“It’s a boy,” the doctor said, smiling. She loved delivering that kind of news. A healthy baby and a happy mom. Blaise had had no preference about sex. She just liked the idea of knowing, but hearing that it was a boy suddenly made it all the more real now. She was going to have a son. She hoped he’d look just like Simon, and as she thought it, the tears rolled down her cheeks. She hadn’t seen him come in, but Mark had walked into her office when she hung up, and he looked shocked to see her crying.
“Are you okay? Is something wrong?” He knew the doctor had called, and hoped nothing serious was going on.
“I’m fine.” He handed her research on a British politician involved in an international money-laundering scandal, and she gave him back some of the earlier research with her notes on it, and then he stopped and turned around on the way out of the room.
“I almost forgot to tell you. You get all the plum jobs around here. They’re sending you to the Cannes Film Festival to do a special. It’s the third week in May, followed by the Monaco Grand Prix the week after. You can stay over for the Memorial Day weekend at the end of it if you want. I’ll book you a reservation at Hotel du Cap.” And as he said it, instead of pleased, she looked horrified and almost cried again.
“Oh my God … I can’t stay over…. Salima’s recital is that Friday night, the last day of the Grand Prix race. She’s been preparing for it for six months. I can’t miss it, no matter what. I do it to her every time.” She had missed her high school graduation, interviewing the president of South Korea. She couldn’t do it to her again. “Mark, I have to be back in New York on Friday afternoon.”
“I’ll book the reservation, but you’ll have to work it out, and leave the morning of the last day of the race, or wrap things up the day before.” Mark looked sympathetic. He knew how much the recital meant to Salima. Blaise had been telling him all about it for months.
“I have to. Salima would never forgive me, and I don’t want to let her down.” She was going to fix this right away and e-mailed Charlie about it immediately, to warn him of when she’d have to leave the Grand Prix. Whatever she did, no matter how important they thought it was, this time she couldn’t fail Salima.
Once Blaise knew the baby was a boy and that it was healthy, she found herself thinking about Simon more and more often. She questioned if it had been a mistake to find out what the sex was. Now she kept wondering if he would look like Simon, and what Simon would say when she told him. She still had no intention of telling him during the pregnancy. She wasn’t going to intrude on his life. And she was only four months pregnant. It was still a long way off. But he seemed to be constantly on her mind.
When the ratings came out in May, Blaise’s were stronger than they’d ever been. Zack came down to her office to congratulate her personally. And Charlie gave her a bottle of champagne, which she took home to Becky and Salima that night. They opened it, and Blaise poured a glass for the two girls. They toasted her with it, and she clinked a glass with a tiny sip in it. Somehow Salima could tell and asked her mother why she wasn’t drinking more. Blaise was always amazed by everything she noticed. Her hearing was so acute, she could tell it wasn’t a full glass.
“Somebody has to stay sober around here.” Blaise laughed and changed the subject. But she was very happy about her ratings too. It would relieve some of the pressure on her, for now at least.
And two weeks later, she left to cover the Cannes Film Festival and then the Monaco Grand Prix. She stayed at the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc during the Film Festival, and then moved to the Hermitage in Monte Carlo for the Grand Prix. Both hotels were superb. There wasn’t a luxury hotel around the world that Blaise hadn’t been in, a resort or spa where she hadn’t stayed while doing an interview or a special. And there were a number of celebrities staying at both hotels. She enjoyed the Film Festival, and the car race using the streets of Monaco was always exciting. She was invited to parties on yachts and in fabulous villas, and one at the palace hosted by the prince and princess. And on that particular assignment, she had to admit that her life was as glamorous as people said. She was constantly surrounded by movie stars and royalty, and she told Salima about it when she called her every day. Salima was diligently preparing for her recital, and pressed Blaise again to make sure she’d be there.