“You know that young man?” Dr. Toure asked, concern touching his voice.
“It’s Philip, it must be Philip. He’s my cousin,” Jo said, pacing back and forth. The forest was gone, the halls and rooms looking the way they should once more.
“That’s not the name he gave us,” Toure said, but he didn’t sound as though he disbelieved her, either. “He calls himself Cable.”
Cable? She mentally shrugged, then followed it with a physical one. “Philip, Cable, either way, he’s my cousin. I’ve got to …” Got to what? Talk to him? After all this time? What could she possibly say? What could he possibly say? “I’ve got to—to go.”
The doctor regarded her with a gaze that assessed her state, physical and emotional. He was silent a long moment, then nodded slowly. “It’s a complex relationship, isn’t it? It’s written all over your face. I won’t go looking for him to drag him in front of you. But I will pass along a message, if there’s anything you’d like him to know. A way to contact you, maybe.”
She stifled an aggravated grunt. “If he’d wanted to get in touch with us, he could have any time over the last few years—but I’ll send you my contact info. Just in case.” She smiled a bit sourly. “Can’t hurt, I guess.”