Page 52 of One Last Step

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

The next several days are a bit of a blur.Within minutes of the arrest, a crowd gathers outside of the museum as neighbors are awoken from sleep and come to see what the commotion is.Both Claudia and Inspector Moreau question all of us, and by the time they finish, it’s morning already.

We’re able to avoid the news crews just long enough to shower and have breakfast, but by the time we return downstairs, it’s to a crowd of reporters with cameras and microphones.Due to Sophie’s age, we’re able to take her upstairs to avoid the commotion, but Elena and I spend an hour or so fielding questions.

By the following day, Elena is finally able to start repairs.Gustaf, Antoinette, and I help clean the mess and supervise the installation of new doors, and Francois—with some help from his assistant Sophie—repair the clocks.One of the pieces—the one flattened when I shoved Margot—is irreparable, but to Sophie’s delight, the automata clock is easily fixed.

There is some scandal.The news, of course, is delighted at the sensation of old Nazi secrets.Elena keeps most of what goes on when she interviews close to her chest, but I can see in her eyes that the stress is taking its toll.

When the news stories run, though, they are almost overwhelmingly positive.Elena is depicted as a dignified descendant of the great horologist Rousseaus determined to rid her family of the stain that one wayward member of that line left behind.It is, perhaps, too kind of a treatment.I believe Elena was trying to cover the stain, not rid herself of it.But she is doing the right thing now.I am not so stuffy in my morals that I believe the fact that she only did so after being exposed cheapens her actions.If it has a positive effect on the world, then I am in favor of it.

On the other hand, Margot is depicted as exactly what she is—a greedy, murderous, selfish little thief.Unfortunately, so is Lukas.I don’t know if I believe his assertion that he was doing all of this for his son, but I do believe that he tried to avoid killing me.I’m probably wrong about that.After all, hewasgoing to kill me before Claudia and Moreau arrived.

It’s just so hard for me to see Luc.The poor boy comes to us the day after the arrest, and he is absolutely beside himself.He spends the entire day crying and apologizing, and even Sophie’s embrace can’t comfort him.When he finally does stop crying, he looks so miserable.He asks me in a shaky voice what will happen to his Daddy, and it breaks my heart.

I don’t have the heart to tell him what Lukas almost did to me.I only tell him that he will be in some trouble for stealing.

At least he has Sophie.Her comfort might not help the first day, but as time passes, I see a little bit of the sweet, happy boy I knew come back.He has a shadow in his mind, and his smile is tinged with sadness at the edges, but behind that is enough of the old Luc that I feel he’ll pull through.With Sophie’s help and Elena’s care, he’ll be all right.

By a week after the event, the museum is ready to reopen.It’s very busy, of course.Scandal or not, Elena will definitely profit financially from the exposure in the news.

As for the remnants of Adrien Rousseau’s Nazi past?Elena elects to donate them to a war memorial.All told, there are eight clocks—five automata clocks and four cabinet clocks.She is not particularly enthused about the Nazi letters hidden inside being put on display for people to ogle at, but the memorial donates money to families of holocaust survivors, so at least they’ll contribute to a good cause.

And they’ll be out of Elena’s house.She has confronted her past, but she doesn’t need to cling to it.

By the tenth day, the all-powerful specter of Christmas has driven thoughts of Nazi scandals and museum break-ins from everyone’s mind.I have suspended school for the holidays, and Sophie spends most of her time exploring every nook and cranny of the museum with Luc.This particular day, the two of them are in the attic making up stories with the old clocks and watches they find up there.

Elena and I sit in the kitchen and share a cup of coffee together.With no more reason to mistrust each other, we find it much easier to be in each other’s company now.That’s another good thing to come out of this.

“I think I’m going to send Sophie to school after the break,” Elena says.“I contacted the school, and they said she can join in the middle of the year if she passes her placement tests.”

I smile.“Then you don’tthinkyou’re going to send her to school.You’ve already decided.”

She chuckles.“Yes.I’ve decided.She’s so much happier than I’ve ever seen her now that she has Luc to play with.I think she should be with other children.I’ve been so afraid of losing her ever since her parents died that I haven’t let her leave my sight, but it’s time to let go.”

Her smile faded.“My daughter-in-law died giving birth to Sophie.My son… didn’t take it well.”

She gives me a tight smile, and I lay a hand over hers.“I’m so sorry, Elena.”

She nods and takes a deep breath.“It’s still hard.I thought it would get easier with time, but no.It’s still hard.”

“Losing someone you love is always hard.”

“Yes.”She wipes tears from her eyes.“The worst is seeing Sophie sometimes.She’ll do things that remind me of him, and all of the pain comes back.But then the best is seeing her sometimes because she’ll do things that remind me of him, and then all of the joy comes back.I think I feared that if I looked away for one second, she would be gone, and then I’d be alone.It’s foolish, but…” she lifts her hands and lets them drop.“There you have it.”

I smile at her and say, “I am very proud of you.I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you to raise Sophie on your own, but she is a wonderful child, and that’s because you’re a wonderful grandmother.”

She sighs.“I wish I could believe that, but… I think I should tell her the truth.She knows her father died, but she doesn’t know about her mother, and I don’t think that’s fair.Running from the past has put me in danger.It’s putherin danger.I don’t want to run anymore.”

“I think you should talk to a child psychologist before you break the news,” I suggest.“You’re absolutely right to want to be honest with her, but I think you should do this carefully.It’s a lot for a young child to handle.”

“Yes,” Elena agrees.“I will.”She takes a deep breath and chuckles.“God, life is so hard.They never warned us about this, you know?We thought we would become adults, make a lot of money, marry, have kids and live with the… the um… what do you call it?The fences around the house?”

“Picket fences?”I guess.

“Yes, those.Well, it’s not that easy.”

"No," I agree."No, it's not."

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