From Dream to Destiny Read online

  “Who will hurt you, Gaz? Tell me! You are scaring me!” Mic shook him. “Calm down, come back to earth!”

  Gastien looked less white in a few minutes. His shaking stopped.

  “Was it the two hommes that looked at you in there?” asked Mic.

  Gastien was silent. He was now turning red.

  “Mic, please. Let’s drop it. I can’t – I can’t talk about it.” He took a few deep breaths. If he did not face this now, he would always be scared they would come back. He needed to just accept the fact that he may run into any of them. “Please go back inside. I will be in soon. I need to go to the bathroom.”

  “Are you coming back for sure? We can go if you wish.”

  “Non. I am coming back in.” He drew a shaky breath and walked to the privy.

  Mic went back inside, knowing that it was not over. He could not stand to see Gastien scared out of his mind. Those hommes had to be the ones who had used him, or some of them. Mic decided to keep watch until Gastien was back at the table.

  Then he saw Sébastien get up.

  XLII

  Gastien had just buttoned up his trousers when the door opened. The latch had never been strong on the door; now it had not held. He was face to face with Sébastien.

  “Well, Gastien! What a pleasant surprise to see you again! I see you survived our little rendezvous quite well. How are you?”

  “I have nothing to say to you. Please step aside,” replied Gastien. He was surprised with how even his voice sounded.

  Sébastien did not move.

  “Let me by,” Gastien said again. This time, to his dismay, his voice shook.

  “Let you by? Oh, I will soon enough. I just want to catch up a little.” He laughed nastily. “I noticed when you walked by that you have quite a nice ruby ring. You have good taste!”

  He moved closer. When he was right up in Gastien’s face, Sébastien asked crudely, “Whose bite did you suck for it?”

  “I did not suck anyone for my ring. Now please, just let me by. I have nothing to say to you.”

  Gastien tried to move past him, but Sébastien blocked the door. Gastien’s heart was pounding so hard he was sure Sebastian could hear it. Swallowing hard, Gastien tried again. “Do you enjoy the stink of this privy? I sure don’t. Please let me by.”

  “Not so fast. It does stink in here, doesn’t it? I imagine it smells even worse if a person is on their knees.”

  Gastien said nothing; he was sweating, yet he started to shiver.

  Sébastien drew a knife.

  “Get on your knees, Gastien. I seem to remember that you had planned to use your mouth on us that night. We never got around to that, did we? Not in the way I would enjoy. Non, we were too busy riding you like a woman! Get on your knees. I want you to give me what I was promised!”

  “I owe you nothing, Sebastian. You five almost killed me that night! I did not agree to any of that. You raped me repeatedly – all of you! Now, please, step aside so that I can get out! I am not interested in conversation with you.” Gastien was ashamed. Sébastien could not help but see his fear.

  Sébastien laughed. “I don’t care if you are interested or not! You will do as I say or I won’t hesitate to use this knife on you. Your attitude has not improved one bit! I seem to remember that I wanted to castrate you before!”

  Gastien fought the urge to vomit. Tears sprang to his eyes as he released that he had no options. Even if he performed the disgusting act, Sébastien might still knife him.

  All of a sudden, Sébastien felt a gun on the back of his head.

  “Drop the fucking knife or I shoot!”

  Sébastien was not about to hose his life over a stupid peasant. He dropped the knife. Mic pulled him roughly out of the doorway, holding his arms.

  “Check him for other weapons, Gaz.”

  Gastien did not move.

  “Gaz! GAZ!!!” Mic called louder. Gastien jumped. “Check him for other weapons.”

  Gastien felt Sébastien for weapons and shook his head.

  “He is not carrying anything else.”

  All of a sudden he was filled with rage. His eyes connected with Mic's.

  Mic nodded. Then he asked, “Are you ready?”

  “Oui. I am ready,” confirmed Gastien.

  Mic let Sébastien’s arms go and stood back.

  “He’s all yours.”

  Before Sébastien could even think, Gastien howled in anger, connecting his fist squarely into Sébastien’s face. Sébastien fell. Gastien was on him immediately, pummeling his face with both fists until the man looked like a raw, chewed meat.

  “STOP! STOP! I BEG YOU! MY FACE!” Sébastien screamed. “PLEASE, I – “ Gastien connected to his lips, sending several teeth loose into the man’s mouth.

  “I seem to remember you telling me you did not know the meaning of the word mercy,” hissed Gastien. “I am just a stupid peasant, Sébastien; you are not going to learn the meaning from me.”

  He slammed his fist into Sébastien’s stomach. Sébastien howled. Then, he did it again.

  The music and singing could be heard clear back to the privy. No one inside would have a clue what was going on.

  Sébastien gurgled.

  Gastien pulled his leg back and kicked him several times in the ribs. He heard a few snap.

  “YOU FILS DE PUTE! YOU FILTHY ENCULÉ! HOW DOES IT FEEL? HOW DOES IT FEEL?”Gastien yelled.

  He pulled Sébastien into a sitting position.

  “I WANT YOU TO LOOK INTO MY EYES, YOU CONNARD! DO YOU REMEMBER? I WANT YOU TO TELL ME HOW MUCH YOU LIKE IT! I WANT TO YOU TO BEG ME FOR MORE!” Gastien was crying now. “TELL ME! TELL ME HOW MUCH YOU LIKE IT!”

  Sébastien groaned. Gastien slapped him.

  “OH NON YOU DON”T! YOU TELL ME, YOU CONNE! TELL ME!”

  “I….I like it, G-G-Gastien..”

  “That’s better.” He let him fall back down.

  He went to the privy, retrieving Sébastien’s knife.

  As Gastien advanced, Sébastien tried to scream. He couldn’t because of the pain in his chest and stomach. Gastien slowly unbuttoned Sébastien’s trousers.

  “I seem to remember you have a fantasy about castration. Let’s see how you enjoy it when you are the victim,” he threatened.

  Sébastien tried to scramble backwards, but he could not get away. Losing control of his bladder, he pissed his pants.

  Gastien laughed harshly. “Oops!. Looks like you had an accident, there, buddy! That is too bad! I hate to see a man piss himself like a little child!”

  Gastien stabbed the knife into the ground next to Sébastien. Sébastien moved quickly to the side to avoid the knife, shrieking as his ribs moved.

  “For stinking gentry, you are quite quick!” spat Gastien.

  Gastien stood up. “I have no wish to spend my life in jail. I won’t use the knife on you. There is no fear quite like that, though, is there? I hope you dream about it as often as I have.”

  He grabbed the knife and threw it.

  Sébastien tried to sit up but could not. As an afterthought, Gastien kicked him in the balls. Sébastien yowled, doubling up and gagging.

  Gastien stated, “That is payback for what you forced on me. I would do the same, but find that I have no desire for the male sex. I doubt you will either, for quite some time!”

  “Please help me!” Sébastien croaked to Mic. “Please! Get a doctor!”

  Mic just looked at him in disgust.

  “Go to hell,” Mic replied, walking away.

  Gastien leaned over to catch his breath. Then, as they headed toward the building, Rémy came out to find his ami.

  Rémy had a lot of money, but very little smarts.

  He had the nerve to ask Gastien, “Have you seen Sébastien?” not noticing the blood on Gastien’s clothing.

  Mic stepped back. Gastien hauled off and punched Rémy in the face. Mic watched as Gastien beat Rémy repeatedly.

  Rémy screamed. “STOP IT! OH, STOP IT!! I – OUCH!”

 
“I will stop when I am damn good and ready!” panted Gastien. “That may be awhile!”

  Finally, Rémy could not get off the ground anymore. Gastien was certain several ribs were cracked. He reached down, grabbed a hold of Rémy’s hair and yanked. Rémy screamed.

  “Lie there and move your hips like a woman, Rémy. Come on! Entertain me!” Gastien commanded.

  Rémy did not move, he just kept sobbing.

  Gastien pulled harder on his hair, kicking him in the balls. Rémy howled and rolled up into a ball, vomiting.

  “I SAID TO MOVE YOUR HIPS LIKE A WOMAN!”

  “I ca-can’t. M-m-my balls!”

  Gastien reached inside Rémy’s pocket and took out a cigarette. Lighting it, he looked down at the man.

  “Do you remember the choice you gave me?” he asked coldly.

  Rémy was bawling. He shook his head oui.

  “THEN MOVE YOUR FUCKING HIPS!” Gastien yelled. Rémy made a pitiful attempt to move his hips.

  Gastien laughed. “You make an even worse woman than a man, Rémy! You are useless.”

  As he took another drag from the cigarette and casually blew smoke rings, he commanded, “Keep trying.”

  “IT HURTS!” Rémy screamed.

  “Oui, it does, doesn’t it? I remember how my hip hurt when you forced me to move mine.”

  Gastien took a few more drags of the cigarette. “Try again. I don’t think you feel nearly as much pain as I did,” he said casually.

  Rémy moved his hips as best as he could. Gastien looked down at Rémy’s feet.

  “Hey! Nice boots! They look new!”

  Rémy did not reply.

  “Come on, don’t be shy. Tell me, are they new?” Gastien coaxed.

  “O-o-oui,” Rémy whispered.

  “Where did you get them? I would like a pair. Would they be too expensive for me?”

  “Th-they were c-custom ordered from Italy,” Rémy managed to get out.

  “Oh! Well, then I could probably never afford them.”

  Gastien ran a finger along the soft leather.

  “Wow, they are really soft! Not a smart choice to wear out slumming, Rémy. Most of our roads are dirt. You are not only mean, you are stupid!”

  Gastien pulled the boots off Rémy’s feet and marched over to the privy, where he promptly threw both boots down the hole. They made a loud splash.

  Walking back, he said, “Awww….looks like this time I DID get piss on your new boots. Sorry!”

  By the time Gastien was finished, both Sébastien and Rémy looked about the same. He stood there breathing heavily. Both men were conscious, but in immense pain. It would be a long time before they healed. Looking up, Gastien saw that he was surrounded by many of the people he knew.

  One of the artists he frequently argued art with walked up to the two beaten men. Looking down at them, he spit on them and then threatened, “If you both know what’s good for you, you will drop this and never set foot in Montmartre again. If any one of us sees you, you won’t be as lucky the next time. All of us will be watching for you. Do I make myself clear?”

  The two men on the ground nodded.

  As people walked away, Sébastien cried out, “Get us a doctor! We could die for God’s sake!”

  Gastien looked at the two men. “I don’t think so. Let’s see if either of you is as tough as I was.”

  Then he knelt down, whispering loudly so both men could hear, “By the way, THIS is peasant country! You have no rights here.”

  XLIII

  Mic turned him away from the building. “Let’s get you cleaned up, and then we will come back. Do you feel better now?”

  “Oui. God help me, oui! That felt good!”

  “They deserved everything you gave them.” Mic jostled Gaz fondly. “Hey, you are quite a fighter! You really pounded on them,” Mic said admiringly.

  “I don’t like to fight, though. I had enough violence growing up.”

  “I know, but this needed to be done in order for you to feel some justice. Damn good job! I have to hand it to you. Remind me never to get you mad!”

  “Are you kidding? I am not dumb enough to fight someone who is half Irish. I have seen you pound a few yourself!”

  “Well, the two of us together would be pretty dangerous, that is for sure.”

  They both grinned.

  “Merci for knowing to come out there, Mic. I don’t know what I would have done had I – “

  “Don’t even think about that. All of that is in the past now, Gaz. If there were others, I am sure these two will warn them off. Gentry don’t generally like to fight with peasants. They get their asses kicked.”

  “So you don’t think they will come back?”

  “Hell non! Too many people are out for them. And, non, your amis don’t know why this happened tonight. They just know those two hommes did something to deserve an ass kicking. That is all that matters to them. Hell, it could have been that they insulted one of your paintings. You know how much a good fight is appreciated at Au Lapin Agile.”

  Gastien laughed. “Oui, that it is!”

  He sobered up quickly. “Mic, for sure they don’t know what happened, right?”

  “Right. I don’t even know for sure. You never told me; it doesn’t matter. They have paid now.”

  “Will you ask a driver to get a doctor for them? I have blood on me. I don’t want anyone else to know who did it.”

  “Why get a doctor?”

  “I don’t want to be guilty of killing anyone. Please. Just get a doctor.”

  “Ok, ami. You go get washed up and put clean clothes on. I will let Sophie know that you will be back.”

  “What will she think of me? She will have heard by now what I did,” fretted Gastien.

  “I think she will be glad you got some revenge. I think she understands quite a lot without being told.”

  Gastien looked at Mic sharply. “Have you told her about what you think happened?”

  “Non! I promise you, non. Women have a way of knowing things anyway. She does not need details. She knows you well enough to understand that they likely had it coming.”

  “I would hug you, but I am quite bloody.”

  “Oui, I appreciate that. Alice is coming by here soon. I don’t want to scare her to death with blood on my shirt!”

  Puzzled, Gastien asked, “Mic? Where did you get the gun?”

  Mic smiled. “You remember that fake gun up on the wall inside with all the other junk on display?”

  “Oui. Don’t tell me – “

  “Oui. Ol’ Sébastien and his pal both got the shit kicked out of them all because of a fake gun!”

  They shared a good, long laugh.

  Gastien gasped, “That is rich! Too bad he won’t ever know.”

  “Well, I could put it in his hand for him. In fact, I think I will!”

  They both grinned. It would be fabulous for Sébastien to find out that a fake gun had held him up.

  Gastien hurried home, got cleaned up, and then returned. His amis carried on as if nothing had happened, except that a few bought him drinks because they were impressed with his ability to fight.

  Sophie came up to him at midnight, putting her arms around him from behind.

  Whispering softly in his ear, she asked, “Is everything all right? Did you get hurt?”

  “Non, I am not hurt. Everything is fine.”

  She kissed his neck. “I am glad. I am sure they had it coming. Je t’aime, Gastien. God, how I do!”

  “You’re just saying that so I won’t beat the hell out of you!” he teased.

  “Non. You would never do that, Gastien Beauchamp. You are a good man. You would only do that when someone truly had it coming.”

  “Woman, you think more highly of me than you should.”

  “On the contrary, I think of you as you truly are. Just don’t get backed into too many corners. I don’t want anyone to take a swing at your gorgeous face.” She came around, sitting between him and Mic. “I will have a drin
k with you before I go home.”

  “Aren’t you coming home with me?”

  “Non. You are drunk from all those free drinks. I also think that you need to have fun with your amis. I have things to do tomorrow. Enjoy your time as a carefree single man. I will be henpecking you in two days.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  Sophie had her vin and then went home. Gastien ordered a round for the table. They sang and drank until half past three in the morning.

  Somehow they also found their way home. Alice came with them. If she and Mic stayed awake after going upstairs Gastien was not aware of it. He would wake up the next day with a hangover that told him he had indeed had a good time the night before.

  XLIV

  The next day, Gastien forced himself to exercise and clean up. He then went to buy a new pair of trousers. He also found a beautiful, cream colored satin shirt with a pointed collar and billowing, high cuffed sleeves at a second hand store. Although it was not in style anymore, it was in perfect condition. He did not care that it was out of style. In fact, that made him like it even more because it was unique. He decided to buy new boots, too. Since he needed boots anyway, he would wear them new at his wedding.

  Next, he went inside a small shop to buy a gold band for Sophie. He had measured the knuckle of her ring finger with a piece of string while she slept. He wanted her to have a wedding ring.

  He had also asked the cleaning lady to come tomorrow morning instead of Saturday. That way the studio would look it’s best for their wedding night. Gastien asked the cleaning lady to continue after he was married. He could have temporarily stopped using her once Sophie moved in, but he did not want Sophie to spend her pregnancy cleaning and washing.

  Gastien had promised that he would paint at least one portrait a month, giving Sophie the money for raising their child. He was going to do what he could to provide, while at the same time not losing his freedom to paint what he wanted to.

  Once he got home, he heard Mic’s bed upstairs. It seemed that Mic had decided to take the day off from painting and give Alice his full attention. Gastien truly hoped that this time it worked out. He would know soon enough if screaming and hollering started up.