Winter Bakery

24. Tomb

The winds howled and whistled. They carry cold breeze signifying the change in seasons. Autumn had played its part, it was time for winter.

Jigi slowly walked towards the cemetery with heavy and slow footsteps. She was dressed almost like the day her mother dressed her up for her father's funeral, clearly trying to hide the fact from her. Such a cruel thing to do.

Jigi strides towards the tomb and it reads, Grégoire Lefèrve,
Beloved Father, Son and Brother. She slow knelt by the grave and traced her fingers on her father's name. She felt a mixture of emotions.

She felt joy for the sheer capability to see her father's name. She felt sorrow for not properly saw good bye. She felt sorry for the time lost. She felt sad her father was here with her. That he was no longer a part of her life. She felt bitter for not understanding and coming to terms with her reality sooner and trying to avoid it. She felt betrayed for her mother's absence and a hint of resentment.

Jigi felt all the wonderful memories of her father race through her mind, particularly the day of his supposed burial. Unshed hot tears stream down her face.

She only had one thought, one resolute thought. She was going to find out how her father died and she was going to continue her legacy. She was not changing her mind. She firmly and deeply held that in integrity.

With a lit and fiery determination, she wiped her tears and turned to leave the tombstone. She then noticed a funeral arrangement of flowers on her father's grave. She wondered who. In a split second, she thought it would be her mother.

But the thought was shoot in the foot when she remembered how quickly her mother wanted them out of France after her father's death.

In the steam of her thoughts a shadow appeared near the tomb. The antecedent of a being's presence behind her. Jigi quickly wiped her tear with the back of her hand wiping her hair which is in a ponytail in her face. It stuck to her face from all the sweat and the tears.

Behind her, stood tall a man. Jigi almost passed out from shock of seeing her father behind her, only to notice his features and truly realise it is her uncle.

Jigi's eyes widened from recognition and bewilderment. He seemed to not recognise her. He was wondering what a young lady was doing at his brother's grave. Jigi reassembled her father but that did not seem to do the trick. Jigi shuffled to her feet and whispered 'Uncle!'.

Like a run away truck with faulty brakes, his face lit up in recognition. Jigi's uncle, Thomas Lefèvre. He was the youngest son of Philip Lefèvre. As all Lefèvre, they shared one trait, ambition. He was furious when Grégoire inherited their father's bakery. He wanted to obtain it any means necessary.

The air was tense and Jigi took the initiative to slice the tension. "Hello uncle." She greeted with a curt polite smile. Her uncle had dirty blonde hair so close to a brunette one had to close to realise his her colour.

He had shrewd brown eyes and a scruffy beard. He held a walking stick for he was limping on one leg. He wore a worker's outfit without the highlighter and the safety gear of course.

He shared a bit of similarities between her father and himself. "Hello, Juniper. I wasn't expecting to see you here." He stated and stood ten metres away from her.

"Yes. I suppose. Today is my father's death anniversary." Jigi started.

"I'm very well aware of that. I never saw you here after my brother's tragedy department." Thomas responded.

"You mother was in such a hurry to get you out of here." Jigi winced at mentioning of her mother's name. He said to himself.

"By the way, how is she?" He questioned. Jigi did not know how to answer that question. She bluntly ignored the questioned. She briefly looked away. Thomas saw the moment of vulnerability and thought it was a leeway to take advantage of the situation.

Jigi decided to ask about something or someone very dear to her. " Uncle, where is Cole? How is he?" There was emotions of hope on her face. She wanted to rekindle the relationship between herself and her cousin. She dearly missed him.

Thomas has always been surprised by the relationship between his son and his niece. With a the rivalry between his brother and himself, their friendship and sibling relationship was very unexpected.

Once he tried to plant seeds of mistrust and hatred between them, but it didn't work. Every year he comes to his brother's to think he has slightly won.

After his brother's death, he tried to claim the bakery only to find out it was willed to his niece. He was devastated by the information.

"I don't know you were in France?" Thomas probed with leading questioning.

"Yes. I have been here of about two months." Jigi answered. She had now found a new source of happiness. She was happy she decided to return.

" After your mother left with you, Le boulangerie de le fils was shut down." He stated.

"Uncle, I have inherited the bakery." Jigi announced, she almost broke out into a grin. Thomas was really trying to control his resentment and he said, "Congratulations, dear niece. If you need anything just contact me." He hands her a contact card.

Jigi remembered an undercurrent feelings between the brothers. Jigi carefully took the card and asked, "Can I get Cole's contact info?" She asked. He wrote it down and gave it to her. He announced his departure and began to walk down hill.

Jigi turned back to gaze at the tomb. This time not in sadness or sorrow but determination to make her father proud. She knelt down again and whispered, "Father, I'm going to be better. I'm going to make you proud. I'm going to bring Le boulangerie de le fils to life."

In her thoughts, Jigi wandered down the street to her childhood home. When she arrived there before she did not want to go anywhere close to the place.

Jigi saw it in a distance and grinned feeling like a child again.