Chapter 8

"My rule is that the quest of honor pours the wine." El said as she handed the bottle of wine to Neal as he, Peter, Diana, and Jones came over to the table.

El then went to the foot of the stairs and yelled up to the boys to come down to eat. She had set them up two places at the breakfast bar. They were close enough to keep an eye on them, but they were far enough away from the adult table to feel like they had a little privacy.

Neal filled the adult's glasses as everybody took their seats. El got the boys milt to drink. Then she took her place at the adult table.

"So, Neal," Diana said as she sipped her wine. "A decade in Paris….."

Neal grinned. "It was Paris. It was amazing. The best food in the world. And I had a villa, a butler and a maid."

Jones chuckled. He could just imagine Neal and Mozzie sitting in their living room being waited on, hand and foot, by their servants. He could see both men calling, quite easily, into the lifestyle.

Diana nodded. "I used to talk to Christie about going there. I used to dream about it. The ultimate vacation."

"All you would need would be the money for the flight." Neal said.

Diana just looked at Neal for a moment. She was very surprised. "You would let me….?"

Neal nodded.

"I might take you up on that." Diana stated.

"When are you going back?" Jones asked.

Neal just looked at him for a moment. "I'll probably go back in the spring. But, not till then."

"So, you're actually going to be living in New York?" Diana asked.

Neal nodded. "My life is here. I've missed too much being away."

"So, what does Neal Caffrey do for a living." Jones asked, genuinely interested.

Neal smiled. "He owns his own art studio. He paints. And he teaches art."

"And he…he can do this for the rest of his life and not be tempted to...do other things?" Peter asked, putting the question on everyone's mind to Neal.

Neal grinned and nodded. "Never on the radar once in France."

"That doesn't' mean you didn't do anything." Peter retorted.

"I didn't." Neal responded.

"For 10 years?" Peter couldn't really believe that Neal or Mozzie could stay out of trouble for that lone.

"I had nothing to chase in France. I had nothing to gain from stealing. There was no endgame. I had money, enough money. I just decided to take a step back and enjoy my life." Neal paused. "I realized what I had, and I realized that I had it pretty damn good."

"And Mozzie is…reformed?" Diana asked, her skepticism obvious.

"Moz is different. He's never been in jail. He doesn't really understand how much of a discouragement it can be." Neal explained. "I don't think that you can really understand that until you've been there." He paused. "I kept Mozzie on the straight and narrow."

"No easy feat." Peter muttered.

"That would be correct." Neal agreed. "But, I've managed. I threatened him with taking away our wine. I told him he would have to live without a lot of things if he delved into the life again."

"And it worked?" Clinton asked.

Neal shook his head. "Not really." He admitted. "But, after he saw how much things were working out for me. He started to think that they would work out for him. And, of course, he loved the idea of being off the feds watch list, permanently."

"Yeah, so less paranoia, I'm guessing, in Paris?" Diana questioned.

"Yeah, but more conspiracy theory. All and all, I'm much rather have the paranoia." Neal stated. "At least I could talk him down from that."

El and the agents could not help but chuckle.

Neal looked at Peter. "He's got a subscription to the National Enquirer from the states. He poured over it, reading it like a person would a great novel or the bible."

"France doesn't have its own version?" El asked.

"It does…several versions. But, they are all about the French. Mozzie found it boring." The ex-con stated. "The French gossip very differently than we do here in the States."

Nobody asked Neal what he meant by that. They just assumed if it was not about French treasures Mozzie wouldn't have been interested.

Theo and little Neal were soon bored and were ready to go back upstairs for awhile when Neal's voice stopped them.

"Hey!" He said, just as they got to the bottom of the stairs. "I don't even get a 'Hi.'" It's been a few years, ya know."

Theo nodded. "Mom told me all about you. Showed me your picture and everything. She said she wouldn't be surprised if you had pulled the biggest con of all. But, she wouldn't tell me what that was, so…."

"You look like your mom." Neal said, smiling and nodding.

"Everybody says that." Theo said, annoyed.

Neal looked at Theo then at Diana, not understanding the underlying issue.

"Go on upstairs, Theo." Diana told him.

Theo looked at Neal and in the voice of sad and slightly irritated little boy said. "I'm sorry."

Neal shook his head. "For what, Kid. You have nothing to be sorry for." Neal said hugging Theo as he walked past to go upstairs.

Neal watched him go up the stairs before he spoke. He turned to Diana. "What was that about?"

Diana sighed. "He gets tired of being told he looks like me because that's all he ever gets told." She paused. "The way I…had him. I just didn't anticipate this being such a huge thing. He wants to find his biological dad. The sperm bank will not open their records up to any…offspring under the age of 18. And some of the men sign papers that their identity will never be revealed. And I can't even get them to open the file enough to tell me that part."

"Don't they tell you that stuff before you do the procedure?" Neal asked.

"They did tell me several things. They allowed me to make notes on the general things that they told me about the man. But, I never got anything specific. Nothing that would be really identifying of him." Diana said. "And even if I had, that's been 10 years ago. Most of that information is old."

"There's the obvious."

Diana nodded again. "I'm afraid his dad will reject him. I've ordered the DNA kit. I have it on my dresser at home. But, how is it going to be for him if we find out who his dad is and he want's nothing to do with Theo? Is it better not knowing? Or, at least, not knowing, right now? I told Theo when he turned 18 and became an adult. he could make those decisions. But, for right now…8 years has got to seem like a lifetime to him." She shook her head. "Am I causing more harm with him not knowing?"

The whole sperm bank thing was a little over Neal's head. But, the part about having your world blown away when you're 18 was not. He could help with that.

"Ellen told me the truth about my dad when I turned 18 years old." Neal started. "I had, up until that time, believed a total lie about James. And I was angry about it. I was angry at my mother for lying to me, all those years. She had had years and years to tell me the truth. But, she didn't. I felt the worst kind of betrayal. Of course, Theo knows part of the truth, which is good. I don't think it is ever good to lie to your kid about that stuff. And I think the older they are, the worse it is. I think you should…help him along with this. If he wants to start now. I think he can handle the answer. Just present it at his level. Do things in steps, don't throw everything at him at once. Let him process things before you proceed."

"Is this how you wish things would have been handled with you?" Diana asked. She was definitely going to give Neal's advice some consideration.

"Even at 18 years old." Neal admitted.

"I've told Theo all about the two special men who brought him into this world." Diana replied. "I guess I just never considered what…how the biological father thing might have affected him. I had a dad. I guess it just thought I could be it all to him. But, he still needs that strong male influence in his life. And I cannot be that for him."

"He's got Peter. He'll have Mozzie and I."

"And that's a good thing?" Diana looked at grinning.

Neal chuckled. "It can be."

"I'm glad you decided to come back." Diana replied. "I missed you."

"You knew?" Neal asked.

Diana shook her head. "No, but I could not picture you…just gone, dead. I had always imagined that you had…gotten away with it all. I pictured you on a beach somewhere handing fistfuls of money out to scantily clad women."

"And you're not mad?" Neal questioned wanting to know, not only about Diana. But about White Collar, in general.

"I was, for like, a minute. Then I remembered what you had done for the division. And I missed you. And I wanted Theo to get to know his Uncle Neal."

"Uncle Neal?" Neal said, surprised.

Diana nodded again. "Yeah, he's called you that all his life."

"Okay you two, back over here." Peter said, interrupting their conversation and drawing them back into the bigger conversation. "I forgot to do a toast while we were eating, so I will make one now." He said as El refilled both Diana's and Neal's glasses.

Peter and the rest clinked glasses. "Here's to new possibilities with old friends." They all took a drink. Then they all headed to the living room to take a seat. Diana wanted to allow the boys to have some time together. They went to different schools, so they didn't get to see each other often. And Jones had not been around in a while. Plus, he was really curious, as they all were, of what Neal would be doing, now that he was back in the states.

"So, this artist's life you're planning on leading….?" Diana inquired.

"I've bought space for a gallery. I will have my own personal studio there. And I have space for classrooms." Neal said, surprising them all.

"Have you seen it already?" Peter asked.

Neal shook his head. "Not in person, just a virtual tour." Neal stated. "Mozzie and I are going tomorrow."

"Moz?" Jones said. "What is he going to be doing?"

"Managing the gallery, enrolling students, planning gallery shows, and whatever else I will need to have done." Neal replied.

"And that is going to make the little bald man happy?" Jones asked.

"He likes to plan." Neal said. "He likes to think he's in charge. So yeah, this is just the type of stuff he needs to do to keep him occupied and out of trouble."

"I want to hear about this gallery." El stated. "Where is it? How much space do you have?"

"It's on 132nd and Broadway. Second floor of an old shoe factory." Neal said. "I have about 8,000 square feet."

"Wow?" El said. "That is a great space. I saw that space a week ago. The realtor had an open house." She paused. Were you there?"

Neal nodded. "I was. I was the first person in the door. I told him I would give him $10,000 over and above his highest bid."

TBC

END NOTES: FYI: I don't know if Broadway or 132nd Street exist in NYC. So, for sure, I don't know if they meet or not. I have no idea how big an area one needs for art studios, galleries, or classrooms. So, I just guessed at a number that sounded good. I hope you all are still enjoying the story. I have only another chapter or two more to go. Thanks for reading, JL