When they reached the café, several of the crew members and musicians were already there. The little bistro was very popular with the employees of the opera. It wasn't a fancy restaurant, but the food and wine were quite satisfactory and the prices were reasonable. Michel led the group back to his usual corner table.

Once they were all seated, Michel ordered a bottle of red wine. "I will be buying supper tonight," he offered. "Please feel free to order whatever you like."

Claire scanned the menu. There were so many choices, she had difficulty making up her mind. When the garçon returned to take their order, she was still debating between the salmon and the beef steak. As the others finished ordering, another item caught her attention. "I'll have the roast chicken!" she said matter-of-factly.

The waiter raised an eyebrow and sniffed. "The roast chicken…very good, mademoiselle."

When she looked up, Claire saw Sophie staring at her wide-eyed. Michel and Andre were grinning.

"What's so funny?" she asked indignantly.

Andre shook his head. "Nothing. I like a girl with a healthy appetite." He and the others laughed.

When their dinners were brought out, she understood the cause of their amusement. The garçon placed a platter in front of her with an entire roasted chicken on it. She had been in such a hurry to order, she hadn't read the whole description of the family-sized entrée.

"I…I…didn't realize it was a whole chicken…"she struggled to explain.

"I thought you were just punishing me for making you come to dinner with us," Michel retorted. "I should have made it clear that I was buying each person one dinner only!"

Claire felt her cheeks burning hotly. This was exactly the reason that she preferred to stay at the opera house. She was self-conscious about her lack of refined manners, and worried that she would say or do something to embarrass herself. She sincerely wished the floor would just open up and swallow her.

"I'm sorry, Mademoiselle Robillard," Andre said, realizing how embarrassed she was. "We shouldn't be laughing at your expense." He graciously steered the conversation away from her faux pas and onto the latest gossip of the orchestra.

After she had eaten as much of the chicken as she could, she asked, "Do you think it would be all right if I took the rest of the chicken with me?" She wasn't sure if such things were done in polite society, but she thought it a shame for all that meat to go to waste.

Michel nodded. "I don't see why not. I'll ask the garçon to bring you a clean napkin."

She carefully wrapped up the leftover chicken in the napkin and stuck it into her handbag. Erik would have a decent supper tonight too!