Даниэла Стил - Turning Point

Stephanie was fifteen minutes late to meet her colleagues when she ran through the airport, her long blond hair flying, in running shoes and jeans, a pink sweater, and a fur jacket she was going to wear if they went out to dinner somewhere nice. Her parka was in her suitcase, and she’d been afraid to put her fur jacket in her checked luggage so she wore it. She was out of breath when she spotted Wendy and Bill outside Starbucks, and recognized them both immediately.

“I’m so sorry I’m late. My sons were crying when I left, I almost forgot my iPad.” She looked stressed and didn’t add that her husband was pissed at her for going.

Bill asked about her sons, and volunteered that he had two daughters in London, a little older than Aden and Ryan. It gave them something to talk about. Wendy said she had no children, but didn’t say it was because she had been the mistress of a married man for six years, and still was, while her biological clock was ticking. She had wanted children when she was younger, but doubted now that she would ever have any. It had begun to feel like it was too late, and she didn’t want a baby while Jeff was still with his wife, nor did he. He was careful to make sure that never happened, and so was she. It would have been a disaster, and he had made it clear that he expected her to have an abortion if she ever got pregnant.

They heard their flight called over the PA system, and walked slowly toward their gate, assuming that the fourth member of the group could get himself on the plane, since he was late. They wanted to board and settle in for the long flight, and just as they reached the gate and handed their boarding passes to the gate agent, Tom Wylie joined them. He was as fair as Stephanie and they looked like brother and sister. They were both tall and thin with long legs. He was wearing a navy turtleneck, jeans, a proper overcoat, and black suede loafers. He seemed sophisticated, and smiled at each of them as he apologized for being late.

“Overslept. Sorry. Late night.” He grinned at them.

“Were you on call?” Bill asked sympathetically and Tom laughed.

“Not really,” he said in an undervoice. “I had a date. A new nurse in the ER.” He looked so wicked when he said it that Bill laughed, as they followed Stephanie and Wendy onto the plane and found their seats. Their seat assignments were in pairs on either side of the aisle, and they automatically sat with the two men on one side, and the two women on the other. They were chatting comfortably with each other before the plane took off. Tom asked Bill his marital status, was delighted to hear he was divorced, and told him that he had the names of several nightclubs, and they should go out together some night. Bill laughed at the suggestion.

“That’s not really my thing. I go to bed early and I’m an early riser, and I’m planning to see my daughters on the weekends.”

“There will be no early nights in Paris!” Tom said with the voice of authority and Bill laughed again. Clearly, Tom was planning a busy nightlife while they were there. He wasn’t going to waste a single moment.

“Maybe one of the French doctors will join you for a night on the town,” Bill suggested. They were going to be meeting their French counterparts in two days, but had read nothing about them yet. The DEM in San Francisco had been more organized about sharing information. They had a schedule of their first day of meetings, and a list of the names of the participants, but after that they would be in the hands of the French authorities that handled emergency services. They’d also been given access information for their apartments. They each had an apartment in the same building, in the Seventh Arrondissement. The apartments were supposedly small but functional in one of the government buildings. Many of the buildings had been homes two hundred years before, and in recent years were purchased by the government and broken into offices and small apartments. At least they’d be together at the same address. As the two men compared information about the respective hospitals where they worked, the two women were getting acquainted. Tom was shocked at the security measures Bill had to deal with at SF General, and the number of shootings that occurred in the hospital itself, sometimes right in the emergency room. An intern had recently been grazed by a stray bullet. But Bill had nothing but good things to say about working there and how the hospital was run. He said the new modern facility that had been added a few years before was amazing. And the diverse nature of the patients was inevitable in a public hospital, and interesting for the medical staff.

“It’s much more civilized at Alta Bates,” Tom informed him, “though not as exciting.” They talked about the recent fire, and the last act of terrorism in Paris. Bill and Tom each purchased a breakfast roll, and a flight attendant poured them each a cup of coffee.

“Do you have children?” Stephanie asked Wendy, who regretfully shook her head.

“I’m not married. And it’s a little late for that now, although I have a lot of friends in their forties having first babies,” Wendy said quietly.

“Boyfriend?” Stephanie asked bravely. They were going to be seeing each other every day, and she wanted to know more about her. Wendy hesitated before she answered.

“More or less,” she responded vaguely, which told Stephanie the relationship was less than perfect. Wendy didn’t offer the information that he was married. “We see each other once a week. We’re both busy. He’s a cardiac surgeon at Stanford.”

“That must be easier in some ways,” Stephanie said wistfully. “At least he understands what the work pressures on you are like. My husband is a freelance writer, and he takes it personally every time I have to go in to work at night. We fight constantly about how much time I can spend with our kids. He works from home, so he’s with them a lot. I’m always feeling guilty, and the boys were crying when I left this morning. It’s so difficult always being pulled between your family and your job. I feel like I never give enough to either one, and someone is always pissed. I think if I had known that, I’d have waited to have kids. Your friends having them in their forties are a lot smarter. I was still a resident when I got pregnant with my first one. It’s been insane ever since. I just hope I still have a husband when I get home from this trip. He is not happy about my spending a month in Paris. What about your boyfriend?”

“He thought it was a great idea,” Wendy said, smiling at her. She liked Stephanie, she was friendly and direct and open. “A little too much so,” Wendy added. “He’s going skiing for two weeks while I’m away. It feels weird not seeing him for a month, but we don’t see much of each other anyway. His specialty is transplants so he works even more than I do.”

“I feel so lucky that we got sent on this mission. I’m fascinated to hear how they do things differently from us. Do you speak French?” Stephanie asked her.

“Only what I learned in high school. I’ve forgotten all of it. I’m not sure I can get past ‘bonjour.’ ”

“I took Spanish, so you’re in better shape than I am. I think all the doctors we’ll be dealing with speak English. At least I hope so.” They were like two girls going off to college and sharing what they knew about the school.

Wendy got to work on her computer after they took off, and Stephanie watched a movie. The men had breakfast and talked for a long time, and then watched movies too. And eventually they all fell asleep and slept for several hours. They had another meal before they landed, and were glued to the windows as they flew over the city on a cold winter day, and then landed at Charles de Gaulle airport at six A.M. local time on Monday. It was seven in the morning local time when they left the airport with their bags, found the van and driver who had come for them, and were driven into the city as the sun came up. They were all wide awake and had slept well on the flight. Stephanie texted Andy that she had landed safely and he didn’t respond. It was ten P.M. for him by then and she knew the boys would be asleep and he might be too.