Turning Point

by Danielle Steel

  They had lunch in the cafeteria because he said the food was so good, and everyone greeted him again. He took them to the doctors’ lounge and all the little nooks and crannies where he hung out. They felt as though he was welcoming them into his home. Whereas San Francisco General was a stern, imposing place, dealing with some of the city’s most acute trauma cases, which was the challenge Bill loved, and Stephanie was proud of the extraordinary new facility where she worked, Tom was proud of the medicine they practiced at Alta Bates, providing outstanding care in a warm atmosphere that allowed him to be himself and have a strong rapport with patients and staff. In each case, the place where they practiced medicine suited them perfectly. They had each chosen the right venue for their talents.

  Their tour of Stanford University Medical Center with Wendy on Friday was outstanding. They had an immensely impressive pediatric and adult trauma and critical care program. Their trauma center had been one of the best in the city for thirty years. And while Wendy was one of the most modest physicians in the group, her credentials, academic training, and history at Stanford shone the minute she walked into the building and started showing them around. Once she was in her own environment, they could see what a star she was. The administrator who joined them said she was one of the most valued physicians on the trauma team, and likely to be head of the department at some point. She looked embarrassed when he said it, but her extensive knowledge was obvious. They all listened to her raptly as she described what they did there, and the trauma services they provided as a matter of course. She was frequently a guest lecturer at the medical school, which she hadn’t mentioned before. She was a very discreet person, and they all thanked her warmly after the tour.

  It was difficult to decide which of the hospitals they’d seen was the most impressive. Although the teaching hospitals offered a broader range, each institution had a distinct personality and something special to offer.

  Bill enjoyed talking to Wendy about it afterward since he’d done his residency there. He had been offered a job at SF General that he couldn’t resist but he could see why she loved working at Stanford. She was typical of the high-quality physicians who practiced there. Her ex-lover Jeff was one of them too, in cardiac surgery. His surgical skills were what had won her admiration in the first place and the rest had come later. She was in love with her work and where she did it, and it showed.

  She invited them all for a drink at her house after the tour, since it was close by. They were coming back on Sunday night for a barbecue, but they enjoyed a glass of wine sitting around her pool on Friday afternoon, and since they had a driver to bring them to Palo Alto, they could relax with a second glass. Valérie and Tom were sharing one of the lounge chairs, and Gabriel was sitting slightly apart from the group. He had been brooding and sulking for two days after meeting Andy, and Stephanie’s refusal to spend the night with him afterward. He said that she had humiliated him. She had apologized profusely, but had explained repeatedly that if she had disappeared that night, Andy would have caught on that they were having an affair. Gabriel felt it was time for Andy to know, but he finally relaxed sitting at Wendy’s pool on Friday afternoon, put his arm around Stephanie, and kissed her. They had had a busy and informative week, and she had promised to spend the night with him on Saturday. She was going to tell Andy that she had to work, to cover for someone who was sick. Friday night, they were having a girls’ night, and the four men were going out together, which promised to be rowdy, and they’d have hangovers the next day.

  The women were having dinner at Perbacco, an Italian restaurant downtown, and Stephanie was planning to join them for that too.

  “I love your house, Wendy,” Bill said warmly, as they sat in chairs side by side in the afternoon sun after the tour. She had decorated it in soothing muted colors, warm beiges and pastels, which suited her, with some paintings that she loved. “You inspire me. My place looks like a bomb shelter. It looks like the tenant has already moved out. But I like the view.” She smiled at how he described it. But seeing where he worked and the long hours he put in, she could guess that he spent almost no time at home. “I have to do something with the girls’ room before they come out this summer. I promised I’d paint it pink for them. Alex wants purple, but we compromised on pink.” They exchanged a smile, thinking of his girls, now that she knew them. “Maybe you can help me pick the right shade. I’m not good with color. Or decorating.” He had wanted to have the group over for dinner, but he didn’t have enough chairs, or even plates and forks. And he only had four glasses. “I had a nice Victorian place when I was married. I never bothered after I sold it. I didn’t care where I lived once Athena and the girls were gone.” But he admired the fact that Wendy had a real home that looked like someone who loved it lived there.

  “I could use a hand with the barbecue on Sunday,” she said shyly. “I’m scared to light it.”

  “That’s my forte. Ribs, chicken, and steaks. I’ll come over in the afternoon, if you want.”

  “I’d like that.” They exchanged a glance that stretched just beyond friends, but not too far. He’d been inching his way toward her since he’d heard that she had broken up with her married boyfriend, but he didn’t want to scare her off if it was too soon.

  “We should have dinner sometime,” he suggested and she nodded. Valérie was watching them and smiling. She’d been hoping something would happen between them after Paris. She thought they were perfect for each other.

  By the time they left, Gabriel had gotten over his two-day pout and forgiven Stephanie for bringing her husband to the party.

  Valérie and Tom were talking about it on the way home in his car. The others had gone back to the hotel in the van. Valérie was worried about Stephanie. She thought Gabriel was putting too much pressure on her, and she already had a lot going on with two small children, a divorce in the offing, and a married lover who expected her to give up her job and move to France. “She’s got so much on her plate.” Tom nodded, and had thought the same thing.

  As they headed toward Oakland, Valérie told him something offhandedly that startled him. “I’m having lunch on Monday with an old friend, by the way. He lives here.”

  “An old boyfriend?” Tom asked, suddenly worried.

  “Not really.”

  “What does ‘not really’ mean? He was a boyfriend but lousy in bed?”

  “Don’t be silly. Just a friend,” she said vaguely, and offered no further information. And as though to reassure himself and conquer her again, he made love to her when they got back to his apartment, before they both left for dinner. She could tell he was worried, but she liked to tease him at times, to keep him on his toes. She told Marie-Laure it was good for him, and that a man like Tom should never be totally sure of a woman, or he’d get bored. But there was nothing boring about her. He was still worried about her “old friend” when they shared a cab into the city and he dropped her off at Perbacco to meet the other women. He went to meet the men at the bar at the Big 4 on Nob Hill, which had a nice manly feel to it.

  They all had fun that evening. The four women talked about what they’d been doing all week. Wendy told them they should come shopping at the Stanford mall in Palo Alto one weekend, and Valérie said that she and Tom were going to the Auberge du Soleil in the Napa Valley for a romantic weekend, and he was coming to France to go on vacation with her in July. And after her second glass of wine, Marie-Laure admitted that Bruno had called her twice that week, and they were having dinner when she went back.

  “What about you and Bill?” Marie-Laure asked Wendy.

  “We’re just friends,” she said firmly. “But I had a really nice time with him and his daughters at Euro Disney. They’re adorable, really sweet kids.”

  “Just wait,” Valérie said knowingly. “He looked very cozy with you this afternoon sitting by your pool.”

  “He’s not interested. Honestly.”


  “I predict a romance in your future,” Valérie said, pretending to read tea leaves, and they all laughed. It was an easy, relaxing evening. They went to the Fairmont for a drink afterward, and at midnight, they all went home. Stephanie texted Gabriel to see if he was at the hotel, but he answered that he wasn’t back yet, so she went back to her house. She was staying with him on Saturday night, and had already set it up with Andy, with the story about working for a night, and then she was going to the barbecue with Gabriel at Wendy’s on Sunday. He’d made reservations for them in Napa the following weekend too, at the same hotel where Valérie and Tom were staying. Marie-Laure was thinking of going skiing in Tahoe with Paul, if he didn’t have a real date. She had been a ski champion when she was in school, and she wanted to try out the slopes in California before she went back, but didn’t want to go alone. Wendy said she didn’t ski anymore since she had a knee injury two years before.

  It had been a perfect evening for the women, but the men weren’t quite as restrained. They closed the bar at a pool hall South of Market at two A.M., near Bill’s apartment, and the owner let them stay until three. They were all home by three-thirty, and Tom woke up with a massive headache the next day, and groaned when he got out of bed.

  “Oh God, I’m dying.” Valérie made him some evil brew with Jägermeister and an egg, and he actually felt better afterward.

  “Where did you learn that?”

  “In medical school,” she said smugly.

  “Must be French. They never taught us that here.”

  They spent a lazy day around his apartment and went to a movie that night. He was feeling better by then. He asked her again about the old friend she was having lunch with on Monday, and she ignored him and wouldn’t answer. He was getting seriously worried. Valérie was the kind of woman you could never own, and he loved that about her. But he didn’t like the idea of her having lunch with another man, which was the whole point, and why she’d told him, just to worry him a little, and keep him on his toes.

  * * *

  —

  Stephanie left the house on Saturday afternoon, while Andy was at the park with the boys. She was at Gabriel’s hotel by four, and they never left his hotel room. She didn’t go home until noon on Sunday, and had lunch with Andy and the boys. She left again for Wendy’s house at six, and had warned Andy that the team was having a working dinner, to get a jump-start on the week. Andy and the boys were watching a movie when she left, and Ryan had fallen asleep in front of the TV.

  She picked Gabriel up at the hotel, and they drove to Palo Alto together in good spirits. They’d had an incredible time together the night before. The only thing she felt guilty about was that she hadn’t spent much time with her children all weekend, except for lunch that day. But Andy had kept them busy.

  She had a text from Andy as soon as they got to Wendy’s. He said Ryan had woken up with a fever after the movie, and he had just thrown up. Andy couldn’t find the thermometer and wanted to know where it was. She told him, and five minutes later, she got another text. “102.2. What do I do now?”

  “Children’s Tylenol.” She told him how many drops and where it was. She was frowning while she texted him.

  “Something wrong?” Gabriel asked her.

  “Ryan has a fever. He gets them easily. But now Aden will get sick.” It was inevitable with two kids.

  Bill was busily working at the barbecue when they got there. He had the meat organized on trays and he and Wendy were doing an efficient job. The table was set in her big country kitchen, and they sat at the pool until dinnertime when it got chilly. The French crew loved that they were sitting outdoors in February in the sun, while it was freezing in Paris.

  “I want to live here,” Paul said.

  “Don’t we all,” Valérie agreed, and Tom leaned over and kissed her.

  “You’re welcome to move here anytime.” She smiled like a Cheshire cat in answer.

  Stephanie called Andy before they sat down to dinner. He said Ryan seemed better, wasn’t as hot, and was asleep again. She sat down to dinner, feeling relieved. And they had lively discussions and compared medical school experiences and pranks. Tom had some outrageous stories, and Valérie had a few herself. And Bill’s skills at the barbecue were excellent. The dinner was delicious, and Wendy thanked him for doing all the cooking.

  “I love it. I haven’t done that in years.” He had sold the barbecue with his house.

  Everyone was relaxed and happy, they had become a tight circle of friends. They headed back to the city at ten-thirty and Bill stayed to help Wendy clean up. They’d had a wonderful relaxing evening to end the first week of the second part of their work together, and they were going to experience an earthquake drill that week, which sounded exciting. It was something entirely new and different for the French team.

  When Stephanie dropped Gabriel off at the hotel, she went upstairs with him, but told him she could only stay a while. With Ryan sick, she wanted to go home. They made love again, and lay peacefully afterward, just enjoying being together. They had a long way to go, but she always felt safe and reassured when she was with him. She was sure he’d get divorced, and somehow they’d find their way.

  She heard a text come in, and didn’t want to answer as she dozed in his arms, but she felt guilty not reading it, so a few minutes later, she got up and took her cellphone out of her bag. It was from Andy. “Just had a seizure. 104.8. Going to ER at UC. Meet me there. Leaving Aden with the Sanchezes.” She was wide awake as soon as she read it. The Sanchezes were their neighbors and had kids the same age. And Ryan was having febrile seizures. He’d had them as a baby. They weren’t dangerous but they were scary as hell, and so was 104.8. She started climbing into her clothes without bothering to shower. She called Andy but he didn’t answer, which panicked her.

  “What’s wrong?” She was moving at full speed, and she told Gabriel as she dressed. “I’ll come with you,” he said and started to dress too, which was the right reaction but not in this case.

  “You can’t. How would I explain it?” She was closer to UCSF than Andy was at home, and she knew she could get there before he did. Gabriel was gazing at her bleakly.

  “I don’t want you to go alone,” he said gallantly with his pants on and no shirt.

  “I have to,” she said and hurried into the bathroom to comb her hair and clean up her makeup. She looked like she had just climbed out of bed. In two minutes, she appeared relatively civilized, put on her shoes, grabbed her coat off the chair, and kissed Gabriel.

  “I’m sorry. Call me after you’ve seen him. I’m sure he’ll be fine. My youngest son used to get them too.” She nodded. “Let me know if you want me to come.” But there was no way he could. He didn’t belong there with Andy, not until everything was out in the open, or when they were married, but not now.

  She left seconds later, ran to the elevator, got her car from the valet, and she was headed to UCSF in minutes. She tried calling Andy again, but he still didn’t answer. She parked in her usual space in the garage, and was waiting in the ER when he got there. He was carrying Ryan, who was bright red and appeared to be unconscious. She felt him and he was blazing.

  “Where were you?” Andy looked desperate, as they waited for a nurse to put them in an exam room. Stephanie had already registered while she was waiting for them.

  “At dinner with the group. We had dinner in Palo Alto with the doc from Stanford. I just got back to the city,” she said as though it mattered. She was staring at Ryan now and didn’t like the way he looked. She told a nurse to get the pediatric attending in, and saw one of the nurses she knew at the desk, who came over to see her right away.

  “What’s up?” she said, looking at Ryan, and took a thermometer out of her pocket as Andy held him and slipped it in his ear. Ryan stirred and started to cry and said his neck hurt. Stephanie and the nurse exchanged a look, and she checked
the thermometer. “It’s 105.1. I’ll get the attending down here right now.” She went to use the phone, and had one of the nurses take him into an exam room. Andy had him wrapped in a blanket over his pajamas and his teeth were chattering.

  “He felt sick when he woke up after you left, but he was nothing like this.” She could see that Andy was panicked but so was she. She didn’t like the way the symptoms were presenting, and she hoped the attending pediatrician didn’t agree with her. It looked like meningitis to her, which moved like lightning in children his age, and could be fatal. This couldn’t be happening to them. She and Andy glanced at each other as the pediatrician walked in and went straight to Ryan. He tried to move Ryan’s head toward his chest and couldn’t, and Ryan screamed and threw up. The nurse helped clean him up with a damp cloth and changed him into hospital pajamas while he shivered. Stephanie had already put the hospital bracelet on his wrist.

  “You probably think the same thing I do,” the pediatrician said, looking at Stephanie. He knew she was a physician.

  “Meningitis?” Stephanie said, dreading the word and he nodded.

  “Seems like it to me. I want to try and get the fever down, and get a lumbar puncture on him right away, and some bloodwork.” The big question was whether it was bacterial or viral. If bacterial, the risk to Ryan was even greater. The nurse hurried out to call the lab, and ordered the spinal tap. He told Stephanie and Andy they’d put him under a light anesthesia to do it. He was sure of his diagnosis and so was Stephanie. The lab technician came in then, and drew several vials of blood while Andy held him and Ryan cried miserably. They got an IV line into his other arm for fluids, and an antibiotic. He was looking worse by the minute. “When did this start?” the doctor asked Stephanie and she turned to Andy.