Today's Reading
"What do you say to an ice cream, Jacqueline?" Henri asked, helping me into the car. "Right sort of day for it, no?"
"My name's Jackie," she reminded him.
At least she'd replied in French. Henri didn't speak English. "That's just what your schoolmates called you," I said. "You'll have new friends and a new nickname this year."
Jacqueline scowled at her knees.
"Definitely ice cream," Henri said, shifting the car into gear. "Hold tight, Jackie!" He took the corner at speed, earning laughs from both of us. Standoffish or not, Jacqueline loved going for a drive, especially when Henri put a little thrill in it.
We left the suburbs and whizzed through Maisons-Lafitte, the town where I'd been raised, and tore down roads walled on both sides by impenetrable masses of green, the forest of Saint -Germain.
"What's for lunch?" I asked.
"Bread, brie, pâté for me, and tomatoes for you, darling, since I know you don't like it. Some pears, a very nice bottle of chardonnay, and a ginger beer for Jacqueline," Henri said. "A plum tarte tatin, which I think you will like, and a thermos of coffee."
"Sounds wonderful," I said.
"There's a turn a kilometer or so away," Henri said. "We'll take the footpath into the woods until we find a place to picnic, then after we sleep off lunch, we can walk back to the car and, on the way home, find our ice cream." He grinned at me.
I returned the smile, then glanced back at Jacqueline. "That sounds perfect, doesn't it?"
"What kind of ice cream?" Jacqueline asked, still needing convincing.
"Whatever you like," Henri promised grandly.
"From what they have in the shop," I amended and turned my attention to the scenery.
"Help me watch, darling? I don't want to miss the turn," Henri said, passing me a well -used map without taking his eyes from the road. I unfolded it awkwardly, struggling to keep it from flapping in the breeze. We rocketed down a straightaway.
"Maybe slow down a little," I said. "This thing is going to fly away or smack me in the face."
"Other way up, darling," Henri said.
"Yes, I know. Just give me a—"
"Merde!"
I slammed into the dash as Henri stomped on the brakes. A deer bounded off the road and into the trees. The back of the car fishtailed, swinging right, left—
"No!" I shouted as we veered toward the edge of the road.
The car didn't hear me, skidding inexorably and spraying up gravel.
"Hold on!" Henri shouted. I twisted to reach Jacqueline and found myself hurtling through the air. I crashed to the ground and lost my breath in a shatter of glass.
"Yvonne!"
I lifted my head, spotted Henri on my right crawling through high grass over a loose tire.
"Jacqueline?" I gasped soundlessly.
Henri bent over me, his hands hovering anxiously. "Are you all right?"
"Where's Jacqueline?"
This time he heard me and scrambled to his feet.
I seized his hand and hauled myself up.
The car was at least ten meters away from us, upside down, stopped by a thick stand of trees.
"Jackie!" I lurched forward, desperate for a sight of her blue cap.
"Jacqueline!" Henri was faster on his feet. My legs weren't obeying. "She's here," he called, bent at the back of the car. "She's—"
I staggered closer and saw her, beneath the car, with blood on her skirt and her blue knit sweater. Breath left me in a rush and I sank to the ground, gathering up her limp form with arms that felt like ribbons, choking on each breath. "Baby. Baby," I sobbed. "Please, please, please."
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