They sat in the waiting room in silence for two hours after that, hoping for news, until a doctor came in, and explained to both of them that Mr. Ferrand was not doing well. He was preparing them for the worst. Maylis nearly fainted when he told them, and Marie-Claude left the room to cry alone. Later they let them see him, still in the coma on the ventilator, which was breathing for him. He had had no more cardiac episodes, but his heart wasn’t strong. He was hooked up to half a dozen monitors, and the ICU staff was watching closely.
It was a long night for both women, waiting for some improvement or change. They took turns going to see him for a few minutes each time, but he was still in the coma and unaware of their presence. And the two women hadn’t spoken since Marie-Claude’s outburst that morning. Maylis had been lost in thought ever since, consumed with guilt, remembering each instance when she must have hurt him. She was living the agonies of the damned, and Marie-Claude had no idea of the flood tides that had opened as a result of her words. Maylis looked ravaged by morning when one of the doctors came in to see them again, and asked if they wanted last rites administered. The two women sobbed openly after that, and this time Marie-Claude allowed Maylis to take her in her arms and hold her while they both cried.
The priest came, and gave Gabriel extreme unction, and afterward Marie-Claude and Maylis returned to their vigil in the waiting room. Neither dared go back to their hotel for fear that he would die while they were gone, or regain consciousness for his last moments and they would miss them. The nurses had brought them pillows and blankets the night before, and there was a shower down the hall which they used. And Maylis went to get food from the cafeteria for both of them, but they didn’t touch it. They just drank coffee and waited for the inevitable to happen. And during one of Maylis’s turns with him at lunchtime, she saw a nurse react to one of the monitors and rush off to get the doctor. She was sure the end had come. And by the time the doctor came to check the monitor, an alarm was sounding on another one.
“What’s happening?” Maylis looked terrified as they checked him, and the nurse turned to her.
“He’s waking up,” she whispered. And as she said it, Gabriel opened his eyes and looked confused, and then closed them again and drifted off. But he had been conscious for a few minutes. And another doctor appeared to discuss whether the ventilator should be removed, and their conclusion was to wait and see what happened next.
He woke up several times that afternoon, once while his daughter was with him, the other time with Maylis, and by eight o’clock that night, his eyes were fully open, and they took him off the ventilator to see how he would do breathing on his own. His voice was hoarse when he spoke to Maylis.
“…too young to die…” he said and winked at her, and then croaked out the words “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said and had never meant it more, as she stood next to him and held his hand. “Don’t try to talk, just rest.”
“I’ve been resting, but you look tired,” he said, worried about her.
“I’m fine.” But she looked nearly as bad as he did. It had been a hell of a scare and he wasn’t out of the woods yet, and could have cardiac arrest again, the doctor explained. They wanted to do the angioplasty as soon as possible, but he wasn’t strong enough. And after that, they let both women into the room at the same time. And they were so relieved that he was better that they got along with each other for the first time in years. And Maylis encouraged Marie-Claude to use her hotel room that night. Maylis wanted to stay with Gabriel, and Marie-Claude admitted that she’d be grateful for a decent night’s sleep and left, while Maylis slept in the waiting room again, in case he took a turn for the worse. In an odd way, Marie-Claude’s outburst had relieved the tension between them that had been building for years.
Gabriel was much better in the morning. He had color in his cheeks, his blood pressure was good, and he was responding to the heart medication they were giving him. Theo was encouraged by his mother’s reports and even talked to Gabriel on the phone, who sounded pretty good.
“They’re making a big fuss about nothing,” he told Theo. “You know how Italians are.” But Maylis said the doctors had been excellent and had saved his life. There was no question about that. And that night she went to the hotel herself, and she and Marie-Claude shared the room, since the hotel was full and they couldn’t get another one for her.
“I’m sorry I was so angry at you at first. I just know how much my father loves you, and I never thought you loved him as much. I realize now that you do. You should tell him sometime,” she said more gently, now that things had calmed down. Maylis had told him just that since he’d regained consciousness, and apologized profusely for how badly she had treated him, which he generously denied. And she promised to go to Paris with him when he was feeling better. She assured him that things were going to change from now on. She was infinitely grateful that he was alive.
They were able to do the angioplasty a week later, and it was successful clearing the blocked artery, and the next argument came over where he was going to convalesce. Marie-Claude wanted him to come home to Paris, and Maylis wanted to nurse him herself in St. Paul de Vence. In the end, it was Gabriel who made the decision. He wanted to go home with Maylis and stay with her, and he promised his daughter that as soon as he felt stronger, he would come to Paris and spend a few weeks there, hopefully with Maylis, and she promised to come. But first the doctor wanted Gabriel at the hotel in Florence for at least a week, so he’d be nearby if he had a problem, and he didn’t want him to fly yet, nor take the long drive back to St. Paul de Vence. Maylis had made arrangements to have the car driven back.
Gabriel was chafing at the bit to go home, but both women convinced him not to rush, and Maylis reminded him that there were worse fates than spending a week in Florence at a five-star hotel. She was able to get a big suite on the top floor with a spectacular view, and by the time Gabriel left the hospital, he was stronger, walking on his own, and thrilled with the lovely suite. The three of them had dinner in the room that night, and the next day Marie-Claude went home, and she embraced Maylis warmly as she left, and Gabriel raised an eyebrow afterward.
“I never thought I’d see that day,” he said, referring to his daughter, who had been vocal and strident against Maylis for years.