Chapter 28
Zach slowly became aware of light piercing his eyes. Was someone shining a flashlight in his face? He opened his eyes far enough to squint. It was sunlight. What? He looked over at his bedside clock. It was two o'clock in the afternoon. His window faced west, so this was the first time he'd ever had sunlight wake him up. He rubbed his face. How the heck had he slept so late? He vaguely recalled working at the homeless shelter for what seemed like an endless amount of time. But even physically exhausted he should have woken up earlier than this. Something happened. He recalled the ride home on the metro with Ethan. Zach sat up in bed, trying to clear his thoughts. The sudden movement sent a wave of pain and nausea through him and he had to lay down again. A hangover. He slowly remembered offering to show Ethan the jazz club. Instead of playing the sax, he decided to sit at the bar and have a drink or two. Judging by the time and his head, it must have been a lot more than one drink.
He hadn't been this drunk since Christmas. Why had he done it? He rolled over to get the sun out of his face, and caught a scent in the pillow next to his. Kendall. Only yesterday she had woken up in this very bed. Now she was back in Pine Valley, and quite possibly married to JR Chandler. Zach buried his face in the pillow. Was this why he had gotten drunk? He couldn't wrap his head around it. It was like his mind was blocking off any attempt to analyze his feelings for Kendall – a failsafe mechanism. What he needed was some of Etienne's coffee. It was too late for the pastries – they would have all been delivered to the shelter by now. Etienne always made some confections for lunch, but they were more for dessert.
Zach slowly sat up, getting a better result. The more he thought about it, what he needed more than Etienne's coffee was Etienne's advice. He was Zach's Parisian Myrtle. Zach tried standing up and succeeded. Once he was able to pull the shades, his headache lessened and he was able to get dressed. As he was passing his coffee table, he saw a note. It was from Ethan, saying that he was going to spend some time with Miranda. Zach also noted that his cell phone was giving its low beep that indicated voice mail. He didn't want to listen, in case it was Kendall telling him that she had married JR.
When he entered the café, Etienne threw his hands up in welcome. By the time Zach reached the counter, the old man had set a cup of coffee on it, and a small plate with a cream puff. "I saved one for you, my friend." Zach stared at the pastry, trying to decide if it was his stomach or his heart doing flip flops. "I'll just take the coffee, thanks." Etienne gave him a piercing look, then called to his assistant to take over the counter. Then he took Zach's coffee, and walked with it to a table in the far corner. Zach followed him, amazed that he had read his mind so easily.
"I must admit, my friend, that I was hoping you would come and talk to me. After six months of brooding you run into the little spitfire that you obviously already know. It is easy to guess that she was the reason you ordered breakfast for two. But then you cancel your day off and show up at the shelter with a young man that seems very much like you in a way that I can only speculate. The tension is very thick, but you work together and leave together. Now you are back here, very much past the breakfast hour and with the look of a hangover. No spitfire, and no young…friend." Etienne leaned back and waited. Zach told him everything.
Etienne tapped his chin. "Very interesting relationship you have had with this young woman. I can see why you would be confused about your status with her. If we ignore for a moment your own relationship with Kendall, what is it that concerns you the most about her marrying JR?" Zach sipped his coffee. "JR won't be content with a platonic marriage. He wants to own Kendall, body and soul. He will try and manipulate her, and if he is not successful, he could very well turn spiteful." Etienne nodded his head. "A husband, whether he is a real husband or one in name only, can have a great deal of influence over his wife. However, no one has more influence over a woman than her lover." Zach looked up at Etienne, startled. "What exactly are you saying?" Etienne leaned in. "It is apparently too late to stop her from marrying this man. But you can prevent him from hurting her by placing yourself in between them. That is the most important thing at the moment. Your feelings for each other will sort themselves out once the farce of a marriage is over."
Zach turned his coffee cup around and around. "Etienne…that is a good idea, in theory. I should know, I thought it was a terrific idea. So terrific that I've already done it. Or tried to, anyway." He told Etienne about Maria and Edmund. "I can't go back there again and try the same stunt all over again. I know this isn't the exact same situation. But it is similar enough, and my heart is still raw from the last time." Etienne put his hand on Zach's shoulder. "Oh, my friend, I am so sorry for what you have been through. But you must understand that the two situations really are different. You tried to break up Maria's marriage because you thought she would be happier with you than with her husband. You loved her so deeply that you needed to believe that. Because of that, I am sorry to say, it was a foolish plan. My plan is not foolish because this time it is not about her choosing you over him. This time it is about protecting her from him. In your plan, you had to overcome a marriage that had been established many years, and resulted in two children. In this situation, the young lady is doing a favor for the young man. And if I may be blunt, she has not been in his bed, she has been in yours. I am not a betting man, but I think I would lay odds of you succeeding. And let us not forget that the goal is more altruistic. If she does reject you in the end, at least you have tried to do some good."
Etienne spread his hands wide. "The alternative is that you stay here in Paris and leave her to her fate." Zach gripped the now empty coffee cup. "Why not? Kendall is no fool. She wouldn't marry JR without knowing the risks." Etienne shook his head. "But you told me that she is doing this because he is her friend. She is thinking only in terms of helping him and his little boy. Of course she would not be thinking of her own desirability or how the marriage would make her vulnerable. From what you have described, she may not be a fool, but she does make outlandish decisions for the most noble of reasons." Zach rubbed his hands on his face. "Go back to Pine Valley….I don't know, Etienne." The old man stood up and patted Zach's shoulder again. "You will do whatever you think is best, my friend. I will go and get you some more coffee." A few minutes later, the assistant came over with some more coffee. In a to go cup. Zach chuckled to himself.