“Traffic is bad,” came the short answer in heavily accented English before he pointed to a sign above his visor. ‘Do not talk to driver when vehicle is moving.’
“We aren’t moving,” she scooted out a bit from where she was squeezed between Stella and Julia on the back seat.
The driver let the car crawl forward a few feet.
“Would you like me to drive?” Naomi’s chin almost touched the driver’s seat.
“You want to get out?” he retorted and turned on the radio. French rap music blasted through the taxi.
Stella pulled Naomi back and said, “What did you expect? We’re in the middle of morning rush hour traffic. A few minutes won’t make a difference.”
“Revan’s all by himself, so he might think otherwise,” Naomi hissed and tilted her head in the driver’s direction. “Should I ask him in French? Maybe he doesn’t like Americans. Our taxi driver last weekend was so much friendlier.”
The driver muttered something and turned up the volume on the radio—this time to near earsplitting levels.
Julia reached for Naomi’s hand and held it. “Revan’s safe now. And we won’t go away until they let you and Stella see him for a few minutes.”
After an agonizing twenty minutes, the driver pulled into the drop-off area in front of the hospital’s main entrance. Naomi glared at him through his rearview mirror and yelled over the music, “Are you sure this is the entrance we need? Shouldn’t we go to the Emergency Department?”
“You asked for Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital. This is University Hospital. Twenty-five euros.”
David handed cash to the driver with a short, “Keep the change.”
“You just let this guy rip you off,” Naomi fumed. She slammed the door shut and threw her hands in the air. “It was less than five miles. He shouldn’t have charged more than fifteen.”
“I know. There’s a reason why I gave him exactly twenty-five and told him to keep the change.”
“And it’s still too much tip for the pigheaded ass, but thank you.”
Alexander was waiting for them just inside the sliding glass doors. He shook hands with David and pecked Stella and Naomi’s cheeks. Stella tried to hide a grin when she saw him kiss Julia a little longer than necessary and Julia blushed.
Naomi rolled her eyes and scrunched up her face. “Ahem…sorry to interrupt. But what exactly is our plan? Do you think the information desk will point us right to Revan?”
“I don’t think so. And he might be under police protection, too,” Alexander said.
He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a light gray polo shirt, and Stella couldn’t help but think he still had the posture and no-nonsense look of a former Special Ops soldier. And, to her great relief, he automatically took charge.
“First we need to find out which department has Revan. My guess is the Emergency Department, but he could also be in Intensive Care. We don’t know what his health condition is.”
Naomi tried to stifle a gasp.
“I suggest we don’t approach the desk as a group. I should go with either Stella or Naomi—someone who has a personal connection to him, even though we won’t give them details unless we have no other choice.”
Naomi pleaded, “Stella, let me go, okay?”
She nodded. “You two go find out where he is, and the rest of us can wait here. I’ll text Luca to let him know what’s going on. At least the little bit we know so far.”
David put his arm around her shoulders and led her and Julia to a table where they had a full view of the entrance area.
As they walked away, Alexander said, “Let me do the talking, Naomi. Just stand there and look desperate.”
Stella watched while Alexander spoke to the youngest of three nurses at the help desk, who shook her head after typing something on her computer. He reached into his pocket, flashed an ID card, and swiftly put it away again.
“What’s going on over there?” she whispered to David. Then she saw Naomi switch a ring from her right hand to her left before she pulled a tissue out of a dispenser on the desk and dabbed at her eyes.
“What’s she doing?” Stella whispered to Julia.
Julia said, “I don’t care, as long as it gets you girls through the first door.”
Stella could hardly sit still when she saw Alexander accept something from the desk nurse and reach for Naomi’s elbow to guide her back.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
“The nurse didn’t want to give me any information, and only reluctantly after I told her I’m working at the US Embassy. Revan’s in the Emergency Department,” he said. “We got three visitors’ passes. Stella, why don’t you come with us? Julia and David, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait here.”
“No problem. I’ll check the news to see if there are any statements from the police,” David said. He kissed Stella and hugged Naomi. “Go get him.”
Stella, Naomi, and Alexander followed the signs directing them deep into the belly of the hospital. Soon, Stella had lost all sense of orientation. The arrows and signs led them down one hallway, around a corner, then up one flight of stairs, down another long hallway. All looking alike, the only difference being the colors of the doors. The whole place reeked of disinfectants and carbolic acid, combined with the human smells of fear and worry.
“They’ll discharge Revan by the time we get to him. The taxi driver should’ve brought us here in the first place,” Naomi grumbled and pointed to another sign directing them through this torturous route to the Emergency Department.
While they used a glass skywalk to reach the adjoining building, Stella saw several ambulances lined up in front of it. “We’re getting closer.”
Alexander reiterated, “We’ll try to play the same card as before. Naomi pretends to be Revan’s fiancée. I had to come up with something closer than friend.”
Stella nodded, “I saw you switch the ring your grandma gave you for graduation. Lucky for us, it has a diamond in it.”
“A ring from a toy capsule would’ve done as well,” Naomi said and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Okay! Here we are! What if they don’t let us see him?”
“Stay calm. We’re almost there,” Alexander encouraged her.
“Who am I, in case they ask?” Stella asked.
“You’re who you are. The sister of Revan’s best friend. We need to stay as close to the truth as possible. You’re supporting your friend, his distraught fiancée, at this difficult time.” Alexander winked at them.
Oozing self-confidence, he approached the nurse’s desk. “Good morning, do you speak English?”
“Yes. How can I help you?” the woman answered. Her name tag identified her as Corinne. She looked seasoned enough to have been guarding the entrance to the Emergency Department for at least half a century, probably always with a grim determination to only allow a handful of people past her station.
When Stella looked down the long, wide corridor, she saw individual spaces divided by plastic walls and curtains for some privacy. They reminded her of oversized changing rooms, but instead of monotone background music there was a symphony of low voices and the constant beeping of the medical equipment keeping the staff abreast of patients’ health changes.
One police officer, clad in a dark blue uniform and bulletproof vest, stood in front of a section not far from the nurses’ desk. The off-white floor-length curtain for the partitioned area was closed, but swishing, as if someone was brushing against it from the inside.
“We’re here to see Revan Forrester,” Alexander told her.
“I am afraid that’s not possible,” Corinne replied without consulting her computer.
“We have visitors’ passes.” Alexander stood straighter and pointed to the temporary pass attached to his polo shirt.
“Those only allow you to walk through the hospital’s hallways until you reach me,” Corinne explained with a bored expression.
“I apol
ogize, umm… Corinne. We should’ve introduced ourselves. My name is Alexander Whittaker, and I work for the American Embassy. These are Naomi Winters, Mr. Forrester’s fiancée, and her friend, Stella Harrison.” In one smooth move, he flashed his ID again.
“Sorry, but I can’t help you,” Corinne said. She hadn’t even glanced at his card.
“I assume you didn’t hear me say this is Mr. Forrester’s fiancée. She is desperate to see him.” Alexander put his arm around Naomi’s shoulder while she pulled out her tissue again and held it in her left hand. In the cold fluorescent light, the diamond sparkled like a decked-out Christmas tree in a store window on Fifth Avenue in December.
“I heard you. Mr. Forrester has no approved visitors and I told you more than I should,” Corinne remained firm.
She nodded at someone who approached them, “Comment ça va?”
It was another police officer, carrying three Styrofoam cups of coffee. “Ça va bien, merci.” He placed one cup on Corinne’s desk.
Stella wondered if he was going to Revan. Before she could ask him, Naomi started sobbing and broke out in a loud wail. “I flew all the way from Philadelphia to Paris to be with my fiancé and you’re telling me I can’t see him? After everything he went through! He could’ve died! How am I going to explain to our babies at home that their daddy is all alone?”
She threw herself at Stella with real tears running down her face. Stella didn’t know what reaction Naomi expected, so made do with rubbing her back and murmuring, “There, there...”
The police officer in front of the curtain looked over at them and gave a hand signal to the coffee cop. At the same time, the curtain parted and a nurse walked out carrying an empty tray.
Coffee cop turned around and said in English, “You are Mr. Forrester’s fiancée? Come with me.”
Naomi’s tears dried up with astonishing speed. She blew her nose and said with a smile, “Oh, thank you! Thank you so much, Commissaire…?” She pulled on Stella’s arm.
“Capitaine Pascal Clouseau. Your friends have to wait here, we only allow one visitor.”
“Please, let her come with me. What if Revan doesn’t recognize me after his ordeal? Oh, what did that monster do to him in those tunnels…tunnels of death?” Naomi started sobbing again and clung to Stella’s arm. “Tell me, is he terribly disfigured? Is he in pain? Oh no, is he dying?”
Clouseau looked at his colleague and received a nod from him. “Okay, your friend can come.”
“Our babies will be so happy to know I was able to see their daddy.” Naomi beamed at him and wiped her nose.
“How old are the babies?” The cop asked.
“Oh, Harley and Porsche will turn one next month. Those two are keeping me on my toes, just like their daddy. Never a dull moment at our house,” Naomi said and reached inside her purse. “Would you like to see their photo?”
At the same time, the other police officer pulled the curtain aside. “Mr. Forrester, you have visitors.”
Stella and Naomi stepped inside.
Revan was propped up in a large hospital bed, covered up to his chest by a warming blanket. An IV was inserted in the back of one hand, with a blood pressure sleeve wrapped around his upper arm, a pulse oximeter taped to a forefinger, while a nasal cannula supplied oxygen. Behind his bed, an impressive assortment of beeping and blinking monitors made the small space look like a command center.
The grin on Revan’s face went from ear to ear.
“Nugget, I thought I heard the angels sing when your charming voice traveled through the sterile air. Come and kiss your astonished fiancé hello.”
Naomi went over to him and kissed his cheek. “You need a good shave.” She wiped away a few fresh tears. “What did you get yourself into this time, Shutterbug?”
“That’s how you greet a man who came back from the underworld? And what did I say about calling me that name?”
He flashed a lopsided smile and pulled her close with his free hand. “I think I deserve a real kiss.” He crushed his mouth to hers.
Stella chuckled when Naomi had to put both hands to the sides of Revan’s head to keep herself from falling on him.
Then his eyes roamed over Naomi’s chest. “Nugget, you’re a sight for sore eyes! Just what the doctor ordered.”
Naomi reached for the front of her tank top and pulled it up an inch, but exposed her well-toned abs in the process. She mumbled, “Can’t breathe without an oxygen tube, but is already misbehaving. Someone must be feeling better.”
Revan didn’t stop smiling—or looking.
“Don’t hog the man. Others are happy to see him, too.” Stella squeezed past Naomi and leaned forward to kiss his cheeks. “Hi, Revan. I’d like to say you look good, but you’ve looked better.”
Revan laughed, “Cinderella, I’m tempted to believe it when you say it.”
He focused on Naomi again and waved her closer. “So, we have twin babies? Show me their picture. I can’t remember how they look.”
Naomi retrieved a photo from her wallet. She leaned closer and whispered, “Aren’t they adorable?”
Revan looked from the photo to her cleavage, “Mmm-hm...”
She held the photo next to his face and said, “And don’t they look just like their daddy? I saw them at the dog shelter last month and am trying to convince my parents to adopt them. Look at their little pink tongues.” Naomi copied the puppies’ expressions and jumped out of Revan’s reach.
“Wait till I’m out of this bed and home again. I think you and I have a few things to discuss.” Revan smirked. “And listen, Nugget, don’t you know lying to authorities is a crime?”
“Well, then don’t tell them. When will you be released?”
“They said I’m in decent shape, but a little dehydrated. And my body temperature was too low. No surprise. I wasn’t exactly on a sunny beach. They’ll let me know in a few hours,” he said and glanced toward the curtains. “The bigger question is, what are you two doing here in Paris? I mean, I’m glad to see your lovely faces. You are much nicer to look at than the company I kept recently.”
Before they could answer his question, coffee cop stuck his head inside the cubicle and said, “Your time is up, I’m afraid.”
Stella asked Revan, “How can we get in touch with you? Do you have your cell phone?”
“No, Macho-Man took it, and it’s somewhere in the catacombs. My camera equipment, too. He better not touch it.”
“We’ll get you a new phone and come back later,” Stella promised. “Anything else you need? Change of clothes? Toiletries?”
“I hope to be in a nicer room when you return. I’d love to see some trees for a change,” he laughed. “A cheap cell phone would be great, but nothing else, thanks. I’ll pay you back later. Someone from the police department went to my hotel room and brought my clothes. You can’t imagine how abjectly grateful I was for fresh underwear.”
He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned at Naomi, “I got a sponge bath after I arrived here. And let me add it’s not something I need to experience again. Not as romantic as it sounds when they assign you a male nurse.”
Naomi gave him an angelic smile and said, “I wouldn’t have wanted anything different for my ailing fiancé. See you later,” she blew him a kiss. “Make sure you tell your bodyguards out there to add our names to your visitors’ list.”
Stella and Naomi turned to leave, and Revan said, “Oh, wait. Can you let my parents know everything’s fine? I’ll call them as soon as I’m out of here.”
“I texted Luca and told him you’re in the hospital. He’s been with your parents since Monday. But I’ll let him know we talked,” Stella said. “See you later.”
“Thank you, girls.” Revan reached for the yellow beverage on the table next to his bed and sniffed. “Lukewarm Gatorade, great. Let’s see if they can at least round up some ice cubes.” He pressed the nurse’s button.
On the way out, Naomi stopped at Corinne’s
desk again and asked in a sweet voice, “Corinne, excuse me. What do we need to do to come back later with a few items for my fiancé?”
The nurse pinched her lips together and replied, “He should be transferred to a room in another department by then. The help desk in the front lobby can tell you when you return.”
“Thank you,” Stella said and pulled Naomi away.
“Where did you get those acting skills?” Stella asked.
“Did you forget we joined the stupid drama club in tenth grade? It was finally good for something,” Naomi laughed.
“What if the cop wanted to see the photo?” Stella giggled.
“Then I would’ve been so surprised to discover it was gone and would’ve blamed the babies’ granny.”
“Well, congratulations. It was one of the best performances I’ve ever witnessed. And Revan seemed very happy to see you.” Stella winked at Naomi.
“As he should be,” Naomi sniffed.
“What kind of phone should we buy for him?” Stella asked after they updated David, Julia, and Alexander.
Alexander said, “He needs something to get him through the next few days. Buy a refurbished phone and a prepaid SIM card, and he’s all set. I assume he’ll buy a new one when he’s in the States again if he doesn’t get his own phone back. It’s what I’d do.”
“I agree, I’d do the same,” David added. “Do you know where we can find an electronics store?”
“No, but I’m sure there are plenty around. Here’s the next question. What are you guys going to do until you come back?”
Stella said, “I feel bad going sightseeing when he’s in the hospital, but there’s not much else we can do. And it doesn’t help Revan if we just sit here. At least we know he’s safe and well taken care of. The way he’s hooked up to the IV and other monitors, it might be a while until they move him to another room.
“Why don’t we go to the Louvre as we planned earlier, have lunch, organize a new phone for him somewhere along the way, and then come back?”
“There are several nice cafés inside the Louvre. At one, visitors sit in a gallery surrounded by marble columns and paintings,” Alexander suggested.
Turn Back Time (The Full Circle Series Book 1) Page 20