Coffee, Sex and Law

by Avril Rose

  It’s one of the receptionists.

  The scene in front of me seems surreal.

  “Do you have them on the phone?” Zoe asks, impatient.

  “Yes, now I do.”

  “Tell them that we have a man who is unconscious and unresponsive.”

  The person follows Zoe’s calm but firm orders. I continue calling to my dad, begging him to wake up.

  Please, Dad.

  “They want to know if he has a pulse,” the receptionist asks Zoe.

  “Yes,” she says clearly. “But it’s getting weaker.” “Wait... Shit, I can’t find a pulse anymore! Tell them I’m going to start CPR!”

  “CPR? Zoe? What’s going on? Has he stopped breathing?” I ask, on the edge of a panic attack.

  “Do you have a defibrillator?”

  Has his heart stopped?

  Zoe is now on her knees. Her hands are flat, one on top of the other. With her arms stiff, she presses firmly on my dad’s rib cage. His body jumps under the force of her quick movements.

  It's so violent. She might break something! Does she know what she's doing?

  She stops to check his pulse before continuing the compressions.

  “Liam! Liam! Do you have a defibrillator in the building?” she insists, almost screaming to get my attention.

  “Um... yes...”

  “Go get it!”

  I’m paralyzed. I can’t look away from my father’s inanimate body.

  “Now, Liam!” she adds.

  I snap back to reality and get to my feet, running to get the device.

  “Does anyone else know CPR?” she asks in a loud voice, out of breath as she wipes the sweat from her forehead.

  I sit back down next to her, defibrillator in hand.

  "I still don’t have a pulse. And no one else here seems to know CPR. We’re going to shock him.”

  “Shock him?”

  “Take the defibrillator out of the box!” she says, not even answering me.

  The people are all still standing around, watching the scene. Everyone has something to say. But no one is doing anything.

  “I can’t keep this up for much longer, Liam. Come on!”

  “I don't know how it works...”

  I don't even know which side is which! This can’t be happening! My dad’s life is at stake and no one knows how this piece of junk works!

  “You turn it on, right there!” Zoe guides me. “And listen to the instructions. It’s easy, you'll see,” she reassures me, unbuttoning my dad’s shirt. “Give me the electrodes now!”

  I do as she says, trusting Zoe completely as she manages the situation like a pro. I watch her position the electrodes on my father’s chest.

  “Analyzing heart rhythm, please wait,” the robotic voice explains. The procedure takes a few seconds, but it seems like forever. The lobby is dead silent.

  “Shock recommended. Preparing shock. Move away from the patient.”

  “He's going to be shocked! Move back!” Zoe warns the crowd.

  My father's lifeless body is shaken violently by the shock. I cover my mouth in horror.

  “If necessary, perform CPR.”

  Zoe, still out of breath, starts chest compressions again.

  We can finally hear the siren, announcing the imminent arrival of the squad. It’s only been a couple minutes since we called, but it seems to have taken an eternity.

  “What's going on?” asks one of the paramedics, unpacking equipment as he talks.

  He has a team with him who are already setting up contraptions I’ve never seen before.

  “It’s my dad,” I say, finally finding my voice. He’s unconscious. His heart has stopped.

  “Do you have a pulse?” he asks Zoe, who stops her compressions to answer the paramedic.

  “Yes! Finally! But it’s very weak,” she explains.

  I let her give him a detailed report of the situation, and find myself to be a simple bystander of the scene yet again, a scene that will now become my worst nightmare, I’m sure.

  To see my dad like this, lying on the ground, between life and death. It's extremely painful. And yet he seems calm, peaceful, as if he were asleep. I feel so powerless.

  I don’t see Zoe anymore. How much time has passed since the ambulance got here?

  The paramedic's voice brings me back to reality.

  “He’s stabilized. We’re going to transport him. Do you want to come with him?”

  "Yes, please.”

  “Alright, follow us.”

  I hurry to follow them, not wanting to waste any precious time.

  Just before the ambulance doors close, I catch sight of Zoe, standing apart from all the curious onlookers gathered there.

  I have just enough time to mouth "thank you" before she disappears.

  ***

  We’ve been at the hospital for four hours. My mom met me here as soon as I called. She fell into my arms, sobbing. And since then, the tears haven’t stopped.

  “He’s okay, Mom. He’s stable,” I try to reassure her.

  But there’s nothing to be done: until she’s seen him with her own eyes, she’ll continue on like this.

  “Liam, he has to slow down. It’s going to kill him if he keeps this up,” she pleads. “All of that stress, it’s not good. No good at all.”

  “You’re right. He needs to slow down. And I’ll make sure he does this time,” I promise, rubbing her back to comfort her.

  “How are you doing?”

  “I’m recovering!” I say, minimizing the shock.

  In reality, I was pretty traumatized by the events this morning. Will I ever forget that awful scene? I’ll never be able to look at my dad in the same way again. He seemed so vulnerable. I still saw him through the eyes of a child up until now. Today I realized my dad is not the all-powerful, invincible being I once believed. His life was hanging by a thread for those long minutes.

  But there’s no use telling all that to my mom. It would only worry her more.

  “Thank goodness you were there!”

  “Me? I was completely useless. It's Zoe you need to thank.”

  “Who is that? Does she work at the firm?”

  “No, she’s... a friend. She was in the lobby when it happened. And she handled the whole thing. You should have seen her: she had all the right reflexes. She’s the one who performed CPR on Dad. And she asked for the defibrillator. Without her, Dad might not have survived. We're deeply indebted to her.”

  The words came spilling out in one go, and now I’m out of breath. I really admire Zoe for how she handled everything so calmly.

  “I completely panicked, Mom!” I confess suddenly.

  She puts her arm around my shoulders, encouraging me to go on.

  “I didn’t know what to do. I was so terrified that I wasn’t even capable of dialing 911! There were a dozen people standing around the lobby, and no one knew how to perform CPR. Zoe was exhausted and no one could take her place! Can you imagine? It’s unacceptable! We have people trained for that kind of thing at the office! And I was no better than the rest of them. On the contrary, I should be setting a good example. Well, I’m going to fix that now. I’m going to get first aid training, too. I’ve always used my busy schedule as an excuse, and it could have cost Dad his life!”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself, honey. The most important thing is that your friend was there. And there’s still time to get some training and improve the situation at the firm. Until we’re faced with a crisis, we forget how much that kind of thing matters.”

  “You’re right. Actually... Zoe is more than a friend. I mean, I think...”

  “Well, given the way you were talking about her, I figured,” she says, smiling.

  ***

  I dozed off in a chair in the waiting room. My foggy mind comes to slowly when I feel a hand gently shaking my arm. I finally op
en my eyes.

  “Hi.”

  “Zoe?”

  I didn’t expect to see her here. It’s a nice surprise. I owe her so much, after what she did for my dad.

  I stretch my sore back, stiff from my cramped sleeping position, and rub my eyes, looking up at her. No matter what time of day or night, Zoe is always gorgeous, so fresh and bright. My body quickly reminds me how much I’ve missed her. And yet, our night together wasn’t all that long ago.

  “I wanted to make sure everything was okay with your dad. They wouldn’t tell me anything over the phone, so...”

  “I don't know how to thank you, Zoe,” I say, interrupting her as I stand up to take her in my arms. “Without you, my father would probably be dead. You were incredible.”

  I pull back, and without thinking, I take her face in my hands and kiss her lips. A kiss that expresses my gratitude, but also my need for her. I’m so happy to see her. I savor the power of her warm lips against mine. The magic is instantaneous, and it’s like I’m brought back to life. I almost forget where we are.

  She stops the kiss quickly, too quickly for my taste.

  “How is he?” she asks, sitting down in a chair.

  I sit next to her.

  “He needs a lot of rest, but the doctors seem confident. He needs to work less and avoid stress as much as possible. I’m going to have to make sure he really cools it this time. My mom is with him right now. Where did you learn all that? You seemed so calm. You were just unbelievable.”

  “My dad died of a heart attack.”

  “I didn't know,” I say, feeling both saddened and awkward. “I’m sorry, Zoe.”

  “No one knew what to do that day. So when you know that each minute lost reduces their chance of survival by ten percent... He died right in front of me. I swore I’d do the training so I’d never feel responsible for anyone else’s death.”

  “I can never thank you enough, Zoe. You saved him. Your dad would be proud of you.”

  I take her hand in mine and caress her skin affectionately. I feel so guilty that I didn't know how to react. But my father is still alive. I can’t even imagine how Zoe must feel. The guilt must eat away at her, day after day.

  My dark thoughts are interrupted by my mom entering the room. Zoe quickly pulls away, taking her hand back and sitting up straight in her chair.

  “You must be Zoe! I’m so happy to meet you.”

  I smile at my mom’s disconcerting familiarity. She pulled Zoe up to hug her lovingly.

  “Zoe, this is my mom.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Desages.”

  “Call me Daphne, please. Liam told me how you handled everything today. I’m just as impressed as he is. I don’t know how we can even begin to thank you. We owe you so much. If it wasn't for you..."

  “How is your husband?”

  “He’s embarrassed that he 'made a spectacle in front of his co-workers.’ Which means he’s fine, because he’s already thinking about how this incident will affect the firm,” she says, annoyed.

  “I’ll keep my promise, Mom. This time he’s going to slow down. Whether he likes it or not.”

  “I’m glad to hear he’s doing well. I’ll leave you now, I just wanted to come and check how he was doing,” Zoe says, putting on her jacket.

  “Thank you for coming by Zoe, it’s very nice of you. We’ll invite you to the house for dinner once Paul has recovered.”

  My mom anticipates Zoe’s reaction, and just when she’s about to politely decline the invitation, she says:

  “It’s the least we can do, Zoe. I insist!”

  She nods in acceptance.

  “Goodbye. And I wish Mister Desages a speedy recovery.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” I say in a tone brooking no contradiction.

  We walk in silence down the hall. I suddenly remember the reason that Zoe came into the firm this morning.

  “By the way, about last night...”

  “Mister Desages?”

  A doctor is calling me, interrupting my attempt to explain the misunderstanding between the two of us.

  “Go on, Liam. We’ll talk about that later,” she says, sounding exhausted.

  Before I can say another word, she turns on her heels and disappears into the maze of hospital hallways.

  ***

  “Come on, Zoe. Pick up!”

  Too late. It’s 10 p.m., you dipshit! Temple Coffee has already been closed for a while. There’s no point. And I didn’t even ask her for her phone number.

  I have to contact her.

  Her sad, disappointed look from this morning has been haunting me since I left the hospital.

  I know! If there’s one piece of information I can get easily, it’s her address. I just need to find the legal notice she had to issue when she became the manager of the café. Bingo! Kind of scary what you can do with the Internet these days.

  Anyway, explaining oneself face-to-face is better than by telephone.

  At least, that’s what I keep telling myself as I drive from my office to her apartment, trying to convince myself it’s a good idea.

  When I get to the door of her building, I come upon another obstacle. I don’t have the door code.

  “You want in?” a guy offers as he walks out.

  It’s not very safe for him to let just anyone in the building, but I have to say, it’s a huge help to me!

  “Yeah, thanks!”

  I look for Zoe’s name on the mailboxes. Second floor, apartment 302. Perfect. No need to be a detective to find someone these days.

  I race up the steps, two at a time, anxious to see her. I knock immediately, praying she’s home.

  I hear footsteps, a good sign! They stop for a few seconds at the door between us. Probably while Zoe checks the peephole to see who her surprise visitor is.

  “Liam? What are you doing here? How did you find my address?” she asks coolly.

  She doesn’t try to hide her surprise or her displeasure at my being there, at her door, at this time of night.

  “I’m sorry, Zoe. I know it’s late, but I really need to explain this misunderstanding.”

  She looks weary and she’s wearing a long button-up denim shirt. Her hair is tied up with a pen, wispy strands flying around her face. She looks incredibly sexy.

  She steps aside and motions for me to come in.

  Her apartment is just like her: simple, but warm and inviting.

  She sits in a club chair, curling her feet up underneath her, and offers me a seat on the couch. I can feel the tension.

  "I'm listening."

  “First, I really wanted to thank you again for my dad.”

  “How is he doing?” she asks sincerely.

  “He'll be alright. He won’t have any lasting problems, but he really needs to work less and relax more now. It’s the second warning sign like that. I don’t want to think what would happen if there’s a third.”

  Just mentioning it makes me nervous. I run my hand through my hair.

  “My dad means so much to me, you know,” I continue. “He’s my mentor, my role model. I felt so powerless earlier. I’ll never forget the image of him, so vulnerable, so...”

  “Human?” she suggests, a compassionate smile on her lips.

  “Yes,” I say, smiling back. “Human.”

  “He’s okay, Liam. That’s what counts. Don’t rehash this day over and over in your head, live the ones that lie ahead to the fullest.”

  Her eyes are suddenly darker. I know what she’s thinking about. My dad is fine because she quickly helped him. Her dad did not have the same luck.

  I decide to change the subject to clarify what hurt Zoe’s feelings the night before.

  “The woman I was with last night is Olivia Cartier. She’s my best friend. She lives in New York now. She’s in Paris for a few days and we got together last night,” I explain as simply as possib
le, unworried.

  I’m convinced that once this misunderstanding has been cleared up, everything will be okay.

  “The best friend card... I thought you’d come up with something more imaginative, Liam,” she retorts, angry.

  She's jealous!

  "It's the truth, Zoe! We’ve known each other for years. Olivia is very important to me. Nothing has ever happened between us except for a deep friendship. She’s like a big sister to me.”

  “What do you call her?” she asks.

  Her question throws me off guard.

  "What?”

  “It’s pretty common to give your close friends nicknames, right? What’s your pet name for your best friend?”

  Well shit, she may not like this.

  “I call her 'gorgeous,' ” I say, revealing everything and fearing her reaction.

  She’s speechless for a few seconds, her face tortured. She seems lost in thought, fighting an internal battle to decide whether she should believe me or not.

  “She’s happy and in love. She moved to New York with a friend of mine, Ethan Parker, a well-known businessman over there. Google it if you want. There are dozens of photos of them. And if you had stayed at the bar last night, you would have seen that Ethan was there, too."

  I put down my last card, hoping to convince her of my good faith and honesty.

  Since when do I have to fight to convince a woman? And moreover, since when do I care so much about what a woman thinks of me?

  “I... I'm tired, Liam. I’d like you to go now.”

  For a second, I thought I’d succeeded.

  Her determined look marked by exhaustion dissuades me from insisting.

  “Look them up, Zoe. You’ll see, it’s all just a big misunderstanding,” I say, looking straight into her eyes.

  I leave without saying another word, hurt by her refusal to believe me and the injustice of the situation.

  10

  Zoe

  I’ve been pacing the living room since Liam left, still in shock from his surprise visit and his explanations.

  I almost let him convince me. It's true he was honest about his nickname for this Olivia. But the best friend story? Really? It’s so predictable.

  I continue to torture myself, plagued with curiosity.

  What if he was telling the truth?