Gustave's POV

I was sleeping soundly the following morning, when I heard my door open, only to feel my papa lifting me up out of bed with his monstrous strength.

"Up," he growled. "Up with you…"

"Mister Y, it's early."

"Well, the sun is up, which makes it obvious that the day has begun. You're my slave now. Seems as though Mr. Tilyou has summed up the damage to be about two thousand dollars. You and those hoodlum boys you call friends are going to be working for me for a very long time. Five days a week for the next three season so be exact."

I groaned, which only made my papa even angrier.

"Don't moan, Gustave," he growled. "You brought this all on yourself, boy. No, today is a new day… Come along then. Dress and then be downstairs for breakfast. You have a long day ahead of you and it's going to be hot, so dress lightly."

After dressing, I wallowed downstairs to eat breakfast, knowing that my papa wasn't going to be taking it easy on me. My papa ate in silence, reading his newspaper and sipping on his morning tea while I played around with my meal.

"Mister Y, I miss mama…"

Mister Y placed down his newspaper and sighed.

"And I miss your mother every day, Gustave, but committing crimes will not bring her back. I do hope that this punishment will teach you a hard earned lesson. Besides the fact that my name has been badgered all over the front page of every newspaper."

"I'm sorry, Mister Y…"

"Don't apologize, Gustave. Take your punishment and accept what you did as a warning to never do it again."

I wasn't sure what my papa had in store for me, but when we arrived at his park, he pulled up a small wagon and handed me the lever.

"This is what you're going to do, Gustave," My papa placed a few shovels and other tools on the back of the wagon. "I'm building a fountain over by the Ferris Wheel. I need you to dig me a hole. Everything is marked…"

"But it's hot," I moaned. "And the sun is beating down really bad over there."

Mister Y crossed his arms, a look of disgust displayed across his face.

"Don't question me, boy… As for your friends, they will be assigned other jobs so that you can't enjoy yourselves as if you're at a tea party. You will all be doing your jobs in silence, is that understood?"

I nodded, and Mister Y motioned me towards the Ferris Wheel.

"Well, get going then. I'll be around in a few hours to check on you."

And with that, I began pulling the wagon towards what would become the start of a three year punishment.

Erik's POV

When the other two children showed up that day with their fathers, I sent them to do different jobs. I sent Mr. Squelch's boy over to the elephant tent to clean up droppings. As for Dr. Gangle, I sent his son over to the concession area to sweep up trash and peanut shells. From high above my park, I stood in my office, overlooking my son digging in the dirt that was beside the Ferris Wheel. I sighed, knowing that I had turned out to be one of the worst father's in the world.

"Erik, don't go too hard on him."

When I heard Christine's voice, I spun around to find her standing beside me.

"He deserves it. Because of him, not only was my good name badgered in the paper, but now, I'm out two grand."

"It wasn't just Gustave, Erik. Remember that… Maybe he deserves a punishment, but digging ditches for the next three years isn't right. Maybe for today it is, but for three more years? Come now…"

"If not that, then what? I want to be sure that he never does something like this again. I've already hit him…I've taken away his scary books."

"He hasn't noticed that yet, love."

I smiled. "I know… But won't he be shocked when he goes to his bookshelf later and finds them gone. Locked away until further notice."

"Perhaps a more reasonable punishment would be to assist you?"

"Assist me?"

Christine nodded. "Yes, Erik. You could be training him to take over for you someday, and you wouldn't have to pay him. Call it community service…How does that sound?"

I pressed a kiss to Christine's lip and smiled. "Christine, you are most certainly a genius… If only you were here right now beside me. Clever girl."

"I am beside you Erik," Christine reminded me, pressing her hand against my chest. "I'm in here…"

"For how much longer?"

"Forever, Erik…Someday, there will come a time when I am no longer beside you, but I will always be inside your heart."

When my angel disappeared, I hurried down the stairs of my office and out the door, headed to where Gustave was digging holes. I had brought him a large glass of water, due to the fact that working in the sun could get unbearable. The last thing I wanted was for my boy to pass out from dehydration.

"You're doing good." I said.

Gustave stopped shoveling and turned my way, his face covered in dirt.

"Thank you, Mister Y…"

I handed him the glass of water and he immediately gulped it down.

"I still have a few feet left to go, Mister Y… I should get back to work."

I nodded and stood there watching him.

"Gustave, tomorrow I want you to do something different. Tomorrow, I want you to accompany me around my park. You will do so for the next few seasons."

The child's eyes widened. "As your apprentice?"

When I nodded, Gustave wrapped his arms around me and embraced my body. Oh, he was going to dirty my suit.

"Thank you, Mister Y, you won't regret this…"

"All right then," I said, gently pushing him away. "We'll start tomorrow."

"Erik…"

That night, I was laying in bed, only to hear my angel's voice. Oh, what did she want? It was bad enough that I was ill due to my weak heart, but some nights, I just wanted to be left alone.

"Erik, wake up…"

I groaned and rolled over to find Christine brushing her hand through my hair. Some nights, she watched me sleep, watching over me as if she were watching a hurt animal.

"What is it?" I asked, my hand grasping my achy chest.

"Nothing," she assured. "I just wanted to see if you were all right. I know you've been feeling really ill and weak these past few days."

"Indeed," I said, lying back down. "I don't know why, Christine. Though, ever since the night I nearly died, I haven't felt right."

"Nor have you come into contact with your lady friend. She stays away…"

"Oh, let's not start on her again, Christine. I told you time and time again that I don't like the woman. She might have been a good waitress, but that is about it. I still have nightmares about her kissing me. It ruined everything."

"You know, Erik, she hasn't been staying away."

"And just how would you know this?"

Christine smiled. "Your good friend and trusted employee Nadir Khan has been letting her in the park unnoticed for free."

"What?" I shot up to a sitting position, causing a horrible pain to shoot through my chest.

"Erik, calm down," Christine warned. "You're going to wind up back in the hospital."

"And just why has that bastard been letting that woman into my park unnoticed?! Oh, he does nothing but meddle in the business of others. And all this time, I believed him to be my friend. No, all he's been trying to do is get me with that woman. Oh, it will never happen, Christine, this, I assure you. I love you and only you and it will stay that way until the day that I die."

"But what about other things?" Christine asked, taking a seat at my side. "What about the things every man wishes for in life?"

"Such as what? I have you, and that's all that matters, ange…"

"But what about kisses and hugs?"

"I get them from you, Christine."

"Well then, what about sex? Every man needs that."

"Not me," I growled. "I have you for that."

"Erik, you know that we can't do that anymore. Once was enough to scare the both of us into never doing it again. You nearly died…"

"Perhaps, but I don't need sex, Christine. I've gone my entire life without it, and therefore, I don't need it again. No, what we had was special and I shall always cherish it. And, if I need a release, I have my hands for that."

Christine giggled and rolled her eyes. "It's just like you to say something like that. Oh, Erik, just because I'm gone doesn't mean that you have to stop living. I will always be here with you, but in your heart. There's no reason why you shouldn't go on living and be happy in the arms of another. If you believe that I will get angry, you have my permission to love another."

I pulled the blanket over my shoulder and groaned. "Never, Christine. There is nothing in this world worth loving if I can't love you. No, I love our son and that is all. I promise you that I will never love another woman and that is final. For the day I meet you at the gates of heaven, you can never say that I was never faithful to you."

"Get some sleep, Erik. Tomorrow is going to be a stressful day."

"And why would you say such a thing?"

Christine giggled. "Because you're training Gustave to take over for you. And, you know that he is just like me when I was his age. Don't you remember?"

"How could I forget, Christine? When you were his age, you were full of questions and excitement… Though, I would have loved to have been able to have more children with you, mon ange… Think of it, a little girl with chocolate locks and beautiful eyes. Oh, it would have been wonderful."

"Erik, you have Gustave, and that is all that matters."

Christine pressed a reassuring kiss to my cheek. "Now, get some rest, Erik. Tomorrow is going to be here quicker than you think."

And like Christine told me to do, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow most likely would be a stressful day, but I had a son who loved me and that was all that truly mattered. Someday, he would take over Phantasma, and in doing so, he would continue to make the park the most successful attraction in Coney Island. But what about a daughter? What about the little girl Christine and I could have had? Oh, she would have been absolutely perfect. She would have been the light of my life. I could have taught her how to sing and swung her in my arms all about my park. And when she would have asked questions, I would have answered them all. She would have looked just like Christine in every way, except, she would have inherited my talents and strong will. She would have been a daddy's girl…Oh, most certainly. Christine? No, I couldn't have named her after her mother. But perhaps I would have called her "Tina" or "Little C." Oh, Christine would have hated me for that, but she would have been my little Christine. If there was one thing in this world that I wanted more than for Christine to return to me, it was to have a daughter of my own. Yes, I had a son, but what father didn't want a daughter of their own to spoil and to love? But I couldn't change the past, because Christine was gone, and so was all hope of having a chocolate curled daughter.

Poor Poor Erik...Please review!