Some holiday fluff for you all :D
Chapter 16: The Feast
Much to Christine's surprise the trial lesson with Erik had ended without any arguments or nastiness. Much to Erik's surprise, she decided to return the following week. The Queen of the Night Aria was coming along, and at the end of the lesson, Christine took her time collecting her sheet music from the stand while Erik ran through the melody of the aria ever so softly on the piano.
"Hey," Christine called to him, "are you doing anything for the holiday next week?"
Erik hit a wrong note. The room went silent. He turned around.
"What holiday?" Erik blurted out. Which holiday had he forgotten this time? Hopefully it didn't involve buying stuff for people.
"I'm going to take that as a no." Christine threw her head back in laughter "It's Thanksgiving, dummy!"
"Oh yeah…"
"You forgot another holiday, huh? I'm going to have to get you a calendar," Christine joked. "I just wasn't sure if you were going out of town and wanted to cancel our lesson."
"Oh...well...I'm not doing anything. Are you?" Erik never did much for the holidays these days. He and his mother hadn't been on good terms since the day he was born, and holidays were so depressing when you celebrate alone, so why bother celebrating at all?
"No. I'm not doing anything," Christine said sadly.
She used to love holidays. Her father would welcome her home with a giant hug, and they'd sit around a cozy fire and a table of food. He'd tell the same stories year after year, but the tales were better with each retelling. Those days were over, though. Meg had generously invited Christine to visit the extended Giry family, and Mrs. Giry had joked that she had some single nephews, if Christine was interested. Christine had declined, however, not because she was afraid of being set up with a Giry cousin, but because she didn't want to spend the holiday with a big happy family that wasn't her own. She'd turned down similar invitations from the de Chagnys and from Mrs. Valerius whose children and grandchildren were coming into town.
Still, spending Thanksgiving alone sounded so bleak and dismal.
"Would you be interested in coming to dinner?" Christine asked before she'd fully contemplated the idea in her head.
"Me? Really?" Erik's mouth hung open in shock.
Christine immediately regretted the impulsive invitation she'd extended. Was she really this desperate for company? Maybe getting fixed up with one of Meg's cousins wouldn't be so bad. After all, she'd met a few of them growing up; maybe they'd turned okay? Christine cringed, recalling some unfortunate stories about those kids.
"You know what?" she said to Erik. "Sure. Why not? Two lonely people spending the holidays together. It'll be like a sitcom episode or a cheesy fanfic or something…"
"Well, if you're sure you don't mind. I'd hate to inconvenience you," Erik said politely, but he felt as though he'd lift off the ground at any moment. Dinner with Christine? Count him in!
"I don't mind," Christine assured him. "You're going out of your way to give me these free lessons. The least I can do is cook you a meal to show my appreciation."
"Well, I'm not one to turn down free food. Thank you. Thank you very much...can I bring anything to help you out?"
"Nah. Just bring yourself." Christine waved away his suggestion. "See you next week, then!" she added as she headed out the front door.
Erik waved from the doorway before turning back inside to lock up. He leant against the door with the widest smile his face had seen in a long time. He couldn't wipe it off if he tried. Halloween had been the start of something. He just knew it!
The kitchen was filled with the mingling aromas of a stuffed turkey in the oven, mashed potatoes on the stove, and a freshly baked pumpkin pie on the windowsill. Christine smiled as she breathed in the scent of spices which brought the annual wave of autumn nostalgia. She had never considered herself someone who enjoyed cooking; the chore was another daily responsibility of adulthood, but as she prepared Thanksgiving dinner, she decided that cooking wasn't so bad after all. It was a welcome distraction from the grief of missing her father around the holidays.
Christine went above and beyond what was necessary for a Thanksgiving dinner for two. Once she started planning the meal, she couldn't stop. She was going to recreate every dish that was on the table when she ate Thanksgiving dinner with her father. They'd used to eat leftovers for days, and if they didn't finish by the time she returned to her apartment in the city, her father sent her home with containers bearing the last dregs of Thanksgiving dinner. Hopefully, Erik enjoyed the meal because he'd be eating it for the next week.
When the doorbell chimed, Christine tore off her apron and flew into the foyer to answer the door. Erik greeted her on the doorstep in a crisp white button-down shirt and a red necktie.
"I'm shocked! You're not wearing black!" Christine teased, leaning against the open door. Erik looked so oddly prim and proper tonight; if nothing else, at least the scoundrel had enough manners to comb his hair and look decent when someone invited him to Thanksgiving dinner.
"Yes, I had to invest in a white shirt for my job in the orchestra," Erik said jovially. "Thought I might as well get my money's worth!"
He stepped over the threshold and into Christine's home. Just like her, the house was so cozy and inviting. She shut the door behind him, sealing in the warmth, and they turned to face each other, timidly averting their eyes from each other, unsure of what to say. Christine couldn't believe she'd thought this was a good idea, but Erik happened to think it was a genius idea, and he was determined to use tonight to his advantage.
"Well, since we're talking about the color of our clothing, I guess I ought to say the color of your dress is lovely, too," Erik commented, admiring Christine's burgundy dress.
"Hah! Thank you." She giggled at Erik's awkward compliment; he obviously didn't have much practice giving those. "It's a trusty staple of my holiday wardrobe. I wear it to everything. Can I take your coat?"
Erik nodded, wondering if it would be appropriate to say he hoped to see the dress again in the future, but he held his tongue. He glanced down at the bag in his hands as if only just realized it was there.
"I brought you some apple cider!" he said, presenting the gift to his hostess.
"I knew I was forgetting something!" Christine face palmed. "Thank you so much," she added, relieving Erik of his burden. She handed him an empty hanger from the foyer closet, and Erik hung his coat while she dashed into the kitchen to store the cider in her fridge and pull a pot off the stove. She'd known playing hostess would be hard, but she'd never realized how many little tasks there were and how easy it was to forget one. She'd left her guest standing in the foyer!
"So, are you enjoying your concertmaster job?" Christine asked casually, inviting Erik to join her in the living room and make himself comfortable. He took a seat beside her on the couch, keeping a respectable distance between them, though he would have made himself more comfortable by closing that gap.
"Yes. Very much! The Perros-Guirec Symphony is a wonderful orchestra," Erik admitted. "Perhaps you would like to see one of our concerts?" he added hopefully.
Christine nodded in agreement. "I've heard them perform many times in the past. My father used to be the concertmaster actually," Christine informed him, but too late, she wished she hadn't brought it up. Tonight was supposed to distract her from her father.
"Oh, is that so?" Erik asked. Yes, his tone had most certainly lost its previous charms. He wasn't hostile, but deflated, as he were feeling guilty for taking a dead man's job. Especially when that dead man was the father of the woman he had a crush on.
"Yes. I've been going to their concerts since I was a little girl." Christine giggled hoping to bring some sense of gaiety back into the room. "It has been a while though. Perhaps, I should go again?"
"I would always encourage someone to see live music," Erik said, perking up again. "We have a concert coming up soon actually."
"Send me the details! I'll see if I can make it!" Christine rose from the couch when her kitchen timer sounded. "I have to check on dinner, but after that, would you like to have a quick lesson before we eat?"
"I would love to."
Erik took a seat at Christine's piano. When she returned, their musical ears recoiled at the out-of-tune instrument; it hadn't been tuned since her father's death, but Erik still played as beautifully as he did on his own instrument, and Christine's daily practice was paying off. Her voice was making steady improvements.
"Wonderful job, Christine. I think that is enough for tonight," Erik said as they finished a run through of her aria. His ears couldn't take it anymore. Christine's voice was ethereal, but the discordant piano came from hell itself.
"Let's eat, then!" Christine cheered. Her stomach had been grumbling for most of the lesson, but thankfully Erik had been too distracted to notice.
Christine led her guest into the dining room where two places were set at the table. She'd dug out her parents' old wedding china, which she thought wouldn't see the light of day again. She instructed Erik to take a seat, but despite her protests, he helped her carry the food out from the kitchen.
"Christine, it would be awkward for me to just sit there while you do all the work," Erik insisted.
"You're a guest, Erik. That's what guests do," she argued, but her guest didn't listen to reason.
As they sat across from each other, digging into their meal, they continued earlier conversations about music and films and books they enjoyed. Erik had never been in such pleasant company in his entire life. There was no use denying it to himself any longer.
He was thoroughly convinced that he was very much in love with Christine. Her smile brought a warm feeling to his chest, and her voice set his heart aflame.
Across the table, however, Christine hadn't the slightest idea of Erik's feelings. She was too preoccupied with reminiscing over Thanksgivings past and wondering how in the world she'd ended up eating a Thanksgiving feast with the one man she hated above all else.