Chapter 29
When they arrived at the hospital, Paul was rushed away. Alon felt so alone. He was taken to a different area, and put on a chelating machine, to get the drugs out of his blood. The doctors in the emergency department were very busy, and gave him a video game and a cuddly toy, and left him alone.
Paul drifted in and out of consciousness. He knew he must be in a hospital, from the flashes of awareness he had. He was not in pain, but felt dreadfully weak. When he finally woke, he was aware that some time must have passed.
"Monsieur Durant, pouvez-vous m'entendre?"
Paul
stared.
"Mr Durant, can you hear me?"
"Oui. Yes. I can hear you." Paul found it hard to get the words out. "What's wrong?"
The doctor frowned, and now Paul could see another man standing next to him. They looked at each other. Paul knew something was wrong.
"You can tell me. What's wrong with Alon?"
"Alon?"
"My
son. He came in with me."
"The boy is fine."
"He's
fine, Paul."
Paul realised that the other man was Dovid. Dovid
nodded to the doctor, who bowed a little and left.
"He's having some treatment. I'll have him come up here as soon as he is finished," said Dovid.
"But he's okay?"
"Just
rest. I'll take care of everything."
Paul fell asleep.
Dovid left him and went to speak to the doctor outside.
"Are you sure I should not tell him?" said Dovid.
"I think
it best not to," said the doctor. "Patients often do not
respond well to being told things like that."
"But he is not
an ordinary man; he has great courage. It would give him time to
prepare."
"I shall leave the decision to you," said the doctor, sadly.
"How long?" asked Dovid.
"Not more than a couple of hours," said the doctor.
Dovid shed a tear, and wiped his face with his handkerchief, before going to find Alon.
Alon was hugging a large teddy bear, staring fixedly at the opposite wall. When Dovid arrived, he threw his arms around him.
"Can I see Aba?" asked Alon.
Dovid smiled. "Of course. Let's go."
He helped Alon into a wheelchair and they headed for Paul.
Alon was surprised when he saw Paul through the window of the room. He had expected him to be full of tubes and pins, but he was not. He had a blood oxygen infusor attached to his arm, a line in his hand, and that was it. But Alon had never seen anyone look so ill.
"What's wrong with him?" asked Alon.
The rabbi
took a deep breath. He had resolved to tell Alon the truth. "He's
going to die, Alon."
Alon did not cry, but his lip trembled. He
nodded acknowledgement. In a way, he had been prepared for this.
The rabbi and the boy looked at each other. With only their eyes, they comforted each other.
"I want to be there," said Alon. He could not bear to lose his parents, and now Paul, without ever getting a chance to say goodbye. The rabbi was looking at him rather strangely. "He doesn't know, does he?"
"We
thought it best not to tell him."
"I'll tell him," said
Alon, and straightened up in his wheelchair.
Dovid wheeled Alon into the room.
"Dad?" called Alon.
Paul opened his eyes, smiling. Alon was calling him 'Dad.'
"Alon! It's good to see you. Are you okay?" Paul spoke weakly and breathily.
"I'm
fine. How do you feel?"
"I'm good. Just a little tired."
Alon took his hand. He wasn't sure what to say. "It'll all be okay. I'm tired too."
Paul patted the bed next to him. Alon twisted his chair and lay down next to Paul.
"Why don't you go to sleep, Dad?" said Alon.
Alon watched Paul's face as he slept. "I love you, Dad. Thank you," he said, and kissed him on the forehead. For two hours he slept. Dovid stood watching the numbers on the monitor drop. By three o'clock in the morning, Paul was gone. Alon carried on hugging him for another hour before he would let him go.
"Thank you for coming," said Dovid, the next morning. Pierre and Sandrine held hands and smiled thinly at Dovid.
"No problem, thanks for calling us," said Pierre. Sandrine turned and sobbed into his shoulder.
"You don't need my help with the arrangements?" asked Dovid. He did very much want to help, but did not want to tread on any toes as far as the arrangements for Paul's funeral were concerned.
"Sure." Pierre wiped a tear from his eye, and spoke comfortingly in French to Sandrine. "Tout ira tres bien."
Dovid looked at the floor.
"How's Alon?" asked Pierre.
"Bearing up. Upset, of course."
Pierre seemed pleased. Dovid was relieved; it would have been easy for Paul's closest friends to blame Alon for what had happened to Paul, and understandable. These were good people.
"Can we see him? Both of them?" asked Sandrine, tearfully.
Dovid nodded. They were allowed to see Paul's body. His face still bore the expression of warmth and love from his last moments with his adopted son. Pierre kissed him on both cheeks.
As they walked to see Alon, who was still in Paul's room, Pierre spoke to Dovid.
"Are you staying at Paul's place?"
"No. It's er, no. It's a crime scene."
"Right."
"There
was another man killed there."
"Good God," said Pierre, but without as much shock as might have been expected.
"I'm
staying with someone on the other side of town. I'll take Alon
there."
"You'll be okay?" asked Pierre.
"Yes. Here is a number I can be reached at. It's voice only. Tell no-one."
Pierre nodded as he took the piece of paper Dovid handed to him.
Dovid and Pierre want into the room. Sandrine went out for some air and said she would see Alon soon.
Alon was facing one of the walls, rocking back and forth in his chair. He did not greet them. Dovid beckoned to Pierre to wait. When Alon had finished praying, he turned his chair towards them.
"Hello," he said.
"Looking good, Buddy!" said Pierre, trying to sound cheerful.
Alon
reminded him to whom he was talking. "I wish we were meeting under
happier circumstances. Are you making his funeral
arrangements?"
"Yes, we are. Would you like to be involved?"
"I
would. His body will be released after the post-mortem, which is
pretty open and shut, I think. I'd like to be there, of course,
but I think you'd know what he wanted better than I. I don't
really know much about his traditions."
"He didn't really
keep many," said Pierre.
Both of them smiled.
"I'll go and get a cup of coffee," said Dovid. He left them alone.
Both Alon and Pierre sat talking about Paul. It made Alon happy.
