Page 45 of Beau

“You don’t. My wife’s life is hanging by a thread, and this is what I was afraid of.” He plowed his ten fingers through his already disheveled hair and looked like a man at the end of his rope. “We argued. That’s all we have been doing and this– this might be my fault. I need to sit with her.”

“Son–”

“Dad, please.”

“It’s part of the process,” Lucien spoke up. “We discussed that during the first trimester, this might happen. It’s an unfortunate side effect of carrying multiples.”

“I can’t stand to see her like that! One minute she was okay and the next–”He took a deep breath. “I need to sit with her.”

“What’s happening with her now?” Blake asked quietly.

“We have put her on a drip so that she can get some sustenance. We are monitoring her blood pressure every few minutes of course.” He glanced at Beau. “A team of doctors and nurses are assigned to her, and we assure you that we are doing our best by her.”

“We know you are.” Blake assured him. Turning to his son, he placed a hand on his shoulder. “Go to her. I am sure your presence is what she needs right now.”

“Go right ahead,” Lucien urged.

Blake waited until he left the room before walking over to the cabinet to pour a cup of coffee. “Do you mind?”

“Help yourself.” Lucien waved a hand and sat back in his chair wearily. Beau had called him in the middle of the night when it became apparent that the nausea had gotten progressively worse, and he had urged the man to take her in immediately. That was five hours ago, and it seems like five days.

“He is angry.”

“Yes.” Lucien pushed away from the desk and walked over to the cabinet to pour himself a cup of the strong black coffee.

“He also blames himself.” Blake walked over to the window to stare out at the encroaching darkness of the early morning which was only relieved by the thin sliver of the moon and a few adventurous stars.

Snow from two days was still clinging tenaciously on the palm trees dotting the perimeter. February had come in with a vengeance, bringing with it snow, hail and sleet, making driving a treacherous adventure. “A woman from his past has been hanging around, causing strife between him and Georgie. I never liked her one bit.”

Lucien had seen the photos of him and the actress that had been snapped while they were having lunch at Rousseau's. He had found himself wondering what the hell had possessed Beau to put himself in that position while his wife was in such an untenable position.

“I suppose the photos triggered a massive argument.”

Blake nodded. “I cornered him with the evidence and asked him what the hell was going on.” He sipped the coffee. “He claimed that the woman just wanted to talk.” He shook his head. “I have a sneaky feeling that she engineered the entire thing.

They were in a booth where they could not be readily seen and yet somehow a reporter happened to be present to snap their pictures. That girl is trouble, but he doesn’t seem to be able to understand that.”

“Now he is blaming himself.”

“As he should.” Blake concluded grimly. “If there is nothing else, I am going to make my way home. I have several meetings, and I suspect my son will be here for most of the day.”

“I will keep you apprised.”

“Do that.” Snatching up his coat, he headed for the door and turned around just as he was about to open it. “Take good care of her, Lucien. She is like a daughter to me," he added gruffly.

*****

He approached the bed slowly as if expecting her to open her eyes and demand that he leaves the room. They were not on the very best terms and had been fighting a lot. She had accused him of reverting to his old ways and he had accused her of not trusting him.

“How can you think that I would cheat on you?”

“The photos do not lie and the fact that you had lunch with her and said nothing to me, makes it suspect.”

“She called while I was on my way out and said she wanted to talk. Just talk. I had no idea there was a damn paparazzi lurking in the vicinity.”

“And that’s a good thing, wasn’t it?” she blazed. “If it was not for these photos, I would not have known that my husband was sneaking behind my back.”

“I was in a public restaurant for God’s sake! You are behaving as if I was caught coming out of her apartment.”