Trial by Fire

Chapter 11

Dahlia spent the evening in her hotel room, thinking and making notes and tentative plans. She sent Mark an email thanking him again for doing such a good job, and telling him how grateful she was.

She waited until ten p.m. to call Delphine, which was seven in the morning for her, and she knew that she’d be up, taking care of her daughters. Their nanny didn’t come to work till eight a.m. , when Delphine left for work. And on weekends, she took care of them herself. She could hear the two little girls squealing and laughing in the background when Delphine answered.

“Do you have a few minutes to talk?” her mother asked her.

“Is something wrong? Are you all right?” It had already been a worrisome trip with her mother having an accident and breaking her leg. “Francois can watch the girls.” She signaled to him and he took over, and she left the room so they could talk.

“I’m fine, but I have a problem,” Dahlia said seriously. “We had the hearing yesterday, for the accident, to determine if there was any criminal negligence on my part, and the judge ruled that there wasn’t, which was good news. But the woman in the other car is suing me civilly for negligence and damages. My lawyer was able to get something called a ‘speedy trial.’ The trial is set for August twentieth, with an important court mediation on August third, and I need to be here to prepare for it. I’m stuck here for another six weeks. It probably won’t even go to trial. It will settle before, but not until the last minute.”

“Oh no…” Delphine said, understanding immediately what the problem was, just as Dahlia had when she heard the words from Mark. “Oh my God. Alex.”

“Precisely. I’ve been thinking about it for hours, and there are only two options. You all go ahead with the wedding without me, if that’s what she wants, and I’ll agree to it if that’s her wish. Or she has to postpone it till sometime between September first and fifteenth, so I can be there, or later, if she wants. It’s really up to her.”

“She’s going to have a total fit,” Delphine said in a horrified voice.

“Yes, she is,” Dahlia agreed. “But there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it. I have to respect those dates. And my lawyer is right. I need to take care of this and finish it before I leave, or it could drag on for months or years.”

“It’s so unfair. You were a victim of the accident too,” Delphine said angrily.

“She seems to be after money. A lot of money.”

“Poor Maman.” Delphine felt genuinely sorry for her mother. And she knew how hard Alex would be on her.

“I feel terrible for Alex. No one wants to postpone their wedding, but she might have to,” Dahlia said sadly.

“She won’t want to get married without you,” Delphine said with certainty.

“She might. Even as pure revenge. She’s capable of it, and I’ll respect her wishes.”

“You’re a good sport. When are you going to tell her?”

“Now. I wanted to call you first and see what you think and give you a heads-up.”

“She was a monster at the dress fitting, and rude to everyone. I knew she would be. She’s having them make a million last-minute changes to the dress, which they’ll never have time for. They were frantic.”

“Well, now they will have time. We’re giving them the gift of another month to finish everything. I just hope all the suppliers and the venue will be available a month later if she agrees to move it. I’ll get Agnes working on it as soon as Alex gives me the green light, if she does. This won’t be easy, especially getting her to agree to it. If she doesn’t, then so be it. You can set up some kind of high-tech video system so I can at least see her get married.” Delphine was always impressed by the degree to which her mother would go to accommodate her children and make them happy, something which Alex never appreciated, and she always had something to complain about and blame her mother for. It infuriated Delphine whenever she did it. She had been that way all her life. She blamed their mother for their not having a living father, which was absurd. Dahlia had more than compensated for their father’s absence for all their lives.

“By the way, I wanted to talk to you all last week, and I haven’t had time. I was going to talk to you this week when you got back, and now you’re not. I have an idea for a fantastic new line. A cosmetic line for young girls, young women, with a medicated component if they want it, for those with troubled skin, and a line of younger perfumes to go with it. We could be the beauty advisors to a whole new generation and add an important element to our demographics. I’m thinking sixteen to twenty-five, with younger salespeople trained in the cosmetic needs of that age group. It will cost a fortune to develop it, but it would be worth it in the long run, we’ll make a fortune from it. I really want to explore the youth market. What do you think?”

Dahlia smiled as she listened to her, and the excitement in her voice.

“We could even do pop-up stores just for them all over France, and worldwide later,” Delphine added.

“You’re a genius. When did you come up with this? Driving your kids to nursery school, or while helping your husband on his latest project, or on the weekend when you’re cooking for your family, or when you’re doing my work too because I’m stuck in California and can’t come home? My darling girl, you are a marvel. I think it’s a brilliant idea.”

“Will you green-light it?”

“Yes, I will. You can get to work on it right away. It’s going to take time to develop it and get it right, particularly if some of it is medical. We can’t make mistakes with that.”

“Oh my God, Mother, you’re incredible. You’re the genius. Thank you for letting me do it. Charles thinks it’s crazy and too expensive. And he thinks sixteen-year-olds are too young to wear makeup, but they steal their mothers’ makeup anyway.”

“He’s too conservative, and it will be expensive, but I agree with you, it will pay off in the end.”

“Thank you, Maman, for being so modern and open-minded and forward-thinking. That’s why Lambert is so successful, because of you.”

“And because of you, now. We’re a good team,” Dahlia said happily. As always, Delphine had cheered her up. She was great for the business. She added a whole new element that would carry them into the future. She was their future.

“Can I do anything to help you with Alex?”

“No, I have to do it myself. I should call her now before she goes to work. You’ll probably hear the screams from your apartment. And by the way, I want you all to go to Saint-Paul-de-Vence without me. There’s no reason to spoil the vacation because I can’t be there.” Delphine had wondered but didn’t want to ask. It seemed so greedy to want their summer holiday if their mother couldn’t come. It was so like her to give it to them anyway. “You can have it for the whole month now. I’ll try to come for the last weekend before the wedding, if she moves it to September, so we can all be together. But go down there on the first of August, as always.”

“Thank you, Maman. Let me know how it goes with her.”

“I have no doubt you’ll hear immediately. I did think of one thing, though,” Dahlia said. “We should re-invite her whole original guest list. She lost a lot of people because they had summer plans. She may get a much bigger turnout in September, if we can work out the rest.”

“You’re right,” Delphine agreed. “But she won’t admit it.”

As soon as she hung up, Dahlia called Alex’s number. It was almost eight in the morning, and she’d be up. She answered immediately and launched into a diatribe with her first words.

“Oh my God, Mother, the fitting was a nightmare. They got everything wrong, the front of the dress is too long, the veil is too short, and Delphine has no idea what she’s talking about. She kept confusing them with suggestions. You really should have been there,” she said reproachfully.

“She was trying to help since I couldn’t be there,” Dahlia said calmly.

“She may know about perfume, but she knows nothing about fashion. And when are you coming home?” Alex was talking a mile a minute, and the conversation was off to a bumpy start. Dahlia knew it was going to get considerably worse.

“I need to talk to you seriously about something,” Dahlia said, trying to sound serene. “I had a problem in San Francisco, and had to cancel my plans in L.A. I had a car accident and broke my leg. I’m fine now, but it threw a monkey wrench into everything.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Alex sounded insulted more than concerned.

“I didn’t want to worry you. But it’s gotten complicated. There were three vehicles involved, a truck and two cars. I rear-ended the other car when the truck hit me, and there’s a debate now about who hit who first. It’s complicated to explain, but Alex, to put it simply, I have a hearing here in San Francisco on August third, and there might be a trial on the twentieth.”

“That’s not a problem,” Alex said blithely, “you can fly back there the day after the wedding.”

“Actually, I can’t,” Dahlia said, lighting the match to the fuse of dynamite. “They need me here for mediation meetings, my deposition, and settlement conferences. I can’t leave responsibly while this is pending. I have to stay in San Francisco to deal with it. She’s suing me for five million dollars.”

“What are you saying to me?” Alex sounded like she’d just been hit by a bolt of lightning.

“I’m saying what I was hoping not to have to say to you. I can’t be back on the first. You can get married without me, or we can postpone it to the first two weeks in September. There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m so sorry.”

“Are you insane ?” Alex shrieked at her. “I’ve been planning this wedding for a year and you’re not coming home for it?”

“Darling, I can’t. I can’t leave. I want to be there, but this is a huge mess here.” Alex hadn’t commented even once on her brokenleg.

“What did you do, kill somebody?”

“No, it’s about money. The driver of the other car is suing me for damages and lying about it. I think it’s all a ploy and she wants a big settlement. We have to fight it out in court.”

“Did you maim her children? What did you do?”

“She has a broken arm and ankle, and her daughter broke her nose and both arms. They weren’t wearing seatbelts.”

“I can’t believe this. What am I supposed to do?” Alex sounded as panicked and hysterical as Dahlia knew she would.

“I know this is a terrible disappointment. We can move the wedding forward a month, or you can go ahead. I want to be there, but I’ll understand if you don’t want to wait for me. I don’t want to miss your wedding, and we can set up video screens so I can see it.”

“I don’t want video screens at my wedding. Come home!”

“I can’t. Alex, I need you to be reasonable.” Dahlia was fighting to stay calm, in the face of Alex’s fury. “I could fly home on the twenty-fifth or -sixth of August, after the verdict, but not before, unless they cancel the trial, which they won’t. It won’t be a long trial but I have to be here.” She felt sick just saying it.

“I’m taping my show all month after the fifth of September, and Paul will be on location in Australia. I don’t want to postpone my wedding.” Alex started to cry, and Dahlia felt as though someone was ripping her heart out of her chest. It broke her heart to hear Alex crying. She kept repeating how sorry she was, which Alex didn’t want to hear. “You don’t care about me. You never did. It’s always about Delphine and Charlie because they work in the fucking business with you, and I tried to do something on my own, not controlled by you. So you’re punishing me for it and ruining my wedding. You only care about them.”

“I love you, Alex. This is because I had an accident, not because I don’t love you. And I’m not trying to control you. I’m proud of what you do.”

“You don’t want me to be happy. You always ruin everything for me. It’s all about you, and the fucking perfume. I hate it, it makes me sick when I smell it, because it reminds me of you.”

“Alex, let’s try to figure this out together, if you want to wait and postpone it, or go ahead.”

“It’s in two weeks. And if we postpone it, it can’t be later than September first,” Alex said angrily.

“I can be home by then,” Dahlia said, trying to stay calm, and ignoring the insults her daughter heaped on her.

“What if no one can come, or we can’t get the chateau?”

“I can have Agnes check all the suppliers today. She can let us know where it stands by the end of the day. I’ll do everything I can to make it work either way. The last thing I want to do is miss your wedding, but if you decide to stick to August first, you can do that. Actually, more people might come in September, because they won’t be away for the summer. We can re-invite your whole original guest list.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me. Are you happy you’re ruining my wedding? That’s what you want, isn’t it? You don’t like Paul. You only like Francois, because he’s Delphine’s husband. Miss Perfect who can do no wrong and is your little minion in the business.”

“Your sister isn’t my minion, Alex,” Dahlia said in a taut voice. Alex was pushing her to her limits.

“That’s why you hate me, because I don’t want to be your monkey on a chain.”

“I’ve never tried to force you into the business. I respect what you do.”

“No, you don’t. All you care about is the business and the ones who work for you.”

“This is about your wedding. You don’t have to tear everyone to shreds to make this decision. I know it’s disappointing, but we can make it work if you postpone it, either way.”

“This is for your convenience. Everything is always about you. Well, this isn’t about you. It’s my wedding, not yours.”

“It’s about an accident I had, Alex, and a trial for damages. I don’t make the rules.”

“How did you get in an accident? Were you drunk?”

“Of course not. There were fires here, and a lot of smoke, and my car got hit by a truck.” Alex was quiet for a minute, mulling it over. She never asked how her mother was or about her broken leg. Dahlia was used to it. Alex was a narcissist to the core.

“I have to ask Paul what he wants to do,” she said harshly.

“Just let me know, and I’ll get Agnes on it immediately. I’ll wait to hear from you. I love you, please know that. I love you very much and I want your wedding to be perfect for you,” Dahlia said with tears rolling down her cheeks, and Alex answered in an ice-cold voice.

“No, you don’t,” she said, and hung up, as Dahlia sat staring at her phone. She had a rock on her heart after everything Alex said. It was all hateful, but Dahlia had been there before with her, whenever Alex didn’t get her way. Planning the wedding with her had been difficult too.

She couldn’t go to bed and sleep after that. She walked around the room on her crutches, thinking of what her daughter had said to her, and knowing she meant it. Half an hour later, her phone rang and she saw Delphine’s number come up, and she answered. She hoped it would be Alex to apologize, but she never did.

“How did it go?” Delphine asked her.

“As expected. The usual abuse. She’s furious and she hates me.”

“Did she get that you can’t help it and it’s not your fault?”

“No, and she doesn’t care. She thinks I’m trying to ruin her wedding.”

“She’ll get over it.”

“No, she won’t,” Dahlia said, and blew her nose. “She never does. She’ll never forgive me for making her postpone her wedding. If I could be there, I would.”

“I know that, Maman,” Delphine said gently. She hated what Alex did to everyone whenever she felt like it, especially their mother. She spewed venom like a volcano, and she was just as hard on Delphine when it suited her, especially since she and their mother were close.

Dahlia stared at the TV blindly for a while after she talked to Delphine, and she finally went to bed, thinking about all of Alex’s accusations. They weren’t true, but Dahlia could never convince her of it.

She woke up at ten o’clock, and the headache was back. She saw that she had a message on her phone and looked at it. It was from Alex. “Fine. September first. I’ll never forget what you are doing to my wedding. Alex.”

Dahlia sent an email to Agnes then, explaining everything, and telling her to check all the suppliers before she postponed and canceled the August date. And she told Agnes to call her if any of them couldn’t switch to September first. And then Agnes would have to send emails to all the guests, announcing the change, inviting them on the new date and requesting rapid answers. There were a million details to think of and remember, and they’d go over it together for the next six weeks, to make sure everything was in place and perfect. Dahlia answered her daughter’s text then in the simplest terms. “Thank you for changing the date. I love you. I want to be there and we’ll make it beautiful. I love you, Maman.” Alex didn’t respond, and she never apologized for the hurtful things she said when she was angry. She meant them. She wanted to wound her mother as much as she could. And she had. It was a character flaw in Alex. She had been like that since she was thirteen. Life-and-death battles peppered with insults, vicious attacks, and unjustified accusations. Dahlia had the scars of thousands of those battles on her heart, and this one was only slightly worse than the other attacks Alex had launched at her before. She always felt mortally wounded afterward, which was what Alex wanted, to hurt the other person as deeply as she could. She soothed her own pain and disappointments by wounding others, and her mother was always her prime target.

Dahlia felt sick, it was so painful, and halfway through the afternoon, trying to recover from the blows, she had an idea. It wouldn’t change anything or make Alex like her any more, but it might make Dahlia feel better. She was at the bottom of the emotional barrel, as she always was after Alex’s attacks. This was the worst one yet.

She called the concierge for a car and driver, an SUV. It was at the front of the hotel in twenty minutes. Dahlia went downstairs when the concierge called her, and the doorman directed her to it. She got in, thinking about Alex, realizing that it was late night in Paris now, and Alex hadn’t texted her all day. Maybe it was a blessing not to hear from her. Dahlia knew that she would punish her forever for having to postpone her wedding. But there was no other choice if she wanted her mother there. It was up to her. Dahlia just hoped that the venue and the suppliers could adapt to the change despite the short notice, and that Alex would adjust in the end.

The hotel driver followed the traditional route to Napa. She wondered if she was crazy, but she had thought of it before and she needed something to put balm on the gaping wound Alex had left her with. That was always her intention, to inflict pain, in order to relieve her own. She did it so well. She was a master of the art, slashing and burning and hurting those who loved her. She just wanted to injure them, as viciously and cruelly as she could.

They made the trip to Napa in record time, and she knew now where the accident had happened and was solemn as they drove past it. A man had died there, after all. After that, she directed the driver to the right turnoff, and the old dirt road that led to Jeff’s rescue tent. She hopped in slowly on her crutches, and she saw that Jeff was there, and Mahala. It was almost six o’clock by then and they were wrapping up. The air quality was still red that day, and most of the volunteers were wearing masks. She had forgotten hers at the hotel.

Jeff saw her hop in unsteadily with her crutches and came toward her. “What are you doing here?” he asked, surprised. “Is Mark with you?”

“No. I came to see a friend.”

“A volunteer?” She shook her head and Mahala waved to her. She was carrying two small dogs, taking them back to their crates. She came to join Jeff and Dahlia a minute later. The two women hugged.

“Did you just come to visit?” Mahala asked her.

“No, I came for an adoption,” she said solemnly. “My little curly black friend with the white patch on his chest.” Jeff grinned when she said it.

“It’s about time. He’s waited almost two weeks for you. I’m happy to see you taking him home. His people never came for him.” But she knew that they would keep his information, a photo of him and the identity of his new owners, as a record. If his original owners showed up, they’d have to work it out. He would be in Paris with her. “I’ll give him a rabies shot in case his shots aren’t current. We’ve got food for you. He’s got a collar and Mahala can give you a leash.” A pet shop in Yountville had donated bowls and harnesses, collars and leashes and dog food, and the ASPCA donations had paid for medicines, vaccinations, and blankets for the old and sick dogs, and donated crates and cages for animals of all sizes.

Dahlia walked back to where the little dog was in a crate, and he started barking as soon as he saw her. “I’ll take him to the car with you so he doesn’t trip you on your crutches. Be careful,” Mahala warned her. She got him out of the crate and put him on the leash, and they took him over to one of the exam tables so Jeff could give him the rabies shot. He filled out a certificate and handed it to her, and she put it in her pocket. She looked at Jeff with a happy smile, and handed him a check with a healthy donation. The dog was panting and yelping and dancing with excitement. He knew something major was happening. His time had finally come.

Dahlia had tears in her eyes as she looked at him, her heart warming after all the unkind things Alex had said to her. She always knew how to wound her. The echo of her words was haunting and stayed with her although she always forgave her and she had this time too, with unconditional motherly love.

“What’s his name?” Jeff asked her, and she thought for a minute and smiled.

“Francisco. It will remind me of all of you when I go home to Paris.”

“Good one,” Jeff said, and walked to the car with her, with Mahala holding Francisco on the leash, keeping him away from Dahlia’s crutches and her one solid foot. Jeff patted him, and helped Dahlia into the car, and Mahala handed the dog to her. His fluffy tail was wagging frantically like a victory flag. Jeff closed the door, and she opened the window, with Francisco on her lap. “Come back and visit us,” he reminded her.

“We will,” she promised, and waved as the driver rolled slowly out of the field onto the rutted dirt road. Francisco turned and licked Dahlia’s face then, as tears rolled down her cheeks. They were tears of happiness over her new dog, and of sorrow over the damage her daughter had done. Francisco licked her tears away and she held him close, beaming. Francisco was finally going home.