CHAPTER 25

  ROUEN’S FAMOUS GIANT

  In Rouen, France, in 1509, some ditch diggers uncovered an ancient tomb that contained a skeleton of a man in his armor. The tomb was ornately decorated, as one would expect from that of a tomb of a medieval nobleman. Affixed to the tomb was an engraved copper identification that said, “In this tomb lies the noble and puissant lord, The Chevalier Ricon de Vallimont, and his bones.” The tomb contained an enormous skeleton that measured 17 feet tall. He was entombed in his armor along with his own sword, both of which were encrusted with the finest rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. His battle shield was also in the tomb. The battle shield was bronze with a gold crest of arms. The gold crest is thought to be that of the noblest of Kings – Gayant, King of the Giants.

  While the remains from that 1509 find would not exist in the modern world, the documented proof was all we would need to excite us in our continued search for our own proof. If, within the city of Rouen, such a find could be uncovered by simple ditch diggers, we could only imagine what we would find when we began our own search on the land Vincent now owned in northern France. There would be no government agency to avoid this time. We would be free to search the farmland to any extent we desired. It was this documented evidence of such a great, archeological find that would provide us with proof that within the area of northern France, the great giant kingdom most likely existed in the Middle Ages. We were well on the right path to success this time.

  From Vincent’s home in Rouen, I phoned Mimi back in Paris and informed her that I had indeed found Vincent teaching at the university. On the phone, she didn’t seem as impressed or as excited as I was about finding Vincent. Mimi had hoped we’d catch our breath and catch up a little on our financial situation before continuing the quest. With me off in Rouen, she knew that there would be little time to slow down. She felt Vincent was the worst influence on me when it came to giant hunting. She also didn’t like the still single Vincent had on me. The drinking, the smoking, and the excessive lifestyle were nothing Mimi treasured. It was nothing that I treasured either. I saw it as nothing more than Vincent’s own immaturity brought on by his parents’ wealth and the fact that they never quite gave him complete control over his own life. It was his way of rebelling against them and the forced control they put on him. Vincent remained for the most part as immature as the day I met him in college. More educated but still immature.

  Mimi also knew that Vincent’s own passion for dragons and cryptozoology drove me deeper into this faith-filled search for the existence of giants. While she encouraged us to come to France, she had hoped that coming here would get it out of my system. Now, she feared that Vincent would only encourage me more. Needless to say, this was not what she wanted to hear on the phone – that Vincent owned a large parcel of land on an estate in northern France where we could continue this adventure.

  “Jack, what about money? We are running out of money fast. We have nothing coming in, and we will need to watch what we are spending so we have enough to get home.”

  I was frustrated by her lack of insight into what this fateful turn in our European trip meant to me.

  “Mimi, we’ll be fine. Where is your faith?” I asked her.

  There was silence on the phone, and I was grateful that she did not respond negatively with some remark like “beneath the streets of Rome.”

  “Jack, I want to go home. At the very least, we need to work a little here in Paris, save up some money, and then go home.

  “Work?” I said, “Doing what?”

  She answered, “Well, I went over to this private college here in Paris that has many American students who attend. There seemed to be some interest in both of us tutoring for the remainder of the summer term.”

  “Tutoring?” I was frustrated. It was not the reception I wanted to hear from her.

  “We could help with some of the basics, English language, and history. Also subbing in for some of the professors when they need time off,” She answered.

  This was nothing to compete with the excitement of what Vincent was offering. Vincent only had a few more weeks of teaching his summer session courses, and then he was willing to take a sabbatical for the fall term to accompany me to the farm. Vincent figured our time this fall was going to be short due to the harsh French winters that would come up on us in November. Mimi and I had been expecting to return to the university by fall to resume our classes. In order to go on with Vincent, we would have to extend our leave until the spring semester. I knew we could easily extend our leave until then, but beyond that, the university would not likely hold our positions open. Besides, I knew Mimi would want to be home for the holidays. Mimi wanting us to fill in for the rest of the summer term at some private university in Paris would mean not going with Vincent to the farm until possibly next summer, and by then, we would not likely have the means to return to Europe at all.

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  There was an uncomfortable silence on the phone between Mimi and me.

  “I don’t know what to say, Mimi. I just don’t know.”

  “Jack” was all she said.

  I snapped at her, “Mimi, let me just think for a minute!” I then paused and said without much thought, “Please. I will call you back in a minute or two.” I hung up the phone, and it was the first time we had ever hung up the phone without each of us saying, “I love you.” I actually hadn’t even realized that I hung up without even letting her answer or saying good-bye until the phone was already resting on the table. I was stunned by her plans for us in Paris. It was not what I expected.

  Vincent, who was sitting in the other room, heard how our phone call had ended. When I walked back in the room, he asked, “Is everything alright?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, frustrated. I was frustrated with Mimi, but more with myself. I knew Mimi was just being practical, and I knew she had been nothing but supportive this entire time. I was frustrated because I knew she was right.

  “Jack, what is it? What did she say?” Vincent asked. I didn’t immediately answer, and he asked, “Is she alright?”

  “Damn it, Frenchie! Let me think, here, for a minute,” I said as I walked over to the window to look down to the street below. I was stuck between what I wanted to do and what I knew I had to do.

  As I continued to look out the window, I went on to say, “Vincent, Mimi has gotten us teaching jobs in Paris for the rest of the summer term. You see, we have been running a little short on money since the incident in Greece. Since then, we have been here in Europe on our own dime. We just need to make sure we have enough money to get us back to the U.S. Without the jobs, we may be cutting it too close.”

  Vincent, “Money? Is that the issue here?”

  This made me mad. “Some of us don’t have mommy and daddy to fall back on, you know.”

  “You’re wrong. We all have mommy and daddy to fall back on, Jack. All you have to do is ask. This is far too important to be brushed aside simply because of money. Look, tell Mimi, you two can stay with me on the farm. The entire estate is actually in very bad shape. It’s been vacant for quite some time. If she wants to earn her keep while in France, she can help me out by getting things in order at the farm.”

  I answered back, “Vincent, Mimi is a history professor, not a maid. I think she would take offense to your offer to come clean your house.”

  “Alright then, what if she filled in for me with my classes here in Rouen? Even stay on through the fall and teach.”

  “I don’t think she is going to like working while she thinks I am off having a good time with you in the French countryside.”

  “Damn it, Jack. Then what if I loaned you enough money to get home before the spring term? There has to be something we can work out.” It was obvious he was growing frustrated as well. “Jack, I need you with me. I called you as soon as I bought the property, hoping to reach you before you left for Greece. This is about both of us. About our quests together. I am not Bayne. You know this means as much to me as you. How long have we known each other? Fifteen years? I did not purchase this damn farm just for me. I knew this was the chance of a lifetime for both of us. Seize the day before the sun sets on us forever, and this dream is gone.”

  I phoned Mimi back. I knew I had to convince her that this was the right thing to do. The phone rang and then rang again. Finally, after the third ring, she picked up. “Hello?” she said.

  “Mimi, it’s me.”

  “Jack, I am sorry,” she said before I could say anything. “I am sorry. I know I sprung this on you, but I had been thinking about it for quite some time. You know I would never do anything to prevent your dream. I am scared. I am scared this dream of yours is going to drain us completely. We have to live as cautiously as possible, so we have enough money to get us home.”

  “Mimi, here’s the thing. Vincent has this farm, and he needs our help to get it up and running again. And, in exchange for our help, he’ll ensure we have the money we need to get us home. I think we should extend our sabbatical from the university until spring. We would then be able to resume our teaching positions in time for the spring semester.”

  There was a pause on the phone.

  “So, he’s going to ‘pay’ us? For what?” she asked.

  “He’s going to pay us to help him get the estate cleaned up. It is going to be hard work for everyone. And in exchange for the hard work, we’ll get room and board at the farm, and he’ll make sure we have enough money to get home. There is really nothing for us to lose. We won’t incur anything in the way of expenses, and we’ll have enough money to get us home.”

  “Jack, this isn’t charity, then?” she asked.

  “No. Mimi, it is going to be hard work. I guess the farm is really in bad shape.”

  “And, about this farm, what is it like? I don’t really know anything about farm life. I grew up in Chicago, you know.”

  I answered, “I know. But it will only be you, Vincent, and me there. It’s a three-hundred-acre estate up past where his parents used to live. Vincent believes the farm could be land that once belonged to the medieval kingdom of giants. There is a good possibility this land could contain what we came to Europe to find. We can’t lose – we’ll have room and board, money for our trip home, and a private setting to continue my research here in Europe. We will have it all.”

  There really was nothing she could argue with. Vincent and I had covered all our bases. I know that Mimi would have rather we stayed in Paris and taken the teaching jobs. But she could not argue with the fact that we would be spending no money on the farm. In Paris, we would pay rent on an apartment, and we could continue to accumulate bills. This really was the best offer. I knew she was not excited about spending the rest of the year on a farm. When I offered for her to take on Vincent’s classes for him, she insisted, “No, Jack, I think I should stay with you.” Nonetheless, she agreed. Our plan was in place.