Chapter 4: Old Friends
The opera house was very much the same. Stagehands wandered about fixing riggings and lighting equipment, fiddled with ropes and pulleys, and chatted. The newest talents practiced their arias hoping to become the next star. Hoping to become what she once was.
The chandelier was missing, of course, but that didn't really bother her. She could remember it quite well enough, thank you very much.
There was just one last thing to attend to and that was to find...
"Christine!"
Meg's voice called out her name in a high-pitched squeak of excitement.
Christine turned around. There was her old friend, dressed in her usual tu-tu. Christine smiled. Meg looked so serene and angelic she almost didn't want to admit she had really come to see Erik. That this was just a friendly visit.
"Meg," Christine said, still smiling. "It's so good to see you."
Meg didn't bother to reply. She did a couple of quick ballet leaps and in a matter of seconds was throwing her arms around Christine's neck.
"Oh, Christine! It's so good to have you back! I never thought I'd see you again!" Meg started to babble. "You know what? Your dressing room is just how it was when you left! I've been telling everyone it's haunted and none of them want to use it! Isn't that splendid?"
"Um...yes..." Christine managed. "Exactly the same?"
Meg scrunched up her nose. "Well...a bit more dusty. But other than that, yes!"
"You mean no one's touched it since I left?"
"Well..." Meg was defensive. "I was going to, but I got into telling the story of how it was haunted so often that I actually started to believe it myself. It started to be a wee bit creepy for me to go in and dust it, you know?"
Christine laughed. "Well, I hope I'm not scaring you. After all, according to your stories, aren't you talking to a ghost right now?"
Meg looked confused. "What?" Then the light dawned. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...no no no. You weren't the ghost in my stories! It was...him."
"Oh. Right."
Christine felt a tingle go up and down her spine. Him. She knew exactly who Meg meant. She did a few mental exercises to regain her cool and then put her arm around Meg's shoulder.
"So!" she said. "How about you give me the grand tour?"
"Oh, sure," Meg said, surprised. "It's all pretty much the same, really. New people and all that, but, you know, that's to be expected."
Meg did her best impression of a tour guide as she led Christine around the familiar territory of the opera house. That is, if tour guides were prone to wearing tu-tus. Christine nodded politely and took in the sights. She'd seen it all before, so there wasn't much to digest. Which gave her plenty of time to think of other things. Of other people.
Of how she was going to tell Meg that she wasn't there just to see her.
"Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd," Meg started, giving a dramatic wave with her hands, "last but not least: your room!"
Meg threw open the door to Christine's old dressing room with flourish. Christine was a bit taken aback. Her room already? She had been so lost in thought she hadn't paid attention to where she was going.
"Well?" Meg asked, raising her eyebrows. "Aren't you going to go inside?"
"Well, I, um..." Christine wasn't quite ready to face the reality of her visit so soon. She gave a weak laugh. "What if it really is haunted?"
"Oh poo!" Meg laughed. "I was just joking about that! Step inside."
Christine stepped inside the room and was amazed. Her vanity was still in place. Her chest of drawers. Her closet that once held all sorts of elaborate costumes. It was as if she'd never left.
She sat down on the cushioned vanity stool and tried to catch her breath.
"You...you dusted," she gulped.
"Ta-da!" Meg exclaimed, never one for timing. "It's just how you left it."
"I can see that."
"Except that I put a box of props in front of the, ah, mirror," Meg said, glancing to the back of the room.
Christine looked to the back of the room. She saw her own reflection staring back at her. The mirror. It went from the floor almost to the ceiling. It was as wide as a door for a good reason: it was a door. It was the door to Erik.
She wondered if he was on the other side looking in at her like he used to. She quickly tossed the idea aside. There was no way Erik could even know she had returned.
"Don't worry though," Meg went on, "he's not down there."
"What?" Christine turned her attention back to Meg.
"I went down there after you'd left," Meg stated proudly. "There were a bunch of broken mirrors and..." Meg paused to add a dramatic flair to her story. "...And I found...his mask!"
"Oh," Christine blinked. "Right."
Christine almost hated to tell Meg that The Phantom had plenty of back-up masks. It was hardly likely that Meg discovering one of them meant he was gone for good.
At least she hoped not.
"Meg...there's...there's something I need to tell you," Christine said, trying to find the right words.
"Ooh! A secret!" Meg squealed. "This is so exciting! Just like old times. Tell me: are you pregnant? Am I going to be an aunty?"
"Um..." Christine blushed. "No. I..."
She looked into Meg's eager face and felt a pang of guilt. But she had to say what she was there for. She had to.
"I need to..." Christine started again. "I need..."
Oh sod it.
"I need to stay here for about 3 days," Christine said in a rush. "Just to, you know, spend some time with you and all. I, um, miss you." Well, at least that part was true. She added, "And I was thinking maybe I'd get back into opera. Like, um, small parts. Nothing major."
"Ooh! Back into Opera!" Meg was obviously thrilled with the idea. "That's great!"
"Yes. Great," Christine agreed. "So is it all right to stay?"
"Oh, yes," Meg nodded. "Absolutely."
"Fantastic," Christine smiled.
"Was that all you had to tell me?" Meg prodded. "You looked so anxious."
"Um...yes..." Christine lied. "That was it."
"Okey-dokey," Meg said. "Well, I have to go back to practice. You know how it is. I'll see you later."
She gave Christine another hug.
"It's so good to have you back, Christine," she beamed. "Just like old times!"
"Yes," Christine nodded. "Just like old times."
Meg left the room and Christine let out a breath of air. She hadn't told Meg about going down to speak with Erik.
Well, Raoul would just have to understand. Besides, two out of three rules followed wasn't bad, right?
Chapter 5: Not As She'd Planned
Side Note: Thanks to all of you who've taken an interest in this story. I know the modern language can be a little bit daunting, but I think it's more fun that way. :) As you probably guessed from the chapter title, Erik shows up again in the next chapter. spoiler Erik's not too happy and will act a bit boorish. But, trust me, it won't last long. ;)