Thirty-seven

Grandmother's Opera Ghost

Lillian's Diary

What does one write when there is so much to say? So much has happened and still more to come. My cup has run over with good fortune and will soon flood France. This past year has been a whirlwind of activity and expectations. Little did I know when I purchased a haunted opera house I would end up related to the dear fellow. I had hoped to at least meet him and maybe spark Tamara's interest in life other than business. I certainly got more than I bargained for.

Having worried through the night about Tamara and yes, I admit it, I worried about Erik too. The late, very late, afternoon brought the return of our missing loved ones, Tamara and Erik. I would have smacked that young scallywag's ears if he had not still been recovering from his wounds. By mutual agreement we all thought it best not to mention the fact that the two of them had been away, together, all night, doing God knows what. Well I suppose we all did know, at least we surmised. Later I needled and prodded until Tamara threw her hands up and told me all. Not in explicit detail but I got the gist of things.

Contrary to what one might think not one whisper had been heard that might disparage Tamara's reputation. Perhaps it had been the beautiful ring on Tamara's finger that held off some of the gossip. More likely it had been several well placed threatening letters pinned to various notice boards around the opera house warning that if anyone spoke ill of Mademoiselle Stern a certain ghost would bring his friend, the Phantom along and pay the gossip mongers a personal visit that would leave them feeling very unpleasant if they could feel at all. I chose not to question Erik as to how serious he had been about those threats. It worked so I did not need to worry about the police coming to search for my soon to be grandson-in-law. I must say I was as pleased as could be to think I would have a grandson and if God willed it I would be blessed with great-grandchildren.

Most weddings take many months, sometimes a year to plan but neither Tamara nor Erik would hear of waiting more than three months. Tamara stated that if a wedding could not be planned in that time they would be standing before a priest or whatever clergy would perform a ceremony. It had been a close one but we ladies pulled it off. Not one person mentioned anything about any perceived need for a rushed wedding and I certainly didn't bring anything up that might embarrass my granddaughter or Erik. Despite the fact that I would welcome something so wonderful I did not want their marriage to begin with a stain on it, not that I nor they would bow our heads in shame if something like that had occurred. We would have looked everyone in the eye and dared them to make some comment meant to cast aspersions on their character. Well I'll just say that no one would dare make a peep about anything because a certain ghost would not have it. One whisper in an ear would have sufficed.

Oh my, what a day it had been when Tamara had invited Raoul and Christine to dine a month after her abduction and return. Raoul had been less inclined to skewer Erik as now his focus had turned to another. Christine and Tamara along with Meg have become quite the trio. Of all things David found himself abandoned by his fiancée just a week after the masquerade. Seems she had met some artist fellow and eloped with him leaving poor David a broken man. Such a good thing Meg took pity on him and gently wrapped him in her loving arms. It hadn't taken much for him to forget or at least to begin to forget that dreadful woman he had nearly tied himself to. Meg is much better for him. Such a sweet girl. I must say I am glad Erik went after Christine all those years ago as if he had taken a shine to Meg heaven knows what would have happened. Meg is a different proposition than Christine, not that Christine isn't wonderful, just less…well less of this world a lot of the time.

Tamara was so beautiful on her wedding day. I don't believe there was a dry eye in the church. I know I used my handkerchief and then borrowed David's. Meg had to use the ruffle on her sleeve. She should have been quicker to ask for something to wipe her eyes and nose. I certainly wasn't going to arrive at the reception drenched in tears and what not.

Cupid had been flinging arrows during that time as so many people found a life partner when none had been looking for one. I met my dear William coming out of the opera house one day on the way to pick up some fabric for Tamara's wedding dress. Our own dressmaker in the opera made the dress. Wonderful job she did too. Well back to William. I bumped into him going out the door just as he was going in. After making sure he had not hurt me we simply looked at one another for several minutes then he recovered himself enough to ask if I might like to join him for a cup of tea. Without hesitation I had found myself agreeing and shortly thereafter he proposed, one month later to be precise. Now I didn't want to take away from Tamara's wedding but at my age there is little time for procrastination. We wed secretly a month later without anyone being the wiser. He didn't mind that I had to stay at the opera house as long as we spent most of our time together. For all the time he spent with me he may as well have packed his bags and moved into the opera house. Becoming a patron did give him certain liberties which he took advantage of quite shamelessly. I didn't mind in the least.

And Antoinette, that sly boots, she took one look at William's brother and set her cap at him. Really it wasn't much of a challenge as he fell for her, literally. When he went to kiss her hand he tripped and fell figuratively and literally for her. The dear man is such an uncoordinated person. He did need someone with natural grace to show him how to move without damaging his surroundings and himself. She had taken him well in hand and today he is still slightly clumsy but we all feel safe with open wine bottles within feet of him.

Diary of Lillian

Such wondrous news came today. Tamara is with child. I can't stop woolgathering as I picture just what she will look like. Naturally my first grandchild will be a girl as when she has a brother she can take him in hand and teach him the proper way to deal with the females in his life. An older brother I suppose would be nice but I think Erik needs to be exposed to a tiny little girl before he tackles being a father to a boy. It has been so hard for him to enter into what everyone considers a normal life.

Although I feel Tamara had a soft spot for his home below she accepted that they would need to live above and therefore Erik would have to be gradually introduced into our circle. With all of us supporting him it wasn't as hard as we thought it might be. Of course there are always going to be prejudiced nincompoops making disparaging remarks about him but that is their problem not his. I won't say Erik has learned to turn a deaf ear or blind eye to those people but he has mastered the ability to overlook their stupidity enough that no one has been found hanging from the rafters or floating in the underground lake. Tamara I believe has been a settling influence on him. Those two are so blatant with their emotions a blind man could see how they feel about one another.

Diary of Lillian Masterson

Dear me it has been so long since I had time to even think of let alone write down my thoughts. My grandchildren keep me busy as they do both Erik and Tamara. Twins do tend to take a lot of hands to raise. Both Erik and I got what we wanted, although he would deny he wanted a son so badly he had all but bought out every toy a male child could imagine. Tamara and I found them hidden away in a closet. He had turned all shades of pink upon the two of us confronting him. He really is a dear boy. A little unsure about how he fits in but he is learning he is the missing piece to our family puzzle. Little Alexander and Angelica are now one year old. If I am not mistaken I have seen signs that we may be hearing an announcement of another arrival in our family.

Christine and Raoul have declared they are not having anymore after their second child was born. Two boys are enough to run anyone ragged. The way they carry on though is no less passionate or blatant than Erik and Tamara. It is a blessing that the rest of us tend to find dark corners or wait until in the privacy of our rooms before displaying our passions. If we all let go it might be assumed we had taken on the Roman's penchant for orgies.

In a week one of Erik's pieces will be performed to a packed house and all without one note or threat to get the managers to agree to use his talents, of course it does help to have a wife holding the deed to the property as she bought it from the previous owner, me. I wanted to give it to the two of them outright but neither of them would hear of it. They do make a formidable duo against anyone opposing them. It is my belief that Tamara will be deeding her interest over to Erik as a gift. All he has ever wanted outside of acceptance is to have his music heard by the masses. Since he considered the opera house his very own all along it would only be fitting that he should have it as his own. It will give him confidence that all of this won't suddenly disappear in a puff of smoke. I keep telling him that my Opera Ghost will never be rid of me. I'll be one step behind him until the day I take my last breath.

One week later.

Just a quick offering tonight as I am tired. I just had to commit tonight to memory. This night was one of Erik's greatest triumphs next to his wife and children of course. It is also the night William and I set aside as our time to have our way with one another. At our age we must hasten to enjoy ourselves while we can as one or the other of us might just fall asleep and that dear diary leads to mornings when the maid brings our breakfast and sometimes receives a shock. I have warned her to make sure one of us answers her knock before she comes in. Perhaps she has an eye for Williams's tight behind. He is rather fit for a man in his sixties.

What a stupendous success Erik is going to be. There were no less than ten curtain calls and it might have gone on longer if Tamara had not declared she needed her bed before she collapsed from sheer excitement and exhaustion. She rolled her eyes at the glint in Erik's eyes. That man sure is making up for lost time. The wonder is that Tamara has not been kept barefoot and pregnant these past three years.

Diary of Lillian Masterson

Goodness me. It has been so long since I took time to enter any of my thoughts in this way. Family life keeps us all so busy. I love my five grandchildren dearly but they do tend to drain one of energy and add to that Christine and Meg's children and poor William and I are run ragged at times but we do love it so. The children keep us young. Each has a different interest and different outlook of how they see the world around them. Through their eyes we are given a chance to view our world differently. Old eyes see old things. With the help of the children we feel younger even if our bodies are telling us we are near to meeting our maker once more. Until then I'll enjoy what life I have to the fullest.

Diary of Lillian Masterson

My hand is a bit shakier than it used to be but I can still see to write out my thoughts. Life has been very kind to us. I do wish I had taken time to write daily in this diary but a long posting will have to suffice. Time spent with my family is more important than words on paper although I do think generations down the line will benefit from reading about their ancestors. I am not yet dead and already I am thinking in terms of someone looking back at my life as my descendant and I do have many including my extended family in Antoinette, Christine and Meg.

My head whirls to think how many marriages have come from within our three families. We are now all bonded by marriage so many times over it is almost as if we are one unit. When we get together for holidays it is all we can do to fit us in one place. Tamara and Erik built a large home just outside Paris. Once the families started to expand he added many more rooms. Being knowledgeable about architecture has kept his home from looking ghastly and as if it had been assembled then other parts added on as afterthoughts.

Poor little Marcus was born with some of Erik's affliction. He is the youngest of the five children. Erik broke down sobbing when he held that tiny little bundle swaddled in blue and he saw his sons marked face and the absence of hair on part of his skull. It hadn't taken long for the women around him to bring him out of his devastated state as he heard us all cooing and ooing and ahing over that precious little fellow.

None of us need have worried about him as like his father he had the voice of an angel and the persuasive powers of the very devil. With a loving family behind him his confidence in himself had been constant and unshakeable unlike poor dear Erik. If Erik has a favorite I do believe it is Marcus. He is the one showing signs of greatness to come, perhaps even outshining his father. I know Christine's youngest daughter, Annabelle thinks so. If that girl bats her lashes any harder we will soon all be taking to the skies from the breeze. He pretends to ignore her but we all know he is smitten and will declare himself once he has made his mark on the stage. He debuts at the opera house in a couple of weeks.

Two weeks later.

Marcus was so wonderful tonight. For a moment after the last note had faded away there was complete silence. Just when we began to worry everyone began to clap and shout as they stood up to pay homage to a great performer. We all had too wipe our eyes in-between clapping as loudly as we could. With all the stage makeup I doubt anyone could tell Marcus had any deformity at all. He doesn't like to wear anything over his face or his head but just in case it should upset someone he did wear makeup and a wig for tonight's performance.

Diary of Lillian Masterson

Such tragedy has befallen our family. Dear Christine died quite suddenly and left us all bereft but especially Raoul. Oddly it was Erik who comforted him the most as he encouraged Raoul to remember his lovely wife as she had been. Tamara suggested he return the ring as a gesture of mutual love and admiration for a beautiful spirited woman. Of course Erik denied having any such ring for a while but Tamara can be relentless. She had come across it many years ago and mentioned it to Christine and Meg. Christine had described the ring and her description matched the one found in Erik's top drawer of his desk.

Lucky for Erik he had not been attempting to hide that symbolic ring. It had simply been tossed in there and forgotten. Years ago it had meant something to him as it had been on Christine's neck as a symbol of her engagement to Raoul. Erik had re-gifted it to Christine the night of the disaster. Upon his releasing both her and Raoul the ring had then been returned to Erik. That ring certainly made the rounds. I wouldn't want it on my finger. It seems to have a propensity for causing trouble.

Erik did return the ring tied with a black ribbon on a rose. For a moment Tamara had baulked at that gesture but in the end Erik convinced her it was only a gesture to past kindnesses Christine had given him during his darkest days. Tamara did use that to gain a lot of pampering from Erik. He saw through her I am sure but didn't seem to mind at all as it benefited him as well. The proof of how well pampered she was came nine months later in the form of their second daughter Josette.

The world is topsy-turvy. Christine was far too young to go yet here I am almost as old as dirt and still kicking not that I mind. It would be good to be with my dear Henri again and William. Oh my how do you suppose that will work in the afterlife? Not so willing to go just now. Life is enough of a whirlwind without dealing with such things after I am gone.

Simone closed the book with a loud snap. She looked around at her siblings and cousins. Finding this diary had been an act of some guiding hand as it had been shuffled around and lost after so many years. It explained so much about their family. She wouldn't look at Cousin Marcus Jr. His face had been the bane of his young life until his voice had out shown anyone's in the world of Opera in this century. Nearly a hundred years of history lay within this book. Not all of in great detail but enough to piece together those things that were referred to vaguely throughout the family history.

Marcus' Grandfather had been the son of Erik the one time infamous Phantom of the Opera. It gave her chills to think that a man who had been the founding father of such a great dynasty had once been a criminal and if all is to be believed he had murdered as well and all in the name of love and not the woman he ended up marrying.

"Well so what do you think?" She could hardly keep the excitement out of her voice. This wasn't the first diary they had read but it certainly had been one of the more informative ones.

"What do I think about what?" Marcus pretended obtuseness. He knew very well to what Simone referred.

"Oh come on Marcus, you can't be serious," she said disdainfully. As he continued to sit looking all enigmatic she sighed then continued, "Very well if I must spell it out in words of one syllable so to speak, I am asking if we should debunk that fellow Leroux for the terribly incorrect story he penned about our ancestor."

Rubbing his fingers down the all too familiar ridges and rough texture of the skin on the right side of his face he felt a kinship with the past. Many of his own attributes had been inherited from the founding father of his family. As a child it had been the bane of his existence to bear the mark of some relative he had not met or did not know. Several men in the line throughout their family tree had been similarly afflicted to differing degrees. Each had dealt with it in their own way. It became somewhat of a family folklore that the marked ones were meant for great things. In every case the males had been the ones to bear the disfigurement. To a man they had come through fire to come out the other side into the waiting arms of a woman who would change them and better their circumstances.

Not only did his family have great wealth monetarily but also in the artistic world they carried great influence. Talents for singing and composing came easily for many of them. Some only wanted the talent for personal entertainment but in others the fire for achievement on the stage burned brightly. Never would they let their shortcomings so far as looks went deter them from seeking what they desired. Not one of them sought the darkness of shadows to hide from the world. Life may not always be easy but at least it was life lived in the light.

"No. I think it best we close that chapter. It is for our family to know not the world. We shall make the facts available to all of us who wish to know the whole story and keep it within the family. Let the world think and believe what they want. Would you have the world desecrating Erik and Tamara's tomb? What of the rest of them, the ones who were a part of it? Would you have their families hounded for the titillation of the curious? Let us keep their dignity and honor their commitment and love. We owe them more than we can repay."

Simone digested all that Marcus said. He was not one to speak often or about something so personal. For Marcus to speak in this manner meant that he felt deeply about the subject. Knowing he spoke only what she felt in her own heart she agreed with his pronouncement. And so they took the diary and saved it for the next family gathering to share among their kinfolk.

The diary which Simone and Marcus had read only a small part of that day went into the family's personal library located in Erik and Tamara's original home which had been turned into a retreat for the family where they could gather or simply get away from the pressures of the world. So much of who the couple were went into the building and furnishing of this place. Throughout time it remained pretty much as it was during their life only with minor changes as time passed and things improved. Little really changed for how can one improve on perfection?

Finis