Chapter 10
Marie put on her coat and took the elevator down to the lobby. She got mad when she saw that he had not come into the lobby to pick her up. She walked outside and approached the car. Becca had opened the door for her and Marie saw that if she got in from the curb side she would have to sit next to Becca instead of sitting next to Carl. She slammed the car door and started to go around the car to get in the street side of the car.
Alex turned to corner and put his foot hard on the gas. The taxi belched a huge amount of smoke from the exhaust pipe. He curses his brother for talking him into coming to France. Moscow was a hard place to earn a living but it was home and he had left his wife and children behind with a promise to send for them in a year. That was two years ago. Now his mother wrote to him and told him that his wife had a boyfriend. He took another pull from the vodka bottle he had between his legs. The French couldn't even make decent vodka. He swerved to avoid hitting a slower car and the driver honked at him to signal his displeasure with Alex' driving. Alex turned in his seat and made a gesture that the driver understood. The driver honked again and Alex stared at him and called the driver's mother some choice names. He turned around and saw a figure in front of him about the same time that he heard the sickening thud as he hit whatever it was. He didn't even look back, just stepped on the gas and sped away. He turned down a side street and got away from the area as fast as possible. He couldn't afford to have the French check his credentials or his taxi license. He was supposed to leave the country last year.
Marie didn't see the taxi. She felt the intense pain in her side and she was thrown up against Carl's car and the breath was knocked out of her. She grabbed the car trying to keep standing. Her legs turned to water and she started to sink to the street. She lost consciousness a split second before her head hit the street. Carl had been watching Becca while his was talking to her. She had watched Marie as she walked around the car and saw the taxi hit her. She screamed as Marie was thrown into the side of the car. She jumped out of the car and ran around to where Marie had fallen. Marie was still breathing and she screamed for Carl to call for an ambulance.
Marie was wheeled into the hospital still unconscious. They could see no sign of blood and it did not appear that she had broken any bones. She was rushed into the emergency room and Carl and Becca were told to wait in the waiting room. Becca paced the room waiting for some word on the young woman's condition. Carl kept asking her to sit down, but she just ignored him. After about two hours a doctor approached them.
"She's going to be alright. She has a concussion and is bruised pretty well on her side. She will be in some pain for several days. We don't foresee any major problems, although we would like to keep her overnight for observation. I'll give her some pain medication when she's released. She's a strong woman and she won't have any lingering effects from the accident."
Carl and Becca thanked him and they went to the front desk to make arraignments to pay for Marie's treatment. Becca looked over the paperwork and released that she never knew Marie's last name.
"I didn't know Marie's name was Osborne," she told Carl.
Carl didn't answer and she looked at him. He was staring straight ahead with a glassy stare. He started sinking lower and was holding on to the counter in front of him. Becca saw that he was about to lose his grip and she grabbed him. He was too heavy for her to hold so she gently lowered him to the floor. He lay on the floor with only his eyes moving and she could see he was trying to talk. She screamed for someone to get a doctor and she saw people in hospital garb running toward them. The young woman at the front desk had seen Carl start to fall and she had called for help.
Carl was immediately whisked into the emergency room and Becca was pushed back into the waiting room that they had just left. After what seemed like hours but was really less than a half an hour, the same doctor who had taken care of Marie came into the waiting room. He was carrying a paper bag with the contents of Carl's pockets.
"Mrs. Detroit, your husband has had a stoke. We have given him blood thinners and we located the blood clot in his neck. We busted up the clot with ultra-sound and I think he will recover fully. He is going to need months of speak therapy and he will have the have therapy to learn to walk again. Please realize that all of this is not going to happen overnight. I believe that it will be nine to twelve months before he is fully recovered. He's lucky he was in a hospital when he had the stroke.
Becca stared at the doctor, "A stroke? He's only forty-two years old."
"Well it not as common as in older people but it does happen to people of all ages. There is a possibility that this clot is the result of a sports injury or maybe even from when he bumped his leg hard. You will be able to see him when we take him to his room. He can't speak and his motor functions are impaired, but his mind is functioning and he is aware of everything around him. Please keep him as calm as possible and let him rest. He has a long job ahead of him."
A nurse came out much later and motioned for Becca to follow her. Becca walked beside Carl as they rolled him to his room. He moved his eyes to look at her and she couldn't tell if he was trying to speak or not. After the nurse left she put her hand close to his and he slowly moved his hand to hers and took her hand. Tears came to her eyes as she realized that this was a good sign that the damage wasn't as great as it could have been. She leaned over him and hugged him.
"Please get well Carl."
She stayed next to his bed until a nurse made her leave about midnight. Becca asked if she could see Marie and tell her about Carl. She had to explain that they had brought Marie in a little while before Carl had his stroke. The nurse took her to Marie and cautioned her that she only had five minutes.
Marie opened her eyes and moaned when Becca gently called her name.
"Marie I have some bad news. Carl had a stroke down stairs. They have admitted him. He's in a room down the hall. They say that he will recover. But it will take about a year."
Marie started to speak, "Poor Carl. As soon as the vultures find out they'll steal everything that's not tied down. He'll be lucky to have a couple of million left in a year. They'll steal all of the easy money and there won't be enough left to pay the bills and the companies will have to declare bankruptcy."
She started to drift off to sleep as she finished the last sentence. Becca took her hand and held it and told her to get well. She left the room and started back to the hotel.
Becca tossed and turned most of the night. When she finally did fall asleep, the sun was starting to rise. She woke up about tow hours later and lay there trying to sort out what she could do. Marie's bags were packed and stacked by the door and she was sure that she would leave as soon as she got out of the hospital.
Becca got up and went to the desk and pulled out the phone book. She looked up the home phone number of Carl's French lawyer. When he answered she told him that Carl needed to see him at the hospital at nine o'clock. The lawyer asked if anything had happened to Carl and she lied and told him no. She called Chico and told him what had happened and she asked him to stay, as she would need him to help with Carl. She thought he heard Chico crying as he hung up the phone.
Becca walked into the hospital and went to Carl's room. No one attempted to stop her and Carl was alone. He was lying on his back and his eyes found her as she entered the room. She grabbed his hand and felt him gently squeeze her hand. He pulled his hand away and lifted his hand a few inches and made a sound in his throat. She knew that he was telling her that he could raise his hand and that he was going to fight to recover.
"Carl, I have to talk to you. I am worried about your companies. I am afraid that you won't have anything left when you are ready to go back. How much do you trust me? Do you trust me enough to run things for a while?
Carl squeezed her hand and tears came to her eyes. He told him to communicate by raising his hand if he agreed with her and do nothing if he disagreed with her. The lawyer walked into the room as she finished speaking. He stood for a minute with his mouth open and then came over to the bed.
Becca turned to him, "Mr. Blum, Carl has had a stroke. He has appointed me to take care of his affairs. I will take care of both his personal affairs and business affairs. I wish you to question him yourself and ask him if this is his intention. He can't speak, but he will raise his hand if he agrees with what you say and he will do nothing if he disagrees.
The lawyer started to question Carl as to his intentions. He asked him if he wanted to give Becca complete power of attorney over all of his affairs, both private and professional. Carl answered all questions by raising his hand.
Blum turned to her, "We'll have to get you appointed by the courts. A judge will have to authorize this."
"Well get the judge here then. We can't let this go by even a day. The judge can question Carl as you did and appoint me conservator today. Move! Get a judge down here now. Pay him if you have to, just do it now."
Blum jumped to the door and ran out of the room. She thought she saw the start of a smile on his lips. She walked to the bed and he moved his hand over her hand.
She pulled a chair over to him and she talked to him for a long time. She was sure that he heard and understood every word. She told him that she would do her best to run his companies and that she would explain her actions to him every night. She told him that she would have an independent auditor appointed by the court to report to him only.
He became agitated and she noticed that his hand was moving from side to side.
"Does that mean no?"
He raised his hand. She nodded her head. He moved his hand from side to side. She shook her head. This time she did see the start of a smile.
"You don't want me to have an auditor appointed by the court for your protection. If you don't raise your hand."
He raised his hand as the lawyer walked in followed by a short balding man.
"This is Judge Rene Blanc. He will rule on the power of attorney."
"Becca shook the judge's hand and told him that Carl had asked her to manage his affairs, both private and personal. She instructed him to ask all questions in a way that they could be answered yes or no. She then showed the judge how Carl would answer the questions with his hand.
The judge started asking questions that had no bearing on Carl's wishes. He was making sure that he understood what was happening and that his answers were not coerced. After a half hour of questioning the judge stood up and told them that he would draw up the papers and sign them and they could pick the power of attorney up in the afternoon. The judge shook Becca's hand and walked out of the room.
Becca turned to Blum, "Get that power of attorney and send a copy to every manager of every company that Carl owns. If we do business in a country that won't recognize the power of attorney do whatever you have to do to get the power of attorney in that country. If any judge in another country questions that power of attorney have them contact this French judge or we can bring Carl to them. Do it today."
Blum hurried to the door. He turned to say something but she motioned for him to leave. She walked to the bed and took his hand.
"Don't worry about a thing Carl. I promise you that I will do the
best job that I can for you. Just get well. The doctor said that he
expects you to make a full recovery. I'm going to get you the best
rehab people we can find. You'll be back managing you own affairs
before you know it."