Growing Pains - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Missy Red and Kaleidopy
Last updated: 01/02/2007 02:01:11 AM

Chapter 2

As the silver Audi pulled in front of the restaurant, a young man stood behind the curve, patiently waiting for the car to come to a stop. Once it did, he walked around the front of the vehicle and waited for the driver to open the car door and hand him the keys. The door opened, a tall man in a black tux stepped out, saw him and gave him the keys. The young man handed the driver a ticket and waved one of his associates over to open the passenger door.

"Non, I'll get de door." Jean-Luc replied, stopping the young man's associate from moving towards the car. He walked to the other side of the car and opened the passenger door. Remy stuck his head out, looked at the restaurant and the people walking from the parking lot before deciding to climb out of the car. As they walked inside, the elder LeBeau noticed his son kept pulling at his collar. "Remy, jus' leave it alone."

"I hate dis tux, it itches me." Remy complained, yanking at the collar. He suddenly stopped and gasped, admiring the chandlers hanging from the ceiling and the extreme beauty of the place. Standing in awe, Remy was unaware he was alone until a waiter, pushing a desert cart stopped to show him the different treats.

"You want one?" The waiter offered, lifting the glass dome to allow the boy a chance to get a closer look at the deserts. He picked up a desert plate containing a chocolate moose, "You like chocolate, child?"

"Oui!" Remy's mouth started watering, maybe wearing a tux was worth something after all. He was about to accept the dessert, but a shadow moved over him. He looked up, smiled after recognizing the person. "Papa, I want dis."

"I know, but y' eat dinner first." Taking Remy's hand, Jean-Luc spoke to the waiter, "Would y' bring dat by de table in 'bout an hour, M'sieu?"

"Be glad to, sir." The waiter placed the dessert back on the cart, gave Remy a quick wink and returned to the kitchen.

Remy wasn't happy, not only had he lost out on trying something delicious but now he was being taken to a private room reserved for private customers. 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 to McDonalds an' get a cheeseburger."

"Non, I told y' b'fore Remy, we're here to meet some very important people." His father said, searching the room for someone. A man sitting in the back, with two others started waving his hand to get the LeBeaus' attention. Jean-Luc nodded in the man's direction. "C'mon, dere's Jacques."

A tall man with jet black hair, a thick mustache and beard met them halfway. Both men exchanged hand shakes. "Remy, dis is Jacques Benoit an' your uncle."

"So dis be Remy?" Jacques smiled down at the boy, who made no effort to be sociable. The man tried to make conversation. "My wife is your father's sister."

"Big deal!" Remy muttered, totally unimpressed by the revelation of a new uncle. Jean-Luc cleared his throat, a warning Remy understood and the repercussions of what would happen if that warning wasn't heeded. He glanced up at his uncle and did a double take. "I 'member y'." Remy stated, "Y' were de one who came an' got Papa several months ago, real early in de mornin'."

"Oui, dat was me. Y' got a good memory, boy." Jacques pulled out his wallet and pulled out a photograph. "Dis is mon fils, Frances. He's also your cousin an' 'bout your age." His uncle stuck the photograph back inside his wallet. "Would y' like to meet him?"

Remy shrugged his shoulders. Bored beyond words, he looked up at his father and begged, "Papa, I want to go home." The stern look from his father, shut him up instantly. Defeated, Remy 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 lead the way back to the large round table where the other men were sitting.

A tall bald man, of Caribbeanian descend, sat drinking a cup of hot tea. He lowered his cup and offered his hand to Jean-Luc. "Greetings Jean-Luc," He spoke with a thick English accent. "on time as usual." He nodded in Remy's direction. "So this is the guest of honor. Hello, son, you are dressed for the occasion."

Remy shut his eyes, made a silent wish, hoping he could be anywhere else. He opened his eyes, and sighed disappointedly when his wish didn't materialize. Remy sunk down in a chair, and repeated his request. "Papa, can we go now?"

Jean-Luc ignored his son, beginning a conversation with the man. "Vincent, dis is my youngest, Remy." Remy sulked silently, as he was introduced to the man. "Remy, dis is Vincent St. James. He's a council member of our guild as is Jacques."

Remy shook the man's hand, deciding to be sociable before his father grew tired of his behavior. "How come y' talk funny?"

"I talk funny?" Vincent laughed, the look on Remy's face caused him to put his cup down. "Jean, your son is adorable. You must be proud."

"Dat I am, Vincent." The Guild leader placed his arm around Remy's shoulder and patted him. "When are de other's comin'? Remy's gettin' hungry."

"He isn't the only one," Vincent signaled a waiter to approach the table. "If everyone is ready, we can order." He glanced up, "Wait a second, here comes Sebastian."

Sebastian Renault, a man in his late forties, with blond red hair and goatee, exchanged handshakes with Jean-Luc, Jacques and Vincent before sitting down at the table. Remy silently studied the newest visitor, unaware a woman sat down beside him.

"Well, it's 'bout time y' showed up, Miss Alicantè." Sebastian sarcastically stated, lowering the menu to glare at the women. "Perhaps I was correct an' de others were wrong for admittin' y' into de guild."

"I have a first name, Senior Renault. You may call me Constance if it's not too hard for you to remember." She used the same sarcastic tone he had given her. Constance Alicantè, 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. She addressed the guild leader, "Jean-Luc, forgive my tardiness but my flight was a little delayed at the airport."

"How y' can sit in dat outfit, Constance?" Sebastian stared at her black skin tight leather outfit and rolled his eyes. "We're tryin' not to attract attention to ourselves an' y' be wearin' dat."

"I like it." Remy suddenly spoke up. When everyone started laughing, he quickly lowered his head to avoid further embarrassment.

Constance gently lifted the boy's chin. Noticing his eyes, she smiled. "You are very sweet little one, gracious." She kissed him slightly on the cheek and then turned to the adults. "Well, I'm ready to eat."

After placing their order, the group's conversation turned to guild business. Remy barely paid attention, his interest concerned the jewelry everyone was wearing. Even the silverware caught his attention. Picking up a goblet, he hit it slightly with a folk, listening to the different sounds it would make.

"I got first class tickets for de flight to Paris, Jean-Luc." Remy overheard Jacques announce to the group. "We leave late in de evenin' day after tomorrow."

"Huh? What trip?" Remy dropped the fork, looked at his father who glared back at Jacques. Remy knew something was being kept from him and it had something to do with his father going overseas. It had to be a mistake. "Papa, you're not goin' on no trip are you?" The thought of being without his father for the first time since his adoption frightened him. "Papa?"

"Jean, I'm sorry I didn' know." Jacques apologized, realizing his mistake.

"It's all right, Jacques." Jean-Luc pulled his son close, believing it would calm Remy down long enough for him to explain. "Remy, we'll talk 'bout dis later. Dere's no need to get dis upset. It's jus' a business trip. I'll be back b'fore y' know it."

"Oui petite, I give y' my word dat we'll not be gone too long." Jacques promised his nephew. Remy looked at the people around the table, trying to read their body language. Sebastian pretended to read a napkin, while Vincent sipped his tea. Jacques glanced up at Jean-Luc and gave him the 'I don't know what else to do' look.

A waiter bought their dinner to the table. As the guild members ate, Remy's mind was on a million things at one time. His father tapped his shoulder, "Remy, eat somethin' b'fore your food gets cold."

"I ain' hungry, Papa." He whispered, desperately wanting to go home but knowing at the moment, it was out of the question.

Pulling out a gold ink pen, Constance wrote on a napkin, making sure Remy was watching her. The pen wrote in different colors and then changed to black before the ink would disappear. Remy leaned closer, fascinated by what he was witnessing. "You want to try it, Remy?" Constance asked him, holding the pen towards him. "You can have it, if you want it."

Remy took the pen and carefully started drawing with it. He laughed, watching the ink disappear. "Hey dis is neat, merci, Constance." He showed it to his father.

Jean-Luc gave her a nod of thanks before letting out a silent sigh of relief. "What's next on our agenda?" He asked, cutting his steak and elbowing his son gently at the same time while cutting his steak. "Remy y' better eat b'cause we're not goin' to McDonalds."

Remy made a face, picked up his knife and fork cut into the steak. He took a bite out of the meat and started chewing it. "Gross, dis isn' done," He grabbed the nearest napkin, covered his mouth with it and spit the meat out of his mouth. He quickly wrapped the meat inside the napkin, grabbed his glass and started drinking to wash the taste in his mouth. Downing half the glass, he wiped his mouth with his hand, and announced for all to hear, "Dere's blood runnin' out of dat thin'."

Sebastian Renault shook his head in disgust. "Boy it's cooked medium rare, it's suppose to be like dat." He cut the boy's steak, showing Remy the blood running out of the meat which did nothing but make his stomach churn. "De steak tastes a lot better if it isn' over cooked. You don' want to burn all de juices out, do you?"

"I want somethin' dat I can eat, not dis cow dat's gonna start mooin' at me b'cause it ain' done." Remy shoved the plate in Sebastian's direction. "You can have mine, M'sieu Renault. I want a hambur-," He suddenly stopped in mid sentence, remembering his father's earlier warning. He reluctantly took back his plate and started eating the baked potato.

Three hours later, the meeting ended with Remy eating three desserts. Constance gave him a quick good bye kiss on the side of his face before leaving, followed closely by Renault. Vincent politely bowed to the Guild Master before dismissing himself for the night.

Jacques got to his feet. "Jean, I'll come by an' bring Frances wit' me so he an' Remy can get to know each other." Remy tried to stuff another piece of chocolate cake into his mouth while shaking hands with his uncle. "Would y' like to meet your cousin tomorrow afternoon, Remy?"

"Sure," Remy finished the cake off with a glass of milk. He realized Constance's cake was untouched, he reached for it only to have his hand tapped.

"I t'ink y' had just 'bout enough for one night boy," Jean-Luc said before he tipped the waiter. Thinking his father's attention was distracted, Remy reached again for the slice of cake. "Mon fils, you're playin' a dangerous game wit' me. T'ink carefully, petite, do y' still want to play it?"

"Non, Papa," Remy decided the cake wasn't so appetizing after all. His father took him by the hand and together they walked out of the restaurant, leaving Remy wondering if his father was a mind reader. Jean-Luc seemed to know what he was doing before he had time to do anything.

As they stood waiting for their car, Jean-Luc glanced at his watch. Remy enjoyed looking at the night lights and the commotion of the people around him. The car stopped in front and Jean-Luc opened the passenger door, allowing Remy to climb inside before he buckled his son up with the seat belt.

Slamming the door shut, Jean-Luc walked around to the other side of the car, giving his ticket and several dollars to the man before taking possession of the car. Halfway home, he took a quick glance at his son and discovered the boy had fallen asleep. As the car pulled up into the driveway, Jean-Luc pushed a code to open the front gates before continuing his drive up to the house to parked the car.

Henri met him outside. Glancing inside the car at his sleeping brother, he laughed softly "Looks like y' wore him out, Père. He's dead to de world."

Jean-Luc unlocked and opened the passenger door. He pulled his youngest out of the car and carried him inside the house. Climbing the stairs to the second floor, he noticed Therese coming out of her bedroom. She quickly ran to Remy's bedroom and opened the door for them.

As soon as Remy was placed on the bed, his eyes popped open. "What I am doin' up here?"

"It's past your bedtime, little brother." Therese opened one of the dresser drawers and pulled out a pair of pajamas. She placed the clothes on the bed, turned to her godfather. "Uncle Jean, I can take care of Remy if you have something else to do."

"Merci, Therese, I got calls to make b'fore it gets too late." He glanced down at his half asleep son. "Get changed Remy, I want y' in bed as soon as possible. Tante's gonna have my head for keepin' y' up dis late."

Taking off his jacket, Remy managed a weak nod before yawning. Therese pulled his shoes and socks off. "Hey, T'erese, y' get out. I can change my own clothes."

"All right, but in ten minutes I'm coming back to make sure you're in bed." She left the room as he began to change his clothes. Ten minutes later, true to her word, Therese was back to tuck him in. "Did you have a good time tonight?"

"I like de desserts." Remy propped his head up on two pillows and yawned again. "but de food in dat place," He looked towards the door and motioned for his sister to come closer, when she did, he whispered in her ear. "T'erese, dey don' cook it. Dey serve it raw an' expect y' to eat it."

Without meaning to, Therese started to laugh but covered her mouth to hide her laughter. "Well, it's time for you to go to sleep, goodnight." She kissed him on his forehead before turning out the lights in the room and leaving.

Remy was getting sleepy again, but his thoughts turned to his father's trip to Paris. He didn't want to be away from his father and the realization it was going to happen worried him. What if something happened to his father? What if the Assassins, he had been warned about, knew about the meeting? A lot of frightening questions were running through his mind.

He quietly got out of bed and silently opened his door. Seeing nobody, he went to the stairs and heard voices downstairs. He decided to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"What are you goin' to do 'bout Remy? Y' suppose to be leavin' day after tomorrow afternoon." Henri asked. "Dis is goin' to be real hard on him, Père. He's very attached to y' an' I'm afraid he's gonna t'ink you're abandoning him."

"I'm goin' to have a talk wit' him tomorrow." The elder LeBeau replied. "I talked to Jacques an' he agrees dat Remy needs a buddy to keep him company while I'm gone. We could let his new padnat stay at de house until my trip is over."

"Dat could be a problem, Père." Henri explained. "What if you can't find anyone?"

"Den I have to postpone de trip." Jean-Luc answered with a deep heavy sigh.

Upstairs, hidden in the darkness, a sly smile formed across Remy's face. He now knew how to keep his father home.