THE NEXT MORNING ELLIS flew home. Lily no longer needed him. And with the way he was feeling, it would not be good for either of them if he stayed. Meanwhile, through one of Lily’s French cousins, Harry got the address of a swarthy little man who knew the ins and outs of document forgery. By the end of the week, Harry was in possession of a false birth certificate and American passport for a Miss Susan Kelly of Baltimore. He hired a French girl to fly the baby to the States; there could be no connection between the infant and Harry and Lily Kohle.
Upon the baby’s arrival in America, the bogus documents would be burned and the mysterious Susan Kelly would disappear forever.
After all was ready, Harry went back to New York. He had never told Lily about his hospitalization, but it was obvious to her that his lungs were not what they once were. When it became clear he wasn’t getting better, Lily grew concerned.
“Go see a doctor, Harry. See if he can’t give you something to get rid of that terrible cough.”
Making light of it, he shrugged. “I may drop in on Doc Simon once we get back. But I know what he’ll say. ‘Cut down on the smoking.’”
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea,” was her reply.
After his departure, Lily moved from the George V to a charming, light-filled pension just off the Avenue Victor Hugo. It was walking distance from the hospital. She was able to visit Melissa several times a day.
Conversations with her daughter were strained. They avoided talking about the baby and about Jean-Paul. Duval had apparently come to see Melissa and had then gone off to ski again. Melissa said little about his visit.
Lily was glad that her path had not crossed his; she knew that if she had seen him she would not have been able to control herself.
The baby, by contrast, was pure joy, fostering happy daydreams of the time when she would take her home.
In the long hours away from the hospital, she began to rediscover the Paris of her youth. Her old friend Colette came in from Lyon, where she lived with her banker husband and three teenaged children. Colette was as lighthearted and entertaining as ever, and as they lunched and shopped, chattering away about old times, Lily felt the warmth of their old friendship even more than she had in the past.
Several days later, she regretfully bid Colette adieu at the Gare de Lyon. Lily realized how much she had missed having a close girlfriend over the years. Much as she knew Colette had her family to go back to, she wished she could return with her to the States, if only for a time. Then again, Lily reflected, she herself had a family to think of now, too.
Finally the long-awaited day came. The baby was released from the incubator and Lily held her in her arms for the first time. Tears flowed down her cheeks, but they were tears of joy. Never had she felt anything quite like this, even for her own children.
“Cadeau,” she whispered softly. “I’m going to name you Cadeau. In French, that means ‘gift’—and that’s what you are—my gift from God.”
It was another two weeks until tiny Cadeau was released from the hospital. The plan went into action then.
They had anticipated no problems at Orly, as the nursemaid boarded holding the baby, but throughout the long flight over the Atlantic, Lily couldn’t help but worry. What would happen if the baby’s passport were questioned? Suddenly, it seemed so many things could go wrong.
But the first thing she saw as she stepped off the plane, with Françoise and Cadeau three or four people behind her, was the two men in her life, Harry and Ellis, standing together and waving. Her spine stiffened with resolve. She would carry this off—she would!
At Customs, Lily answered their question, “Do you have anything to declare?” with outward calm, though she felt dangerously close to hysteria. If only they knew!
She turned and saw Françoise surrendering her passport and the baby’s for inspection. Her heart beat faster as she looked on. But the moment passed with incredible swiftness as she saw the official glance cursorily at the documents, stamp them, and hand them back.
When Françoise joined them in the waiting car, Lily reached out for the baby. “Cadeau, darling Cadeau,” she cried breathlessly as she cradled the baby in her arms. “I love you, my sweet baby.”
Harry reached over and stroked the baby’s downy head with gentle fingers. He had never felt such an overwhelming sense of joy. He, Lily, the baby … on their way to The Meadows to start a new life together. No scene could have held greater joy for him than this.
Both Kohles smiled involuntarily as Cadeau opened her rosebud mouth in a tiny yawn.
At the wheel, Ellis was aware of a feeling of bitter irony. From the disaster of Cadeau’s unwanted birth, all, it seemed, had achieved their heart’s desire—all except him.