Gemini Rain (40 page)

Then there was David. He was refusing counsel
l
ing and Jean-Pierre informed her this morning that David suffered another nightmare last night. They made love once since he came home with disastrous consequences, both of them too exhausted.  Neither even attempted to broach the subject, instead of getting closer to each other Lauren felt they were falling apart.

On one occasion she thought she was getting through to him, but as quickly as he started talking he stopped. They were sitting on the couch and when he started to talk she put her arms around him but then he stopped and rose leaving for the kitchen.
‘
Was he holding something back?
’
she brushed the thought aside.

It was like he was withdrawing from her, not willing to let himself free. Lauren felt a coldness that was
never there with David before. ‘
Give him time Lauren, give him time,
’
it was something she kept repeating to herself. 

‘Lauren the light is green,’ Veronique tapped Lauren’s shoulder.

‘What? Oh yeah, sorry. I’m not with it this morning am I?’ Lauren tried to sound light
-
hearted. Veronique looked at Gabrielle, maybe the shopping trip wasn’t such a good idea this week.

‘Do you want to go back?’ Gabrielle asked.

Lauren didn’t answer trying to concentrate on the busy Marseille traffic; Veronique nodded no to Gabrielle maybe that wasn’t such a good idea either.

They continued with their window-shopping and Lauren looked as if she was starting to cheer up, buying some clothes for
both
herself and the children. Both Veronique and Gabrielle relaxed as they finally stopped for coffee in the little café they now called their gossip corner. Lauren wanted a cigarette she hadn't thought about one since David came home, she left Gabrielle minding their bags as Veronique was gone to get the coffee and pastries.

The newsagent was across the busy arcade and as Lauren approached she decided t
o check for an English magazine. 
‘
Even if it’s a few
days old it’ll do,
’
she thought.
‘
None, ah well the cigarettes will suffice for now,
’
she decided.

While queuing Lauren checked that magazine shelves
beside the counter
but with no luck then she spotted a familiar face on the cover of
Exclus!
one of the largest gossip magazines in France, leaving the queue she walked over to the magazine, her eyes became like saucers. The headline stabbed at her heart, she wanted to take the magazine down and tear it apart, instead she remembered her vow never to trust again, ‘What a fool you’ve been Lauren Connolly!’ Buying her cigarettes and the magazine, she walked calmly back to the coffee shop, she didn’t reveal the magazine to Gabrielle or Veronique, this was one piece of gossip that could wait, deciding to thoroughly enjoy chain smoking with her coffee.

David was reading the report the government official left with him; the children were painting on the kitchen table and
Emma
was updating Pierre about school, he checked on them while he was walking around the house. He hated sitting for long periods of time now and t
he official asked him to read the report
thoroughly making any additions as he could remember.

It was a draft report for the
American,
French and
British governments, a collaboration of witness’
statements quickly drawn together. The final few pages were the Colombian official stance on the whole affair, ‘they’re not giving much away,’ David laughed.

The commander Xavier they said was working alone and did not agree with the way the American movie was highlighting his country. So he took it upon himself to discredit the film with a suspicion of drugs being a big part of producers choosing Colombia in the first place.  David, it stat
ed panicked and tried to escape
, at that stage Commander Alejandro had been informed of the error and knew it would cause an international incident if David was killed.  Commander Alejandro opted to injure his colleague to stop him from killing David but the shot proved to be fatal. An international incident! They were trying to place the man’s death on me, David rebuked.  Once he finished reading David decide
d to begin his additions and email
it immediately to Jacques,
‘
no way were they pinning this on me
,’
he decided. 

Entering the kitchen to get some paper and a pen he winked to Pierre.

‘Ah, it can wait until later,’ changing his mind as he sat down to see what the children were painti
ng. Looking at Pierre’s picture - he has the family talent he proudly thought
and Keith too. I won
der is that in Lauren’s family,
as he studied the wonderful colours the young child was using.
Emma
was helping Keith having already finished her own.

‘What are you doing Chantal?’ he asked softly.

‘I’m painting!’ was her simple response.

Everybody laughed, ‘I can see that but what are you painting?’

‘Lauren flying to Ireland to save you,’ she replied innocently. The children stopped their work. Silence hung in the air.

‘What did you say?’ David was shocked, half-laughing as he asked her. Pierre tried to stop her from saying anymore but David held up his hand authoritatively,

‘When did Lauren go to Ireland?’ he stared at the other children individually then back to Chantal.

‘When the bad men had you Papa, you know when! I heard granpapa telling the grown-ups,’ she said coolly.

‘Is this true?’ David looked at Pierre but he was scowling so he turned to
Emma
knowing he could worm the truth from her, ‘
Emma
is this true?’ she wouldn’t look at him, ‘I want to know
Emma
,’ he raised his voice, ‘Is it true!’

Lauren dropped Veronique to her house and then quickly drove up to the farmhouse, Gabrielle knew something was up. ‘Lauren
please
stop the car,’ she requested.

‘Huh?’ Lauren quickly glanced at her.

‘Stop the car now!’ Gabrielle repeated. 

Lauren pulled over and turned to her friend. Gabrielle gently put her hand to Lauren’s cheek and softly, shakily attempting to smile, ‘What’s happened Lauren, what’s gone wrong?’ tears were beginning to form in her eyes.

Lauren’s face was hard she was finished with cr
ying all she felt now was anger
bending down to her bag she took the magazine out placing it on Gabrielle’s lap. As Lauren stared out the window Gabrielle read the headline and now understood.  Lauren was not Francoise, the woman who waited and waited for her wandering husband to come home and accept whatever excuse he had to offer. No Lauren would not wait, make one mistake, hurt her and then she would leave quicker than you could say ‘forgive me.’ Gabrielle put the magazine back in Lauren’s bag; no words were spoken as Lauren continued up the short journey to the farmhouse. 

As they entered the house, the children were playing
football in the back garden
David was sitting at the kitchen table. Gabrielle didn’t look at him walking directly out to the children. He was staring at Lauren, his eyes were black it was something she wasn’t expecting bu
t she checked herself saying, ‘w
e need to talk.’

‘I know!’ his response was as black as his eyes. Standing up he threw the report to her, ‘what the hell did you do in Ireland. Who was that commander?’

Lauren was taken aback as he shou
ted at her, ‘the report says that
his death was related to his unhappiness of the movie content
and how I tried to escape because I failed the drugs test. But now I remember
he knew you were my girlfriend.  Who the hell did you visit in Dublin Lauren!  What did you do?’

‘Who told you?’ Lauren could hardly speak; her world was once again falling into an open grave. She was confused; looking at the magazine in her hand was she not here to argue with him?

David stormed over to her glaring at her straight in the face, ‘What did you do!’ he said it with such venom.

Lauren responded by slapping him across the face, dropping the magazine to the floor as she replied, ‘I saved your life, is that not enough! No! It’s never enough for you!’  She walked out the back door yelling to
Emma
and Keith to get to the car,
the children knew not to hesitate.  As they left the house Gabrielle called after her but she got into the car screaming at the children to hurry up with their seat belts driving the car away as quickly as possible.

When Jean-Pierre arrived back that evening he found Pierre and Chantal silently watching television with Gabrielle crying in the kitchen as she prepared the dinner. She told him everything she thought were the events of the argument showing him the magazine. Jean-Pierre was furious wanting to know where David was.

‘He out cold on his bed, drunk from the whiskey he’s been drinking all afternoon,’ she cried.

Jean-Pierre checked on the children and Pierre informed him of what Chantal revealed to David.

‘How did you know?’ he sat down astonished.

‘We were listening, thinking you were trying to hide some bad news about Papa from us! It’s not our fault!’ Pierre retorted.

‘I didn’t say it was
and
don’t talk to me like that young man!’ Jean-Pierre was beginning to lose his temper, an emotion, which he detested towards children. He rose and walked out of the house calling to Gabrielle to say that he was going up to Lauren.

But when he arrived at her house everything was silent, a hall lamp was the only sign of life. Checking for her Landcruiser he cursed when the garage door was locked. He attempted knocking and calling to her once more but got no response.
Reluctantly he returned home, ‘h
ave we lost both Lauren and David?’ he sighed.

Chapter 46

Slam! David woke up with the sound of his bedroom door being deliberately slammed shut. The shutters and window were wide open, he squinted at the early morning sun, a cup of coffee was on his bedside locker. With his head woozy he pulled the pillow over his head to go back to sleep. But then he remembered why he was in this condition and he lay there thinking of Lauren, what will she do, will she now leave? 

The one chance she possessed of protecting herself and the children and she wasted it on him. He cringed,
‘
and all he could do was lose his temper with her for doing it.  Why in God’s name did he do such a thing?
’
  Lauren’s words stung at his heart – ‘I saved your life, is that not enough? No! It’s never enough for you!’

He cried out but nobody answered, he was alone. Not even Pierre and Chantal joined him in bed anymore, not after his first nightm
are. Lauren called it post traumatic stress
advising him to seek counsel
l
ing but he just laughed at the suggestion, he could handle it! He wa
nted to prove to her he could. 
His door opening once more disturbed his trains of thoughts.

‘Lauren hasn’t collected Chantal for school, you must bring her in,’ Gabrielle was standing at the door antagonism expressed in every word
she said, ‘and then your father
wants to talk to you.’

David rose from the bed des
pairingly looking at his mother
she knew he was in no condition to drive, slamming the door once more she telephoned Joel to see if he could bring Chantal to school.

Lauren stood in her kitchen making a cup of coffee, her mind was recounting the past week and especially yesterday.
Emma
and Keith were at the breakfast table moaning because she wouldn’t bring them to school. Screaming at them to shut up, both just stared blankly at her.
This wasn’t Mammy; this was wasn’t even the Mammy before they moved to France
, w
hy was this happening? Their young mind
s almost telepathic.

Lauren rubbed her face it was burning; her chest was on fire too. She could feel pins and needles in her arms and legs, she stretched up to the medicine shelf for her blood pressure tablets but stars started to appear in her vision. Using the counter top for support she called out, ‘
Emma
telephone…’ but before she could finish everything went black.

Gabrielle answered the telephone just as Veronique and Joel arrived at the house, Veronique was in the middle of asking what was going on when Gabrielle hushed her abruptly, ‘It’s okay
Emma
we’re on our way, good girl. Have you phoned for an ambulance?’ Gabrielle could hear Keith crying for Lauren in the background; she turned to Veronique, ‘Get up to Lauren’s straightaway, she’s collapsed! Joel go get Jean-Pierre and David they’re up in the far field letting the goats out to graze! I’ll mind the children and telephone for an ambulance.’ Both were gone in an instant.