Chapter 5
The dinner conversation had been light, everybody wanted to just enjoy the meal. Afterwards, they all took their wine and headed into the living room. June sent Little Neal to the back bedroom, which she had turned into a playroom for him.
"What do you want to ask, El?" Neal asked her after they all got comfortable. He knew that they all would have lots of questions, for him and Mozzie.
El grinned. "Where do I start?"
Neal sighed. He decided to start the conversation off. Hopefully by the end he would have told them all they wanted to know. "I never dreamed that Peter would wait so long to look in my storage unit. Really, I never thought…. Anyway, I had planned and researched everything. It was…all that money we were going to take from the Panthers. I knew, if for some reason, you didn't get all the members, Peter. I wouldn't be safe."
Peter nodded. He had known that, very well.
"I just," Neal continued. "I didn't want to live with a bullseye on my back. I knew I was taking a chance of you coming after me, Peter, if you had gone ahead and opened that unit. But, I really didn't think you would. I didn't think you would leave El here, alone and pregnant to go who knows where for who knows how long. I couldn't see that happening. And, I had hoped that White Collar would consider capture of the Panther's a huge enough win to not come after me." He paused. "Since both my predictions came true…."
"How long has you been planning your…escape?" Peter asked.
Neal could tell by the look on his face that he expected a straight answer. And Neal, honestly, had nothing to hide. He smiled knowing his answer would surprise them. "Not long." He looked at Peter. "Things were okay until Keller came back into the picture. I thought, for sure, that he was out of my life. I just…the thought of him kidnapping you again, El, taking Little Neal. I…I couldn't take that. With him still alive…nobody I cared about was safe. All the more reason to leave."
Peter was shocked that Neal didn't know. That meant that Mozzie didn't know. "I shot Keller, Neal. I killed him. He died on the sidewalk outside that building. He ran out. He pulled his gun on me, and…."
Neal and Mozzie were both shocked. Neal then looked at his cohort.
The old former conman shook his head. "I was out of there. I took the money and ran, literally. I never heard the gunshot. I just thought that the suits had put Keller away for good." He paused. "I was glad. I didn't ask questions."
"Let's change the subject." June said. "Enough about Keller. What did you do in Paris, Neal? What did you do, to occupy yourselves?"
"I painted, of course…." Neal said. "…portraits, landscapes…."
"What?" Peter asked, looking at Neal, then at Mozzie.
"Neal's being modest. He did well for himself, developed a following." Mozzie told them.
Peter and El chuckled, just a little bit. It was rare to see the former conman embarrassed.
Peter grinned. "I didn't know that there was such a thing as a painter's groupie, Neal."
"No." Mozzie said. "It's more like…."
Neal looked at his friend and shock his head vigorously, silently pleading for him to shut up.
El chuckled. "What is it Neal doesn't want you to tell us?"
Mozzie looked at his friend before he started talking. "Neal worked at a couple of the open-air cafés. He would sing as he painted."
June, El and Peter all smiled. They knew that Neal had a great voice. They had heard him sing before. They wondered why he didn't' sing more often.
"Mozzie and I…our money didn't last too long. We have a permanent home in Paris. It's a villa, complete with staff. We ate well. We dressed well. And we've travelled quite a bit. It just…it takes money to live like that. "So, I…I had to get a job."
Peter had to laugh. "You, a nine to five stiff, like the rest of us?"
"Not quite." Neal said, shaking his head. "I had more flexible hours and a bigger office."
"Wait." El inquired. "You made enough to make a living?" She paused. "I'm sorry, Neal. I didn't mean it like that. It's just…you do beautiful work, no doubt. But, you made that much money?"
"We got lots of business." Mozzie stated.
"We?" Peter asked.
"I needed somebody to keep track of my appointments." Neal explained.
El, Peter and June grinned. Mozzie was a good behind-the-scenes, details guy.
"Neal drew crowds of people who wanted one of their very own 'Caffrey originals' in their homes."
"Why come back then?" June asked. "I mean, I'm glad to find out you are really alive, Darlin. And I am so glad you did come back, but…."
"I missed you, June. I wondered how you were doing. I missed you guys, too." Neal said, speaking of El and Peter. "And, of course, I wondered about the baby. I wondered who Little Neal favored. I wondered how you two were, as parents. I wanted to see you in action." He grinned mischievously. "And I missed New York…and, of course, I missed Jones and Diana. And of course, I would love to see Theo again."
"Well, Jones got wooed away to the Syracuse Field office. They gave him more money and regular hours. Plus, they even set him up with a huge condo, at the same rent he was paying on his apartment. And, at least now. He's above ground." Peter paused. "Diana went to D.C. for a few years. Her parents had offered 24/7 child care. She couldn't pass that up. Then her dad passed away, and her mom ended up living with one of her sisters in Brooklyn. So, now, she's back in White Collar, and she has my old position."
"Wow, I'm kinda surprised that Jones left White Collar." Neal admitted. "Diana too, really, though I can understand with the baby and all. I really want to see them, Peter. I know it's…but I want to see them."
"I think your...death shook them up, Neal." Peter said. "They both really liked you, though they would never admit it. I think that they thought people would take it as them being duped by you."
Neal nodded. "That's why I'm asking you this. I just…I want to ease back into life here. I don't want to cause any problems or make a big entrance. That's not why I came back, Peter. That's not my life now."
Peter studied Neal for a minute. "Your old ways don't' tempt you anymore?"
"Some part of me will always be tempted. But, that's not my life anymore. I'm better than that. I'm better than profiting off the blood, sweat and tears of others."
"Neal, you've always known you were a good painter." El added.
Neal shook his head. "I've always known I was a good forger, El. There's a difference. Being a painter is more difficult that being a forger. Painters develop and master their own styles. They decide on all those things that make a painting what it is, a masterpiece, if you will." He sighed. "Forgers copy others. And yes, I guess it does take a bit of know-how to do that But, it…it's not true artistry. There was none of myself, my personality in any of those works. They weren't my works."
Peter nodded. He was so glad to have Neal back home. He was satisfied that Neal seemed to be a changed man.
"I'll find a way to approach Diana and Jones." Peter said. "Just give me a few days." Then he realized something. He looked at El. "Little Neal is too quiet back there, Hun."
"I'm on it." El called as she headed to the back room.
Peter gave Neal a big hug. "We are probably going to have to take the little man home and put him to bed. He's out past his bedtime. I talk to Jones regularly. And, of course, Diana is right there in the office, so…."
Neal sighed and nodded. "I appreciate it, Peter. I really do. And I…I'm sorry you and El had to go a year without knowing. That was not…I hadn't wanted to add any stress to El's pregnancy."
"Alright kiddo." El said to Little Neal. "Say bye to everybody. We've got to head home."
"But, I didn't get to talk to Uncle Neal or Uncle Mozzie." The boy said.
Neal knelt down to the boy's level. "Maybe we could go grab some pizza or go see a movie this week? What do you think?"
Little Neal grinned. He was excited. He looked at El.
El grinned at Neal. "Only if you clean your room and do your homework…without me having to remind you."
Little Neal nodded. But they could see the mischievousness in his eyes.
"I'm gonna be talking to your mom." Neal told the boy.
"Oh, come on." He turned to the bald man. "Uncle Mozzie."
Mozzie shook his head. "Sorry kid, gotta do that homework."
Little Neal gave them both reluctant hugs as he, El, and Peter started to leave.
Mozzie hugged El. Then it was Neal's turn.
"Thank you for looking in on June. Thanks for allowing her to be a part of your lives." Neal shook his head. "I was just so afraid she was in this big house, all alone, all the time, with nothing to do. Thank you for taking care of her."
El nodded. She hugged Neal tightly. "I went to see her. Just a couple of times…afterwards. It was awkward at first. We didn't have much to say to one another. But, I felt closer to you somehow. And after a few more visits we got close. She understood why I was there, in the beginning. By the time your 1-year anniversary rolled around, we had developed a friendship." She just looked at him for a moment. "I'm so glad you're home."
TBC
END NOTES: I got the singing and painting idea from an evangelist who visited my church a couple of times. At the end of each service he would do a charcoal drawing singing as he drew. And then he would give the drawing away. The drawings were always beautiful and the preacher had an amazing voice. I could just see Neal singing and painting on the streets of Paris, people stopped to listen, and maybe contribute to his 'starving artists' fund. It just paints a great picture in my mind. (No pun intended.)
