Episode 33

Cecile and Jo joined me for a drink. That was a first for me, going to the bar with someone. But we had some talking to do.

"Thank you for your help with Erwan. That was very kind of you," I told Cecile. "But now we're left with a big decision to make as to his future. We can't leave him with his parents. Hell they shouldn't even be allowed to visit him in hospital!"

"They aren't," Jo said. "I made sure they couldn't get in. But you're right, we do need to figure out what to do with him."

"I might have an idea," Cecile chimed in. "But it will require the approval of both Eileen and Gianni." We both turned to him. I thought I saw where he was heading.

"They need an heir, don't they…"

Cecile smiled at me. "Exactly. Their claim against Gianni's brother would be even stronger with an heir, and from what you tell me this little boy is a decent possibility."

"You can't be serious!" Jo didn't seem to like the idea. "The poor kid isn't even out of hospital and you guys are already putting a crown on him? Not to mention the legal papers, it's not like August's case, she still has her mother, you're wanting Erwan to be adopted. And adopted by very young people, at that!"

She made a good point there. But Cecile had a counter. "He will be under my care, and Tina will be able to keep an eye on him. Besides, he'll need a tutor, and I'm told the Agency has very good ones."

"Yeah, except he's no longer one of our cases… The parents are for sure gonna fire us now."

I took a deep breath and a sip of Black Russian. I just couldn't get anything else in this bar it seemed. Cecile had ordered tea, and Jo a beer. "So we're back to step 1. What do we do?"

We all sipped our drinks in silence for a while. Every now and then one of us would start talking, but immediately stop.