Her Miracle Twins

Chantal hesitated. ‘Well, it’s different. Actually, it’s like coming home for me. You see, I was born just a few miles away in Montreuil. My English father died when I was seven. My French mother resumed her teaching career after that and she took me to live in Paris where she’d got a job. That’s where she brought me up, although we always used to return to this area and stay here during the long summer vacation.

‘This coastline feels like my second home because I know it so well. When I was old enough I did my medical training in Paris and took a staff position when I qualified.’

Sidonie put the ice pack down on a trolley and sat down beside her patient. ‘Was it because you regard this area as your second home that you chose to leave Paris?’

Chantal looked at the figure of the kindly woman and found her experienced presence very comforting. She welcomed a girly chat to take her mind off the pain and the unexpected turn of events today.

She lay back against her pillows. ‘It was a sudden decision. Very sudden.’

She drew in her breath as the awful memory of that fateful day flooded back to her.

‘One minute I was on cloud nine, in love with the man of my dreams, three months pregnant with his much-wanted baby.’

She hesitated. Should she, indeed could she, go on? What did she have to lose?

‘Then the phone rang and everything changed.’

Her voice was quavering as she gathered her thoughts. Was it really a good idea to unload the sordid details onto someone who was a colleague?

The orthopaedic sister was watching her with a deeply sympathetic expression on her face, as if anticipating what was to come. Oh, it would be good for her to get it off her chest. She’d bottled it up ever since she arrived at the Hôpital de la Plage. It was about time she relaxed and socialised a bit more. It wasn’t her fault she’d been totally hoodwinked by a despicable, two-timing scoundrel.

She could hear the sound of a heavy trolley being pushed past her door through the swing doors into the ward and the murmur of the nurses and patients as the doors opened.

A nurse knocked, before opening her door. ‘Dr Winstone, would you like some lunch?’

Chantal shook her head. ‘No, thank you, Nurse.’

Sidonie turned her head. ‘Is everything OK in the ward, Sylvie?’

The young nurse smiled. ‘Fine, Sister. A nice quiet Sunday for once.’

‘I’ll be back to check the medicines after you’ve served the lunch. Pay attention to the patients on extra fluids, won’t you?’

‘Of course, Sister.’ She turned back to her patient. ‘So what happened after the phone rang?’

Chantal moved her good foot into a more comfortable position at the side of the cushions supporting her injured ankle as that fateful evening last September came flooding back.

‘I was in the kitchen in my apartment, roasting a chicken for our supper, I remember. My boyfriend had phoned earlier to invite himself round that evening so I’d picked up a chicken at the supermarket on my way home from hospital.’

She swallowed hard. ‘The phone rang. I answered it. It was a woman’s voice. She asked if Jacques was there. I called him over and went on preparing the meal. I assumed it was probably one of his private patients. He seemed to have lots of those. He was such a charming person. Unpredictable, though. I never knew when he was going to turn up.’

Already she could feel the bitterness welling up inside her. ‘He took the phone into the sitting room. I could hear his voice, very low, more like a whisper. Then suddenly he started shouting. ‘No, you mustn’t do that! No, you can’t come here. You can’t! ’

Sidonie sat very still as she waited for Chantal to continue. She could see how upset she was.

‘He slammed down the phone and came back into the kitchen. His face was drained of all colour and he was trembling. At the same time I could hear footsteps on the stairs coming up from the ground floor of my apartment block. Then hammering on the door.’

‘Who was it?’

‘His wife. I had no idea he was married. It transpired that she’d been caring for her sick mother in the south of France for a few months. A friend had tipped her off that her husband was being unfaithful and had given her my address and phone number.’

‘So what happened when his wife arrived?’

Chantal cleared her throat. ‘She started shrieking at him. Hitting him in the chest with her fists. He grabbed her wrists, fending off the blows as he tried to placate her. He said he could explain everything. How pathetic! The evidence was there before the poor woman’s eyes, for heaven’s sake. I found myself feeling sorry for her.’

‘So, did she start shouting at you?’

‘No, that was the strange thing. She barely glanced at me. It was her pig of a husband she was mad with. I’d heard enough about his womanising as she continued to hurl abuse at him. I just wanted it all to stop. So I opened my door and asked them both to leave.’

‘And then?’

‘They noticed me at last. His wife grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. I continued to hold the door wide open. She was still shouting. I told them both again to get out of my apartment. After they’d gone I went into my bedroom. My brain had gone numb. I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep.’

No, she couldn’t tell her any more of the agony that had come afterwards, not now anyway. She wanted to move forward with her life. She was a different person from the innocent, trusting woman she’d been. The heartbreaking experience later that night had changed her for ever. She couldn’t even speak about her miscarriage.

‘I’m sorry, Sidonie, to burden you with all this.’

Sidonie leaned across and patted her hand. ‘Thank you for sharing a confidence with me. I feel privileged to have been told something of your background. You always seemed so quiet and withdrawn when you first started working in Emergency. I hadn’t realised the suffering you’d been through. If ever you need a shoulder to cry on …’

‘Thanks, but I’ve done all the crying I’m going to do. The past is over. It’s the present and the future that are important to me now.’

She must have fallen asleep after Sister had gone back into the ward. The sun, which had been shining full into her window, had dipped below the rooftops of the hospital. She became aware of someone being in the room and turned to look at her bedside chair.

‘I hope I didn’t wake you?’

‘Julia! What a lovely surprise.’ She held out her arms at the sight of her cousin then winced as she unwittingly moved her damaged ankle.

Julia rose to her feet. ‘Don’t try to move, Chantal.’ She bent down and kissed her cheek. You looked so peaceful when I came in. Sister said you would probably be waking up soon.’

‘Oh, it’s so good to see you again. How did you know I was here?’

‘Well, Bernard phoned Sidonie this afternoon to say he was coming in to Orthopaedics to check on the patient he’d chosen for teaching purposes tomorrow morning. Bernard always asks their permission, checks these patients carefully and makes sure they know that he will be supervising his students all the time. I remember when I was one of his students I was always so impressed with the care he took to ensure the patients knew exactly what they were letting themselves in for.’

‘I love to hear about when you were one of Bernard’s students and you found him so difficult and demanding as a professor while you were studying with him for that prestigious exam in orthopaedic surgery.’

Julia laughed. ‘He was only being difficult, he told me afterwards, to ensure I got the best results. After that I managed to thaw him out and … well, you know how it all ended. Marriage and a baby on the way. Anyway, Sister Sidonie told Bernard you were in the side ward here, having sprained your ankle and stretched the ligaments. That must be really painful. I just had to come and check how you are and if there was anything you need.’

‘I can’t fault the way they’ve treated me. Right from the time Michel picked me up off the beach’

‘Michel? What on earth were the two of you doing on the beach together?’

Chantal, well aware of the insinuating grin on her cousin’s face, quickly set her straight with the basic details, starting with the important fact that they hadn’t gone to the beach together. Michel had arrived just as she’d tripped up on a killer of a stone absolutely lying in wait for her.

‘Ah, I see. So Michel brought you back to hospital, set up your treatment and then disappeared.’

‘He’s coming back this evening to check on me. How’s young Philippe?’

Julia’s expression softened. It was always obvious that she adored her husband’s son from his first marriage.