Christmas in Paris (A Master Chefs Series Standalone Novel) (5 page)

Lisbeth
smiled.  “In that case, it is an honor to have you eat my food.”

Suddenly
sincerely hungry, Taryn ate the stew with relish.

“Is
good nourishment for the baby as well,” Lisbeth said with beaming pride.  “When
is the baby due?”

Taryn
smiled.  “Any day now. I just hope all this stress didn’t…”  Her smile quickly
faded as a sharp pang seized her belly, and she doubled over.  “Oh! My baby…”

Chapter 6

Errol

A few moments before

Leo
tapped Errol’s shoulder.  “Maybe we don’t have to go all the way down to the
studio after all.  Look.”  He pointed to the news crew nearby.

His
eyes wide with desperation, Errol headed to the reporter.  “My wife,” he said
as he held up Taryn’s photo.  “I can’t find my wife. 
Elle s’appelle Taryn
.”

The
reporter, eager to help out, turned her microphone to him.

“She’s
my wife and she’s pregnant.”

“If
someone has seen your wife, where can they contact you?”

He
quickly rattled off his phone number.”

“More
slowly,” the reporter suggested.  “Give people a chance to jot it down.”

But
Leo, who’d taken the time to clearly write the number down, came into the shot
and held the paper up to the camera.

Errol
smiled sheepishly as he repeated the number more slowly.  “Please call me if
you’ve seen her.”

The
reporter looked at Errol as she suddenly recognized him.  “Are you…?  You are,
aren’t you?  You’re Chef King.”  She turned back to the camera.  “We have here
Chef Errol King is who is looking for his wife.  If anyone has seen this woman,
has any clues as to her whereabouts, please contact this number.”

“She’s
pregnant,” Errol repeated.  “And she’s due any day now.”  He wanted to say
more, so much more.  He wanted the world to know how much he loved her, how
much she meant to him.  “Please.”

Others
gathered around the reporter hoping for the same opportunity to show their
missing loved ones on screen and Errol stepped back to give them a chance.

“Now
what?” Errol said to Bobby and Leo.

“We
wait,” Leo said.

They
didn’t have to wait long.  Only minutes later Errol’s phone rang.

“Yes,”
he shouted into the phone.  “
Oui
.  Yes, this is he.  Have you seen my
wife?”

“
Oui
,”
a man said.  “She is with me.”

“Where? 
Where are you?  Where is she?”

“We
are going to the hospital. The one near you. I think your baby is coming.”

“The
baby’s coming,” Errol said to Bobby and Leo.  “They’re bringing her to the
hospital.”  Then back into the phone, “We’re close by.  We’ll be there in a
minute.”  He hung up only to realize he’d neglected to ask the man’s name. 
“Let’s go.”

They
ran to the hospital, all three of them huffing and puffing by the time they
reached the hospital’s main entrance.

“
Maternité
,”
Errol said to the first nurse he saw.

The
young man gave him the directions and soon the trio were waiting outside the
delivery room.  Errol spotted an older man wringing his hands as a young woman
looked expectantly up at him.

“Papa,”
she said as she repeatedly slapped the old man’s arm.  “
C’est Errol King
.”

The
man turned to him, his eyes wide with joy and sorrow.  “
Monsieur King
.  I
am the man who brought your wife here. I am so pleased to meet you.  My
daughter, Lisbeth, is a very big fan.”

Errol
smiled at the young woman, but got straight to the point. “Thank you for taking
care of my wife. My wife. Taryn. Is she already in there delivering the baby?”

“Not
yet, but it won’t be long,” Lisbeth said.

“I’m
sorry it took so long to contact you.  Your wife wasn’t feeling well and
couldn’t tell us who to call.”

“That’s
all right.  The important thing is that I’ve found her now.”

“We
had to run out of the stadium, and I was so afraid of another bomb going off. 
And, of course, the shock of it all.  I think it overwhelmed her.  I didn’t
want to move her too much.  In her condition, she is so delicate and…”

“I
understand.”

“And
the hospitals are so busy.”

“Don’t
worry about it,” Errol said, trying to soothe the man’s obviously guilty
conscious.

“She
could have been trampled.  Everything was so horrible.”

“I
appreciate everything you did for her,” Errol said as he set a reassuring hand
on the old man’s shoulder, but looked around for a doctor or nurse.  “I won’t
forget it.”

“You’ll
see when you have your child.  When you become a parent you will become very
protective, even of the young women with child who are not your own. Children
are so precious. As a parent, you will see, they are the ones we must protect
the most. They are our future.”

Errol
nodded, as he gazed into the older man’s earnest eyes. He didn’t realized what
the older man meant fully, but he loved Taryn, the mother of his child, so
much, he could imagine loving his unborn child very much as well. The thought
of becoming a parent, a father for the first time emotionally overwhelmed him,
and he desperately wanted to see both Taryn and his child be safe and healthy
in his arms.

A
doctor came into the waiting room.

“Who
is with
Madame King
?”

“Me,”
Errol said as he bolted forward.  “How is she?  Is the baby okay?  Has she
given birth yet?  Can I see her?”

“
Monsieur
King
,” the doctor said with a light chuckle.  “I’m Dr. Evelyne Dupré. 
Your wife is fine.   The baby is fine.  No, she hasn’t given birth yet, and
yes, you can come see her.”

“Where?”

“But
I must tell you, your wife may not be able to give birth naturally.  The baby
is…”

Errol
barely heard the rest of what the woman in front of him said.  Taryn had
diligently taken prenatal classes, eager to bring her first baby into the world
in the most natural way possible.

“Follow
me,” the doctor said.

He
turned to Bobby.  “Call your mother and tell her where we are.  She’s going to
want to be here.”  He turned and followed the doctor through the double doors
where he was handed scrubs and instructed to thoroughly wash his hands.  His
heart pounded at the thought of finally seeing his wife again.

Chapter 7

Taryn

Taryn
stared at the ceiling as she awaited the results of the latest tests.  While
the doctor hadn’t said much, she had a feeling something wasn’t right with the
baby.  Closing her eyes, she tried to put her worries aside and think positive
thoughts.

And
her first thought was, as usual, of Errol.  She missed him terribly and wished
he was there at her side, but she knew how important his work was.  Leo was a
good friend of his and helping him out with his new restaurant meant the world
to him, but she couldn’t help but feel a little left behind.

Never
one to feel down on herself, or to be overly dependent on anyone else, she now
found herself needing a hand to hold onto.  Even Sam wasn’t there to assist her
with the delivery. 

On
arriving, she’d asked the nurse to call home to tell her mother to come to the
hospital, but wondered if the call had actually been made.

Everyone
at the hospital was so busy dealing with the injured after the previous night’s
attack, and she felt certain making a phone call wasn’t among their
priorities.  It was understandable, but frustrating all the same.

“Come
to the hospital, Mom,” she mentally called out.  “Come be with me.  I need
you.  My baby needs you.”

Once
again, her thoughts returned to Errol as his face came to her mind’s eye and
she remembered the very first time she met him at the Culinary Institute. 
She’d heard rumors that her professor was a handsome man, but she hadn’t
expected just how handsome he truly was and she remembered with startling
clarity how flustered she’d been.  She was attracted to him at first sight, and
when she learned who he was, the famed chef, she admired him all the more.

Smiling,
she thought back to the hot and heavy romance they’d shared.  Errol had found
the way to draw out the animal in her, the animal she didn’t even know was there,
and once it’d been released, it was insatiable.  How wild they were together. 
Just thinking about it brought an arousing chill to her swollen body, and made
her miss her husband even more.

She
smiled as she rubbed her belly, thrilled with the result of that passion.

Who
would have ever thought she’d find herself ready to deliver Errol King’s baby? 
She was thrilled, and anxious, and eager, and afraid, and sad all at the same
time.

“Oh,
Errol,” she said as tears streamed down the side of her face.  “I just wish you
were here.”

They
were soon going to cease being a simple couple and become a family.  She tried
to imagine what the baby would look like; who it would look like?  Would it be
a little girl with her father’s devilish grin, or a little boy with his
mother’s smile?  Either way she was eager to meet this new person, this bundle
of joy.

Although
she’d refused the opportunity to find out if the baby was a girl or boy at her
last sonogram, she was now eager to find out.

The
doctor and a nurse came into the room, both with stern expressions on their
faces.

“We
don’t like the position of the baby,” Dr. Dupré said.  “It’s putting pressure
on the umbilical cord which is restricting the flow of blood and oxygen to the
baby.”

“My
God,” Taryn said.  Horrified, she immediately felt panicked and more alone than
ever.

“Stay
calm.  Your baby will be fine, so long as we move ahead and get it out as
quickly as possible.”

“What
do you mean by get it out?”

 “The
situation isn’t ideal, Madame King,” the doctor said as she put her hand to
Taryn’s belly.  “I hate to tell you this, but we’re going to have to perform
a…”

“No,”
Taryn said before the doctor could finish.  “I don’t want a cesarean.  I want
to have this child naturally.”

“I’m
sorry, but that won’t be possible.  Your baby isn’t getting enough oxygen and
we have to get it out as quickly as possible.  Don’t worry.  I’ve done this
plenty of times before and everything will be fine.  We just have to get to it
quick.”

“But…”

“I’m
sorry, but we don’t have a choice.  It will be a cesarean section.  The
anesthesiologist will be here in a moment to administer an epidural.”

The
doctor and nurse left her to digest that quick bit of information by herself
and moments later, the anesthesiologist walked in.  “So you’re not happy about
having a cesarean section, are you?” he said as if talking about her reluctance
to taking a stroll in the park in the rain.

“Not
at all, but I apparently have no choice,” Taryn said with a grim face.

“It’s
better for the baby this way.  We have to move fast.” After numbing her back he
gave her the injection.  “We’ll give it a moment to take effect, and then
you’ll be ready to go.”

Alone
once more, Taryn stared straight ahead of her, frustrated and fearful.  The
turn of events only added to the stress that’d been building up over the past
twelve hours.

The
doctor finally returned, but she wasn’t alone.  A tall, broad shouldered man
was right behind her.  Though dressed in scrubs, with a cap on his head, Taryn
immediately recognized him. His beautiful deep blue eyes, strong jawline, and
sexy full lips.

“Look
what I found out in the waiting room,” Dr. Dupré said with a quick grin.  “A
little support as we help you bring this new little life into the world.”

“Errol,”
Taryn said with tears in her eyes.  “You came.”

The
doctor spoke briefly to the nurse then they both left.

Alone
together Errol and Taryn stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment.  Overwhelmed
with emotion, Errol grabbed her hand and greedily kissed her fingers as tears
filled his eyes. 

“My
darling,” he whispered into her hand.  “I’ve been going crazy looking for you.”

Her
brow soaked in sweat, Taryn looked up at him, not sure she should believe what
she saw.  “I didn’t even know you were back in Paris.”

“I
wanted to surprise you.”  Errol gazed into his wife’s eyes with all the love a
man can have for a woman.  “I missed you so much, and was so afraid of losing
you. And then now we’re going to have our baby. I never thought I could get so
frazzled, but this is the most exciting and unnerving thing I’ve ever
experienced.  It’s amazing.”

“You?”
Taryn said with a light laugh.  “Frazzled?  Unnerved?  The unflappable, ever so
cool Errol King?  I don’t believe it.”

“Believe
it.  If ever you wanted to see a man lose his head…”  He pointed to himself.

“I
saw you on television, and I’ll admit I’ve never seen you so on edge.”

“Can
you blame me?  My pregnant wife is missing and…”  He choked up.

“I’m
sorry I caused you all this worry.”

“Don’t
be ridiculous.  I’m the one who should apologize for leaving you alone at a
time like this.  I should have returned to Paris weeks ago.  I’m so sorry,
darling.  I’m so sorry.”

Taryn
reached up to touch his bruised brow.  “What happened to you?”

He
chuckled.  “I plowed into an outgoing crowd at the stadium.”

“Errol,
you didn’t.  That’s insane.”

Nodding,
he laughed as he realized just how ridiculous it was.  “I know, but I did it
anyway.  That’s how crazy I was to find you.”

The
doctor returned.  “It’s time to get to action.”

Taryn
nodded with disappointed resignation, but her anxiety level also rose.  How
serious were the risks for the baby?  And would they get to it in time?

The
nurse arrived and spoke softly and reassuringly to Taryn as she washed Taryn’s
belly and shaved her pubic area while the rest of the operating team made
preparations.

“It’s
time,” Dr. Dupré repeated.  “And we need to hurry.”  She looked at Errol. 
“Cesareans can be a little messy.  Are you up to it?”

“I’m
not leaving her side,” Errol said.

Beaming,
Taryn held his hand as she was wheeled into the operating room.  Errol was
instructed to stand on the other side of the small sterile drape that was set
between Taryn’s face and her belly.

Taryn
looked up at Errol’s face, but when she felt the sensation of a hand on her
belly, she gasped.  “Wait,” she shouted.  “Wait!  I can feel that.  I can feel
that.  The anesthetic didn’t work.”

“Don’t
worry, Madame King.  You’ll feel a little bit of pressure every once in a
while, but you won’t feel any pain, I promise you.”

Errol
frowned and gripped her hand.  “Don’t worry, babe.  They know what they’re
doing.”

Taryn
sighed and closed her eyes, anticipating great pain, but as the doctor
proceeded, she indeed felt nothing.

“And
now you’re going to feel a light pulling sensation,” Dr. Dupré said.  “Now…
now… and… here we go.”

Moments
later a baby’s cry rang out.

“Oh,”
Taryn said.  “My God.  Can I see my baby?”

The
doctor clipped the umbilical cord and clamped it off before handing the baby to
the nurse.

Instead
of being brought to her, the baby was carried to the other side of the room.

“I
want to see my baby,” Taryn said.

“Let
me close you up first,” Dr. Dupré said as she continued to work on Taryn.  “In
the meantime, they’ll clean your newborn up.”

“Is
everything all right?” Taryn cried out, feeling a frantic and desperate need to
see her baby.

“We’re
just making sure that everything is as it should be.”

“And?”
Errol said, his anxiety showing as well.  “Is everything as it should be?”

“The
pulse is a little weak, but she’ll be fine,” the nurse said.

“She’ll?”
Errol said in wonder.  “We have a little girl?”

“That’s
right.  I’m just going to suction her nose and mouth, get her all nice and dry
and bring her right to you.”

Taryn
smiled despite the overwhelming fatigue that suddenly took hold of her.

“We
have a daughter,” Errol said with a beaming grin.

“We
have a daughter,” she echoed with a tired smile.

“And
here she is,” the nurse said as she finally brought her to them.

Bundled
up tight in a soft pink blanket, their newborn was handed to Errol who looked
at the tiny form with love and awe.

“She’s
so small, so absolutely tiny,” Errol said.

“Enjoy
it while it last,” the nurse said with a smile.  “Before you know it she’ll be
going off to college.”

“Never,”
Errol said with a laugh.  He leaned over to show her to Taryn.

“Have
you guys thought of a name yet?” the doctor said.

Errol
looked at Taryn.  “We’d quickly thought of Laurence for a girl and William for
a boy, but…”  Other than tossing a few boy and girl names around, they hadn’t
really discussed it.

“Look
at that face,” Taryn said.  “She doesn’t look like a Laurence.”

“You’re
right,” Errol said.  “So what does she look like?”

“She’s
our miracle baby,” Taryn said after a thoughtful moment.  “A Parisian baby.”

“A
baby born in a country that is proud of its equality, fraternity, and liberty.”

Taryn
liked the sound of that and looked at him expectantly.

“How
do you feel about Liberté?” Errol said.

Taryn
smiled.  “I love the sound of that.  It sounds so perfect.  Absolutely
perfect.”  She looked up at her daughter.  “What do you think about that,
Liberté?”

The
tiny newborn puckered up and sucked on her fist.

“Isn’t
she the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen,” she said as she reached out to
run a finger along the tiny, little cheek.

“Congratulations,”
the nurse said.  “Things could’ve been a lot more complicated than they were.”

“My
little girl,” Taryn said as she yawned. “You kept Mommy going, you know. I was
so tired trying to run from the stadium that there were so many times I just
wanted to sit down and give up, but the thought of you and protecting you,
keeping you safe so I can someday see your little face, kept me walking. I love
you, my baby.” Suddenly overcome with immense fatigue and feeling weighed down
and heavy, Taryn closed her eyes.

“Are
you all right?” Errol said.

Smiling
she nodded.  “I’m exhausted.  Who would have thought having a baby could be
so…”

The
nurse took Errol by the elbow and led him to the door.  “We’ll bring your wife
to the recovery room.  In the meantime, let’s introduce the new family member
to everyone else.”  As he crossed the threshold to the waiting room, he called
out, “Everyone, meet Liberté!”