Turning Point(16)

“It’ll fly by, you’ll be so busy. And you’ll come back with a wealth of information we can use here, especially with multiple casualty incidents, mass prophylaxis planning, and disaster preparedness. The French have been hit hard in the last five years and have probably learned a lot from it.” San Francisco hadn’t had any mass terrorist incidents, although other cities in the United States had, and no place was exempt anymore. Terrorism was a factor in everyone’s life now, mostly from crazies in the States and political dissidents in Europe, but the end result was the same. Thousands of people injured and hundreds of people dead. All government agencies wanted to find ways to avoid the tragedies that were happening on campuses and in cities. It was man’s cruelty to man at its worst. “I’m proud of you for going,” the head of the unit said, tapping her on the shoulder. She realized after he left that this was not just about her and a trip to Paris. It was about what she would learn there and bring home to use for her patients’ benefit, and to teach the other doctors. She was an ambassador on an important mission, and on her way home that night, she made the decision. She was going to Paris, whether Andy understood it or not.

    She told him after dinner, when the boys were in bed, and he nodded, and made no comment. He went upstairs shortly after, took a shower, and went to bed, and he barely spoke to her for weeks afterward. She felt like a child abuser every time he looked at her, but she had made the decision and dug her heels in. On an intellectual level, and career-wise, she knew it was right. And five years from now, the boys wouldn’t even remember that she’d gone. It wasn’t going to scar them forever. They were four and six and they would miss her, but they’d forget about it as soon as she came home. It was Andy who would remember for longer.

When she told the boys a few days before she left, she promised to call them every day. Ryan cried for a few minutes when she explained it to them, and Aden looked sad for an instant and then said okay and went back to playing with his Legos. He was making a fort with his father. Andy hardly looked at her now that she’d decided to go to Paris. He never referred to it, or asked her when she was leaving. It had killed all but the most basic communication between them, exclusively about plans that involved their children. The romance or lust between them had been dead for months so nothing changed there. Her sister Nicole told her it was shocking, her mother didn’t comment and stayed out of it, but had told Nicole it was a mistake. And Andy’s mother told him how sorry she was that his wife was so selfish and gave so little thought to him and their boys. Stephanie knew she was definitely not a hero for leaving home, no matter how great the honor. And she hoped she wasn’t making a huge error that would strain their marriage past breaking point, but she was going anyway. She would do her best to fix it when she got home.



* * *



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    Wendy told Jeff about the trip to Paris on their first Wednesday night together after she’d been asked. She waited until after dinner, which she’d prepared for him, and set on a candlelit table with a white linen tablecloth. She always went all out on their nights together, and bought a good bottle of wine since he was off call on Wednesday nights. She broached the subject carefully, not sure what he would say, and wondering if he would object to her being gone for so long. She expected him to be somewhat upset.

His eyes lit up the moment she told him about the exchange program organized by the DEM and endorsed by the mayor’s office, and he smiled broadly at Wendy and touched her hand.

“That’s fantastic! I’m so proud of you! What a wonderful opportunity. And Paris…you’re going to have so much fun!” He assumed immediately that she was going and didn’t pick up on the uncertainty in her voice and eyes.

    “I wasn’t sure…I thought that maybe you’d be bothered by it. I was thinking that maybe I could go for part of it, like a week or two, and not stay the whole time.” It was a compromise she had thought of that week, but hadn’t asked if they’d agree.

“Why would you do that? If the program they’re planning is for an entire month, you should stay for the whole time. And why rush back to San Francisco when you can be in Paris?” He looked excited for her, and not upset at all.

“I don’t like leaving you for a whole month,” she said cautiously, but didn’t explain why. That she didn’t want to leave him alone with his wife for that long, without their Wednesday nights.

“I’ll be gone for half of it anyway,” he said matter-of-factly, and Wendy looked surprised. It was the first she had heard of it, as he smiled at her, looking relaxed. “The kids have their winter break then. Jane and I are taking them to Aspen. It’s everyone’s favorite vacation. They’re all good skiers.” Stephanie knew he was too. But she wasn’t thinking about their skiing. She was bowled over that he was taking them on vacation, again, with his wife. They still went on vacation with their kids several times a year. He had even taken her to a medical conference the year before. Jeff said it was because it was in Miami and she had never been. But it didn’t sit well with Wendy, and she knew that Aspen was a glamorous ski resort, and they would have a great time. She didn’t like the sound of it at all. “When do you leave?” Jeff asked her more precisely.

“In slightly less than two weeks,” she said. She had waited two days to tell him, until their Wednesday night tryst.