Даниэла Стил - Turning Point

“Look what I found under the bed,” she said with a mischievous look and his heart stopped. He thought he had gotten them all, but she had obviously discovered one more.

“Oh my God, I’m sorry…I checked everywhere…I’m sorry,” he said remorsefully and she kissed him with a burst of laughter.

“Don’t be, it’s mine,” she said, teasing him, as he grabbed it from her, and pushed her down on the bed.

“You rotten woman! I’m going to punish you for that. I even bought a new vacuum cleaner and cleaned under the bed myself, just for you.”

“Good,” she said as he kissed her, and a moment later he was making love to her again. She had nearly given him heart failure, thinking she had found further evidence of his dubious past.

“You are an evil, evil woman,” he said as their lovemaking got increasingly serious, and he turned over as she sat astride him. She was a perfect match for him, and not so innocent herself, with a wicked sense of humor that he loved. He loved everything about her, and for once his fears of losing her hadn’t stopped him. He was never going to let her go.

They finally did make it outside in the late afternoon. It was the last of a sunny day, and warm compared to Paris. She didn’t wear a coat, and they wandered all over. Later, he drove her to the Berkeley campus, past all the hippie stores on Telegraph Avenue, and then he drove her past Alta Bates, where he worked. He was off for the duration of their conferences for four weeks, and was planning to be with her every minute.

They ate a burger at a small restaurant near his apartment, and then went back to his place and drank more champagne. He whispered to her, “Welcome home,” to which she responded in her throaty voice, “Merci, mon amour.” Thank you, my love, and his heart sang.

—

Gabriel called Stephanie on her cellphone as soon as he walked into his room at the Saint Francis. It was a perfectly decent businessman’s hotel room with a city view downtown. He was distressed when she didn’t pick up. She was having lunch with Andy and the boys, and she saw his number come up. He texted her two minutes later, and she responded.

“I’m here. When can I see you? Starving for you. Je t’aime. G.” She repressed a smile as she read it, and felt the same thrill that went through her whenever she saw him or heard from him, especially knowing he had arrived and they were in the same city again.

“Soon. Call you in half an hour.” Andy watched her as she answered with a serious expression.

“Work? I thought you were off today.”

“I was. Head injury. I should go in. They want a consult.” He pursed his lips and looked annoyed. They had no plans anyway. She had been careful not to make any, knowing Gabriel was coming in. She put the dishes in the sink, rinsed them, and then put them in the dishwasher. Andy was planning to take the boys to the park and throw some balls, and he didn’t need her for that.

She went upstairs and got her bag and white coat, and was back down in two minutes. She was clearly in a hurry.

“I’ll call you later,” she said as she fished her car keys out of her bag. “Don’t wait for me. It sounds bad. I may stay.” Andy didn’t react to it and nodded, as she kissed both boys and left.

It took her fifteen minutes to get to the hotel. He had texted her his room number, and she could feel her heart pounding as she rode up in the elevator. She had left her white doctor’s coat in the car. She didn’t even feel guilty for telling Andy a bold-faced lie. It was the only way she could get out of the house, and she was desperate to see Gabriel. Their two weeks apart felt like a hundred years.

She knocked on the door of his room, he opened it instantly, and pulled her into his arms in a single gesture and held her so tightly she could barely breathe.

“Oh my God, Stephanie, how I’ve missed you.” He touched her hair and her face, and kissed her again, and ran his hands over her body, as she did the same to him. Their clothes were on the floor in minutes, as he pulled her toward the bed, and they made love until they thought they would die of pleasure. They had both lived for this moment. Everything else faded away, their worries and their plans and the people in their lives. They were alone on their own planet. He made love to her again until they fell into a deep sleep, and it was dark when they woke up, feeling dazed and so happy to see each other and be together again.

They ordered room service, and she texted Andy and told him she’d had to stay, and would be home late. She kept it short, and Gabriel looked at her longingly and asked her to spend the night.

“I can’t. Maybe I’ll be able to figure it out at some point, but not the first night. I don’t want to push our luck,” she said soberly. She had a delicate balance to keep and Gabriel was disappointed.

“We only have four weeks, let’s not waste a minute of it,” he pleaded with her.

“If we’re serious about this, we have the rest of our lives. I don’t want to cause an explosion or arouse suspicion while you’re here. We need to be careful,” she said, kissing him, “I’m still married and living with my husband.”

“Maybe you should have told him it’s over before I got here,” he said simply, not happy that she couldn’t stay with him.

“That would have been worse. I would have been dealing with all the fallout from that now.”

“Try to arrange it for at least some of our nights. Maybe we can go away for a weekend.” She liked that idea, and she could claim to be going with the group, which wouldn’t include spouses, since she was the only one who had one.

“We could go to the Napa Valley, there’s a wonderful hotel there. We’ll work it out,” she reassured him, and felt very stressed.

They ate dinner naked in bed and she left him reluctantly at midnight after they’d made love again. She showered and dressed respectably. The whole group was meeting the next day for brunch at the Zuni Café, and Stephanie was excited about seeing them. Andy had already agreed to keep the boys, and was taking them to his mother’s house for the day, so she knew they’d be busy. And Wendy had texted all of them about a barbecue at her house next Sunday night.

Andy was already in bed when she got home and appeared to be asleep. She had the feeling he wasn’t, but he didn’t say anything, and she didn’t turn on the lights or speak to him. A few minutes after she got home, she slipped into bed beside him, thinking about the afternoon and evening she had spent with Gabriel. It was real, she was sure of that now. They were madly in love. But Andy lying next to her was real too.

—

Andy was already up when Stephanie awoke in the morning. He and the boys were downstairs, dressed and having breakfast. She went to sit with them, before they left for Orinda. She was leaving for brunch shortly after. Andy said very little. He didn’t ask about the French team or their brunch meeting or their plans for the week. The only thing he knew about was the mayor’s reception, which he was planning to attend and she wished that he wasn’t. That was going to be dicey with Gabriel there too.

They were like a group of old friends when they met at noon at the Zuni Café. The food was European and American, with some California dishes, pasta, and fabulous oysters, which the French contingent were eager to try. They hugged and kissed when they met. Tom and Valérie looked peaceful and happy and exuded the aura of a couple as they joined the others, and Gabriel sat next to Stephanie and devoured her with his eyes. Bill was happy to see Wendy, she asked about Pip and Alex. Paul reported that he’d had a great night on the town. Marie-Laure had gone shopping in Union Square before having dinner with Wendy. They were all excited to be there, and would be touring SF General with Bill leading the way the next day, after the morning at the DEM, the Department of Emergency Management, and then they would be visiting the Emergency Operations Center the day after that. They had a busy week ahead. And Bill was eager to show them where he worked.