Louise Ch. 14

It seemed a lifetime ago since that conversation. By no stretch of the imagination had he fulfilled his father's admonitions. He had done the bare minimum. It occurred to him that he had been doing the bare minimum for most of his life.

Why he had to come to California to have this epiphany, he didn't know, but what he did know was that he didn't like the way that it made him feel. In a way, he felt a little like Ebenezer Scrooge who woke up one day, realized the errors of his ways and changed. Unlike Scrooge, he didn't have the resources, financial or emotional to make immediate change. If he did change, it wouldn't happen overnight.

He began to ask himself the hard questions as the movie played. His head began to ache at the choices that he needed to make. No matter what he did, he had a hard road in which he had to travel. He had to decide just had badly he was willing to work for what he now knew he was missing.

Respect.

It wasn't just the respect of others that he was missing. He was missing the respect for himself and the respect that he should have had for his family. He wondered at what point he lost that respect, and whether it was possible to get it back. He jumped when the lights switched on and Patrick announced another break.

Gene remained in his seat, closed his eyes and hoped that no one would disturb him.

********

Louise and Nathan slipped back in just as the movie ended.

"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" Nathan asked as they sat down.

"No I'm fine... I know that you want to talk to Leon so go."

"Leon can wait." Nathan replied.

"I know, but seriously, I'm fine and fully capable of getting my own food." Louise replied. "Now get going."

Nathan hesitated.

"Nathan, I'm fine."

Nathan grinned. He heard the little tone of annoyance in her voice. That would be his indicator for when he was becoming too obsessive.

"What are you grinning at?" Louise demanded.

"Nothing, I'll be back before the next movie starts." Nathan replied and kissed her temple.

*******

A few minutes later, he and Leon were sitting in an office at the far end of the basement. Nathan had caught up with Leon before he and Nadine could slip out.

"How do you like California?" Nathan asked.

"I love it here!" Leon replied. "It's funny that you should ask though." he added.

"Why is that?" Nathan asked.

"I was thinking about relocating. The big problem as I see it would be employment. I don't think that you have too many steel mills around here."

"Not in these parts anyway." Nathan replied. "Tell me about what you do at the steel mill."

"I'm what you call a jack of all trades and a master of none." Leon replied. "I'm one of the night shift supervisors. I also trouble shoot when a piece of equipment goes down, and that includes the computers. I also help train the new hires, and of course there's tons of paperwork in a system that is supposed to be paperless."

"Do you like your job?" Nathan asked.

"I like it most of the time." Leon replied. "But its like any job, there are days when I wonder why I do it, and then I remember that I need to work. But even if I didn't like it, I would still do it to the best of my ability. What is this? A job interview?" Leon teased.

"Yes." Nathan replied.

Leon stared at him for several seconds and then started laughing. He stopped when he saw that Nathan wasn't laughing with him.

"You're serious?" he asked.

"Very." Nathan replied. "I could use a man like you to run one of my small companies."

"Hold up!" Leon exclaimed. "I don't know anything about architecture or running a company."

"No, but you know people, and you're good with them." Nathan replied. "I would send you to school for a crash course on the basics and you could come to me with any questions. I also disagree with you when you say that you don't know anything about running a company. You do it every time you go to work just on a smaller scale. This wouldn't be much different."

"Why me?" Leon asked. "There's got to be people who are much more qualified than I am to do this."

"There are." Nathan conceded. "But I want you. You have people skills that the others lack, and that's what I need. I also called your employer and spoke with them. You are very highly regarded."

"You did what?" Leon asked not sure of whether he should be angry or pleased.

"I called your company." Nathan repeated. "I have good instincts when it comes to judging people, and I wanted confirmation of my impressions."

"Are you doing this because you think that you have to?" Leon asked. "Because if you are, I'm going to say no as tempting as the offer is."

"Who you are has very little to do with it." Nathan replied. "I won't say that it has nothing to do with it because you would know that I was lying. I'm asking you because I like what you've done with your life. I like you and the way that you stepped up for your sisters. I also happen to believe that you would do well in the position that I offered you.

It's one of my subsidiary companies. It's small enough that you won't be overwhelmed, but big enough to give you a challenge. The office staff consists of four people, but the field staff is made up of eleven people in various fields of expertise. I know that you have business in Pittsburgh, but you can take whatever time you need to wrap it up if you decide to accept my offer."

Leon didn't know what to think. Nathan had just offered him a solution to part of his problem.

"I know that you'll need a place to stay." Nathan said. "I have a small home that you can live in for as long as you need it."

"How much is rent?" Leon asked.

"Nothing...."

"How much is rent?" Leon asked again interrupting him.

Nathan nodded in understanding and approval. Leon Yancy was a proud man and would insist on paying rent even if he stayed with him and Louise.

"Twelve-hundred and utilities are included." Nathan replied. The reality of it was, he could charge triple what he told Leon and the tenant would have to pay his/her own utilities. But Leon was family and he wouldn't charge him more than he was.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're cutting me a break?" Leon asked.

Nathan grinned at him. "Because I am." he replied. "Let's talk about wages. I'm going to toss out a number and you tell me if it's comparable to what you were making."

"I haven't said yes yet." Leon said.

"True." Nathan replied. "But I think that you will."

"What about Gene?" Leon asked.

"What about him?" Nathan asked.

"Are you going to offer him a job or invest with him?"

"Gene and I have talked." Nathan replied. "If he chooses to tell you what we talked about, that's up to him but from my view point that discussion is between me and him."

"Understood." Leon replied.

"All right, tell me if this number is in the ballpark of what you make at the steel mill." Nathan said.

He threw out a number and waited for Leon's response.

"That's right on the money."

"This is what I'm offering." Nathan said and then gave a number. "Before you say anything that is the going rate of pay for your position in this part of the country. Of course, health insurance and a retirement plan are a part of the package."

"Can I think about it?" Leon asked.

"Take your time." Nathan replied. "If you decide to accept my offer, we'll send you home on the jet and you can call us when you're ready to come back."

Leon shook Nathan's hand not quite believing how things were working out. If he were a superstitious man, he would have seen the opportunity as fate. He went back to the theater to see Nadine chatting with Louise. Somehow, seeing them talking together seemed right. The last woman, the only woman that he had been with hadn't liked his family, and they hadn't liked her. Louise in particular had disliked her, and had tried to warn him about her.

"Leon, I know that she's pretty and she seems nice, but something isn't right about her. I think that she's going to get you into trouble."

A few months later, he was a drug addict wishing that he had listened to Louise. She had seen something that he hadn't although in retrospect, he had seen it too.

He stood by the doorway watching them talk and realized that Louise liked Nadine. She was his best indicator as to whether he was making another mistake. In his heart and in his gut, Leon knew that he wasn't making a mistake but he needed confirmation.

He walked in, sat next to Nadine and took her hand in his. He looked at Louise to see her reaction. When she smiled at him, he knew that he had her support.

He was moving to California.

It struck him as odd that most of them would be staying or going home and returning. He knew with a certainty that Gene was going back to Pittsburgh and wouldn't be returning any time soon. He looked back at Gene who was still sitting in his seat with his eyes closed and then looked back at Louise.

He jumped when he thought he saw her eyes flash. He blinked, and then decided that it was the lighting when he saw that her eyes were her normal shade of brown.

"So were you talking about me?" he asked grinning at them.

"As a matter fact, we weren't." Nadine replied smiling at him. "We were taking about the baby."

"Are you al..."

"Stop right there!" Louise said. "If one more person asks if I'm alright, I'll scream. Other than being slightly in shock, happy and anxious, I'm fine so stop worrying."

*********

Nathan walked in at the tail end of the exchange. He smiled knowing that Louise could hold her own against him or anyone else for that matter. He looked around for Patrick and or Kevyn and spotted them in a corner talking. It didn't appear to be anything too personal so he approached them.

"There's more going on here than just a movie night, can you feel it?" he asked.

"We were just talking about that." Kevyn said.

"What are you thinking?" Nathan asked.

"We'll keep running the movies." Patrick replied. "It will help conceal what's really happening which is mates' working out their issues. The only human that we really need to be concerned about it Gene, but he is easily dealt with."

"Good plan. By the way, I offered Leon a job."

"You did?" Kevyn asked surprised.

"I did, and he's thinking about it." Nathan replied. "I'll let him fill you in on the details; I need to get back to Louise."

Nathan walked back to where Louise was sitting still talking with Leon and Nadine. He looked over to the right, and saw Gene sitting alone with his eyes closed. Nathan knew that he wasn't asleep, but deep in thought. He hoped for Gene's sake that whatever seeds were planted took root.

He sat down next to Louise, put an arm around her, and pulled her close. He almost asked her how she was, but stopped himself. She was fine he reminded himself. While she was talking, he decided to listen for the baby's heartbeat. If he heard it, he reasoned; he could relax.

Nathan closed his physical and mental eyes, blocked out the sounds around him, blocked out the beating of Louise's heart and listened. Several seconds passed before he heard it. It was faint and rapid but it was there. The heart beat of their son or daughter seemed to grow stronger as he listened to it.

He laid a hand on Louise's stomach not caring who was watching him, and sent warm thoughts to the baby.

"We love you little one." he said telepathically.

As he listened to the heartbeat, his anxiety about the health of Louise and the baby diminished. It was replaced with a happiness that astounded him.

"I told you that I was alright." Louise said telepathically. "Did you hear his heartbeat?" she asked.

"You knew what I was doing?" Nathan asked telepathically.

"Of course I did." Louise replied. "I would have been surprised if you hadn't. What surprises me is that you managed to wait this long."

Patrick stood up and announced the next movie.

"Kev chose the next movie..."

"Rambo." Louise muttered under her breath.

"I gather you don't like Rambo?" Nathan asked.

"Not anymore than I like Rocky." Louise replied. "And before you say it, as much as I would like to slip out of the movie, we'd better stay put."

"Spoil sport." Nathan teased.

"Maybe, but I think that Gene wants to talk to me about something." Louise replied. "He feels different. You didn't compel him did you?"

"No, I promise." Nathan replied. "But as you know, I did talk to him. We'll see what happens."

*******

Gene barely heard anything that Patrick said during the announcement. In his mind, he was still revisiting the past and was gradually making his way to the future. He asked himself what he had done in his life that he could honestly say that he was proud of.

"I graduated from college and got a good job." he whispered. "I married a wonderful woman...and then I fucked up."

As he sat there in the almost dark room, a feeling of shame fell over him. The feeling of shame grew when he thought about Clay Robinson. He had really contemplated killing his own sister for money. In that moment, he was glad that his parents were dead. He could almost feel how disappointed, hurt and angry they would have been. Suddenly, he understood what Nathan meant when he said that he had another person that deserved an apology.

Kevyn.

He had to tell her about his involvement with Clay Robinson. He had to confess to her that he for all practical purposes had tried to sell her to Clay. It didn't matter that in the end that he was going to kill Clay himself. It would only matter that he was going to kill his sister. His next thought was about Patrick. He was sure that Kevyn would tell him about his involvement with Clay. Gene shuddered as he thought about how Patrick would react.

"Fuck." he muttered as he went on to think about Louise. He knew that she had been struggling to care for their mother. And while he couldn't have helped much financially, there were other ways in which he could have helped. That Louise had never complained no longer eased his newly awakened guilt.

For a brief moment, Gene felt a deep sense of despair. He wanted to leave, find the nearest bar and drink himself into oblivion. Anything was better than dealing with the emotions that had come from seemingly nowhere, but he stayed where he was. He opened his eyes to see Louise looking at him with a concerned expression on her face. He gave her a small smile and then nodded at her. He would talk to her first.

********

Leon replayed Nathan's offer in his head several times. He knew that he was going to accept it, and wondered why he was hesitating. Louise obviously like Nadine, and Nadine liked her. He wondered if the hesitation was because everything seemed to have happened so quickly.

First, there was Kevyn and Patrick. She hadn't known him for very long before she announced him as her significant other. The same went for Louise although she and Nathan surprised him more than Kevyn and Patrick had. Kevyn had been married before whereas Louise had no experience with men other than working with them. Then there was Juliette and Hans, another one that he didn't see coming, and finally, there was Nadine.

He had only met her once before the wedding, but she was never far from his mind. He didn't know what to think, but decided that he and Nadine needed to talk. Part way through the movie, he leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"Let's get some air."

"You don't like 'Rambo'?" Nadine asked.

"I do." Leon replied, "But talking to you is more important."

A few minutes later, they were sitting outside in one of the gardens. Leon looked at his watch and saw that it was almost two am. He looked up at the sky that was sparkling with stars and smiled. It was perfect, the night was perfect and so was Nadine.

"Nathan offered me a job." he said after several minutes. "I don't know if I should accept it or not."

"That's wonderful!" Nadine exclaimed, "But why wouldn't you accept it?"

Leon told her what the job entailed.

"I don't know anything about architecture or running a company. What if I fuck something up?"

"Well... didn't Nathan say that he would send you to school?" Nadine asked.

"Yes, but architecture?" Leon asked.

"Why not?" Nadine asked. "You're smart enough, and Nathan did say that he would be at your disposal." she added.

"True..."

"Leon, what's the real issue? Is it me?"

"No! Yes, but not in the way that you're thinking." Leon replied and then wondered how he knew what she was feeling. "Nadine, I have a history and it involves a woman."

"Tell me about her." Nadine said laying a hand on Leon's arm.

Leon hesitated for only a moment before he began to tell Nadine about his prior life. She listened without interruption, and after he finished, she didn't say anything for several minutes.

"Do you think that I would lead you down that road?"

"I'm not saying that." Leon replied. "I'm just saying that I'm a little gun shy. I like you." he added. "You're beautiful, smarter than Einstein, and I like being with you. But I would be lying if I said that the strong attraction scares me a little, and not just because of my past experience."

"Are you talking about your sisters?" Nadine asked.

"Exactly, and me too. Think about it." Leon said. "Three of my sisters have come to California and hooked up with some one. Two of the three married the guy, and if your father has anything to say about it, he'll be marrying the third. Then there's us. I feel like I've known you for longer than a few days. What is it about this place?" he asked.

Nadine didn't know how to respond so she went back to the discussion about the job.

"Will you accept Nathan's offer?"

"Probably." Leon replied. "That's the other thing, the job offer. I was thinking about moving here, but the job situation was going to be an issue at some point and, then here comes Nathan with a job offer. Seriously, can all of this be a coincidence?" he asked.

"Maybe it's fate." Nadine said softly. "Maybe all of these things were supposed to happen, and I include our meeting in that."

"Are you talking about Karma?" Leon asked.

"I guess you can call it that." Nadine replied. "I just believe that things happen for a reason. There is a reason why your family came here. There was a reason for why we met that night in the hallway of the hotel, but I don't think that you're ready to hear the reason yet." Nadine hesitated a moment and then continued. "Maybe I'm the one who isn't ready."

"What are you talking about?" Leon asked.

"I hope that you take the job." Nadine said standing up.

"Nadine, wait." Leon said. "Why do you think we met?"

"It's getting late, and I have a paper to write." Nadine replied. "Can I call you later today? We'll talk about it then."

She knew that she was being abrupt, but she needed the time to think and if possible, to talk with Hans.

"Ummm sure... call me anytime." Leon replied. "How about we meet for lunch?"

"I would like that, but the evenings are better for me." Nadine replied.

"Dinner then." Leon replied. "I'll pick you up at six."

As they walked back to the house, Leon wondered what Nadine was talking about. He made a mental note to check at the front desk for the best place to rent a nice car. He knew that he had access to any of the cars at the hotel, but he wanted to rent his own car. It was important that Nadine knew, and understood that he was his own man and that he could have cared less about the Sinclaire money.

******

Hans kept looking over at Juliette who covered her eyes every time a bloody scene or a scene involving torture came on the screen. He put an arm around her, pulled her close and kissed her temple. The truth of the matter was, although he had fought in many wars, he hated the violence and the loss of life that came with it. He avoided conflict as much as possible, but if it came to protecting his family, he would kill. He would have killed for Barb that night if she hadn't denied him.