Stuck In A Bakery (With You), Chapter 34
"So... you have to keep at least one Destination Ticket card that you draw on your turn," explained Adrien. "You can keep two or three if you like, or put the extras back on the bottom of that deck. It's a chance for more points by extending your ride, but it's also risky, because if you don't get your train to all of the destinations in your hand, you lose points at the end for the ones you miss."
"I get it," beamed Marinette. "I think that it'll make perfect sense once we start playing it. Do you want to try it out in two-player mode, or save it for later tonight?"
"Maybe later, with your parents? Then all three of you can learn by doing all at once," Adrien suggested. "There's a phone app for this one, too, so that once the quarantine is over, we can play it over the Internet from a distance."
"That could be dangerous to our free time," said Marinette.
"Quite! All the more reason why I'm suggesting it," laughed Adrien. "I have every intention of you being a much bigger part of it going forward."
"Not just me, I hope," she sighed, with a slight smile.
"That's not how I intended that... but what do you mean, Marinette?" asked Adrien, sensing her concern.
"I love being important to you. But I'm not the only one who's important to you, right?" Marinette replied. "You know that I'll want to spend more time with you... as close to you as you want to keep me," she smiled. "Kagami's waiting patiently, too, though. I'll want you two to stay close, whether or not I'm with you, and I know that your father will keep nudging you two together. Have you talked to her since our big talk?"
"I have," Adrien confirmed. "Not long conversations, but a little time here and there when we could steal it."
"Keep that up. I'll be calling her, too," Marinette directed him. "Right now, we have each other... but who does she have? Even outside of... romantic implications... she must be feeling lonely over there."
"...Somewhat, she is," said Adrien. "I will keep up with her, I promise. And maybe we can do another group chat with the class some time soon?"
"I was thinking about that... I'll send some messages around and see when would be good for that," noted Marinette. "I'm thinking that..."
Adrien's phone rang, cutting off her sentence.
"There, see? I bet that's Kagami now," she declared.
Adrien looked a bit pale. "Not with that ringtone," he told her, then connected the call and held the phone to his ear.
"Hello, Father," he stated.
Marinette's eyes went huge.
Quietly, she stood up and motioned that she would leave, but Adrien waved that off, requesting with a gesture that she sit down once more. He muted his phone and whispered, "I'm not hiding anything from you!" with a smile, then put a finger to his lips as he put his father on speaker.
"-suppose that you might be wondering about the reason for my call," she heard Gabriel's voice intone.
"To be honest... yes, I am," said Adrien, flatly. "What can I do for you?"
"Actually... there are a handful of reasons. Not that I should need a reason to speak to my son, however. Would you not agree?"
To Marinette's ears, Gabriel's voice was pleasant and seemingly unstressed. Adrien appeared mildly off-balance, but composed. "Of course not, Father. It merely seems unusual to hear from you directly, that's all," he replied.
"A fair assessment," noted Gabriel. "You shamed me for that recently. You may be the one person from whom I would have taken that, and I will say again... you were correct in what you said. I cannot promise that I will be a new man, a new father going forward... but I would try to be at least a somewhat better one."
To Adrien's stunned silence, he added, "Are you well, son? I am sure that your hosts are granting you your every whim, but is there anything that I may do to ease your stay?"
Adrien stole a glance at Marinette, who mouthed Wow! silently.
"I am quite comfortable... and quite content," said Adrien. "The Dupain-Chengs have been astoundingly kind and fair, and I am working hard at repaying them for that."
"...About that. You are certain that your... bakery adventures... are strictly voluntary? Between you and I," asked Gabriel.
"Without any doubt," said Adrien, in a firm voice and without hesitation. "Any kind of craftsmanship is interesting to me, and Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng are masters at what they do. I am learning so much from them! When I return, you might be surprised at what I may whip up in our kitchen."
"I have been surprised by your previous attempts," said Gabriel, looking amused. "Particularly the ones that set off our fire alarms."
"I'll try to avoid that," grimaced Adrien. "Also... our bodyguard's delivery today was most appreciated. The additional changes of clothes will do nicely. I wasn't expecting the textbooks, however."
"I do not know why not," snapped Gabriel. "This is a quarantine, my son. This is not vacation."
"What, precisely, am I to do with sheet music without my piano?" wondered Adrien.
"Your fingers still work, correct?" retorted his father. "You need not sit before keys to visualize how they may be pressed."
Marinette glared with some fierceness. Now, that's the Gabriel I've heard about, she thought. From charming and considerate to cold and calculating in a matter of seconds.
"However, I must say that the games in the third bag were a most welcome surprise," Adrien said.
Gabriel barely blinked. "The what?" he asked.
"Never mind."
"How are things at home going?" Adrien asked, after a moment. "You're feeling well, Nathalie, everyone else?"
"So far, things are acceptable here," Gabriel replied. "No symptoms so far. I will be retested within the next couple of days, as will Nathalie. It is irritating to have to wait in line for that, but, well..." he grumbled, waving his hand in the air. "Other people do exist."
Marinette opened her mouth to speak, then closed it.
"And the production line workers? The people in the studio who tested positive?" pressed Adrien.
"Recovering. One of the latter was hospitalized briefly, but did not require extensive treatment," said Gabriel. "We are, of course, providing what support we can... while we can."
"What is that supposed to mean?" frowned Adrien.
"Adrien," sighed Gabriel, holding his hand to his forehead. "We are staring down the barrel of what may be a complete catastrophe for our industry, much less our company. High fashion loses much of its charm when there is nowhere to wear it, and nowhere to show it off except a webcam stream. We will retool what we may, repurpose what we can... but every day is a living nightmare of red ink right now. Insurance will do what it can to soften this, but anyone who relies upon that for long is a fool."
"We are wealthy," continued Gabriel. "But we are not billionaires who can absorb an endless downside. I am keeping everything running and keeping everyone paid as long as will be practically possible."
"I understand that," Adrien mumbled. "But, surely, we did not get to where we are on our own. Keeping our employees and staff afloat... that's the right thing to do."
"I will not argue this with you right now, Son. There are many aspects to be considered," Gabriel sighed. "When you are at home... we can discuss this in more detail."
"You can count on that."
Gabriel stared back at his son, not entirely approvingly. "I will remind you that I have run this company and its financials since well before you were born, Adrien," he declared. "I am not a novice at the realities of the business world. Nor am I a model, who only gets an occasional glimpse of the machinery behind the scenes."
Adrien burned where he sat... but remained silent.
"Have you spoken with Miss Tsurugi?" Gabriel asked, redirecting the subject away from their point of contention.
"I have, repeatedly. Nearly every day." Adrien gave his father an update as to how the ladies in his life were being treated... and how they were choosing to treat each other.
To his credit, Gabriel maintained a straight face throughout. "That is... well, I must say that you have your mother's moral principles, Adrien. Both when defending unfortunate employees and when managing affairs of the heart," he replied, once Adrien had concluded. "I applaud you for finding a way to remain in both their good graces."
"It wasn't entirely easy. And once I am back and I can see Kagami in person again... it might become more complicated. But most of your praise should go to Marinette," Adrien declared. "She is most insistent on all three of us remaining close, no matter what. I am following her lead... but she is also giving me the room I need to make my own educated decisions and take my time."
"Not a small thing. You are quite taken with her, are you not?" inquired Gabriel.
"I am."
Adrien's words were simple, but direct enough to thrill Marinette... particularly with regard to whom they were spoken.
Adrien makes his own mind up, of course... but his father's opinion does mean so much to him, worried Marinette. What will he say about that?
"Then, if she is charming you... by all means, remain charmed, my son."
Gabriel broke the silence around ten seconds later, an amused look on his face.
"You look startled, Adrien," he noted.
"Should I not?" Adrien replied. "You have made it eminently clear over the last several months that you foresee Kagami and I as a couple."
"I have foreseen the two of you spending time together, yes. Connecting. Becoming close companions, and smoothing relations between our families. But have I ever specified a romance?" argued Gabriel. "You are my son. You are not bait. Should something significant develop between you and Kagami, I would be delighted, of course! But if Miss Dupain-Cheng is respectful of Kagami's feelings and has her own claim on yours... particularly under current circumstances... as I stated the other morning, she has risen to my attention as well."
"Whoa," marveled Adrien. "I must admit that I was afraid that you would... that you'd say..."
"Nothing that we must discuss in detail at this moment. Especially in present company," Gabriel smiled.
Adrien glanced at Marinette, who remained off-camera. Does he know I'm HERE? she mouthed silently.
"Which brings me to my other reason for calling," Gabriel continued. "I received an interesting phone call this morning. I was hoping that you could enlighten me as to why."
"Oh?" wondered Adrien.
"It seems," noted Gabriel, "that the gossip page of the Paris Times had an interesting entry this morning. Let me call it up here... ah, here it is. Young supermodel goes viral - as does his love life!"
Adrien's jaw dropped as Gabriel continued reading, "Anonymous tipsters reported that a certain blonde supermodel had his first flirtation with the long arm of the law. Local authorities caught him stealing a masked kiss in a park... and, when questioned, revealing that his young lady friend lives with him now, under quarantine! Could a new power couple be blossoming on Paris's fashion scene... or is he simply as stir-crazy as the rest of us are these days?"
"Now," his father declared. "I am reasonably certain that no young ladies are living at our mansion at present. I had the duty of informing the Times's gossip columnist of this personally this morning. But could you explain to me why an officer of the law felt the need to get involved... or what you were doing out there with Miss Dupain-Cheng to begin with?"
Adrien searched his brain for sentences that might apply to this particular situation.
"Miss Dupain-Cheng?" asked Gabriel, dryly. "Perhaps you are better prepared for that question than Adrien is?"
Wordlessly, Marinette turned Adrien's hand so that the phone faced her now.
"...Perhaps?" she added, nervously.