Chapter 139: The Dumonts (II)
Down a long private drive lined with lavender a black luxury sedan drove slowly, kicking up only a small bit of debris as it made its way leasurely. The sun shown down brightly belying the fact that it was only around 40°F
Inside the chauffeured vehicle, Chang resisted the urge to wipe her sweaty palms on the new beautiful silk dress she wore. It had been bought for her in Lyons after they landed so that she would look presentable.
After having receiving the new dress she had also been taken to a day spa, where she was cleaned, polished and scrubbed until she shined. The plush leather seats beside her weren't exactly a good wiping spot either, but with no better alternatives, Chang wiped her palms on material beside her.
'I'm so nervous, what do I say?' Even though she had been assured numerous times that she had no need to be nervous she still felt it. She had never met the man before and wanted to make a good impression on her Dad's dad.
At the front the man chauffeuring the vehicle called back to ask if she was good in his heavily accented French. After a second she realized he was speaking to her and answered saying she was fine.
'Except for my nerves..'
The man had been sent by her grandfather to bring her to him and had attended to her all the way through the journey, and was now driving her the last when she had opened the door, she had expected to see her aunt, but instead he had stood there.
As soon as she opened the door he had asked for her mother, Mrs. Dumont. Though he spoke in English it was very heavily affected by a foreign accent.
When he asked it felt like knives stabbed into her heart again relentlessly. It had taken her a moment to respond to the man and tell him that Mrs Dumont was deceased and that she was her daughter Miss Dumont.
"You are mademoiselle Dumont?" The man looked at her up and down to her annoyance before settling his shocked eyes back onto her face.
"Yes." She answered the man in a clipped tone, preparing to take a step back on and close the door again.
"Pardon me I was just stunned for a moment, I thought you would be different.. Miss Dumont, my name is Mr. Poitier, I am here on behalf of your grandfather regarding the letter Madame Dumont wrote him."
Chang was confused momentarily as her mother had told her when she was younger that her grandfather had passed away when she was little.
"I'm sorry sir, there must be some kind of mistake my grandfather is already deceased."
"Quoi? I assure you mademoiselle Jean-Jacques Dumont is very much alive, and would very much so like to meet you.
'Wait is that my dad's dad? How come they never really told me about him?'
"Why after all this time does he want to meet me?"
"You'll have to ask him that yourself in France. Will you come with me to meet him?"
'What do I have to lose?'
"Give me a minute to get some things together."
"We can have everything sent to you at a later date."
"I'm not leaving without a few things." Grabbing a small backpack she put her parents ashes as well as the family photo album and put them in. Everything else was superficial.
As she left she realized she should leave a note for her aunt Chen Hua before leaving so that she wouldn't worry. Her aunt had been a really nice lady, she was extremely grateful she had come and shown her care, she might have drowned in her grief if she hadn't come when she did. At the end of the note, after much consideration she left a note for Jian.
'I don't know if he'll ever see this but if he does I want him to know that.
'I wish he had come.'
Locking the door she hid the key under the welcome mat and left her childhood home, empty now save for memories.
Chapter 140: The Dumonts (III) + (IV)
Before she was ready the sleek vehicle came up to a massive ornate gate that swung slowly inwards as they approached it.
The lavender hedge gave way to a brilliant deep green one that enfenced numerous skeletal plants. The drive way ended with a large circular drive that lay at the feet of an extensive white manor. In the center of the circle stood a naked stone woman statue with a cascade of water plummeting around her into the pool below her feet.
The white manor only stood two stories tall but it's wings extended for a ways past the circle on both sides, the front of it lined with windows. Even though the place seemed regal, it was not forbiddingly opulent.
Chang sat in the car for a moment even after the car came to a stop. Seeing that she still sat there immobile Mr. Poitier came and opened the door on the side she sat.
"We have arrived Mademoiselle."
"Mm." She gave a hum in response as she rose out of the vehicle and followed Mr. Poitier to the tall oak doors. As she followed him she clutched the small backpack tightly to her chest her eyes darting everywhere.
After knocking to announce their presence he opened the door and led her into the brightly lit interior. Inside the walls were lined with beautiful portraits, mostly of nature. At blank spots a few showtables stood with sculptures and other pieces of art.
Even with her nervousness and detachment Chang noted the beauty of the place.
Mr. Poitier led her to a room at the end of the hall and ushered her in. The hexagonal room was white, like the rest of the place the only dark spot was a glass and wood writing table that stood near the center. At the desk sat an older white haired man with a pair of glasses, intensely pouring over some papers.
As she stepped inside the slight heels of her shoes made a reverberating clicking sound through the mostly empty room. Hearing the noise the man looked up before gaping and removing the thin frames from his face.
He came around the desk towards her and beckoned her to come closer.
"You must be Chang, come closer my dear, my eyes are not what they once were."
Chang cautiously walked towards him still gripping her bag. As she came closer she saw much of her father in the man, though this man was much more aged with worn creases into his face and a head full of stark white hair. Though age had stooped his shoulders a little Jean-Jacques Dumont still stood tall and proud.
Once she was close enough he eyed her closely and cupped a cheek with one of his wrinkled hands.
"Ah you look so much like my Hénri, your mother is very prominent in you but you have the proud Dumont jaw and eyes. Ah I must say this is truly a pleasure to have finally met you my dear, Madeleine would have been overjoyed to have met you as well."
Jean-Jacques Dumont wiped a tear that started to leak from a corner of his eye.
"Excuse me, but how come I never met you or heard about you before?" Chang hesitantly asked the man, seeing his elated expression, and his kindly demeanor she couldn't understand why her dad never talked about his own dad.
Jean-Jacques Dumont heaved a deep sigh.
"That is due to my own fault. My Hénri is- was also even more stubborn than his old man.
"When he left to join the armed forces, I let him go, I thought it would be a good experience for him and that it would strengthen him for when he joined Dumont Holdings. After he left though he went traveling around the world. Again I let him be, thinking he would come back.
"About a month after he left though he started to phone home about a girl he had met in San Francisco. At first this didn't concern me until a few months later when he called to say that he wanted to marry her.
"My wife advised us to support him, but I did not. I let my anger get the best of me and told him if he married some unknown girl I would disown him.
"I thought I could bring him back in line with my threats."
'Huh that sounds kinda familiar.' Chang scoffed to herself and clenched her fingers tighter into the material.
"Not only was he not cowed he retaliated back. We shared several harsh words before he hung up on me. I told him I would cut him out but I never did, Hénri faxed me a document of renouncement and cut our ties himself.
"We didn't hear from him after that until he placed a call to his mother around the middle of June. He took everything he saved from his time in service and bought a house in America and married the girl he had talked about.
"My wife was delighted to hear from him and that he was doing well.. I on the other hand acted foolishly again, I was angry that he would be willing to cut our ties so easily.. It was the last time we ever talked to our son."
Jean-Jacques Dumont fished a small handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his eyes recounting the past.
"My wife didn't speak to me nearly a year after that."
"If you never talked to my dad after that then how do you know about me?"
"LiHua your mother wrote to me several times through the years, she included pictures together with her letters. She had hoped that Hénri and I would repair our relationship, alas he died before we could move past our intractability. It broke my wife's heart and she passed the following winter after that..
"Your mother was a good woman, I came to understand that through her letters, and I understood why my son married her. After Hénri died I didn't hear from her until a month ago.
"She wrote me telling me that she was passing soon and worried for you and your future without a family to help back you."
Chang felt her eyes prickling hearing about her mom.
"Were they good to you growing up?"
Chang nodded her head wordlessly while biting her lower lip.
"Can you tell me, how was my son, was he a good husband and father?"
Swallowing the lump in her throat she answered him in a low voice.
"The best. Dad only made so much working as a postal worker, but we lived comfortably. He would take outdoors to go on hikes and nature walks, mom didn't like them. But he would do things mom liked like dancing with her. He was a really caring a protective dad and took good care of Mom and me. The worst thing he ever did was go and die so unexpectedly."
Chang shoulders shook as she thought of the phone call they got saying her father had died during work that day. Her mother had collapsed letting the phone hang from the wall next to her as she stared blankly. Chang had then picked up the call to hear the news herself.
The unnatural heat of the day had badly affected the man and he passed out in the back of his truck. No one had noticed the man as the truck was enclosed, or gave any notice to the truck that sat for hours.
Due to the heat in the enclosed area, the unnaturally high heat of the day, and his own large frame he suffered a heat stroke and finally went into cardiopulmonary arrest. By the time someone had noticed, the hospital had been unable to help Hénri Dumont.
Seeing her standing there crying Jean-Jacques put his hand to her shoulder, patting it.
"I'm sorry for bringing up more pain, there there. If you wish it dear you can stay with me now, I have more than enough, it would cheer me if you did.
"Will you come live with me?"
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