Chapter 1
"Your son was fighting during recess Mrs. Destler" The Principal argued pointing at my son accusingly. His overly neat officer was so alarming that I could see why I had heard from Alexander complaining about him.
"I don't doubt that he did." I agreed glaring at Alexander. He sank back into his chair to try and hide from it. I turned my glare to his principal. Like Alexander he shrank back in his big chair. "But I don't believe he would do so without cause."
"The boys that he beat to a pulp say that he attacked them for no reason!"
"I see. Who are these boys that which you speak of? Why do you think that they are the victims? Could it be that they are lying and Alexander is covering for something or someone?"Ange fidgeted in my lap growing ever more impatient as any normal three year old would. She pulled her blonde hair out of her butterfly barrette. I placed it back into her hair and kissed her on her head. I could hear her start to whine to me in a mixture of French and English. "As you can see my toddler is getting quite restless so we must be on our way."
The Principal stood up. "We are not done here yet."
"Yes we are! Now if there is anything else you would like to tell me then we will arrange to have a discussion another time. Good day to you, sir!" I got up holding Ange's hand and Alexander trailed behind me. We walked to the door. "Stick that tongue back in your mouth Alexander. You are not a frog."
He hurried to walk beside me and we walked out of the Principal's office and through the empty hallways of the school. "Are you going to tell me what is going on?"
He shook his head. "No."
"I see." I said. We opened the front door and walked down the steps of the school. We were at the bottom of the steps near the car. Taking my keys out of my pocket I unlocked the car. Putting Ange into her car seat I turned to Alexander to tell him to get in it. But he was talking to a little girl with black braids and a yellow sundress. I waited until he left with a nod and to the car. He opened the door and sat inside with his arms crossed.
I walked over to the little girl. She looked at me wide eyed. "You are the famous painter, Roxanne Destler.
"I'm Alexander's mother."
"Your husband is Erik Destler the legendary composer and musician."
"Yes, that is Alexander's father. What's your name, dear?"
"Sophia, Mrs. Destler."
"It is nice to meet you." I greeted shaking her tiny hand.
He eyes grew wide. "It is nice to meet you too."
"Are you one of Alexander's friends? I don't believe I have had the pleasure in meeting any of his friends from school."
"I'm the only friend he's got. Alexander is the kindest person I know. He even got into a fight because of me."
"Why is that?"
She looked at her left arm. I notice that she didn't have a hand. There was only a stump. "The other boys were teasing me. Alexander was the only one who stood up for me."
"I see." I nodded.
"I have to go or I'll get in trouble. It was nice meeting you Mrs. Destler." Then she ran back inside the school.
I walked to the car and got into the driver's seat. I drove away from the school to home. Smiling slyly I looked in the mirror. "Your father would love to hear what you did today."
Alexander's eyes grew wide. He grabbed the back of my chair. "He will kill me. He'll take away my music until I am at least in college. No please don't tell Dad. I won't survive if I can't play the piano or my violin."
"I won't." I promised him knowing full well what his father would do to punish Alexander. Both of them loved their music so much that they would spend hours at a time composing and practicing together. But I thought it would punish Erik more than anyone if he couldn't teach his son music for that long of time. It would be my punishment to the two of them if they did something wrong. Alexander was his father son. "It will be our little secret."
"Daddy?" Ange asked. "Where is Daddy?"
"He's in France. He is visiting some old friends." I told her.
Ange started to cry. "I miss my Daddy."
"He's on a long trip but will be back soon." Alexander comforted his little sister.
He tickled her in her seat that sent her into a fit of giggles. "Alex, stop it! Hehehe! It tickles!"
At her command he stopped.
"Don't cry anymore, Little Angel. You are cuter when you laugh." Alexander told her and handed her the doll which she had left on the seat between them. He turned his attention to me. "I just wish that he wouldn't go there for such a long time."
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "You are such a Drama King like your father."
"But he has been gone for a month."
"I know but he hasn't been there since his father died." I vouched. "It is only until the end of the month."
"He never takes us there. We have never gone anywhere."
"Well at the end of the month we will meet you Father in New York City."
"Are you serious?!" Alexander asked. "New York, New York?"
"Do you know any other New York?"
"Do I get to go?" Ange asked rocking her dolly.
"Maybe next time, Ange."
"You will be at Grandma's and Grandpa's house while Alexander and mommy meet Daddy in New York."
"Does that mean we can go to Coney Island and see the freak show?"
"No." I said my voice shaking.
"Why not?"
The thought of Erik going to see a freak show after what happened to him came to mind. "There are no longer any freak shows around on Coney island. Instead there are rides and attractions."
"Alright."
"However you have to promise that you will behave until then."
"I will, I promise."
…..
New York was a hustle and bustling sort of town that was different than Paris. I was surprised and amazed looking at the extensive crowd. What more is to be said; New York City is New York City. Everyone has seen a movie or been there to know how hectic it all is. There were a million different sights and smells around us. The sidewalks were crowded with people. Alexander and I went to check into the hotel.
"What are we going to do first when Dad comes?" Alexander inquired cheerfully.
I looked in my notebook that I had written down what we had discussed what it was that we both wanted to do. "It looks like we are going to Coney Island first."
"Sweet." He said when we reached the front desk.
"How may I help you today?" The man at the front desk was busily typing away barely looking up when he asked. He was extremely thin that he looked like he was made of only bones. Looking up finally I could see his piercing blue eyes. He looked from my son to me and smiled. "We have been expecting you Mrs. Destler." He handed me a room Key. "Your room number is 665."
I took the key and thanked the man for his help. We walked to the elevator.
"Well that was creepy." Alexander said looking over his shoulder and shuddered.
I rustled his jet black hair. "It felt like something from the twilight zone."
Alexander began to laugh so hard he began to chortle. I laughed with him until the elevator door opened. Stepping inside we waited to get to our floor.
When we got to our room I put down my suitcase and Alexander had jumped on the queen size bed. I looked around with wide eyes. It looked more like a penthouse than a room. It was so spacious. There was a small kitchen with a stove and a large refrigerator that stood tall. I couldn't believe Erik would have us stay in such a grand room. Sometimes I was astounded by the actions that he took. It had the Victorian look that reminded me of the time in France. It brought tears to my eyes.
"Mom, look I get a room to myself and the bathroom is so big!" Alexander started to explore through the different rooms. He ran to the balcony and shouted "Look at the view!"
I put my coat down and noticed something on the table. Walking over I picked up the piece of paper and read:
"Dear Roxanne,
I hope everything is to your liking. I made sure that it would be perfect for my beautiful family. I regret that I was unable to be the first to greet you to the Big Apple but when I come to see you we'll see the sights of New York together. You cannot know how much I have missed you and the children this last month. I love you.
Your Angel of Music, Erik"
A smile formed as I read each of his words. That little devil. He always found a way make me smile. I shook my head and placed the note down to join Alexander on the balcony. It had been a while since I have been to a large city that it overwhelmed me. In the suburbs where we had settled it was quieter. The sounds of the cars honked and roared at each other arguing over each other's driving. The city lights at night glowed and shimmered like a thousand sparkling diamonds on each roof top. The cool air felt good as I looked out over the city. "Pretty cool ain't it?"
"Yeah," He stared out with me. We stayed like that for a while. Neither one of us wanted to talk in fear that we might ruin the good mood. But Alexander finally interrupted the silence with a question. "Can we go to the pier?"
"Sure. Grab your coat and let's go."
That boy ran faster out of that hotel than I have ever seen someone run. He got his coat and was racing out of the hotel. Running after him I caught up to him at the bottom of the hotel's steps. I called a cab and told him where we wanted to go. Alexander was already in the back seat waiting for me to sit beside him. I had never seen him so excited in his whole life. He usually was well kept and quiet like his father but now he was bouncing off the taxi's walls in excitement. I was afraid that he would jump out the window and run all the way to the pier. As we drove I realized that I had forgotten to take my phone and my purse. I had only enough money for the drive there and back. Cursing my forgetfulness I looked out the window to see the streets of New York.
I hope Alexander doesn't want to do anything besides walking on the pier because if he does we'd be walking back to our hotel later.
When we finally reached our destination he jumped out of the cab and ran to the dock. I paid the driver and walked to stand beside him. Alexander turned and leaned against the railing to look back at the city. He stared at it in amazement. "I wonder what it would look like in 1905."
"Why that specific year?"
"I don't know."
I sighed. The smell of the salty water wrapped around us like a warm blanket. I looked out across the water and imagined the amount of famous ships that would dock there. The sound of the water splashing against the wood was soothing and relaxing to hear.
"Mom, have you ever wanted to go back in time and live someone else's life for a day?" Alexander asked.
I drummed my fingers against the railing. My memory of those twenty years ago was still fresh in my mind. It played through my mind whenever I had a hard time falling asleep when Alexander was small. Looking out across the water I sighed. "Once, a long time ago."
He nodded. "I sometimes dream that I am with this little boy. He looks just like me and everything. We both like to play the piano and make others dance when we play our own music. His mother is a singer and sometimes she will sing him to sleep after he has a nightmare like you do. He is happy most of the time but his dad doesn't notice him most of the time. Usually his dad is out drinking and gambling and it makes his mom sad. He cries often too. I tell him to be brave but most of the time he is just scared and won't talk to me. I feel connected to him. Is it weird that I am dreaming about this sort of person?"
"No," I shook my head. "I don't think it's weird. I had a dream like that when I was a little older than you."
Alexander smiled and leaned on the railing more. "Thanks mom."
What happened next scared me near to death. The railing snapped and he fell into the waters below. I cried out his name and jumped in after him. When I hit the cold water it felt like a thousand needles were poking into my skin. I opened my eyes. I peered through the water and found my son trying to swim to the surface. He wasn't moving anywhere though. It was like something was pulling him down to the bottom below. I swam over to him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. We kicked as hard as we could. There was nothing wrapped around our legs. Whatever was pulling him down was dragging me along with it. It was getting hard to think. My lungs started to burn for air. My vision blurred. I looked up to the surface and saw a figure start to swim down towards us. Then the water went black.
Disclaimer: I don't own Love Never Dies.
Coney isle. Glistening and glimmering. Rising bright, Drenched with light. See it smile Beckoning and shimmering. All agleam like a dream.Every fantasy set free
So please review.
Hi everyone. I'm back and so are Roxanne and Erik and their family. I hope you like it. While writing this chapter I was watching Love Never Dies. Now I must say that I like the idea of Love Never Dies and I thought it would make a good sequel to The Ghost of the Opera so this was born. Hope you all like it.