The Kiss

by Danielle Steel

  “What was that all about?” It had frightened her at first, and she had nearly jumped into Bill's arms. He still had an arm around her, and as she stood close to him, he was holding her tight.

  “They do that sometimes. The paparazzi hang around outside. They shoot first and then identify their victims afterward. They catch a lot of movie stars and politicians like that. And if they happen to get someone who doesn't matter to anyone, I guess they just toss it out.”

  “That would be me, I guess. But what about you? Could they cause a problem for you?”

  “Not really. I don't think the gossip sheets give a damn who I am. I think that was a wasted shot.”

  “I didn't even know what it was at first. All I saw was a flash of light.” They had used a strobe, and had put the camera only inches from her face.

  “It must be miserable to live like that,” Bill commented. He was thinking about the photograph they'd taken, and wondering if someone would identify him. But he didn't say anything about it to Isabelle. There was nothing they could do about it now. The only one who might care would be his wife. And Isabelle was certainly unknown. There was no reason why Gordon Forrester would ever see the shot. As they got into the car, Bill put it out of his mind.

  Isabelle sat close to him in the car, and as he was growing accustomed to doing now, he held her hand. They were both thinking about leaving the next day, and there was a tangible aura of seriousness in the car, as he instructed the driver to take them for a little drive on their way back to the hotel. They were in no hurry to get back, and it was a beautiful night.

  It was Isabelle who spoke first, her voice was husky and soft. “I don't know how I'm going to leave tomorrow.” Teddy was the only thing pulling her back.

  “Maybe you won't. See how he feels when you call.” All Bill could do was pray that he had a good night. He couldn't imagine watching her go.

  Isabelle nodded and smiled at him, and then put her head on his shoulder. “I had a wonderful time tonight, Bill.”

  “So did I.” And then he turned to look at her again. And he startled her with his next words. “What are we going to do now, Isabelle?” he asked in a voice that she knew too well. It was the voice that always gave her a thrill when she answered the phone.

  “About what?”

  He was looking down at her with more serious eyes than she had ever seen, and she didn't know if she wanted him to answer or not.

  “About us. I'm in love with you. I swore to myself I wasn't going to say those words to you. I know it's not fair, but I want you to know. I want you to take that with you when you go back tomorrow, or whenever you do. I love you, Isabelle. I have for a long time.” As he said it, he had never felt as vulnerable in his life.

  “I know,” she whispered as she looked up at him. “I've loved you since the first time we met. But there's nothing we can do about it.” They both knew that. And she had never wanted to say those words to him, she knew it would complicate everything, but neither of them could stop now. And as he gently touched her cheek, their driver rolled slowly toward an intersection, and for a moment Bill thought of asking him to stop. He wanted to be alone with her. This was a moment he wanted neither of them to forget.

  “We can't do anything about it now, Isabelle. But maybe one day. You never know. But whatever happens, I wanted you to know … I'm going to love you for the rest of my life.” It was something he had been absolutely certain of for a long time. She was everything he had always wanted, and knew now that he couldn't have.

  “I love you, Bill,” she whispered as he held her close to him,“… so very much….” And as she said the words, he put his lips on hers, and he was only sorry he hadn't done it before. It was a moment they had both waited a lifetime for, and it brought them closer than they had ever been. He kissed her as she put her arms around him, and time seemed to melt into space. All she knew was that she had never been as happy in her life, and she never wanted this moment to end. Her eyes were closed and he was holding her, and for the first time in her entire life, she felt totally safe. He was kissing her as they entered the intersection, and the driver was watching them in the rearview mirror, so mesmerized by what he saw there, and so fascinated, that he never saw the red double-decker bus bearing down on them at full speed. It was only yards from Is-abelle's side of the car as he pulled into the intersection, and there was no way it could stop. Bill was still kissing her as the bus sheared off the entire front of the car, and the driver literally vanished into thin air. They never caught their breath, never looked up, never knew what had happened to them. They were still kissing as the bus seemed to devour the entire limousine, and within seconds, the car and the bus were a tangle of mangled steel, and there was broken glass everywhere. The bus dragged the car halfway down the street, and in the end it was crushed under it, and it lay on its side with spinning wheels. Isabelle was still lying peacefully in Bill's arms, she was lying on top of him. The roof of the car had caved in, they were both unconscious, and her entire dress was no longer white but red with blood. There were two long gashes on the side of Bill's face, and Isabelle looked as though she were sleeping peacefully. Her face was untouched, but her entire body appeared to have been crushed.

  There were sounds in the distance then, the honking of horns, and the horn on the bus was stuck. The driver had flown through the windshield, and was lying dead on the street where he fell. And two people came running with a flashlight and shone it into the mangled car. All they could see was the blood on Bill's face and the bright red dress. His eyes were open and he appeared to be dead, and judging from the amount of her blood smeared everywhere, it was inconceivable to think that Isabelle might have survived. The two men holding the flashlight just stood and stared at them, and one of them whispered, “Oh my God …”

  “Do you think they're alive?” the other man asked.

  “No way, mate.” And as they looked, they saw a small stream of blood trickle from the side of her mouth.

  “How are they going to get them out of there?” The one holding the flashlight couldn't even imagine how to extricate them. The roof of the car was pressed against Isabelle's back.

  “It doesn't matter now, I guess. But it'll take them all night.”

  They went back to check on the people lying on the floor of the bus then, and a few of the luckier ones were straggling out of the bus, with bloodstained shirts, and gashes on their heads. Some were limping, and others just looked dazed. And someone said that there were half a dozen dead bodies inside. It was one of the worst accidents the police had ever seen with a bus that size, and as they talked to witnesses who had happened by just as the bus hit the limousine, there was the sound of sirens screaming toward them, and within minutes, there were ambulances and fire trucks and paramedics everywhere. They started toward the limousine, and the two men who had glanced into it told them that the only two passengers in it appeared to be dead.

  They went to check anyway, and at first glance they saw that the men were right, but as one of the paramedics reached in, and took their pulses just to be sure, they realized that Isabelle and Bill were still alive.

  “Hold on!” The paramedic reaching into the car shouted back toward a fireman standing nearby. “I've got two live ones here, but just. Get the trucks over here. We've got to get them out.” He had a sense that it was too late and it would be futile by the time they got them out, but at least they had to try. The driver of the limousine had been found by then, and he was dead of a massive head injury. And there was no telling yet if either of the passengers would survive. She appeared to be losing vast quantities of blood from massive injuries, and as the paramedic felt for Bill's pulse again, it was so weak he could barely feel it. They were losing both of them fast. And as the Jaws of Life approached and they attached them to what was left of the car, there were men climbing everywhere, attaching claws, and shouting instructions to the men driving the trucks that would pull the car apart. The noise was deafening, but neither Isabelle nor Bill
heard a sound.

  Chapter 4

  It took them nearly two hours to pull the limousine apart. They had to work carefully to keep Isabelle and Bill from being even more crushed. They had gotten IVs into both of them by then, and they had managed to get a tourniquet on a gash on Isabelle's artery in her left arm. The men who had been working on both of them were smeared with blood, and no one could believe that they were still alive. There was no way of telling that Isabelle's dress had ever been white. The entire dress had been saturated with her blood. They still had no idea who either of them were, and by the time they got them both into an ambulance, the victims from the bus had all been removed. One of the paramedics had Bill's wallet in his hand by then, and they'd been able to identify him, but they still had no idea who Isabelle was.

  “She's wearing a wedding band,” one of the paramedics offered as the ambulance careened toward St. Thomas' Hospital, “must be his wife.” He radioed back to the police officers on the scene to keep an eye out for a handbag in the car, just in case.

  Neither of them had regained consciousness during the entire process of being lifted out of the car, and they were both in deep comas when they were carried into the trauma unit, and were immediately attended to by separate teams. It was rapidly determined that both were in need of surgery, he for a spinal cord injury and a fractured neck, and she for a head injury, extensive internal injuries, and the severed artery to which they'd applied the tourniquet. They had to operate immediately or risk losing the arm.

  “Jesus, that's an ugly one, isn't it?” one of the nurses whispered about the accident as they were wheeled into separate surgeries. “I haven't seen damage like that in a long time.”

  “I can't believe they're still alive,” the other nurse commented as she scrubbed up. She had been assigned to Isabelle, who had just been assessed as the least likely to survive. They were worried about her head injury, but the greatest damage she had sustained had been to her liver, lungs, and heart, all of which had virtually been crushed.

  Within moments, both were lying on operating tables in separate surgeries, with anesthesiologists working on them and bright lights shining overhead, as the members of the surgical team listened to the assessment from the trauma teams. It was difficult to decide which of the limousine's passengers was in the worse shape. They were both classified as extremely critical, and as the surgeries began, both patients' vital signs began to deteriorate at almost exactly the same rate.

  As they began operating on Bill to set the many vertebrae that had been broken in his spinal column, he could feel himself sitting up, and within seconds, he found himself walking along a brightly lit path. He was aware of sounds all around him, and far ahead in the distance, there was a bright shining light. And he was surprised, when he looked around, to find Isabelle, sitting on a rock just ahead of him on the path.

  “Are you okay?” She looked strange to him when he glanced at her, as though she had fallen asleep for a while. But she stood up, and waited for him to join her on the path.

  “I'm fine,” she said, but she didn't look at him. As he had been at first, she was mesmerized by the bright light. “What is that?”

  “I don't know,” he said, he was feeling confused, and he was aware of having looked for her, and not being able to find her for a brief time. “Where were you?”

  “I was here, waiting for you. You were gone for a long time.” Her voice was very soft, and she looked very pale, but she seemed strangely calm.

  “I was right here. I didn't go anywhere,” he explained, but she didn't seem to be listening to him, and she seemed anxious to move on toward the light.

  “Are you coming?” She turned to look at him, and he could feel himself hurry to catch up. But she was moving too quickly for him, and he wanted to ask her to slow down.

  “Why are you running like that?” he asked, and she just shook her head, and walked steadily on toward the bright light.

  “I want you to come with me,” she said, and then reached back toward him with her hand. He took it, and he could sense her next to him, but he couldn't feel her hand. He could see that she was holding his, but he couldn't feel anything. All he knew was that he was desperately tired. He wanted to lie down and go to sleep somewhere, but he didn't want to lose her again. He knew that, in spite of what she said, he had for a little while. And then she turned and looked at him and spoke barely audibly. “I love you, Bill,” she said, and he wanted to ask her to slow down.

  “I love you too, Isabelle. Can we rest for a while? I'm very tired.”

  “We can rest when we get there. They're waiting for us now.” She was sure of that, and she had a sense of urgency. He was slowing her down.

  “Where are we going?” he wanted to know.

  “Up there.” She pointed at the light, and he followed her for a while. Getting there seemed to be taking a long time, and when they were almost there, he could hear voices behind them calling her name. And when he turned to look, he saw it was a small child. He couldn't see for sure, but he thought it was a young boy. He was waving at them, and he started shouting “Mommy” until Isabelle finally turned around, and she looked at him for a long time. And in the distance, behind him, was the shadowy figure of a young girl.

  “Who is that?” Bill asked, but he knew before she said the words.

  “It's Teddy. And Sophie. I can't go to them now. It's too late.” She started to turn away, and then suddenly the boy and girl who had waved were joined by two more girls. They looked like children to him, but when he turned back to look at them, he could see that they were his daughters, Olivia and Jane, and they were calling for him just as Teddy had called Isabelle.

  “Wait…” He was struggling to keep up with her and get her attention now, but she was moving far ahead of him, and he wasn't sure if he should follow her or go back to see Olivia and Jane. “We have to go back to them,” he explained, but Isabelle only shook her head.

  “I'm not going back, Bill. Are you coming with me?” She seemed very determined, and he was getting more and more tired with each step. It seemed to be an endless path.

  “I can't keep up with you,” he complained, “why can't we go back to them? They need us now….”

  “No, they don't,” Isabelle said, and turned away. “I can't go back again. It's too late for me. Tell Teddy and Sophie I love them,” she said as she prepared to go on alone.

  “You have to come with me,” Bill said suddenly, grabbing at her arm. “Listen to me…” he said, sounding angry at her. She wasn't listening to him, and she was nearly at the light. “You have to listen to me … Teddy and Sophie need you to go back…. I have to go back to the girls. Come back with me, Isabelle…. We can come back another time.”

  She hesitated, but only for a fraction of an instant, as he touched her hand. “What if we don't get another chance?”

  “We will someday … but now it isn't time.”

  “It is for me. I don't want to go back….” She looked at him imploringly, and he could feel her slip away. “Please, Bill… come with me. I don't want to go alone.”

  “I want you to stay with me. I love you, Isabelle. Don't leave me now.” He was crying as he said the words, and he hung his head, not wanting her to see, but she stood there looking at him, and then he looked up and held his hand out to her. “Take my hand … I won't let you go, I swear. You have to come back with me.” And as he said it, she suddenly looked very tired, and she looked back at Teddy and the girls. She hesitated for a long time, and then slowly, she began to inch her way back toward him. It seemed to be a great deal harder to go backward than to move forward. And he could see the light behind her now, as she started to come toward him again. And a moment later, he was holding her in his arms. He was kissing her and holding her and she was smiling at him. Neither of them was sure where they had been, but all they knew was that they had to go back to their children now. And he could feel her hand tightly holding his.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” sh
e asked as they walked along. They couldn't hear the children's voices, but they knew they were waiting for them. It was growing dark, and the light behind them seemed much dimmer now.

  “I'm sure,” he said, and kept a tight grip on her hand.

  “It's getting late … it's so dark … how will we find our way back?” she asked. She had a sense that they had both gotten lost before, and she didn't want to get lost again.

  “Just hold on to me,” Bill said. He could breathe more easily again. The air around them didn't seem quite as thin. “I know the way back.” He put an arm around her then, and they kept walking for a long time. It was Isabelle who was tired now, and Bill who was getting strong.

  “I need to stop for a while,” she said. They could both see the rock where she had been sitting before while she waited for him, but he wouldn't let her stop this time. They had to get home.

  “We don't have time. You'll be all right. You can rest when we get back.”

  And without saying another word, she followed him. It was dark around them by then, but she had a sense that he knew where he was going. All she wanted was to sleep, and lie down by the side of the road. But Bill wouldn't let go of her hand, and he wouldn't let her slow down, and she didn't know how they got there or when, but after a time she had a sense that they were home.

  They were in a room she didn't recognize, and she felt safe next to him. There were children everywhere, and she could see Teddy and Sophie laughing with some friends, and Bill's girls were talking to him. And while he was hugging them, Isabelle finally lay down. She knew it was safe to by then, and all she wanted to do was sleep next to him. She looked over at him and smiled, and he smiled back to her. And as she drifted off to sleep, she knew he would always be there with her.