ARROW - 168. Chapter 168

I was sitting in Angela’s kitchen having a coffee when she told me what GG was hinting at in my sleep. “Armand, I have some bad news. Pepe’s mother is dying and she wants you to adopt him.”

I had a hard time believing this. “When did she take ill? The last time I was here she was healthy. How could she be close to dying ?”

“She has cancer that has eaten into her lungs.”

“Couldn’t she see a doctor?”

“Armand, you know that we don’t have a doctor visiting the village. Geno took her to a doctor in Rome but the disease had progressed too far. Will you take care of Pepe?”

I found it hard to believe that Maria was dying. She was Carmela’s best friend. My mind was still trying to get around this news.

“Will you?”

“Will I what?”

“Adopt Pepe.”

That brought me out of my stupor. “Yes, I’ll take care of Pepe. As to adoption, he will need to agree. He isn’t a child, he’s 15 years old.” I wasn’t thinking straight, I was still trying to understand what was happening. I had to see Maria.

“I’ll be back.”

I walked across the plaza to Marie and Pepe’s house. I knew Pepe’s dad was dead after an accident he had on the job in Rome. Knocking on the door Pepe came to open the door. When he saw me, he was in my arms crying very hard. I held him, what do you tell a boy when he has realized he will lose his mother?

Between his sobs, he tells me his mother is dying. What do you say to a grieving young man? He lost his father when he was a few years old and now he will lose his mother. I did the only thing I could. I held him in a tight embrace.

Colin showed up, “Angela told me you were here. What’s happening?”

“His mother just told him she is going to go and see his father.”

I continued to hold Pepe while Colin went to check on his mother. I didn’t have to tell Colin, he knew just by looking at me.

When he came back, he had some papers. “I have an errand to do. I’ll be back. Go and sit down with him.”

I didn’t realize I was still standing. Picking up Pepe I went and sat down on a chair. I moved Pepe so he could sit on my lap. He was still sobbing.

"Pepe, I would like for you to come and live with Colin and me.”

I could feel his arms tighten around me. He won’t be alone.

A few hours later Colin returned with the boys. Tommy sat beside me and started to rub Pepe’s back. When I looked at him, his eyes were moist. I am always surprised by how the boys react, they know what it is like to be alone and afraid.

I didn’t know where Colin went but I knew he will tell me. My thoughts turned to GG. I could hear her in my head. Her words of last night echoed in my mind.

As we sat there, Pepe’s crying stopped with the occasional sob.

Tommy held one of his hands, “Pepe, do you remember the last time you were in America? Remember we use to talk about you coming to live with me. What fun we would have. You’re going to get your wish. You will come home with us and we can share my bedroom like we did when you visited."

Geno came over and said lunch was ready. No one moved, I whispered to Pepe, “Let’s go and have lunch. Then we can take a walk in the fields. Maybe you can pick some flowers for your mom.”

We followed Geno. I saw Angela with a pot of soup heading to Marie’s room.

We sat down at Nonna’s table, I had a bowl of soup, and I ate half the other half I fed to Pepe. At first, he didn’t want any. I whispered to him, “Angela made this soup for you and your mom. If your mom asks you if it was good, what are you going to say if you never try it.” That did it. He took one spoonful and smiled as he finished the bowl. He even asked Angela for a little more.

After lunch, the boys went to the fields to get flowers. Colin suggested I go and see Marie. He opted to stay with the boys.

I did go to see Marie. I sat beside her bed, holding her hand, I couldn’t believe how her face was ravaged by cancer. She looked at me with pleading eyes.

“You don’t need to worry about Pepe. Colin and I will adopt him. He will be treated as our son like all of our children. You won’t be forgotten nor his father.”

I got a weak smile as she handed me a photo album. I knew why she did that, it was to be given to Pepe so he won’t forget.

For the next three days, I sat with Marie and listen to her stories about her husband and Pepe. It was the morning of the fourth day when she took my hand. “I’m going to see my husband. I can hear him calling me.”

With one long sigh, Marie left us. Pepe walked in when she said that and left us. “Mom, don’t leave me.”

I gathered him in my arms and held him.

It seemed like the boys and Colin heard his cries. We were surrounded in seconds. Geno brought the priest, who gave her what he called the last rights. I wonder how he could do that as she was gone.

Geno took over, a casket was brought to the home, and the nuns from the church came and prepared her for the casket. Pepe, crying very hard, hugged her for the last time. The men of the village carried her to the church.

Every time I looked at Pepe, my heart broke. I lived the grief of Richie all over again. Now I had two boys whose body was racked with grief over losing their family. When I looked at Richie I saw his tears as they rolled down his cheeks. I knew he was remembering his family and his loss.

After the service, Marie was carried to her final resting place next to her husband. The priest committed her body to her grave and her soul to heaven. The town folk left, Angela had a light snack for them and Geno had a few bottles of wine. The boys went to the fields, I knew why.

Pepe wasn’t ready to leave and so we sat on the ground. I sat on the ground and he sat in my lap.

“Do you think my mom is with my dad?”

“No question. Your dad came and got her. They are in heaven now.” I had a request for GG. I didn’t have to think about it, I saw the look on Pepe’s face and I knew he just met GG. I saw the smile on his face, and I knew he saw his mom and dad.

The boys came back with flowers. Ivan took charge, flowers were planted on Marie’s grave and her husband’s grave. They didn’t forget Nonna’s grave or her husband's. They carried water for the flowers.

By the time we were ready to go to Spain, Pepe was beginning to accept the fact he will be moving to the States as Colin and my son. We went through his house and collected everything he wanted to take with him. I had Geno crate everything, and have it shipped home. I did take the boys shopping and I needed a suitcase for Pepe’s clothes. “When we get home, we’ll go clothes shopping. So just get what you need for the next couple of days.”

Our trip to see Carlos and Alicia turned out to be another surprise. Alicia was expecting again only this time she was certain it would be a girl. Carlos said they won’t be visiting in the spring as it would be close to Alicia’s due date. Colin said maybe we would come over and next year they could resume their spring visits.

Carlos wanted to know about Pepe and I let Colin handle that.

The young boys liked the sheep. I heard one of them asking Ivan if he was going to have sheep on his farm. I laughed because Ivan wasn’t aware but he will have a lot of animals on his farm if these boys have a say.

Our two days with Carlos went by very fast. Soon we were on a train to Madrid but we had to promise Carlos and Alicia that we would be back for a longer vacation. From Madrid, we flew to Paris.

Now the boys took over. They had to take Pepe to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Arnaud, Jean, and Roger made a fuss over Pepe when they found out about his mother. The one that had tears in her eyes as she hugged him was Grandmere.

We were only going to spend two days in Paris, turns out it was almost a week. We had to go and see our chefs, Marie and Mary Ann. It was Colin who said we had to leave, he needed to get back to his business.

I booked us and I do believe we took all of the seats in Business class. I called my dad to let him know our arrangements and for him to meet us with the bus. I saw Roger arriving at the airport and Arnaud was with him. “You have a house guest.”

I hugged Arnaud, “He’s no guest, he’s family.” You would have thought I crowned him king. Thinking back, I knew he wasn’t close to his family, except for his son and his son's family. His close friends were Jean and Roger.

The flight home was jovial. The boys were laughing, Grandmere was trying to teach Pepe some French.

Arriving at JFK, we spit up. I needed to have Pepe’s passport stamped. Arnaud was behind him, he was laughing. Evidently, the passport agent asked Pepe why he was in America. He told them to be adopted by his father.

Gathering our luggage and there was Dad with Louise. The boys loaded the luggage and we were on our way home.

We no sooner had our luggage off the bus, when Tommy headed for the Home with Pepe in tow, Ivan headed to his farm, and Colin and Ritchie headed to the office. I told Arnaud to take the bedroom next to my studio. I heard ‘our’ studio.

The box we shipped from Athens was in our living room.

The boys were hungry. “We could go to the Home and have lunch.”

That was agreed on by all. The boys drove the bus. I think this will be the first time Pepe has been at the Home. I’ll be interested in his comments. Grandmere was excited, she was wondering how her students were getting along in learning French.

I had called Tommy and told him we were coming over for lunch before we left. I knew Roger had seen the Home but this will be Arnaud’s first time. The boys got out at the visitor gate, and Lois let them in. Then they went to the car gate to let the bus in.

When we headed for the front door, the boys opened the door and walked right in. Once inside I looked for Arnaud, but he wasn’t with the rest. “Where is Arnaud?”

“I thought he was with you?”

Just then the door opened, “Roger. Have you seen this?”

Roger walked outside to where Arnaud was standing. “Look” Arnaud was pointing to Armand’s angel above the door.

“Yes, Armand painted that so no one would try and destroy the home. That painting is worth a lot of money. He has more of his painting inside. None of it is on canvas, all of it is painted directly on the walls.”

“Has Jean seen any of this?”

“I don’t think he has. Let’s ask Armand.”

Entering the Home, Tommy offered Arnaud a tour.

Arnaud stopped in front of the fireplace in the living room, he noted the painting above the mantle. It was a composite of some of the young children. Arnaud quickly identified Louise from his knowledge of the painting hanging in the Louvre.

Tommy and Pat led them into the dining room. Again Arnaud was stunned by the painting on the wall overlooking the dining room. Whispering to Roger, “Does he know the value of these paintings?”

“I’m sure he has some idea.”

“After we have had lunch, I’ll give you a tour.”

Pat and Tommy insisted that Roger and Arnaud sit at the head table. They introduced the doctor, nurse, and a retired cook who were sitting at the head table.

If Arnaud was surprised at the painting, he really lit up when the children entered giving a hug to Armand and calling him Dad. A couple of girls took the seat on either side of him. Pepe sat across from him.

Lunch was sandwiches on homemade bread, with a fruit salad over ice cream. Arnaud and Roger laughed at the children, they were eating their ice cream salad before their sandwiches. This was followed by glasses of milk sweetened with a spoon of maple syrup. Arnaud wanted to know what they were drinking, Tommy passed his glass to Arnaud. He took one sip, kept the glass, and gave his coffee to Tommy. The older children saw this and laughed.

“After lunch, Armand will give you the grand tour."

There was no question, Arnaud was impressed. “Roger, do you think something like this would work in other countries?”

“I don’t know. I know there are children on the streets in Paris. I’ve seen them late at night begging. I think if you want to try, I know someone who will help you.”

“Maybe the next time you are in Paris we can see what Jean thinks. Has Jean been here?”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask Armand when we go on tour.”

“Where is Armand I don’t see him.”

“Look for the children he will be in the middle.”

If Arnaud was impressed with lunch, he certainly was impressed when the older children pitched in to help the cooks clean the table. Walking to the second floor they showed Arnaud the rooms. “Are all the rooms like this?”

“Yes, they are set up like the boy's rooms at his house.”

“Is that a library?”

“Yes, it includes school books as well as reading books for all ages, and with Grandmere here, there are books in French. She spends a lot of time here teaching the children French.”

On the fourth floor. Arnaud could see the backyard and the swimming pool. The chickens, the geese, and Ivan’s cornfield. Arnaud didn’t say anything, he just looked.

“Are these rooms like the others?”

“I don’t know. Let’s look.”

All the doors were locked except one. Roger turned on the light. “This room looks like a dormitory. I know there were a few boys who work with the carpenter. They must stay here.”

“Why don’t they share a room like the other boys?”

“They are overage.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The State pays for a child to be here until they are 18 years of age. They are considered adults and the state doesn’t pay for them. So they stay here until they build some wealth or go to college. Once they have enough money saved they can leave and be on their own.”

“Has anyone left?”

“I don’t know. We can ask Armand.”

“This must cost a lot of money to operate a place this big.”

“I don’t know what the costs are. My guess is that Armand probably helps out.”

“Do these children ever get out?”

“Yes, they take trips. They go to the zoo, museums, shopping, ball games, and fishing trips. The ladies club takes the girls shopping and getting their hair done.”

I had just finished explaining all of this to Arnaud when I heard Armand calling us. “We are upstairs.”

Armand came up, “Arnaud, what do you think?”

“Do you think something like this would work in Europe?”

“I don’t know. You could set up a smaller version as a test.”

“Where do your staff stay.”

“They stay here. Come with me.” We walked down to the second floor. “These are apartments for the medical staff and the overall manager.”

Walking to the cooks and cleaning people area. “These are apartments for the cooks and the cleaning personnel”

“Show him your piece de resistance.”

We walked down to the rec area. “This is the game room, there are models, and games for all ages and we have that tv to watch Ronnie’s games. We also can show movies and we have popcorn .”

Two boys came up to Armand, “Dad, can you help us with this model? We’re stuck.”

I took the model, “Here is your problem. This part goes here. If you get stuck again come and find me.” I gave each of them a hug and a kiss on the head.

“They call you Dad.”

“Yes, you can thank my boys for that. I love it.”

“Are we staying for dinner?”

“We have three choices until our chefs return from France. One is Uncle Pete’s, or the Italian restaurant, or here?”

It was a toss-up, but Roger suggested Pete’s. “It’s been ages since I ate there. Arnaud, it is a local cafe where the students eat there on occasion.” So, Pete's, it was.