by T A Williams
‘Stop it, you two. David, this is the bride’s day. Please can we change the subject away from me?’
They chatted for a while about friends and colleagues back in Africa, and Lucy was delighted to hear that most of the patients who had disappeared into the bush along with Miriam had managed to make a good recovery in spite of the circumstances. There had even been a successful birth of a healthy baby girl. All things considered, it could have worked out far, far worse and the sense of dread Lucy had been harbouring gradually subsided. She was interested to hear that Miriam was planning on staying here in France. She had dual nationality, French and Congolese, and had studied in Toulouse before returning to her native land some fifteen years earlier. But now she, too, was calling it a day.
‘I’m going to work with Geneviève at the refugee centre in Lille. It’ll be good to be back in France, although I’m not looking forward to the cold winters again. Mind you, at least here there shouldn’t be any more crazy men with guns.’
Nicole stayed with them for some minutes, although the subject soon returned to Lucy. One thing Nicole said to her really resonated. ‘What’s it like working in an upmarket private hospital? Somehow I never expected to find you in a place like that.’
Lucy nodded slowly, choosing her words carefully. ‘I know what you mean. I was worried, too, at first, but I’m settling in. I spoke to Doctor Brown, you know, the MSF director in London, before accepting the job and she told me not to worry – they’re all patients who need my help. So they have money, so what? All right, from time to time there are a few very questionable patients there, although the vast majority are just like you and me.’ She shot a little smile in David’s direction. ‘And some of them are really very nice.’
She saw him smile back and she could see he was listening carefully. ‘So, you aren’t thinking of leaving?’ Miriam sounded interested. ‘You’re not thinking of going back to the Congo, are you?’
‘I’m not thinking anything at the moment. As a place to work, the Siena Clinic’s very different from Mabenta, but I enjoy the work, I like my boss, and it’s meant I’ve been able to find myself a little cottage, and I love Tuscany.’ She reached up and kissed David on the cheek. ‘And my neighbour up the hill’s a pretty good guy. As for the Congo, no, Miriam, I think I’ll go for somewhere a bit less violent next time.’
‘Next time? So you are thinking of going back to MSF?’ Nicole didn’t miss much.
‘I really don’t know, Nic. I’m just enjoying things as they are for now.’ She glanced up at David. ‘And they really couldn’t be much better.’
That night Lucy and David stayed at a beautiful old hotel right in the centre of Avignon, their room looking out over the rooftops to the towers and battlements of the medieval Palais des Papes. Once again, their room was luxurious and immaculate and once again Lucy had to suppress that same familiar sensation of not belonging. Still, she told herself as she snuggled up against him in the soft, comfortable bed, it didn’t get much better than this.
Did it?
Chapter 29
The crunch came when they got home on Sunday evening. After a light meal, they ended up in the old dovecot on the top floor of his villa with a happy dog stretched out at their feet. Lucy had drunk quite enough this weekend so they settled for cold mineral water rather than champagne for a change. It was almost completely dark by this time, although the moonlight allowed them to see out over the trees towards the distant hills studded with little clusters of light from the remote farmhouses. Above them the sky was a velvety deep purple and it was very romantic and calming.
The calm didn’t last long.
She and David were sitting side by side on the sofa, admiring the view and enjoying each other’s company. It soon emerged that he was still thinking back to the events of the past two days.
‘It was a lovely wedding, wasn’t it?’ He gently stroked her cheek with his finger.
‘Mhm, yes.’ She nestled against him contentedly.
‘Nicole and François looked very settled and happy together, didn’t they?’
‘I think marriage is going to agree with them.’
‘You know, I’m finally going to be divorced in a month or two. It’s funny – one marriage begins and another ends.’
‘Mhm…’ She was really very comfortable and a bit sleepy.
‘Lucy, I was wondering…’ He sounded unusually hesitant.
‘What?’
‘I was wondering if you maybe felt like marrying me.’
Lucy’s tiredness left her in an instant and she felt her whole body tense. ‘You’re asking me to marry you, David?’
‘I know I should really be down on one knee, but my excuse is that it still hurts a bit.’ He gently turned her face towards him in the moonlight. ‘It doesn’t have to be straightaway. Whenever suits you, if you’ll have me. What do you think?’
What did she think? On the one hand, she knew she loved this man dearly and the thought of spending the rest of her life with him was appealing and immensely tempting. The trouble was that the annoying elephant called money had just lumbered into the room once more. She stretched up and kissed him softly on the lips to give herself more time before replying. His touch felt so very right. These past few days with him had been wonderful, although she couldn’t hide the fact that she had found herself feeling awfully out of place in the expensive hotels, seriously questioning the fairness of a world where some human beings could live in such extreme luxury while others barely scraped to make ends meet.
‘I’m going to need time to think.’ She sensed tension in him now, so she hastened to do her best to defuse the situation. ‘I love you to bits, David. You have to know that. These past weeks have been the happiest of my life. I’ve never felt about anybody else the way I feel about you and that’s the truth. It’s just such a big decision to make. Could you just give me a little time? Please don’t interpret my hesitation as me not loving you, because I really, really do. I just need to get my head straight.’
‘Of course, take all the time you want. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll wait for as long as it takes and if there’s a problem, I’ll do whatever it takes, I promise.’
‘I know you would, David. But it’s not up to you to do anything. I’m the one with the problems.’
‘What problems?’
She hesitated, uncertain how to explain it to him. ‘It’s just that we come from very different worlds. You live in a castle – well sort of – and you mix with Hollywood stars and millionaire sportspeople. It’s a completely alien environment to me, that’s all. I just need to think it through.’
‘But I’m still me, Lucy. And for you I promise I can be whoever you want, do whatever you want. Just say the word. Whatever it takes, Lucy. Remember that, please.’
‘Of course I will and, remember, I love you so very much.’
She kissed him again and then rested her head against his chest, her eyes staring out of the window and across the dark Tuscan countryside, wondering just what she should say, just what she should decide.
She was still wondering next morning as she went off to work. The night with David had been bittersweet as she struggled to come to terms with the question before her. There was, of course, a simple solution: ask him to give away most of his money and move to some underprivileged part of the world with her. No sooner did this idea cross her mind than she rejected it out of hand. This was money he had legitimately earned and he was free to do with it as he wished and he should be able to choose where he wanted to live – and he already lived in a wonderful place. As she had told him, she was the one with the problems as far as wealth and social injustice were concerned. It wasn’t his place to make sacrifices to resolve her dilemma. This was down to her and her alone.
That afternoon as she sat in the staff canteen with a cup of tea, she sent him a text message to buy herself more time.
I’m feeling a bit shattered. I think I’ll just crash out tonight. Okay with you if we meet up tomor
row evening instead? x
His reply came back almost immediately.
Sorry to hear you aren’t feeling 100%. Tomorrow’s fine – get some rest. If you want to talk, I’m here. x
On her way home, she stopped off at Daniela’s house. She found a very pregnant lady well into her final trimester fanning herself with a magazine as the unusually high September temperatures stubbornly refused to acknowledge that autumn was just around the corner. As she took one look at Lucy she must have realised that things weren’t all right with her.
‘What’s the matter, Lucy? What’s happened?’
Lucy took a deep breath. ‘It’s David; he’s asked me to marry him.’
‘That’s amazing… isn’t it? Why have you got that look on your face? If a tall, handsome, kind millionaire had just asked me to marry him, I’d be jumping for joy. What’s the problem? I thought you told me you’d fallen for him big time.’
‘I have, Danni. I love him to bits but the problem’s not him, it’s everything he stands for.’
Daniela looked blank. ‘I’m afraid you’re going to have to spell out just exactly what that means.’
So Lucy did her best to lay out her concerns that David’s millions, and the lifestyle that came with them, just weren’t for her. She told Daniela she knew it was her problem, not his, and she could only think of one way of resolving it – by saying no to him.
‘I know I could take a deep breath, marry him, and stick it out for a year, maybe a bit longer, but sooner or later it would all become too much and I’d have to get out. I couldn’t bear the thought of dragging him through another divorce. That would just be too cruel.’
‘Crueller than saying no to the man you love and who loves you?’ Daniela reached over and caught hold of both of Lucy’s hands in hers. ‘Listen; you need to sit down and tell him all this, talk it through with him. Being wealthy doesn’t have to be a bad thing. If he truly loves you, he’ll come up with a solution. It’s all very well you saying it’s your problem, not his, but it takes two to make a relationship, or a marriage, work.’
They talked for over an hour, but Lucy remained unconvinced. She knew herself too well and she really did fear that if she did say yes to him – and so much of her was crying out to do just that – it wouldn’t be long before it would all turn sour. She drove home and decided to put the kettle on. Even the scent of the rambling rose wafting in through the open back door failed to put a smile on her face tonight. It was all just so terribly complicated.
As the shadows lengthened, she let herself out of the back door and went for a walk up through the olive groves, in an attempt to clear her head. She ended up by the familiar tree trunk where she had met Boris and then David but, this evening, there was no big friendly dog and no tall loving man.
She sat down and rested her head in her hands. She had been fighting back the tears all day, but now, all alone in the middle of the Tuscan countryside, she broke down and cried like a little girl.
Chapter 30
She slept very poorly that night in spite of a photo that arrived on her phone mid-evening. This was a close-up of Boris with the most loving expression on his face and a one-line caption underneath just reading, Missing you. Unfortunately, all this achieved was to make her start crying all over again.
Next morning she went off to work in a state close to blank depression, her mind still churning. The more she thought about it, the clearer it became. Much as she loved him, her conscience just wouldn’t let her tie herself to a multi-millionaire. As the day progressed, the heart-wrenching lack of any solution to her dilemma took root and by the time she had finished her last operation of the day, she was close to tears once more.
As she changed out of her scrubs and splashed cold water in her face, she heard Virginia’s voice. She sounded a bit strange, but there was so much going on inside Lucy’s head, she didn’t really pick up on it.
‘Lucy, if you’ve finished, could you spare a few minutes to speak to my father? He says it’s important.’
Lucy nodded distractedly. ‘Of course. I’ll go straight up to him now.’
Together they climbed the stairs back up to the ground floor and walked through the corridors to the director’s office. Virginia tapped on the door and turned the handle. That was when it all started to get really weird.
As the door opened, Lucy saw not only Professor Gualtieri standing there but, beside him, none other than David, a nervous smile on his face. More unexpected than that, however, was to see her former boss, Dr Brown of Médecins Sans Frontières standing alongside them.
Professor Gualtieri beckoned them in and waved in the direction of Dr Brown.
‘Ah, Doctor Young, thank you for coming. You know my old friend Hannah Brown, don’t you? She’s come over here for a very special reason, not just to see me.’
‘Hello, Lucy. I’m very pleased to see you again.’ Dr Brown was smiling at her. ‘And you’re looking so well.’
Shell-shocked would have been a more appropriate description from Lucy’s point of view. As she shook the august doctor’s hand, she managed to blurt out a greeting, but that was about all. Professor Gualtieri continued as if unaware that his surgeon looked as though she had just stepped on a black mamba.
‘Do sit down, please, Doctor Young. I gather you’ve just come out of a long afternoon in theatre. You must be tired.’
Lucy found herself sitting on a leather sofa alongside David, while the professor and Dr Brown settled down in armchairs opposite them. Virginia took up station by the window, a little smile on her face. The professor waved in David’s direction.
‘We’ll let Mr Lorenzo do the talking. It was his idea, after all.’
‘His idea?’ As a contribution to the conversation it wasn’t exactly inspired, but Lucy was glad to get at least a couple of words out. She listened intently as David started, hesitantly, to explain.
‘Lucy, I had this idea… Well, to be honest, it sort of came from you.’
Lucy had no idea what might be coming next. She just nodded mutely and waited.
‘Over the years of my tennis career, I’ve made a lot of money. Now that the divorce settlement has been finalised, I know I’ve still got a whole heap more than I’ll ever need, and the money still coming in from sponsorship deals, merchandising and investments will be more than enough to keep me for life. Like I told you, with your help I want to become a better person. I still want to do my doctorate in history, but I also want to do something with my money. Remember we talked about a charity of some kind, something that’ll make a real difference to those who need it a hell of a lot more than I do?’
Lucy found herself reaching out to take hold of his hand. Words once more failed her, so she just nodded and gave his fingers a little squeeze.
‘The idea came to me when I was listening to you and your friends in Avignon, talking about the work of Médecins Sans Frontières. As an organisation they do amazing work and it occurred to me that I could, and should, contribute towards making sure that continues.’
Lucy looked up in surprise. When he had spoken before, it had been about maybe doing something to help underprivileged kids or injured sportspeople. Now he was talking about MSF? She was still having trouble articulating anything so she simply listened as he went on.
‘I also thought about your story of the Syrian lady back here in Siena who needed an urgent operation and that’s when the idea began to crystallise. These people don’t just need help back in their countries of origin, they still need it badly even after they make it across the Mediterranean. That’s why I called Professor Gualtieri to run my idea by him and he told me he knew Doctor Brown.’
Professor Gualtieri took up the tale. ‘I called Hannah and the three of us had a long talk, as a result of which she very kindly took the time and trouble to fly over here today to see us and to discuss things in more detail.’
Dr Brown looked across at Lucy, the smile still on her face. ‘I’m sorry it’s all coming as a big surprise to yo
u, Lucy, but I hope it’s a good surprise. David told me he wanted to help MSF and he outlined his innovative plan to set something up here in Siena. He told me he now recognises what you and I have always known – that we live in an unfair world. In helping us, he wants to do something to try to redress the balance, and he’s been extremely generous.’
As Lucy just sat there in a state of shock, Dr Brown went on to outline what had been agreed. David was gifting an astronomical sum of millions of dollars to help Médecins Sans Frontières – aided by Professor Gualtieri – to set up a medical treatment centre for the needy here in Siena and, beside this, he was also going to use his considerable network of friends, fellow athletes and business contacts to try to obtain further sponsorship for what he saw as a wonderful charitable cause. In this way, more of these centres could be set up where needed to help the flood of humanity on the move in these turbulent times.
Dr Brown then added the icing on the cake – as far as Lucy was concerned.
‘And we can’t think of anybody better suited or better qualified to head up this new centre than you, Lucy. You have the background, the experience and the expertise to ensure that we make a success of it. Michelangelo, Professor Gualtieri, has offered to throw his weight behind the project, particularly in ensuring that we obtain all the necessary permits and support from the authorities – which won’t be an easy task. But, as you know, he’s a person of real consequence here in Italy and with his help, we see no reason why this project shouldn’t succeed and prosper.’
As this all began to sink in, Lucy gradually began to feel a wave of warmth and happiness spreading throughout her whole body and when Dr Brown reached the end of her explanation, Lucy could feel tears running down her face. Quite unable to help herself, she got to her feet and went across to kiss the professor warmly on the cheeks, no doubt surprising him, but from the expression on his face, not displeasing him. She went across to hug Dr Brown who kissed her in return and then went back to David and did the same. She still couldn’t manage to put her thoughts into words and sat there, smiling and crying for several minutes before the power of speech returned, even if what she managed to say wasn’t exactly inspiring.
