-- A couple days later --
"Oh, hey, Jay! What are you doing here?"
Mundy was working at the zoo and got surprised by Jeremy's arrival.
"I got bored... I mean I have nothing to do, I finished filling a notepad with drawings. So I thought I might come and see you, maybe I can give a hand?"
Mundy smiled.
"Well, I'm afraid you'll get bored here too, here is my new assistant, George. George, this is Jeremy."
They shook hands.
I shouldn't tell George that Jay is Lucien's son. He would go and repeat it to Maman France as well as the other kids... No, I'll let Lucien manage that as he wants...
"George, d'you think you can handle this on your own?"
"Yes, I think I can."
"If you need me, use the walkie-talkie."
George nodded. Mundy led the way and walked with Jay through the alleys of the zoo.
"So, you draw on notepads?"
"Well, I love drawing. Back in Boston I used to draw a lot. Mom always encouraged me too."
"Did you take any lessons?"
"Nah, mom didn't have the money for that."
"Fair enough... But Jay..."
Mundy turned to face the young man and raised an eyebrow.
"What really brings you here?"
"What?!"
"Jay, I'm starting to know you... You came here, fiddlin' with your fingers, evading my eyes. You're up to something."
Jay sighed.
"Alright, alright, I... I'd like to uhm..."
Mundy looked at Jeremy. He was fiddling with his fingers, his back hunched slightly and his eyes locked on his shoes.
"Take your time."
Jay looked left and right, and above his shoulders. He whispered.
"I'd like to ask Mélanie out for a dinner."
Mundy smiled.
"As I said the other day, you should ask your dad for this sort of advice. Out of us two, he is the lady killer."
"Last time I did, it ended up badly."
Mundy raised his eyebrows.
"Your father has changed a lot. I'm sure he'll really help you this time."
"Maybe... But I don't know how to talk to him about that."
Mundy put his hand on the young man's shoulder.
"He's a very simple man at heart. Just sit down with him and tell him you need his help. I'm sure he'll drop everything and help you. But you're family to me now. I'll help you."
Jay's face radiated with a warm smile.
"Thanks, pal."
"I can tell you what you could do."
"Yeah."
"You got options, depending on how... uhm... how shy you are."
Mundy started enumerating the options, counting them on his fingers.
"First, you can go directly and ask her. She's a nice lady, I'm sure she'll accept."
Jay blushed.
"Or, you ask me to ask her but that would be a mistake, believe me!"
They both laughed.
"Or, you could also write somethin' to her and I give her the letter."
"Hm... I like the idea of the letter but I'm not good with words... And if I do that, it would be good to write in French."
"Oh, don't look at me like that, my level of written French is as good as yours!"
"You can speak it really well though!"
"Well that's all thanks to your dad."
"Yeah, how ironic..."
"What d'you mean?"
Jay went and sat on a nearby bench, Mundy followed him.
"My dad had always been a problem to me, for my whole life, for as long as I can remember. But now, it's like he's changed from one extreme to another. He's changed from main problem in my life to solution for everything! Even to go out with a girl!"
"I agree with you. I mean, he's changed a lot."
They both stood there in silence, watching the visitors come and go in front of them.
"I'd like to thank him."
Mundy raised his eyebrows.
"Oh."
"Yeah, y'know, cause he's been very welcoming and all that... Also, the other day he really seemed honest with me when he said he was proud of me, and that he hadn't left because he didn't want me. He really did want a child. And when I first phoned him, I thought I'd still be talking to the cold-blooded spy he was. Part of me even thought that he would hang up on me after telling me it was a prank... or maybe he had tricked me and given me a wrong number... But when he answered, it was really him, Lucien. I recognised his voice. He was calm, he didn't sound surprised, which makes sense I guess. Maybe he knew I'd call him at some point."
"He did."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he told me."
"What did he say?"
Jay looked very eager to know, it warmed Mundy's heart to see the young man cared so much.
"He said 'I knew he would call, he's kind hearted... like his mother.'."
Jay smiled but his eyes betrayed the sadness, or rather the bitterness he was feeling.
Deep down, he wishes his parents were still together. Poor boy, I can only imagine what it feels like.
"How did he know?"
Mundy smiled.
"That's your father in a nutshell. He reads through people and rarely makes a mistake. He's extremely clever in that regard... Reminds me of the time he guessed I was, well, not interested in girls."
"Oh? Didn't you tell him?"
Mundy shook his head.
"Nah, he guessed it... And he got me scared to the bone."
"Why?"
"Because noone ever knew about that, even my parents still don't."
"Ah, I see. D'you think they wouldn't accept that?"
Mundy sighed.
"I just don't know, mate... But for your dad, I'll risk it."
Mundy frowned. He looked like a man for whom that was a big decision. Jeremy raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth in surprise.
"We agreed to go visit my parents after the eggs hatch."
"Wow... That's... Brave. "
"It is. I have no idea how they'll react. They might welcome it with open arms or they might throw me out the house."
"Listen, I remember you talking to your parents frequently at Mann Co. They seem to care about you, I'm sure they'll be okay with it."
Mundy turned to Jay.
"Is that what it sounded like on the outside? Pfft... My dad was always trying to make me quit that job, callin' me a 'crazed gunman'... Mum agreed with him but she saw that I was good with huntin' so she would tell me the same, only in a nicer way."
Jay put a hand on Mundy's shoulder.
"They did that 'cause they cared for you, pal. They didn't want you to risk your life all the time. Guns are dangerous, one time you're the one pointing a gun and the next, you have a barrel against your temple..."
Mundy smiled.
Lucien was right. He is very kind hearted, he speaks like my mum...
"I guess you're right."
"But wait, talking about parents, have you met his?"
"Lucien's?"
"Yeah."
"I've met with his mum... But I guess you should ask him directly about those things. I shouldn't be the one explaining his family tree to you."
"Fair enough..."
Mundy jumped out of the bench excitedly.
"Oh, wait!"
"What? What is it?"
Mundy raised a triumphant index to the sky.
"That's it! I know! You wanted to do something for your dad right?"
"Yeah?"
"Roight, give me a second, I need to put my stuff back and I'll take you right now! He'll never see that coming!"
Mundy started running back to the birds' section.
"Wait-what?!"
Jay was confused. Mundy added, while running away.
"The kitten will be a tiger! Hahaha!"
Jeremy raised an eyebrow.
What the hell is he thinking about?!
Mundy came back.
"Follow me!"
Jeremy walked close to Mundy. The latter explained his idea to Jeremy, roughly. The young man got more and more surprised as Mundy developed his plan. They walked through the busy street of the capital and soon stopped.
"Roight, so, you know what you have to do?"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it, easy enough."
"Pick carefully cause we're gonna walk for a bit after that and we won't be able to come back if you forgot anything."
"Don't worry."
"I'll wait for you here."
"Okay."
Jeremy pushed the shop's door. Mundy leant his back against a wall next to the shop and waited.
Oh Lu', you'll never, ever, see that coming. You'll be so surprised...
Mundy laughed on his own.
And you can't tell me you knew that it would happen, ooh no!
He dreamt away, thinking about how surprised Lucien would be. He smiled without even realising it.
"Right, I got everything, let's go!"
Jeremy's voice broke Mundy's train of thoughts and he led the way.
"Ah! You got a bag full of them!"
"Yeah, I want it to be perfect."
"Good, let's go!"
-- Author's notes --
Hey! Thanks as always :D
I hope you liked it! Now, can you guess what Mundy is planning? ;) Let me know either here or on my discord server, where I post updates on my progression. Here's the link:
https/discord.gg/BPbVqct
See y'all around! :D
