Chapter 2
Leila and I sat beneath a television neither of us watched.
She had come straight from her apartment, still wearing slippers. I held her hand while she told me what she knew. Andre had been working a late shift at Harrow Distribution. A loading platform had dropped while he was moving equipment. An ambulance brought him to St. Anne’s.
He had been awake long enough to give my name.
“Why didn’t he ask them to call me?” Leila whispered.
“He may have,” I said. “They might have reached me first.”
She nodded, though I could see she was hurt.
Andre and I had divorced four years earlier. We had learned to talk to each other as Noah’s parents after we stopped being able to talk as husband and wife. Leila had helped us through the worst months. She was Noah’s aunt, and she had every right to be in that waiting room.
I told her Pascal was with Noah and my sister.
“He’s all right?” she asked.
“His fever was coming down when I left.”
I checked my phone. Simone had sent a message: Noah was sleeping, and she would stay until I came home.
A second message arrived from Pascal.
You made your choice.
I turned the screen over.
Near two in the morning, a surgeon came to speak with us. Andre had a broken leg and internal injuries. The operation had gone well, but he needed close monitoring.
“Can we see him?” Leila asked.
“When he’s settled in intensive care.”
The surgeon looked at me. “He was very concerned about his son before surgery.”
“Noah is safe,” I said.
Saying it aloud helped me breathe.
In the elevator, Leila glanced at my phone. Pascal had called twice while we spoke with the doctor.
“You should call him,” she said.
“I will.”
I stepped into an empty corridor. Pascal answered immediately.
“Andre survived surgery,” I told him. “He’s still very sick.”
“I’m glad Noah won’t lose his father.”
For one second, I thought he might apologize.
Then he said, “Simone’s leaving in the morning. What’s your plan?”
“I’ll be home after I see Andre.”
“You heard what I said.”
“Pascal, please don’t make me argue in a hospital hallway.”
“Then don’t come to the house expecting nothing to change.”
He ended the call.
I stood there until Leila came to find me. I didn’t tell her what Pascal had said. I went into Andre’s room, held the rail of his bed, and listened to the monitors while he slept.
At dawn, I drove home.
Simone met me in the driveway before I reached the door.
“Pascal packed a bag,” she said quietly.
“His?”
“Yours.”
I looked past her. My suitcase stood on the porch. Beside it was a smaller bag with Noah’s dinosaur backpack on top.
For a moment, I could not move.
“He packed Noah’s things too?”
“He said you could take him to my place. I told him I wasn’t helping him put a sick child out of his home.”
I went inside.
Pascal stood in the kitchen, dressed for work. Noah sat at the table with a bowl of cereal. His cheeks were still flushed, but he smiled when he saw me.
“Mom!”
I went to him and felt his forehead. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. Simone made toast shaped like stars.”
Simone managed a smile.
Noah looked past me. “Is Dad okay?”
“He had an operation. He’s resting now.”
“Can I see him?”
“When the doctor says visitors are allowed.”
Pascal set down his coffee. “Noah, finish breakfast. Alexa and I need a minute.”
We stepped into the hall.
“You put his backpack outside,” I said.
“I packed what he’d need if he went with you.”
“He lives here.”
“So do I. You walked out after I told you how I felt.”
“You told me to choose while Andre was in surgery.”
“I told you I couldn’t keep living like this.”
I wanted to hear the fear underneath his anger. I also needed him to see the suitcase on the porch.
“We can discuss our marriage,” I said. “We cannot use Noah’s home to win an argument.”
Pascal looked toward the kitchen. His face softened briefly.
Then his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen and turned away to answer. I heard him say, “Mom, I can’t talk now.”
I went back to Noah. Simone stayed close while I helped him finish breakfast and take his temperature. Pascal left for work without saying goodbye to me.
An hour later, I drove Noah and our bags to Simone’s apartment. I told him we would stay there while Pascal and I worked through a problem.
“Did I do something?” he asked.
“No. You did nothing wrong.”
He studied me, uncertain. I wished I could promise him we would sleep in his own room that night. I couldn’t.
Once he was settled with a movie, I called Leila. She said Andre’s condition was stable. Then she told me something I hadn’t known.
“Harrow Distribution,” she said. “Doesn’t Pascal work there?”
“He handles their finances.”
“His mother owns the company.”
I looked at Noah on Simone’s couch.
May you like
Pascal had known where Andre worked. He had known his mother’s company was involved.
He had said nothing.
