Chapter Thirteen
The club's owner ran a finger along the edge of the picture frame. There were so many things that portrait could not capture.
The sound of her voice when she sang...the way she smiled when she saw him...the soft perfume she always wore...the warmth of her body in his embrace.
Why was she the one memory he couldn't leave behind in Paris? What made her different from all of those other women? Was it because she was the last one?
He turned away from the picture and drew back a heavy drape to reveal a small door. It opened into a narrow passage. From there, he could look out through the dozens of mirrors into his nightclub...La Belle Reve.
He walked slowly and silently through the dark little corridor. Through the partition, he heard the band's last number of the set winding down. He could see couples on the dance floor, holding close as they tried to forget...for a few hours, at least.
He saw Sam, too, the one friend he still had...the one person he still trusted, sitting at the piano.
There was a woman beside Sam...a lovely woman in a yellow silk dress...a young woman with soft brown hair and shining eyes.
Oh, God...it couldn't be her...not here!
Sam began to play...and the woman began to sing.
I dream I'm a bird in that open sky. A dream it remains for I cannot fly. Oh, speak to me now and try to explain flying. In my dreams, I am with you...simply flying in the sky.
He heard his own breath grow ragged as he moved closer to the glass.
She was so close to him...so close he had only to slid open the mirror to reach out to her.
All these days, all these nights...that's all you wanted, wasn't it...to see hear her sing again...to see her from a distance...
With a shaking hand, he reached up to touch his right side of his face and felt the cold, hard features...and the burn of tears beneath the smooth leather.
What would she do if he went to her...would there be joy in her eyes...or horror?
Then it seems when I'm with you, I sense the motion, cease to fear...because I'm flying, simply flying.
The music ended and he heard the applause as the audience rose to its feet to give her a standing ovation.
From beyond the mirrors, he shadowed her as she walked back to her table...he could not stand to lose sight of her for a moment.
He saw an older gentleman rise and offer her a carnation from the vase of the table. She smiled her thanks to him.
She soon reached her table. A handsome man took her hand, surprise and admiration in his eyes.
You idiot...she is young and beautiful...she believed you dead...did you think she would mourn you forever?
Alone in the shadows, Erik leaned back against the wall and wept.