Hotel Vendome

She was so anxious, all she wanted to do was cry, which she did the moment she got to the clinic. As soon as they led her into the room, she burst into tears, not because she was frightened but because she wanted so much for this to work. At her age, statistically they had a six to ten percent chance of success, which wasn’t high. But it was worth a try. They had discussed it for several months after Hugues proposed, and he had agreed since it meant so much to her. She had never wanted babies before, but now that she was in love with him, and married, it was all she could think about. He would have been perfectly happy not to have children with her, but he felt an obligation to her, since she had never had any of her own. He had Heloise, and that was enough for him. And it was a little odd now thinking about starting over again, with a baby or even several of them if she had a multiple birth. He was fifty-four, she was almost forty-two, and they were implanting four embryos that morning. They had decided that four embryos were the right number. More than that would have been dangerous for her and the eventual babies. She didn’t want a litter, and she would have been satisfied with one baby, as long as it was Hugues’s. They had agreed to say nothing to Heloise, not to upset her again. It had taken her six months to adjust to their marriage, and they didn’t want to rock the boat again so soon, and particularly if their efforts never worked. They were going to tell her only if it did.

Natalie had been praying for this and had even lit candles at church.

They implanted the embryos using an embryo transfer catheter, and Hugues was at her side. An hour later they were on their way back to the hotel. They told her to stay in bed that day and take it easy for a few days, no exercise, heavy lifting, or hot tubs. She had to continue taking progesterone to aid with implantation. And she could take a pregnancy test in two weeks. After that they would do a sonogram to see how many embryos had stayed. It was going to seem like an endless wait, and they had already told them that it might take several attempts. Many people didn’t succeed until the third or fourth, if they could afford it, which at least wasn’t a problem for them. It was a costly procedure, but their greatest fear was that it wouldn’t work. Natalie was obsessed with having Hugues’s child.

He brought her home from the clinic and tucked her into bed, just as he had Heloise every night for all those years. And he bent down and kissed her.

“Now you and our babies stay here,” he said gently. “Don’t get out of bed.”

“I won’t,” she promised, holding his hand. He had been so sweet to her about it, which made her feel even closer to him now, and she knew he was only doing it for her. She was terrified to move and lose them, so she stayed in bed all day. She was watching old sitcom re-runs on TV and having room service when Heloise called her on her cell phone.

“Where were you and Dad rushing off to this morning?” she asked, sounding curious.

“I had a meeting with a client at dawn in a weird neighborhood, and your dad offered to take me. I didn’t want to take the car or get stuck there without a cab.” At least it was a good story, and Heloise believed it.

“Where are you now? In your office?”

“No. I came back after the meeting. I’m in bed upstairs. I think I have the flu.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Did you order stuff from room service?”

“Yeah, chicken soup. I feel a little better. It’s probably nothing. I probably got up too early.” She sounded all right, but she was determined to do what she was told and take it easy for the day. She was directing projects in her office by phone.

“Do you want me to send something else up?” Heloise offered, but Natalie said she was fine with what she had upstairs.

“What were you doing out so early, by the way?” Natalie asked her. “I hope you’re not running in the park at that hour, it’s extremely dangerous,” she warned her, and she’d noticed the running clothes. But Heloise giggled.

“No, I walked Brad to the subway.” She felt comfortable with Natalie now and liked having a woman to share her secrets. She was even more open with her than she had been with Jennifer over the years, but she was older now, and Natalie was closer to her age. “He spent the night,” Heloise confessed. She sounded almost proud as she said it and very much in love.

“Was that the first time?” Natalie was touched that she had told her, and thought it was great news. She loved the idea of the two of them together and thought it would be a nice relationship for them both.

“Yes, we held out till last night. The bomb threat did us in. We came upstairs, and that was it.” Natalie smiled as she listened. It had been quite an evening.

“Well, if it makes any difference, I approve.”

“Thank you. Just don’t tell my father. I don’t tell him stuff like that. He might be upset.” He hadn’t been thrilled with Francois, although he had accepted it. She was still his little girl.