Hi guys. Thank you for everyone is is reading, following, and all of the amazing reviews. I love you guys. I am sorry for the delay is posting this chapter. I had a huge assignment to do in two days and lots of other work. Wednesday I officially started quarantining, I was exposed to a positive case :(. I feel fine but I still can't go anywhere, so maybe I will write more. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I hope you like it.
The weather was finally turning warm again and Christine was able to shed the thick layers of winter and enjoy the spring air. Easter was around the corner and with it was the next concert. Christine's nervousness had all but disappeared when it came to performing, so she was mostly able to look forward to the holiday.
Easter was a special holiday for Christine. After her father died, the holidays were harder for Christine. But Meg's family's tradition of hosting an egg hunt for the neighborhood children had made Christine's first Easter without her father bearable,—it was hard to be upset amongst the infectious happiness of the younger children. It was the first holiday since her father's death where she'd felt like herself again. So now she was at the store buying lots of candy and goodies for the children. All those smiling children made the small investment well worth it.
When Christine got home she packed up all her stuff, including the items she purchased, before heading over to Erik's. With the concert just around the corner, she wanted to get one more lesson in before she left, but if she was being completely honest she wanted to see him too. Christine paid a little more attention to her appearance than she usually did before leaving the apartment. It was a habit she'd recently picked up, without noticing it, before visiting Erik.
Each lesson was a new joy and a new struggle for Erik. Hearing Christine sing the beautiful words of her songs made his heart soar, and many times it felt like she was singing directly to him. But, he knew that couldn't be true, that it never would be true, and the thought quickly depressed him. This was not helped by Christine's extraordinary beauty. She resembled an angel with her golden hair and radiant smile. All Erik wanted to do when he saw her was hold her in his arms and never let go. Every lesson required Erik to set those feelings aside and focus simply on teaching her. To Erik, the lessons were both far too long to maintain this façade while also far too short to enjoy Christine's presence. He lost all sense of time while she was singing, and the end of the lesson came before he knew it.
"I won't be here this weekend, so we won't be able to meet again until there is less than a week before my concert," Christine was saying, dragging him from his thoughts.
"Where will you be?" He was unable to completely keep the disappointment from his voice.
"I'm visiting Meg's family for Easter." Christine paused. "Do you think I'm prepared enough for this concert?"
"You will be extraordinary. You are more than ready," Erik assured her.
"Thank you," Christine said, smiling. Hearing him talk like that never failed to make her happy. "I hope you have a pleasant Easter."
Erik doubted he would. He was never big on holidays, and the fact that Easter meant that Christine would be away only turned his attitude more sour. "I'll try."
"Good. I'll miss seeing you." The words left her mouth before she could check them. Luckily Erik didn't call her out.
"I'll miss you too. Have a pleasant holiday." As Erik watched her go, he wondered if she could really mean what she said.
Almost the second after Christine walked into her apartment, Meg knocked on the door.
"Ready to go?"
Christine was already slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder. "Yep, I'm all packed. Do you want to drive there or do you want me to?"
"I'll drive," Meg offered.
Soon Christine had her things loaded into the car and they were cruising down the highway. They drove in silence for a while, content to listen to the radio, but Christine got the feeling there was something Meg wanted to say. She didn't have to wait too long before her suspicions were confirmed.
"So… how are you and Erik getting along?"
"Oh, fine." Christine replied airily.
Meg raised her eyebrows skeptically.
Christine sighed. "I don't know what you expect me to say. We are friends, that's it. I just got out of a relationship with Raoul, and I am not going to screw up my friendship with Erik. Okay?"
"Okay, if you say so." Meg agreed. "But you deserve to be happy. Even if it is risky."
"But I am happy! I have a job I love, I am singing again, I have wonderful friends. What more do I need?"
"I think you want to be more than just friends with Erik, even if you deny it. It's clear that you really care about him, and from what you have told me, you mean something to him too. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. But don't hold back because you are afraid."
Christine pondered this for a moment "Maybe you are right, I don't know. But let's not talk about it anymore. Tell me about how you're doing." Despite changing the subject, Meg's words did not leave Christine's head for the entire drive.
Meg and Christine were greeted by Meg's very excited mother, who was quick to wrap them each in a hug.
"How are you two? I haven't seen you in too long."
"We are good, Mom, and we're super happy to see you too," Meg said.
"Yeah, I've missed seeing you," Christine confessed. It really had been too long since she'd visited. Coming here now felt as comfortable as returning to her own childhood home.
It didn't take long to unload the car, and soon they were settled in and sitting on the couch in Miss Giry's living room.
"So, what is new with you girls?" she asked them.
"Nothing is super new with me," Meg told her mom. "But Christine broke up with Raoul."
"Oh, I am sorry sweetheart. What happened?"
"I caught him cheating on me," Christine said, looking down. The sting of it had lessened, but it still wasn't a pleasant thing to admit.
"Oh, I am so sorry. Are you okay?" Aunt G asked, concern immediately entering her features.
"It's okay. I am honestly a little glad. Our relationship wasn't working, and I am so much happier now that I am not with him anymore."
"Well, I am glad you are happy. That is all that matters. Although I have some words for that Raoul," Meg's mother said protectively. Meg murmured her agreement.
Christine smiled at their support "Thank you guys, but I am fine. Really I am."
"Well, how is your singing going?" her Aunt asked.
"Oh, amazingly." Christine said, lighting up. "I've gotten some solo parts and it feels amazing. Of course, I could never have done it without Erik." She could feel her face heating as she spoke.
"You guys get along well?" asked Aunt Giry, raising an eyebrow.
"We are really close friends." Christine said elusively. Out of Christine's vision Meg mouthed I'll tell you later and despite wanting more information Aunt G dropped the topic.
"Well… I am going to get dinner ready, you girls just relax," Aunt Giry said, standing up. She waved off Christine's offers to help. "You've had a long trip. Relax. Plus, we are all going to be getting up early tomorrow to set up the Easter hunt."
Christine awoke to her alarm, excited at the pending holiday. She dressed in a coral floral printed skirt and a light blue sweater. After breakfast with Meg and her mother, they had a bit of down time before they had to get to work on the egg hunt. She opened her contacts to Erik's number.
Happy Easter, she sent.
Erik didn't reply right away, and after scrolling through her phone for about 10 more minutes it was time to set up the hunt. The night before the three of them stuffed plastic eggs with candy, so now all they had to do was hide them. It was fun coming up with creative hiding spots that the kids would enjoy, and soon all the eggs were hidden.
"We did pretty well," Meg commented, admiring their handiwork.
"Yeah, we did," Christine agreed, smiling.
After the Easter service many people gathered to begin the hunt. Kids, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—it was a scene filled with love and Christine could feel it in the air. She smiled as the children happily ran around, filling their baskets. Only her phone dinging could draw her attention away, and she looked down to find a text from Erik.
Happy Easter to you too. I admit I am not one to celebrate the holiday. But I appreciate your well wishes. The text was formal but kind, precisely how Erik spoke. Christine smiled and snapped a photo of the Easter egg hunt to send to him.
They seem to be enjoying it, she captioned the image.
Joy is simple for children. Who are those people?
Family friends. We always set the Easter egg hunt up for the kids in the neighborhood. It is fun seeing how happy they get.
You are a kind person, came Erik's prompt reply. Those children are lucky to know you.
"Whatcha' doin?" Meg asked, coming up from behind Christine.
"Nothing," Christine said, turning off her phone screen. "Just texting a friend."
"Mmm, and does this friend's name rhyme with Derrick?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Christine replied, proving to Meg that her guess was correct. "Come on, let's go see what the kids have found."
For now she could distract herself with the sweet, excited children finding candy. But Christine knew that she was running out of ways to distract herself from her feelings for Erik.
End of chapter. I hope you liked it. A huge thank you to my beta reader lks358. She is so helpful and I couldn't do this without her. Please review, and always feel free to PM me. -K