Mike was just about to leave the office at six o’clock, earlier than usual, when he got a call on his cell phone from one of Zack’s traveling partners. It was midnight in Paris, and Luke’s voice was shaking. All three boys had turned nineteen while they were traveling and none of them seemed more grown up to Mike than when they left. He could tell from the sound of Luke’s voice that something terrible had happened and was praying that he hadn’t called to tell him that Zack was dead.
“Is Zack okay? What happened?” Mike asked. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest.
“Yes, sort of. He had a biking accident. He got hit by a bus. He’s in the hospital.”
“A bus?” Mike’s heart pounded. “Is he conscious?” Mike asked as he sat back down at his desk with shaking legs, fearing a brain injury.
“Yes, he’s conscious,” Luke assured him.
“Was he wearing a helmet?”
“No one wears them here.” Mike felt sick as he listened, imagining Zack permanently impaired. “He broke a leg and both wrists, but his head is okay. We were in the bike lane, and the bus just nicked him and he fell. He’s going to be okay.”
“What hospital is he in?” Mike tried to gather his wits and didn’t know who to call.
“I don’t know, it has a weird name, like Pity Salty something. They said he could leave tomorrow, but he’s going to be in a wheelchair, he can’t use crutches because of his wrists.” It was a nasty end to their trip, but Zack was alive, and all Mike wanted to do now was get him home in one piece. He thanked God the bus hadn’t killed him and the damage wasn’t worse, if what Luke said was true.
“I’ll try to get a flight out tonight,” Mike told him. “Where are you staying?” Luke gave him the name of a small hotel on the Left Bank.
“Greg is with him now. It just happened a few hours ago. He’s all doped up and he’s sleeping. We’ll stay with him tonight. They said we could sleep in his room with him. We won’t leave him, Mr. Weston, I promise. I think Greg and I will come home too. We’ll call our parents. I’m really sorry. Everything’s been fine till now.” Mike had both boys’ cell phones, so he knew how to contact them.
“It’s not your fault, Luke. Thank you for calling me. I’ll get there as fast as I can.”
He called Maureen as soon as he hung up, and she was calmer than Mike had been. Luke’s quavering voice had terrified him.
“I’m going to try and catch a flight tonight. Do you want to come with me?”
“Are you going to bring him home?” she asked.
“As soon as I can.”
“Then why don’t I get everything organized, and you go over to get him. He should be seen by an orthopedist here as soon as possible, to be sure they set it all right.” It made sense to him too, and he hoped Zack was in a decent hospital, but at least he wasn’t in a coma, or dead.
He called the airline after that and got a seat on a midnight flight to Paris, with a return for both of them the night of the day he arrived. He didn’t want to waste time in Paris. He just wanted to get Zack home now. And then he called the Four Seasons where he always stayed and booked a room for the day, and got the number for the emergency line at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. A clipped military voice answered immediately. He explained the situation and asked if they knew of a hospital that sounded like “Pity Salty,” and if it was a decent hospital.
“That would be the Pitié-Salpêtrière, sir. It’s an excellent medical facility. He’ll get good care there. Is there anything we can do to help you while you’re here?”
“Not that I know of, but it’s good to know that I can call you.” Mike was relieved that the embassy people knew the hospital and it was a good one.
“I’m sorry about your son’s accident,” the young marine on the line said. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you and relieved to go home.” Mike couldn’t wait to get his son back to New York and have him checked out by doctors he knew.
He asked his secretary to cancel his appointments for the next few days and told her what was happening. And then he called Maureen back and told her what he was doing and where they’d be, and reassured her about the hospital.
Renee and Joe came into his office when they heard what had happened.
“Hopefully he’ll be okay when I get him back here. It could have been a lot worse.” And he hoped that Luke’s account was accurate and that there had been no head injury. Mike wouldn’t be completely reassured until he saw Zack and spoke to a doctor there. He hadn’t seen his son since he’d come home for two weeks at Christmas and then went back to continue the trip. Mike was sorry now he’d let him go back. Enough was enough.