The Island House, page 26
Courtney followed Erica out of the room, down the hall, and into Christabel’s room. Christabel looked even worse today. Some of the bruises on her face were displaying a rainbow of colors that no human face should wear. And she still looked woozy, no doubt from the pain medication.
Courtney went to the side of the hospital bed and took Christabel’s hand. “I spoke to Julian. He said to tell you he loves you. He couldn’t get over last night—the fog, no planes, no ferries. But he’s coming first thing this morning.”
Christabel scribbled: Thank you.
“I didn’t tell your father. I thought you should do that.”
Christabel scribbled: Groan.
“Yes, but what’s going to happen when Julian arrives here to see you? This hospital’s too small for them not to run into each other. Your poor father, Christabel, you’ve got to warn him.”
Christabel scribbled: U do it.
“Oh, thanks very much, but come on, Christabel, it’s not my place to tell him.”
Christabel scribbled: Sorry. Fading. Can’t talk now. She closed her eyes. Her hand went limp and the pen rolled away from her fingers onto the bed table.
“Christabel. I know you’re faking it. You can’t leave this kind of responsibility with me. You’ve got to grow up and tell your father yourself!”
Erica Carr, who had been standing silently in the corner, came forward. “We should let the patient rest.”
Frustrated, Courtney nodded and stepped away. She went out into the hall and returned to the waiting room. As she came in, Quinn went out, following the nurse who was taking him to see Christabel.
“While you were there,” Robin said, “a nurse came in and told us that James is resting comfortably. All signs good.” She cocked her head. “What?”
“Let’s go outside,” Courtney said. “I need some fresh air to wake me up.”
They trotted down the stairs and out the heavy fire door. The air was sparkling and fresh, as if it were carbonated. For a few minutes, they didn’t talk but walked around the hospital, letting their gazes—and their minds—rest on the flowers of the dogwood tree and the impatiens planted in profusion by the front door. Traffic buzzed up and down Surfside Road and they saw a couple of early-bird bikers pedaling along Vestal Street.
“The world is going on as usual,” Robin said. “It’s kind of unsettling, isn’t it? Inside the hospital, everything’s shrunk down to one—or two—people and their tiny cells and veins and muscles.”
“James’s muscles aren’t tiny,” Courtney insisted.
“Oh, you know what I mean. Out here, the world is limitless. We can hear birds singing. And all this luscious green grass.” Robin spun in a circle, arms out.
“You are kind of a freak, you know,” Courtney said wryly.
“That’s probably true,” Robin answered, without taking offense. “But, Courtney, I feel so free today. So relieved!”
“You mean about Christabel? And what about you and Quinn? If you still feel things are over between you, I think you need to have a conversation with him. I know it’s hard.”
“You’re right.” Robin sagged. “Gosh, what a way to begin the summer.”
“Hang on.” Courtney held up her hand. “Phone.”
“Miss Hendricks? This is Julian Moreau. I’m boarding Nantucket Airlines shortly. I’ll arrive on the island a little before eight o’clock. Shall I rent a car or will you be able to pick me up?”
“I’ll pick you up,” Courtney said. “I’ll be in a white minivan.”
“What?” Robin demanded.
Courtney checked her watch. “Julian will be here in twenty minutes. I told him I’d pick him up.”
“Holy moly. Courtney, you’ve got to say something about him to Quinn. You’ve got to prepare him.”
“I do? You do.”
“No, listen to me. Christabel broke the news to you because she knows you are the least entangled in this whole mess. Come on, Quinn might get all emotional if I tell him. He’s bound to be more restrained with you, and truly, that’s a kindness to him, to prevent him from making some kind of scene he’d be embarrassed about later.”
“You really should work for the State Department,” Courtney said. “You’ve got the instincts of a diplomat!”
“But I’m right. You know I’m right.”
“So I’ve got twenty minutes to tell Quinn something that will explode his mind, and then I’ve got to go get Julian?”
“Yes, and I’m going with you. I’ll be with you when you tell Quinn, but then I’ll want to get away from him as soon as possible.”
“Coward,” Courtney said mildly.
Robin strode toward the front door and held it open. “Come on. Let’s get it over with.”
Invigorated by the fresh morning air and their anxiety, they raced up the stairs to the second floor and hurried to the waiting room.
“Quinn?” Courtney stuck her head in the door. “We need to speak to you.”
“Actually, I changed my mind. We need to speak to you all.” Robin brushed past Courtney and stepped into the waiting room. “It’s not going to be a secret in about twenty minutes. And Dad and Mom can help Quinn deal with it.”
“What else could I possibly need to deal with?” Quinn stood up, looking puzzled.
Courtney pulled the door shut. “When I went in to see Christabel last night, she wrote me a note. She told me that she’s been seeing an art dealer from Boston, Julian Moreau, for two years. She’s kept it secret because he’s married, with three children, and he’s in the process of getting divorced.”
Quinn glared at Robin. “What is Courtney talking about? I know no Julian Moreau.”
Robin’s heart swelled with sympathy. “It’s true, Quinn. She’s not making it up. Christabel wrote Courtney a note last night telling her this.”
Quinn swayed. “I—I—Why didn’t she tell me?”
“Christabel said she was worried that you’d object. He’s twenty years older than she is.’ ”
Quinn looked at Robin. “That would pose no problem for me. But that he’s married, that she’s been seeing a married man…” He put his hand on his forehead. “I can’t take it in. I can’t believe it.”
“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you all this,” Courtney said. “But there’s more. I called Julian last night—because Christabel asked me to. He just called and I’m picking him up at the airport in about fifteen minutes.”
“More like ten minutes,” Robin said. She touched Courtney’s arm. “We’ve got to go.”
“This is too much,” Quinn said. “This is too much.” He fixed his gaze on Robin, as if waiting for her to say something.
Robin jangled the keys. “Come on, Courtney.”
They left the room and trotted down the stairs and outside.
“You really don’t love him, do you?” Courtney asked Robin. “If you did, you couldn’t leave him now when he’s had such shocking news.”
They jumped in the minivan with Robin behind the wheel. “I don’t love him, Courtney. It’s the oddest thing. I mean, I was sure I loved him, I did love him, but first he insisted we move off island and then he objected to my visits with the whales. It’s like my love for him was a loose tooth and it got looser and looser and then last night when he wanted to blame James for the accident, it simply fell out.”
Courtney burst into laughter. “Trust you to compare love to a loose tooth.”
“Well, whatever it is, I am completely no longer in love with Quinn. You should understand. You’ve just kissed off that hunky cowboy.”
“I never loved Monty the way you loved Quinn. I loved him like a brother. We were best buddies for years.”
“Yeah, and I’m sure you never noticed his manly cowboy charm,” Robin teased.
She slowed as she turned into the airport road. In front of the terminal stood a man wearing a light linen suit, white duck shoes, a blue shirt, and a white tie.
“That has to be Julian Moreau,” Courtney said.
“He looks like Tom Wolfe, you know, the writer.”
“Like a dandy, you mean. Oh, god, Robin, look at his hair. Look at his face! He could be a double for Quinn.”
“No, he couldn’t! What a gross thing to say.” Robin parked the car in the loading zone. “You go get him. You’re the one he’s been talking to.”
Courtney stepped out onto the sidewalk. The day was getting brighter and warmer and she felt slightly dizzy from lack of sleep.
She approached the man. “Julian?”
“Yes. You must be Courtney. Thank you for fetching me.”
“You’re welcome.” As she slid the door open to the backseat, she said, “Robin’s driving. She’s one of Christabel’s friends. We’ve been at the hospital all night.”
Julian set his heavy leather case on the floor of the backseat, climbed in, and settled. “Hello, Robin. Thank you for your help.”
Courtney returned to the front seat and Robin put the car in gear.
“How is Christabel?” Julian Moreau asked.
“She’s being operated on by an oral surgeon,” Courtney said. “I saw her this morning, before her operation, and I told her I’d spoken to you. I let her know you were coming.”
“We also told her father about you,” Robin said. She kept her eyes fixed on the road as she spoke. “He was shocked. I mean, we just told Quinn about you. So he’s got a lot to absorb. The accident. Christabel needing oral surgery. Now, you.”
“How soon can I see Christabel?”
“I don’t know, whenever the oral surgeon’s done with her. Until then, you can do what we’ve been doing—waiting.”
Robin couldn’t explain exactly why she took Julian up to the second floor in the elevator. Courtney didn’t object, and Julian obviously thought this was normal, and it was normal, but to Robin going up in the elevator seemed almost ceremonial and certainly more dignified than running up the steps two at a time, the way she’d been doing. Maybe there was something theatrical about the elevator, too—the way the doors opened, like curtains in a theater.
She had expected that Quinn would be pacing the hallway, and he was. Her parents, she could see, were seated in the waiting room, allowing Quinn to meet Julian Moreau in privacy.
The elevator pinged when it stopped at the second floor. Julian stepped out. Robin and Courtney followed. Robin couldn’t breathe.
Quinn approached his daughter’s fiancé and held out his hand. “You must be Julian Moreau. I’m Quinn Eliot, Christabel’s father.”
Quinn was so civilized! Robin thought. He didn’t seem upset or critical, and it was eerie how much the two men resembled each other. They could be brothers.
“I’m happy to meet you,” Julian said as the two men shook hands. “How is she?”
“Probably sedated at the moment,” Quinn said. “She’s being worked on by an oral surgeon. The nurse told me Christabel has to have her mouth wired shut because of her broken jaw. She will need to drink out of a straw for the next six weeks. Then she will need new teeth implanted.” Quinn gave the other man an appraising look. “Eventually, she’ll be as good as new, but she will need a lot of care.”
Julian nodded. “I see. Okay, then, how can I help?”
Quinn raised his eyebrows. “I’m not sure. I would assume Christabel should remain on the island for a while after this operation. The dental surgeon lives here.”
“I’ll rent a house,” Julian said. “That way I can come to your house whenever you or Christabel want me there.”
Robin stared at Courtney, who stared back, both of them open-mouthed with shock.
“My divorce has been finalized,” Julian continued. “I’m a free man, and I want to marry your daughter. I want to be here for her. I can run my business from anywhere I can get Wi-Fi, although I will need to make a few quick trips to Boston. My children are in Europe traveling with their mother this summer. They know about Christabel and they’re happy for me.”
“There’s no need for you to rent a house,” Quinn said. Turning, he continued, “Let’s walk. We have a lot to talk about.”
As soon as the men had gone around the corner, Robin said, “Oh my god! Quinn is being more than polite! He’s being friendly.”
“It seems like he’s good with the idea of another man taking on the care of Christabel,” Courtney said with a grin.
In the waiting room, they found Susanna standing up, smoothing her clothes, finding her purse.
“What’s up, Mom?” Robin asked.
“Your father and I got to see James while you were off at the airport. He’s sound asleep—”
“Which he should be,” her father interrupted, “given the amount of pain medication pumping through him. It’s a violation of the body, you know, to be cut open, and the body needs its rest to recover and renew. He’s not going to be able to converse until this evening at the earliest.”
“But he’s okay?” Courtney asked.
“He’s okay,” Susanna answered. “I couldn’t have gone home last night and slept, not with James in the hospital. There’s something about the night, the dark…I can’t explain it. It’s as if, during the night, when everyone is sleeping, everyone is vulnerable, more vulnerable than in the day. So your father and I needed to stay here, close by, dozing, but waking often, our minds and hearts sheltering James through the silent mysterious empty hours. And you two girls, you helped, too, being here.”
Dr. V grumbled, “We stayed because we needed to be here in case James’s vital signs changed. If necessary, I could always step in.”
“Of course, dear.” Susanna patted her husband’s arm. “But I’m exhausted, and I need a shower and a nap. I’ll come back this afternoon to relieve you girls, and we can all be here this evening. I think—your father thinks—James will be able to talk a little tonight. And you’ll call us if anything happens?”
“Of course. Go get some rest,” Robin said.
After her parents left, Robin said to Courtney, “Okay, they’re both whack jobs and I can’t decide which one’s craziest.”
“Actually, Robin, I think your mother’s right, about night and day. I love being around her, hearing her say stuff like that.”
“What about your mother?” Robin asked as they settled on the long sofa.
“What about her? You met her at Easter. She’s the opposite of Susanna. Rarely speaks her feelings.”
“Still, if you marry James, I can’t see you living in Kansas. Won’t your mother miss you?”
“Really? I doubt it. Mom and Dad are like moss on a tree—what’s that word? Symbiotic. They’re so close to each other that in their own way they are dependent on each other. They have their routine, and they like it never to change. Dad runs the pharmacy, Mom hides in the back and does the books. She reads while he watches sports. They never go to, oh, Kansas City to a play or a baseball game. They’ve never traveled anywhere, except to Colorado on their honeymoon.”
“But still…Monty’s such a huge catch. Did they ever think you’d end up with him?”
Courtney grinned. “I doubt it. Remember, Monty hung around our house when he was thirteen. They probably think he’s like a brother to me. If they think about it at all.” Courtney put her arms around a pillow and leaned forward. “I love my parents, but they wouldn’t be upset if I decided to move to China. Not every family is like yours, Robin.”
“Thank god for that.”
Courtney laughed. “I mean, your family is so close. You take people in. Susanna actually adopts children—her ‘summer children.’ My parents aren’t like that. I’m not saying one is good or one is bad, no judgment here. Anyway, never mind about me. You have to have a conversation with Quinn.”
“Not today,” Robin decided. “I don’t want him to have two shocks on the same day.”
“Mmm,” Courtney agreed sleepily, adjusting the pillow behind her head.
“I should at least wait until Christabel’s out of surgery. Or home, or something…” Robin leaned her head against the sofa and closed her eyes.
They were awakened by the tantalizing aroma of cheeseburgers. Julian and Quinn came into the waiting room, both carrying brown paper bags.
“Lunch!” Quinn announced, moving the magazines aside and setting the food out on the coffee table. “Comfort food. Cheeseburgers and hot turkey Reubens.”
Robin sat up, rubbing her eyes. “What time is it?”
“It’s twelve-thirty,” Quinn told her. “We have both been in to see Christabel, who is resting comfortably. We decided we needed sustenance, so we went to the Downy Flake. We brought enough for Alastair and Susanna.” Quinn looked around, obviously wondering where they were.
“They went home to shower and rest,” Courtney told them. “They’ll be back this afternoon and then we can go home and shower.”
“Great!” Quinn handed out the food.
Robin was certain she felt too wound up to eat. But when she bit into her warm, rich, tasty cheeseburger, it calmed every corpuscle in her body.
Julian pulled a chair closer to the table. He gobbled up a turkey Reuben and drank soda from a paper cup—something that amused Robin, who thought he seemed way too elegant for paper cups.
“I’ll go peek at Christabel after I eat,” Robin said, wanting to put off the talk with Quinn as long as possible.
“You’ll be shocked,” Julian said. “Because her jaw’s been wired, she can’t open her mouth and they had to do a tracheotomy so they could insert a breathing tube.”
“Oh, no!” Courtney cried. “That sounds painful.”
“It’s not,” Quinn said. “And it’s necessary. She’ll be here, on an IV for a couple more days, until she’s stabilized.”
“After a week or so at home, we can move her to my place in Boston,” Julian said. “The change of scenery should cheer her up.”
Courtney exchanged glances with Robin. So Quinn would be alone for a few weeks. What did that mean for Robin?
“Let’s go see James!” Robin announced, crumpling up her sandwich wrapper.
“Don’t go into Christabel’s room,” Julian said. “She’s sleeping. The nurse told us to let her rest until tonight. We can see her then.”
