Turning Point

by Danielle Steel

  She put on her white coat and had to leave for work then, so they didn’t pursue the conversation, but it was clear that they both knew their situation was dire. Their marriage was on life support, and the only way out seemed to be to pull the plug.

  Wendy called her that weekend to ask how things were going and Stephanie was honest with her.

  “Pretty bad. It’s been tense since I got home. And sad. We both know the marriage is dead.”

  “Does he know about Gabriel? Did you tell him?”

  “I don’t want to until Gabriel leaves. I don’t want some awful French drama. After he goes, I’ll tell Andy it’s over. I just hope Gabriel can keep a lid on it when he’s here. He’s been texting me a million times a day, Andy keeps asking me who’s calling and texting me. I asked Gabriel to slow down, and he didn’t like it. This is a mess,” she sounded stressed and Wendy didn’t envy her situation. “What about you? Did you see your guy?”

  “I did,” she said with a sigh. “I spent the night with him. I wanted to see him one more time. Being away for a month gave me some perspective. I was like a doll he took out of the closet to play with once a week, and then put back and went home to his wife. I don’t think he knows who I am or cares. When he left, he said, ‘See you next Wednesday’ and I said, ‘No.’ I was done. He looked like he was in shock. I haven’t heard from him since. Nothing. No begging, no texts, no calls. Maybe he was done too,” or he just didn’t love her. It seemed plausible to her now.

  Stephanie was impressed that she’d done it. She didn’t think Wendy would. “Do you miss him?”

  “Less than I thought. I’m lonely, but I gave up a lot. I stopped seeing friends, or doing anything. I was always sitting around, hoping he’d show up. I need to get out and see people now. The French crew will do me good. And at least I don’t feel like I’ve sold out, waiting for a guy who doesn’t really love me and is never going to leave his wife.” It scared Stephanie to listen to her. What if Gabriel did that to her after she left Andy, gave up her job, and moved to France? She’d be trapped. But at least she knew he loved her, for now anyway. She remembered Valérie and Marie-Laure’s warnings, and even Wendy’s, that French men don’t get divorced, or not often, and according to Wendy, most Americans didn’t leave their wives for their girlfriends either. They needed both women to make their marriage work, which was not how she felt about Andy and Gabriel. Having two men in her life and her head was driving her insane. She felt pulled in ten thousand directions, or two, which was worse.

  “Let me know if you come to the city, and we’ll have dinner,” Stephanie said, missing her.

  “I want to have everyone to my house for a barbecue the first weekend they’re here,” Wendy said, and Stephanie liked the idea. “Will you bring your husband?”

  “No, he won’t want to anyway. He’s hostile about my work and everything related to it. He can stay with the kids. And that’s too close for comfort, to have both of them there.” It sounded stressful to Wendy too.

  “I can’t believe I’m free after six years,” Wendy said, sounding a little dazed. Listening to her gave Stephanie the courage to do what she needed to. She dreaded telling Andy it was over. It was going to be a hard day, for him and their boys. And it would be even worse when she told him she was moving to France. She knew she had to see a lawyer, but wasn’t ready to face it yet. That would make it all very real. “Well, I’ll see you in a week,” Wendy said. “Let’s do a girls’ night out with Valérie and Marie-Laure. That would be fun.”

  “We’ll do it.” Stephanie felt better after she hung up, it was a relief to talk to someone she could be honest with. She lied to Andy all the time now. Just being there with him was a lie. She was glad he hadn’t tried to make love to her since she’d been back. She couldn’t do it. They hadn’t for a month before she left. It had been more than two months now. It was hard to understand how she could feel so distant and turned off by someone she had once loved so much, but it had been a while. Looking back, they had been drifting apart for two years, as his resentment of her grew.

  * * *

  —

  Two days after Stephanie talked to Wendy, an invitation from the mayor’s office came in the mail. It was for a reception for both the French and the American teams, given by the mayor and the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, to honor all eight members of the joint commission. Their names were listed alphabetically, and Stephanie’s was right above Gabriel’s. The reception was to be held in the rotunda of City Hall. She stood staring at it, wondering what to do about Andy. He never wanted to do anything associated with her work, and he had been furious about her trip to Paris. It was easier not to tell him, so she was going to put the invitation away where he wouldn’t see it, and that way she could go with Gabriel. She didn’t want to be in one room with both men. Andy might instinctively sense something if he saw him. He was uncannily perceptive sometimes. It was a stress she didn’t need, and she was about to put the invitation in her pocket when Andy walked in before she could. The invitation was white with a gold band around it, and crossed French and American flags at the top. It was very handsome, and caught his eye before she could hide it.

  “What’s that?” His antennae were up, as though he had radar, and she was annoyed that he’d seen it, although he didn’t know what it was.

  “Just an invitation, while the French crew is here. You’d hate it.” He snatched it from her hand before she could stop him, and he looked at it, and then at her.

  “They’re honoring you, Steph. You weren’t going to invite me?” He looked crushed and her heart was pounding. Being there with either man, if the other was there, would be a nightmare, and she had no idea how to handle it, and didn’t want to.

  “I didn’t think you’d want to go. It’s no big deal.”

  “Yes, it is. Of course I want to go.” It was in the first few days they would be in town. If Andy figured it out then, it would make being with Gabriel even more difficult.

  “Then we’ll go,” she said simply. There was nothing else she could say. She took the invitation, and put it in her pocket, hoping he’d forget.

  “We’re still married,” he reminded her, as though she needed him to. She knew exactly who he was. She was now in a situation she had never thought could happen to her. She was a married woman with a lover. Gabriel was right. She needed to deal with it soon. And so did Gabriel. He still hadn’t seen a lawyer. This was not who she wanted to be.

  Chapter Fifteen

  As the plane touched down in San Francisco, Marie-Laure and Valérie were sitting next to each other, straining to look out the window as they flew low over the water and landed smoothly on the runway. It had been a very long flight, but they’d eaten, watched movies, and slept for several hours. It was ten P.M. in Paris and one P.M. in San Francisco but they were wide awake.

  Paul and Gabriel were sitting together across the aisle. Paul couldn’t wait to discover the nightlife of the city, although Tom had already warned him that he would be busy that weekend. He wanted to spend time with Valérie. He was picking her up at the airport, and taking her to Oakland. His apartment was as clean as he could get it, and he had gotten bright-colored Moroccan blankets to cover the old stains on the couch, new lamps, curtains, which he’d never had before, and a new rug from IKEA. He’d even bought new plates and glasses, since nothing he owned matched and the old ones were all chipped. He hoped she wouldn’t run screaming out the door when she got there. And he had put flowers in vases on all of the tables, because he knew she loved them. The women he’d brought there in the past wouldn’t have recognized it, and he felt like a kid again, as he waited for her outside Customs in a tweed blazer, jeans, a blue shirt, and brown suede shoes. He looked like a male model. Several women glanced at him as he stood there, but he didn’t notice. His eyes were riveted on the door she would come through.

  They had nothing to declar
e, and were there on business, so all four French doctors were processed quickly through Immigration, and came out into the terminal together, and were delighted to see Tom. He put his arms around Valérie and kissed her first. She managed to look as sexy and put together as she did in Paris, even after an eleven-hour flight, and he had an arm around her as he talked to the others. There was a van and driver waiting for them outside to take them to their hotel. They were staying at the Saint Francis in Union Square, and Tom had already told Paul to check out the bar nearby at the Clift hotel, which had a heavy pickup scene with a lot of hot young women in the lobby and bar. He had also suggested a number of other places, since he wouldn’t be there to guide him.

  Gabriel was planning to call Stephanie from the hotel, and she had promised to join him as soon as she could get away. Wendy was coming into the city to have dinner with Marie-Laure. She was going to show her the sights, in tamer fashion than Paul wanted to see them. They were all in good spirits and stood chatting for a few minutes, before Tom spirited Valérie away, and they got in their van. He kissed her as soon as they left the others, and all they both wanted to do was go to his place and go to bed. They had the same thing in mind, and she ran a hand inside his leg and kissed him on the neck as he drove.

  “I’m going to drive off the bridge if you don’t stop.” They were on the Bay Bridge and didn’t have far to go to where he lived, in the Temescal section of Oakland, which was a five-minute drive from where he worked.

  They talked nonstop on the way there, and he carried her bag upstairs to his apartment, which had a view of a garden, and there were shops and restaurants all around them. The area was up and coming, and the new desirable neighborhood for young people. The building was old and no thing of beauty, but the rent was reasonable, and he had never cared what it looked like. But now he did, and he held his breath as they walked into his apartment and she looked around, smiled at him, and slid her arms around his neck. There was a quaint, charming quality to the place, which he had enhanced considerably with his new acquisitions, and she had the feeling that he had worked hard to improve it for her. She was touched. There was a large aerial photograph of the city over the fireplace that he had gotten at IKEA, and a similar one of Paris he had hung in his bedroom over the bed, so she’d feel at home. She immediately noticed the flowers around the room in vases. She kissed him longingly then.

  “Thank you for making it beautiful for me, Tom.” He was touched that she appreciated what he had done. She was observant and sensitive, and she began unbuttoning his shirt carefully, as he took off his jacket and threw it on the couch. They were in his bedroom naked within minutes, the decor forgotten. It didn’t matter what city they were in, they were back together, and Tom was transported by her perfume, her body, her incredibly sensual ways. They lay exhausted and happy in each other’s arms afterward, and he went to get her the champagne he had bought to celebrate her arrival. He walked out to the kitchen in all his naked glory, and she followed him as he handed her a glass. They toasted each other and went back to bed, and talked for a long time. She wanted to walk around the neighborhood to get a feeling for it, so he went to shower, while she lay on his bed looking unbearably sexy, and when he came out of the shower, she had a wisp of black lace balancing on her fingertip.

  “Look what I found under the bed,” she said with a mischievous look and his heart stopped. He thought he had gotten them all, but she had obviously discovered one more.

  “Oh my God, I’m sorry…I checked everywhere…I’m sorry,” he said remorsefully and she kissed him with a burst of laughter.

  “Don’t be, it’s mine,” she said, teasing him, as he grabbed it from her, and pushed her down on the bed.

  “You rotten woman! I’m going to punish you for that. I even bought a new vacuum cleaner and cleaned under the bed myself, just for you.”

  “Good,” she said as he kissed her, and a moment later he was making love to her again. She had nearly given him heart failure, thinking she had found further evidence of his dubious past.

  “You are an evil, evil woman,” he said as their lovemaking got increasingly serious, and he turned over as she sat astride him. She was a perfect match for him, and not so innocent herself, with a wicked sense of humor that he loved. He loved everything about her, and for once his fears of losing her hadn’t stopped him. He was never going to let her go.

  They finally did make it outside in the late afternoon. It was the last of a sunny day, and warm compared to Paris. She didn’t wear a coat, and they wandered all over. Later, he drove her to the Berkeley campus, past all the hippie stores on Telegraph Avenue, and then he drove her past Alta Bates, where he worked. He was off for the duration of their conferences for four weeks, and was planning to be with her every minute.

  They ate a burger at a small restaurant near his apartment, and then went back to his place and drank more champagne. He whispered to her, “Welcome home,” to which she responded in her throaty voice, “Merci, mon amour.” Thank you, my love, and his heart sang.

  * * *

  —

  Gabriel called Stephanie on her cellphone as soon as he walked into his room at the Saint Francis. It was a perfectly decent businessman’s hotel room with a city view downtown. He was distressed when she didn’t pick up. She was having lunch with Andy and the boys, and she saw his number come up. He texted her two minutes later, and she responded.

  “I’m here. When can I see you? Starving for you. Je t’aime. G.” She repressed a smile as she read it, and felt the same thrill that went through her whenever she saw him or heard from him, especially knowing he had arrived and they were in the same city again.

  “Soon. Call you in half an hour.” Andy watched her as she answered with a serious expression.

  “Work? I thought you were off today.”

  “I was. Head injury. I should go in. They want a consult.” He pursed his lips and looked annoyed. They had no plans anyway. She had been careful not to make any, knowing Gabriel was coming in. She put the dishes in the sink, rinsed them, and then put them in the dishwasher. Andy was planning to take the boys to the park and throw some balls, and he didn’t need her for that.

  She went upstairs and got her bag and white coat, and was back down in two minutes. She was clearly in a hurry.

  “I’ll call you later,” she said as she fished her car keys out of her bag. “Don’t wait for me. It sounds bad. I may stay.” Andy didn’t react to it and nodded, as she kissed both boys and left.

  It took her fifteen minutes to get to the hotel. He had texted her his room number, and she could feel her heart pounding as she rode up in the elevator. She had left her white doctor’s coat in the car. She didn’t even feel guilty for telling Andy a bold-faced lie. It was the only way she could get out of the house, and she was desperate to see Gabriel. Their two weeks apart felt like a hundred years.

  She knocked on the door of his room, he opened it instantly, and pulled her into his arms in a single gesture and held her so tightly she could barely breathe.

  “Oh my God, Stephanie, how I’ve missed you.” He touched her hair and her face, and kissed her again, and ran his hands over her body, as she did the same to him. Their clothes were on the floor in minutes, as he pulled her toward the bed, and they made love until they thought they would die of pleasure. They had both lived for this moment. Everything else faded away, their worries and their plans and the people in their lives. They were alone on their own planet. He made love to her again until they fell into a deep sleep, and it was dark when they woke up, feeling dazed and so happy to see each other and be together again.

  They ordered room service, and she texted Andy and told him she’d had to stay, and would be home late. She kept it short, and Gabriel looked at her longingly and asked her to spend the night.

  “I can’t. Maybe I’ll be able to figure it out at some point, but not the first night. I don’t wa
nt to push our luck,” she said soberly. She had a delicate balance to keep and Gabriel was disappointed.

  “We only have four weeks, let’s not waste a minute of it,” he pleaded with her.

  “If we’re serious about this, we have the rest of our lives. I don’t want to cause an explosion or arouse suspicion while you’re here. We need to be careful,” she said, kissing him, “I’m still married and living with my husband.”

  “Maybe you should have told him it’s over before I got here,” he said simply, not happy that she couldn’t stay with him.

  “That would have been worse. I would have been dealing with all the fallout from that now.”

  “Try to arrange it for at least some of our nights. Maybe we can go away for a weekend.” She liked that idea, and she could claim to be going with the group, which wouldn’t include spouses, since she was the only one who had one.

  “We could go to the Napa Valley, there’s a wonderful hotel there. We’ll work it out,” she reassured him, and felt very stressed.

  They ate dinner naked in bed and she left him reluctantly at midnight after they’d made love again. She showered and dressed respectably. The whole group was meeting the next day for brunch at the Zuni Café, and Stephanie was excited about seeing them. Andy had already agreed to keep the boys, and was taking them to his mother’s house for the day, so she knew they’d be busy. And Wendy had texted all of them about a barbecue at her house next Sunday night.