The only one unaffected by this speech was Isabel, yet it was she who appeared to change the most. Her silence after the speech was utterly different than her silence before the speech. The tension was gone, the expectations she had been disappointing were gone.
Miss Roc no longer saw a retard. She no longer put stock in the psychologist's opinion. It was not that she understood everything Isabel said. She just understood what Isabel did, what she had experienced. In fact, she was unable to separate from Isabel the same way she separated from her guests, a distance she needed to function as a host, a mediator, a judge.
She felt so much understanding, in fact, that she couldn't think of a single question for her. But the show. The show. Do the show. When the show is over, you can think, you can feel. Then you can live. Then you will dare to embrace her.
But the show. If you cannot ask Isabel, ask Donald, your old standby. Your stepping stone. Your ace.
"Donald, what do you know about all this?"
"I don't remember."
"What do you remember about Uncle Buck?"
"He was funny."
"Mrs. Uffizi, what do you remember about that night?"
"Buck was drinking a lot. He got a little crazy when he drank."
"But what happened, Mrs. Uffizi? Tell me what happened that night."
"Oh, he gave such a scream. Little Rose comes running by and I just kind of stare out the screen door a bit. He doesn't come in, so I go out there. He's calling terrible names. Calling Rose terrible names. Said Rose punched him in the ho-hums. We never known Rose to be violent before, but we never knew what she would do. Only Donald seemed to understand her, not that he could explain anything. We took her away the next day. Already done some research. Jerry cut the tree down. Funny to hear those words all together like that, instead of burning just a couple at a time. So we just said it was an accident, like giving her the benefit of the doubt, you know. Going to see her was a hard thing. She didn't say hardly anything and it didn't feel like family any more. We let it slide after a while."
Objects: dreams