Page 31 of A Noble Affair
The intern spoke up. “We were just going through the exam. No new movement. His ICP is down to sixteen.” He turned to Chastity, “This is good news. It’s within the normal range.”
“So it was the right decision to avoid the craniotomy then?” She looked back and forth between the two of them, but it was Dr. de Brase who answered.
“It was a risk, but one worth taking. If his intra-cranial pressure had gone higher than twenty at any point, we would have rushed him into emergency surgery. I’m glad it didn’t because the surgery can engender other issues, even if it can also save a patient’s life. All in all, I’d say that, given the circumstances, we had the best possible outcome. Now we need to keep waiting. Patiently.” He turned to the intern.
“Samuel have you done rounds with Docteur Bellamy yet?”
“Yes I have, but I wanted to come and see Thomas as you suggested.”
“I’m glad you did.” Dr. de Brase turned to Chastity. “I asked Samuel to start checking in on Thomas regularly to see how he’s doing. That way he can keep me in the loop. I’ll be off after this week because the in-house doctor is returning from his conference.” He added, “I’ll still come in to check on Thomas, though."
She smiled softly at him, touched. “Thank you.”
Dr. de Brase gestured the intern towards the door. “Shall we?” The intern nodded his assent and gave his hand to Chastity. “I’ll come as often as I can. Have me paged if you need anything, or if you want to reach Docteur de Brase directly. I’ll make sure he gets the message.”
As soon as they left, it felt as if the room was closing in. Chastity walked over to the window and looked out over the parking lot. The gray winter weather made it seem late afternoon rather than mid-morning. She didn’t dare call and ask, but she hoped Maude, or even Elizabeth, would come and visit her. She was so lonely. Completely forgetting her plans to read to Thomas, she stared forlornly out the window and watched as tiny snowflakes began to fall. Tiny desolate snowflakes that tainted an icy world with bleakness.
It was the scent of freshly ground coffee that hit her first. Chastity spun around, brushing the tears that had pooled in her eyes, but had not fallen. Dr. de Brase had returned quietly, carrying two porcelain cups, and he gave a tentative smile. “The coffee here is awful, but we have a machine in the back that’s better.” And in timing that could not have been more auspicious,as soon as the words left his mouth, the sun pierced a hole through the clouds and brightened the room.
Chastity smiled up at him even as tears threatened to form again from this sweet gesture. She almost didn’t trust herself to speak, but managed a “thank you.” After he handed her a coffee, he stood awkwardly with his own cup until she gathered her wits and asked him to sit down.
“I wasn’t sure if you took sugar,” he said.
“Actually, I usually take sugar and milk.” She gave a crooked grin. “Sacrilegefor a French person,I know. The black coffee is actually better than the café au lait in the machine here, so I’m getting accustomed to it without milk. And even sometimes without sugar, but yes, I usually take it.”Stop rambling, she scolded herself, and sat.
The silence was not uncomfortable as each one sipped the coffee. Dr. de Brase stretched his legs forward and examined his shoes.
“Tell me how you came to be a neurosurgeon.” Her voice squeaked on the last word, which made her blush. She had forgotten how to be sociable. Dr. de Brase had nothing to set his cup on, and was sitting in a folding chair, but he managed to look elegant.
“My wife—she died when she was young—was interested in medicine from a young age. We sort of grew up together. Went to the same bilingual school in St Germain-en-Laye, and even after my family moved to Maisons-Laffitte, I continued to go there. We were best friends before we even thought about a romantic relationship. She was definitely the one who influenced meto choose medicine.
“She was smart, you see. And I have a competitive nature. If she was going to do something, I was going to do it better.” He chuckled— “although I rarely succeeded. She was completely focused on medicine and wanted to work in South America in one of the poorer communities. At the time, I thought it was what I wanted to do as well. But—”
Dr. de Brase stood and reached over to set his cup on the windowsill before resuming his place. “First, my father died, and I inherited the château when I was still in university. Then Miriam and I married young, and she got pregnant with Louis while we were medical residents. She died as a result of a complication from childbirth, so I continued in the medical field alone."
Chastity scanned his face compassionately. “What happened to Louis while you finished studying and started working?”
“My sister brought my niece over to spend time with Louis, and I had a live-in nanny, of course. I spent every minute that I wasn’t working with him.”
Chastity nodded as she processed this. “How did you choose neurosurgery?”
The doctor inhaled, then gave a shrug. “Part of it was chance. I happened to secure an internship in the field. But I was drawn to neurosurgery—probably because my father died of a stroke. Although…if we’re going with that reasoning, I should be in obstetrics to save future husbands from becoming widowers.” He laughed without humor. “The psychologists would be able to explain it all, I’m sure.”
“It does seem logical enough,” Chastity replied in a low tone. “I mean, that you would go into medicine. You’re saving lives no matter what field you’ve chosen.” She finished the last of her coffee and held the cup in her lap. “I just wanted to say thank you—for treating Thomas so gently, and for taking the time to explain things to me. I think that somehow…it has kept the panic at bay. It kept me from going over the edge.” She didn't dare say anything else, but smiled at himthrough the lump in her throat.
Dr. de Brase nodded in response and the ensuing silence gave her some peace that allowed the crippling emotions to ebb away.
After the doctor had gathered the espresso cups with a promise to see her the next day, she went back over tothe window and peered out. The sun had disappeared again, but the weather seemed less sinister. The snowflakes fellplayfully, darting suddenlyto oneside in a gust of wind. Chastity drew in a deep breath, and with it—strength.
She turned to her son andfelt hopeful for the first time, even though there had beenno change in his condition. “Tommy.” She kissed his nose playfully.“Let’s read The Chamber of Secrets.”
15
“How is he tonight?” The words were uttered breathlessly, not from panic, but simply from having rushed into the room an hour later than he had promised. Chastity looked up, reverie broken.
“Hi, Marc. He’s pretty much the same.” Her voice was flat. “The swelling is down, both inside the skull and also on the outside. You can even see his head is less swollen.” She went on talking, more from a desire to fill the silence than a desire to share. “He’s been moving more. He jerks his feet suddenly, or pulls at his tubes—we have to be careful of that—but the doctor said it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s gaining consciousness.”
Marc peeled off his scarf and leather jacket—with the gesture camea strong smell of smoke—and pulled up a chair beside her. He sat, designer jean-clad legs apart, elbows resting on his knees. He searched her face. “I wish you would let me spend more time here. I wish I could be here when the doctors come and visit him so you don’t have to handle it alone.”
