Chapter Five: Big Girls Do Cry
Friday, March 16th, '07 8:00 a.m.
Ring Ring Ring
"Hello" Gabrielle answered her hotel phone sleepily.
"Good morning Ms. Helfire, this the wake up call you asked for last night. It is now eight o'clock." Gabrielle heard the receptionist's voice on the other end.
"Oh, thank you. Could you have room service send up pancakes and sausage with orange juice please?" Gabrielle asked.
"Sure Ms. Helfire, no problem. They should be up in a half an hour." replied the receptionist.
"Thanks." Gabrielle replied as she sat up.
"You're welcome. Have a nice day miss." said the receptionist.
"You too." Gabrielle said and she hung up the phone.
Gabrielle faught the urge to slide back under the covers.
"No...I have to get up, Dr. Williamson is comming." Gabrielle said to herself as she threw off the covers.
Gabrielle shivered from the temperature change of her nice warm bed to the cold room. She then got up and opened the curtains. Her new room had a beautiful view of the city. The room was about twice the size of the room she had shared with Becky. She had a king size bed with a pretty big closet. With all her close hung up they only took up about a third of the closet and she was able to spread out her shoes so she could see every pair without having to move any others.
She had a large bathroom with a good size tub/shower and the dresser doubled as her vanity. She had a four person table and her mini-fridge was twice the size of the one in the room she and Becky had shared. As Gabrielle got in the shower she remembered the convesation she had with Becky at dinner.
LAST NIGHT
"What nobody pays attention to you so you have to go and make a fuss!?!" Becky whispered angrily in Gabrielle's ear from behind her.
"I don't care about attention Rebecca. I'm just tired of your fickle attitude." Gabrielle said calmly as she continued to eat, not bothereing to look at who was talking to her.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!?" Becky hissed.
"One day you're all budy budy with Carla and her friends and the next day you're complaining about how much you hate them." Gabrielle said as she faught to keep her anger under control, the last thing she wanted to do was create a scene, "I sick of listening and helping you with your problems and then having you ignore me when I need to talk about mine. I can't take this one way friendship anymore."
And with that Gabrielle stood up and left the table where she was sitting, she wasn't going to let her ex-best friend bait her into a fight. As Gabrielle walked from the dinning room to the lobby she noticed Becky, Carla and their friends were following her and was glad to spot Mrs. Mathews reading in a chair in the sitting area. Gabrielle walked over and sat in the chair opposite her teacher. Gabrielle had noticed that Becky and the others stopped following her when they noticed where she was headed.
Gabrielle talked with her teacher for about an hour and a half, and every so often she would look out of the courner of her eye and see Becky and the other girls sitting in the chairs farthest from her watching her. When Gabrielle stood again, Becky and the other girls stood as well and were going to follow her when they noticed Mrs. Mathews stand up too.
Gabrielle and Mrs. Mathews kept talking as they walked to the elevator together. It was then that Gabrielle was trully thankfull that she was on the greatest terms with her teacher.
PRESENT
Gabrielle wasn't sure just how Mrs. Mathews was able to give her, her own room. She was just glad to be out of Becky's room and away from Carla
After Gabrielle had washed up, washed her hair and rinsed she got out, put on her bathrobe and put her hair in a towel. Then she went to her closet and looked for something to wear. Gabrielle had just decided on a deep purple, form fitting, semi-low cut tank top and black dress pants with a pair of two inch heels when there was a knock at the door. When she looked through the peep hole and saw it was room service she opened the door.
"Good morning miss." said the bellhop, and Gabrielle noticed it was the woman from the past few days.
"Good morning,...again." Gabrielle said with a smile.
The bell hop chuckled when she recognized Gabrielle and asked, "Aren't you the girl from a couple floors down? Would you like the cart by the table?'
"Yes and yes please." Gabrielle answered as she stepped out of the way.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing up here with the teachers?" asked the bell hop as she put the cart by the table and started walking back to the door.
"Well..."Gabrielle answered, "I was having troubles with my room mate. My teacher was kind enough to move me. So do you work this whole wing?"
"Nope, just the rooms your female school mates are in. My name is Claire by the way." said the bell hop as she stepped out of the room and turned to Gabrielle.
"Mine's Gabrielle." Gabrielle said as she shook hands with Claire.
"Well have a nice day Ms Gabrielle. If there is anything else you need just give roomservice a call ok?" said Claire as she gave Gabrielle a smile.
"Alright, you have a good day aswell. I hope none of my class mates give you any trouble, some of them can be pretty grouchy in the morning." Gabrielle said returning the smile.
"Yeah, I've noticed." Claire replied with a chuckle, "See ya round."
And with that the bell hop left and Gabrielle shut her door. She decided to eat before she got dressed. When she was done breakfast and dressed she brushed her hair and dried it with her straightener. She parted her hair on the left and decided to leave it completely down and did her make-up. She then put on her heart shaped locket her mother and step-father had given her for her birthday this year.
Gabrielle grabbed a hundred and fifty dolars from the money her stepmother had sent her. That gave her a total of one-eighty. It was enough for lunch, her ticket and the dress she had seen on Tuesday when she had gone window shoping with Dr. Williamson after they had lunch. By the time Gabrielle was ready it was nine fifteen so she put the breakfast cart just outside her door and went down to the first floor.
Gabrielle decided to sit on the bench just outside the main doors and listen to her music and wait for Dr. Williamson. Gabrielle moved her head with her music and soon got lost in it. Her favorite song had just ended when Dr. Williamson pulled up to the hotel. Then right after, a limo pulled up behind him. Dr. Williamson got out of the car as Gabrielle stood up and she walked toward in him.
"Good morning Doctor." Gabrielle said with a smile.
"Good morning Ms. Helfire. Would you like to drive to the opera house?" Dr. Williamson asked as he held up the keys.
"I would love to thanks. The only thing is, I don't know how to get there. I wasn't paying attention during the ride there on Tuesday." Gabrielle answered.
"I'll tell you where to go, don't worry." Dr. Williamson said with a smile.
As Gabrielle was accepting the keys Becky, Carla, and their friends came walking out of the hotel.
"Jealous Gabby?" Becky asked hotly.
"Why would I be jealous of you ridding in a limo Rebecca, when I have the oppertunity to drive a Jag?" Gabrielle asked calmly and Dr. Lector could taste the hint of venomous pride and smugness in he voice and he found it interesting and refreshing.
The only reply Becky gave was a roll of her eyes and she said, "Whatever, at least my only friend isn't a psychologist."
"I'd rather have one friend who listens than five who can't be trusted not to talk about me behind my back." Gabrielle said and she walked to the driver's side of the car and got in.
As Gabrielle adjusted the seat and rearview mirror Dr. Williamson got in the car. Becky and the others just stood there watching like idiots. Gabrielle fastened her seat belt and started the car.
"Have a nice day Rebecca." Gabrielle said and she pulled away from the hotel with a smile.
"You are a very interesting young lady, Ms. Helfire." Dr. Williamson said when they were half way to the opera house.
"Am I?" Gabrielle asked as she raised and eyebrow, "What makes you say that Doctor?"
"Well, yesturday you yelled at Ms. Perry with shear venom in your voice. Today you had the same hint of venom only without the yelling and you completely toung tied her." Dr. Williamson replied, "When you pulled away from the hotel she flipped you off and yelled some kind of insult."
"Thats Rebecca for ya, she always been a hot head. Is it this turn Doctor?" Gabrielle asked with a smile.
"Yes it is, then its straight ahead till you see the opera house." Dr. Williamson replied. "Was your teacher upset with you for not coming back to the hotel on the bus yesturday?"
"No, she said that she would have been if I hadn't called after my argument with Rebecca. She had gotten worried when Rebecca finally noticed that I was gone and called her." Gabrielle replied, "She knows that I've had problems with Rebecca and Carla before and she said she try to keep an eye on them when ever she was around them, which will probably only be at breakfast and dinner."
"Well thats good, I would hate to have gotten you in trouble. What are you gonna do if you run into Ms. Perry while your not at the hotel?" Dr. Williamson asked.
"Well, I'm not really worried about running into her while I'm not at the hotel. The only reasons she's glad to be in France is for the designer clothes and the under eighteen clubs." Gabrielle replied, "And the only time I'm not in my room when I'm at the hotel is for dinner, and she doesn't know what floor I'm on never mind what my room number is."
Gabrielle pulled into the opera house parkinglot, parked, and turned off the jag.
"If, by some chance, I do run into her I probably won't have to do anything because she'll be so wrapped up in what ever she's doing she won't even notice me." Gabrielle continued as she got out of the car.
"I see, so she's not a threat to you is what you're saying. Gabrielle nods as she hand Dr. Williamson his keys Well thats good. So did you ask for a floor seat or balcony seat?" Dr. Williamson asked as they headed for the front door.
"Floor seats, but that was before I saw the view from the balcony. If they still have tickets, I'm going to ask if they have a balcony seat available." Gabrielle replied.
"I thought you said your tour guide was going to hold one for you?" Dr. Williamson said as he opened the door.
"I said he would TRY to hold one for me. He said he couldn't give me any garuntee he would be able to hold one." Gabrielle replied as they walked toward the ticket office, "I'm not gonna get my hopes up to high."
"I see... so you said MS. Perry was happy to be in France for the clothes and clubs. Why are you happy to be in France Ms. Helfire?" Dr. Williamson asked.
"Well like I said Monday at the Louvre, I've never been out of the U.S. before so this is a wounderfull expirence. I love France for its artistic side. The monuments, historical buildings and the art is what I'm interested in. I might like to go to a club but its not like it's at the top of my list." Gabrielle replied as they got to the ticket office.
There was no one behind the counter so Gabrielle rang the bell a couple of times. A minutes later a man came to the counter and Gabrielle noticed it was the man that was her tour guide on Tuesday.
"Hey Chuck!" Gabrielle said with a smile.
The man behind the counter looked confused and then he recognised Gabrielle.
"Ms. Helfire! I'm sorry it took me a minute to recognise you." Chuck replied.
"I'm here to pick up my ticket, you said you would try to hold one for me." Gabrielle said, "Please tell me you were able to hold one."
"I'm sorry Ms. Helfire." Chuck said Gabrielle's smile faded, "We had some very important people come in right after your group left and the bought the last ten floor seats, and the balcony seats were all sold out by Wednesday ."
"Oh, thats alright. Well what about the weekend then?" Gabrielle asked wishing she had bought the ticket the first time she was here.
"We have a show on saturday but that's for the VIP's I'm sorry miss." Chuck replied as he watched the hope dissappear from Gabrielle's face.
"Ok, well...umm.." Gabrielle started.
"We have a mailing list. We can mail you a flyer when tickets fot the next play go on sale." Chuck added with a small smile.
Gabrielle's eyes lit up and Chuck got out a mailing list form.
Ten minutes later Gabrielle and Dr. Williamson were walking out of the opera house. Gabrielle stopped infront of the bench that was next to the door and pulled out her note pad.
"Whats the matter?" Dr. Williamson asked.
"Nothing,...There's a shop around here that I wanted to go back to today." Gabrielle replied, "I just can't remember what the name was."
"Alright,... well the only shops we walked by Tuesday are on that side." Dr. Williamson said as he pointed to the right, "It shouldn't be that hard to find.
"Ok,...ah ha there's the name. It's a dress store. I may not be able to go to the play this Friday but that doesn't mean I should wait a couple of weeks to buy a new dress." Gabrielle said as they started walking.
Both Gabrielle and Dr. Williamson were silent while they walked. Gabrielle was thinking of what she wanted to do the rest of the week. She wanted to find things she could do by herself because she figured Dr. Williamson had to work, and she didn't want him to think she couldn't do anything alone.
Dr. Lecter was watching Gabrielle as they walked. He was thinking about when he should ask her to go to the play with him. The tickets he had picked up were for the Saturday show. The opera house had put him on the VIP list last year after he had become a secondary curator at the Louvre. He didn't work with the art that was already in the museam that much. His job was more trying to find lost art and any other art that would benifit the museam.
"This is it." Gabrielle said as she stoped infront of the store, looking at the dress in the window.
They went into the store and were greated by a very friendly woman. She spoke to them in French and Gabrielle looked at Dr. Williamson with a quizical look. He explained to the woman that Gabrielle didn't understand French the woman spoke in almost perfect English.
"I'm sorry miss. Welcome, my name is Bridgette. Would you like some help with finding what you need?" the woman asked
"Yes please." Gabrielle replied, "Just a question though, how expensive are your dresses?"
"Are dresses are very inexpensive. The prices start at twenty dollars and go no higher than sixty." the woman replied as she saw Gabrielle's eyes go wide, "We don't carry designer lables so we don't have to jack up our prices. Would you like to get started?"
"Yes please." Gabrielle said and then she looked at Dr. Williamson and asked, "You don't mind, do you? I shouldn't be too long, I already have an idea of what I'm looking for."
"Not at all Ms. Helfire. And if you don't mind, I'm just going into the store next to this one while you picking out what you want. There's something I've been meaning to get." Dr. Williamson replied.
"Alright, I shouldn't be more than thirty minutes. Why don't we meet outside this store at...(Gabrielle looks at her watch: it is now ten thirty) ...eleven?" Gabrielle asked.
"Sounds good, ...well have fun." Dr. Williamson said with a small laugh.
Bridgette took Gabrielle gently by the arm as Dr. Williamson left and said, "Lets get your measurments before we start. It will help with picking out your size and the styles that will look best on you."
When Gabrielle came out of the store, half an hour later, she was carrying five dresses in a dress bag. She had been able to buy three floor length and two knee length dresses for only a hundred and ten dollars, she was quite pleased with herself. Gabrielle looked around she saw Dr. Williamson walking toward her from two stores down on her right.
"Did I take that long?" Gabrielle asked when Dr. Williamson reached her.
"No, I went down to the store on the corner after I was done in the store I told you about and got us each a bottle of water." Dr. Williamson replied as he held out the bottle of water he had bought for her, "I see you were able to find something you liked."
"Yes I did." Gabrielle said as she drapped the dresses over her left arm and took the bottle from Dr. Williamson, "Thank you Doctor."
Gabrielle was glad the bottle was the new Poland Springs bottle and not a twist off, it was easier to drink out of.
"Are there any other stores you wanted to go to around here?" Dr. Williamson asked as Gabrielle took a sip out of her water bottle.
"No this was the only one." Gabrielle answered and the started to walk back toward the opera house, "I had written down a couple of other stores but they were stores I thought Rebecca would like. We had planned to come here together before we had the argument, but I have no interest in them."
"Alright, well if there is nowhere else you want to go today we can go back to my house and have another therapy session, if you want." Dr. Williamson suggested.
"I don't know France well enough to want to go some where!" Gabrielle joked.
"Good point." Dr. Williamson said as he chuckled and then said, "My house it is then."
When they got to the car Dr. Williamson popped the trunk and Gabrielle layed her dresses flat, then Dr. Williamson put his bag in the trunk with them and shut it. This time Dr. Williamson was the one driving, and as they pulled out of the parking lot Gabrielle saw a horse and carrage go by.
"France still has horse pulled carrages?" Gabrielle asked.
"Yes they do. France is trying to be more enviromentally friendly. There are a lot of other countries in Europe that trying to be more enviromentally friendly." Dr. Williamson replied still thinking about when to ask Gabrielle to go to the play with him.
"Thats cool, America isn't that dedicated unfortunately. Instead of the horse and carrage they're trying to invent cars that run on corn oil and hydrogen." Gabrielle said as she watched the builings go by; then she turned to Dr. Williamson and said with a chuckle, "They don't have the patience for 'one horse power' anymore."
Dr. Williamson laughed as he pulled of the main road onto a back road. The back road was lined with trees and it was cool a quiet. Gabrielle was glad it was so quiet, the noise of the city was giving her a head ache. It may only be eleven-fourty but it had sounded like it was three or four. She could completely understand why Dr. Williamson had a house in the countryside.
Gabrielle sat in silence and listened to the birds quietly singing, and the sound helped relieve her head ache some what. Just then Gabrielle's phone went off and startled her out of her meditation.
"Hello?" Gabrielle answered, "Hi Mrs. Mathews...early check in? why?... Oh cool, go you...(Gabrielle laughs) ...Okay ...yep... yeah have fun...no they were sold out, but I signed up for the mailing list...you do?...sure that would be fun...(Gabrielle laughs again) ...at dinner?...Okay... was I going to what?...oh yeah, why should I leave it on?...six thirty, got it...buh bye."
Gabrielle hung up, shut off her phone and put it in her purse.
"Everything Okay?"Dr. Williamson asked.
"Yep, Mrs. Mathews was doing an early check in because she's going to see a movie that starts a twelve." Gabrielle said as she put her head back and watched the birds that were flying over them.
Gabrielle could smell the scent of fresh cut hay and inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. A memory of her step-grandparents farm played in her head. When the memory was finished Gabrielle opend her eyes and found that her head ache was gone. The scent of hay was strong and sweet, and Gabrielle couldn't help but smile.
Dr. Lecter watched Gabrielle out of the corner of his eye. He had noticed that she had been tense while the were in the city, and he sensed she had subconsciencely put up walls to protect herself. What she was protecting herself from he had no idea, but once they got out into the countryside he felt those walls come down and she completely relaxed.
Gabrielle was looking into the trees when she felt the car start to slow down. When she looked through the windshield she saw why Dr. Williamson had slowed to a stop. It was a doe and her baby, they were crossing the street. Gabrielle watched in awe as the mother deer helped her baby across the street. When they were both in the trees Dr. Williamson resumed driving.
"That was beautiful." Gabrielle said in a half whisper.
Dr. Williamson said nothing. He knew Gabrielle had said the statement more to herself than him. It took another ten minutes for them to get to Dr. Williamson's house. Dr. Williamson got out and grabbed his bag out of the trunk as Gabrielle got out of the car.
"Did you want to bring your dresses in and hang them so they don't wrinkle?" Dr. Williamson asked.
"That would probably be a good idea, thank you." Gabrielle replied as she walked to the trunk and took her dresses out of the trunk.
Dr. Williamson shut the trunk as Gabrielle hung her dresses over her arm. Dr. Williamson opened the front door and once again Gabrielle stepped into the living room.
"There's a hook here on the right side of the door, you can hang your dresses there." Dr. Williamson said as he shut the door.
"Thank you Doctor." Gabrielle said and she hung her dresses on the specified hook.
Dr. Williamson looked and his watch then said, "It's twelve, how about we make lunch then talk a little bit more about your father?"
"Alright,...I am kinda hungry." Gabrielle replied and she followed Dr. Williamson into the kitchen.
The kitchen was quite large. There were counters spanning three of the four walls. There was a table up against the fourth and an island in the middle of the room. All the appliances were stainless steel and the counters were made of black marble.
"Do you like to cook Ms. Helfire?" Dr. Williamson said as he opened the fridge.
"Yes, but I can't make much." Gabrielle replied.
"Well, what can you make?" Dr. Williamson asked as he looked at Gabrielle.
"Fried egg with cheese sandwiches, grilled cheese, tomato soup, spagetti, pizza if I have a bread machine and two hours, rice, taccos, and I'm really good a toasting marshmellows." Gabrielle replied, "Like I said, not much."
Dr. Williamson chuckled and said, "Well, it's more than most of the rich people in France. How about we have something simple like a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with tomato soup?"
"Alright." Gabrielle replied, "Sounds good."
After they ate lunch they cleaned up the kitchen and headed back into the living room with two glasses and a pitcher of water. They placed everything on coasters and sat down.
Dr. Lecter decided to ease into the difficult memories today. For the first hour and a half he had Gabrielle recall her happiest memories that involved her mother and step-father. Then he had her recall her happiest memories that involved her father, half-brother, and step-mother for another hour and a half. Gabrielle found that it was harder to remember her happiest memeories with her mom and step-father because she had so many.
Gabrielle had a much easier time finding her happiest memories with her father because most of her memories that involved him were unpleasant. For the next hour Dr. Lecter asked her to remember was her worst memories with her mother and step-father. Dr. Lecter found these memories to be quite mild, they were mainly of reprimands, her worst memory was when she was seven and got separated from her mother and step-father in the mall.
Dr. Lecter didn't spend much time on Gabrielle's best memories because he knew those weren't the problem. He had her remember them simply to to help her become comfortable. The purpose of going through her worst memories with her mother was to ease her in to the part of her life that was troubling her and holding her back.
Gabrielle had many subconscience triggers that were stopping her from doing what she really wanted to do, and Dr. Lecter's goal was to try to eliminate some of those before she had to go back to the U.S. What had to be done next wasn't going to be easy for Gabrielle but it had to be done, but first Dr. Lecter decided she should take a break.
"Alright,...It is now four o'clock. We've been talking for four hours, I think that's earned a break. What do you think?" Dr. Williamson asked with a chuckle.
"I think you're full of great ideas today Doctor." Gabrielle replied with a laugh.
Gabrielle stood up and streched, she had long since lost all feeling around her tailbone and was greatful for a chance to move.
"May I use your bathroom Doctor?" Gabrielle asked as she walked around the back of the couch.
"Of course, there's one off of the kitchen." Dr. Williamson replied as he motioned in the direction of the kitchen.
"Thank you." Gabrielle said and she walked away toward the bathroom.
When Gabrielle had left the room Dr. Lecter ran his hand through his hair. He was glad to help some one as a psychologist again. He had refrained from seeking a job in that profession becuase it would send up red flags and he would be found. He valued his life and freedom too much to risk being put in another cage. Being an art historian gave him some good job options but it was more of a hobby for him than a carreer. Dr. Lecter drained his glass then stood up and grabbed the pitcher.
Gabrielle came out of the bathroom and found Dr. Williamson refilling the pitcher and said, "That's a beautifull bathroom Doctor."
"Thank you Ms. Helfire. When I moved in here I had all the plumbing updated and ended up redoing every bathroom in the house, so the bathrooms and kitchen look more modern and every other room is still eight-teenth century." Dr. Williamson said as he shut off the faucet.
Gabrielle followed Dr. Williamson back into the living room and sat back down on the couch. Dr. Williamson refilled their glasses then walked over to the fire place and leaned against it.
"Are you ready to continue or would you like another minute?" Dr. Williamson asked gently.
"I'm ready to continue Doctor." Gabrielle said with a nod.
Dr. Lecter was a little surprised, most of his previous patience tried desprately to avoid their more painfull memories. They were afraid to plunge into the darkness that is pain, but not Gabrielle. She was ready to dive right into what made her hurt so much, to face it head on with her eyes open.
"Alright,..." Dr. Williamson said as he put his arm on the mantle, "When was the first time you were afraid of your father? I mean trully afraid, not when you were being reprimanded."
Gabrielle thought for a minute the said, "The first time I was trully afraid would be when I was eight. It was about a month after my birthday."
"What happend?" Dr. Williamson asked as he saw a grim look crossed Gabrielle's face.
"It was the first time I had seen him drunk and understood that he was drunk." Gabrielle said and she bowed her head, "My step-mother had been trying to keep me from seeing him drunk for years, but that night he came home before she could get me upstairs and in bed. It was then that I started learning the pros and cons of living right next to a VFW, on the up side we never had to worry about my father drinking and driving, the down side was that I only got to see my father about ten percent of the time I was at his house. Anyway...that night I was heading up the stairs when I turned around to ask my step-mother something when I saw him standing infront of the house. I remember beging my step-mother to let me say good night. I remember her carrying me out to him and when I said good night he smiled at me, and when he smiled he looked like the Joker from Batman with foundation on."
Gabrielle took a sip of her water and Dr. Williamson sat back down on the couch.
Dr. Williamson noticed Gabrielle was shaking a little as she continued, "I remember becoming frightened and burrying my face in my step-mother's shoulder. I don't remember what my step-mother said to my father but I know she scolded him. I kept my face burried in her sholder till she layed me in my bed. I remember her leaving my room the a minute later I heard her scolding him again. All he did was laugh and his laugh almost sounded evil. I put my head under my bed till I heard the front door close and the dead bolts locked. I crept out of my bed and looked out my window to the front yard. I saw my father pass out and collaps right before my step-mother shut off the front lights. That was the night I finaly understood why my father's breath was always bad. That was also the night I realized my father had a problem that he didn't want to fix."
One lone tear rolled down Gabrielle's cheek with her last sentence and she made no atempt to wipe it away, she was sick of hiding her feelings. Gabrielle felt something soft brush up against her hand an looked up to see Dr. Williamson holding out a pillow.
"Go ahead and let it out." Dr. Williamson said gently as Gabrielle took the pillow.
Gabrielle didn't need to ask what the pillow was for, her mother had done the same thing with her when she was younger. Gabrielle took a deep breath, put her face in the pillow and screamed as long and as lowd as she could. She broke into tears immedately following the scream. For the next hour Gabrielle cried and screamed into the pillow allowing her emotions to flow freely.
When Dr. Lecter sensed Gabrielle was done he went into the kitchen and came back with a cold, wet face cloth. He could tell the crying and screaming had taken a lot out of Gabrielle and was surprised she hadn't passed out. It had taken a lot for Gabrielle to let herself just cry.
Dr. Lecter sat down next to Gabrielle and said quietly, "Here, lay back."
Gabrielle allowed Dr. Lecter to gently push her back so her head was resting on the couch and put the cold face cloth over her eyes. A minute later Gabrielle had fallen into a light sleep.
For an hour and a half Dr. Lecter watched Gabrielle as she slept. Today he had found two differences between Gabrielle and Clarice. The first was that Gabrielle had the strength to just let her feelings out and break down, and the second was the way Gabrielle slept. Dr. Lector had watched Clarice sleep that night at the lake house while he had been waiting for Krendler to come home. Clarice had tossed and turned a lot in her sleep because of her "screeming lambs" that turned her dreams into nightmares. Gabrielle slept comfortably without tossing and turning.
When Dr. Lecter's watch said six-thirty he stood up, went around the coffee table back over to Gabrielle, took the face cloth of her eyes, and shook her gently.
"Ms. Helfire,...Ms. Helfire..." Dr. Lector called finding she was in a deeper sleep than he thought then said with a little more force, "Gabrielle."
Gabrielle worke with a start and sat right up. Looking around and remembering where she was, Gabrielle's face flushed slightly, and she became embarassed for falling asleep.
"I'm sorry Dr. Williamson, I didn't mean to fall asleep." Gabrielle appologize then asked, "What time is it?"
"You don't need to appologize Ms. Helfire. It's six-thirty, you've been asleep for the past hour and a half." Dr. Williamson replied.
"Thank you. I need to turn my phone on. Mrs. Mathews said she'd be calling around now." Gabrielle said as she reached for her purse.
Gabrielle pulled out her phone and turned it on. A minute later it rang and Gabrielle chuckled to herself.
"Hello Mrs. Mathews..." Gabrielle answered, "Yes...dinner's in what room?...okay...yeah I'm fine...yes I remembered...alright see you at dinner...buh bye."
Gabrielle hung up and put her phone back in her purse. When she looked around again she found Dr. Williamson at the door with her dresses draped over his arm.
"We should get going if you want to be on time for dinner." Dr. Williamson said as Gabrielle stood up.
Gabrielle nodded and walked to the front door.
When she tried to take her dresses from Dr. Williamson he ushered out the door as he said, "I'll carry them for you. You go get in the car, I'll drive."
Gabrielle didn't argue. She went to the car and got into the passenger side and buckled up. Dr. Williamson handed her, her dresses and shut her door. When he got in the car, he started it and put up the top. During the day, when it was sunny, it was nice to have the convertible top down but at night it was cold with the top down.
Neither Gabrielle or Dr. Williamson spoke during the ride back to Gabrielle's hotel. As they pulled up to the hotel, Gabrielle noticed Mrs. Mathews waiting for her again.
"Is nine-thirty good for tomorrow?" Dr. Williamson asked as Gabrielle got out of the Jag, "I'll take you site seeing around some of the outer towns of France."
"Yeah, thats sound good." Gabrielle answered, "Thank you,...Good night Doctor."
"Good night Ms. Helfire." Dr. Williamson said through the open window of the passenger side door.
Dr. Lecter waited till Gabrielle and Mrs. Mathews were inside before pulling away from the hotel and heading back home...
Please review!!!!! Chapter six is comming VERY soon!!!