10) You´re sure to see the light
Raoul considered himself the luckiest man on earth. Here he was, sitting next to the loveliest girl he had ever met. Christine hadn´t told him yet why she had been crying, but it didn´t matter as long as she let him comfort her. Actually they didn´t speak at all. The only sound that could be heard were occasional sighs from Christine every time his lips came across an especially sensitive spot on her skin.
Her fingers dishevelled his hair while his hands drew light patterns on her back. Eventually Raoul moved one of them under her bodice, playing with the laces of her corset. He would never take advantage of her weakened state by going further than she wanted. Still, being so close to her was a great feeling. "Oh Christine…", he muttered.
"Sh! Don´t talk!", she whispered. Raoul´s voice had interrupted a very pleasant daydream of hers. When he remained silent she could pretend that the hands and mouth which made her feel so good belonged to Erik. Christine knew it was wrong, but she didn´t have the strength to end it either. ´Tomorrow´, she told herself. ´I´ll say it tomorrow.´
Neither of them heard the door being opened. It was only a gasp that made them whirl around. For a second three people stared at each other. Meg couldn´t believe her eyes. What were Christine and Raoul doing in her dressing room after the end of rehearsal? Well, what they were doing was quite obvious, but why hadn´t they chosen another place?
Christine smiled apologetically at Raoul. She hadn´t thought Meg would use her room again tonight after leaving earlier for some mysterious business she hadn´t even told her best friend about. So why had she returned here? Raoul straightened up and ran both hands through his hair. He didn´t want Meg to get the impression that he had done anything indecent with Christine.
Christine was the one to break the silence. "I´m sorry, Meg.", she said. "We were just… Are you all right?" She had noticed the expression on the girl´s face. "Yes, I´m…" Meg burst into tears. Christine jumped up and led her to the sofa, making her sit down between Raoul and her. Sobbing Meg buried her face at her friend´s shoulder, who patted her back sympathetically.
After letting her cry for some time Christine asked softly: "Do you want to talk about what has happened?". Very slowly Meg lifted her head and nodded. Wiping her eyes carelessly with her sleeve she whispered: "I met him.". "Erik?" As Christine mentioned his name the other girl winced as if she had been beaten. "Does she mean your singing teacher?", Raoul wanted to know. He didn´t know a lot about him; Christine had only told him what a fantastic composer and musician he was and how much she admired his talent. But from her stories he had deduced that she was his only student. What had this man done with Meg then? Was he making private visits to members of the chorus? He would have to find out later.
Christine merely nodded to Raoul and returned her attention to Meg. "You met him, and then…?", she prompted. "At first it was good, really. We kissed and… and did some other things.", Meg said, making all three of them blush as they recalled various events from the last minutes. "But then it changed. He changed. He was so unfriendly, forbidding me to call him ´Erik´." ´That at least explains her strange reaction to the name.´, Christine thought. "I don´t understand it. He has no problem with me using the name. Did anything happen before that? Anything you might have offended him with?", she wanted to know.
"Well, I had the impression that he was determined to… make love to me, and I more or less told him I wasn´t ready for it." Christine frowned. "You ´had the impression´ - what is that supposed to mean?" She couldn´t quite believe that Erik had actually wanted that. Why now? And much more important: Why with Meg and not with her? But she pushed these questions to the back of her mind. She´d be able to wallow in self-pity later.
Meg stared at the floor, her face becoming even redder. "When we were close I could feel… it.", she muttered. "Oh!", Christine commented while Raoul shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He felt more and more like an intruder into the girls´ private conversation. But if he stood up and left, he would disturb them as well. So he stayed and kept listening.
"In my opinion he didn´t get angry at you because you wanted things to go more slowly.", Christine said after recovering from the initial shock. Her beloved Erik seemed to have a side she didn´t know about. Suddenly her friend seized her hand and squeezed it. "Do you think he loves me?" Her eyes were so full of both hope and fear that Christine could only give one answer. "I´m sure he has certain feelings for you."
"Has he ever said so?" Meg´s eagerness was almost more than her friend could bear. "Not exactly… but remember what he did yesterday! He made Nicole fall through this trapdoor to save you from being humiliated by her." A smile lit up Meg´s face. "Yes, that´s true." Gratefully she hugged the other girl. "Everything will be better next time.", Christine whispered into her hair. "Raoul and I will leave you alone now. Then you can wash your face before going home. Otherwise your mother´ll ask lots of questions."
It was only when Christine stood up that the other girl noticed there were signs of tears on her cheeks as well. "Have you been crying?", she asked. Christine looked from her to Raoul and back. "It was nothing. Nicole just said I looked like a scarecrow in my costume.", she lied quickly, hoping it was enough to satisfy their curiosity. "She´s such a vicious beast.", Meg grumbled. "Indeed.", Christine agreed, pulling Raoul to his feet. "Good night, Meg!" "Good night!", Meg called. "And if this Erik doesn´t become friendlier, just let me know, and I´ll have a man-to-man talk with him!", Raoul offered before closing the door behind them.
"That was so sweet of you!", Christine said. "I only want your friend to be happy. Everybody should be as happy as we are." Raoul´s words, spoken with so much honesty and love, made her sigh inwardly. "Will you be at the performance tomorrow?", she asked as they reached his coach. "I wouldn´t miss it for a million francs… Shall I take you somewhere?" "I´d rather walk. But thank you… for everything.", she whispered. After a long kiss Raoul entered the coach and left. Christine watched till it was out of sight.
