The next day, while Cosette was at home with her papa, the surprise for Madame Hucheloup having went over splendidly the previous evening. Enjolras and Eponine approached Grantaire who was sitting at the table, having just finished helping Madame Hucheloup with the final touches on her cafe that morning.
"Care for a drink?" he said to the two of them.
They shook their heads.
"We had an idea yesterday" Eponine began.
"What? that Apollo here actually learn how to swim?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Yes" Enjolras said "but that wasn't the idea that Eponine and I wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh?" he said setting his bottle aside "do tell?"
"We have decided that we ought to do something to show our appreciation for Cosette and all she, and her papa, have done for us the past couple months" Eponine declared.
Grantaire looked over at her, slightly amazed, but very pleased.
"I couldn't agree more" he stated using his swig of wine like and exclamation point. "What did you have in mind?"
"That's just it, we haven't thought of anything yet, we hoped you might have some ideas."
"She has everything, her papa has spoiled her, but in a good way. I've never met a sweeter girl" he said in an almost reverent tone.
"So what do you get the girl who has everything?" Eponine asked.
"Maybe we're thinking about this wrong" Enjolras said, "maybe it's not a matter of finding something to buy for her. Perhaps we should think of non-material things."
Grantaire looked at his friend and was silent for some time.
"He has a point, I mean, she's sweet, but she's so very sheltered, she's never been to the carnivals or fairs, she's never even been out to dance, not even at some stuffy ball." Grantaire clapped his forehead in inspiration "that's it, we throw a ball for her. She's dreamy about stuff like that, at least from what I've heard her talk. Enjolras, you come from high class, what do you have to do to have a good ball?" he asked.
Enjolras paused "I'm not sure, I tried to avoid them" he said. "You need music" he provided.
"We have ourselves a true independent thinker here" Grantaire anounced dramatically "music, I never would have thought of that without you Enjolras."
"Be serious" Eponine scolded mildly "this is for Cosette."
"Well" Enjolras added "you need a room big enough for dancing, and food and refreshments there, and I guess people that she would care about."
"Doesn't sound too hard" Grantaire said "I know the best place for getting food catered, and I know a band of musicians from the university who play all the best dancing songs" he said.
"And we could use the big room upstairs at the cafe" Eponine suggested.
"Now we're getting some helpful advice" Grantaire teased, looking at Enjolras who managed half a smile. "We can't breathe a word about this to her or her father though" he said.
"Agreed" said the other two.
"We'll use Combeferre as a distraction whenever -"
"What am I being used for?" he asked popping his head around the corner.
"A distraction" Enjolras said flatly.
"Oh, that's nice to know" he chuckled "who am I distracting, and what from?"
"You're to distract Cosette from us while we plan her surprise" Eponine provided.
"Oh" he said coming into the room "a surprise for our lovely lark" he said sitting down. "I'm all ears, if I'm to distract her, I at least want to know what the plan is" he said smiling. Happy to see that instead of squabbling his friends were planning pleasant things for each other. After they had explained to him their plan he announced "this is the best idea I've heard in a while. We could all use a party of some kind" he said smiling a bit. He thought of the others, how they would have loved Cosette as much as they did. She was so sweet and thoughtful, even Courfeyrac, despite her beauty, would have held her in esteem and felt himself wrong if he had attempted to dally with such a maiden. He thought of Joly and how with her youthful enthusiasm for things she would have kept a smile on that already perpetually smiling face. He sighed, they definitely needed a party, he needed one. A distraction to get him to stop dwelling on the faces of his dead friends at every turn. Despite focusing on teaching Amelia, he had still not been able to staunch the emotional wounds, he had taken to drinking more than he usually did, which made up for the fact that Grantaire had been drinking less of late. The alcohol consumption at the house remained steady, just now the philosopher instead of the cynic was indulging in it more habitually.
The next day as Eponine and Enjolras took off with Grantaire to ask about arrangements for the party, Combeferre found himself alone in the house, Amelia and Musichetta were at the cafe with Madame Hucheloup. He heard a soft knock on the door, and hiding the bottle he had been drinking out of, he opened it. It was Cosette. Remembering his duty to distract her he smiled and ushered her inside.
"Where is everyone?" she asked.
"Most are at the cafe" he answered.
"Oh" she said, sitting down in the chair that he offered her. "What have you been doing all morning?" she asked smiling.
He couldn't answer truthfully, because the truth was he had been trying to get drunk, but he had only went through one bottle by the time she had arrived.
"Nothing much."
"Oh, well you should get outside, its a beautiful day" she said happily, with just a hint of wistfulness in her voice.
"Would mademoiselle like me to take her for a walk?" he querried smiling a bit.
"Would you?" she asked excitedly.
He chuckled, how could anyone resist saying yes to such an adorable and eager request.
"Would be my honor" he said standing up "let me fetch my coat and hat and then I am at your service" he went to his room, retrieved said items and then returned. At that moment Madame Hucheloup came in with Monsieur Fauchelevent.
"And where are you two going off to?" she asked smiling.
"We were going to go for a walk in the park" Cosette provided "if that's alright papa?" she said turning to her father.
"It's quite alright, and if you two don't mind the company I think I'll join you. God has truly blessed us with fine weather today." He paused, he didn't want to crowd Cosette, she was growing up and was entitled to make friends without him constantly hanging about like a gargoyle. "Would madame care to join our soiree?" he asked offering his arm to Madame Hucheloup.
The cafe proprietor smiled and took his arm. She was not too fond of walking, but the day was fine, and she saw that three is a company when walking, but four suites everyone nicely, it leaves someone somebody to talk to whilst the other two converse.
The four of them went out and headed towards the park.
Father Fauchelevent and Madame Hucheloup followed behind the other pair.
Combeferre felt slightly ashamed of himself as he looked at Cosette. Here she was, deprived of her first real love by the barricades, by the man she no doubt would have married, and she remained lively and aside from sighs and wistful glances, undepressed. And he had fallen into alcohol as an escape from the pain. He found her truly remarkable, her fortitude and patience with all the change and grief she had gone through in her life. He took inspiration from her quiet perseverance through her pains.
They sat down on a bench to rest for a bit.
She asked him very quietly "how did my Marius die?" she had not ventured that question to Enjolras, becuase deep down he frightened her a little, and Grantaire of course would not know the answer, he had slept.
Combeferre sighed and looked over at her "he was shot down in a skirmish. He died in Enjolras' arms, Eponine in disguise held his hand, and his last words were 'Long Live Freedom'" he said gravely. "He died bravely" he said, for it was the truth, Marius had died gallantly, like a man, no fear, no hatred for fate, just calmness.
She lowered her eyes contemplating what she had just been told. She was proud of how he had died, but it was still painful to hear about his death.
"Cheer up"he said smiling at her "it's what Marius would want, he was always going on about that smile of yours."
She looked at him "Really?"
"Yes, you should have heard him talk about you. We all felt he had lost his mind he was so very much in love with you." She said, happy to distract her with tales of Marius' life amongst the Les Amis. After he had shared with her a few anecdotes about her beloved they fell into silence and got up to walk on together.
She looked at him after having not spoken for some time.
"Combeferre" she started quietly.
"Yes?" he said giving her his full attention.
"I think I would like very much to teach" she stated. "Could I help you?"
"Really? Of course, but why?" he asked somewhat surprised.
"I want to do some good in this world, and I was educated well by the nuns. I think I could teach, perhaps join a convent that isn't so rigid and teaches young girls from the poorer parts of the city and I think it would make Marius happy to see me doing something with my life instead of just moping around over him until I died of a broken heart. He can't change the things he wanted changed because he's gone now, but I feel I should try in his abscence" she looked up at him, "does that make sense?"
"Perfectly, and it's an admirable goal to strive for. Have you talked with your father about this?" he asked.
"Not yet."
He nodded "well, think it over for a while, make sure you're certain, and if you like I'll back you up when you tell him" he said smiling. She really could be full of surprises, and all good ones. He thought of the other three off plotting her surprise party, she certainly deserved something to celebrate her. They walked on together, now discussing the future instead of the past. Discussing their plans of starting a school for the underpriveledged of the world, the street urchins, the children of peasants, all those whom education had been denied.
Meanwhile the other three had arranged for the music and some food to be catered. With the semester out, and having not been able to attend school anyways, Enjolras was the main funding behind the plans. Grantaire had recently received some money from home, and instead of spending it on alcohol as he was prone to do, he had devoted most of it to this project. Eponine felt vaguely useless aside these two men of means, or at least they seemed like that to her.
In Enjolras' case she was right, Grantaire simply had an inheritance from an aunt who had died and it was sent to him in installments as needed. He had set up this arrangement himself, that way he always had money, but not all at once, or else he would be prone to spend it all in one night on gambling and drinking and pretty women. However, since the barricades his taste for all three had been dramatically slackened, he still drank, but seldom to the extremes he had become famous for. He still gambled, but rarely, and never with very much money, for he felt he should have some money on hand to help Madame Hucheloup, after all, wasn't that a more worthy aim than gambling the night away. As for women, he still noticed all the pretty skirts that passed his way but he no longer looked at them with the eye of one who feels if he decided to exert himself he could conquer. His desire to plunder his way into bedchambers had declined, he felt that the one woman he could truly admire that he had met, and who he thought of rather fondly at times, was not an object to be plundered, she was something to be cherished and protected. He had no idea where these noble ideas had come from and often found himself trying to argue them out of his mind, but they remained lodged there, especially whenever in the prescence of said lady. Cosette was a source of both delight and vexation for Grantaire, and he had no idea what to do about either feeling.
