Elodie and Heloise (22 page)

Elodie examined her father as she stood over his bed. He too was like her mother, usually so strong and full of life. It was strange then to see him so frail. It was almost too much for Elodie to deal with. He slowly opened his eyes and peered at Elodie as she stood over him. She looked around excitedly and sat down next to him, holding his hand.

“Elodie....” he croaked.

“Oui, Papa?”

That was all he could say. He uttered his daughter’s name and then he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep, the heart monitor still beeping regularly. At least he seemed alive for now. Sensing Elodie’s feelings, Duncan went over to a chair on the other side of the room and motioned for her to come sit on his lap. Elodie sat down on his lap and he put his arms around her body, his hands coming to rest at Elodie’s belly. She entwined her fingers with his, letting his long and lean hands completely encase her tiny fingers. She then leaned back against him, trying her hardest to not cry.

“Are you sure you’re comfortable?” Elodie rasped.

“As long as you are,” Duncan responded. “I’m perfectly content right here. I’m holding a beautiful girl so I’m happy to sit here as long as you want to.” He punctuated that last sentence with a kiss on her cheek. “You looked like you needed a hug.”

“Thanks,” Elodie whispered, tears coming to her eyes but being quickly wiped away by her hand. 

She wasn’t sure how long they lay like that together in that chair, but it felt like hours. The beeping of his heart monitor grew softer and softer with every passing moment. Her eyes slowly closed and she found herself drifting through hazy dreams about Duncan, her parents, and even her sister. 

She wasn’t sure when her mother came back into the room, but when she awoke a few hours later, she heard her mother’s heels on the hospital floor. Then about five minutes later, Elodie raised her head a little and saw the shadow of her mother coming back into the room to take a seat by her father. Her mother took her father’s hand, gripping it tightly, and then leaned her head against his chest, half of her body hanging off the bed. It didn’t look like the most comfortable of positions, but her mom seemed content to be near her husband.

Finally, Elodie returned to her sleeping position and lay up against Duncan. The sound of his breathing soothed her thoughts and she returned to sleep.

They continued sleeping through the night and into the next day. When Elodie finally opened her eyes, the sun was pouring through the hospital blinds and playing on the cold white tile and her mother was still sound asleep next to her father on his bed. There was also someone else sitting there beside her mother with a red, tear-streaked face and circles under her eyes. It was Heloise, looking absolutely crushed and exhausted as she slept there next to their father’s bed. Heloise must have arrived sometime during the night when Elodie was sleeping. She didn’t even know what time it could’ve been. All she could think about were the cramps in her legs and back as she moved across Duncan’s lap.

Elodie heard the sound of the heart monitor and remembered she was in a hospital. From the looks of it, she was the only one awake in the room. Her mother and father were still sleeping peacefully, holding each other’s hands in their sleep, while Duncan continued sleeping just behind her. His brown hair was tussled from sleep and stuck out every which way. Meanwhile, his head had fallen back against the back of the chair and his face was turned to the left, his mouth slightly open and a low snore coming through. 

I didn’t realize he snored, Elodie thought jokingly to herself as she stretched out her arms and freed herself from Duncan’s grasp, spreading his flaccid arms out on the chairs next to them. He let out a small noise in his sleep before moving his head to the right.

Elodie glanced down at her watch. It was past eleven, far later than she thought it was. Her stomach rumbled in her belly, so she grabbed her purse and quietly left the room, heading toward the hospital cafeteria. She made a point of shutting the room door behind her as she left, smiling at seeing Duncan moving in his sleep and her parents still in each other’s embraces.

The hospital cafeteria was just as stark as the rest of the hospital. White tile and fluorescent lights grabbed her eye as Elodie walked in. She saw some clusters of families seated at tables, but for the most part, it was empty. There was a counter in the far corner with food choices on a menu displayed above it and vending machines lying up against the walls. With her stomach rumbling loudly, Elodie didn’t really care what she ate.

She approached one of the vending machine and purchased some peanut butter crackers for herself. Her head was still buzzing from how poorly she’d slept that night and from the events of the day before. Everything came back in pieces. Waiting with her mom in the waiting room, seeing Papa lying helplessly in that cold hospital bed, and feeling Duncan’s reassuring arms as he held her through the long night.

Elodie took a seat at a nearby table and eagerly opened her packet of crackers. She hadn’t eaten anything for almost twenty-four hours so she didn’t care what kind of sustenance she could get at this point. She was so engrossed in the peanut butter goodness inside her mouth that she almost didn’t hear a familiar voice from behind her.

“Salut.”

Elodie turned her head and saw her sister coming up to her, her eyes full of distress, cheeks dotted with crimson, and her hair sticking out every which way from sleeping so awkwardly at her father’s bedside

“Salut.”

Heloise took a seat across from her sister with a small packet of peanut butter crackers in her hand that she too must have bought from the vending machines in the cafeteria. They remained in a very awkward silence. It was the first time that they’d ever sat near each other like this in a long time and not started squabbling. 

“What time did you get here last night?”

“Probably around 11. You already were asleep on Duncan when I came in.”

“Yeah..... I was at Rockin’ Coffee for an open mic night when Mom texted me. We both rushed over here to see Papa.”

“How was he?”

“He woke up for about thirty seconds and said my name before he went back to sleep. He really didn’t look so good. The doctors said he was pretty bad.”

“Yeah, Mom told me.....”

Back to silence. The two girls then ate their peanut butter crackers without another word to one another. Elodie was the first to get up from her seat and as she did, her sister got up as well.

They walked in silence down the hallway together toward their father’s room. As they entered their father’s room, Heloise broke away and rushed over to Francis. Before she made it to Papa’s bedside, Shannon, who was sitting in a chair next to Francis’s bed just as they walked in, stood up and hugged her daughter. She then let Heloise go and returned to her spot next to her husband.

Heloise went around the bed to Francis’s right side and stood above him, her eyes fixed on her father. Elodie had never seen her sister look so pained. Heloise’s eyes  were big with worry and she stood awkwardly with her hands in her pockets, as if unsure of how to react. Shannon sat on Francis’ left side and continued watching over him with her hand in his, while Duncan finally woke up and looked around the room. 

“Someone’s awake now,” Elodie pointed out.

Duncan gave her a small grin. “I’m going to go downstairs to the cafeteria and get something to eat. You want anything, Elodie?” he drowsily asked, stretching out his arms and giving one big yawn before standing up.

“No I’m good. Thanks.”

Silence fell over the room as Shannon, Elodie, and Heloise stood around their father’s bed. He was still sound asleep and showed no signs of waking up. His heart monitor was beeping at a very slow rate, even slower than last night.

Elodie pulled up a chair and sat next to her mother, watching both her father and Heloise. After what felt like twenty minutes, Francis opened his eyes again and looked around the room, smiling as he saw his wife and daughters gathered around him and watching him so intently.

“Mes filles,” he muttered weakly. “Shannon, Elodie, Heloise......”

All three of them hung onto his words, Heloise especially. 

He regarded them with a soft look that was usually unbecoming of him. “I don’t know how long I am for this world....”

“Please please don’t say it like that....” Shannon whispered.

“But never forget that I love you all as much as ever. I could not have asked for a better family than the three of you.....” Despite the constant coughs and his weak voice, Francis continued on. 

“What is most important in life is finding what makes you happy to make your life worthwhile. And I found my true happiness in life, which was sharing my life with you, Shannon..... Shannon, l’amour de ma vie, mon âme-sœur..... I have never loved anyone the way I have loved you. And you have given me two beautiful daughters who have done me proud. Elodie, Heloise..... Listen to your wise, French papa and find what makes you happiest in life. Find that spark that will turn to a flame. For you Elodie, it is your music. And you Heloise, ma chère, it is cooking.”

“Papa.....”

Heloise’s face paled and she averted her eyes from her father and everyone else in the room. He then let out such a forceful cough that it seemed to shake his entire body. Then he fell into silence again and lay back on the pillows.

“Please don’t stress yourself too much,” Shannon admonished. 

“I have just one more thing to say.” Francis moved his head to face Heloise. “Heloise, I want you to look at me.”

She finally looked up and met her father’s gaze. Tears were coming down her face as her father spoke. “Heloise, I know you told me science would be more lucrative and you of course are already in school to study physics. But just know well, ma fille, that you need to do something with those culinary skills that I gave you. You are truly gifted and I do not want to see that go to waste. Especially because I will probably not be around to see it come to pass.”

Heloise burst into tears and buried her face in her hands. He continued with an even weaker voice. “I have lived my life well and I regret nothing. I hate to be taken so soon from you all..... but if God deems it so, then it must be so. Ainsi soit-il.”

Heloise’s face was frozen in shock as she lifted her head from her hands and regarded her father with an intense gaze. She reached across the bed and gave her father a very tearful hug, wrapping her arms around him as best as she could while her sister and mother looked on.

“Au revoir, Papa,” Elodie heard her murmur. “Je t’aime de tout mon âme. Je t’aime.”

“Je t’aime, Heloise. Elodie et Shannon, je vous aime tous les deux.”

With a broken sigh, Shannon squeezed Francis’s hand and let it go. Just as she did, the heart monitor slowed down even more. They watched the numbers drop at an accelerated rate until all they heard was one long beep and saw a large zero on the heart monitor. Almost immediately, nurses and doctors ran into the room, and Heloise and her family stepped off to the side. It was the most surreal moment of Heloise’s life, to watch her strong father finally give in and be surrounded by doctors trying in vain to help him as his heart monitor flatlined.

Heloise heard the sad strums of her sister’s guitar through the walls of the house as she chopped the tomatoes on the cutting board in the kitchen. Just behind her in the living room her mother was watching a random movie on television, her face stony and unmoving since that night. Heloise tried not to think about it too much, instead trying to concentrate on the delicious meal she was preparing for the family.

In front of her on the counter were two large bowls and one small bowl. One was filled with chopped eggplant sitting in about five inches of water, a trick that her father had taught her so that the eggplant would not brown as quickly before cooking. The other bowl was filled with diced zucchini, sweet peppers, and squash, adding some color to the otherwise dully lit kitchen. The small bowl contained freshly sliced basil and parsley leaves, filling the room with an intoxicating aroma. All that was left to dice were the yellow onions sitting to the right of her cutting board.

Heloise knew her father wouldn’t exactly have approved of his daughter making ratatouille in the fall. After all, ratatouille was supposed to be a summer dish. “Vegetables always taste better when they are in season. Tomatoes in the winter do not taste nearly as good,” he would admonish her. In spite of that, Heloise wanted nothing more than to prepare her father’s favorite dish for the family. 

She quickly chopped the onion and glanced at the large sauté pan sitting over the largest burner on the stove. Dropping the onions and some chopped garlic into the pan, she was greeted with the sound of onions and garlic coming together in the olive oil, hissing with the sound of hot oil. She quickly stirred the onions around, making sure the onions and garlic were coated as they should be.

It’s almost like she could hear his voice right behind her as she cooked, his warm, confident voice as he would watch her cooking, offering advice every so often but letting his daughter do most of the cooking. The onions should be translucent, like you can see right through them. You will know as soon as you see it.

While the onions cooked, Heloise drained the bowl of eggplant and continued stirring in the pan. Sure enough, about five minutes later, the onions gave off a caramelized glow in the pan. It was time for the rest of the ingredients. In went the eggplant, which had only turned slightly brown in the last few minutes that it wasn’t submerged in water, and the colorful bits of thyme from their kitchen garden just outside the back door. Soon went in all the other ingredients, a colorful mixture of yellow, green, purple, and red in the pan bringing up their individual smells.

The intoxicating smell of her meal in progress almost brought Heloise to tears as she stirred all the ingredients together and watched it cook in the pan. In the days since her father’s death, during which they’d held the funeral as quickly as possible, Heloise threw herself into cooking and being in the kitchen, using recipes and tips from her father. As soon as they got home from her father’s funeral the previous day, Heloise went into the kitchen and made some food for her family, a delicious veal ossobuco that included veal shanks that Papa had left in the fridge for a potential meal. It was a difficult meal to make, one that Heloise and Francis had only ever made several times before, but it was ultimately a rewarding experience. The meal had so many components that came together that she found she could lose herself in the preparation process, and thus did not have to think too hard about how painful it felt for her to wake up that morning and not be greeted with a bise from her Papa.