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The thought of losing such a profound love tore at Sylvie’s heart, as she considered the emotional void that would be left by the absence of such a connection in her own life.
As she drove on, Sylvie couldn’t help but wonder if the love she saw between her parents could finally be within her reach. The hope of a future with Gator, where they could share that kind of love, began to take root in her heart, offering a small measure of solace in the midst of her fears for her father.
* * *
Sylvie walkedinto her father’s hospital room, a mixture of relief and worry washing over her. Pierre, looking half-asleep, sat propped up in the bed. The room was filled with the scent of antiseptic and the low hum of medical equipment. As she dropped her bag in a chair next to the bed, she sat down beside him and gently placed her hand on his forehead before kissing him on the cheek. “Paw, you’re alive!” she cried happily. “Where’s Maw?”
“Alive? What did Maw tell you?” he asked, his voice weak but his eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief.
“She didn’t really say all that much. She seemed like she was in a bit of a state and didn’t know what was going on,” Sylvie explained, her voice heavy with concern.
Pierre laughed, and Sylvie could see the lines of worry around his eyes momentarily ease. She couldn’t help but be reminded of a well-crafted book she’d read recently, where the main character was a man who had seen it all and still found moments of joy in the midst of hardship.
“It’s no laughing matter,” Sylvie said, her brow furrowing. “Why are you in here and where’s Maw?”
“Maw’s not feeling too well,” he admitted.
“What? Why? Where is she?” Sylvie’s voice trembled with growing anxiety.
“She had a little too much to drink and it didn’t agree with her,” Pierre said, a faint smile on his lips.
“Too much to drink? Maw never drinks,” Sylvie said in disbelief. “Where is she?”
“Probably throwing up again,” he said. Seeing the worry etched on Sylvie’s face, he reassured her, “She’ll be fine.”
“And you?” Sylvie said. “What’s wrong with you that you ended up here?”
“I couldn’t breathe,” he said. As Sylvie opened her mouth to speak, he held up a hand. “Hold on, Sylv, let me tell you.”
She nodded and waited.
“I didn’t have too much to drink, so it wasn’t alcohol poisoning,” he began, his voice slow and deliberate.
“Oh, mon Dieu!” Sylvie muttered.
“And I don’t think it was food poisoning, which could account for your maw’s reaction.” He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “I think it was the drink with her, though, but she might like to change that story when she tells you.”
“Continuer,” Sylvie urged, her hands waving in a gesture of impatience.
“Anyway…they think it was an angina attack brought on by too much excitement and stress from the celebration, coupled with the consumption of the rich food and alcohol.”
“Celebration?” Sylvie echoed, her mind racing to catch up.
“50 years married to the most wonderful woman in the world and here I am…with the other most wonderful woman in the world,” Pierre said, his voice filled with love and pride.
“Oh non, je suis tellement désolé.” Sylvie was so sorry that she had been caught up in her own life and had forgotten all about their special occasion. As Pierre held out his arms, she moved in for a hug, their embrace tight and filled with emotion. “I am so proud of you both. I love you both so much.”
“One day, my baby girl, I pray…your maw and I both pray that you will have what we have,” Pierre said, his voice serious and heartfelt. “But you know that you need to get rid of the bad to make room for the good.”
“He will never bother me again, Paw,” she said.
Pierre looked sad. “I wish I could believe that, darling…that is my one wish in the world.”
Sylvie grabbed her father softly on either side of his head and whispered to his face, “He’s dead.” It didn’t seem to register with him, so she said, “Marvin is dead.”
Pierre’s eyes widened, and a slow smile spread across his face. “How?” he asked, curiosity and relief mingling in his voice.
It was then that Sylvie knew she’d made a mistake. In the spur of the moment, trying to give her father the dream he wanted, she’d revealed the secret she should have kept. Not the whole secret, but enough to get her…and Gator and Bruno…in trouble, if not for the fact that she could trust her father with anything in the world.
