Growing Pains
Part Two
Missy Red & Kaleidopy
As the silver Audi drives in front of the restaurant, a young man stands by the curve as he waits until the car comes to a stop, once it does, he walks around the car and waits as the driver steps out and gives him the key. He hands a ticket to the tall man in a black tux as he waves one of his associates over to open the passenger door.
Jean-Luc walks over to the other side of the car to take his son's hand. He knew the boy didn't like strangers nor trusted them. As they walk inside, the elder LeBeau notices that his son kept pulling at his collar. " Remy, jus' leave it alone."
" I hate dis tux, it itches me." The boy continues to pull at the collar as they walk into the huge restaurant. Remy's attention suddenly switches from his extreme hatred of wearing a tux to the chandlers hanging from the ceiling and the beauty of the place. He was unaware that his father thinking he was still by his side had turned a corner, leaving him to continue his examination of the place along. In fact, Remy didn't even miss his father as a waiter, pushing a desert cart stops to show him the different types of treats.
" You want one?" The waiter asks him as he opens the glass shelf and allows the boy to look them over. He smiles while pulling out a chocolate moose, " You like chocolate, child?"
" Oui!" Remy's mouth starts watering, maybe putting up with wearing a tux was worth the trouble after all. He was about to accept the saucer with the dessert on it when he notices someone was suddenly standing beside him. Looking up, he breaks into a smile. " Papa, I want dis."
" I can see dat, but you eat dinner first." Jean-Luc again takes his son by the hand and then turns to the waiter, " Could you bring dat by de table in 'bout an hour, M'sieu?"
" Be glad to, sir." The waiter puts the desert back on the cart and gives Remy a quick wink before going back towards the kitchen.
Remy wasn't happy, not only had he lost out on trying something that looked delicious but now he was being pulled into a private room that was reserved for private dinners. He wanted out of this restaurant and he wasted no time and letting his father know how he felt. " Papa, I don' like it here, let's go t' McDonalds an' get a cheeseburger an' french fries."
" Non, I told you b'fore Remy dat we are here t' meet some very important people." His father tells him while searching the room for someone. Seeing a man in the very back waving his hand to get his attention, Jean-Luc nods in the man's direction to acknowledge him. " C'mon, dere's Jacques." They walk to the back of the room to see a tall man with jet black hair with a thick mustache and beard standing. Both men exchange hand shakes. " Remy, dis is Jacques Benoit an' your uncle."
" So dis be Remy?" Jacques smiles down at the boy, who made no effort to be sociable. He tries to make conversation. " My wife is your father's sister."
" I remember you," Remy suddenly speaks up once he gets a good look at the man. " You were de one who came an' got Papa several months ago, real early in de mornin'."
" Dat was me, you got a good memory, boy." Jacques replies as stoops down to the boy's level to try to win his confidence. " You have a cousin 'bout your age, mon fils name is Frances, would you like t' meet him?"
Remy only shrugs his shoulders before looking up at Jean-Luc. " Papa, I want t' go home." The stern look his father gives him, shuts him up instantly. He knew he wasn't going to change his father's mind anytime soon.
" De others are waitin' for us in de back, Jean-Luc." Jacques gets to his feet and takes the lead. He walks to a large round table where two men are sitting.
A tall bald man, of Caribbeanian descend sits drinking a cup of hot tea. He waits until the three were sitting before he offers his hand to Jean-Luc. " Greetings Jean-Luc, on time as usual." He speaks with an English accent. He nods in Remy's direction. " So this is the guest of honor. Hello, son, you sure are dressed for this occasion, aren't you?"
Remy quickly shuts his eyes and made a silent wish that he was not where he was. Opening his eyes, he sinks down in his chair. " Papa, can we go now?"
Jean-Luc heard his son's question and ignores him. He begins a conversation with the man. " Vincent, dis is my youngest Remy." He looks down at a sulking Remy before introducing him to the man. " Remy dis is Vincent St. James, he is a council member of our guild as is Jacques."
Remy studies the man very carefully before finally offering to shake the man's hand. He decided he better start being sociable before his father grew tired of his behavior. " How come you talk funny?"
" I do?" Vincent starts laughing as he puts his cup down. The look on the boy's face was priceless. " Jean, your son is adorable, you must be proud."
" Dat I am, Vincent."
Remy's face turns a bright red as he leans against his father, who places his arm around his son's shoulders and gives him a pat. " When de others comin', Remy's gettin' hungry."
" He isn't the only one," Vincent replies as he signals a waiter to approach the table. He glances down at the boy and waits as the man pulls out his tablet. " If everyone is ready, we can order." He suddenly catches a glimpse of another member of the guild entering the room. " Wait a second, here comes Sebastian."
A man not quiet as tall as Vincent exchanges handshakes with Jean-Luc and Vincent before sitting down at the table. He smiles slightly at the boy before placing his order. Remy silently studies the newest visitor, named Sebastian Renault, who had blondish red hair and a goatee to match. He was busy eyeing the man that he didn't notice a woman sitting down beside him.
" Well, it's 'bout time you showed up, Miss Alicante." Sebastian sarcastically responds as he looks at the menu. It was no secret that he did not approve of a woman sitting on the council, in fact he had fought hard to keep her off the council but he was over ruled.
" I have a first name, Senior Renault, you may call me Constance if it isn't too hard for you to remember." She gives him the same sarcastic response he had given her. She was a proud woman of Latin descent with long black wavy hair and a white stripe that ran from the top of her hair all the way down. Constance then clears her throat and addresses the guild leader. " Jean-Luc, forgive my tardiness but my flight was a little delayed at the airport."
" Don' see how you can sit in dat outfit, Constance." Sebastian gives her black skin tight leather outfit a once over and rolls his eyes. " We are tryin' not t' attract attention t' ourselves an' you be wearin' dat."
" I like it." Remy suddenly speaks up. When everyone at the table breaks into laughter, he quickly lowers his head to avoid further embarrassment.
Constance gently takes the boy by the chin and lifts it up, noticing his eyes, she nods and smiles. " You are very sweet little one, gracious." She kisses him slightly on the cheek before clearing her throat. " Well I'm ready to eat."
After placing their order, the group begins a conversation about Guild business. Remy was barely paying attention, he was more interested in what jewelry everyone around them was wearing. Even the silverware caught his attention. Picking up a goblet, he starts to hit it slightly with a folk listening to the different sounds it was making.
" Well, I got first class tickets for de flight t' Paris, Jean-Luc." Jacques suddenly changes the subject. " We leave late in de evenin' day after tomorrow." He was completely stunned when his brother-in-law suddenly begins shaking his head, trying to get his attention to drop the subject fast, but it was a little too late.
" Huh? What trip?" Remy suddenly drops the fork and looks up at his father for an answer to his question. Jean-Luc was hoping his son would simply forget about what he heard, but he was wrong. " Papa, you're not goin' on no trip are you?" Fear begins to creep into his eyes. The thought of being without his father for the first time since he was adopted was very frighten to him. " Papa?"
" Jean, I'm sorry I didn' know." Jacques apologizes as he realizes how upset the boy has become.
" It's all right, Jacques." Jean-Luc replies as he pulls his son close to him in an effort to calm the boy down. " Remy, we will talk 'bout dis later. Dere's no need t' get dis upset, it's jus' a business trip. I will be back b'fore you know it."
" Oui petite, I give you my word dat we will not be gone t' long." Jacques promises his nephew. He was willing to do just about anything to calm everyone at the table. Sebastian was trying to pretend he was reading a napkin, while Vincent sips his tea quietly. Jacques glances up at Jean-Luc and gives him the ' I don't know what else to do' look.
A waiter brings their dinner to their table. As the guild members were eating, Jean-Luc continues to worry about his son. The boy had become too quiet, almost as if his mind was a million miles away. " Remy, please eat somethin' b'fore your food gets cold."
" I ain' hungry, Papa." The boy answers barely above a whisper. He desperately wanted to go home and he knew he couldn't risk asking again.
Pulling out a golden ink pen, Constance begins writing with it on a napkin making sure she had the boy's attention. The pen makes different marks in different colors before the ink would disappear. " You want to try it, Remy. You can have it."
He takes the pen from her and begins drawing with it. Smiling a little he suddenly grins. " Hey dis is neat, merci, Constance." He tells her before showing it to his father.
Jean-Luc gives her a nod of thanks before letting out a silent sigh of relief. " What is next on our agenda?" He asks while cutting his steak. Elbowing his son gently, " Remy you better eat b'cause we are not goin' t' McDonalds."
Remy makes a face before he picks up his fork and takes a bite out of his steak. " Gross, dis isn' done," He grabs a napkin and spits it out of his mouth. Wrapping the chewed up piece of meat inside the napkin, he grabs his drink and starts swallowing to wash away the taste in his mouth. " Dere's blood runnin' out of dat thin'."
Sebastian Renault shakes his head in disgust. " Boy it's cooked medium rare, it's suppose t' be like dat." He tells Remy while cutting the boy's steak for him. Showing him how red the meat was did nothing but make Remy's stomach churn. " De steak tastes a lot better if it isn' over cooked. You don' want t' burn all de juices out, do you?"
" I want somethin' dat I can eat, not dis cow dat is gonna start mooin' at me b'cause it ain' done." Remy protests loudly. He shoves his plate over to Sebastian's direction. " You can have mine, M'sieu Renault. I want a hambur-," He suddenly stops in mid sentence when his father clears his throat as a warning. The boy quickly takes back his plate and begins eating his baked potato without saying another word.
The meeting last for another hour with Remy making up for lost time by eating three deserts. He would have got another one had not everyone started leaving. Constance gives him a quick good bye kiss on the side of his face before disappearing out of the room, followed closely by Renault. Vincent politely bows with his head to the Guild Master before leaving as well. Jacques gets to his feet. " Jean, I'll come by an' bring Frances wit' me so he an' Remy can get t' know each other." He eyes his nephew who was trying to stuff as much chocolate cake into his mouth before they would have to leave. " Would you like t' meet your cousin tomorrow afternoon, Remy?"
" Sure," Remy manages to say after he swallows several times before the cake would go down his throat. He drinks a glass of milk before he reaches for another piece that was left by Constance. Before he could touch it, his hand is tapped.
" I t'ink you had just 'bout enough for one night boy," Jean-Luc tells him before he too gets to his feet. He motions for his son to follow him out of the room. While he was tipping the waiter, Remy grabs the slice of cake and stuffs it into his jacket pocket. " You ready t' go, petite?" The boy smiles innocently, which didn't fool Jean-Luc one bit. He knew that look all too well. Crossing his arms across his chest, he raises his head slightly. " Do you want t' continue t' play dis game wit' me, mon fils?"
" Non, Papa," The boy sighs in defeat. He pulls out the chocolate cake and puts it back on the table. He was wondering how his father always knew when he was up to something and why he could never get away with it as Jean-Luc pulls him out of the restaurant by his hand.
Both stood on the edge of the curve waiting for Jean-Luc's car. He turns his wrist to see what the time is before glancing down at his son, the boy was enjoying looking at the night lights and the commotion that people were making around him. As the car stops, he opens the passenger door and helps his son get inside to buckle him up with the seat belt. Slamming the door shut, he gives a few dollars to the man before getting inside the car himself and driving off.
Remy was fighting hard to keep from falling asleep in the car, but in the end he lost the battle. As the car drives up into the driveway, Jean-Luc pushes a code to open the front gates before continuing his drive up towards the house. He brings the car to a stop, as Henri meets him outside. Glancing inside the car at his sleeping brother, " Looks like you wore him out, Pere. He's dead t' de world."
After unlocking the door, Jean-Luc walks over to his oldest son and opens the passenger door. He pulls his youngest out of the car and carries him inside the house. Climbing the stairs to the second floor, he notices Therese coming out of her bedroom. She quickly runs to Remy's bedroom and opens the door for them. As soon as he is laid on the bed, his eyes pop open. " What I am doin' up here?"
" It's way past your bedtime, little brother." Therese tells him as she opens one of his Chester drawers and pulls out his pajamas. She places the clothes beside him as she turns to her godfather. " Uncle Jean, I can take care of Remy if you have something else to do."
" Merci, Therese, I got a ton of calls t' make b'fore it gets t' late." He admits as he heads towards the door. Glancing down at his half asleep son. " Get changed Remy, I want you in bed as soon as possible. Tante's gonna have my head for keepin' you up dis late."
Taking off his jacket, Remy only manages a weak nod before yawning. He blinks his eyes several times to wake up. He realizes that Therese was pulling off his shoes and socks. " Hey, I can do it myself." He mutters sleepily as he points to his bedroom door. " T'erese, you get out, I need t' change."
" All right, but I'm giving you ten minutes before I come back in here to make sure you are in bed." She leaves the room as he begins to change his clothes. Fifteen minutes later, Therese comes back and sees that he is in bed. She sits on the bed, " Did you have a good time tonight?"
" I like de desserts." Remy props his head up on two pillows and yawns again. " Papa, let me meet some people dat belong t' de guild but I don' like de food in dat place." He suddenly looks towards the door and motions for her to come closer, when she does, he whispers in her ear. " T'erese, dey don' know how t' cook in dat place, everybody was eatin' dere food raw, yuck."
Without meaning to, Therese starts laughing. " Well, it's time for you to go to sleep, goodnight." She bends over and kisses him on his forehead before turning out the lights in the room and leaving.
Remy was getting sleepy again, but his thoughts are more on his father's trip to Paris. He didn't want to be apart from his father and the realization that it was about to happen worried him. What if something were to happen to his father, what if the Assassins knew about the meeting. A lot of frightening questions were running through his mind. He quietly gets out of bed and silently opens his door to see if anyone was around, seeing nobody, he goes to the stairs and hears voices downstairs. He decides to eaves drop on the conversation.
" So he knows you're leavin', Pere?"
" Remy isn' happy 'bout it one bit." Jean-Luc tells his oldest son after finishing his last phone call. " De boy almost lost it in de restaurant, thought dere for a minute he was gonna start cryin' but he held his composure. He did real good tonight, Henri, I was proud of him."
" What are you goin' t' do 'bout Remy? You suppose t' be leavin' day after tomorrow afternoon." Henri asks. " Dis is goin' t' be real hard on him, Pere. He's very attached t' you an' I'm afraid he's gonna t'ink you are abandoning him."
" I'm goin' t' have a long talk wit' him tomorrow." The elder LeBeau replies. " I talked t' Jacques an' he agrees dat Remy needs a buddy t' keep him company while I am gone. We could let his new padnat stay at de house until my trip is over."
" Dat could be a problem, Pere." Henri explains. " What if you can't find anyone?"
" Den I have t' cancel de trip. De family comes b'fore anythin' else includin' de Guild." Jean-Luc admits. Upstairs, hidden in the darkness, a sly smile creeps across Remy's face. He now knows how to keep his father home.