Like Father Like Son

Never wanted to see you again

When I arrived at the house, I had to double check the note Lara had given to me with her address. Needless to say, I was shocked by the beautiful three story manor that stood before me, and it went without saying that it did nothing for my nerves. Nevertheless, I couldn't be late. First impressions were everything, weren't they? I made my way up the front steps and knocked on the heavy looking metal door. I straightened my tie and jacket one last time before the door opened. A sweet looking lady stood inside, her deep red curls meticulously tied back. 

"Hello there. You must be Gustave. Please come in," she said as she stepped aside to let me pass through. "I am Lara's mother, Marguerite. It's lovely to finally meet you."

"I assure you, the pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Thomas," I replied. Lara had come to the front hall just in time to hear her mother burst out laughing. She had gone pale and I couldn't hide my obvious confusion.

"So is that the name she's using now?" her mother asked in between laughs.

My confusion remained as I looked between the two ladies, silently praying that I would receive a proper explanation. "You'll have to forgive me but, what do you mean by that?"

"Oh, of course. Lara doesn't want to be treated differently at school because of her family name, so she rarely gives her real one," her mother explained, still finding this entire situation much more entertaining than I did. "Though I thought she would have told you her real one."

"I see." I was now only looking at Lara, who couldn't seem to look me in the eyes. I could tell that she wasn't going to say anything, so I asked my question to her mother instead: "Well then, if that is the case, I hope you don't mind me asking: What is your family name?"

"It's Chagny," Lara said, finally having spoken up throughout this whole interaction. In all honesty, though, after hearing what she said, I wished that she hadn't said anything at all. I felt my heart drop to my feet and my face went pale. I must have heard her wrong. That had to be what happened. There was no way Lara was from that family. It couldn't be true.

I only half heard her mother when she asked me to follow her inside, and my feet moved but my mind didn't; it was like I was an automaton. Lara walked by my side, but I couldn't look at her. I still wasn't sure what to make of the entire situation. I felt the sting of betrayal and pain in my chest that I couldn't seem to shake. Eventually, we arrived in a sitting room of sorts, where I saw two men sitting in the corner by a table with some drinks. One of them had their back turned and didn't seem to be fazed by our presence. The other man, however, was the complete opposite, as he walked right up to me and shook my hand.

"Hello there. So you're the boy that my daughter is so taken with," he said. He had an optimism in his voice as he spoke, which was more than I had in my whole body at the moment. "My name is Philippe, and this is my younger brother, Raoul."

The other man turned at the call of his name and I stopped breathing for a moment or two. I locked eyes with a man I hadn't seen since I buried my mother. In a way, he was exactly like I left him - a glass of whiskey in his hands. I wasn't the only one who noticed the immediate stillness between us.

"Are you alright, Gustave? You look pale." Lara's face was painted with concern, and her warm hand was welcome against my cold, numb one. I was finally able to look at her, and I could feel myself remembering how to breathe. Though I hadn't seen her walk up to me, her being there seemed to help me refocus on what was happening around the room. I nodded to her in order to calm her nerves and my own. The Vicomte appeared to have rejoined reality as well just in time to be called for dinner.

We were all in place at the dinner table and I couldn't help but gawk at the beautiful design of everything in the room. The symmetry of the moulding on the walls was astounding, and everything from the colours to the furnishings seemed to fit together so perfectly. Papa would be like a child on Christmas morning if he ever saw this. I found myself thinking of all the things he would point out. Not that I think he'd ever come here once he found out who lived here. It helped to distract me from the fact that the man I loathed the most in this world was sitting across from me and the girl I cared about was next to me at the same time. The first dish of the meal was eaten in silence - you could cut the tension with a knife, but only he and I knew the source of it.