Lapis Lazuli [Prequel To : For The love Of Chéri]

Chapter 5 : Interview With A Café Boss

Maurice opened the front door and then held it open for his wife and children to walk through and into their large home.

He turned briefly and threw his keys onto the side table before pulling off his coat and hanging it up on one of the coat hooks by the door.

After kicking off his shoes, he walked into the main living room and turned on the tv before he slumped onto the sofa and pulled loose his tie, feeling somewhat exhausted by the long day while Monique got to work on something for the family dinner.

Eugéne stopped in front of the mirror which hung on the wall of the large reception hall and he turned his face this way and that, whilst making a mental note of a small spot breakout on the side of his face. He had the same strong, thin features with highly arched brows and raven hair that was the standard of every member of the family. He looked around and turned to his stepmother, Monique, "Where is Béatrix?"

"At a sleepover with her friend's parents. It's fun for her and buys us some time to organise more childcare." Monique said.

"And where's Lydia?" Eugéne asked.

"Marcel's room. They're listening to records."

"And perfecting each other's warped philosophy, no doubt." Eugéne said.

"They don't have a warped philosophy. What are you talking about?!" Monique asked, to which Eugéne just shrugged in response as he sat down at the piano and opened the sheet music book, "No matter. Both of them will be doing an hour of music practice after dinner." she added as she opened the cupboards, looking for ingredients.

"Belle-Mere, I don't think Mars has been studying at all, which is possibly why he is such an excellent sight-reader. He often refuses to practice at all, and when he does, it's all weird and messed up."

"Never mind what he does, Eugéne! I need to speak to him anyway." Monique said as the wall-mounted phone rang in the hallway.

Monique dried her hands and answered, "Hello?", She asked before she waited a moment, suddenly stunned at the angry man's voice speaking a mile a minute on the line.

She looked concerned as the caller asked her if Maurice was home, to which she looked around and at Maurice slouched on the sofa watching Tv, "No, he's not here... just now. What is it about? He did... what?!", she asked with wide-eyed shock.

Fragments of a very strange story started to unfold to her as the person went on to explain that he was calling from Paris, and he was the husband of the woman whom Maurice had left Marcel with, and that it had taken him this long to track Maurice down in Montreal. He shouted down the line about a considerable amount of water damage done to their apartment by Marcel on the last day he spent at their apartment before he ran away, and he then demanded hundreds of Francs in compensation.

The man explained that he often worked away from home for months at a time and that his wife, a piano teacher, had explained everything to him upon his return. The claim being that she had often gone to great lengths to keep Marcel in their apartment. And sometimes she even went as far as to lock him in, principally because he had left their apartment many times previously and she had to have him hauled back by a group of men she knew, and that even when faced with severe punishments for his infractions, he remained defiant while becoming withdrawn, problematic and increasingly hostile during his stay.

Monique was shocked as she listened but knew she was not hearing the complete story as a lot of what the man was claiming just didn't seem to make sense, and she doubted that the man's wife had even given him the full story and that he was acting on vague information from her.

She told the man flatly, that Marcel was of exemplary character and that she wanted to speak to her stepson before speaking to the man further.

But the man just continued his diatribe and ranted about how Marcel had a problem with authority, and then some nonsensical complaint about the bizarre house tasks they demanded he carry out. Apparently, even when he performed the list of required chores around the house, they were not done to the couple's expectations, especially the application of four coats of polish to their prized oak coffee table, and replenishing the fruit bowl daily.