They laugh alike, they walk alike, At times they even talk alike – You can lose your mind,
When cousins are two of a kind.

---

 

---

Viewing Note: This story should be viewed with the Edwardian Script ITC font installed on your Windows platform in the c:/Windows/Fonts directory. Microsoft Word installs this font automatically.

Photo Credit: Used with her permission....“Let Me In”  © by simpledrama .
 

---

 
Chapter 9
 

As they drove home from the Jones’, Jessica thought about the talk she had with Gaby the previous night. As far as she was concerned, an exchange visit should be all about new experiences and new friendships. However, it seemed that neither was happening for her young student, with the exception of her cycling friends. The more she mulled it over, the more resolved she became to give Gaby a memorable weekend, or what remained of it. Jessica had an idea come to mind as soon as she pulled into her driveway and turned off the ignition.

“Gaby? I have some friends who’d love to meet you … want to meet them?” Jessica coyly asked as she paused upon exiting the car.

“Okay,” Gaby replied. Thinking Jessica meant to go somewhere else she turned to get back into the car.

“Oh … we won’t need the car. They’re back here,” Jess mentioned as she came around the front of the car and playfully took hold of Gaby’s hand. Wishing to surprise Gaby, she intentionally ignored any questions as they walked down the extended driveway beside the house.

Rounding the back, Jessica led Gaby past a fenced paddock and over to a medium sized shed. She turned and gently taking both of Gaby’s hands in hers she asked, “You’re not scared of horses … are you?”

“Umm … not really ... I dunno … I guess not,” Gaby replied with some apprehension.

“I have to check on them, anyways. Do you want to come in and meet them … or would you feel more comfortable out here and watch from a distance?” Jessica asked, still holding Gaby’s hands.

“Lead on … I guess,” Gaby nervously replied. Obviously happy, Jessica gave her teenage guest a hug and again leading her by the hand, approached the building.

“Uh … you said horses … plural. How many you got?” Gabs inquired.

“Two!” Jessica replied as she opened the shed’s large door. “When I got the house from my parents … I also got Tonto and Paint. Tonto’s what they call a ‘Quarter Horse’ and Paint’s a ‘Skewbald Pinto’.”

“Skewbald Pinto?” Gaby parroted.

“The breed is called a Pinto and because the dark portion of his colouring isn’t black, Paint’s referred to as Skewbald,” Jessie explained as they walked down to the stalls.

“Maddy never said anything about your horses,” Gaby revealed as she watched Jessica enter one of the stalls.

“Oh … Maddy knows … but I suspect she’s not a horse person. She prefers to stay in the house while I’m out here with the boys,” Jessica replied with a smirk. She then walked back out of the stall and closed the gate.

“Stay here, will you? … I won’t be but a few minutes … talk to them until I get back.”

She ran out of the shed leaving Gaby standing there looking over the gate, wondering what to say.

“Ummm … hi! … I’m Gaby … an’ I guess you’re Tonto?”

Tonto turned his neck to look at Gaby, or rather the source of the sound just as Jess came running back in. As she stood beside Gaby, she unlocked the gate and started to enter the stall.

“C’mon, Gaby! Don’t be afraid. Tonto won’t hurt you,” Jessica urged.

As Gaby timidly entered the stall, Miss Bell took hold of her wrist and gently pulled her in and then instructed her how to hold her hand, palm up and flat. Placing an apple on Gaby’s overturned palm, Jessica gently turned her to face Tonto.

“Now offer it to him … don’t take your hand away … he won’t bite!”

Sensing the apple, Tonto swung his head towards Gaby and using his lips as feelers, located the fruit in her hand. After he took the apple, Jessica saw Gaby’s face light up.

“See? Friends for life!”

Gaby started to giggle as she joined Jessica in giving Tonto a pat on his neck. Basking in the attention of the two ladies, he responded by shaking his head and snorting his approval.

“Now, we can either go into Paint’s stall … or you can hop up onto the wall here and give him his apple … your choice,” Jess offered.

It only took Gaby two attempts before she was sitting on the top log on the chest-high wall separating the two stalls.

“Hmm ... somebody likes horses,” Jessica playfully quipped.

Since Paint was watching the whole scenario unfold, he was over to her as soon as he saw the offered food. Jessica stood by and watched as Gaby gave Paint the same attention she gave Tonto with much the same results.

Looking at her watch, Jessica told her they should be getting in. When Gaby reluctantly jumped down from the wall and walked out of Tonto’s stall, Jessica finally thought that she saw the look of happiness in the teen’s face that she had hoped to see.

“I have an idea! I have to clean out their stalls, tomorrow morning ... and if you want, you can help me … then after ... we can go for a ride,” Miss Bell cautiously put forward. Gaby grinned like a Cheshire cat as she hugged Jessica.

“I take it that’s a ‘yes’?”

“Uh huh.” Gaby was still grinning as she released Miss Bell.

“Have you ever ridden a horse before?” Jessica asked.

“No...” Gaby quietly whispered as her smile faded.

“Well then! You’ll have your chance tomorrow … won’t you?” Jessica cheerfully replied.

As the two closed up Tonto’s stall and walked back into the house, they were planning a quiet evening at home.

“You like music? MTV has a documentary series on the history of rock n’ roll. Tonight’s supposed to be dealing with the late 60’s … if you’d like to watch it,” Jessica mentioned as they walked in the back door.

“Do you think we can just talk? I kinda liked last night ... or maybe just listen to some of your CD’s?” Gaby wondered.

“How’d you know what I’ve even got?” Jessica questioned.

“I kinda looked through your collection when you were upstairs.”

“Not exactly the preferred musical trend for your age group,” Jessica smirked as they walked in the back door and hung up their coats.

“Dad brought me up on the 60’s stuff but mix in some Led Zep, AC/DC an’ a little Pink Floyd … an’ I’m one happy girl!”

“Okay, then … sounds like you’re the program director for the night! Let’s get changed and I’ll make us up a large bowl of popcorn with some real melted butter and a touch of salt. There’s plenty of soda in the fridge. How’s that sound?” Jessica cheerfully suggested.

Later, Gaby wandered into the kitchen after changing into the same emerald green nightgown she wore the previous night. Jessica had arrived in the kitchen only moments earlier having had changed and was grabbing some butter out of the fridge.

“Anything I can help with?” Gaby asked as she watched Jessica searching the cupboards.

“Not at the moment, dear … thanks anyway … but I will need a hand in a few minutes,” Jessica replied as she pulled out a large mixing bowl and a package of microwaveable popcorn. Gaby pulled out a chair and sat down at the small kitchen table.

“How did your day with Maddy go?” Jessica cheerfully wondered.

“Brill! The ride with Erin was really good. We went out to Waynesboro and ended up in the National Park … an’ then I … kinda blacked out … and … ummm … crashed,” Gaby related.

“I know about the crash. I was more curious about when I dropped you off … you know … Maddy?” Jessica probed. She immediately detected a drop in Gaby’s mood as she cast her eyes down towards the floor.

Setting the unopened package of popcorn on the counter, Jessica walked over to her and led her out of the kitchen to the couch in the living room. While Gaby took a seat at one end, Jessica got a fire going in the fireplace then came and sat beside Gaby.

“Okay ... tell me what happened,” Jessica softly encouraged.

“We had a fight…” Gaby mumbled as a tear peaked out from under her eyelash.

“About Sam?” Jessica softly asked. Gaby nodded.

“She kept calling me … darling … but (sniff) when I asked her about Sam … she got angry an’ … denied anything was happening between them … then she asked why I even cared … (sniff). I told her I thought she was my girlfriend … an’ she said that she maybe was Drew’s girlfriend ... but … (sniff) she wasn’t my girlfriend. (sniff) She’s always told me she loved me … no matter if I was Drew … or Gaby,” Gaby quietly offered as she recounted her morning walk to Erin’s.

As she looked at Jessica with tear filled eyes, she added, “In Erin’s store … she ... t ... told me ... that she (sniff) didn’t want to fight with me … ‘cuz I (sniff) meant too much to her ... she even kissed me on the lips.”

Clearly dumbfounded at Maddy’s mixed signals, Jessica briefly thought about what Gaby said and then quietly admitted it was her fault. With no hesitation, she quickly offered her sincere apology to Gaby.

“I’m sorry, honey. If I hadn’t accepted Amanda’s invitation to dinner … this Sam thing wouldn’t have happened.”

“It wasn’t Maddy?” Gaby asked.

“No, it was me. Amanda and I are friends and I thought Maddy might like to take a break from just having me around and enjoy an evening out with someone her age … so when Amanda asked us to dinner … I’m sorry, honey…” Jessica softly admitted as she cuddled Gaby and gently stroked her hair.

“I may have been wrong with my earlier comment about Maddy and Samuel, too. In hindsight … it was Sam who always seemed to go after Maddy. Until last night, I had no idea he was like that.”

“Why’d Maddy say those things to me, then?” Gaby whispered as she wiped the few remaining tears from her cheeks.

“I don’t know, Gaby. Maybe she was hurt at your accusations and her first reaction was to hurt you back … even if she didn’t mean those things she said. Girls can be like that. I can even remember doing the same thing a couple of times when I was a teenager. Talk to her on Monday,” Jessica softly offered.

Gaby silently nodded before she gently untangled herself from Jessica and got off the couch and they both went back into the kitchen to finish getting the food ready. When they got back in the living room, Jessica suggested Gaby go pick out a few CD’s. Later, with a Byrds CD playing softly in the background, the two girls were seated on the couch facing each other. Jessica was again marvelling at how feminine Gaby’s mannerisms seemed as she made herself comfortable.

“Now ... what’s on your mind?” Jessica inquired.

“Umm … you?” Gaby quietly replied. “I know I’m gonna cock this up …but … how come you’re so nice to Rhod … umm ... Em ... an’ me?”

“Meaning?”

“You’re not like some of the people I’ve heard in the school. I mean ... you’re not freakin’ out because Em an’ me are pretending to be girls. Why?”

“We both know you’re not pretending,” Jessica lovingly stated.

“You know what I mean...” Gaby softly answered with a smile

After a long thoughtful pause, Jessica softly replied.

“I don’t really know, Gaby … maybe it’s the way I was brought up … maybe it’s the kinds of friends I’ve had … or both … I don’t know. Does it really matter?”

Seeing Jessica’s eyes start to get moist from unknown memories, Gaby moved over on the couch and gave Jessica a sisterly hung.

“Sorry … I didn’t mean to…,” Gaby started to whisper when Jessica put up two fingers to her lips, stopping her from saying anything more.

“Nothing to apologize for, hun. Now … tell me more about yourself … I’m curious,” Jessica prompted after she gathered herself. “You mainly told me about you and Maddy, last night … but you never really spoke about your parents … and Jules. How have they been with Gaby all this time?”

“Umm … really great!” Gaby admitted.

“Even before all my tests, they seem to enjoy having Gaby around. They’ve all encouraged her to appear at different times … but … I have to give top honours to Mum and Mad for that. Jules might be a close second, though…” Gaby’s voice faded as she seemed to be deep in thought.

“What about your dad?”

“He just goes with the flow. I don’t remember a time when he’s questioned ‘Gaby’ … but he’s always been there for me,” Gaby answered.

“When I think about it ... it wasn’t hard at all for Dad or Jules to accept Dr. Sanwari’s letter.”

“Compared to some I’ve known … you’re extremely fortunate to have family that loves Gaby as much as they did Drew,” Jessica allowed.

“We-l-l-l … I think Jules loves having Gaby around a lot more than Drew. She encouraged Gaby to appear more than a few times … an’ you know what? She always stayed with me to make sure I was okay,” Gaby ventured with a smile.

“To tell the truth … I think Jules an’ I are a lot closer as sisters. I mean … Drew an’ her were always at each other … somehow.”

“And now?” Jessica asked.

“We can tell each other things we couldn’t before … share things an’ comfort each other. Drew couldn’t do any of that,” Gaby confided.

“I can’t explain it … but … I like being her sister. It’s like we’re really close … ya know?”

“Yeah … I do,” Jessica quietly admitted.

“Ya know … since we went skiing the other weekend, she’s changed … kinda,” Gaby disclosed.

“How?”

“She looks out for me now. Maybe she always did in her own way ... but … ever since you guys had to come looking for Mad an’ me … we’ve talked every night … kinda like us … wanting to know if I’m okay with things … how I feel an’ all that.” Gaby continued and in a soft voice added, “Sometimes … she just holds me while I let it all out. It’s almost as if she knows when I need someone…”

“Big sister’s can be like that at times,” Jessica whispered. Gaby was about to say something but instead relaxed into the couch before sitting up as if she was about to speak. Pausing for a moment, Gaby had an idea.

“Gaby’s first dance was fancy dress … last Easter … at the school. If you’ll logon your system for me, I can show you photos of the costume that Jules chose for Drew to wear!” Gaby enthused as she nodded towards Jessica’s computer.

She mentioned that the ‘gang’, including Jules went as Manga characters and they drew for their costume choices from a short list of characters. She also mentioned that she later found out that as the one running the draw, Jules had ‘fixed’ it so that Maddy and Drew would wear matching costumes. Within mere moments, Gaby was at the keyboard going to the Obicon web site that Maddy’s Mum posted their photos on.

“We wore the same costumes here as we did for the dance.”

“I never knew these costume things were so popular...”

“That’s Maddy and me. I was Chii Light … and Mad was Chii Dark,” Gaby pointed out after she scrolled through a few pictures.

“I assume those are wigs you and Maddy are wearing,” Jessica observed as she stood beside Gaby, looking at the monitor screen.

“Uh huh … Drew would never get away with hair like that.” Jessica smiled to herself as she noted Gaby’s voice had a dreamy quality to it.

“You’re both very pretty in those costumes. I can see where you got the idea to switch this weekend … the two of you could be identical twins,” Jess commented. She put her hand on Gaby’s shoulder as she knelt beside her and without taking her eyes off the screen, softly pointed out, “I think you look quite beautiful with long hair.”

“Maddy’s told me the same thing … a few times,” Gaby replied in that same soft, quiet, dream-like voice Jessica heard earlier.

“You going to let it grow it out now that you’ve decided to remain Gaby?” Jess quietly asked.

“I’d like to,” Gaby smiled as she replied in a quiet, whisper-like voice.

After Jessica shut off her computer, the two adjourned back to the living room. While she went back into the kitchen to put on the water for a coffee, Gaby changed the CD and soon Led Zeppelin, could be heard throughout the house.

“I’m having a coffee … you want tea or soda?” Jessica called out.

“Ummm … tea please!” Gaby called back as she stood reading the play list of the CD she just put on.

“Nice choice!” Jessica remarked as she returned to the couch with her coffee and Gaby’s tea. As she settled back on the cushions, she asked Gabs to continue telling her about her family.

“Now … I want to know all about your mom!” Jessica playfully enthused. “I know you mentioned that she doesn’t know about Dr. Sanwari or the tests …so ... how’d you think she’ll react to Gaby?”

“Ummm … ecstatic?” Gaby playfully replied. “I really think Mum already knew an’ accepted that she had two daughters a long time ago … an’ she thought Drew only dropped in from time to time.”

“Gaby … c’mon now!” a disbelieving Jessica answered.

“Would you believe me if I told you that Mum hasn’t spent even a half day with Drew since she signed with Team Apollinaris over a year ago? It’s always been Gaby,” Gaby revealed.

“Go on,” Miss Bell urged, obviously intrigued with Gaby’s statement.

From the time Mum first dressed me as Gabrielle to her Xena for a charity tandem bike race … Mum an’ Dad have always had a rule … when I’m dressed as Gaby … I’m treated as a girl … even when I’m alone with the family! They said if they always treated me as Gaby, there was less chance of anyone calling me Drew if we went out, when I was Gaby.”

“Logical … but I still don’t see…”

“Before Mum joined Team Apollinaris, she was interviewed for the Comic ... that’s a cycling magazine. She said it was only to wind up the reporter, but she wanted ... an’ got ... both Drew … and Gaby ... to appear with her in the article. Or like whenever Mum an’ Drew were out together on a ride or something … she’d never correct people if Drew was mistaken for a girl. The couple of times Drew made the local paper for something … they always identified me as Jenny Bond’s daughter, Gaby … an’ Mum never asked the papers for a correction. Don’t even get me started with Gaby and Team Apollinaris!” Gaby joked.

“You opened the door,” Jessica smirked.

“Let me put it this way … Drew’s never been to Germany! It’s always been Gaby. People always mistook me for a girl … so if Drew started out on the trip, somebody or something always made sure Gaby appeared for the rest of the trip … an’ Mum being the only one knowing German, never corrected people. She said it was easier just to go with it … an’ Dad always followed her lead.”

“Did it ever bother you? … Drew … I mean,” a curious Jessica asked.

“A bit. Mum tried to correct people once ... an’ they didn’t believe her ... so she just let them believe what they wanted.”

“What happened?” Jessica questioned.

“It was the first time all of us visited Mum at the Team’s training facility in Bad Neuenhar … an’ it was the first time we met Kat … she’s Maria Pingers’ daughter.”

Jessica gave Gaby a confused look. “Maria’s the team's road captain …”

“Anyway ... the three of us were in our hotel room talking, when Kat asked why Jules an’ me were sharing a room. That’s when Jules told her about the hotel insisting I was a girl an’ I was to share with her instead of Dad or we wouldn’t be allowed to stay there! Hellooo ... Gaby!” Gaby sarcastically joked.

Upon seeing a smirk appear on her host’s face, Gaby continued with her tale.

“Don’t laugh …it gets worse!” Jessica put her finger to her lips and the smirk disappeared. Stifling her own giggle, Gaby went on with the story.

“That’s when Jules told Kat all about Gaby ... an’ Kat said she thought I made a cute girl. A few minutes later, Mum comes in the room an’ announces there’s a formal reception being held later in the evening … an’ like usual … Drew had nothing suitable to wear. Kat jokingly suggests I go as Gaby an’ Mum likes the idea! So when it came time to get ready … Mum took me back to her flat an’ lent me some clothes including a cocktail dress and helped me with my make-up an’ hair. Then at the reception … she goes an’ introduces me to the team an’ all her friends as her youngest daughter.”

“And that’s when it bothered you...” Jessica concluded.

“Yeah ... later back at our hotel, when she was saying g’nite ... I told her how I felt about letting everyone think I was her daughter all the time ... but I think she saw that without me havin’ to tell her.”

“What did she say about that?”

“I don’t know wot she was thinkin’ and I never thought to ask. I do remember I was sittin’ up in bed an’ she apologized while she held me ... an’ she was crying.”

“The next day when I joined her an’ the team for a training ride ... she tried to introduce me as her son … an’ they wouldn’t believe her. They thought she was joking … so she let it go an’ now the team only knows me as Gaby … except for the Pinger’s, anyway.”

“You do have some interesting times … don’t you? I’ve always been curious ... something about Britney’s photos. What about the trip she took with you and your Dad, to Germany?” Jessica questioned.

“Dad couldn’t go … it was my Gran who took Brit an’ me … an’ yeah … Gaby did go, but only because someone didn’t put my bag on the plane an’ Britney offered to share her things.” Gaby started to blush when she revealed that to Jessica.

“Britney showed me her photos of the two of you on the trip, but you mean you spent the entire time as Gaby? How’d you get back?” Jessica wondered.

“Gran told the guy at immigration I was ‘transitioning’ … whatever that means,” Gaby confessed.

“She told him you were in the process of changing your sex from male to female,” Jessica explained.

“Oh! She wasn’t far off … was she?” Gaby smiled.

In a much more quiet and sombre tone, she added, “Ya know what? In spite of everything, Mum was right … somehow she knew…”

“I think it comes with motherhood. My mom was the same way with me. I couldn’t sneak a thing past her … not even a thought,” Jessica smiled.

In a normal voice, Gaby added, “I think you and Mum would really like each other. Maybe you’ll get to meet her some day.”

“Maybe someday I will. I’d really like to meet her,” Jessica agreed.

“When we talk next, I think I’m gonna thank her an’ tell her how much I love ‘er,” Gaby pondered.

“Maybe we can make that sooner than you think,” Jessica smiled to herself.

“Dad’s something else,” Gaby began. “He’s the bike genius behind Mum an’ me. He used to help Mum, but after she went pro … he concentrated on my cycling. He’s the only one who works on my bikes … takes me to all my races … an’ things like that.”

“How’s he with seeing his son one minute and Gaby the next?” Jessica quietly asked.

“Dad’s never encouraged Gaby to appear ... but everytime she has, he’s never questioned ‘why’ ... but instead just treated me as his daughter. Then we got Dr. Sanwari's letter...”

Gaby’s voice went quiet as she recounted that morning and how Dave accepted his daughter with open arms.

“He had to know ... even before I got the letter...” Gaby’s voice faded as she reached for her tea.

Taking a small sip, she let herself sink into the cushions against the back of the couch. As she got comfortable, she looked at Jessica while she told her more about her dad. She mentioned how he wanted to be an archaeologist when he was at university but settled on his present job after he married Jenny, because they needed the money.

“Dad still loves old things. I think he knows where every castle an’ old ruins are in England an’ sometimes it even feels like we’ve been to them all!” Gaby jokingly added.

“Sounds like I’ve something in common with your father. I like history too,” Jessica offered.

“Why don’t you teach it, then?” Gaby asked.

“I do. History and Geography alternate terms at AHS. I taught History in the Fall term and now I’m teaching Geography this term,” Jessica explained.

Gaby looked over at the bookshelves by the computer and noticed all the titles covering the American Civil War and the American Indian.

While observing Gaby, Jessica commented, “What your father sees in old castles and other ruins … I see in the artifacts and the battlefields of the Civil War.”

“No mo’ battlefields around here … are there?” Gaby jokingly asked.

“Getting tired of history, are we?” Jessica playfully responded.

“Just the fields, ma’am,” Gaby replied in a deadpan voice. After the two had a short giggling fit, she glanced again at the bookshelves and asked, “You interested in Indians, too?”

“I’ve had an interest in the American Indian since my dad took me to a real pow-wow at a Sioux Reservation … after that … I was hooked!”

“Wow ... how old were you?” Gaby wondered.

“I was eight a the time. Since then, I’ve collected things and did a lot of reading as well as visiting different Reservations all over North America and at times, even talking with the elders ... still do … when I can,” Jessica offered.

“Kewel!” Gaby enthused.

“I’ve got a bunch of things upstairs you might find interesting!” Jessica enthused as she got off the couch and headed for the stairs. Gaby quickly finished her tea and was soon was following a couple of steps behind Miss Bell.

“Don’t stand there, Gaby … c’mon in. I’m sure you’ve been in a girl’s room before,” Jessica playfully coaxed.

“But … but it’s … your … room,” stammered Gaby.

“Uh huh … now come over here and sit beside me. How can I show you anything if you’re out in the hall?” Jessica playfully urged as she patted her bed.

As Gaby came over and sat on the edge of the bed, Jessica looked thoughtfully at her before exclaiming, “First … we have to get rid of those slippers! Go on … take them off,” Jessica coaxed and then disappeared into her closet. She quickly found what she wanted and walked back to Gaby. Smiling to herself, Miss Bell looked at the teenage girl sitting in front of her and looking every inch like a proper young lady in her nightgown, kicking her bare feet like a little girl.

“Here … these shouldn’t be a problem … I’m just guessin’ … but … we look to be about the same shoe size.” Jessica presented Gaby with a pair of moccasin boots. “Real buckskin and they make great slippers for cold nights.”

As Gaby pulled them on, Jessica explained they were part of her aboriginal collection and that they like many items in her collection were Mohawk in origin.

“Walk in them, see how they feel.”

“They feel nice!” Gaby enthused as she walked around the room. When she returned to sit on the edge of the bed, she began to remove the moccasins.

“Keep ‘em on, Gaby ... they look good on you.”

“Okay ... thanks!”

“Don’t tell Maddy, but they look a lot better than those slippers,” Jessica smirked.

While she remained sitting on one end of the bed, Jessica laid out an assortment of earrings, necklaces, bracelets, a photo album, a bird’s feather and a rawhide string, beside her. As Gaby was thumbing through the photo album, Jessica also brought out a few items of clothing.

“These are things I picked up from the Reservations. Everything here is made by native artisans,” Jessica proudly explained. “That album is a scrap book of stuff I’ve collected over the years … whaddya think?”

Gaby was full of questions as she looked at everything on the bed closely and Jessica did her best to answer all her questions, demonstrating her knowledge of the North American Indian.

“What’s this?” Gaby asked as she carefully examined the feather.

“This ... is a tail feather from a Nighthawk. I got this from a Mohawk Reservation up in Canada where the Nighthawk is native to the area.” Jessica gently took it out of Gaby’s hand while explaining the story behind the Hawk feather.

“Want to see what it looks like on you?”

“Yes, please!” Gaby enthused.

“Do you know how to braid?”

“I sometimes do Jules’ hair,” Gaby replied.

“That’s a start. Now, this is worn on the left side of the head … so it’s not as hard to braid as if you were trying to braid your own hair at the back,” Jessica explained.

“I’ll put it on myself first … you watch … then you can try it … okay?” Jessica explained everything as she did it, while Gaby followed along.

It looks really beautiful on you, Jessica...” Gaby remarked once Jessica had finished.

“Why ... thank you, Gaby! You want to try it now?” Jessica asked as she started to take it out.

She handed both the feather and the rawhide strip to Gaby and watched as she tried to put it in her own hair. After some initial struggling, Jessica had her try it in front of her dresser mirror and following a few less-than-successful attempts, Gaby was able to do it by touch without looking in the mirror. A short time later at Jessica’s urging, Gaby was looking over the various pieces of native jewellery on the bed. Finally she settled on trying on a wide, colourfully beaded, choker and pair of earrings, each with a single small real feather which she felt complimented the Hawk feather that she still wore in her hair. After helping Gaby with the choker, Jessica took a step back to admire her teenaged guest.

“Well?” Jessica asked as she had Gaby turn around to look in her dresser mirror. Gaby beamed as she moved her head side to side.

(giggle) “These tickle!” (giggle) Gaby smiled as the earrings touched her neck when she turned her head. “You wear these?”

“Not to school … but I do … when I go out,” Jessica suggestively replied.

“You’ll have to tell me where you got these. Maybe when Mum comes to the States again with the team … she can find time to pick me up my own,” Gaby cheerfully suggested. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized what she said and suddenly became very quiet.

“I’m sure she will, honey ... she will,” Jessica quietly replied as she hugged a misty-eyed Gaby. When they released the hug, Gaby dabbed her eyes.

“Sorr…” Gaby was stopped mid-sentence by Jessica shaking her head.

“What did I tell you downstairs?”

Gaby broke into a smile as she gave Miss Bell a quick hug.

For the next while, the two sat on Jessica’s bed sounding more like sisters, candidly talking about everything and anything. As midnight approached, both agreed they had a full day planned for the next day and set about cleaning up and getting ready to turn in.

“We forgot the popcorn!”

“Gives us something to look forward to for next time … right?” Jessica suggested.

“I’ll remember you said that! G’nite Auntie Jess,” Gaby allowed as she gave Jessica her good-night kiss on the cheek.

“Good-night, honey. See you in the morning,” Jessica replied as she turned out Gaby’s light after she got into bed.

 
 
Comments are gratefully appreciated

---

 
To Be Continued...