“That makes them nice, well-adjusted, normal kids. It's a sweet deal for them having you alone, with no man for them to compete with for your attention.”
“I think Charles will be a great addition to our family. He's just the kind of man we always needed,” Maxine said, sounding hopeful.
“That will make it even harder for them,” Thelma said wisely. “If he were a jerk, they could dismiss him, and so would you. Instead, he's a reasonable candidate and a solid citizen. That'll make him Public Enemy Number One, as far as they're concerned, for a while anyway. Fasten your seat belt, Max, something tells me you may hit some turbulence when you tell them. But they'll get over it. I'm really happy for you,” Thelma said with a broad grin.
“Thanks, me too.” Maxine smiled back at her, still nervous about her kids. “And I think you're right about the turbulence. I'm not looking forward to it, so we put off telling them as long as we could.” But June was just around the corner, only two months away. And Maxine was getting anxious about the big announcement. For the moment, it made their wedding plans a little tense, and somewhat bittersweet. And a little bit unreal, until they told the kids.
She and Charles went to Cartier and picked out a ring in April. They had it sized, and Charles gave it to her formally over dinner, but they both knew she couldn't wear it yet. She kept it in a locked drawer of her desk at home, and took it out to look at it and try it on every night. She loved it. It was beautiful, and the stone sparkled unbelievably. She could hardly wait to wear it. Getting the ring made their plans feel more real. And she had already reserved the date for the caterer in Southampton in August. Their wedding was only four months away. And she wanted to look for a dress. She wanted to tell Blake too, and her parents, but not until after they told the kids. She felt she owed them that.
She, Charles, and the children spent the Easter weekend in Southampton, and had a very nice time. Maxine and Charles whispered about their wedding plans at night, giggling like two kids, and took romantic walks on the beach hand in hand while Daphne rolled her eyes. It was May when Maxine had an unexpectedly serious talk with Zellie. She'd had a bad day. A friend of hers had died in an accident , and for the first time ever, she talked mournfully about her regrets about never having had children of her own. Maxine was sympathetic and figured it would pass. It had just been a very bad day.
“It's not too late,” Maxine said, trying to cheer her up. “You could still meet someone and have a baby.” It was getting late, but it was not over for her yet. “Women have babies a lot later than they used to, with a little help.” She and Charles had talked about it too, and Maxine would have liked that, but Charles felt her three were enough. He felt too old to have his own, which Maxine thought was too bad. She would have loved to have another baby, if he'd been willing. But he wasn't.
“I think I'd rather adopt,” Zelda said practically. “I've been taking care of other people's kids all my life. I don't have a problem with that. I love them like my own.” She smiled, and Maxine hugged her. She knew that was true. “Maybe I should look into adoption sometime,” Zelda continued vaguely, and Maxine nodded. It was one of those things people say to make themselves feel better, but don't necessarily mean. Maxine was fairly certain it was that.
Zelda knew nothing of Maxine's upcoming marriage. But they were planning to tell the children in three weeks when they got out of school. Maxine was apprehensive about it, but excited too. It was time to share their big news with them. Zelda didn't mention the idea of adoption again, and Maxine forgot about it. She assumed Zelda had too.
It was the last day of school, in early June, when Maxine got a call from the school. She was sure it was just a routine call of some kind. The kids were due home in an hour, and she was seeing patients at her office. The call was about Sam. He had been hit by a car when he was crossing the street to get to his car pool. He had been taken to
New York Hospital by ambulance. One of the teachers had gone with him.
“Oh my God, is he all right?” How all right could he be, if they'd taken him away by ambulance? Maxine was panicked.
“They think his leg is broken, Dr. Williams… I'm so sorry, it was chaotic on the last day. He hit his head too, but he was conscious when they left. He's a brave little guy.” Brave? Fuck them. How could they let that happen to her son? She was shaking when she hung up, and rushed back into her office. She'd been seeing a seventeen-yearold boy, who had been a patient for two years, and had taken the call at her secretary's desk. She explained to her patient what had happened, and he told her how sorry he was. She apologized for ending the session, and had her secretary cancel the rest of her afternoon. She grabbed her handbag, and realized she should call Blake too, although there was nothing he could do. But Sam was his son too. She called his house in London, and the butler told her he was in Morocco, and might be at his villa at La Mamounia. When she called the hotel in Marrakech, they took the message but refused to confirm if he was there. His cell phone was on voice mail. She was frantic, and then she called Charles. He said he'd meet her at the emergency room. And with that, she flew out the door.
It was easy to find Sam in the ER. He had a broken arm and leg, two broken ribs, and a concussion, and he looked as though he were in shock. He wasn't even crying. And Charles was wonderful with him. He went into the operating room with Sam when they set the leg and arm. They couldn't do anything about the ribs but wrap them, and the concussion was mild fortunately. Maxine was beside herself as she waited. And later that afternoon, they let her take him home. Charles was still with her, and Sam was holding both their hands. It tore at her heart to see the condition he was in, and they settled him in her bed. They had painkillers to give him, and he was very groggy. Jack and Daphne were beside themselves when they saw him. But he was all right, he was alive, and all the damage would repair. The mother who had been carpooling called and apologized profusely, they had never seen the car coming. The driver had been devastated too. But not as much as Maxine. She was grateful it wasn't worse.
Charles stayed and slept on the couch, and took turns watching Sam with her. They both canceled their patients for the next day, and Zelda kept running in to check on Sam too. Maxine went into the kitchen for a cup of tea at midnight. It was her shift with Sam, and she ran into Daphne, who glared at her.
“Why is he sleeping here?” she demanded, referring to Charles.
“Because he cares about us.” Maxine was tired, and in no mood for Daphne's comments. “He was great with Sam at the hospital. He was in the operating room with him.”
“Did you call Dad?” Daphne asked pointedly, and Maxine had had enough.
“Yes, I did actually. He's in goddamn Morocco, and no one can find him. He hasn't returned my calls. So what else is new? Does that answer your question?” With that, Daphne looked hurt and stormed off to her room. She still wanted her father to be something he wasn't, and never would be. They all did. Jack wanted his father to be a hero, and he wasn't. He was just a man. And everyone, including Maxine, wanted him to be responsible, and somewhere where one could find him. He never was. And this time was no different. It was precisely why they were divorced.
It took Maxine five days to locate him in Morocco. He said there had been an earthquake there, a bad one. And suddenly Maxine vaguely remembered hearing about it. But all she'd thought about for the last week was Sam. He had been miserable with the ribs, and had a headache for several days from the concussion. The arm and leg weren't as bad since they were in casts. And Blake sounded upset when she told him.
“It would be nice if you were somewhere where I can call you, for a change. This is ridiculous, Blake. If anything happens, I can never find you.” She was not amused, and very angry at him.
“I'm really sorry, Max. All the phone lines were down. My cell phone and email haven't worked till today. It was a nasty earthquake, and a lot of people got killed in villages not far from here. I've been trying to help out, organizing airlifts of supplies.”
“Since when have you been playing Good Samaritan?” She was seriously pissed at him. Charles had been there for her. As usual, Blake hadn't.
“They need help. There are people wandering the streets with no food, and bodies all over the place. Look, do you want me to fly in for Sam?”
“You don't need to. He's okay,” she said, calming down. “But it was scary for all of us. Particularly him. He's asleep now, but you should call him in a few hours.”
“I'm sorry, Max,” he said, sounding sincere. “You've got enough on your hands without dealing with that too.”
“I'm all right. Charles was here.”
“I'm glad,” Blake said quietly, and she realized that he sounded tired too. Maybe he really was doing something
