Very Peculiar

“That’s the final bit, Richard. Thank you.”

“Ah, just one question, Ms. Le Fevre. Do you really want to include this last codicil? It’s a bit… much, don’t you think?” Richard barely restrained himself from fidgeting as he made eye contact. She leaned back in her chair, sharp eyes assessing Richard’s expression.

“Richard, I’ve employed your services many years now, correct? As I recall, when you ‘inherited’ my account from your father, you were given four rules of engagement. Is this not correct?

“Ah, yes, Ms. Le Fevre. Yes, you did.”

“Very good. And do you remember those rules, Richard?” Her icy tone made Richard’s nerves jangle and goosebumps rose on his arms.

“Yes, I remember those rules very clearly.”

“Good. Recite them.” Her cool-gazed command jolted Richard’s mind back to the moment he was appointed his first (and most important) client. He’d just begun to work for his father, the ink still wet on his law degree. He’d helped his father at the firm all though high school and college and was familiar with the practice and its clients. Most of them were long time customers and knew him growing up. They were full of congratulations and smiles upon his graduation and officially joining the firm. And then there was Margot Aline Manon Le Fevre. Margot, or Ms. Le Fevre as she insisted, was a cipher of a woman. She stood out in his memories, a silent, still figure against the backdrop of his mind. Her shrewd eyes always watching, assessing, knowing. Richard first saw her at age twelve, at one of her appointments with his father. Though he remained unobtrusively in the background, she saw him, her piercing eyes meeting his timid gaze directly. Richard had nightmares for an entire week following, feeling like she’d stared upon his soul and judged.

By the time Richard had joined the firm, he’d met Ms. Le Fevre several more times. Each time, she focused her intense faze upon him for an interminable moment. Whatever she found in his eyes, she demanded of his father that Richard be the only other person to handle her business, so his father carefully taught him the nuances of his client. One long day following multiple phone calls with Ms. Le Fevre, Richard’s father taught him something new.

“Son, you know that a large part of our business is managing people, not just handling their affairs.”

“Yes, dad, of course.”

And of course, you know that some of our clients require more ‘handling’ than others.” 

“Yes, I do.” Richard could easily see where he thought this conversation was going based on the day’s activities.

“Good, good. One of our clients, particularly, must be handled with EXTREME care; you obviously know who it is. I’ve trained you on the intricate delicacies of her affairs, and you’ve learned how to deal with her in person.” Taking a deep breath, Richard’s father continued. “There are several things you don’t know. The main thing you need to know, is that there are rules, and those rules have consequences if we break them.” Richard could feel his face twist into an expression of incredulity. “Seriously, dad, rules?! What rules? And consequences?” His father wasn’t one to tease, and the look on his face belied any amusement Richard might have initially felt.

His father leaned forward, intensity in his expression. “There are four rules that we follow when engaging with Ms. Le Fevre. First, aside from obvious questions to clarify her request, no questions. We do not ask Ms. Le Fevre who or why or how. Only ask what you need to know to accomplish the task. Nothing more. Two, don’t go looking for answers. Ms. Le Fevre may, at times, say or do things that seem… peculiar. Do not try to dig into her past or find out additional information on the side regarding her or any of her business. She will know.” Richard gaped at his father in confusion and distress, trying to reconcile his staid, pragmatic father, with this man whose eyes gleamed with fervor.

“Three, never talk about Ms. Le Fevre. It goes without saying that we follow client-attorney confidentiality, but say NOTHING about Ms. Le Fevre, not even to describe the color suit she wore at your last meeting. And last, her file does not exist.” Reeling from the final two rules, Richard gaped at his father. “What do you mean, ‘her file doesn’t exist?! I just pulled it a million times today!”

Richard’s father took a deep breath, then reached for the stack of files in his sorter, passing one to Richard.

“What does that say, Richard?”

“Well, it says Le Fevre, M. of course.”

“Alright. Open it.” Richard impatiently opened the file, annoyed with his father at this idiotic exercise. 

“It’s open, see? Right here on top is the…” Richard trailed off, trying to reconcile what he was seeing. The top page of the file should have been the office request form for Ms. Le Fevre’s latest task, along with the notes he’d taken neatly clipped to the top. Instead, the form was blank, and in Richard’s own handwriting, the notes read: “Be sure that private things stay private, Richard.” His face ghostly white, Richard carefully closed the file, then set the folder on the desk with trembling hands and stared at his father.

“She always knows, son.” Richard simply nodded mutely, staring at the file like it would come to life. He wouldn’t forget the rules, even if he wanted to.

~*~*~*~*~

Waiting for his response, Margot simply sat and looked at Richard, noticing the slight tremor she could see beginning in his hands, and the faint shimmer of sweat at his brow line.  Ah, now he begins to understand.

Richard eased slightly backward in his chair, his body subconsciously trying to distance itself from perceived danger. “Ah, yes, the rules.” Concisely stating each rule, Richard could feel a kernel of ice deep within his chest growing with each word. Finishing, he made eye contact with Ms. Le Fevre, only to startle as he realized those dark, depthless eyes had not moved from him the entire time. 

“Richard?”

“Y- yes, Ms. Le Fevre.”

“Will it be necessary for me to find a new attorney?” Those mysterious eyes never left his face, and Richard could feel her looking into his soul.

“No! Uh, no, of course not. I obviously forgot myself. Obviously. It won’t happen again. Ever.” He could not spit out the words fast enough. Richard knew there would be no simple termination of their client-attorney partnership. If it were that simple, he’d have made the suggestion years ago, but he knew way too much, though not nearly enough. 

“Good. Make sure it doesn’t. Now then, since we were so horribly derailed by nonsense, read back to me the final changes, thank you.”

“Of course,” Richard replied as he fumbled with the document. Unlike most papers in her file, this one remained intact, the writing clear and unchanging. She’d asked him to prepare her Last Will and Testament, though oddly, Richard didn’t think she’d aged one bit over the last twenty years. Peculiar. And none of his business.

“Alright then, here is the part we modified today:

Upon the first full moon following my interment, my Last Will & Testament is to be read at a graveside picnic. Richard Stephenson, my attorney, must be present to witness the proceedings and will bear an envelope that is to remain unopened until such time as the full moon picnic. The envelope will hold explanations for many things, as well as the identity of my named heir. Only Mr. Stephenson will be able to open this envelope; any attempts to do so by anyone else or at any other time will result in the immediate destruction of said envelope and my estate in full shall revert to the state. In the moment before opening the envelope, all attendees to the reading of my Last Will and Testament are to cast their eyes downward until the reading is complete.”

Here Richard stopped and reestablished eye contact with Ms. Le Fevre. “That’s the last of the changes, unless you have more revisions you’d like to add.”

“No more revisions, thank you. Oh, but one more thing, Richard.”

“Yes?”

“Do make sure they serve fresh Krispy Kreme donuts at the picnic, yes?” Nodding in satisfaction, Ms. Le Fevre gathered her purse and left, closing the door firmly behind her, a small smile playing on her lips.

Krispy Kreme???