Master of the Game

Chapter 21

Six months from the day Tony and Marianne were married, the Hoffman company was absorbed into Kruger-Brent, Ltd. The formal signing of the contracts took place in Munich as a gesture to Frederick Hoffman, who would run the subsidiary from Germany. Tony had been surprised by the meekness with which his mother accepted his marriage. It was not like her to lose gracefully, yet she had been cordial to Marianne when Tony and his bride returned from their honeymoon in the Bahamas, and had told Tony how pleased she was with the marriage. What puzzled Tony was that her sentiments seemed genuine. It was too quick a turnaround, out of character for her. Perhaps, Tony decided, he did not understand his mother as well as he thought he did.

The marriage was a brilliant success from the beginning. Marianne filled a long-felt need in Tony, and everyone around him noticed the change in him - especially Kate.

When Tony took business trips, Marianne accompanied him. They played together, they laughed together, they truly enjoyed each other. Watching them, Kate thought happily, I have done well for my son.

It was Marianne who succeeded in healing the breach between Tony and his mother. When they returned from their honeymoon, Marianne said, "I want to invite your mother to dinner."

"No. You don't know her, Marianne. She - "

"I want to get to know her. Please, Tony."

He hated the idea, but in the end he gave in. Tony had been prepared for a grim evening, but he had been surprised. Kate had been touchingly happy to be with them. The following week Kate invited them to the house for dinner, and after that it became a weekly ritual.

Kate and Marianne became friends. They spoke to each other over the telephone several times a week, and lunched together at least once a week.

They were meeting for lunch at Lutece, and the moment Marianne walked in, Kate knew something was wrong.

"I'd like a double whiskey, please," Marianne told the captain. "Over ice."

As a rule, Marianne drank only wine.

"What's happened, Marianne?"

"I've been to see Dr. Harley."

Kate felt a sudden stab of alarm. "You're not ill, are you?"

"No. I'm just fine. Only..." The whole story came tumbling out.

It had begun a few days earlier. Marianne had not been feeling well, and she had made an appointment with John Harley...

"You look healthy enough," Dr. Harley smiled. "How old are you, Mrs. Blackwell?"

"Twenty-three."

"Any history of heart disease in your family?"

"No."

He was making notes. "Cancer?"

"No."

"Are your parents alive?"

"My father is. My mother died in an accident."

"Have you ever had mumps?"

"No."

"Measles?"

"Yes. When I was ten."

"Whooping cough?"

"No."

"Any surgery?"

"Tonsils. I was nine."

"Other than that, you've never been hospitalized for anything?"

"No. Well, yes - that is, once. Briefly."

"What was that for?"

"I was on the girls' hockey team at school and during a game I blacked out. I woke up in a hospital. I was only there two days. It was really nothing."

"Did you suffer an injury during the game?"

"No. I - I just blacked out."

"How old were you then?"

"Sixteen. The doctor said it was probably some kind of adolescent glandular upset."

John Harley sat forward in his chair. "When you woke up, do you remember if you felt any weakness on either side of your body?"

Marianne thought a moment. "As a matter of fact, yes. My right side. But it went away in a few days. I haven't had anything like it since."

"Did you have headaches? Blurred vision?"

"Yes. But they went away, too." She was beginning to be alarmed. "Do you think there's something wrong with me, Dr. Harley?"

"I'm not sure. I'd like to make a few tests - just to be on the safe side."

"What kind of tests?"

"I'd like to do a cerebral angiogram. Nothing to be concerned about. We can have it done right away."

Three days later, Marianne received a call from Dr. Harley's nurse asking her to come in. John Harley was waiting for her in his office. "Well, we've solved the mystery."

"Is it something bad?"

"Not really. The angiogram showed that what you had, Mrs. Blackwell, was a small stroke. Medically, it's called a berry aneurysm, and it's very common in women - particularly in teen-age girls. A small blood vessel in the brain broke and leaked small amounts of blood. The pressure is what caused the headaches and blurred vision. Fortunately, those things are self-healing."

Marianne sat there listening, her mind fighting panic. "What - what does all this mean, exactly? Could it happen again?"

"It's very unlikely." He smiled. "Unless you're planning to go out for the hockey team again, you can live an absolutely normal life."

"Tony and I like to ride and play tennis. Is that - ?"

"As long as you don't overdo, everything goes. From tennis to sex. No problem."

She smiled in relief. "Thank God."

As Marianne rose, John Harley said, "There is one thing, Mrs. Blackwell. If you and Tony are planning to have children, I would advise adopting them."

Marianne froze. "You said I was perfectly normal."

"You are. Unfortunately, pregnancy increases the vascular volume enormously. And during the last six to eight weeks of pregnancy, there's an additional increase in blood pressure. With the history of that aneurysm, the risk factor would be un-acceptably high. It would not only be dangerous - it could be fatal. Adoptions are really quite easy these days. I can arrange - "

But Marianne was no longer listening. She was hearing Tony's voice: I want us to have a baby. A little girl who looks exactly like you.

"...I couldn't bear to hear any more," Marianne told Kate. "I ran out of his office and came straight here."

Kate made a tremendous effort not to let her feelings show. It was a stunning blow. But there had to be a way. There was always a way.

She managed a smile and said, "Well! I was afraid it was going to be something much worse."

"But, Kate, Tony and I want so much to have a baby."

"Marianne, Dr. Harley is an alarmist. You had a minor problem years ago, and Harley's trying to turn it into something important. You know how doctors are." She took Marianne's hand. "You feel well, don't you, darling?"

"I felt wonderful until - "

"Well, there you are. You aren't going around having any fainting spells?"

"No."

"Because it's all over. He said himself that those things are self-healing."