but donât worry if I donât. You can be sure that youâre all thatâs on my mind.â
She moved toward me as if she were going to give me a kiss, but the look on my face slowed her down, and she paused and then smiled quickly, grabbed her purse, and left. For a moment, it was as if all the air had gone out of the room with her. I felt the blood rush to my face. Of course, I knew Mama was gone, but it still felt as if I were deserting her, leaving her to be alone on the street. My father had deserted her and now me. I couldnât help it. I started to cry softly.
âWhat happened?â Jackie demanded as she stepped into the room. âDid she say she changed her mind, or her husband said no, or what?â
I shook my head. âNo. Iâm going,â I said.
âSo why are you crying?â
âIâm not going home,â I said.
She froze and then nodded and moved to hug me.
âThatâs where my mother said she was taking us when we left the beach that nightâhome.â
âYouâll find a place to call home someday, Sasha. Youâll make your own home when youâre old enough. Youâll marry someone wonderful and have your own children. Youâll see.â
I thanked her. Her words did give me hope. She was there the day I was discharged, and she followed Jordan March and me to the waiting limousine. I didnât know Iâd be leaving in a limousine. I had never ridden in one. At first, I thought she had rented it, but I quickly learned that it belonged to the Marches. The driver was very tall, easily six foot four or five. He was slim but with such perfect military posture Mama would have called him a flagpole. He had a thick, well-trimmed black mustache, a nose that looked as if it had been pinched by the doctor who had delivered him, and coal-black eyes. Mrs. March called him Grover, which I would learn was his first name. His full name was Grover Morrison. He had been the Marchesâ limousine driver for nearly four years. I didnât know it yet, but the Marches owned five other vehicles, and Kiera had an additional one, the one she had been driving the night of the accident.
âYou take care,â Jackie told me after I had beentransferred from the wheelchair into the limousine. She stood in the open doorway.
âI will,â I said. âThank you, Jackie.â
She nodded and backed away as Grover closed the door. He opened the door on the other side for Mrs. March.
âWell, now,â Mrs. March said. âAre you comfortable?â
âYes.â
âI could put a pillow under your leg.â
âItâs all right,â I said.
âDonât worry,â she said, patting my hand. âEverythingâs going to be fine.â
I wasnât worried as much as I was afraid. Before Daddy had deserted us, I had slept over at a friendâs house. That was really the only time I had ever been overnight at the home of strangers, and now I was going to live with some.
âYouâll have to wear that cast for months yet, Sasha,â she said, nodding at it, âbut Dr. Milanâs arranged for you to be up and about on a crutch soon. In the meantime, we have the wheelchair for you. Iâve already told Mrs. Caro that one of her duties now will be to wheel you out onto the patio in the afternoon. I want you to get some color and fresh air and not be shut up in a room like you were in the hospital.â
âWhoâs Mrs. Caro?â
âMrs. Caro is one of my housekeepers and also our cook. We have four housekeepers. The one in charge is Mrs. Duval. Sheâs been with us the longest and was actually Kiera and Alenaâs nanny as well. Her husband, Alberto, is what Donald calls our house manager. He is in charge of the grounds people, house maintenance, that sort of thing.â
âFour housekeepers? How many people work at the house?â I asked as we started away from the