Standard disclaimer: Objects in mirror may be larger than they appear. Or, characters in this story probably don't belong to me. Whichever suits your fancy.
If Christine thought her engagement to Raul was far too short, the shorter one to Erik seemed interminable. There was so much to learn from each other, but every day she wished more and more they were already married.
"It's so hard waiting!" She complained one day, as they sat in the library. She was reading fiction, he, a medical text, but they were leaning up against each other. Contact was crucial to them both, Christine because she had never felt quite like this about any man before, and Erik because he'd simply never experienced it to this magnitude in his life.
"Patience, my dear!" He laughed and kissed her lightly. Since that first afternoon together, he had stopped wearing the mask in the house. Nadir showed no signs of discomfort, his history as an employee of a demanding Persian Shah had left him immune to most sights and experiences. If pressed, he would confess uneasiness with Erik's history, but it did not affect how he acted now. Nadir found more and more excuses to leave the couple alone, feeling Erik had a lot to catch up on, and as a matter of consequence, was himself feeling more connected to humanity. The other night, Nadir had met a lovely woman at a restaurant, and while he was almost certain they would have no future together, the time spent talking had been wonderful. Lucy was articulate and kind, though her history as a dancer bothered the conservative Nadir.
"Patience? How can you of all people talk to me about patience? Can you really wait another moment?" Erik laughed and ruffled her hair, but not in a belittling manner.
"Two more weeks is practically a moment, mon ange. Besides, you were the one who wanted the wedding in the church with the Giry women present, and they simply cannot make it out before then."
"I know," she sighed. "But I cannot wait to be out of here!" Concern crossed Erik's face as he beheld Christine.
"My dear, I thought you were quite happy here."
"I am, darling, I am, because I am with you, but it will be lovely to have our own house after we're married." Erik swallowed hard. He squared his jaw and faced his bride.
"About that, darling. I told you we would move out, and I meant the next bit to be a surprise. You see, I have designed a house for us, but I'm not sure where you'd like it built. Obviously, I'd like it to be set back and that's a problem, because you need to be close to Paris. But it would be rather difficult to be close to town, especially if the citizens were particularly backward." He paused.
"That, and there's simply no way I can have it done in time for the wedding. Even with a crew of the most capable workers, it couldn't be done in two weeks!" He laughed at the absurdity of it.
"Well, could we not move back to the opera? At least until the house is done?" Erik considered.
"I suppose we could, it would be difficult to undertake, but all the furniture is there, and I know Ayesha would appreciate being in familiar surroundings." Here, he caressed the Siamese cat who, after a week, seemed to get accustomed to Christine's constant presence and act less malevolent towards her. "But I thought you would prefer it here, and Nadir doesn't mind the company. In fact, I think he rather enjoys it. Makes him feel like he has normal friends, deluded soul that he is. We could certainly stay here. Why not?"
Christine got a devious look on her face. She kissed Erik and leaned over to whisper in his ear. Erik's eyes widened as she described things he was unaware she knew about, things that quite required a certain degree of privacy, and he found himself blushing.
"My dear, wherever did you learn about things like that?"
"Please," she laughed, enjoying his surprise. She so rarely got to throw him off guard. "I was in the ballet corps, you know!" She kissed him once more, longer this time, and tried to return to her book, but Erik wouldn't allow it. He continued to kiss her, until she finally pushed away.
"Darling, please! It's hard enough to wait without your doing that all the time!"
"And who got me in the mood?" He kissed her again, laughing, and she made a game out of dodging him, teasing him and giggling. "It's your silly Catholic traditions!"
"My silly traditions? Who woke me up at eight this morning for a sung Mass?"
"Who was confirmed?"
"Who plays the requiems after Nadir has gone to bed? Okay, actually, that's a little unsettling," she teased, kissing him once more. A look crossed Erik's face as she pulled away.
"My dear, what is it? Are you all right?"
"Piano playing," he mused. "Christine, I know you sing with me, and it's lovely, but you've never made any request for lessons. Are you bored with it?"
"Heavens, no! I just felt strange asking for them now that we're engaged."
"Do you wish to return to the Opera?" Christine's face grew quite serious, but Erik did not miss the look of sheer joy that escaped for a moment at the mention of a stage. "It wouldn't be that difficult. You're out of practice, but could be up to your potential in a short matter of time."
"Erik, have you been reading the news? Carlotta was coaxed back, and everyone is talking about how I cursed the opera house and invoked a ghost. I don't think they want me back." She was surprised to see Erik's amusement. Months ago, Carlotta being held in higher regard than Christine would have resulted in anger, and possibly a case of mild food poisoning for Carlotta and her understudy.
"You certainly did invoke a ghost, you little vixen!" Growing somber, he added, "I don't think it would be a terrible problem. And if it is, we could always go to Italy. That's where you ought to be anyway. Your talent is wasted in Paris, really."
"Italy? Erik, I barely speak any Italian!" To herself, she thought, "this conversation is starting to sound familiar. At least it's not England."
"You know more than you think you know. You know the operas, you would pick up the rest. You're quite intelligent, you know. But there is no hurry. We can wait forever or leave tomorrow. It's up to you." Christine thought for a moment. She loved to sing. Those moments on the stage were some of her favorites. She loved the costumes, the lights, the beautiful music and feedback from her teacher, the man she loved.
"When can we start again?" Erik held her and looked into her eyes.
"First, let's get married. I can think of nothing I'd be able to do properly until then."