I blink. “Down the toilet? Like… after he proposed?”
“No, no, no. Everything was lovely for the first two years. But when I caught him cheating on me, the first time…”
“The first time?” I say, choking on the words. “So… he did it… often?”
“Yes, of course. You know what French men are like. Mistresses everywhere, sticking it in everything that moves. But I was a major bitch too, and I made sure to cheat on him just as much as he cheated on me. For revenge. What else can a girl do?”
I stare at her with surprise, feeling more awkward than ever. I suddenly feel like such a fraud, wearing this ring. I don’t know the first thing about Gabriel. Am I just another mistress? Just another affair? But what if I end up being his wife, and he cheats on me as much as he cheated on her? I feel sick.
“It’s not that bad, darling,” Yvette says with a weak smile. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. But here I am, alive and well, thanks to you. Nothing is bad, today.”
“That’s right,” I say, with a nod of female solidarity. “You’re alive. That’s all that matters.”
“And my toes are pretty.” She coughs for a few seconds. “Did you talk to Gabe at all while I was out?”
“Well… you know. Just a little bit,” I lie.
She tries to laugh, but her body is still too weak to laugh properly. “He’s such a pain in the ass, isn’t he?”
“He’s not that bad.”
“Really?” she says with surprise. “You must be the only person on the planet who thinks so. I should hire you as my assistant, so you can just communicate with him instead of me. You would be saving me thousands of headaches.”
I am about to protest that Gabriel is a joy to speak with, and has never caused me a headache… but I wrinkle my nose. “Yeah… there were some big headaches. That assistant job would need to pay quite well.”
She smiles. “My idiot man. Can you call him for me? Please.”
“Sure. But what about Sexy Babe?” I ask her hopefully.
“Oh, no. He’s nothing. Just a guilty pleasure. Please, Milla—don’t tell my husband about Sexy Babe, okay? Let’s keep it just between us girls.”
I flinch at the familiar way she says ‘my husband’. Pain shoots through my spine, like icicles. Her husband. My fiancé. Apparently a huge cheater, and someone I barely know at all. “Of course not. I would never tell. Girl code.”
“Thank you,” she says happily. “You’re the best.”
Oh, god. The guilt is so bad.
As I pick up her phone to call Gabriel, I tell myself that it must be different between us. There must be something special about our relationship, and maybe he wouldn’t cheat on me. Is that naïve and asinine? I just want to believe it so badly.
I realize that I video called him without asking her if she preferred voice or video. I’ve just been so used to video calling him that it’s second nature.
He answers quickly.
“Milla,” he says with surprise. “Are you—”
“No,” I say quickly, cutting him off abruptly. “It’s your wife. She’s able to speak now.”
My face lingers on his for a second. There is fear and panic in both of our eyes.
He looks like he doesn’t even know me.
“Evie?” he asks, as I turn the camera toward her. “Oh, god, Evie. You’re finally awake.”
She bursts into tears. “Gabe! I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too, sweetheart.”
“Can I please come home? Please?” she begs.
“Of course, Evie. Of course. I told your mom and dad that you were recovering, and they were so happy. They’ve been trying to get you home for weeks, but the doctors wouldn’t let us move you. I am sure you can come home now as soon as possible, now that you can breathe on your own. Your parents are preparing a room for you right now. They can’t wait to have their little girl back.”
“My parents? No, Gabe. I want to stay with you. Please.”
My hand trembles slightly, holding up her cell phone.
I can hear the hesitation in his voice. “Oh—sure, we can make that happen. If that’s what you want. I’ll tell your parents to drive up to Paris, then, and they’ll be waiting for you here whenever you can make it home. I’ll prepare the guest rooms.”
“I can’t wait to see them,” Yvette says. Then she switches over to French to say sweet and loving, intimate things to him. I understand most of the words, but she’s pretty fast, and I don’t get it all. But I can see the tears in her eyes, and I can hear the need in her voice.
She is telling him she loves him and wants to be close to him again. And reconcile their separation. That this whole near-death experience has really changed her and made her realize what’s important.
Oh my god.
“There’s no time to waste then,” Gabriel says. “I’ll send the plane, and we’ll have you safely home tomorrow. I know that a lot of rehabilitation will be required, but you can do all of that right here in Paris. Don’t worry about anything, Evie. I’ll take care of it all.”
It’s killing me a little bit. I feel like I’m losing everything in slow motion, and I have to sit here with a smile and let it happen. Because it’s the right thing to do.
I somehow forgot that Evie is a French citizen. She can get into the country to be with him… and live with him. In their home. While I’m stuck here on this side of the ocean. She’ll have the upper hand. All the advantages of playing on her home turf. She’ll have her body next to his. Years of history and familiarity. She’ll be able to share meals with him, even if she needs to be spoon fed.
When I told her to wake up and
