Chapter Summary: Michael gets his "turn". Tallis and Moira share a quiet moment. And Tallis returns home to some surprises.
Author's Note: As I tried to think of what Michael's "turn" might be, I remembered a moment from my own childhood. I grew up in a small town where the leaves from trees well over 300 years old would "magically" end up in the street where we would collect them into piles we could jump into. Or the girls would make them into houses where we could … well … play house. Thus was born Michael's turn…
CHAPTER TEN
It was behind the small barn just beyond the back door of the cottage. Small and unobtrusive at first - it was just debris blown about, coming to rest against the immovable building. Over the weeks small and unobtrusive had slowly grown into something that could not be missed or mistaken for either. The mistress of the house had discovered the pile one afternoon and asked that it be cleared away. Soon thereafter a ship's tarp had appeared to cover the pile. The mistress had sighed and reminded the man of the house that it needed to cleared away. That reminder only made the pile grow longer. Another request to those about her that it be cleared away caused the pile to grow higher and a larger tarp to appear. Years of marriage had taught the mistress of the cottage that there were battles that she would never win and she knew when to surrender. The pile stayed and thrived protected by the tarp – a mystery that would perhaps never be solved.
Much like the mystery that existed within the walls of her cottage. It had been another battle in which she had chosen the course of silent surrender in the face of a door that could not be breached. She had heard the laughter from behind that door. She had seen the amount of paper and pencils that had disappeared from the desk in the great room. She had also watched as the bonds of a normal family were rediscovered and strengthened. She had delighted from afar in the joy found amongst the men in her life as they had pointedly excluded her from secrets shared. It was a strange comfort to know that they would be able to go on without her. And go on without her they had, as they stood before the pile of Nature's remains carefully collected and placed behind their small barn.
"Now what, Papa?" Gabriel wondered.
Erik stood with the folded tarp in his hands, his head tilting slightly in answer before turning to the child at his other side. "Michael?"
"My turn! My turn! My turn!" Michael reminded father and brother. "I build house for Mama!"
"We have to have a music room," Gabriel said.
Michael nodded.
"Do you remember all the drawings we did of the house you wanted to make for Mama?" Erik asked.
Michael wrapped a chubby hand around a piece of Erik's pant leg. "We make pretty pictures, Papa." He smiled trustingly up at his father. "You and me and pictures for Mama."
Erik thought his heart would break as he looked down at the innocence that he had helped to create. The outward child was his but the inner child, the person that Michael would someday be, was all his mother's doing. That belief in him, the trust, the gray eyes that looked like the first stars of evening, the unwavering love – they were all Tallis. Erik thanked God for it even as a small bit of paternal pride swelled at the intelligence and love of creation he could see blossoming in Michael – that was his gift to the child. "They were very good pictures," he acknowledged, "and now we must take those pictures and make them into a house for Mama. Where are the pictures, Michael?"
Gabriel knew where they were. "They are inside in our bedroom, under his bed." He grinned. "We hid them there from Mama because she can't bend down to clean under the beds anymore. I will go and get them." He ran around the side of the barn.
Putting the tarp down on the ground, Erik looked about him at open lawns that faded away into the harshness of the moors. "Where would you like to put your house?" He knew he would need to let Michael make the decision but decided to guide the child's thoughts. "Do you think Mama would like her house out by the moors?"
"No," Michael shook his head most emphatically and pointed toward the green expanse between the cottage and the back garden of Trevinny. "Mama likes grass. Over there, Papa!"
"Very wise," Erik said with a solemn nod of his head.
"Here are the pictures!" Gabriel called out as he ran up. He handed the papers to his father and Erik led his sons over to the pile of sticks and stones, finding a good-sized stone upon which to perch.
"Now, then," Erik began as his sons leaned over his legs, watching as Erik went through the papers he held in his lap, "which one of these houses should we make for Mama?"
Each picture was an outpouring from the creativity of Michael's mind. From the moment tiny hands could grasp and hold, he had been putting things together and next to each other and on top of each other. His parents had encouraged his actions by buying blocks for play inside and collecting smooth stones from the beach for play outside. Erik had seen in the child his love of building and design. In more paternal moments, he struggled to find a way to fulfill through his child all the dreams he had lost. Those dreams were now the brightly colored pictures in his lap. Erik had listened as Michael described the house he wanted to build for his mother and the new baby and placed those visions on paper and with Gabriel they had colored in the pictures.
"This one," Michael said as a hand reached out to stop Erik's turning of sheets.
"That's a very grand house," Erik replied solemnly. "We shall have to work very hard to have it finished before Mama comes back."
Michael lifted his face to his father. "I work hard." He grabbed Erik's hand. "Go now!"
Erik rose to his feet, keeping the sketch Michael had chosen in his hand and placing the rest down on the rock, a smaller rock over them to prevent scattering across the lawns. He turned to Gabriel. "Let us begin."
"I get a music room," Gabriel grumped.
"Pretty music for Mama and baby," Michael told him.
"We will have music and fine furniture and delicious food," Erik said as he picked up some sticks and handed them to Gabriel, "but we must build the house first." He placed two very small rocks into Michael's outstretched hands. "Shall we?"
Father and sons began to disassemble the chaos of the pile. The movement of each stone and stick diminished the debris that Tallis had wanted cleared away as the shape of a floor plan grew on the back lawn. The boys gleefully threw themselves into their work, their laughter carrying across the open expanses. They raced back and forth from barn to building site, each trying to carry more than the other. They would quickly put down what they carried and run back to get more, their father – ever the perfectionist – straightening the mess they left behind. Erik carried the heavier objects and let the boys think they helped by walking beside him, their hands on the object. Occasionally they would stop and consult the drawing Michael had chosen, making sure that Michael's vision was fully realized. Finally, as the sun shone directly overhead, the hours of work drew to a close.
"What do you think?" Erik wondered as he stood in the doorway of the four-room "house". "Do you think Mama will like it?"
"Is the best!" Michael declared, slipping his hand into Erik's.
"I have a music room. I have a music room," Gabriel said as he danced around the perimeter of his room. He stopped and looked at his father. "And after Mama has dinner we can come in here just like they do at the big house and listen to music."
A warm smile lit Erik's face. "It really is the best." He looked down as Michael shook his hand.
"Hungry."
"You have both worked very hard this morning," he said and nodded to Gabriel. "We all have. I think we have earned a hearty lunch and then – perhaps – a nap for you both."
"Not tired. Hungry!" Michael repeated.
"I am not a baby and I do not need a nap," Gabriel added.
Two hours later as his children slept peacefully, Erik moved the spare table and chairs from the barn into Michael's "house." He also found a forgotten bench in the barn and placed it in Gabriel's music room. He paused to study what had been created and wondered when he had gone from designing great operas to creating houses from sticks and stones. He laughed to himself for he knew precisely when it had happened. – it happened the moment he danced in a moonlit garden with a girl who had the stars in her eyes. Erik turned back to the house, checking on his sons before going to his music room. He unlocked a cabinet and rested a hand on the violin case inside. He still had trouble understanding how she had known to rescue his music the night she had rescued him. Erik mentally kicked himself; Tallis had always known that the music was tied to his every breath, every heartbeat. Would he always have these dark moments where he thought less of his wife than she had ever thought of him?
"Damn Phantom," he mumbled as he closed the cabinet.
Tonight he was determined that there would be no Phantom. Tonight there would be nothing but the stars, laughter and music. Tonight there would be music.
The coming night was the furthest thing from Tallis' mind as she sat on a bench beneath a tree, her cousin at her side. They sat in the park facing the harbor, watching as the first boats of the fishing fleet approached from the distant horizon. Tallis had her legs extended before her, ankles peaking out from the hem of her skirt. She knocked her feet together and laughed softly. "Soon I will not even be able to see my feet when I do this."
Moira reached up a hand to smooth back hair blowing in a stray summer breeze. "Do you ever wonder if our feet disappear as our child grows?" She turned to smile at Tallis. "As you say, we can no longer see them."
"No, they are still there. They hurt often enough." Tallis drew her feet back to their proper place beneath her skirt. "But Erik is very good at rubbing away their ache."
"I really do believe the man loves you. I know that he worries over you."
Tallis' eyes narrowed. "What did he say to you this morning? Did he make foolish demands that he knew you would never be able to keep?"
"Did you agree to have your child in a hospital?" Moira wondered in response; she received no answer. "No, your Erik did not ask anything of me but to have a care for you. I promised I would. Which someone must do since you do not seem inclined to have a care for yourself."
"I am having a care for myself!"
"Truly? Then why are you insisting on having this child at home? Everyone is saying that hospitals are safer, that they will be the way of the future."
Tallis frowned. "Just who is everyone? I should like to know this for this everyone does not know me. I have had both my children at my home where I can be in a comfort quite pleasant…"
Moira broke into laughter quickly hidden behind a raised hand.
"What?" Tallis was feeling rather put out.
"Why is it that the moment you become very angry you do tend to become so very French? Your English begins to fail and your accent becomes very pronounced." Moira got her giggles under control. "I fully expect you to begin saying things very rapidly and in a foreign language that I will not understand but I will be certain are not meant to put me in a comfort quite pleasant."
Tallis was silent for moment as she stared at Moira before both women broke into laughter, Tallis slipping her arm through Moira's. "I am sorry but I am French and the passion is in my blood. When my blood races, I can not help but go back to that with which I am most familiar and comfortable."
"Like having your children at home?"
"Yes." Tallis turned her gaze back to the harbor. "I know that everyone worries but what is meant to happen will." A smile curled her lips. "I am French, after all, and that means I am a – Erik calls it a fatalist." The smile disappeared. "I have done all I can to make sure that I will be well and I shall continue to do so. The doctor said today that he will bring the things that will be necessary should I need a transfusion." She was silent for a moment. "That frightens me nearly more than anything else. I cannot imagine taking the blood of one person and giving it to another. It is like those horror stories that Erik will tell the boys – so ghoulish." Tallis shuddered. "It is almost like drinking the blood; the thought turns my stomach."
"We can have none of that!" Moira exclaimed, touching her head to Tallis' shoulder for a moment. "I shall be there, you know and if you need blood, I am going to insist that you use mine."
"Thank you." Tallis turned to look at her. "Should it come to that you shall have to fight off my husband for that privilege – if you can call it such."
"He cannot be in the room when you have this child and I can so I shall be able to lock him out."
"You will not only have to lock him out of the room, you shall have to put him in another room, tied to a chair and ensure that door is locked as well!" Both women laughed as the first small boat made its way into the harbor. Tallis looked down at the watch pinned to her breast. "We should begin walking back to the stables. John is an excellent driver but it is still a way back to Trevinny."
Moira rose to her feet, hands extended to help Tallis to hers. "Do not forget that you promised to bring back presents for the boys."
"I have not forgotten. We can stop at the mercantile on the way to the stables. There is a whole set of soldiers on horseback that I know the boys were looking at the last time – it is something that they can play together. Perhaps I can get some more paper for Erik while I am there. He and the boys have been going through so much of it lately."
"What are they doing?"
Tallis shook her head. "I do not know and they will not tell me. All I know is that once they go behind the closed door of Erik's music room, I am forbidden entrance." She smiled slightly. "And I am so happy that I am. Erik is being a father again to the boys and it is a balm to my soul."
"Mmm," Moira hummed. "I think it will be a comfort to your parents as well."
"Ah…"
Knowledge dawned in Moira's brain. "Erik does not know that your parents are coming, does he?"
"We have spoken of it," Tallis began hesitantly, "but I think he has forgotten. He knows that they wished to come for a visit but that was before he even knew I was with child. There have been letters since but his mind has been elsewhere and I do not think he has heard me when I read them. When I speak of the guests at the great house, I believe he thinks it is members of Serge's family – not ours. I am going to have remind him soon for they are due shortly."
"Then you should tell him very soon because you know he does not like surprises to intrude upon the sanctuary he has created at the cottage."
Tallis stopped short. "You know my husband so well?"
Moira nodded. "Yes, because I know you so well."
"I am very grateful you do!" Tallis slipped her arm through Moira's once again. "You and Joseph have made our move to England so easy. I do not think I would have been able to survive Erik's moods had it not been for you to listen to me. I am so thankful for that."
"It is what families do," came the simple reply.
As Tallis walked down the path beside the cliff, a bag of presents at her side, she wondered what her family had been doing that day. While pleased that Erik was once again finding his way from darkness to share the light with her and the children, she was all too aware of how easy it would be for him to slip back into old ways. It would take only one wrong word from the children, one unconscious grimace from her and Erik would disappear into the Phantom. She granted that he would never show the frightening face of his darkness to the children but she would see it. She had seen it before and Tallis was certain she would see it again. There would never be a day when he would be totally free of his past and she had accepted that the day she had accepted him in marriage. She only hoped that this day had seen Erik living in the cottage and not the Phantom brooding in the music room. Her thoughts led her to the door of that cottage and Tallis placed her hand on the latch, ready to open the door when it opened before her.
"Gabriel?" she asked.
Gabriel stepped aside, bowing his mother home. "Please to come in, Madame, and take a seat. You must be tired after walking from the carriage house." He smiled as he closed the door, proud that he had remembered the words his father told him to say.
Tallis was slightly confused but looked down as something tugged on her skirts. "Michael?"
Michael held out his hands. "Me take, Mama."
Her confusion was growing. "Can you carry the bag?"
"I big boy," Michael declared, his hands opening and closing.
Tallis handed the bag to Michael and watched as his brother guided him to place the bag on a nearby table. The children turned from the table without looking into the bag for the promised presents and her confusion overwhelmed her. "What is going on?"
Erik had been watching his sons from behind a corner, terribly proud that they had remembered his coaching. Now he entered the room, moving to his wife's side, taking her hands and raising them to his lips. "Gentlemen do always welcome home the lady of the house."
"Erik," Tallis sighed with a shake of her head, turning into the hand placed against her cheek.
"Is it well?" he asked softly so that the children could not hear. "Good," he sighed in response to Tallis' nod and raised his voice. "You look a bit tired. Would you like to rest before dinner?"
"You remembered to make dinner?"
It was Erik's turn to nod. "And it is going to be special, indeed."
"Very special," Gabriel echoed.
"Special," Michael giggled as he placed his hands over his mouth.
"Will someone please tell me what is happening here!"
Erik nodded slightly at his sons and they came over to take their mother's hands. "These fine young men will escort you to your favorite chair where you shall rest until they come to fetch you for dinner."
"But…"
"No," Erik was adamant. "You are to rest from the exertions of this day and one of us will come to escort you to dinner."
Tallis sighed; it was another battle she was not going to win. "I am a bit tired," she had to admit and smiled down at her boys. "Come and see me safely to my favorite chair." She allowed Gabriel and Michael to walk her to the bedroom where they waited until she was settled into the rocker. They placed a light blanket over her legs and kisses on her cheeks before disappearing out the door.
"Wait for us, Mama," Gabriel said, a worried look on his face.
"Wait, Mama," Michael added.
"I shall wait," Tallis said around a yawn, her eyes already beginning to close only to open them to the feeling of a familiar hand on her shoulder. "What?" she asked sleepily.
"It is time to awaken for dinner," Erik replied.
Tallis turned to look at him, her eyes slightly crossed. "But I just fell asleep."
"Nearly two hours ago, Madame Sleepyhead," he told her and held out his hands. "Let me help you to your feet. The boys are waiting for us."
Tallis allowed Erik to help her up. "What is going on?" she asked again as Erik took her arm and patted her hand.
"Shortly," Erik told her as they walked from their bedroom. He guided her toward the back door.
"Where is dinner?" Tallis wondered as she took note of the empty kitchen table, "and where are my children?"
Erik grinned as he held the door open for her, following her as she stepped into the back garden. "If you would turn to your right."
Tallis turned and her mouth fell open. There, on the green lawn, were rocks and sticks arranged to resemble tiny fences, reminding her of the fields of her youth. A puzzled look crossed her face as she took note of Gabriel and Michael waiting by the rocks and the table, chairs and bench behind them. Upon that table Tallis saw place settings from the great house. She shook her head in bewildered confusion and let Erik walk her toward her mysterious surprise. She could not help but smile as she saw the huge grins on the children's faces.
"You must knock," Erik said as they stopped.
The smell of food drifted from beneath the silver covers over the place settings, reminding Tallis that she had not eaten for hours. She looked at Gabriel and Michael on the other side of the small stone wall, they were bouncing on their toes and looking at her with eager anticipation. Tallis laughed softly. "Very well," she raised her hand. "Knock, knock."
Michael skipped forward. "Come my house, Mama!"
Tallis was desperately confused and turned to Erik.
"Let us have dinner with the architect," he smiled at Michael, "of this fine residence and I shall tell you everything." His smile turned to Tallis. "Then after dinner, there is a final surprise awaiting you."
Michael could not wait for dinner. "I made house for you and me and Gabriel and baby and Papa!" he announced and reached for his mother's hand. "Dinner at my house, Mama!"
"It is a very fine house," Tallis said, leaning over to kiss Michael before entering. She and Erik followed the boys to where a table and four chairs were waiting. Tallis found herself seated by her eldest child and offered Gabriel a kiss as well. The aromas wafting from beneath the plate covers were making her mouth water. "Something smells wonderful."
"Madame," Erik said and with a great flourish, lifted her cover to reveal chicken and late spring vegetables. More flourishes revealed the same on everyone's plates. He took a seat across from her. "Does this meet with your approval?"
"Oh, yes!" Tallis enthused as she reached for her children's hands. "Let us say the blessing first," she said as she bowed her head but not before seeing Erik take the children's free hands and bow his head also.
Dinner was a joyous occasion as Tallis sat entranced by the words that flowed so enthusiastically from husband and sons. She was stunned to learn that Erik had been teaching his children behind the closed door of the music room. She laughed with delight as Michael talked so fast that he stumbled over his words and nearly forgot to eat. She had turned to Gabriel to find out what Erik had taught him but Gabriel blushed and would not meet her eyes. Tallis turned back to Erik to see him placing his napkin upon the table.
"There is one last surprise," he said and nodded toward Gabriel as they both rose to their feet. Erik turned his attention to Michael. "Take your mother into the music room and show her the pictures until we return." He turned back to Gabriel. "Help your mother."
Gabriel went behind his mother's chair and with some help from Tallis, he pulled her chair out, offering her his small hand. "The surprise is for the baby, too."
"I cannot wait!" Tallis assured him and took Michael's hand, watching as Erik and Gabriel walked back to the cottage. She let Michael lead her to where the bench sat upon the lawn and helped him to climb up beside her. Michael reached for the papers beneath a rock and held them out to her. Tallis took them and began to look at each picture as Michael described the imaginings that had come from his mind. Tallis was rather amazed and very proud at the workings of his young mind and reached an arm around him, hugging Michael to her side. She was just placing the pictures on the bench when Erik and Gabriel reappeared and once again a stunned look crossed her face.
Gabriel carried the stand normally found in his father's music room and carefully held in Erik's hands were his violin and a leather pouch. Gabriel set the music stand down and turned to face his mother, remembering the words his father had told him to say. "Much like they do at Trevinny, we are going to have music after dinner."
Erik stepped to his son's side, placing his free hand on Gabriel's shoulder. "This is your son's very first recital."
The look on Tallis' face softened. "Gabriel…"
Gabriel could not contain himself. "I wrote a lullaby for you and the baby!" he declared and looked up at his father, the light in his eyes glowing. "Papa helped me and he is going to play it for you and I am going to direct him."
Both hands flew to over her mouth and Tallis looked in wonder at husband and son. "I cannot wait," she whispered as she lowered her hands, one hand going over the child she carried. "We cannot wait."
"My son," Erik said and waved Gabriel to the front of the stand while he went behind it. He lifted the violin to his chin and ran the bow over it, testing pitch. Erik looked briefly at Tallis, Michael curled into her side, and smiled before turning his attention to Gabriel. He glanced briefly at the music on the stand, having already memorized the simple melody, and nodded solemnly at his son. Erik watched Gabriel swallow nervously as he lifted his arms and a connection was made as Gabriel's arms came down and the first gentle notes drifted from Erik's violin.
Born from the heart of a future maestro and coaxed forth from the hands of master, the music wove its spell around all those present that night. It tripped from the violin to dance lightly along the ground and float into the summer twilight. The soft notes worked their magic upon the youngest audience members and Michael yawned, eyes slowly closing as he snuggled deeper into his mother's side. Tallis sat enraptured, a single hand rubbing circles over the slow movements of the gift's recipient. She could not find words or thoughts to describe what she felt as she watched Gabriel's hesitant beginning slowly grow with confidence as tables were turned and he directed his father. She was proud of him, of what he had accomplished. Tallis was proud of what both her children had accomplished but she could not find the words for what she felt for Gabriel at that moment so she lifted her eyes to the sky and let his music wash over her.
The music was washing over Erik, as well. He could feel it moving through him, stirring his soul, beating his heart. He opened his eyes to look at Gabriel and he nearly faltered. In Gabriel's confident stance, in the concentration on his face and the delight in his eyes, Erik saw the promise of all he had never been. He saw the sheer love of music and the rapture it could bring. For a brief moment, his eyes closed again, and Erik felt the gentle reverberation of the violin move through his body, mixing with the pride he felt at what his sons had done. They would see their dreams come true and – at that moment - Erik thought he could fly on the wings of his own fulfilled dreams. He opened his eyes and sought out the one person who had made all of his dreams possible.
Erik smiled at Tallis, noting the tears in her eyes, the child at her side drifting off to sleep. He glanced once again at the maestro before him and closed his eyes, continuing to play to the evening stars that lived within the walls of house and heart.