Lucas
L'homme-Lion de Paris
By Thomas Mc
Separate Lives
Fall 2060
It had been six months since Brigitte had reconnected with her oldest daughter. Since then Brigitte and Gabrielle had taken every opportunity to visit Monique whenever Xavier and Christophe were out of town. Currently Christophe was racing in Monte Carlo and Xavier was in Japan finishing up his latest project. Brigitte was pretty sure that Xavier suspected that she had kept in touch with Monique but his stubborn pride wouldn't let him relent so he simply ignored his suspicions.
Brigitte dragged her attention back to the young couple standing before her. It was two hours after dark. Lucas and Monique were standing beside the River Seine with the colorful lights of the Eiffel Tower behind them. They were standing about ten meters from the spot where they had first met face to face. Lucas had said that this was the exact spot he was standing when he first became aware of Monique's presence.
Randy, Pierre, Lucie, Jacques, Brigitte and Gabrielle were all there. Also present were Emily Hanson, in town for a cosmetics gig, her favorite bodyguard Danny and a couple of retired model friends, Caitlin and Jessica, who both happened to be on vacation in France. Patricia was also present representing Lucas's biological father. She was in Paris for an international bio-genetics conference. This little gathering was taking place here and now because all those present just happened to be here and available at the same time. The whole thing had taken three days from Monique's original suggestion to today's little ceremony.
As the others in this informal gathering watched, Lucas and Monique exchanged their wedding vows there beside the River Seine. Although totally informal, almost spur-of-the-moment, Lucas and Monique had said that it was not really important how fancy it was. As far as they were concerned, they were already joined, heart, body and soul. They had been lovers for almost two weeks now. Today's little impromptu ceremony was merely a formality for their parents and friends.
Although Brigitte still felt that Monique was too young to be getting married, she knew that she really didn't have much say in the matter. Her daughter's destiny had been set the day that bond, they had told her about, had formed between them. At least she had come to believe that her daughter had definitely picked a good one despite his very unusual appearance. She was even feeling a hint of tears welling up in her eyes as she listened to the beautiful words that the two lovers were speaking to each other. For having been written in only one day, their vows were so profound and touched her so very deeply. Monique had told her that they had been easy to write because they had both simply wrote what they felt. She had said that one side effect of the bond was to teach you to be honest with yourself about your own feelings.
In the middle of the little ceremony, while speaking his vows, Lucas pulled up his hood, concealing his face, without skipping a beat. A few seconds later a darkened tour boat appeared coming up the river. Shortly after that a spotlight speared out from the boat and pinned the tiny wedding party in its glare. Lucas still continued reciting his vows without a break. After a few seconds the revealing light left their group in search of other lovers that could usually be found along the river at this time of night.
A few minutes later the little ceremony was over and the bride and groom kissed. Then the quiet was shattered by a powerful roar of triumph that echoed along that part of the river, startling several pairs of lovers as well as everyone on the romantic tour boat that had just recently passed by. Then with giggles and laughter the wedding party quickly left the river, headed back to the home of Pierre and Randy, before anyone in authority could come to investigate the source of that roar.
Back at their home Aurore and Sophie had managed to throw together a very nice little reception dinner for them.
As Brigitte was looking around at the happy partiers, she felt a momentary wave of sorrow that Xavier wasn't here. It was such a shame but even the idea of such a union would have set him off like small nuclear bomb, damaging the whole family in the resultant fallout. She sighed and returned her attention to the happy couple. Her mood immediately brightened.
The party finally broke up in the very early hours of the morning. The guests all headed to their homes and hotels. As Monique watched her mother and sister head out the door she felt a moment of regret about her father. After the last guests left, Lucas and Monique headed upstairs to the room they had been sharing for the last two weeks.
~ x x x x x ~
Winter 2060
It was a particularly beautiful and mild mid-December day and Monique had gone for a walk with Lucie along the Champ de Mars toward the Eiffel Tower. Monique was in a very good mood today. She and Lucas had just found out that she was pregnant. The two girls were excitedly discussing the upcoming event when Monique suddenly froze, the happy smile disappearing from her face.
Lucie paused, looking at her friend's face with concern. She looked in the direction of Monique's gaze. About twenty meters ahead of them she spotted Monique's mother on the arm of a distinguished looking man that she assumed must be her father. There was a look of surprise and uncertainty on the man's face as he stared back at them. Her mother also looked unsure as she looked first at Monique then at the man with her. For a few seconds they stared at each other then Xavier and Brigitte hesitantly started moving toward them. As Monique's parents approached Lucie took a step back trying to stay out of what would surely be a family matter.
They stood facing each other silently until the tension was becoming unbearable then Xavier broke the uncomfortable silence. ~( Good day, Monique. )~
Monique responded after a moment's pause. ~( Good day, Father, Mother. )~
Another pause then her father inquired. ~( We have not seen you for a while. How have you been? )~
Monique responded. ~( I have been okay. And you? )~
Xavier responded. ~( We have been doing . . . well . . . What have you been doing with yourself lately? )~
Monique replied a bit more boldly. ~( I have been taking courses on fashion design and marketing. )~ The tightness in her chest was beginning to ease as she continued. ~( I have also been working part time for Pierre and Randy, learning about the business from the inside. )~
Xavier relaxed a bit more. ~( I am glad to hear that you are doing well. )~
The tension was slowly leaching away and Monique was beginning to relax. ~( I am beginning to make my way. Randy and Pierre have been very helpful. )~ A hint of a smile crossed her face as she blithely continued speaking. ~( And Lucas has been very supportive and encouraging through . . . )~ Her voice trailed off as she realized what she was saying. She looked up with dismay as she saw her father's face suddenly close off.
Xavier stared at his daughter, as Brigitte and Lucie both looked on in dismay, then he exploded. ~( How can you still associate yourself with that dangerous creature? )~
Monique was practically shivering with disappointment and fury. ~( Lucas is not a thing or a creature. He is a very nice person and you have no right to say such terrible things about him. )~
Xavier's eyes turned cold as he practically ground out his response. ~( That thing is an inhuman monster and should be taken off the streets for the public's safety. No daughter of mine will have anything to do with that . . . beast. )~
The following stunned silence seemed to stretch on forever then Monique broke into tears and ran, crying, away from them as Brigitte looked sadly after her daughters retreating back.
Lucie stared at Xavier in shock. She saw a look of sad regret momentarily flit across his face then his eyes hardened again. Then her own rage boiled up inside her and she lit into him with both barrels. Xavier looked at her in shocked surprise as she royally chewed him out over his narrow minded views and the callous way he had trampled all over his daughters feelings without even trying to understand what was right under his nose. After her tirade finally ran out of steam, Lucie turned her back on them and walked away with all the dignity that she could muster.
When Lucie arrived home a few minutes later she found Monique in Lucas's arms as he tried his best to console her. She looked into the pained eyes of her brother then, with a sigh, sat down beside them. ~( It will be alright, my sister. We all love you and we will all be there for you. )~
~ x x x x x ~
Summer 2061
For over a year Brigitte and Gabrielle had been working to try and shift Xavier's and Christophe's attitudes about Lucas but to no avail. Xavier would not budge. Christophe always sided with his father although he often seemed a bit unsure about his decision. Brigitte knew that although there were signs that her son's attitude had weakened, he would not change as long as his father held his ground. The one thing that worried her most was what might happen if either of them ever found out how close Monique and Lucas really were.
~ o ~
Gabrielle was away on a, three day, school field trip to the Normandy Beaches. Her history class was studying the Second World War this month.
That night in their shared hotel room the subject of the Lion-man of the River Seine came up and the girls were arguing about whether he might be real or not. Gabrielle was one of the only two that was arguing on the side of his existence.
Finally to support her point she told the skeptical girls a that she had actually seen the Lion-man. She told them that her sister had been struggling with a man that was trying to rape her when the actual Lion-man had showed up and driven the rapist off. She told them that the Lion-man had then escorted her sister safely home. Gabrielle then told them that she had actually caught a glimps of the Lion-man just before he left her sister at their front door so she knew that he was real.
She left out any mention of the current family strife over the incident. She also did not mention the fact that her sister was currently married to him and about to have their baby any time now.
~ o ~
Previous sonograms had shown that their child was female. Because this was Monique's first child and because she was still very young, Lucas had insisted that their baby girl should be born in a hospital. Monique had complained that Lucas would not be able to be there with her. Randy, Lucie and Pierre had all promised that they would be there for her when the time came. After much 'discussion' Monique finally gave in and reluctantly agreed to have the baby in the hospital.
The evening that her water broke, Randy and Pierre took her to the hospital. While Randy was getting Monique checked in, Pierre called Brigitte and let her know the baby was coming.
Brigitte had told Xavier that an old friend was having a baby and she was spending a couple of days with that friend. She neglected to tell him that the friend in question was his eldest daughter. She arrived at the hospital two hours after Monique had arrived. She joined Randy and Pierre in the maternity ward and for the next eight hours they helped and encouraged Monique through her first experience with labor.
Finally around seven in the morning things suddenly began developing very quickly. As many grandfathers before him, Pierre nervously paced through the final step in the birth of a new grandchild. In the delivery room, Randy held her left hand and Brigitte held her right hand as together they coached her through the same process that they had themselves been through before. Together they urged her to breathe and to push at the appropriate times. Then with one final push and a healthy squall of protest, little Antoinette was born into the world. The new baby girl was eight pounds six ounces of very alert blue eyed living doll. The nursing staff quickly and efficiently cleaned up the newborn infant and placed her in her mother's arms.
Monique's eyes teared up as the nurse placed her new daughter in her arms. Somewhere not too far away, Monique could feel Lucas's joyous emotional reaction to her equally happy emotions and in their joined hearts they reveled in their shared joy and love. At the same time, the hearts of both new grandmothers were also overflowing with happy emotions as they both gazed at their granddaughter cradled protectively in Monique's arms.
~ o ~
Christophe was in America for the week participating in a major road race so Xavier had the next two days entirely to himself. There were times like this, when he was completely on his own, that he wondered how things had gone so wrong. He knew that Brigitte was unhappy about the way things were and he suspected that she had secretly kept in touch with Monique. As much as he missed his oldest daughter his pride would not let him back down. Also somewhere in the back of his mind was the unspoken fear that Monique was closer to that creature than anyone knew. He knew that Brigitte was desperately trying to hold the rest of their family together and for her sake he chose to ignore his suspicions.
~ x x x x x ~
Fall 2063
It had been a little over three and a half years since that fateful day when Monique had first encountered Lucas and her life had changed forever. In a few weeks it would be her twenty-second birthday. She had a very good paying job working in merchandising at Pierre of Paris House of Fashion. Her husband, Lucas, worked unseen as a part time fashion designer for the same company. In the last year, six of Lucas's designs had appeared at major events on very famous people.
'L'homme-lion des bords de Seine' still occasionally haunted the river after dark but now-a-days he was usually accompanied by a petite pretty light brown haired woman. On two recent occasions there had also been a tiny blond haired blue eyed toddler with them. The last few months however his appearances had been far less frequent.
Lucas and Monique were still living in Pierre and Randy's place but they were hoping to find a place of their own before the next year was out. The difficulty was finding a place that met their very specific criteria. It had to be close to their current home, it had to afford them the necessary privacy, and the new place had to be able to have easy access to the catacombs beneath Paris. Meanwhile Randy was quite happy to have them living in her home for as long as possible.
Monique was happily married with a beautiful blond haired blue eyed two year old daughter and another child on the way. The last sonogram had confirmed that this one would be a boy and he was due in three more weeks. Monique however was feeling like a beached whale and was anxious for it to finally be over. Other than her size the thing she disliked most about her condition was her inability to go on those long walks after dark along the Seine with Lucas. Since this one was a boy they knew that the baby would look like Lucas so it would be necessary that he be born at home. A doctor that was a very close family friend and already aware of Lucas, since he had delivered him, had been selected to handle this delivery.
Xavier was in South America on his latest construction project and Christophe had gone off to the South of France with several of his buddies on a tour of the wine country. Brigitte and Gabrielle were both over visiting. Along with Randy and Lucie they were all down on the floor playing with little Antoinette. The toddler was having a wonderful time being spoiled by the four women until it was her bed time.
Brigitte and Gabrielle had just arrived home that evening when her phone rang. It was Randy informing her that Monique had just gone into labor and according to the doctor it was progressing very rapidly. They both immediately turned around and headed back to Randy's place as fast as they could.
Randy met them at the door and escorted them upstairs to Lucas and Monique's room. They were greeted by the sight of Monique on the bed, knees up and the doctor in position ready to receive the newborn that was about to arrive. Lucas was sitting in the bed behind her, his arms around her, her back resting against his chest. Monique's face was screwed up in a look of extreme effort as a half groan escaped from her lips. The doctor and Lucas were both speaking words of reassurance to her. Then her face relaxed and her head fell back against Lucas's chest as she panted heavily.
The doctor spoke authoritively. ~( This is it Monique. You're doing just fine. Now on the next one I want you to push for all you're worth. )~
Lucas spoke next. ~( you can do it my love. You have already been through this once, you know what to do. )~
Then the next contraction hit and she pushed. A moment later the room was filled with the healthy cry of Monique's newborn son. After quickly cleaning him up, the doctor placed the newborn in his mother's arms and Lucas wrapped his arms protectively around them both. Brigitte looked into the kittenish face of the tiny infant and felt her heart melt into a warm puddle. He was so adorably charming as he yawned widely and snuggled deeper into his mother's embrace.
A slow soft smile spread across his face as Lucas welcomed his new son. ~( Hello Nicolas and welcome home. )~
Later as Brigitte was holding her new grandson while her exhausted daughter and son-in-law caught a little sleep, she thought about her own family and felt a small wave of sadness. It was such a shame that her husband's attitudes were causing him to miss so many important events in his oldest daughter's life. She looked back down into the face of her grandson and the sadness quickly dissolved into a swell of love and a hint of hope. ~( Maybe someday. )~ She glanced over at her other daughter who was dozing on the sofa after coming down from the high of the excitement over the birth of her new nephew. ~( Maybe someday. )~
~ x x x x x ~
Spring 2064
Monique's father and brother were away on a fifteen month project in San Francisco and her mother was taking advantage of their absence to spend time with Lucas and Monique and her two most unusual grandchildren. Lucas and Monique's three year old daughter Antoinette was fidgeting restlessly on the floor in front of them and playing with her toy cars. Other little girls played with dolls but little Antoinette was only interested in a toy if it had four wheels attached. Brigitte remarked that she was so much like Christophe had been at that age. Monique's mother was holding her one year old grandson, Nicolas, and smiling down at his leonine face, the spitting image of his father. It seemed like Brigitte could never get enough of ether of her very special grandchildren.
As she had so many times before over the last four years, Brigitte thought about the gulf that existed between Monique and Xavier over Lucas with a touch of sorrow. The worst part was that it was nothing compared to how bad it would become if he ever found out the true nature of Monique's relationship with Lucas. It was a perilous tightrope that Brigitte walked between the two estranged halves of her imperfect family.
Nicolas began to get a little bit fussy in her arms. Brigitte sighed, knowing it was her own melancholy that he was reacting to, and spoke quietly to him as she cuddled him closer. ~( I apologize little one. )~ She deliberately forced her worries into the background and concentrated on how wonderful her little grandson was. ~( This is not your problem. Everything is just fine. )~
Nicolas quickly responded to her changing emotions and smiled. Brigitte could never feel depressed when confronted by that smile and she smiled back at her unique grandson.
~ x x x x x ~
Spring 2066
It was late spring and Xavier was in the shopping mall with his family. They had met up with Christophe and his young pregnant wife, Christine, in one of the many restaurants scattered throughout the mall. As they were waiting for their food to arrive he was looking out the window that overlooked the main courtyard of the mall. They had been discussing the wide and interesting variety of people that they could see passing by outside the restaurant.
Xavier paused in surprise when he spotted Monique halfway across the courtyard. She was carrying a large shopping bag in one hand. But what really caught his attention was that holding her other hand was a small five year old girl that looked very much like Monique had at that age but with blond hair. He was surprised at the strength of the emotions that he felt welling up within him as he stared at them. A second later a group of teens strolled past the window blocking his view and when they had passed Monique was nowhere in sight. She and the little girl had disappeared into the bustling crowd.
Xavier drew a startled breath when Brigitte touched his forearm, drawing him abruptly back to his family. There was a hint of concern in his wife's eyes. ~( Xavier . . . is something wrong? )~
He looked at his wife. ~( What? )~
Brigitte's brows furrowed. ~( You seemed to just drift off there right in the middle of what you were saying. )~
Xavier glanced around at the rest of his family. All of them were looking back at him with a hint of concern in their faces. He shook his head. ~( I was just thinking. It was nothing important . . . Now what was I saying? )~
Though they were unsure about his half hearted attempts to reassure them that nothing was wrong, they let it drop and returned to their previous conversation. All through the rest of the dinner his mind kept wandering back to what he had seen and he found himself wondering what all he had missed in the last six years. Deep inside, the tiny nuggets of doubt that had planted themselves in his soul had begun to grow ever so slowly.
That night, as he had many times before, Xavier found himself wondering why something as inconsequential as a disagreement over the nature of that lion-man creature could have caused such a deep rift between himself and his oldest daughter. Even his own family was unwilling to talk about it. As he drifted off to sleep, his mind kept wandering back to that little girl he had seen holding the hand of his older daughter.
Continued in Part 7
'Beauty and the Beast' and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.