“Mais, my sincere apologies for springing it on you like this, but if you’re Phineas Lafontaine, I’m your brother.”
Only Finn and the late Mr. Clague knew his last name. Phineas’ late father had warned Phineas not to use it because they could be tracked down by the people who had been chasing them. No one except Finn and Mr. Clague ever knew his last name.
Bureaucrats did and it was on his land title for the swamp.
His surname was definitely on a need-to-know basis. The fact that this stranger, this other gill man knew his last name was a bit unsettling.
It’s a coincidence. Maybe it’s a common name.
Except, there weren’t any other gill men this far north that he knew of, and this was Phineas’ first time seeing another monster of his kind since his parents died. Still, this Pierre claimed to be his brother? His parents never mentioned anything about another child.
They died when you were young. Maybe they were going to tell you?
And all he could think about was that torn photograph that his mother clung to and cherished. Then again, there was another little voice in his head reminding him not to trust anybody.
Before the Great Revelation, there had been a monster purge in the south. Gill men were chased out of the bayous.
It was a dark time.
That’s all Phineas knew.
A couple of southerners had, after the Great Revelation, found his parents and killed them when they’d been in Tallowfield. Those murderers were thankfully rotting in prison and things had changed for the most part.
Here, in Harmony Glen, Phineas was safe.
“I don’t have a brother.”
“You do, and it’s me,” Pierre stated calmly.
“Maybe I should go,” Pearl said.
“No,” Phineas said. “No. I want you to stay. Please.” And he did.
Pearl was someone he trusted and he really needed that support right now. This was all too much. Part of him had always longed for family, because when his parents were killed, he was left alone. If it hadn’t been for the Clagues…well, he didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened to him. Then there was a piece of his brain telling him this was too good to be true.
A brother?
It was like something out of a fairy tale, and Phineas was having a hard time believing in happily ever afters when he couldn’t even tell the woman he loved that he loved her.
“Okay,” Pearl responded, and then slipped her small, delicate hand in his, giving it a squeeze. “I’m here for you.”
Pierre smiled. “You have such a beautifulcher, Phineas. You are a lucky man.”
“Cher?” Pearl asked.
“Amour?Girlfriend,” Pierre explained. “Sorry, I’m from Louisiana, and Cajun.”
Pink flushed Pearl’s cheeks. “Oh. Yes.”
His heart skipped a beat because she didn’t correct Pierre or deny it, which made him feel good. Although, he was having a hard time processing that because he was still trying to figure out how to deal with all this news.
“My parents weren’t Cajun,” Phineas said.
“Ah, there is an explanation for that as well,” Pierre said. “I would really like a chance to talk to you about it.”
“I think…I think we all need to find somewhere quiet and talk about this,” Pearl interjected, which he was glad for because he was feeling overwhelmed.
“Oui.I agree,” Pierre said and then glanced at the watch on his wrist. “I do have somewhere to be. Would it be okay if we met for dinner? All three of us.”
