Даниэла Стил - Turning Point

She brought up the subject of Andy again that afternoon when they went for a walk. She had thought about it and made a decision. “I’ll talk to him after you leave. If I do it before that, everything will be a mess for the month you’re there, but I can’t stay with you every night. I have to be with my children too. I’ll stay with you as often as I can.” It wasn’t what he wanted, but it was the best she could do. And there was another subject they hadn’t resolved. “What am I going to do about work if I move here with you?” In two weeks, they had leapt far ahead down the road and were already dealing with big issues much sooner than they would have otherwise. “How would I practice medicine in France?” she asked practically. “I’m not going to medical school all over again here.”

“You wouldn’t have to. You would have to present your academic and work records, take a test, and you’d have to learn French, but it’s feasible eventually,” he reassured her, which came as a surprise to her. So she wouldn’t have to give up her career for him, just her marriage, which was a lot.

“And I could probably get you a consulting job while you wait to be certified.” But it would still be an enormous adjustment practicing in another country and starting all over again. She needed to think about that too, or she might resent him one day. She didn’t want that to happen, nor did he.

“Do you want more children?” he asked her. He hadn’t thought of asking her before. She was young enough to have several more if she wanted to, but she shook her head. They had six between them, which seemed like more than enough for her, although the prospect of more children didn’t frighten him, and appealed to him with her.

“I can hardly manage the two I have,” she said honestly, it wasn’t what she wanted. Her work was a big issue, and he wasn’t going to give up his career and move to San Francisco. He had an important government position and all the prestige that went with it, and a pension he would lose if he quit now. At forty-three he was on a serious trajectory. He no longer had a medical practice, but he had a very important job with public health, which she knew now was a big deal in France. So she would have to make the move for him, and all the changes and adjustments that went with it. She wasn’t refusing to do so, but she knew she had to give it serious thought, so it was a conscious decision, and not a mad impulse she’d regret.

“We’ll work it out,” he said gently as they walked home. He seemed totally confident that they would. He had an arm around her waist, and when they got back to the apartment, they made love again. It made everything else seem less important and the practical issues less acute. She felt drunk on love when he went home at six o’clock to see his children. She dozed after he left, and she called Andy and the boys when she woke up. They were going to his mother’s house for the day. She was going to bake cookies with them. They sounded happy and busy, and she felt oddly disconnected from them now. They seemed so far away.

After she talked to the boys, the conversation with Andy seemed stilted. She knew what was coming and he didn’t. She had to find a way to wait two months to tell him. The next two weeks in Paris, the first two weeks that she was home, and the month that Gabriel would be in San Francisco. She felt like the consummate liar that she was becoming. But she was in love with Gabriel now, not her husband. And she hoped that Gabriel was right, and it would all work out in the end.

Chapter Eleven

Gabriel and Stephanie were already starving for each other when they met in the office on Monday morning after one night apart. It made her realize how difficult it was going to be not to spend every night together when he came to San Francisco. She would have to finesse it as best she could, and be discreet. She wanted no high drama with Andy while Gabriel was there. And if all remained on track, she would ask Andy for a divorce as soon as Gabriel went back to France. And she’d still have to deal with the issue of her medical career, and what she’d have to do to qualify to practice in France. She’d have to start taking French lessons immediately in order to pass the exam for the language requirement. But she couldn’t have a life with Gabriel in Paris without practicing medicine too. Being a doctor was all-important to her. And she’d have to find a school for the boys too. There was so much to think about. This was going to be the biggest decision she had ever made.

—

Marie-Laure looked tired after the previous week. She was still dealing with press issues stemming from the school shooting. She met with numerous politicians, went to the Élysée for a meeting with the president to respond to his questions personally, and was keeping in close touch with the families of the victims. She had two assistants handling only that. They had an all-day debriefing scheduled the following day with the police. She knew she would see Bruno there, but he dropped by on Monday anyway to check on her. He had been extremely responsive to any questions and problems she had, and she was impressed that he was so attentive.

He spent half an hour in her office, and to thank him for his kindness, she extended an invitation to him for dinner at her home on Sunday night. She had just invited the “Team of Eight,” as they called themselves now. It was the Americans’ last weekend in Paris, and she wanted to thank them for how wonderful they had been. She was going to do an informal Sunday night dinner, and Bruno was touched to be asked. He said he’d be delighted so she jotted down her address, and asked if he’d like to bring a girlfriend and he said he was on his own and didn’t have one. She knew he was divorced and had three grown boys who were all studying in other cities. He was forty-nine years old. He told her he’d see her the next day at the debriefing. Valérie teased her about it when she walked into Marie-Laure’s office a few minutes later.

“I see we’re getting a lot of police protection these days,” she said with some amusement, and Marie-Laure looked surprised.

“I think he’s just a nice person and was worried about us,” she said innocently, and Valérie laughed.

“How many cases have we worked on with the police, and how many police captains have showed up to see how we are, several times after an incident?”

Marie-Laure blushed at what Valérie said and seemed flustered. “This was a very major incident.”

“True, but I think he likes you, more than just as the head of this office. If you were a man, he wouldn’t be here. He seems like a good guy.”

“Don’t be silly. Besides, he’s a lot older than I am,” she said, trying to be dismissive.

“Do you care?”

“No,” Marie-Laure said honestly. He’d told her he was forty-nine at some point, and she was thirty-three. “I just don’t think he likes me that way.”

“I’ll bet he does,” Valérie said smugly. “You should go out with him.”

“He hasn’t asked me,” she said, determined not to take Valérie’s assumptions seriously. She didn’t have time for a boyfriend. She had a demanding job and three young kids to keep her busy at night.

“He will ask you out,” Valérie said and drifted out of her office.

The next day, even Marie-Laure began to wonder. Bruno was very nice to her, and attentive after the lengthy debriefing, and made a point of saying he was looking forward to dinner at her house on Sunday. Valérie gave her a knowing look after he left.

It was a busy week for all of them. They had the administrative fallout to deal with after the school shooting the week before, and the press was still all over them at the office.