Chapter 12
"...she thought about him without wanting to, and the more she thought about him the angrier she became, and the angrier she became the more she thought about him."
—Gabriel García Márquez – Love in the Time of Cholera
Devon
The phone rang, but I was deeply asleep and didn’t know if it was a call or my alarm.
I fumbled on the nightstand to grab it. I knew that if someone was calling me in the middle of the night, it was probably a medical emergency, and I would end up getting up to go to the clinic, but it was my profession and, although I was exhausted, it never crossed my mind not to answer.
I put it to my ear without looking at it.
“Dr. Dulcet,” was all I said, and I was aware that my sleepy voice couldn’t go unnoticed by whoever was on the other end.
“Devon, it’s William Cavaller.”
I was speechless with surprise. For a moment I thought I was still sleeping and dreaming. Fortunately, he couldn’t see me because I was surely pale, with my mouth open and eyes wide as saucers. All my surprise written across my face. I sat up in bed as if propelled by a spring.
“Devon, are you there?” he asked, after my silence.
“Sorry, I’m just sleepy,” I replied, after clearing my throat.
“I’m sorry to bother you at this hour.”
“No problem. Is everything okay?” I asked, just to say something because my mind was racing trying to understand his call at this hour of the morning.
“Actually, I’m calling to ask you for a favor,” he said, and for a few seconds he remained silent, but since I didn’t say anything, he continued, “I’m in New York and Alba called me because her younger son had an accident and she wants to travel to Canada to be with him.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. How is he? Is it serious?”
“It doesn’t seem to be, but they need to operate because he had several fractures.
The issue is that if Alba travels, I don’t have anyone to leave Aurora with, and I can’t return for another two days.
I know my daughter adores you, and that’s why I’m turning to you.
I also know I have no right to bother you, but it’s an emergency situation and I only trust you. ”
“You trust me?” I asked, thinking of the times he had treated me as incompetent, though I immediately knew I shouldn’t have asked that question.
“Yes, I trust you, Devon. Alba and you are the only people I would leave Aurora with. I know I’m taking advantage of your generosity and I’m very embarrassed to bother you. If you can’t do it, no problem, I’ll ask Alba to wait until I arrive and I’ll try to travel as soon as possible.”
“Don’t do that, I can stay with Aurora,” I stated, without thinking too much about it, though I would have to request a few days off work.
For a few moments we remained silent.
“Thank you, Devon.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d prefer Aurora to stay at my apartment. I can go get her and bring everything she needs. I don’t feel comfortable staying at your house.”
Silence again.
“No problem. I’ll talk to Alba so she can start preparing everything for Aurora, and I ask that you call me if you need anything at all.”
“Alright.”
“Really, thank you so much for your help,” he said, and he truly sounded moved.
“You know I love Aurora very much; it’s a real pleasure for me to be with her.”
“I don’t doubt that, but I imagine it must also complicate things quite a bit with your work, and yet...” he said, without finishing the sentence.
“I have a lot of accumulated leave, and the other day they told me I needed to start taking some days off,” I said, and in that I wasn’t lying.
“If you happen to have any problem at your work, I assure you that I...”
“No,” I said, interrupting him, “that won’t be necessary.”
“Alright. I’ll call Alba to let her know you’ll be coming for Aurora. When could you go?”
“I’ll leave right now so Alba can get organized. Tell her not to wake Aurora since it’s the middle of the night. For today I’ll stay at your house and tomorrow we’ll come to mine.”
“That’s fine, whatever you decide,” he said, and I was surprised by his calmness at my proposal, though in reality I was the one doing him the favor. “Thank you very much.”
“No problem.”
“We’ll be in touch,” he said, and ended the call.
For several minutes I sat on the bed looking at the phone.
I never would have imagined that Cavaller would ask me for this favor.
I knew clearly that he didn’t like me having a relationship with Aurora, and in fact he hadn’t wanted us to see each other anymore, but for Aurora I would do anything, and for Alba too, and I imagined that the latter would be desperate to be with her son as soon as possible.
And wouldn’t you do it for him? I asked myself.
I preferred not to answer that.
I got up, got dressed, and left for William Cavaller’s house.
On the way, I called Alba to let her know I was coming and I could tell she was extremely worried and nervous, which made me anxious for her because I put myself in her place and imagined the anxiety she must be feeling to be with her son and the enormous concern about the situation.
When I arrived she was waiting for me at the door of the house.
“Miss Devon, thank you so much for doing this. You have no idea how grateful I am,” she said, coming up to me and giving me a hug.
“You don’t have to thank me. I told you that you could count on me for whatever you needed. What time is your flight?”
Alba took my arm and we entered the house.
“Mr. Cavaller has been so kind that he arranged a private flight for me. He told me to coordinate with the company because everything was already paid for. That man acts cold, but he has an enormous heart,” she said, emotional.
“I hope he finds a good woman who loves him as he deserves,” she remarked, and immediately looked at me, but I tried to act oblivious.
“You deserve it, Alba,” I said, but hearing her words filled me with a strange emotion. After all, it seemed that Cavaller did have a heart.
“I have everything ready. If it’s alright with you, I’ll leave for the airport right now. My other son is waiting for me there to travel together.”
“Of course it’s alright, go now. I came as quickly as I could so you could get organized. Go right away and I hope your son recovers soon,” I said, and gave her a big hug.
Alba, emotional, hugged me tightly and then gave me a loud kiss on the cheek.
“You are a wonderful woman, Devon; I wish you and Mr. Cavaller could understand each other.”
“Understand each other? Do you mean because of Aurora?”
“No; I say it because you make a great couple. You’re both wonderful people,” she said, looking at me with an affectionate smile.
“Don’t talk nonsense, Alba. Go now, and call me if you need anything or if you have any questions,” I commented, but what she said made my heart race.
“Alright. A million thanks for everything.” She hugged me again, took the suitcase that was next to the armchair and informed the house driver that she was ready.
I accompanied her to the car, we hugged again, and she left.
When I went back into the house, I went straight to Aurora’s bedroom and found her sleeping peacefully.
On her bed was the princess book I had given her, and it seemed she had fallen asleep hugging it.
I smiled, removed it so she would be more comfortable, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and left the bedroom.
When I was in the hallway, I realized I didn’t know which bedroom to use.
I hadn’t asked Alba, and with all her worry, she had forgotten to tell me.
I didn’t want to wake up the rest of the house staff, so the solution that occurred to me was the living room sofa, because I wasn’t about to start exploring the bedrooms. As I was approaching it, I felt my phone ringing.
I ran to my purse and grabbed it. It was Cavaller, which didn’t surprise me because that man always wanted to have everything under control.
“Cavaller,” I said, answering.
“Devon, I just spoke with Alba and she told me you were already at the house and that she was on her way to the airport.”
“That’s right, I’m here and everything is fine. Aurora is sleeping peacefully,” I informed him.
“You don’t know how grateful I am for what you’re doing. How are you going to arrange things at your work?” he asked, concerned.
“Tomorrow is my day off, but in the morning I’ll call to let them know I need a few days of leave. When will you be returning?”
“In three days, as long as it doesn’t complicate things for you. Otherwise, I’ll let Xavier handle all the meetings and I’ll come back whenever you tell me to.”
“Don’t worry, come back the day you had planned to. I’ll call you if anything comes up.”
“Devon,” he said, and then paused as if waiting for me to say something.
“Yes?”
“Could you stop addressing me formally? Please,” he asked, and I was surprised by the big change in the way he requested things because he generally did it by ordering.
“Alright.”
“Thank you, Devon, for everything.”
“You have nothing to thank me for.”
“I hope you feel comfortable in my house,” he said, and it seemed to me that in his words there was a deep longing, which confused me.
“Actually, I don’t know which bedroom to use. I forgot to ask Alba. Can you tell me?”
“Use whichever one you want, you can even sleep in my bed if you like,” he remarked, and those simple words made my heart race at a frantic rhythm.
“Absolutely not. In fact, it’s so late that I can just stay on the living room sofa.”
“Of course not. Sleep in a bed so you can rest properly. My bedroom is at the end of the hallway, the other two are for guests. The staff bedrooms are in another part of the house. Use whichever one you want.”
“Alright, thank you,” I said, still flustered by his suggestion.
“I’m the one who should be thanking you. Really, thank you very much, Devon. I’m in your debt.”
“Not at all. For me, it’s a real pleasure to be able to spend time with Aurora,” I remarked, without a hint of falsehood in my words.