Waiting for Mr. Wonderful!
Page 16
They only had an hour before they had to leave for the airport and, after greeting Jean-Claude with a kiss, Nicole made herself scarce.
Georgia almost wished she hadn’t. There was a strange tenseness about Jean-Claude today as he sat next to her in an armchair in the flower-filled room, for he was no longer confined to bed. She felt it each time he kissed her, which was far less frequently than usual. She felt it in his glance. Even in the way he held her hand.
Though maybe it was just her, for she felt tight and ill at ease. There seemed to be so many things left unsaid. Like the fact that she loved him, though he must know that. Like what his feelings were for her—for he still hadn’t made that clear to her at all. She knew he was grateful to her. She had a feeling he was fond of her. And it seemed pretty certain that they’d stay in touch now. But did the attachment go any deeper? It was impossible to guess. And not knowing, when she so longed to hear that he loved her, was a torment.
About fifteen minutes before she and Nicole were due to leave he suddenly said, ‘After such a long time away, you’re going to be pretty busy when you get home. But no doubt it’ll feel good to get back in harness again.’
Georgia smiled a stiff smile. What had he meant by that? Was he trying to say she’d be too busy to see him?
‘I expect I will be fairly busy,’ she answered. ‘But you’re light—it will be good to get back to work.’
‘I’ll be getting back to work too, just as soon as they let me out of here tomorrow. I understand there’s quite a pile of stuff waiting on my desk.’
That must be what he was saying. That they were both going to be too busy. Was this supposed to be some kind of subtle brush-off? She could feel her heart thudding like a death knell in her chest.
‘Yes, I suppose there’s bound to be,’ she said.
‘Anyway, I’ll call you when you get back. I want to hear how everything’s going.’ He leaned over and kissed her quickly. ‘And thanks again for all you did for me.’
‘No need for thanks.’
Why was he being so formal? What was going on? She felt like screaming.
There was a tap on the door and Nicole poked her head round. She glanced at them apologetically and then told Georgia, ‘I hate to say this, but I really think we ought to go. I just heard a traffic report on the radio. Apparently, there’s a bit of a jam on the road to the airport.’
‘In that case, let’s go, then.’ Georgia almost leapt to her feet. The tension inside her was starting to be unbearable. She turned to Jean-Claude and bent to brush his lips fleetingly with hers. ‘Look after yourself. Don’t work too hard.’ Then she was almost sprinting to the door.
In the doorway, however, she paused and took hold of herself for a moment. She turned to look at him with a smile. ‘I’m so glad you’re OK.’ Then she turned quickly and followed Nicole out into the corridor.
The drive to the airport was indeed painfully slow. There was less than forty minutes till take-off when they finally arrived.
Before Georgia jumped out of the cab, Nicole gave her a big hug. ‘I’m going to miss you,’ she told her. ‘I’m so glad we’re friends and I hope to see you again very soon.’
That was a lot more than Jean-Claude had said, though Georgia tried not to dwell on that as she made her way across the concourse to the check-in desk. Why on earth had he been so strange today? Had that really been a subtle brush-off? Was this his way of warning her not to expect too much?
Or was she reading too much into it? Being oversensitive again? That seemed to be a rather major side-effect of being in love!
There were only a few late-comers waiting at the check-in and in virtually no time it was Georgia’s turn. She handed over her ticket, told the girl she wanted a seat in Non-Smoking and watched her holdall disappear off along the conveyor belt.
This really was it. She really was going home. In just three hours or so, she’d be back in her flat in Bath. She wished she were feeling a little more enthusiastic about it.
But though she felt dislocated and strange she refused to feel gloomy. Her prayers had been answered. Jean-Claude had recovered and hadn’t she vowed that she’d ask for nothing more than that?
And, anyway, it was true. She really loved him that much. That he was well, that he had survived, was what mattered to her most. Shaking off her strange mood, she headed for Passport Control.
‘Georgia! Georgia!’
The official was waving her past when, suddenly, a familiar voice was calling out her name. Disbelievingly, she swung round and her heart nearly stopped. Standing at the barrier, leaning on a pair of crutches, was Jean-Claude.
For a moment, she simply blinked at him as though he were a mirage, all sorts of confused emotions bubbling up inside her. Then she rushed towards him. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’
‘Georgia, I’m a fool.’ Across the barrier, he grabbed hold of her. ‘I’ve been agonising all day, trying to sort things out in my head, and all I’ve been doing is just making myself crazy.’
He seemed totally oblivious of the passengers streaming past him, casting curious glances in his direction. But then Georgia was only half aware of them herself.
‘The problem is,’ he was continuing, ‘that before I met you I’d made up my mind I would never remarry. I thought I wasn’t cut out for it, but suddenly all that’s changed. I realise now it was just that I hadn’t found the right woman. In a way, I think I realised all this the very first instant I met you, but it was such an enormous turnaround I had a bit of a problem getting to grips with it...’
He kissed her face. ‘I wanted to say something at the hospital earlier...but the words wouldn’t come... I kept waffling on about nothing. But the minute you’d disappeared I realised I couldn’t let you leave without knowing...’
He held his breath, his eyes fixed on hers. ‘Georgia, will you marry me?’
Georgia stared at him in shock. But only for a moment. ‘Yes!’ she answered, laughing, and flung her arms around his neck.
For quite a little while after that she was aware of absolutely nothing apart from the sudden, wild singing in her heart as Jean-Claude pulled her against him and kissed her. Then, belatedly, she became aware of the announcement booming out, informing passengers that her flight was boarding.
Jean-Claude had heard it too. They drew apart with a sigh and gazed for a long moment into one another’s eyes.
Then, at last, she said, ‘I think I really ought to go.’
‘I’ll phone you as soon as you get home. And I’ll be over to see you next weekend.’
Then, finally, he said it. ‘I love you, Georgia. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life.’
‘And I love you.’
She looked deep into his eyes and knew she was the happiest woman alive.
A few minutes later, she was making her way to the plane, feeling as though she was floating on air. Jean-Claude, she mused. My Mr Wonderful. Finally, he’s mine. It was as though the angels had reached down from heaven and blessed her.
Outside the airport building, Jean-Claude was hailing a taxi. But it was only as he was bending to pull the passenger door open that he realised he was carrying his crutches in his hand. He’d just walked back through the terminal without them!
Laughing to himself, he tossed the crutches into the back of the cab. Just look what proposing to the woman you love did for you! he said to himself. More likely, it was her accepting his proposal that had done it. Whatever, he really did feel omnipotent now!
He climbed in, still smiling to himself, and slammed the door shut. And, deep in his heart, he knew without a doubt that he’d just embarked on the most rewarding journey of his life.
ISBN : 978-1-4592-5317-9
WAITING FOR MR. WONDERFUL!
First North American Publication 1999.
Copyright © 1998 by Stephanie Howard.
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