Sylvie smiled. “Never thought of David as a lion!”
“That’s my girl,” said Yvonne, pulling the covers back and then shooing her daughter across the room and into the bathroom. “I’ll go get some breakfast ready while you beautify yourself, my lovely.”
When Sylvie walked into The Wanderer at one o’clock, she knew she looked good. Several of the female customers gave her the once-over as potential competition and all the male customers turned to look at her - all save one. David was seated at the back of the cafe with his back to the door as if he wasn’t interested in the comings and goings. At the sight of his stiff posture, Sylvie felt a flutter of apprehension. As she approached the table and walked round it to sit down opposite him, she saw that his face was white and drawn. This was as much of a strain for him as it was for her but she wasn’t going to run away. She had to get back the David she knew, her David; the David who was fun to be with.
Sylvie waited for a few moments for him to look up at her and acknowledge her presence but he kept his eyes fixed on the table.
“Hi, David. It was good of you to agree to meet with me today.”
He barely nodded.
“David, this is hard for me, too.”
She pulled out a chair and sat down. “Do you think you could give me some idea of why you decided you had to break off with me? It would help me to get over all this,” she began.
David shifted in his seat and didn’t answer.
“Please, David. I don’t want to beg but please answer my question.”
“If you don’t know, what is the point in my telling you?”
“Please, David.”
“Sylvie, you haven’t noticed me for a long time, not really. You’ve been so busy getting ahead and proving that you’re better than me.”
The injustice of his words struck Sylvie with the impact of a physical blow and she shot backwards in her seat. Her sudden movement brought Lisa over to the table.
“Are you guys all right? Can I get you anything?” she asked Sylvie anxiously.
Sylvie waved her away. “No, we’re fine,” she said, conscious of the hollowness of her assertion.
Lisa gave Sylvie a reassuring pat on the shoulder and backed off.
“David, would you change your mind if I gave up all thought of having a career and stayed at home?”
That brought David’s head up. “How can you be so ridiculous? How could I afford a stay-at-home wife in today’s recession when I’m starting up a veterinary practice from scratch?”
“What if I had some other sort of job - one which was not as demanding,” asked Sylvie.
“You just don’t get it, do you, Sylvie? When a thing’s over, it’s over.”
Sylvie put her hand out to touch David’s but he pulled it back, folded his arms across his chest and glared at her.
“So everything we’ve been through together was all for nothing, David?”
“You’ve got it. Don’t you have any pride, Sylvie? How can you come begging to me like this? Any other woman would have gotten the message by now.”
Sylvie shoved back her chair and rose to her feet. Snatching up her purse she retorted, “David, you’re right. You’re oh so right! I must be mad to be trying to salvage any sort of relationship with a man like you.”
She walked out of the cafe as quickly as she could before her trembling legs gave up on her.
Outside, she leaned against the front of the shop next door, wrapping her arms around herself and she stamped her foot in fury. How dare he speak to her like that? What gave him the right to judge her behavior?
“Sylvie, Sylvie, are you all right?” asked Lisa who had followed her friend outside.
Sylvie looked up to meet Lisa’s concern. “I’m fine, Lisa. Just dandy! That bastard! That two-faced nasty bastard! I’m so mad I could burst.”
“You’re angry? Really angry? Oh, Sylvie, that’s so good.” Lisa chuckled and poked her friend in the ribs. “Really?”
Sylvie straightened up, looked back at Lisa and started to laugh. “Lisa, I think I’m cured. No one, not even David, gets to speak to me like that.”
“He didn’t let you down gently then?”
“Nope,” replied Sylvie shaking her head. “How could I have thought I could spend the rest of my life with someone so lacking in compassion, I don’t know. I pity the animals he’s going to treat.”
“Just wait here a moment, Sylvie, and I’ll get permission to take the rest of the shift off. We can go for a walk to the park and talk things over.”
Sylvie nodded, “Thanks, Lisa, you’re a good friend.”
While Sylvie waited for Lisa to return she took several deep breaths, willing her anger away.
Lisa came hurrying up, “Sylvie, you look better already? You’re not so pale.”
“I’m working on it, Lisa. I don’t like losing my temper and getting mad.”
“You don’t have to tell me that, Sylvie. You’re one of the gentlest people I know.”
“Lisa, it was odd. Something just went click - in my head, in my heart or in my gut. I don’t know which - maybe, all three. It’s as if a spell has been lifted from me.”
“Now, you’re getting melodramatic, my friend, but I’m glad to know that you are no longer besotted.”
“Besotted, was I? Besotted?” asked Sylvie beginning to giggle. “Where did you dig up that quaint expression?”
Lisa caught the giggles, “Oh, I don’t know. Just seems to fit.”
The two girls looked at each other.
“Did you see how rigid David was?” asked Sylvie between giggles.
“You should have seen his face when you walked out, Sylvie. He looked as if someone had thrown a custard pie at him.”
“Don’t, oh don’t, Lisa. I’m going to be sick.”
They both had to stop for a moment to get their breath back they were laughing so hard.
“I’ll tell you what, Lisa,” gasped Sylvie in between spates of giggling, “It’s going to be a long, long time before I allow myself to become besotted with anyone else. It’s just too painful.”
“Right, no more besottedness for either of us. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” answered Sylvie firmly.
Arm in arm the two girls walked along the pavement to the park. The streets had not been swept and the pavement was covered with autumn leaves. Lisa kicked the leaves up in front of her as she walked along. “I haven’t done this since I was a kid,” she said.
Sylvie watched her friend with envy. She had worn her most expensive heels in a bid to charm David. Then she thought, what the hell? With a passing thought that this would be the second pair of shoes destroyed in a week, she joined in. It felt good to be silly and childish for a few moments at the end of what had been such a stressful week.
When they reached the park, they found an empty bench near the entrance and sat down.
Sylvie turned to Lisa, “I know we’ve been laughing about all this and I said I was cured, but that’s not really true.”
“Sylvie, you can’t get over a long relationship like yours just like that. It will take time. I think you should get away from here for a bit. Give things time to fade.”
“Run away, you mean?”
“No, it wouldn’t be running away. It would be giving yourself a chance to turn the page, as they say, and begin the rest of your life.”
“Where do you suggest I go? And what would I do?” asked Sylvie.
“You’ve just finished your degree. It’s a good time to take a break, say a year. You could approach Professor Templeton about taking a sabbatical. Maybe he would have some suggestions to make.”
“It’s a good idea, Lisa, when I think about it. I wouldn’t have constant reminders around pulling me back into my time with David. It would give me the opportunity to get back my self-respect. It wasn’t funny to be dumped at the altar in true clichéd fashion. I can tell you: it’s going to take me some time to get over being a laughing stock.”
“And peo
ple will forget. Something new will come along to entertain them and your misfortune will be history.”
Sylvie thought for a moment and then she said, “I’ll contact Professor Templeton as soon as I get home and see if he has any ideas, and if he will give me leave of absence.”
Sylvie had telephoned Professor Templeton as soon as she returned home that afternoon and he had said to come in first thing on Monday morning. He could squeeze in twenty minutes with her before his tutorials began.
Monday was one of Yvonne’s days for her student-counseling clinic and so Sylvie asked her for a lift. Her mother dropped her off outside the elegant antebellum building in which Professor Templeton had his office.
Every time Sylvie visited his office, be it for a tutorial or for advice, she thought how lucky he was to be Dean of the Veterinary Science School and work in such a beautiful place. As she walked up the path to the front steps, she admired the majesty of its white Palladian pillars and the evergreen magnolia on the right of the building. It was as resplendent in autumn as in summer. Not so the floribunda rosebushes lining the path; they were mere skeletons of their summer selves.
A bit like me, she thought. They’re conserving their energy and preparing for a new burst of life. I wonder where I’ll be next summer. Telling herself to get a grip and not keep the Prof waiting, she hurried up the steps and upstairs to his study.
The Professor had obviously been watching out for her as he came to open the door as she reached it. “Come in, m’dear.”
He drew her into the room, closed the door behind her and pulled her towards him, wrapping her in a bear hug. “You look wonderful, Sylvie. You’ve color in your cheeks again and the light is back in your eyes.”
Sylvie looked at him as if she didn’t quite believe him, “Really? I really look better than the last time you saw me?”
“Miles better, my dear. You’re nearly back to the goddaughter I love so much. What happened? … Here, come and sit down before you answer.”
Sylvie sat down in one of the comfortable armchairs in front of the Professor’s desk and he took the other.
Leaning forward to hold her hands, he asked, “So, my child, what has changed? David hasn’t had second thoughts, has he?”
Sylvie shook her head. “No, Prof, it’s not that. When I met him yesterday, I realized that you can’t make someone love you. I have to accept that it’s over and move on with my life. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
The Professor let go of Sylvie’s hands and leant back in his chair. He studied her for a few moments then he said, “I know what you want to talk to me about. Your mother called me last night and filled me in on what you –”
“Oh, I wish she wouldn’t do that. I love my mother deeply but I need to handle this myself.”
The Professor patted Sylvie’s knee. “There, there, my child. Your mother loves you and only wants what’s best for you and, anyway, she gave me a head start. I put out some feelers immediately and I think I have found a wonderful opportunity for you.”
Sylvie sat up straighter, “What sort of opportunity?”
The Professor chuckled, “I thought that would surprise you. A result already and you haven’t even asked me for help yet!”
“Don’t tease me, Prof. Go on, tell me.”
“I have found you a six-month placement in France –”
“In France? But that’s on the other side of the world!”
“No, no, my child. Don’t exaggerate. It’s only on the other side of the Atlantic.”
“Yes, but France. What sort of placement?”
“There’s a wild life conservation project in the South East of France. In the French Alps. They could do with a helping hand over the winter months, preferably someone with veterinary experience. You would fit the bill perfectly, Sylvie.”
“But what about my graduate course here? What about my thesis for my PhD?”
The Professor tutted. “Slow down, Sylvie. Give me a chance to explain. I have arranged for you to take a year’s sabbatical. Your place on the graduate program will still be here for you next year. And you could use your experience over in France towards your thesis if you choose to.”
“You said ‘winter’. Does that mean I would have to leave immediately?”
“Well, almost immediately. Isn’t that what you want, Sylvie?”
Sylvie thought how wonderful it would be to escape from everything that reminded her of her wedding fiasco and from the pitying looks of her fellow students, to get right away for six months, discover fresh ideas and meet new people.
“But, Prof, who’s going to pay for all this?”
“Sylvie, you don’t have to worry about the financing. That’s all taken care of. Part of the funding is from the University and part from the European Union. Just think about it for a moment while I pour us both a cup of coffee.”
Sylvie sat back and watched unseeing as the Professor crossed the room to the coffee maker and poured out two cups of coffee. She didn’t have to consider for long. She had already made up her mind when he first mooted the project.
The Professor put a cup down on his desk at Sylvie’s side. “Aren’t you going to ask me what the conservation project is all about, Sylvie?”
Sylvie smiled, “Go on, then. I can see you’re dying to tell me.”
“What is your favorite animal, m’dear?” teased the Professor.
Sylvie considered for a moment. It couldn’t be. “Oh, no, not wolves?”
The Professor laughed, “Thought that would surprise you.”
“Wolves? In the south of France? I have heard something about that but don’t know any details. How did you manage to persuade them that I would be a useful addition to their program?”
“Some merit on your side, my child. I mentioned the volunteer work you had carried out with the Yellowstone re-population project during your vacations. Plus a large dose of nepotism. Reminded them that your father had been a foremost expert on Canadian wolves before he took up his post with us down here in Mississippi.”
Sylvie was alarmed. “Oh I hope they’re not going to expect me to be an expert, too.”
“Not at all. They’re expecting someone with a degree in veterinary science, an open mind and a love of conservation. And I think you fit the bill, don’t you, Sylvie?”
It was too marvelous to be believed. Sylvie jumped out of her chair to give the Professor a thank-you kiss.
“There, there, my child,” he said, detaching her arms from round his neck. “I haven’t finished telling you everything.”
“There’s more?”
“I have, also, arranged for Lisa to go with you –”
“What?” gasped Sylvie. “Lisa as well?”
“Don’t look so worried. I have already spoken to Lisa and she is thrilled to have the chance to go to France with you. Apparently, they can make use of her knowledge over there, as they have some prehistoric sites in the same national park. Lisa says she’ll be able to work up a comparison with the prehistoric sites here in the US.”
Sylvie clapped her hands together. “I can’t take all this in. It’s like a fairy tale. This time last week, I was so miserable. I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me and now I am going on an adventure to another country, another continent, to study my favorite wild animal.”
The Professor gave her an affectionate look. “Sylvie you deserve it. What happened to you should never happen to a loving young woman. Now you really must go, m’dear, as I have tutorials for the rest of the morning.”
Sylvie gave the kindly old man another kiss and turned to leave the room. At the door, she spun round suddenly, “But what about my mother, Prof? I don’t like to leave her alone.”
Professor Templeton smiled. “You don’t have to be concerned about Yvonne. You know we are fond of each other. I shall make sure she is all right and keep her company while you are away … Now, off with you.”
3 : Moving On
The next few days were spent i
n preparing for the trip. There were visas to arrange, clothes to buy and tickets to book. It would be a long journey. The first leg was from Clarksville to Charlotte in North Carolina, from where they would fly across the Atlantic to London Gatwick. There they would spend the night in a bed and breakfast near the airport. The following morning they were to take a morning flight across the English Channel and down to the south of France, landing in Nice. The two young women had asked if they could go via Paris but when they heard that it would be cold and wintry in the north of France at the beginning of December, they decided to leave Paris for their return journey in the summer.
It was only a two-hour hop from London to Nice and their plane landed just in time for clearance before lunch. Sylvie pulled her coat tighter as she stepped out of the plane to descend the metal stairway; they had traveled ten degrees northwards from Clarksville and there was a decided nip in the air.
Halfway down the stairs Sylvie Latour paused so that she could lift her eyes from the negotiation of the next step to look out over Nice. She expected some jolt of genetic recognition of this her ancestral home, but the sky was overcast and all before her was drab and unexciting. It was winter after all and she was tired from the long journey from Mississippi, and anxious about whether she had made the right decision in coming to a strange land to work with people she had never met.
Lisa nudged her from the step above, “What’s wrong, Sylvie?”
Sylvie turned and gave her friend a rueful smile, “I just had an attack of cold feet - literally and metaphorically. I’m sure everything will seem friendlier when the sun comes out.”
She continued on down the stairs. As they were non-EU citizens, the two girls were the last ones through immigration and so it wasn’t difficult for them to spot their welcoming committee. This was a tall young man with raggedy blond hair and a big grin on his homely face. He was holding up a placard saying, Université du Mississippi.
“That’s got to be us,” said Lisa laughing, as she stepped forward, arm out to shake hands. “Hi, I’m Lisa.”
Waking the Wolf (Coup de Foudre) Page 2
