Character Spotlight: Vincent Henfault

Vincent Henfault is the only son of Keith and Danielle Henfault. The Henfault family originally moved to the trapping town of Cat Eye Creek in the 1940’s, when Vincent’s grandfather, Henry, was still a young boy. His great-grandfather, Eckhart Henfault, along with his wife, Fiona Henfault, created a lumber business that expanded the town and built the beginning of the family fortune. Using logs and stone sourced from the surrounding mountains, Eckhart built the family manor that is still used to this day.

As Henry grew older, he took over the lumber business, and got married to Angela Henfault. However, when a new national park was declared, halting the family lumber business, Henry was forced to adapt the family business to construction. He bought up much of the surrounding land in the town and near the park and built multiple buildings. This was the foundation of the family fortune today, as the Henfaults still own all this land and simply lease it out to multiple businesses focused on tourism surrounding the park.

After Henry’s death, Vincent’s parents further developed the town, but forced many residents and small business’s out to make way for several ski resorts, hotels, and other large businesses. It was accompanied by beauty ordinances, and other legislation laws that forever changed the character of the small town. While it was now a major tourist destination for the national park, the town itself would never forgive them for their heavy-handed tactics to get there.

And this is the legacy Vincent inherited. When Vincent was a child, he was proud of his family’s achievements, and got along with the other children in town. Aster Jenkins, who came every summer, was still his best friend, but he had others he could rely on. Until the summer he turned ten, when his grandfather died, and his parents made their massive changes to the town. The other children in town turned against him and began bullying him. Only Aster remained by his side, and even then, Aster was only there during the summer.

As a result, Vincent became mostly a shut-in, relying only on himself and his family’s housekeeper Mrs. Jenkins. He threw himself into academics in preparation of taking over the construction business and land, but at the same time he swore to never to be like his parents and trample over people while doing so. After Aster never returned, he tried his best to forget about them, assuming he was abandoned by them as well.

He graduated high school and began dating a young woman from a family like his, though he didn’t really feel anything for her. He began going to Princeton College, where he excelled until his final year.

In his final year of college, his parents abruptly died of a car crash, leaving him as the last Henfault left alive. He fell into a deep depression, failed to finish college, and his girlfriend left him. Mrs. Jenkins was the only person he had left. She encouraged him to eat and get out of bed, and eventually succeeded after several months of trying. As Vincent improved, he started his own business, leaving the running of the construction business to a trusted manager. His own business was financial management for the small businesses left in Cat Eye Creek, to try and make up for his parent’s actions in the past. He then happily lived with Mrs. Jenkins until her death. Which brought his childhood friend and crush to Cat Eye Creek.

Vincent is independent, but this can be frustrating for his friends who want him to rely on them. He also tends to avoid problems that don’t have an easy solution. However, he is excellent at coming up with plans and executing them. If he’s caught without a plan though, he tends to panic.

Vincent cares deeply about those who care for him and shows it through acts of service and spending time with them. Vincent often helped Mrs. Jenkins on his days off, particularly with the more strenuous chores around the manor such as laundry, gardening, or moving furniture. Several times, Mrs. Jenkins went to start a chore, only to find Vincent had already completed it for her. He also exercised with her every morning, and often came home as soon as he could so they could eat dinner together.

Vincent is a bit of a workaholic, especially when things get busy at his business. That, and he often uses work as an excuse to avoid other problems he doesn’t want to deal with, such as the family construction business and town politics.

In the end, Vincent is trying to carry on a family legacy he feels is just too much sometimes, and it’s only exacerbated by him being the only one of his family left. However, despite his burdens, he’s managed to thrive in business, and his good character is helping his family’s abyssal reputation within Cat Eye Creek.