper fro frenzy outside of the hospital for days You have two aruards posted outside of your roo to yourself, and still a vulture tried to sneak in and take a photo of you"

The New York Times had run with the news of the camp hit and the subsequent fallout I spread the newspaper out over h inal idea for an infor into the coeles, and at the Ranch It was pages of her photographs of us, all of us--planning, playing, working The road code She’d written about why the deceptions had been necessary, and what editors and media bosses had worked with us to cover up the truth until the Thur profile of Cole, his face grinning up at me in black and white

And then there was the piece about one into any details about my abilities, Alice had deprived readers of pretty e of many of her photos, just out of frame, face hidden by shadows or hair The others--Cate, especially--must have filled her in on how I’d escaped Thurmond in the first place, what ue, and then, how I’d been willing to go back to the ca carried to the aht as well have been a conize that sainst the pillow, feeling exposed under Grams’s watchful eye

"There’sthe paper away

"Not now," I said "Has anyone else"

"Hmm?" Grams walked the paper back across the roo it over me "Has anyone else, what?"

"Been by," Isive a sailor a heart attack? A sweet little one who brought you flowers? The one who spent half a day chasing doctors and nurses around, de answers about your condition? Or, by any chance, are you referring to a very well-mannered Southern boy?"

"All of them," I whispered "Are they here?"

"Not at the o back to the hotel--everyone’s in Charleston for this fancy press conference But they were here, and they asked ive you this for when you woke up, so you’d kno to find them"

Grams handed me a folded piece of paper Hotel stationery, as it turned out, with a telephone number scrawled across it Call as soon as you can Liairl," Grams said softly "One day, I hope you’ll talk to me about what’s happened to you I don’t want to read about it; I’d much rather hear it from you"

"I missed you too," I whispered "So, so much I wanted to find you"

She smoothed the hair back from my face "Do you want to see them now?"

I didn’t need any clarification about who them meant

"Do they" I sed "Do they want to see ht with you"

After a moment, I nodded When she left the room, I balancedin my chest the ht, this is the last ti aside to let a slight, frail woman in, followed closely by a salt-and-pepper-haired man

It was remarkable how little I remembered about what they really looked like Maybe the years had done da thees It was so odd to see the shape of my nose on another person’s face My eyes My mouth The dimple on my chin He wore a polo shirt tucked into slacks, she wore a dress, and I had the strange thought that they had dressed up to see me

I wished it didn’t feel so painfully uncomfortable, but I could see it in their faces They looked atI’d been taken ahen they’d forced me out of the house in their confusion The years stood between us, e trip we had taken a very, very long tih the autue their colors The air had been crisp and clear, the rolling mountains only a few shades darker than the endless blue sky above We’d slept together, the three of us, in this little pocket of war for our food I’d watched, amazed, as Dad had started the cahtest touch, as if they’d already begun to unravel on their own I pulled back from each of their s without the sudden flood of theirs

"So," Grams said, exasperated

But I didn’t need to say a word I only needed to let them hold e in a day, co Life doesn’t need a day to change