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“Did you hear?” she choked.
“I heard, I heard. I’m sorry.” He held her close and caressed her head with his hand. He held her until she caught her breath, then urged her toward the couch to sit.
“I’ll make the calls,” he said. “I’ll get your flight changed.”
“I… I should…”
“You sit. Give me your ticket. I’ll take care of you.”
Phone Issues
“Anne, are you okay? Have you had anything to eat?” Steven asked as he strapped her into the seat on his private plane.
Anne stared at him, his voice barely registering, and nodded her head. He said some more things, his expression urgent, but she couldn’t make sense of his words.
“You haven’t heard anything I’ve said, have you?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered in a hoarse tone. She tried hard to focus on what he was saying.
“I can’t come with you But Gram called last night and told me she’s been having chest pains. I can’t leave her here alone right now.”
She nodded again. Surely everything would come back to her later.
His hands cupped her face, as he bent to speak closely. “Anne, I need to know you’re hearing me, okay?”
This time she made eye contact with him. “Okay,” she croaked, as his thumb brushed a tear that rolled down her face.
“Repeat this for me. It’s very important for you to remember.”
She blinked hard, trying to concentrate.
“When the plane lands I will turn my cell phone back on and check my messages. Can you say that?”
“When the plane lands, I will…”
“Turn my phone on.”
“Turn my phone on.”
“And check messages.”
“And check messages.”
“Okay, now listen. I gave the pilot the name and address of the hospital. He’ll get a taxi for you and make sure you get there. Unless one of the girls comes to get you. Emily’s going to call your phone and leave a message as soon as she knows something.”
“Okay. Thank you for—”
“No need for thanks. I want to help.” He straightened up. “Anne, there’s one more thing. Will you let me call Henri and tell him what happened? It’ll be awfully late in Paris by the time you get to Fort Worth.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“And will you call me when you get to the hospital?”
Tears began to tumble down her cheeks again. She watched as he walked to the back of the plane and returned with a box of tissues. He pulled one out gently dried her face before handing her the rest of the box. His own shirt had salty tearstains on the chest.
“Are you going to be okay?” He looked as miserable as she felt.
“What if he doesn’t make it?”
