Gustave's POV

The following morning, I awoke when I felt someone rubbing my shoulder. I groaned and rolled over to find my papa standing at the side of my bed.

"Come along, Gustave," he said. "It's time to get up."

I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, while my papa went through my wardrobe to find me a pair of clothes to change into.

"When I was out last week, I bought you a jacket. It's getting colder out and you need to wear something warm."

I slipped on my shirt, only to have my papa hand me a black jacket that was much like his own. It fit nicely and it was actually warm.

"Go ahead and brush your teeth," he replied. "I'll be waiting down here when you're finished. But hurry up, because we have a seven o clock train to catch."

I did as Mister Y said and hurried upstairs to brush my teeth. When I was finished, I came back down stairs and slipped on my shoes.

"Why are we leaving so early?" I asked. "The sun hasn't even come out yet."

"Gustave, the owner of Phantasma must rise before everyone else. But, since Phantasma is closed, we still have a long journey ahead of us today."

"I've never ridden on a train before, Mister Y."

Mister Y and I walked beside one another towards the train station, the streets deserted and dark. I knew Mister Y loved walking in the dark, for I knew that he hated daylight…I knew the less people he came into contact with, the better.

"Now, stay close to me, Gustave," Mister Y said, clasping my hand. "I don't want to lose you in the crowd of people."

The train station was mobbed, people hurrying in every direction to catch their train. Mister Y held onto my hand as we walked along the platform. My eyes, of course, were set on the huge train that we were passing. I had never seen anything like it in my entire life…Yes, I had seen toy models, but never a real one up close.

"Wow," I gasped. "Is this what we're going to be riding on?"

Mister Y nodded and lifted me up into his arms. "That's the one."

Even when we boarded on the second car, my eyes were still fixated on its beauty. Oh, I was so excited!

"Come along, Gustave," Mister Y said, clasping his hand around my own. "Let's find a seat in the dining car and have us some breakfast."

Mister Y kept his hand clasped around my own as he and I walked car to car, only taking a seat when we found ourselves in a tiny looking restaurant. Mister Y must have had himself a permanente seat, because he kept pulling me along the empty tables until we ended up at a booth on the other end of the dining car.

"Here we are," he said, lifting me into the booth. "My personal favorite."

"Mister Y, when are we going to be at the fall festival?"

"Not for at least five hours, Gustave. For now, let us enjoy some breakfast."

Mister Y allowed me to order anything I wished, and so, I decided upon waffles and ice cream. I was sure he didn't like the fact that I wanted to eat ice cream for breakfast, but let me do as I wished. The waitresses all knew him, for they smiled and waved at my papa as he sat there across from me reading the morning newspaper over a cup of tea. My papa was a strange man, but he was a good kind of strange.

"All the waitresses know you," I said, dipping my spoon into the ice cream that was ontop of a huge stack of waffles. "You must ride the train a lot…"

Mister Y put down his paper and shook his head. "No, not really. I used to take the train all the time, but that was many many years ago."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when I first came to New York, I lived on the outskirts of town. I had to work in Coney Island, and so, I commuted back and forth by train. But, then again, back then I wasn't well known. Ever since I started running Phantasma, I moved into the house we live in now…that way, I wouldn't have to commute by train. The only time I ride now, is when I go to the country for work, which is no more than twice a year."

"Who was that man in our home last night, Mister Y?"

Mister Y took a sip of his tea and shrugged.

"An old friend, Gustave. He's going to be spending a lot of time with us, so, tonight, you're going to meet him at dinner."

"What kind of an old friend?" I asked. "You don't have friends."

"Many years ago, I did. He and I worked together, I guess you could say. He is also a good friend of your mother's…I believe the both of you will get along quite nicely."

"I liked it when it was just the two of us, Mister Y…"

"And it will be, Gustave. Though, Nadir is going to be working for me come spring, so, I believe it is only right that you get used to him. He is a very interesting man, Gustave, with many stories to tell. You will like him, this I promise you. If someone such as me can like him, then there I no reason why you can't…And you know that I hardly like anyone."

I shrugged. "Maybe, but I still like you best."

Mister Y grinned and motioned to my breakfast.

"Finish your ice cream before it melts…I still can't believe you wanted ice cream on your waffles. Your mother was the same way…You have her sweet tooth."

"Mother said you liked your sweets as well."

"Yes, but not for breakfast."

And with that, I did as Mister Y told me to do and ate my ice cream.

Erik's POV

"Oh, isn't he a cutie…"

I looked up to see Cecile standing over me. I had known the waitress for nearly ten years now, and even if she wasn't my friend, she always did serve me whenever I rode the train. Though, for the past ten years I have ridden alone. But today, I had Gustave with me, and I knew she definitely noticed.

"Yes," I said, looking up from my newspaper. "That's Gustave, my son."

Cecile gasped. "I didn't know you were married."

"I'm not," I replied. "I guess you could call it young love…"

Cecile filled my empty glass like she would usually do, and smiled. She always smiled at me in a strange way, as if she were waiting for me to ask her out to dinner. I might have been a hideous man, but I knew when a woman was flirting with me…Christine used to do it all the time. Even so, I had no interest in the girl. I haven't had an interest in her for ten years, and I wasn't about to do so now. She deserved better…As for me, my only love was at home and waiting for my return…Perhaps she was a ghost, but she was still the love of my life.

"He is so cute, Mister Y…"

Gustave, being the little devil that he was, looked up at Cecile and smiled, his lips covered in ice cream.

"My name is Gustave," he replied. "I'm ten years old."

Cecile giggled and proceeded to fill his glass up with orange juice.

"And you are just the sweetest thing in the world. Your papa is the nicest man in the world…He is a generous tipper…"

"Cecile, enough," I scowled. "I only pay you what you have rightfully earned. Now, be a doll and fetch me my usual pastry."

"Right away, Mister Y."

When Cecile left, Gustave wiped his mouth and looked up at me.

"She is a really nice lady, Mister Y."

I replied with a simple "Hmm hmm," and went back to reading my newspaper. There was a moment of silence, and then Gustave's voice again.

"Mister Y, do you think you'll ever fall in love again?"

"Absolutely not, Gustave. Your mother was a wonderful woman, my first and only…"

"Back in Paris, I had a friend who's mother died. His father got married again a year later."

"Then it's obvious that his father didn't truly love his mother."

"What do you mean?"

"Gustave, when a man feels deeply for a woman, they never remarry if something terrible happens to that woman. Now, I loved your mother more than anything in the world. How could you expect me to fall in love with another woman after loving someone such as your mother? It just can't be done. Your mother was an angel…the best. To love another would not only hurt my heart deeply, but hurt her as well…Nothing can ever fill that hole, Gustave. No woman besides her."

"What about me?" Gustave asked.

I smiled. "Only you, Gustave. Besides, it would be rude to expect you to call another woman "mother."

"I know, Mister Y."

"Good, then no more talks about falling in love again. I won't ever love anyone as much as I loved your mother, Gustave. No, all my love is to be shed upon you now. It should be that way, and that way only."

While my child finished up his breakfast, he gazed out the window and smiled.

"I've never been to the country before, Mister Y. Everything is so different…I've only ever been to the city."

"Yes, well the country truly is beautiful, Gustave."

"When we get there, can we go see the animals?"

"That's why I'm going there, Gustave. But, there are other things to do there as well. They have all sorts of fall foods and stuff to do. My favorite, of course, is their pumpkin ice cream."

"Pumpkin ice cream?" Gustave questioned. "What's that?"

"Oh, I'm sure you will enjoy it just as much as I do…You can only get it during the fall. Which is one of the reasons why I travel this far. I'm thinking about adding it into Phantasma for next year. It would be a smash, I believe…"

"Pumpkin ice cream?"

Once more, I nodded. "You'll see, Gustave. It truly is wonderful."

"Mister Y, how many more hours until we get there?"

"Still a long way to go…"

"What are we going to do until then?"

"Sit here and look out the window, Gustave." I said. "The view is lovely."

"Perhaps, but I'd rather be exploring."

Before I could say another word, Cecile came back with my lemon pasty and sat it down in front of me.

"Mister Y, you never get anything different. You always have a cup of tea and a lemon pastry."

"Perhaps, Cecile, because I enjoy those two things," I growled.

"Would you like another cup of tea?"

"No, I'm good for now, thank you. Before we make it to our destination, I'll be ready for one final cup."

When Cecile left, I continued to sip on my tea and watch Gustave. He was sitting there with his head placed on the table while staring out the window. I knew it was hard for him to endure such a long ride, but he would get used to it…It took a while for me to get used to it when I first started riding.

"Until we arrive," I said, pulling a deck of cards of out my pocket. "Let me teach you a magic trick."

Gustave's eyes went wide as I spread the cards out along the table. Surely this would keep him entertained…

"Pick a card, Gustave, any card…Don't show it to me."

This instantly made him happy. He did as I asked, and then, placed the card back into the deck. And like the brilliant magician that I was, I pulled his exact card from the deck. My son clapped and begged me to teach him how to do it, and so, for the remainder of our journey, I did just that…

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