Who Am I? Chapter 7

Gustave was nervously pacing the length and width of his father's office in Phantasma.

"Will you please sit down, Gus?" a girl 11 years younger than him chided. "Wearing out the carpet will not bring them home any faster." Gustave was now 24 and looked stunningly like his father; over six feet tall and built like an athlete. But where his father's hair had once been a rich black, his hair was closer to a sandy brown. Now that he was back from overseas, he was well equipped to run Phantasma in his father's absence, at least for the few days his parents had thought they'd be gone. But it had been over a week now and there'd been no word from them.

"I know that!" he stormed, tensing and relaxing his jaw muscles. He's so much like father, Emilie thought, short tempered and ready to take action.

"And the way the snow has been falling, there is nothing we can do but wait," she soothed. Emilie was more like their mother, with her soothing voice and sensibilities, unlike her bubbly twin sister, Angelique.

The other girl came running into the room excitedly. "Come ON!" she called. "We're going to build a snowman!" Though the girls' facial features and body structure were identical, their coloring was vastly different. While Emilie had the same dark hair as her father, Angelique's hair was golden, almost the color of ripened wheat. Their voices were also different. Angelique's was a high, bell-like soprano, while Emilie's was a throaty, buttery alto. Add to that Gustave's sweet tenor, their father's rich bari-tenor and their mother's lofty soprano and the family had the makings of a fine choral ensemble.

"What do you mean "WE"?" asked Emilie. "Can't you see how it's snowing out?"

"Exactly!" chirped Angelique. "It hardly ever snows this much here! Come on! Auntie Meg and Peter are waiting!"

"And what about Benjamin?" asked Gustave. "I hope you don't expect me to watch him?"

"Oh, Gussy-boy! You're such a worrier! He's coming too!" Angelique teased.

Gustave turned pink at the mention of her pet name for him. "I've told you not to call me that!"

"Gussy, Gussy, Gussy!" she teased as he began to chase her around the office and then down the hall.

"Just wait'll I get my hands on you…"

She giggled as she ran out into the snow. "Catch me if you can!"

Gustave stalked back to the office and looked at Emilie "Well? I need some moral support here. Get your coat!" Soon all thoughts of building a snowman were abandoned as an all out snowball fight ensued with Angelique, Meg and Peter on one side and Emilie, Gustave and 7-year-old Benjamin on the other side. (And Benjamin turned out to be quite the marksman!)

Madame Giry let out a yelp as she got hit with two snowballs at the same time, fore and aft. She had stepped outside to see what all the commotion was. "Oops!" said Peter and Benjamin together, as she brushed off the snow and the raucous activity came to a sudden halt.

"Sorry, Mother," chimed in Meg, dipping her head in submission. "We were just, uh…"

"Burning off some tension," offered Gustave.

"Well, come on inside and get out of those wet clothes and I'll make some hot chocolate for everyone."

"Yay!" squealed Benjamin, and raced up to give Mme. Giry a snowy hug.

Gustave gave her a questioning look as he entered the house. "Any word?" he asked softly.

She shook her head sadly. "The roads are impassable twenty miles north of here with three feet of snow and trees down everywhere. It could be another week before anyone can get through – providing it doesn't snow again," she added and headed for the kitchen.

oo00O00oo