Thanksgiving morning Chris had forgotten to call Jason or Ric yesterday and they never called him. Chris figured they did not call because of holiday preparations. Chris was actually looking forward to helping his mom make Thanksgiving dinner and now that will never happen. After getting ready for the day Chris finds his way to the large entertainment room sits down at a table. He then dials Ric's number.
On the seventh ring Ric answers the phone, he sounds out of breath, “Hey Chris my man, sorry but I don't have much time. Grams needs my help.” Ric is a part of a large close family and about twenty of them have gathered at his Grandmothers. Everyone needs to do their share of the work. “So you have been to the museum already right?” Ric gets straight to the point, straight to what he wants to know.
“Yeah I was there.” Chris's disappointment returns. “Reproductions, the props for the later shows are all reproductions.”
“What?” There is a mixture of shock and disappointment in Ric's voice, “Even Chuix?”
“Especially Chuix, there are tentacles and eyes in the display but I can tell they are not real. They were not the ones used in the show. You would be able to tell right away. I have some pictures but I don't even know if I want to waste my time sending them.”
“Do it anyway. I want to see it for myself... Hold on” Ric then moves away from the phone to yell at his younger sister, “Estela give me another minute finish talking.” He then returns to the phone, “Okay Chris I am having no luck with Luminare. He has been off the grid for the last three years. One thing though he was different the last time he was seen. The man is known as having energy to spare Francois is an Olympic level athlete an ex-professional fighter, a master hunter, and the in the prime of his life. Yet the Francois Luminare that was seen meeting with your father, he was a different man. He was a tired weakling.”
Chris nods that makes sense as much sense as anything else. “You don't have to search anymore. I know where Luminare is.”
“Really? Where is he? How did you find out?”
“He lives in my father's guest house with his daughter.” Chris blushes when he thinks of Charlotte. “And yeah he's very weak, the man looks like he's in his seventies, he drifts off, loses his place and looks sick. They say he's ill and yeah he looks ill but I would say cursed.”
“Seriously man?”
“Yeah Ric, after what we saw with Sam I'm will believe anything. I'm starting to think my father's business might be more legitimate then I originally thought.”
Ric laughs on the other side of the phone, “Oh man, yeah your father's a real vampire slaying, ghost busting, werewolf hunting master. Good one.” Ric then calms himself down, “You are joking right?”
Chris forces a believable laugh, “Yeah man I was messing with you, like I would believe in curses and vampires and ghosts? Wouldn't Eric have a field day if he thought I believed what my father did was real.” Chris thinks he just saved himself there.
“Don't worry man. A jokes a joke. No one will know.” Ric then turns away from the phone as his Grandma calls him, “Yeah I'm getting off. Damn it Estela you did not have to bring grams into this.” he returns to the phone, “Okay Chris got to go bye.”
Chris puts down his phone looking over at one of the large TVs. Charlotte must have walked into the room while he was on the phone. She wearing a red and blue shirt with a yellow heart in the middle and tight blue jean pants. She has turned on a PlayStation two and is playing Suikoden three. “So she likes role playing games huh?” Chris mutters to himself. He is about to walk over to her when his phone rings. “What's up Jason.” Who else would it be?
“Ric just gave me a thirty second recap, some jumbled mess about Francois Luminare living with you?”
“Yeah that's right.”
In Jason's family Thanksgiving is a much more toned down event. It's just him and his father. The two of them will probably find some open restaurant out there for dinner. “What does this mean actually?”
“I'm not sure really.” Chris looks at Charlotte for a second and then back at his phone, “Something weird is going on. I read that note yesterday, it told me to trust no one. I think it was hinting that Tarque is controlling someone in my fathers employment. The letter gave no mention of the Luminares. I would think of this mystery man knew of them he would have talked about them in the letter.”
“Isn't the logic my department Chris.” Jason pauses for a second, “Yeah I think your right. So what are you going to do?”
“To be honest I don't think there is much I can do. It feels like my life is being pulled by some force beyond my control. Now don't laugh.” Chris takes a deep breath, “I think my father's business might be legitimate. I think he might be an actual Monster Hunter.”
“I see.” Jason does not laugh but seems to be thinking, “Go on.”
Chris tells Jason in detail about the museum, “That's the strangest thing. It's not that the exhibits have copies of props but it was only the later shows and only with major props. I don't know what to think here.”
“You're serous about this.” That was not a question and Jason did not laugh, “Chris I don't know if your right about this but I'm open to just about anything. Just don't tell Ric. He will think your joking at best and tell everyone if he believes you.”
“Oh I told him, I played it off as a joke and I think he bought it. Yeah I know he would tell everyone if he believed this was real.” Chris thinks he was lucky that Ric reacted the way he did. “Don't worry he will just joke about it.”
“Yeah that's Ric.”
“Thanks Jason, Anyway see you later.” Chris turns off his phone and then heads over to Charlotte, “Good morning.”
Charlotte seems engrossed in the game, currently in a duel battle with a guy with blond hair wearing a suit and a black hat. The man beats her player character and the game continues, she then looks over at Chris, “Morning.”
“Have you beat that game before?” Chris asks.
“Nope still playing just beat the second.” She reaches a save point and saves her game and then turns the PS2 off.
“You have a great game collection. I could play them for years none stop”
“You really like games don't you? What have you been without them for most of your life or something?”
“That's exactly it, my father did not want me playing games growing up. He really does not care now, I just have to read too. I love reading though so I can't complain.”
Chris does not really care about this. “You did not have to stop playing you know.”
“I have a lot of these games to play and a lot of catching up to do.” She walks over to the collection on the wall and pulls out a Game Cube game, Super Smash Brothers. “So what to play this with me? I'm great.”
“Who do you play against?”
“The staff mainly, I'm pretty much undefeated with Link, only your father can beat me.”
“You're on.” Chris waits for Charlotte to put in the game, connect the Game Cube and then turn off the system. The two of them went on to play a few different games for a couple hours having a pretty good time. Being that it is a holiday and that this is the happiest Chris has been since Friday no one stopped the two during their marathon gaming session until it was time for their early thanksgiving diner at Two PM.
“Excuse me master Chris and miss Charlotte, dinner is ready.” Carter Fogal the head butler is standing behind the two of them who had lost track of time. The old fashioned butler is still way to formal for Chris's tastes but it's an improvement.
“Oh is it time already?” Chris says looking at the clock next to the TV. “So it is, why didn't my father bother me?”
“Master Sharp thought it would be for the best if he left you alone for the day. He believes you need some space, you seemed to give him that impression. He also thought that miss Luminare here would be a good influence. Honestly I'm not sure she seems to be a worse video game addict then you.”
Chris is shocked at that and looks
at Charlotte who is just as surprised. He then looks at Fogal who is smiling, “Was that a joke?”
“Indeed it was sir.” The butler then leads Charlotte and Chris out of the entertainment room and toward the Dinning Hall. Fogal leads the two to the hall and opens the two large doors to the elaborate dining room. There in the center of the room is a large table of food with three different turkeys that are cooked in different ways. One is a roasted turkey one was deep fried slowly and the third is a turducken which is a slow cooked boneless chicken stuffed into a slow cooked boneless duck which then was stuffed into a Turkey. In addition to the Turkey's there is also a glazed ham, yeah yeah lots of meat so what? There is also a green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweat potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, corn on the cob, deviled eggs, and so on. Really there is just food and more food stacked on the center table, a feast fit for several kings.
There is another smaller table where seven people are sitting and two empty seats waiting for Charlotte and Chris. Valmont is sitting at one end of the table, and Francois is at the other, Yosif Jocasta and his wife Jessamine, and then the Labrones, Alfred, Cole and Alfred's wife Nikki. There is a plate of food next to every one including the open places and the seven of them seem to have been waiting for a while. Even Francois seems to be attentive for once.
“About time you guys shown up, we were about to eat with out you.” Cole says smiling.
Chris sits down between his father and Yosif while Charlotte sits by her father and Cole. “You could have called us sooner.” Chris says his spirits much higher then they have been for days.
“I did not want to ruin a good thing.” Valmont said.
“Thanks.” Chris smiles at his father, it is a genuine smile.
“Okay I am glad we are all here now.” Valmont motions to Yosif. “Would you like to do the honors?”
“Thank you sir.” the older gentleman says. “Bless us our lord and bless this food in front of us. We are thankful for this bounty and are grateful that we have it. We hope you have blessed all of your children on this day. Amen.” A pretty standard blessing for one whose faith has been lost long ago.
Yosif Jocasta is seventy nine years old and has been part of the Sharp Monster show from day one. Unlike everyone else in the Sharp show he was a true believer of the supernatural from day one. He was started off as a professor of history, and religion, trying to find proof of the existence of god. He studied supernatural phenomenon for the church with the intention of proving them wrong. By the time Sharp found Professor Jocasta he was a disgraced philosopher and historian who had in his own words, 'Discovered truths no one man was suppose to uncover.' And because of that was blacklisted from the scientific, historical and religious communities. Valmont Sharp was really the man's final option and he felt for years that he had given up his dignity to help a charlatan. Still he is one of Valmont's closest friends and together along with Alfred Labrone he made the Sharp Monster Hunting experience what it is today.
Jocasta looks over at Chris, “Hey son why haven't you come to see me since you got here?” To Jocasta, Chris is the closest he has to a grandson, since none of his children lived long enough to have children of their own.
“I have not been feeling so well. And well I thought I wanted some time alone but that did not happen.”
Jocasta looks at Charlotte “Ah I see, nice that you have a friend your age.”
“I have more friends I just had to leave them.” Chris looks at his father, “Hey would it be okay if Jason could come over here for a week or so around Christmas.”
Valmont looks at Francois who seems to be drifting off, “I don't know, maybe we should talk about it some other time. It might not be a problem.”
Francois shakes his head, “Probably not, that would not be wise.”
“Why not?” Chris looks at Francois.
“Please now is not the time. Chris Please lets just eat dinner in peace. I will talk to you about everything tomorrow, including if your friend can or cannot come over.” Valmont looks at his son with a compassionate look, “Please just for today.”
“Fine.” Chris's mood is spoiled, he asked a simple questioned and ruined what was a good day. He returns to his food and tries to salvage his diner.
Chapter Fourteen
Valmont Sharp: Monster Hunter Page 14