Turning Point

by Danielle Steel

  They had lunch at a bar and restaurant South of Market with a pool table, and when the men went to shoot pool while they waited for lunch, Valérie again thanked Stephanie for the tour and then gazed at her thoughtfully.

  “Do you really think you can give all that up, a job you love that much, and be happy practicing in France? You need to think about that carefully,” Valérie said, concerned about her.

  “What choice do I have?” Stephanie said. “If I want a life with Gabriel, I have to give this up.” Wendy was listening to the conversation and was worried about her too. She knew she couldn’t have given up her job for a man, and didn’t want to.

  “It’s an enormous sacrifice,” Valérie reminded her, “and you’d better be very sure he’s going to leave his wife. You don’t want to give all this up and then find yourself sitting in an apartment while he spends Christmas with his wife and children, and tells you he can’t leave them yet. I know several women that has happened to. Right now he’s madly in love with you, and I’m not saying he isn’t going to get divorced, but when his wife asks him for half his savings, his pension, their summer house, and everything he has, it may be a different story. Living with her may not seem so bad. That’s what French men do. Americans get divorced. Sometimes French guys don’t, or damn few do.”

  “And not all Americans do either. Jeff used every excuse in the book. It was always a year or two or three away. I didn’t have to give up anything to be with him, except my friends and my time. If I’d had to give up my job at Stanford, I’d have bailed a lot faster than I did. That would have been too much for me.”

  “He says he’s going to take care of everything when he goes back, and call a lawyer.”

  “Maybe you should wait and see if he does, before you make a move. And I don’t just mean your marriage. You trained for thirteen years for this job. You’d better be sure before you give it up.” Stephanie felt sick as she listened, and nodded. She knew her father would have said the same thing about her job at UCSF. But she didn’t want to lose Gabriel either. She felt torn. She was quiet when the men came back from playing pool and dug into the sandwiches they’d ordered. They were still talking about the medical facility they’d seen that morning.

  “My poor hospital is going to look like nothing after that,” Tom said sadly. “But we do a good job anyway.” They had an excellent reputation and he liked working there. And they had built new additions too, just not on as grand a scale as UCSF, which was mammoth, or the new facility at SF General, which had government funds to use, and an enormous private donor.

  They were scheduled to visit Alta Bates on Thursday, and Stanford on Friday, and then they were going to focus on emergency services operations thereafter, and drills similar to the one they’d participated in in Paris.

  They had a lecture on terrorism, and another on natural disasters at the Emergency Operations Center that afternoon. An earthquake was the greatest potential threat to San Francisco, and the statistics and expected damage were terrifying if they had a big one.

  Stephanie texted Andy after the lectures and told him they had a night meeting, and she went back to the hotel with Gabriel. He had hounded her all day, and she wanted to be with him too. She felt pulled by her responsibilities and her children, and her desire for him. She tried to explain it to Gabriel, but he was too hungry for her and their passion engulfed them as soon as they walked into the room. There was no time for conversation or reassurance, there was a sense of urgency now whenever they were together. It was starting to make her feel anxious. But after they made love, she was more relaxed and she tried not to think of the job and hospital she was giving up for him. There was too much to consider, too much to absorb. She didn’t even realize how worried her friends were about her, or how stressed she looked. And Gabriel didn’t see it either. All he saw was the woman he was so in love with, and wanted to take back to France, no matter what she had to give up to be with him.

  She was exhausted when she went home that night, after arguing with Gabriel for an hour when he wanted her to stay.

  The house was silent when she got home. Everyone was asleep. It was a relief not to have to talk to anyone. She felt peaceful in the silence.

  * * *

  —

  They watched earthquake preparedness training films for all of the next day. And then a representative from the Fire Department explained NERT drills to them. They were Neighborhood Emergency Response Teams, which provided an ongoing framework for the city to deal with disasters, conduct rescue and medical triage, and transport victims to medical treatment facilities.

  It gave them a break from on-site hospital tours, and they had the mayor’s reception for them that night at seven. Stephanie wanted to be home at five to get dressed.

  “How are you getting there?” Bill asked Wendy as they left the Emergency Operations Center.

  “I told Marie-Laure I’d get dressed with her at her hotel and we’d go together, so I don’t have to go back to Palo Alto. I think Paul is meeting us at City Hall. He’s having a drink with some woman he met the other night.” She smiled at Bill. Paul was the lovable bad boy in their midst now, and acted like a kid. It was a role Tom said he had played for twenty years, and had recently given up for more adult pursuits. But at thirty-four, Paul was a long way from there, and entitled to some fun.

  “I’ll pick you and Marie-Laure up at the hotel,” Bill volunteered. He offered Gabriel a ride too, since Stephanie had to go with Andy. Bill could see that Gabriel was unhappy about it. He and Stephanie had argued about it that afternoon and she said there was nothing she could do. Her husband had seen the invitation and announced he was coming, and for now, they were still married, as far as he knew anyway. So she couldn’t tell Andy not to come. Gabriel said it would spoil the evening for him, which was a heavy weight on her.

  Bill picked them up at the hotel at a quarter to seven. He and Gabriel were wearing suits, and Wendy and Marie-Laure were wearing short black cocktail dresses that showed off their figures. They were both pretty women.

  They chatted on the way to City Hall, and Bill said he felt differently about the city having just seen the earthquake films. They reminded him of science fiction, but they were real. Some of the films were simulated, others were of real earthquakes in other parts of the world.

  “I’m expecting the dome to fall in on us tonight,” he said and the others laughed.

  “I wouldn’t like to be here in an earthquake,” Marie-Laure admitted, and Gabriel sat staring out the window, brooding, thinking about Stephanie arriving with Andy.

  Bill gave his car up to a valet parker, and they walked into the rotunda of City Hall. Three hundred people were expected at the reception, politicians, members of city government, and anyone involved in trauma and emergency services. And the mayor.

  * * *

  —

  “Are you ready?” Andy asked Stephanie, as he walked into their bedroom. He’d been dressed for half an hour and was wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and navy tie. His hair was neat, he was freshly shaved, his shoes were shined, and she was startled for a minute. She had forgotten how handsome he was, or could be, when he made an effort. She hadn’t seen him dressed that way in several years. She always saw him in jeans and sweatshirts or T-shirts now, with running shoes and five days of beard stubble on his face. But not tonight. He looked terrific and like the man she’d married and remembered from when he had a job.

  She had tried on three dresses and didn’t like any of them. Her hair was smoothed back in a long neat ponytail. She had makeup on, and she was wearing a white silk dress with a wide satin collar and a low back. It was sexy and elegant at the same time. She had on high heels and knew her feet would be killing her before the end of the evening, but the shoes looked great. She wanted to knock Gabriel’s socks off when she walked into the room. And standing next to Andy, they made a dazzling couple as she cau
ght sight of them in the mirror.

  “We look pretty good together.” She smiled at him, and he nodded. He hardly ever smiled these days. Even if she hadn’t told him, he knew what was coming. Their marriage was in shambles, they never talked to each other, and divorce seemed inevitable, but he wanted to be there for her tonight. He was making the effort for her. He didn’t care about her French friends. Their housekeeper had agreed to stay late, and they got in the car at ten to seven. They would only be a few minutes late. She was wearing a black fur jacket that was a hand-me-down from her mother over the white dress. Stephanie would never have bought it for herself.

  There was silence in the car as they drove downtown, and Stephanie was thinking of Gabriel. She heard a text come in and glanced at it. “Where are you?”

  “On my way,” she answered.

  “You get a lot of texts these days,” Andy commented.

  “One of the women on the French team wanted to know where I am,” she said defensively, disgusted with herself. Lying again.

  Andy didn’t know what to expect when they got there, she hadn’t told him anything about it, and didn’t know much herself. The American and French teams were being honored, which she assumed meant a speech and some champagne.

  They walked into City Hall together, past security and the metal detectors, and their names were checked off a list, and then they entered the rotunda, and Marie-Laure elbowed Valérie in the ribs when she saw them. Andy and Stephanie had just arrived and looked like movie stars.

  “He looks like a Greek god,” Marie-Laure whispered. “Why is she giving that up?” Gabriel was not nearly as attractive. He had a warm sexy manly quality to him, and was almost fatherly at times, but Andy looked like an actor or a model, and several heads turned as they walked in side by side. A photographer snapped their picture. Stephanie hadn’t spotted Gabriel yet in the crowd, but he had seen them. Valérie glanced at him, and he seemed livid. Andy had upstaged him. Gabriel was not going to be able to show off with Stephanie tonight. Her handsome young American husband was very much in evidence.

  Marie-Laure and Valérie approached Stephanie and Andy with Bill and Tom just behind them, and Stephanie introduced Andy. He was cool and aloof, and not very friendly. He appeared uncomfortable, and didn’t make small talk with any of them. He didn’t seem like a warm person, which explained more why she was attracted to Gabriel. Gabriel was full of emotion, passionate in his beliefs, and very French. He made up in personality for anything he lacked in appearance. He was a nice-looking man, but nothing like Andy who had the athletic, lean, powerful body of a man who went to the gym every day.

  “He has nothing else to do,” Marie-Laure said to Valérie. “He doesn’t work.”

  “He takes care of the kids, she doesn’t. She says it herself,” Valérie defended him, even though she didn’t know him. She felt sorry for him, he looked unhappy to be there, and they all knew something he didn’t, that his wife was having an affair.

  Wendy and Gabriel walked up to them then, and they all froze for a moment. Stephanie tried to appear calm while she introduced them, but she wasn’t, her palms were soaking wet and she didn’t meet Gabriel’s eye. He shook hands with Andy with a stern expression as though he disapproved of him, almost as though he was pawing the ground, establishing his turf, as Stephanie stood by helplessly. An electric current passed between the two men as their eyes met and held. Andy seemed to grow taller, and Gabriel seemed more powerful, as Wendy disappeared into the crowd to find Paul. Stephanie felt like she was going to faint. Not a word passed between the two men, and an aide of the mayor’s came to tell them that they were wanted at the steps in the center of the rotunda. They wanted all eight of the honorees lined up on the steps, so the mayor could begin his speech, and with that, the group moved forward. Stephanie told Andy she’d be back as soon as it was over, and they moved through the crowd as Stephanie tried to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding in her ears.

  “Are you okay?” Valérie whispered to her. She was deathly pale, and Valérie could only imagine the stress she was experiencing with both men under one roof, and some instinct had warned each of them of danger.

  “I think I’m going to throw up,” she said, clutching Valérie’s hand.

  “You can’t. You have to act perfectly normal, or your husband will figure it out. They both sense it, your husband just doesn’t know it. Gabriel does, and he can barely keep himself in control.” Valérie had seen it all. “You’re quite a woman,” Valérie teased her to lighten the moment, “to inspire that kind of feeling in two very attractive men. Your husband is gorgeous, by the way. But that’s usually not enough, unfortunately.” Valérie thought he looked boring, but he wasn’t her kind of man. He wasn’t interesting enough for her, or for Stephanie either. She was too bright for him. He seemed sour, restless, and bored. “Marie-Laure almost fainted when she saw him. She thinks you’re betting on the wrong horse. But beauty isn’t everything.” Her patter had relaxed Stephanie a little, and the color had returned to her face. For a minute she had thought that one of the two men would hit the other, and there would be a brawl in the rotunda of City Hall because of her.

  They had reached the steps by then, and were told by the mayor’s aide where and how to line up. Stephanie felt numb, and the whole group stood expectantly while the mayor began his speech, listed the credentials of each member of the team, described the purpose of the exchange to benefit both cities, and commended all of them for their bravery during the recent school shooting in Paris, then he gave each of them a citation rolled up and tied with a gold ribbon. They thanked the mayor, then all posed for photographs with him, and a band began to play as hors d’oeuvres and champagne were passed on silver trays. It was a very nice reception and the French team were touched. And as soon as his speech was over, the mayor slipped away to his second event of the night.

  Gabriel spoke to her in an undervoice as they left the steps.

  “Stay with me tonight,” he said urgently. “I need you.”

  “I need you too, but I can’t. He senses something. This is going to turn into a mess if we’re not careful. I can’t tonight.” He stared at her intensely, then stormed out of the building, but she couldn’t do anything about it. At least he hadn’t made a scene with Andy, and a few minutes later, Paul told them all that Gabriel had gone back to the hotel with a headache. And for once, he didn’t text her. She went to find Andy then, and tried to include him in the group, but he had found someone he knew and was talking to him. Stephanie was more relaxed with only one of her men in the room, although she wished it could have been Gabriel and not Andy.

  “Well, that was interesting,” Bill said to Wendy. “For a minute there, I thought Gabriel was going to hit him, or maybe the other way around. I wouldn’t have the nerves to be sleeping with someone else’s wife, or want to. I’d be on Xanax all day long.” She laughed. “That was intense.”

  “Yes, it was,” she agreed.

  “I like your dress by the way.” It was short and tight, but not vulgar and she had the figure to wear it.

  “I bought it for tonight.”

  “Lucky mayor,” he said and she laughed.

  “How are your girls?”

  “They ask about you all the time. They want to go back to Euro Disney. So do I. That was fun. You were a good sport.”

  “I loved it,” she said sincerely.

  They all stayed for another hour, and the group wanted to go to dinner at a restaurant nearby. Andy said he was going home.

  “I’ll come with you,” Stephanie said.

  “Don’t you want to go to dinner with your friends?” He seemed surprised.

  “They’ll be fine. I want to go home with you.” She felt that she owed him something for coming. She didn’t want to just dismiss him, even if she hadn’t wanted him there. He had done it for her.

  They left a few minutes la
ter and drove home without saying a word. The boys were already asleep, and they let their housekeeper go home. Then he took off his coat, laid it on the couch, and looked at her.

  “Did you have something going on with the guy I met, the one who shook my hand? I think his name was Gabriel something.” He looked her squarely in the eye and she shook her head.

  “No, I didn’t,” she lied to him. “We’re all good friends.” He nodded and didn’t question her further. She didn’t think he believed her, but he had the decency not to press the point.

  “I thought he was going to take a swing at me for a minute,” Andy added, as he watched her face. “There’s only one reason a guy like him does that. It’s a turf issue, between two men who both want the same woman. Maybe he’s in love with you.” Andy headed toward the stairs. “You looked very pretty tonight. I liked your dress.” But he didn’t approach her or tell her he loved her. He wasn’t even sure if he did anymore, and he was sure she didn’t love him. It was over. Their marriage was dead. And they’d have to bury it one of these days. He wondered if the French guy knew it, or sensed it, and was staking a claim. It felt like it to Andy.

  Chapter Seventeen

  After the dignity of the mayor’s reception at City Hall, and the tension of Andy and Gabriel’s meeting, their tour of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center was easy and anticlimactic. Tom sang the hospital’s praises, telling about their exceptionally good track record with cardiac surgery, neonatal intensive care, and obstetrics, and their outstanding emergency room facilities. He loved working there and they all noticed that nearly everyone in the hospital seemed to know him and said hello. Tom introduced the team, and the local staff were interested in what they were doing. The atmosphere was pleasant and welcoming and easygoing, and they could see why he loved it. And the emergency room was one of the best in the city. Valérie was proud of him as he showed them around.