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It had been a while since they had children in the house.

Beau and Colleen danced around the kitchen, quietly making a hearty Saturday morning breakfast for the lost trio that slept soundly in their garage. Beau had been waiting for Colleen’s outburst for the last hour or so, yet his wife of many a year had not said a word. She had gotten up out of bed, saw the kids asleep and began to prepare their first meal of the day. He knew she was beyond annoyed but he also knew that she cared for those children as much as he did and she wouldn’t let them leave without sampling her famous french toast. As Colleen began to sprinkle some chilli extract into her mixture, her eyes darted over to her husband, who was correcting his tie in the mirror. Antoine Beauregard; the only man to wear a pinstripe suit whilst running a coffee shop.

[color=55C8A3]”Antoine?”[/color]

If she used his first name; he knew he was in trouble. Spinning sharply on his heel, Beau flashed his pearly whites like a schoolboy trying to look cute before being chastised by his mother. [color=E4DF9B]”Yes, darling, sweetheart, love of my life, most beautiful woman in the world?”[/color]

Colleen had long suffered through Beau’s saviour complex. She remembered when they met, all those years ago. She had grown up in Eden, back then she was Colly Clay. She had survived the Camp Eden massacre and after that was desperate to get out of town. When she graduated Edenridge High she was on the first bus out of town and soon found herself at college in New Orleans. One night she found herself in the French quarter, being accosted by some drunk white boys only for both to be knocked out by the most dashing man in uniform she’d ever seen. Antoine had only been on the force for a matter of days but there he was, playing hero already. He walked her back to her dorm and the rest was history.

Too many nights passed where he didn’t come home; most police wives learned early that if their man didn’t come home, he was either dead, in the hospital or fucking around. It was different for Beau though, he didn’t come home because he was trying to make a difference, he was imparting wisdom on these criminals that most police didn’t offer. He was trying to show them a better way. He failed more times than he succeeded but he did succeed. Even when he and Colleen had their own kids, Marcel and Genevieve; Beau still spent time on the street, doing what he could for the community he loved. The man could not turn down a case.

Even after the kids had grown up and flown the nest and Beau himself had left the force, he still ended to help. Which was how they wound up back in Edenridge. Colleen wanted to go home again and a teaching position opened up at the school. Beau did not have a college education but what he lacked in degrees he made up for with life experience and to his credit, a broad vocabulary. The triple threat that now lay asleep in their garage, we’re probably of all of them, Beau’s favourite projects.

[color=55C8A3]”Imma say this only once cos I know you probably ain’t gonna listen”[/color] She had had this conversation with him too many times at this point. Colleen knew that he would try to take it on board, that he would try and change but it didn’t matter; her man had a code. [color=55C8A3]You are not a teacher anymore. These kids are grown ups now, they don’t need your protection anymore. I know you love them, I do too. You gave them some good years, baby but it’s time to let them go be who they gonna be”[/color]

She wasn’t wrong.

Beau had spent years trying to better the world through the youths he found himself in contact with. When he was police, when he was a teacher, it did what he could with everything he could. Poppy, Jade and Decky were three cases which he had yet to put in the black. They were still the red on his board because he wasn’t ready to let them go yet. They were grown now, pursuing the gift of life in their own ways. Was it really his place to interfere anymore? [color=E4DF9B]”I know you’re right, mon cherie”[/color] His booming voice was low for a change. [color=E4DF9B]”This business with Charlie’s books and things, I just felt like they needed me. I know I need to step back, let them deal with things now. They were fractured but now they’re together, maybe that’s a good thing”[/color]

Colleen walked up to her husband, placing her hands either side of his puffy cheeks and kissed him softly. [color=55C8A3]”You are the best of fathers and the best of husbands, Antoine Rene Beauregard. I love you and your stupid big heart. Now go open the shop and make mama some retirement money”[/color] She smiled brightly as he grabbed his jacket from the dining room chair. [color=55C8A3]”Don’t forget, the kids are calling in before you open up. I spoke to them yesterday while you were galavanting with the Gonzalez' boy. Don’t tell them what you were up to for the love of God”[/color]

Beau left out of the front door so as to not wake his guests and began the short walk towards the coffee shop. There were few people out and about this time of morning. It was actually his favourite part of the day since he could enjoy the scenery. Usually he’d maybe see a handful of serpents wandering around, Sly in his patrol car, Mei and Jill staggering home or Roddy on a run but mostly it was just Beau and the open morning. 

It wasn’t a difficult decision to move her; especially once he found out just how broken the town really was. He immediately felt like he could make a difference. Plus the hundreds of spooky stories made him feel at home since New Orleans was often considered ghost city central and his grandmama used to tell him that they were descendents of a voodoo queen. It seemed like the right decision to make the move. Now there they were, ten years removed from their move and he still didn’t regret a thing.

Beau wandered into Rochambeau and began to turn on all the lights and equipment. The idea behind the cafe was a safe space. A place where the children of the town could come and be at peace, away from their troubles. Even the gangs referred to it as Switzerland. It was neutral ground; nobody fucked with anybody on Beau’s turf. As he awaited all the equipment to warm up, he opened up his laptop and prepared for it to ring. 

It would be nice to hear from the kids. Most people didn’t know that Antoine and Colleen had their own children considering how close they were to the broken babies of Edenridge. Alas they had a son and a daughter, both of whom were all grown up now and doing their own thing. Marcel was their first; he came not too long after they began dating; a happy accident. He was a tall and strapping boy; he played football for a while but found more of a calling out on the water. He was in the Navy before joining a yacht crew. Genevieve came a year after Marcel. She was a powerhouse right from the start, flamboyant and carefree; she was now working out on Broadway.

Beau readily wondered if he had been a good father. For much of his life, he had been out being police, missing birthdays and performances. Did they resent him? Was that why he tried so hard with his students? Guilt? 

[color=C2DFAB]”Hey Pop!”[/color]

He was blindsided by two pop windows of his kids, smiling their stupid smiles at him in unison.  Even just seeing them, he couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. Maybe he did enough because both of them seemed happy.

Outside of Rochambeau, a [url=https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/31aecb1a8aba512b515836e8d5ceaf12b94a10f6/66_1446_4887_2932/master/4887.jpg?width=1200&height=1200&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&s=8cc55fe56d9370c9483a8c2086f6214f]man[/url] walked by, throwing a cigarette onto the ground…[/center]