For a Brief Moment

By Mélanie Charbonneau

For a Brief Moment is about the kidnapping of a baby named Mickal Lauzon while the family was on a vacation in Jasper, Canada. Mickal had a twin brother and an older brother when he went missing. The tragedy nearly broke the family apart.
Lizzie, the mother, never stopped looking for her son. After 15 agonizing years, faith suddenly brought him back into their lives. But Mickal didnt remember themand he didnt want to be back with his family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491834886

Mélanie Charbonneau

Mélanie Charbonneau is an elementary teacher in Edmonton, Alberta. Throughout her career, she has written many plays for her school. Every year, the school uses one of her plays for the Christmas concert. She is a devoted teacher and also a devoted mother of three sons. Although she has a very busy schedule, she always manages to write once they are in bed. Writing has always been her passion. This is her first published novel.

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© 2013 Mélanie Charbonneau. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/07/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3486-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3487-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3488-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013920759

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

About The Author

About The Book

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Special thanks to:

My three wonderful children, who are a constant inspiration.

My lover Rick, for his endless love and support.

Morgan Davies, who illustrated the front cover for me.

For both Laurette and my sister Stéphanie for being the first readers and for all their suggestions.

CHAPTER 1

What’s taking so long, Lizzie? We’re boiling here!

I’m coming! I’m coming! I just need to put some diapers in the bag…

Through the twins’ bedroom window, Lizzie could hear her three boys losing patience. Mickaël and Samuel were starting to cry at the same time Daniel was complaining to his dad. It’s too hot, Daddy! I’m thirsty! Where is Mommy?

Lizzie ran downstairs to grab five cold water bottles for the road.

Is everyone ready, guys?

Yes! screamed Daniel.

At the sound of their mother’s voice, the twins stopped crying.

Jasper, here we come.

*     *     *

After 40 minutes on the road, with the twins finally asleep and Daniel quietly reading his picture book, Lizzie was lost in her thoughts. She looked at the unfamiliar scenery of prairies. She felt as if she were in a different country. It had been two weeks since their move to Edmonton. As someone born and raised in Montréal, she was feeling quite a culture shock.

She had always thought she knew her country well, being a geography teacher and all. But everything was new to her eyes. Everything was different, from the climate to the structure of the houses and streets, the fashion, the lifestyles, the scenery—hell, even the language! Although she’d been raised in a bilingual family, with a Francophone mom and an Anglophone dad, there was something different about the way the Albertans talked. It reminded her a little bit of a mixture of American and sometimes even… she didn’t know how to say it… hillbillies? Or maybe it was just their neighbours. She would need more time to analyse the language and Albertans.

Lizzie wouldn’t have thought in a million years that at 30 years old, she’d be living so far to the west. She had never appreciated the immensity of the country until she drove non-stop for 56 hours to search for a house.

She was six months pregnant with her fourth child—yes, a lovely surprise to all of them—and because Mike and Lizzie were both teachers, their income was not the greatest. Well, to be more specific, Mike was a teacher full-time; Lizzie was only part-time since returning from Daniel’s maternity leave three years before. As a result, they were struggling financially, especially since the birth of the twins eighteen months ago.

Mike had seen an ad in a paper in May about a shortage of teachers in the Francophone school-board system. They talked about it and decided to apply for the next school year in 2002, without really expecting anything to come of it. To their surprise, they both received job offers within a few weeks: for Mike, a principal position in École Maurice-Lavallée, and for Lizzie, a grade-3 maternity-leave replacement until November in École Saint-Jeanne-d’Arc. The school board even offered to pay the cost of moving. After going over all the pros and cons, they decided to make the big move. They thought that this could be their way out of debts and financial problems.

Although they couldn’t really afford it, Mike insisted that the family would spend three days in the Rockies at the Jasper Park Lodge before he started his new job. He planned to spend the full month of August getting familiar with the school, his new tasks and responsibilities and every member of the staff before the school year started.

CHAPTER 2

Mommy! Look in front of you! It looks like clouds on the ground!

Lizzie couldn’t help but smile when she saw Daniel’s shining eyes. Nothing made her happier than seeing her kids and husband happy. Taking in the stunning sight before her eyes, she started to get excited too.

It sure does, sweetie! Only it is not clouds… it’s snow on the mountains! Can you imagine? That’s incredible! We are well into the summer, late in July, and there is still snow on the mountains!

Wow! What a sight! said Mike.

Take a picture, Daddy!

Grab the camera, Lizzie! Wow! It’s so beautiful! Almost as beautiful as you, my love!

If I was that beautiful, I would be a famous supermodel! She took several pictures. Hey! Look on top of this one! Is that a mountain sheep, Mike?

It sure is! Look, boys! There, on the mountains!

Lizzie started to sing gently, "Quand le soleil dit bonjour, aux montagnes!"

Daniel and Mike joined her. The twins clapped their hands. For the rest of the ride, the Lauzon choir sang a series of old songs, both in French and English.

*     *     *

Look, Mom! A water park!

Yes it is! That’s nice to see, especially on a hot day like today. And it’s supposed to be warm like this all week! We will have to check it out. Hopefully it’s not too far from our cabin.

Nothing gets past you, little man, added Mike with pride. The water park is far behind the trees. You have eagle eyes! You would be a great hunter or detective, little Mr. Lauzon!

Once at the Jasper Park Lodge, all of them were amazed by the beauty of the location. Even Mickaël and Samuel were looking everywhere with their big blue eyes. The kids were running around while Lizzie and Mike unloaded the van and placed everything in the cabin.

"I can’t believe how beautiful it is, Mike! We are right by the mountains. And the colour of the lake…