ARROW - 156. Chapter 156

Going back to the hotel, we checked out. Taking a taxi to the airport, we stopped and picked up Madame Lavigne. She was quite excited.

“I have never flown before nor have I been anywhere except Paris. (Madame spoke only in French), I was hoping by the time she returned to Paris, she would be able to speak a little English.

The seating arrangement was 3-2. The older boys sat in the two-seat side with a younger boy. I took a three-seat and sat with Carl and Madame Lavigne. Marie and Mary Ann took a three-seater, Roger, decided to return to the States with us. He sat with Maria and Mary Ann.

The flight home was losing some of its novelty. The boys were becoming accustomed to flying to and from Europe so now it wasn’t a unique experience except for Carl. He exhibited the excitement the other boys had accepted as normal.

Arriving at JFK, Colin was there with a bus to pick us up. He said he wasn’t sure how many were returning with me so he thought the van would be too small. He was right but it did allow us to put our luggage inside the bus.

Madame Lavigne sat next to a window, she hadn’t said a word until we approached our home. She noted our home was in the woods and thought our home would be more like the homes in Paris. I thought, wait until she sees the Home.

Tommy took her luggage to the bedroom on the first floor. Colin was in the kitchen making a pot of coffee. The boys took their luggage to their rooms, Mary Ann took her luggage to her room.

I was anxious to get to the Home to see what security systems were in place and how they were monitored, but that would need to wait until tomorrow.

The club was closed, our chefs were in France and would be there for another few weeks. Colin and Ronnie would be leaving for Michigan in two weeks. I would drive Richie to Amherst when Colin returned. I knew I would miss them but Colin said all parents missed their children when they go off to school. “I bet your mom and dad missed you?”

I thought about that, did they feel the same as I do now? Colin’s parents never felt that way since he did his studies at Yale. I was glad we had adopted the young boys, Mary Ann and Louise. They would help me to pass my time and maybe, I won’t miss Ronnie and Richie as much. Colin said to look forward to the times when they will be home.

Madame Lavigne made herself at home. She said the bed was very comfortable and she looked forward to helping the boys learn French. I could hear her from the studio and I smiled as I remember her teaching me. I wondered if she was a teacher in France. We would sit in her living room and over a glass of wine, she would tell me a French word and then point to an object. She would open a magazine and point to a photo or sentence and I would copy her French. It wasn’t the best of situations but if she had spoken English I would never have learned as fast as I did. Later I would buy a paper in French and the same paper in English. Now I learned much faster.

I asked Colin to see if he could pick up an English newspaper that had a French copy.

“You should have done that when you were in Paris. I don’t think there is a French newspaper published here. But I’ll check”

Well, there wasn’t any. I remember buying the boys books when they were learning Spanish.

Madame Lavigne and I went to a bookstore to find books on learning French. She looked at several books, “This one we can start with, and then this one after they learn the basics.” Now I was convinced she was a teacher.

“Madame Lavigne, we need to set a time for their lessons.”

“I suggest morning being the best time. They will be more likely to concentrate.”

And on returning home, I told the boys and Mary Ann they will take French lessons in the morning.

The week Colin left, the boys started to call Madame Lavigne, Grandmere. I smiled every time I heard them.

The morning after we came home, I told Colin I wanted to check out the security at the Home. Tommy had gone over the night we arrived and told me that an ant couldn’t get to the home. Now I knew that was an exaggeration but I was curious, I also wanted Madame Lavigne to see the Home. Tommy drove us, arriving I saw the gate. I watched as Tommy went and punched in a number, then we waited until we heard, “Identification “ in a commanding masculine voice. Tommy identified himself. He then stood in front of a camera, and when he heard ‘confirmed’ he got back into the car as the gate opened. As soon as his car cleared the gate, the gate slammed shut.

Driving to the barn, he parked his car and we walked to the front door. There I saw the camera, and being a little foolish I waved at the camera. The door opened and there were Lois and Pat.

“Well, what do you think?”

“I need to see more. The gate at the top of the driveway, was impressive, But what happens if there is no electricity to operate the gate?”

“The car gate won’t open but there is a small one-person-at-a-time people gate that can be manually opened from the inside.”

“If it can be manually opened what is there to prevent someone from opening it from the outside?”

“The inside lock is located 6 feet from the top of the fence. We have a monitoring camera on the fence which has a battery backup system.”

Lois showed us the array of cameras in her office. “Are you able to print the screen?”

She showed us the screen of us entering the site and then printed it off for us.

I introduced Madame Lavigne to Pat explaining she only speaks French.

Pat, stopped one of the boys and asked him to find Paul. “Paul is a sophomore and is studying French in high school. Maybe he can help.” I translated Pat’s comments to Madame.

A young boy entered Pat’s office. I knew him, “Hello Paul. I understand you are studying French in school.”

“Yes, Dad. This will be my second year.”

I chuckled when he called me Dad. Colin said it wouldn’t be long before the other children would call me Dad and him Pop. “Paul. This is a good friend of mine from Paris. She doesn’t speak English and I wonder if you could give her a tour in French.”

“My French isn’t perfect, Dad. But I’ll try.”

I related our conversation to Madame Lavigne and explain Paul is studying French and will try and give her a tour of French. I thought maybe I should go along and then Tommy said don’t Dad. So I didn’t go along.

Paul spoke French very slowly. I think he was afraid of making a mistake.

I knew Madame would get him to relax.

After the boys had their French lesson we drove to the Home. There we met up with Paul and Madame started to teach some of the older children. She used Paul as a support in having him ensure that those who showed an interest in learning French had their homework finished. It wasn’t long before you would hear French being spoken by the children At first it was a mix of English and French. Then you heard more French than English. The day Madame was to return to Paris, there was a special dinner at the Home in her honor.

“Armand, I could never thank you enough for this visit. The children at the Home have added a special treat for me. They tried so hard to learn to speak French. Promise me you will see that they continue to study. The next time I am here, I will want to see how they have progressed,”

I smiled for two reasons, first she hinted about coming back, and two her interest in the children at the Home.

Roger was going to Paris along with several student paintings he wanted Jean and Arnaud to comment on. Between you and I, he had another interest. He was hoping that they would buy these paintings. The evening before Madame was to leave, we had a going away party for ant Madame to leave because, after her visit, Colin and Ronnie made plans to visit Michigan. I knew the clock was ticking and if Ronnie liked what he saw, he would be leaving one week before Freshman week at Michigan. Madame Lavigne was a diversion and now she is gone. Colin said I need to look for the future and we will always have Ronnie in our lives. He was right, but I remember when I left home for Carnegie Tech, I was still close to home. But when I was taking my vacations in Europe and moving to Yale, I didn’t think about Mom and Dad. Being the only child they must have felt as I do now. They never said anything except to encourage me to do my best. GG said I must encourage Ronnie to do his best and to let him know he will always have a home here with Colin and me.

When I told Colin what GG said, he looked at me. “You have listened to her for many years, don’t stop now. I don’t want the boys to grow up, but that isn’t fair to them. And if they marry, we will be overrun with grandchildren. Then, you won’t miss them, but you could wish they would come and take their children home.

Soon it was time for Ronnie to leave. I didn't want him to go. Colin said he would drive him to the airport. Roger was there and they made arrangements for the next day. He would drive them to the airport, that was until Tommy said he would drive them and pick up Roger when he return

Colin and Ronny flew to Michigan and Richie and I drove to Amherst.

When we arrived, Richie took over. “Dad, let’s go and see the Dean of admissions.”

I followed Richie, he knew his way around. At first, I was confused until one of the staff came. He shook Richie’s hand and Richie introduced me as his father.

“I knew Richard’s father. We were dorm mates when we were here as undergraduates. His dad went to medical school but I stayed and received my doctorate in education. Now I am stuck here teaching. I have enjoyed teaching and I look forward to teaching Richard.”

“I was hoping that someone would remember my dad. We came here once when my older brother was looking at colleges.”

“Have you looked at any other colleges?”

“No, but we live next to Yale. I might think about Yale law school but I’ll make that decision after I graduate from Amherst.”

“It’s good to see you, Richard. I look forward to teaching you. And if they ask you if you have a dorm preferential, tell them you would like to have Dorm 314 in dorm Bldg. 1201. “

Richie smiled, thanking the gentleman.

“Richie, do you remember his name?”

“No, I forgot it. I only met him once before but I think in Dad’s yearbook, I’ll find his name.”

I walked with Richie as we went through the enrollment process. He checked out various courses asking my opinion. I wasn’t much help. Colin would have done a better job.

“Richie, let’s call Pop and see what he thinks about your selection of courses for this semester.”

That is what we did, Colin advice was to drop one of the courses Richie had picked and substitute another course for it. Listening I only caught one side of the conversation. When Richie was done, I spoke briefly to Colin. It seems Ronnie was treated with kid gloves. I knew then he would be going to Michigan.

I paid Ritchie’s first-year fees and then we went to check out his dorm. It was a lot closed than I thought it would be.

Walking inside, he showed an older student that sat at a desk his room assignment. The student showed him the room, “The other student hasn’t checked in. Since you are the first, you can choose your room. The other student will have to take the other room.”

The dorm had a central room with a sleeping room on either side. There was one shower and bathroom between the two rooms.

I watched as Richie entered both sleeping rooms. He chose the room on the left side as you entered the dorm.

“I like this room best Dad. It is quieter than the other room.”

“Richie, if you don’t like it here we can rent a room for you. You must have a quiet room so you can study.”

I didn’t need to worry about him being distracted as long as the room was quiet. I also knew that some students like to have parties in their rooms. Then it would be impossible for Richie to study.

Driving back home, “Dad, do you think I should bring my car with me?”

“I wouldn’t at least the first year. If your new friends know you have a car available, they will try and get you to take them places. You may end up being a chauffeur. We can think about having your car here in the second semester. If you want to come home, call me and I or Pop will come for you.”

Driving back home, I kept looking at Richie. I could see him in a suit, in court arguing a case. Colin had his back up and I was glad. Three hours later we were driving into our home. Tommy and Ivan had their schedules. Roger introduced them to the head of their departments. Now they had to compare their schedules, but one was missing.