Aurélie

Chapter Thirty Seven

Rory checked into his hotel to freshen up before taking the leisurely walk over to the restaurant his daughter had recommended. He had wanted to get a few things off his chest before but obviously the timing wasn't right. And anyway, he had waited this long, a couple more hours couldn't make that much difference. He showered and used the travel iron provided to press out the creases in his linen trousers. He put on a checked white and brown shirt and rolled the sleeves up to the elbows. It was still warm outside and he hadn't thought to bring a jacket, opting instead for a small black umbrella he had stowed in his luggage after he had left a particularly damp and gloomy Edinburgh yesterday morning. 

The evening sky was turning indigo with strands of white cotton trawling over the peaked roofs of the French avenues.  A bright blue canopy with embellished gold lettering displayed the name of the restaurant, L'Ecluse. He sat down and ordered a large merlot while he waited. Aurélie arrived fifteen minutes later, looking a little ruffled but happy. She sat down opposite him and reached across to squeeze his hands. 

"Dad, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you. Does Mum know you're here?" She was interrupted by the waiter who took her order of a chilled white wine. 

"I spoke to your mother yesterday and told her I was coming over. She and Malcolm are well and she sent her love." 

"I still can't believe you're here, your timing couldn't have been better!" 

Rory smiled at the irony of his daughter's sentiment, but guilt was nudging at his ribcage. 

 They ordered dinner, lobster for Rory. 

Steak, medium rare with fries for Aurélie. 

Aurélie explained the Blake debacle and how she had dashed off earlier to get things cleared up. She enjoyed the easiness of her father's company. She didn't exactly go into all the gory details but she gave him enough information to get his empathy and agree with her that she was better off without a hot mess like Blake and the scorned Mel.

Her phone rang out, cutting into their conversation and getting louder with each ring. She scrambled around under the table trying to prize her phone out of her handbag. 

An unknown  French number flashed across the screen. 

"Hello?" Aurélie answered, smiling across at her dad who was tearing his lobster apart with his fingers. 

"Seb? Calm down. What's wrong? Speak slowly... I can't hear you." 

Rory had stopped eating now and was wiping his hands on his serviette. Looking over at his daughter who now looked panicked. 

"Okay, we'll be right over... Yes... Of course. I'm with Dad right now. Bye." Aurélie put the phone down. The colour had drained from her face and she ran her hand through her hair and reached for her glass of water, knocking a knife to the floor as she did so.

"Aurélie?" Rory asked worriedly.

"Dad, that was Seb. He went over to the house just after I left. Lena was on the floor, she had fallen down the stairs. They're in the ambulance right now, heading to the hospital." 

Rory was already reaching for his wallet. He left a wad of euros and pushed his chair back getting up at the exact same time that Aurélie stood up, grabbing her bag and phone. 

"Did Seb say which hospital they were going to?" Rory asked as he flagged down a taxi.

"He said the American one. Dad I'm really worried about her!" Aurelie's voice was thin, tears just a few moments away. 

"I know love, we'll get there as quickly as we can." Rory leant forward to the glass divide and told the taxi driver in perfect French that they needed to get to the American Hospital of Paris  immediately. The driver took Rory's urgent tone and Aurélie's pleading expression and drove them through the back streets of Paris, avoiding the tourist hotspots and cutting precious minutes off their journey. 

They pulled up outside of the hospital twelve minutes later. Rory thrust money at the driver and they both jumped out of the cab, slamming the doors behind them and rushing across the forecourt to the front entrance. 

Aurélie saw Seb straight away, he was in the reception area, wearing what he had on at the gallery and pacing up and down in front of a row of worn waiting chairs. A television was high up in the corner of the room showing Euro news and a nurse was at the reception desk making notes in a large notebook and watching the computer screen. 

Aurélie rushed up to Seb who whirled around as she reached out of his arm. 

"Relie! Thank god you're here!" He pulled her in to a hug and Aurélie could feel him trembling. 

"Seb, this is my Dad, Rory," Aurélie stepped away and introduced her father. 

"Where's Lena?" Rory asked Seb as he shook his hand briefly. 

"They've taken her straight through to surgery. She's broken her leg and they were worried about her neck but after the x-ray they said she got very lucky. It's only her right leg that needs urgent attention." 

"Jesus," Rory pressed his fingers into the corner of his eyes and breathed in deeply, sitting down heavily in one of the red plastic chairs. 

"Where did you find her Seb?" Aurelie asked, folding her arms and looking down at her feet. She hated hospitals.

"She was in the hallway, just outside the classroom. She had been carrying boxes downstairs and she must have misjudged the steps. She was out cold when I found her." Seb was blinking hard and his voice was shaky. 

He coughed to clear his throat. 

Aurélie reached across and grabbed his hand. They sat down opposite her father, their legs touching, knee to knee. He kept her hand in his and rubbed his thumb in her palm in tight circles. Aurélie prayed silently that Lena would be okay. She couldn't bear it if her godmother was seriously injured and she couldn't imagine what it was doing to Seb who really didn't have anyone else left. 

It must have been horrible finding her like that, sprawled out on the floor and unconscious. Aurélie was secretly grateful that it hadn't been her that found Lena, then her stomach flipped with guilt and she felt queasy for having such thoughts. Her father was tapping his foot impatiently and got up to speak to the receptionist. 

"You look like your father" Seb said quietly. 

"Thanks," Aurélie whispered back, she took that as a compliment, it was well noted by her school friends mothers that Rory was a handsome man. 

"Did he arrive today?" 

"Yes, he surprised me this afternoon when I got back from the exhibition. We were out at dinner when you called," she said. 

"Where did you go?" 

"L'Ecluse..."

 "Nice." 

"Yeah," she nodded.

Her father was back and he sat down again, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped, head bowed. He stared at the floor for a moment and then looked up, eyes flickering between them both. 

"The nurse on reception said that they are putting metal pins into Lena's leg. Most of her shin  shattered when she fell. She said she will be out of surgery in an hour or two but she'll be sedated for quite a while." 

"Thanks Dad," Aurelie raised her eyebrows hopefully at her Dad. 

Seb remained silent but his right leg starting jigging up and down like a nervous twitch. 

Aurélie laid a reassuring hand on his knee to calm him.