It was a warm March 30th. Yesterday had been Connor's first birthday, and the entire family had come over to celebrate. Many laughs, photos, and cake smashings were had.
Well, a few photos from the event had floated onto FriendFindr, and so that morning, Gina woke up to a friend request and message notification from a man by the name of Henri Ricard. Curious, she opened up the app.
Gina sent: Bonjour? (8:02 am)
. . .
Henri sent: Bonjour ma fille (Hello my daughter) (8:07 am)
Gina sent: Ta fille? (Your daughter?) (8:08 am)
Henri sent: Ta mère ne jamais je te le dis? (Your mother never told you about me?) (8:09 am)
Gina sent: ? (8:09 am)
Henri sent: Ton père? (Your father?) (8:10 am)
Gina sent: Quoi? (What?) (8:11 am)
Henri sent: Tu ne me reconnais pas? (You don't remember me?) (8:12 am)
Gina sent: Non (8:12 am)
Henri sent: Je vais être dans ton ville demain, alors je vais viens pour visiter (I will be in your town tomorrow, so I will come to visit) (8:13 am)
Gina put her phone down. She hadn't seen her father since a few months before Joe was born, and now he was coming to see her? How was she supposed to respond to that?
"Hey, darling," said Blaine, coming in with Connor on his hip. "I've made pancakes and eggs. Are you coming to eat?"
Gina rubbed her eyes and got up from bed. Blaine was her best bet to bounce ideas off of.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Gina had just finished explaining the entire situation to Blaine. Marie had already gone off to school, and Connor was too little to get it, so they didn't need to worry about interference.
"Je pense," said Gina softly. "Il ressemble vraiment à quelqu'un qui veut me rencontrer." (I think. He seems like he really wants to meet me.)
"I don't know, love, I'm getting some real red flags from this," said Blaine, taking another bite of eggs. "You haven't had any contact with him since you were very small. And from what I gather, your mum really doesn't like him."
Gina pursed her lips, but insisted. "Je veux le rencontrer." (I want to meet him.)
Blaine shrugged his shoulders and put his hand over hers. "It's your choice. And I'll be with you every step of the way."
The next day was Saturday, so everyone was home to meet Grandpa Henri. He arrived just after lunchtime, and sat on the couch to chat with Gina. "Alors, tu es marié maintenant, avec deux enfants?" (So, you're married now, with two kids?)
"Mmhmm," mumbled Gina. She felt rather awkward.
"Je suis fière que tu fasses cette décision quand tu étais prête," said Henri, crossing one leg over the other. "Le mariage et les enfants ne sont pas des choses à prendre doucement." (I'm glad that you made this decision when you were ready. Marriage and children are not things to take lightly.)
Gina shifted a bit. This was much more uncomfortable than she expected. She suspected Marie felt the same, since she left the room and went to draw on the sidewalk with chalk.
Blaine pursed his lips. "So, what have you been up to all these years?"
"Ah, je trouve un nouveau travail," said Henri. "Cela me payer généreusement." (Ah, I found a new job. It pays me generously.)
Not generous enough to pay child support, thought Blaine.
Connor stared up at Henri. He was in awe at this strange man. Henri looked down at him. "Ta mere est une femme tres responsable, oui, mon gars?" (Your mother is a very responsible woman, eh, little guy?)
Connor cocked his head. What could that mean?
Outside, Marie had abandoned her chalk and was instead picking up dandelions to place in a makeshift fairy ring, when she heard a car pull up in the driveway. She came out to the front, where Step-Granny, Uncle Joe, and Cousin Katrina had arrived. Step-Granny was carrying a little bag. "Salut, ma belle," said Step-Granny. "Je trouve ce t-shirt adorable au mall aujourd'hui, et c'était tellement mignon, alors j'achète pour ton frère comme un cadeau anniversaire tard." (Hey, sweetie. I found this adorable t-shirt at the mall, and it was so cute, so I got it for your brother as a late birthday gift.)
"Oh, mum's inside," said Marie, bringing her extended family inside.
And that's when crap hit the fan.
When Amélie saw Henri, she stopped in her tracks and went very quiet. "Henri."
Henri furrowed his brow. "Amélie."
Joe turned to his mother. "Maman, qui est ça?" (Mum, who is that?)
Amélie clenched her jaw. "Ton pere, cherie." (Your father, love.)
Joe put a hand on his mother's shoulder and soured his expression. He still remembered hearing about how his father ran out on the family before he was born, and how bitter he felt growing up because of that.
"Ecoutez-moi," said Henri, standing up to tower over Amélie, "j'ai la droit a un relation avec ma fille." (Listen, I have the right to a relationship with my daughter.)
"Tu as ce droit pour trente-six années," said Amélie coldly, "pourquoi vas-tu seulement prendre avantage de ça maintenant?" (You've had that right for thirty-six years, why are you only taking advantage of that now?)
"Regardez ici, salope," said Henri, dipping into a dark tone of voice, "tu étais l'un qui a forcé ses enfants sur moi." (Look here, bitch, you were the one who forced these kids on me.)
"Okay, you kids get back," said Blaine, collecting Connor, Marie, and Katrina and holding them on the couch a safe distance away.
Amélie went quiet for a moment, and her face fell. "Pourquoi ne me dis-tu jamais que tu ne veux pas d'enfants? Je pense vraiment que tu vas adorer Gina et Joseph." (Why didn't you ever tell me you didn't want kids? I really thought you would love Gina and Joseph.)
"Suffit!" (Enough!) Henri raised a hand to shut Amélie up. Amélie's eyes went wide with terror, and she shrunk away.
Oh, that was enough indeed. Joe pushed his way in between his mother and father. "Viens, me frapper!" (Go on, hit me!)
Henri stopped. "Quoi?"
"Tu as deja lever ton main a ta femme, alors viens, lever ton main a ton fils aussi!" Joe raised his arms, as if to say "bring it". (You already raised your hand at your wife, so come on, raise your hand at your son too!)
Henri was confused for a minute, until he realised this must be the baby Amélie told him about before he left. He lowered his hand. "Je ne vais pas te frapper-" (I won't hit you-)
"Do it, you useless bastard!" Joe roared.
Katrina left the couch and ran to her father's side. "Don't hit my daddy!"
Seeing his daughter now at his hip, Joe put a hand on her head and took a deep breath. "Regardez, vieux homme, d'être un parent seul est difficile. Je sais, j'en ai un. Mais je prends cette responsabilité, et donne à ma fille un parent quand sa mère se périr." (Look, old man, being a single parent is hard. I know, I am one. But I took that responsibility, and gave my daughter a parent when her mother perished.)
He put a hand on Henri's shoulder and began to lead him out of the house. "Parce que je ne veux jamais placer ma belle p'tite fille dans la même situation que tu me placer dedans; un seule enfant avec sans père. Mais je savais maintenant que je n'en avais plus besoin. J'ai ma propre famille que j'adore tellement, et ça ne t'inclue pas." (Because I never want to put my little girl in the same situation that you put me in; a lonely kid without a father. But I know now that I don't need you anymore. I have my own family that I love very much, and that doesn't include you.) He pushed Henri out the door. "Passe une belle journée." (Have a nice day.)
When he came back inside, he knelt down next to Katrina. "Je suis désolé que tu aies vu ça." (I'm sorry you had to see that.)
Katrina hugged her father. "You saved Grandma."
Blaine came over and put a hand on Gina's shoulder. "Gina, honey, we are never letting that man in this house again."
"Oh, Blaine, Joseph, mes gars," said Amélie, hugging her son and son-in-law, "je suis tellement reconnaissant que vous êtes ici pour vos enfants." (Oh, Blaine, Joseph, my boys, I'm so grateful that you're here for your children.)
"Mais oui, Maman," said Joe, "c'est notre responsabilité pour prendre soin d'elles." (But of course, Mum, it's our job to take care of them.)
"And it's our responsibility to keep them safe," said Blaine. "Now, why don't we go to the kitchen and calm down with some cheesecake?" He corralled his family into the dining area for the sweet taste of sweet, creamy, chocolatey goodness.
