"I think it's actually working," she declared happily.

"Pick out your clothes. They're waiting for us in the living room. Bruce is wearing a Santa Claus costume and beard."

"Oh, how peachy," she said.

When we went down, we found Daphne, dressed in her red Chinese robe and slippers with her hair neatly brushed and pinned and her face made up as if she had gotten up and prepared herself hours ago. She was sitting in a high-backed French Provencal chair, sipping coffee from a silver cup. Bruce was standing by the tree in his Santa outfit, beaming.

"Well, it's about time you prima donnas came down. When I was a little girl I couldn't wait to open my gifts."

"We're not little girls, Mother," Gisselle said.

"When it comes to getting presents, a woman is always a little girl," Daphne replied, and she winked at Bruce, who laughed, holding in his false stomach. "It's time, Santa," she said

"Ho, ho, ho," he cried, scooping up some gifts to bring to us. I sat on the settee to open mine and Gisselle opened hers in her wheelchair as Bruce made frequent trips back to the tree. We got more clothes, expensive designer sweaters and blouses, as well as skirts. We both received new leather half coats with matching boots and fur hats we would probably never wear. Bruce gave us charm bracelets, and there were gift packages of bath oils, talcum powders, and perfumes. As soon as Gisselle ripped one thing open and gazed at it, she was ripping at another.

"This is so much," I said. I was still baffled by Daphne's new generosity.

"There is a gift here I thought you'd like to bring to your uncle Jean," she said, holding up a package. "It's half a dozen of the silk shirts he always loved."

"You'll let me go to the hospital?" I asked, amazed.

"I'll have our driver take you tomorrow, if you like," she replied.

I turned to Gisselle. "Would you like to come along?"

"To the nut house? Are you crazy?"

"You used to go," I reminded her.

"Once in a blue moon and only because of Daddy," she said. "I hated it."

"But . . . just for Christmas."

"Pleeeze," she moaned.

"Take Beau, if you like," Daphne said. I stared at her in disbelief. I was speechless. "There are gifts here from your Cajun half brother, I believe," she said. "Bruce."

He fetched them quickly and brought them to us. They were beautiful diaries with hand-carved Cyprus wood covers depicting a scene in the swamp with Spanish moss, an alligator poking up its head, and terns swooping toward the water.

"A diary!" Gisselle blurted. "Like I would ever write down my secrets." She laughed.

"Well," Daphne said, looking first at Bruce, "we have a secret that we're about to announce. It's another Christmas present," she said. Gisselle widened her eyes and sat back in her chair as Bruce moved closer to Daphne. She reached up to take his hand and then turned to us and said, "Bruce and I are going to be married."

"Married! When?" Gisselle demanded.

"After the proper length of time since your father's death passes." She stared at us, her eyes raking our faces for clues to our true reactions. "I hope the two of you will be happy for us and welcome Bruce to the family as your new father. I know it's a bit overwhelming for you at first, but it would be best if we would be seen as a united family. Can I depend on the two of you?" she asked, and suddenly I realized why she had been so sweet.

This wedding was going to be a major social affair among the upper classes in New Orleans, and it was important to Daphne that it go as perfectly as a royal event. It would be in all the social columns and our family would be the center of attention from the day of announcement to the actual wedding. Important people would be invited to dinners between now and then, and Daphne certainly wanted us all to be seen together at the theater or the opera.

"I know I can't replace your father in your eyes," Bruce began, "but I'd like the chance to try. I will do all that I can to be a real father to you."

"Can you talk our mother into letting us come back home to live and go to school?" Gisselle demanded quickly.

Daphne's smile faded. "Just finish out the year at Greenwood, Gisselle. Bruce and I have a lot to do without worrying about you and your sister's daily needs. I'll give you permission to leave the grounds and I'll see to it that your allowances are increased," she added.

Gisselle weighed the compromises.

"We haven't heard a word from you yet, Ruby," Daphne said, focusing on me.

"I hope you'll both be happy," I said. We fixed our eyes on each other for a moment, gazing across the room like two gladiators considering whether to begin a new battle or settle for a truce. She decided to accept my cold blessing.

"Thank you. Well, now that all this has ended, we can go and have our Christmas Day breakfast." She put down her coffee cup and started to stand.

"Wait," Gisselle cried. She threw a look at me and then smiled at Daphne and Bruce. "I do have a surprise, something I've been saving for my Christmas present to you, Mother. And now," she added, "it can be your first wedding present too."

Daphne sat back cautiously. "And what would that be, Gisselle?'

"This!" Gisselle said, and she started to rise out of the chair, pretending it was a mammoth struggle. Daphne's face went from bewilderment to glee. Bruce laughed and put his hand on Daphne's shoulder. I watched as Gisselle tottered, steadied herself, took deep breaths, grimaced as if in pain, and then let go of the arms of her chair to stand free. She wobbled with her eyes closed and then, pretending it took all her concentration and strength, made one small step forward and then another. She looked like she was going to fall, so Bruce raced to embrace her and she collapsed in his arms.

"Oh Gisselle, how wonderful!" Daphne cried. Gisselle gulped in some air, her hand pressed to her chest, milking the event for all it was worth.

"I've been working on it," she gasped. "I knew I could get up and I have taken a step or two before, but I wanted to walk all the way to you. I'm so disappointed," she moaned. "I'll try again."

"That's all right. Your just doing this much is a wonderful Christmas present, isn't it, Bruce?"

"It sure is," he said, still holding her firmly. "You'd better take it easy." He guided her back to her wheelchair. As he helped her into it, she glanced triumphantly at me.

"Did you know about this, Ruby?" Daphne asked.

I looked at Gisselle and then at Daphne. "No," I said. This was a house and a family built on lies. My addition wouldn't even be noticed, and I was convinced Daphne and Gisselle deserved one another's deceit and conniving.

"What a surprise. And to keep it from everyone, even your twin sister, just so you could do it first for us. This is very nice of you, Gisselle."

"I promise, Mother," Gisselle pledged, "that I will work hard at regaining my ability to walk and be right behind you when you go down the aisle to marry Bruce."

"That would be . . . just fantastic." She looked at Bruce. "Think of how the wedding guests will react. Why, it's as if . . . as if my new marriage restored the health of this family."

"So you see, Mother," Gisselle said, "I can't go back to Greenwood now. I need daily rehabilitation work and Nina's good cooking instead of that dormitory slop. Just get me a tutor and let me stay here."

Daphne pondered for a moment. "Let me think about it," she said.

Gisselle beamed. "Thank you, Mother."

"Now then, I'm really hungry this morning. This has been a far better Christmas than I had anticipated," Daphne said, rising. "Santa?" She held out her arm and Bruce rushed to take it. I watched them leave and then turned to Gisselle. She was beaming from ear to ear.

"She'll let us stay home now. You'll see."

"Maybe she'll let you stay home, but not me," I said. "I don't have a handicap to miraculously overcome."

Gisselle shrugged. "Anyway, thanks for keeping your mouth shut and going along."

"I didn't go along. I just stood to the side and watched you two fill each other with lies," I said.

"Whatever. Here," she said, thrusting Paul's gift at me. "You probably have so many secret thoughts, you can fill two of these in a day."

I took the diary and started to follow as she wheeled herself out, but at the doorway, I paused to look back at the tree and the obese pile of open gifts. How I longed for a real Christmas morning again, when the truly important gift was the gift of love.

Beau arrived shortly after his own family had exchanged gifts, and I gave him my present, which was a gold identification bracelet I had bought him the day after Gisselle and I arrived home. Underneath I had the jeweler inscribe, "With all my love, always, Ruby."

"I have three of these that lay in my drawer at home," he said, putting it on, "but none of them had any meaning until now." He kissed me quickly on my lips before anyone came into the parlor.

"Now I have a favor to ask of you," I said. "And you can't laugh."

"What could that be?" He smiled widely in anticipation.

"Nina's going to burn some brimstone for us, to bless our love and keep the evil spirits from destroying it."

"What?"

"Come on," I said, taking his hand. "It doesn't hurt to be safe."

He laughed as we hurried down the corridor to Nina's room. I knocked on the door and entered when she said for us to come in. Beau nearly gasped at the sight of the small room cluttered with voodoo paraphernalia: dolls and bones, chunks of what looked like black cat fur, strands of hair tied with leather string, twisted roots, and strips of snakeskin. The shelves were crowded with small bottles of multicolored powders, stacks of yellow, blue, green, and brown candles, jars of snake heads, and a picture of the woman I knew to be Marie Laveau sitting on what looked like a throne. Nina often burned white candles around it at night when she chanted her prayers.