Ha! Another update! Sorry for the wait though, I had my internet taken again, not my computer, just the internet. 6 hours of labour this time! You see, my dad has devised a system, say he tells me to go to bed at 9:00, and he catches me on the computer at 11:00 I have 6 hours of work till I get my computer back. That's right it tripled. Now, he's putting it up to times 7! I'm not going to do that again! Anyway-the date! Let's see what happens shall we? It's a long chapter-for me anyway-14 pages! Read on!
POTO (c) Gaston Leroux and Erik design ALW
Chapter 4
Christine walked out the door with a certain anticipation running through her veins. She was going out with her boss!
No, she quickly corrected herself I am not going out with him, he is taking me out for dinner to discuss...business matters! Yes, that's right. No man in his right mind would ever go out with me...
When she stepped out the door she vaguely heard Reagan yell something about a composer. She ignored this, Reagan was as much in love with music as Christine herself. They would have conversations for hours about their favourite composers. Reagan practically lived and breathed music. She was going to university and had the bar as a job to get extra money. She had three siblings and did not want to be a burden to her parents. So she had a scholarship for university for music and worked at the bar. She was an alto and her father was the choir director in her home town.
She immediately noticed a black car with tinted windows that was waiting at the front. She figured it was Erik's car. As she walked over to it he stepped out and opened the door to the passenger's seat for her. She looked up, surprised. There weren't many gentlemen out there these days. He just stared down at her with intense eyes that made her shudder.
She stepped into the car and closed the door. Then he walked around to the other side of the car and sat down.
"Mr Destler? You said that we would be stopping somewhere first. May I ask where?" Christine asked, curious.
"Where we are going you could not possibly walk into in those clothes and be expected to be able to stay and eat." Erik said passively. He was no aware of how much he had hurt Christine with that little comment.
"I'm sorry if my bracket is not good enough for you Mr Destler. Unfortunately my pay as a bar maid isn't exactly fit to put me in with society's finest as you should know. And my other job hasn't paid anything so far." Christine replied bitterly. Erik looked at her, surprised and full of self reproach for hurting her like that.
"I'm sorry Christine, I didn't mean it quite like that. And what is this 'other job' that you do?" He wondered.
Christine sighed.
"I'm sorry Mr Destler-I can not volunteer that information and I highly suggest you don't try to find out for yourself. That would only lead you on a path to ruin that I do not think a man like you deserves." She said with a finality that allowed no arguments whatsoever.
Erik looked at her, frustrated. He wanted to help but how could he do that if she was not willing to give up anything that could let him help?
They weaved in and out of traffic in silence, Christine stared out the window and Erik tried to focus on driving but found it impossible with Christine sitting beside him. How he had wished for this moment for ten years! And now that he finally had it he was being an idiot and ignoring her!
"So Ms Daae. Do you mind telling me what your dream is? What do you wish to accomplish in life?" Erik asked trying to learn more about her.
"What I am trying to accomplish Mr Destler is to go through life and survive. If I'm lucky I might find someone who can love me, but other than that all I want to do is survive..." Christine trialed off. Then she shook herself into the moment. "What about you Mr Destler, what do you hope to accomplish? Do you have any dreams in life?" She asked.
All I want is for you to love me as much as I love you Christine... He thought. Aloud he only said
"Oh, I don't want much Ms Daae. All I want is available to me." He replied.
"What about a lady? Do you have one?" Christine questioned
"I do." He answered simply.
If only you knew my angel, if only you knew...
"What about you Ms Daae, don't you ever dream of the 'perfect' man?
She snorted.
"Hardly. My idea of the perfect man is one how could love me for who I am and not judge me for my past." She admitted.
I could be that man....
They rode the rest of the ride in silence. Finally the pulled up to a fancy dress shop in the heart of Paris. Christine knew this one, heck everyone in town knew this one! It was the most expensive dress shop in France!
"Mr Destler-what are we doing here?" She asked, alarmed.
"We are getting you a dress my dear. As I said, you cannot go into the restaurant in an outfit like that." He replied calmly.
"But Mr Destler! I cannot afford a place like this! Please!" Christine, said panicked. He chuckled at her alarm.
'Don't worry Ms Daae. It will be my treat." He offered.
"I cannot let you do that Mr Destler, that is way too much." She protested. He gave her a look that allowed no arguments.
"You are coming in with me and that's final." He said then got out of the car.
She reluctantly followed him into the shop.
It was quite obvious that Erik did not need to change. He was already wearing a tuxedo with a red silk shirt on underneath. Christine could not help but wonder if he wore that everyday.
The jingle of the bells alerted the owner of the shop.
"I'm sorry but we're closing soon." She shouted as walked through the door of the back into the front of the shop.
"I think you can make an exception for me, Anne." Erik replied. She looked at him in surprise.
"Erik! What are you doing here?" The surprised owner asked him.
"I have come to pick up one of the dresses you have made for me." Erik replied.
Christine looked at him, astonished.
Of course he's ordered a dress before. He did say that he had a lady! Christine berated herself. She had no idea why she felt so disappointed.
"Ah, I see. Come this way my dear." She said motioning to Christine with her hand. She followed her into the back.
"It's a good thing that Erik brought you here before you went anywhere with him. Do you honestly expect to be seen with him in that?" Anne asked Christine with a wave at her outfit.
"I don't know. I don't really have anything better you know." Christine replied mildly insulted. Anne gaped at her.
"My poor dear! Come, I have been making Erik dresses for years. I have the perfect one for you." She said. And Christine felt that twinge of disappointment again. Obviously Erik treated his lady very well.
Anne shoved Christine into a changing room and handed her a red dress. Christine was surprised to find it fit her perfectly. It was a blood red and swayed down at her ankles. The neckline was very low and Christine would have honestly made it higher if it was her.
I guess that Mr Destler likes his lady to show off a ton of cleavage. She thought with regret. But other than that the dress was perfect. It hugged her curves and body perfectly and it almost looked like she belonged in high society.
I wonder how an owner of a struggling bar owner can afford all this. Christine briefly asked herself but then shrugged the thought off.
"Come on dear, come out so I can see you." Anne said impatiently. As Christine came out she gasped in delight. Christine mistook this as a gasp of horror and immediately turned back to go get changed.
"No, no. It looks perfect on you darling! If I didn't know better I'd say Erik made it especially for you!" She exclaimed. She had never seen the lady Erik had ordered all the dresses for but she knew that he was an extremely secretive man and had accepted this a long time ago.
Christine blushed as red as the dress.
"Thank you." She muttered. She went to retrieve her other clothes, but Anne put out a hand to stop her.
"Don't bother with those I will be burning them." She said with a flourish. Christine gaped at her.
"Y-you can't burn my clothes!" She stammered. Anne gave her an evil glare.
"I will not be burning clothes mademoiselle. I will be burning trash." With that she ushered Christine out to the front to see what Erik thought about the dress that she had chosen.
Erik had been waiting patiently out in the front of the store for Christine to come out. He hoped that Anne's personality had not overwhelmed Christine.
He knew that it hadn't when he heard them both laughing as they came out.
He was about to rush up and grab his angel away from her when he caught sight of them.
Needless to say his jaw dropped. To him she seemed to radiate beauty.
They both stopped when they saw him. Erik was then aware about how silly he must have looked. He straightened up and walked over to them. He took Christine's hand and kissed it softly, savouring the contact with it.
"You look ravishing mademoiselle." He whispered. She blushed again and he wondered if she knew how ravishing she really did look.
Anne looked at them with obvious satisfaction.
"Come Mademoiselle Daae. I believe I said I would escort you to dinner." He said and offered his arm to her. She took it shyly and he escorted her out of the shop.
When they walked out Erik wondered what he had done to deserve such beauty. Surely all of his sins did not add up to this? Maybe God was trying to atone for Erik's ravaged face.
Somehow he doubted it.
Once he saw her into her seat he got into the driver's side of the car and started it.
"So Mr Destler, may I ask where we are going?" Christine questioned.
"Absolutely not! Did I not tell you it was a surprise? You will have to wait and see!" Erik exclaimed in mock horror. He wondered if she would approve of his choice of restaurants. It was one of his favourites and he went there often. All of the staff had learned to ignore his mask and treat him like a regular customer.
Christine grumbled in disappointment. Then got up the nerve to ask him something that she had been wondering.
"So, Mr Destler. What is this 'mystery woman's ' name?" Christine asked curious. He seemed to stiffen.
"I'm afraid that I will not tell you that until you tell me what your other job is." He replied warily. Christine seemed surprised for this change of mood.
"Can you at least tell me the first letter of her name?" She asked again.
He relented.
"Her first name starts with a C" He answered, keeping his eyes on the road, pretending to concentrate on the traffic.
Christine was mildly shocked. The woman's first name started with the same letter as hers! That was quite a coincidence.
"I see." She murmured. He nodded, satisfied that she did not realize that it was her.
The rest of the drive was spent in silence, both of them mulling over their destiny.
I wish that I could be Mr Destler's lady. I hope that whoever she is treats him as he deserves. Taking a poor person out for dinner and letting me borrow a dress like his. If I were her I would hold onto him. He's so nice too. I wonder if Jack was lying about him before. Christine thought.
While Erik was thinking
I wonder if my Angel will eventually accept me for me. Then, perhaps I will be able to tell her my affections. Wouldn't that be hilarious! A disfigured demon telling an injured angel that he loves her! That's quite funny I find. I doubt that I will ever be able to tell her. I will have to make do with just being able to see her every day.
Finally, the pulled up to their destination and parked. Christine looked at him, confused.
"What are we doing at the Eiffel tower Mr Destler?" She asked.
"I am taking you out for dinner Ms Daae, unless you have some objections." Erik replied calmly but on the inside he was panicking.
A look of pure amazement made its way onto Christine's face.
"You're taking me to the Jules Vern?" She gasped. Erik permitted himself a laugh as he looked at the expression on her face.
"Yes I am mademoiselle. I take it you agree with my choice of restaurants." He chuckled. She could only nod her head.
The she regained her common sense.
"Mr Destler, I cannot go in there. The meals are a hundred Euros each! That is much too expensive for someone like me!" She tried to protest. But he held up his hand to stop her.
"We've been through this Ms Daae. This is my treat, I will pay for the meal, and no, it is not too much." He said and ended her reluctance.
He offered his arm to her once again and she took it. He escorted her to the elevator and pressed the button.
When they reached their floor Erik lead Christine to the restaurant. She gaped at the beauty of it. It was obviously designed to be modern, yet it had a certain elegance to it. It certainly belonged to the people of high society. Erik approached the poor waiter
"M-Mr Destler!" The poor young man exclaimed as he jumped about a foot in the air.
"I-I'm sorry sir! We didn't know you were coming!" He apologized as Erik stared at him, wondering if he was indeed, that frightening.
"It's okay Pierre. Will you please escort us to my usual table and send Jean-Claude out?" He requested smoothly.
"O-of course sir! Follow me." Pierre said as he turned around. Christine and Erik followed close behind as he led them to a table in the back shadows of the restaurant.
After they had been seated the man gave Christine a strange look then said
"I'll send Jean-Claude out immediately sir."
"You do that." Erik said. The young man looked even more frightened than he originally was and hurried away.
Christine was mulling over the look that she had been given moments before.
I guess that he didn't expect me to be here. Probably expect the mysterious mistress. She thought with a hint of regret, then turned to Erik.
"Do you enjoy scaring people?" She asked. He let out a low chuckle, sending shivers down her spine. But it wasn't all that unpleasant.
"Only those who are scared of me without reason." He said, once again looking at her with intense eyes that seemed to illuminate from themselves.
"So, tell me Mr Destler, how can you afford all this? You're an owner of a struggling bar. I don't think it pays that well." She asked, trying to divert his attention from her. It was making her uneasy.
"I don't just own the bar Ms Daae. That's one of my...side projects." He neglected to mention that it really didn't matter to him until he learned that she worked there. "I also own an architectural firm and I compose as a hobby. I have sold some of my operas to the Paris Opera house. If I remember correctly this season one of my newest compositions is being played."
Christine stared at him in utter disbelief.
"You're a composer?" She finally asked in awe.
"Yes?" He replied uncertainly. Was she impressed?
"I used to want to be a opera star you know. I was a high soprano. My dream was to work in the Paris opera house." She whispered, looking down at her hands. Erik looked at her, surprised. He had never known this.
"What happened?" He asked, intrigued. She felt hot tears come into her eyes but answered him.
"There was an... an accident. My father died two months later and I lost my will to sing. My mother had already been dead. She died when I was born." She admitted. Erik immediately cursed himself for making her recall those excruciating memories.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up anything painful." He apologized. She looked at him.
"It's alright Mr Destler you didn't know." She said, putting on a false smile that would have fooled anyone other than Erik.
Luckily their Maitre D arrived at that time.
"Good to see you again Mr Destler. I trust that you are having a good day?" Jean-Claude asked as he suddenly appeared at their table. Erik nodded his head in an affirmative.
"Very good Jean-Claude. May I have the honour of introducing you to my escort? This is mademoiselle Christine Daae." He said. Jean-Claude took her hand and raised it to his lips, same as Erik.
"Enchanted to meet you mademoiselle. May I add that you look stunning?" He asked, looking her in the eyes. She blushed once again and wondered if she was going to be painted red by the end of the evening.
"Thank you monsieur." She replied.
"I will be your server for the evening. My name is Jean-Claude." He said. Erik glared at him for being so friendly. Jean-Claude ignored this attempt to leave them alone. He was used to it already. He had been Erik's preferred host for almost seven years and he was all too used to his strange patron's behaviour.
"Shall I get you something to drink?" He asked them both.
"We will have your house red." Erik answered, Christine nodded in agreement. Jean Claude left their menus and walked back to the kitchen to get their wine.
"Meg is going to be in your opera!" Christine suddenly exclaimed. Erik looked at her strangely. She felt the blood rush to her face, again.
"I-I mean that she might get a part in your opera. She tried out as a dancer today and she'll probably get the job." She said. Erik raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so? Is she any good? I only accept the best." He stated.
"I'm not sure-I didn't get to see her. She dances in a couple days. But the way she went on about her teachers and her mom and stuff I bet she'll get it." Christine explained. Erik looked thoughtful.
"Meg...does she have a last name?" He asked, thinking hard.
"Of course, it's Giry." She said. Erik's head shot up.
"Meg Giry? Please, tell me your lying!" He pleaded. Christine looked puzzled.
"No...why?" She asked. Erik put his head in his hands.
"I know her mother." He groaned. Now it was time for Christine to look at Erik as though he was insane.
"Her...mother?" She whispered. "The one who disowned her?"
"The one and only. Antoinette Giry, she comes by once in a while. My mother knew her when I was a child." He replied, through his hands. He had thought he had recognized the blonde from yesterday. But he hadn't seen little Meg for a long time. He had heard about what happened between her and Antoinette, Antoinette regretted it every day of her life. But Erik had honestly never expected to see the little Giry again. Even when he had been able to see her he never had.
Then, Christine began to laugh at the absurdity of it all. At first Erik stared at her, then he began to chuckle too. Finally when they were done they were wiping tears out of their eyes.
"You know," Christine giggled. "I haven't laughed like that in more than a decade?"
"I have never laughed like that my dear. I have had no reason to." Erik said, wiping tears out of his eyes, marvelling about how she could make him laugh when no one else could. No matter how hard they tried.
Christine was about to reply when Jean-Claude reappeared with their wine.
He set it down and uncorked it, then poured them both a glass.
"What will your order be today Mr Destler?" He asked looking at them both. Christine froze, realizing that she hadn't even looked at the menu.
"We will both be having your special, escargot as an hors d'oeuvre and we will be sharing my favourite meal as the main course." Erik replied with a meaningful look at Jean-Claude.
The Maitre D almost burst out laughing. He had never seen his patron like this before. It most likely had to do with the company that he was in.
Mr Destler had brought plenty of people there for business deals but he had never brought a lady friend to their restaurant before.
Not that it looked like they were together, but Jean-Claude had been in the business for about twenty years and knew when a lover when he saw one. Now he was wondering how to break it to Mademoiselle Daae. She obviously didn't know that Mr Destler was in love with her. It was certainly not apparent to the untrained eye!
Erik looked at Christine who was sting across from him fidget with her napkin.
"So, what do you think Ms Daae? How are we going to fix this problem between mother and daughter? From what I have seen Antoinette is full of lamentations about what she had done to her daughter, and I would expect that Meg is full of regret." Erik asked. Christine allowed a grin to spread across her face.
"I like the way you think Mr Destler. I was wondering the same thing myself and I think that I have found a solution." She replied. Erik chuckled, he had no idea that his little angel could be so devious.
"Well, Ms Daae, if we are going to be cohorts then I believe you have the right to call me by my first name, if you please. And what exactly were you thinking?" He asked.
"Well, then if I'm allowed to call you Erik then you must call me Christine . And here's what I was thinking..." Christine explained her plan over the table. Erik helped fill in some details of her plan and by the end they were ready for action.
Finally, Jean-Claude came with their food. He set everything down on the table and Christine almost gasped in amazement. She had never seen so much food in her life!
Erik's favourite turned out to be the swordfish with a potato puree. Christine sampled this hesitantly but found that it was delicious. Erik found it enjoyable just to watch her. It had been quite obvious she hadn't had a proper meal in days and he wished that he could supply her with a meal all the time. He found the conditions that she was living in appalling.
"So, Erik, I hope you treat your lady friend like this." Christine said at the end of the night, just before Erik asked Jean-Claude for the bill. She felt disappointed that an evening as magical as that had to end but reminded herself hat her boss already had a mistress. She could not help but feel the full stab of jealousy now. All evening Erik had treated her like a person, keeping her preoccupied, never letting awkward silences appear in the conversation.
She realized that she was falling for her boss.
Hard.
And she couldn't have him.
Erik, on the other hand had no idea of her feelings and allowed himself a slight grin at the irony of it all. He loved the...intimacy which using each other's first names had allowed him.
"I try, Christine, I try. Now, I shall get the check and we will leave." He said. He motioned to Jean-Claude for the check and he brought it over. He looked at it casually and gave the waiter some money.
"Keep the rest as a tip." He advised. Jean-Claude almost smiled, oh yes, his customer was most certainly in love. He had never tipped quite like that before.
After supper Erik drove Christine back to the bar. He realized that he couldn't drive her home even though her knew where she lived (he had followed her the previous night.) and he wanted to spend some more time with her.
Finally, he pulled up in the employee parking of the bar. Reagan, of course was still hard at work, trying to satisfy the drunk crowd that usually looked forward to seeing Christine. There were loud protests that were coming from the bar, Christine took pity on her co-worker and decided to go help her after she said her goodnight to Erik.
They both met each other at the door at the same time. Christine suddenly felt awkward.
"Thank you Erik, I had a lovely time this evening. I would give you the dress back now but Anne said that she would burn my other clothes!" Christine explained despairingly.
Erik allowed himself a snigger.
"That sounds like Anne, I apologize on her behalf. And don't worry about the dress, take it as a gift." He suggested. Christine looked at him with something close to awe.
"Are you sure Erik? Won't your lady friend miss this one?" She asked. He once again thought of the irony of it all. The dress was really for Christine and she was asking if she would miss her own dress.
"I'm sure that she would want you to have it." He replied.
"She is very generous." Christine assessed.
Erik stared at his angel.
"She is, very." He whispered. Suddenly he felt like his body was on fire, like he needed to touch Christine.
She looked down.
"I'm glad that you found somebody who deserves you." She said quietly.
"No, I'm glad that she found someone she might come to trust and love." She murmured, he was so close that his breath caressed her face. He reached up and traced her bottom lip with his thumb.
That seemed to break the spell. Christine took a step back and curtsied to him.
"Once again, thank you Erik. I'll see you tomorrow?" She said just before she ran back inside to help her friend.
She was met with a chorus of wolf whistles.
Erik cursed himself for letting her slip out like that. He wanted to apologize but it looked like he would have to wait until tomorrow.
But that didn't mean her couldn't watch Christine from inside, just to make sure that nothing happened to her of course...
Yeah right.
He really was a love sick fool.
When Christine walked into the bar she was berating herself.
How stupid am I? He already has a girlfriend! How come I have a crush on a man that's already taken? She asked herself. She knew the answer of course, it was because he treated her like a real person, not an object. He had listened and sympathized with her. No one had done that before.
She finished off service with Reagan and then, all three of them, Jack, Reagan and her sat down. They didn't notice Erik lurking in the shadows, listening and watching.
"Alright my dear, spill all the details!" Reagan demanded. "Does he treat you right? Did he hurt you? Make you feel uncomfortable? Men are jerks you know." She said.
"Hey! I think I feel offended by that!" Jack exclaimed. She punched him lightly on the shoulder.
"You should." She replied. Jack just glared at her.
"Guys! Sheesh, you would think that you were a bunch of kids by the way you act! To answer your questions, no, he did not make me uncomfortable in anyway. He treated me so well it was almost insane." Christine said, slightly amused by their arguing.
"Well, where did he take you?" Jack asked.
Christine looked down, embarrassed.
"The Jules Vern." She muttered. Both Jack and Reagan let out an exclamation of surprise.
"The Jules Vern! I didn't think that bar owners could afford something like that!" Jack almost shouted.
Both Reagan and Christine gave him a dirty look.
"He's a composer too!" They said in unison. Jack looked shocked.
"A composer? Really? I had no idea!" He said. "Is he any good?"
Reagan looked at him, exasperated.
"Any good? Of course he's good! He's amazing in fact! He's the genius Erik Destler! One of my favourite composers, he specialises in classical music, composes for the Paris opera house. His favourite instruments to play are the violin and the piano, he excels at both but can play almost every string instrument and quite a few brass and percussion. He also likes playing requiems on the organ" She stated these as if she were reading them from a textbook. Christine gave her a sideways glance.
"What? We had to read about him in music theory! They made us listen to his CDs and then read his biography. He was brilliant!" She defended herself.
"Anyway, he took me to the Jules Vern and we talked a lot. Turns out we have two mutual acquaintances. Then, he paid for the bill and he drove me back here. And well..." She said reluctant to say anymore.
"What happened?" Reagan practically shouted.
Christine turned a bright red.
"I think we almost kissed!" She said, hardly able to believe it herself.
"What?"Jack and Reagan uttered when they heard this.
"I refuse to believe it!" Jack declared. "Mr Destler has never even talked to any of us on a friendly basis, why would he want to kiss you?"
Reagan gave him another dirty look.
"Because he likes her of course! Are you an idiot? Come on Chris, more details then that! Most of us don't have famous, rich composers pining after us!" She urged.
"Well, when we were in the parking lot he leaned over and I felt his breath on my face. We...talked. It seemed more like flirting to me but I guess that one could call it talking. He traced my lip with his thumb and then I realized what I was doing and ran..." Christine said thinking about how stupid she must have looked.
"You ran?!" Reagan yelled. "Why?"
"Come on Remy! Think about it! Why would he want someone like me?" Christine shouted back.
"You are underestimating yourself Christine! You're beautiful, smart, talented and damned resourceful! Why wouldn't he want you?" Reagan snapped.
"I don't know!" Christine replied, frustrated.
"You like him don't you Chris?" Reagan asked, suddenly intuitive.
Christine sighed sadly..
"Yeah, I am. But I'll never be able to act on them. They're fruitless you know, I'll have to learn to ignore my feelings. If not I may find myself in love..."
Suddenly Christine seemed to brighten
"Come on Rem. You said that you would give me a lift home. I need to go check on my new roommate, you know. Make sure that she hasn't trashed the place." She said.
"A new roommate?! Christine Daae! What else are you keeping from me?" Her friend said.
"Come on, I'll tell you in the car."
With that, the two women left, talking about Anne's dress shop. Jack looked around and shivered.
"I never noticed how creepy it is to be in here alone." He muttered. "Well, I better lock up.."
He didn't see the man with the white mask in the shadows, staring in amazement at where they had been sitting moments before.
"Christine..." He whispered.
Aw! Erik's so cute and thoughtful isn't he! I wonder what will happen next-well, I don't but you should! Please, please review!
