Lizzie and Red were alone again in the condo. They had looked at the pictures Dembe and Isabella had brought of the townhouse she wanted and Red had agreed to purchase the property for her. Dembe had opted to spend the night with them again as he, Red and Liz were leaving the next day for the safe house outside Portland, Maine and they wouldn't be seeing her or the baby for a while. Red had covered Ellie in kisses before handing her back to her mother, who he then hugged and kissed before whispering softly "I love you so much" into her ear. He had felt emotional as they along with Kate took their leave. He was still glancing at the door when Liz cleared her throat to bring his attention to her.
"Can I ask you a very personal question?"
"Of course."
"When did Dembe become a father? And did you know Isabella's mother? She looks biracial to me, is she?"
Red stared at her for a moment before looking away. "Those are three very personal questions, Lizzie." His mind went back to the day Dembe came to him and told him Gabrielle was pregnant. He was so scared that I would be furious and maybe I should have been. But when he told me he loved her, how could I be angry? When she died…he was devastated and I had to hold him together and help him with Isabella. We did our best by her, to shield her from what we do. We made sure she had the best of everything. I remember when her husband was killed, Dembe thought we must be cursed, so much death has visited us. But, we survived; we're survivors and we're still here.
Suddenly, he remembered Liz was waiting for an answer. He said, "Dembe had just turned nineteen when he told me he was going to be a father. He and Gabrielle had been dating for almost a year; she told him she was pregnant on his birthday. I liked her very much. She was a lovely young French woman so yes, Isabella is biracial."
"Oh. What was Gabrielle like?"
Red stretched in his chair and stood. "I have told you as much as I'm comfortable with; Dembe has to tell you the rest. It's really his story to tell. I'm going to my room, I'll see you later."
Liz watched Red head upstairs. I'm going to have to ask Dembe about this one day. There is so much about him that I don't know. There is so much about both of them I don't know.