Mantis called Alegria, but when his call went straight to voicemail, he wasn’t surprised.
He thought about calling her parents, but wasn’t sure he even had either of their numbers. He’d told Doc that he’d call them about Alegria’s condition, but at the time, he hadn’t been thinking about whether he had their contact information.
Over the years, they’d made no secret that they didn’t approve of him and didn’t want their daughter with him.
The year he’d surprised Alegria by taking her to France to celebrate the new year, he’d been anxious to meet them. At the time, he’d wondered why she hadn’t spent Christmas with them since she enrolled at the Air Force Academy. After they arrived in Paris, he understood why not.
“My family isn’t big on holidays,” she explained when he asked why she was hesitant to let them know she was there.
“That’s okay, not everyone is. You still want to see them though, don’t you?”
She shrugged. “Sure I do, but…”
“But, what?”
“It might be better if I went alone. Just the first time. You know, to prepare them.”
“Prepare them for me?” Was she kidding? He’d just surprised her with a trip to France, and she had to prepare her parents to meet him?
There’d never been an instance when the parents of whomever he was dating hadn’t like him. Hell, most of the time, they were ready to have him sign on the dotted line that he’d marry their daughter one day.
“It’s just that…”
“Say it, Manon.”
“They aren’t overly fond of…Americans.”
“And yet they let Americans provide your education. You became a United States citizen, and you are in the military, having vowed to protect your country from all sworn enemies, even France if it came to it.”
“They weren’t in favor of my attending the Air Force Academy.”
“What did you say?”
“They didn’t agree with my decision.”
“And what? They disowned you?”
Mantis never would’ve said it if he thought, even for a minute, that she would nod her head.
“You’re kidding?”
“I’m not.”
He pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry.”
“What for? You didn’t do anything.”
“I brought you here.”
“I love Paris. I love that you brought me here.”
They’d made the best of it, but they didn’t see her parents while they were there. In fact, it was five more years before he even met them. And then, he wished he hadn’t. They were overbearing and egotistical. They’d barely recognized him as a human being, let alone his presence in the room.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise that they’d either moved her from Stamford or instructed the hospital staff to say they had, just to keep him away from her. In fact, the latter was the more likely scenario.
He was about to call Doc and tell him his theory, when a call came in from him instead.
“She’s in Boston,” Doc told him.