Chapter 9

“I should have stuck with Gamila.”

She of many names tossed another one into the mix. Jamila, that was what I thought of, only with a hard Ginstead of a J, like Gah-me-la. If I wasn’t mistaken, the name had Egyptian roots, which fit in with the accent. Nerd that I was, I studied such things just for fun.

“It was good enough thousands of years ago when the first Gamila was Gamila,” she said, “and it’s good enough now.”

“Très bien, ma belle. Gamila it is.” Delphine offered her a kiss on the cheek. Then, Gamila stole another, this one on the mouth. I could feel the attraction between them.

“My favorite was Samantha.” The little girl on the end had a quiet, timid voice. I’d barely heard it over the din of the others and wondered if they had.

“What was that, Pansy?”

She was Pansy, at least to Edward, who I surmised had not.