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He saw his father in the window of the conservatory, watching them, so instead of going in the back door he headed that way.
The door of the conservatory had closed behind him before Guillaume asked, “How is she?”
As he’d attempted to do at breakfast that morning, Remy tried not to let the deep discoloration at his father’s jaw make his gut burn.
And as happened at breakfast that morning, he failed.
Which might have been why he answered, “Stubborn, dramatic and bitchy. In other words, the same as always.”
Guillaume assumed a disappointed father’s face as he admonished, “Remy.”
He knew she couldn’t hear them, so he knew it was safe to ask his next question, and this was because he was the man they raised in all the good and bad parts of how that happened.
“Have you spoken with Estelle?”
His father took a big breath and said, “Yes. And although she very much wishes to meet you, Wyn and the children, she respectfully declines to do so during this visit. She feels it should be about your mother.”
And that spoke volumes about the woman Estelle was.
“It’s her choice,” Remy conceded. “But please consider bringing her out to visit as soon as you can. Wyn and the kids want to meet her, and your grandchildren deserve to see their grandfather happy for once.”
A muscle ticked in his father’s cheek.
But he let it go and shared, “Beau and Katy phoned. They’d like us to come over for a crawfish boil and football. Wyn and the children wish to go.”
Remy nodded, relieved they all had something to look forward to. He reached and squeezed his father’s arm before he let go and made to walk away.
“Remy,” Guillaume called.
He stopped and looked at his dad.
“I won’t be going to the boil, and it’s likely your mother will also send her regrets.”
Right.
It wouldn’t do for anyone to see that huge bruise on his face or have the woman who gave it to him hanging around, making faces as people scarfed down crawfish, shrimp and potatoes, and gnawed on corn over a newspaper-strewn picnic table before they shoved Katy’s famous bread pudding down their throats.
Remy wondered how many times his mother and father sent regrets for the same reason. He then decided not to think about it. If his ploy with his mother worked, that particular part of their lives was done.
“We won’t stay long,” Remy assured.
Guillaume nodded, and Remy was again about to leave in order to look for Wyn when his dad spoke again.
“If you could spare a few minutes, it’d mean a great deal to me if you would share what’s been troubling you since yesterday, the part that isn’t about your mother.”
And…
Damn.
Two things had been cemented during this visit:
His mother had always been his mother…
And his father had always been his dad.
“There’s a problem at home,” Remy told him. “It’s getting sorted, and I’ll finish handling it when we get back.”
“This problem would be?” Guillaume prompted.
Remy hesitated.
His mother had always been his mother, and as such, his attempt at trying to have an important and long overdue conversation with her had the results it had.
But his father had always been his dad, this visit had been the worst on him, and Remy had told Wyn that at the very least from their time in NOLA, he wanted to figure shit out with his father.
It was time to figure that shit out.
“The woman I was with between leaving Wyn and finding her again is causing problems. She’s targeted Sah, and yesterday, she broke into our house and was caught by the police in Wyn’s closet, filling garbage bags with her things.”
The color drained from Guillaume’s face.
“She was caught, Papa,” Remy said gently. “I have a friend who’s a cop who’s helping out, and I have a plan for when I get home to deal with it.”
He could see his father was getting angry now, not at Remy, at Myrna.
“That plan would be?” he asked.
“I’m going to speak to her. I’m going to accept the responsibility I hold in hurting her and not communicating well with her, and I’m going to ask her to leave us alone.”
“Do you think this will work?” Guillaume queried with open disbelief. “I don’t have to tell you her behavior is extreme, fiston.”
“I’ve no idea. I just know it’s the right thing to do.”
“What did she do to Sabre?”
He wanted to share this less than the other, but he didn’t hesitate before he gave it to his dad.
“Sah liked her, more than Manon and Yves, who both weren’t big fans. She knew that, so she tracked him down and told him I got her pregnant and kicked her out because she wouldn’t get an abortion, none of which, obviously, was true.”
“Mon Dieu!”
Definitely pissed now.
“Dad, it’s going to get handled one way or another.”
