Chloe: Can you come to our place right now, for a minute?
Nora: Be right there.
Still in her jeans from her morning walk with Atticus, she went next door to Chloe’s and found her standing quietly at the kitchen island while Olivier and his dad were engaged in a heated discussion at the table.
Pierre insisted he was fine to drive himself to the hospital, while Olivier argued it was too soon.
“You were told to do no driving for at least three weeks,” said Olivier.
They stopped when they noticed Nora. “Hey, can I help?” she asked. “I’m happy to drive. No problem.”
Pierre was still in his Mr. Nice Guy persona and calmly replied, “It’s okay. I’m sure I can do it on my own.”
“Well, why don’t you try it out, and I’ll just come along for moral support.”
“I don’t want to inconvenience you, Nora,” Pierre replied, looking slightly irritated but accepting.
She assured him it would be no trouble at all. The argument came to an abrupt end. It was settled.
Two hours later, they were on their way to the hospital and Nora was driving. Pierre had winced as he struggled getting himself seated in the car and made the sensible decision before he even put his seatbelt on. “I guess it is a bit too soon.”
In the busy Paris traffic, Pierre gave good directions, and they reached the hospital parking lot in just over half an hour. She said she would wait there for him.
“But you never know how long this will take. You know how doctors can get behind schedule. There’s a very nice cafeteria that might be more comfortable.”
Nora hadn’t wanted Pierre to feel she was being overly protective by going into the hospital with him, but it did make sense. He seemed to feel at ease with her walking in with him.
It had been a good call. Two hours later Pierre appeared in the café, looking extremely irritated. He was apologetic for her having to wait so long.
“Hey, no worries,” she told him. “I’m reading a great novel, and this gave me more time than I would have taken at home to relax and enjoy it. Good coffee here too!”
“You are too agreeable,” Pierre said. “If it were me, I would be steaming. No, I was steaming! But so was every person in the waiting room.”
“But exactly what did that accomplish?” Nora asked. “The doctor probably got held up in surgery or had some other emergency. Honestly, Pierre, it’s such a waste of time and energy to get upset about things like this. About anything that isn’t immoral or life-threatening.”
He blinked, looking at her as though she was crazy, and repeated, “Immoral or life-threatening? What do those things have to do with waiting for a doctor?”
Nora laughed. “I learned this lesson from a parenting guru when Chloe was small, when I kept getting my knickers in a twist about her behavior.”
“Your knickers in a twist? Immoral and life-threatening? I’m not really sure what you are trying to tell me,” Pierre said, looking confused.
She explained everything on the way out to the car and by the time they reached it, they were both laughing.
“Do you like Thai food? I know a great little hole-in-the-wall restaurant just around the corner,” Pierre said.
While they ate, he told Nora what the doctor had said about his injury.
“They have ordered a new brace and will put it on me when it arrives. He thinks I will be able to move much more freely then, and maybe even drive … but not for long distances. Bah! I’m sure by then I will be fine.”
“Don’t push it, Pierre. You don’t want to make the problem worse by rushing.”
“Yes, but I do need to get back to Nice with the art. I have so much to do to prepare for the exhibit. Deliveries will be coming in a few weeks, and I have to be there. This could not have happened at a worse time.”
Nora was understanding. “It’s bad timing, for sure.”
Pierre shrugged. “Felix said he can do it in two or three weeks, but that’s too long to wait. I’m asking around and so is Olivier. Between us, we should find someone. It’s not that bad of a drive. It can be done in one long day if we took the autoroutes, although I would prefer to use backroads with all that art. And, in truth, I avoid the autoroutes whenever I can.”
He described a few possible routes, and all of them sounded appealing. She asked questions about some of the places on his proposed routes.
