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I didn't have an arm
for her and her sister both, but she had one for
me; she grabbed me and kissed the side of my face
"Bonsoir, Dad, congratulations!"
Then Pam was in front of me, the woman I had
called a quitting birch not so long agoShe was
wearing a dark blue pants suit, a light blue silk
blouse, and a string of pearls
Sensible but good-looking low heelsFull
Minnesota if ever I had seen itShe was obviously
frightened to death by all the people and the
strange environment, but there was a hopeful smile
on her face just the samePam had been many
things in the course of our marriage, but hopeless
was never one of them
"Edgar?" Pam louis vuitton speedy 30 asked in a small voice"Are we still
friends?"
"You better believe it," I saidI only kissed her
briefly, but hugged her as thoroughly as a one694
armed man can do itIlse was holding onto me on
one side; Melinda had the other, squeezing hard
enough to hurt my ribs, but I didn't careAs if
from a great distance, I heard the room erupt in
spontaneous applause
"You look good," Pam whispered in my ear"No, you
look wonderfulI'm not sure I would have known
you on the street
I stepped back a little, looking at her"You look
pretty fine yourself
She laughed, blushing, a stranger with whom I had
once spent my nights"Make-up covers a balenciaga knockoff multitude
of sins
"Daddy, this is Ric Doussault," Melinda said
"Bonsoir and congratulations, Monsieur
Freemantle," Ric saidHe was holding a plain
white boxThe gift?"
I knew what un cadeau was, of course; the real
revelation was the exotic lilt his accent gave to
my daughter's nicknameIt made me understand in a
way nothing else could that she was now more his
than mine
695
It seemed to me that the majority of the people in
the gallery had gathered around to watch me open
my presentTom Riley had made it almost to Pam's
shoulderBozie was next to himFrom just behind
them, Margaret Bozeman skated me a kiss from the
heel of her palmNext to her designer louis vuitton denim bags knock offs was Todd Jamieson,
the doctor who had saved my lifetwo sets of
aunts and unclesRudy Rudnick, my old
secretaryKamen, of course, he was impossible
to missand Kathi by his sideThey had all
come, everyone but Wireman and Jack, and I was
beginning to wonder if something had happened to
keep them awayBut for the moment that seemed
secondaryI thought of waking up in my hospital
bed, confused and separated from everything by
unremitting pain, then I looked around at this and
wondered how things could possibly have changed so
completelyAll these people had come back into my
life for one nightI didn't want to cry, but I
was pretty sure I was louis vuitton diaper bag tote going to; I could feel
myself starting to dissolve like a tissue in a
cloudburst
"Open it, Daddy!" Ilse saidI could smell her
perfume, something sweet and fresh
696
"Open it! Open it!" Good-natured voices from the
packed circle watching usPulled out some white tissue
paper and uncovered what I had expected
although I had expected something jokey, and this
was no jokeThe beret Melinda and Ric had brought
me from France was dark red velvet, and smooth as
silk to the touchIt had not come cheap
"This is too nice," I said
"No, Daddy," Melinda saidWe
only hope it fits
I took it out of the box and held it upThe
audienced ohh-ed fake cartier roadster appreciatively
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