From Heaven's Mind
Chapter Nine
"I thought that was you!" She said cheerfully. Erik smiled briefly. She was dressed in a slinky black dress that clung to her in a very suggestive way.
"Miss Delaney, I didn't know that you would be here."
"Mr Crispin asked for my editor to send someone to comment on how marvellous the party was and since I'm having trouble with your article, I figured I'd volunteer." She said airily. "How are you?"
"I'm well. Yourself?"
"Couldn't be better." She smiled.
Erik returned the smile and checked his watch. Had they really only been here for an hour and a half? It felt like just about forever. He couldn't leave yet. Kelly caught him looking and smiled.
"You're not having fun?"
"I'm not one for crowds." Erik replied, glancing at the crowded ballroom. Kelly laughed.
"I could have guessed that! Would you brave going into the crowds for a dance?"
He glanced at her. Was she asking him to dance? How strange… she smiled.
"Come on. It won't kill you, will it?"
"I doubt it will." He agreed and put his glass down, following her into the crowd as a new dance began.
Christine came out of the bathroom and made her way back to the place where she had left Erik. But he wasn't there. She looked around, wondering if he'd been kidnapped by some adoring fan. There he was! Dancing with…
Christine peered to see who it was. It certainly wasn't one of the women who had been chatting to him earlier, fans and patrons. This woman was much younger, blonde and extremely good looking in a skin-tight black dress. Christine stepped back, watching them dance slowly. Erik was saying something to her and she laughed, a hand on his shoulder.
Christine looked down at her hands, unconsciously picking at a nail. She didn't really want to watch this. But curiosity overpowered her. She glanced up again, catching a sight of the woman's face. She looked familiar… who was she? Christine strained her mind, trying to remember.
She was that reporter! The one who'd been interviewing Erik a few weeks back. What was her name? Christine couldn't remember. Had she always been that… seductive? Christine couldn't remember. She turned away, picking up her drink and sipping it, averting her eyes from the sight of her husband dancing with someone else.
She was being ridiculous. She knew it as well. Erik had danced with other women this evening, why was she so bothered about it now?
Because she's beautiful. Look at her. You certainly don't compare! A horrible little voice in her brain hissed. Christine swallowed hard and put down her glass. She'd drunk quite a bit tonight; she didn't want to get a hangover in the morning. Not when she was going to be travelling.
The song came to an end and she looked over in time to see Erik press a kiss to the woman's hand. She laughed lightly and smiled at him before slinking off into the crowd. Christine looked away quickly as Erik made his way back, spotting her.
"There you are." He said, with a smile. "I was wondering where you had gone."
"I was just…" Christine didn't really know what to say. Erik glanced at her empty wineglass.
"Would you like another drink?"
"No, thanks. Erik… who was that woman? I thought I recognised her." Christine said, as nonchalantly as she could.
"Kelly Delaney. I believe you met her at the Opera House a while ago, during that interview."
"Oh, yes. That's right."
Erik looked at her closely.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"Why?" She asked.
"You look a little… strained? Do you feel alright?"
"I'm fine. Just a little tired." Christine said with a reassuring smile. Well, what was she going to say? Actually Erik, I'm being ridiculously jealous because you're dancing with a woman far more attractive than I am and I'm becoming intensely paranoid about it.
Erik checked his watch.
"Would you like to leave?"
"Erik, this is an important night for you." Christine pointed out. "There's no need to leave just because I'm tired."
"There certainly is a need. For a start, you are always my main priority. Second, I've had quite enough socialising for one night." Erik muttered, glancing at the crowd. Christine couldn't help smiling.
"Fine. Let's go."
They made their way surreptitiously towards the door and slipped out without anyone noticing. Well, almost anyone. Because one woman was watching rather closely, a rather bitter expression on her face.
Three guesses who.
They got back to the penthouse and Nadir was obviously asleep. Christine kicked her shoes off, pulling her hair out of its extravagant style as Erik removed his tie. He hung it over the back of a chair and glanced at her. Her head was bowed as she rubbed her feet, where the shoes had started to form blisters on her toes. A single dark curl was falling into her face. Without meaning to he reached out and pushed it back.
Christine looked up. He was looking at her with a strange expression on his face. For a moment she wondered what he was thinking. No… she was thinking if he was comparing. She swallowed hard and sat up. He turned away to remove his shoes. Christine watched him, picking her nails again.
"Erik?" She burst out. He looked at her. Tentatively Christine crossed to him and took off his mask. He blinked as the cool air rushed over the deformed skin.
Christine ran the pads of her fingers over the hideous flesh and then kissed it softly. Erik cupped her cheek.
"Is everything alright?" He asked softly. She nodded.
"I just…" She didn't finish. She didn't need to. Because Erik had already lowered his mouth to hers, pulling her into his arms and moving swiftly towards the bedroom.
Kelly got back to her apartment and sighed, throwing her bag and coat onto a chair. She moved to the kitchenette and poured herself a wine. She already knew that she'd drunk too much but she didn't care.
Her eyes fell on a picture of herself and her ex-husband. His smile seemed mocking now, as apposed to the loving expression that it had once been. She still couldn't bring herself to put the picture away. Clinging to dreams, how very typical. He'd left her with nothing. Bastard… she sneered at the picture and then drained her glass before refilling it.
She knew what she was doing was wrong. Hadn't it half-killed her when he'd left? Why was she making sure that someone else would be hurt the same way? It wasn't that she wanted to hurt Christine Destler. But she would be. That couldn't be helped.
Life had been unfair to Kelly. Surely she deserved something good in her life now? And Erik was that something, she just knew it. He was everything that she had ever wanted. And life had given her the means to have him. If someone else got hurt in the process, that was a shame, but it couldn't be helped.
My turn, she thought. My turn for a happy ending now.
Christine didn't want to wake up. She'd been having a nice dream, although she couldn't remember it now. But she wanted to carry on sleeping for a while. What had woken her in the first place?
It was probably that tickling sensation going up and down her arm. The feeling of fingertips running lightly over the skin. She smiled without opening her eyes.
"I'm not waking up, Erik."
"That's a pity." He said in an amused voice.
"Yes, it is. But it's true."
"Never mind. If you're not going to wake up, I'll just have to go and have a shower and get dressed and leave you here all by yourself. Of course, if you were awake, perhaps I could be tempted to stay a little longer…" He said suggestively.
Christine rolled over, smiling. He was propped up on one elbow, watching her.
"That's a tough decision, Mr Destler." She told him.
"Well, I won't rush you." He promised with a smirk. She smiled.
"That's nice to know."
Erik lowered himself on his elbow and kissed her. After a moment she smiled.
"Oh, yes. I am definitely awake."
"Good choice." He smiled. She wrapped her arms around him.
"I think so."
He lay down on his back, Christine resting her head on him. He stroked her hair.
"Are you going to tell me what was wrong?"
"What?" She looked up at him.
"Last night, my dear. At the ball. You seemed rather despondent."
"I told you, I was tired."
"After last night I don't think that excuse is valid. You certainly didn't seem tired." He smirked. Christine laughed quietly. "So… are you going to tell me?"
She considered it.
"…No." She said eventually.
"Why not?"
"Because. It's embarrassing." She mumbled, pulling the covers up over her head. Erik smiled and lifted the covers slightly to look at her.
"And you can't tell me?"
"No."
"I wish you would."
Christine sighed.
"Fine… I was being paranoid."
"About what?" Erik asked curiously. She chewed her lip.
"About… Kelly Delaney."
"Why…?" He said, confused. Christine looked down.
"No reason. That's why it's embarrassing. I just got all paranoid and stupid about you dancing with someone that gorgeous. It's not great for my ego, you know."
Erik stared at her. She was worried about him dancing with Kelly Delaney? She thought Kelly Delaney was more attractive than her?
"Christine?"
"Hmm?"
"You're right. You were being paranoid and stupid." He told her. She scowled and rolled away from him. He instantly reached out and tugged her back.
"There was one other woman I danced with last night who was absolutely stunning. Far more beautiful than Kelly Delaney."
"You did? I was only in the bathroom for ten minutes, exactly how many women did you dance with while I was gone?" Christine cried.
Erik simply looked at her and she flushed.
"Oh… you mean… right."
"Yes. I mean you, you ridiculous woman." He said with a smile. Christine buried her face in the pillow.
"I knew I'd get embarrassed."
"Well, we'll have to do something about that." He said, still smiling that little smile as he kissed her.
Christine was at the theatre early on Monday morning. June had wanted her in early for a costume fitting.
"There you are. Get a move on, I've got a lot to do today." June said, whipping a costume from a hanger and throwing it at her. "Put that on so I can make alterations."
"And a good morning to you too." Christine smiled.
"Have a good weekend?" June called as Christine went into the changing room.
"Yes, it was good. You?"
"Working mostly. Kim evidently had no sense of organisation. I've managed to sort everything now."
Christine came out wearing a white ball gown for the third act. That scene was a ball scene where Arietta would be trying to persuade Roberto to dance with Caroline, but asked her instead. June grinned.
"That's not bad. Stand on that stool." Christine did so and she began to turn the hem up slightly.
"You know, I think we could go a bit further with this dress." June commented, placing pins into the hem. "Really glamorous. Rebecca's is going to be an enormous one, really overdone so I want this a little understated. But there's no need to under-do it completely."
"What are you thinking?" Christine asked.
"Not sure. Maybe a little more glitter, a few faux diamonds. Leave it with me, I'll run through a few ideas."
She finished the hem and ordered Christine to take the dress off. Once Christine had pulled on her jeans and t-shirt again, June sat at a sewing machine.
"How was your party on Saturday night? Nadir told me about it."
"It was fine. A little dull, we left early." Christine said vaguely. "How are things with you and Nadir?"
June didn't look up from the sewing machine, pulling pins out.
"Fine. We're having dinner tonight."
"Good."
They fell into silence, save for the whirring of the sewing machine. June finished it and examined her work.
"I'll work on this later. See if Rebecca's here, I need to do her dress." Christine nodded and went out to the theatre.
"Rebecca, June wants you." She said, putting her bag down. Rebecca disappeared and Max smiled.
"Hey. How was your weekend?"
"It was good. So, what are we doing today?" Christine asked.
"The first act all the way through with no mistakes. In theory." Max said.
"No, not in theory. We will do it." James said, joining them. "I'm positive that we can get through this if we work hard."
"Always such an optimist!" Stuart grinned.
The rehearsal did go well, although not completely mistake free. Whilst James instructed Stuart on choreography, Christine drank from her water bottle thirstily. Rebecca, who was doing the same, grinned.
"I'm starting to think working hard is going to be hard work."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Christine panted, wiping her brow. James shouted,
"Everyone off the stage so we can get the back drops in. Stuart, Christine and Rebecca, go and practise somewhere so we can get props done. Max, go with them."
They moved off to an ante-room with a piano. Christine sank into a chair.
"I'm exhausted."
"I know. But in an hour and a half you can go home." Max said, checking his watch. "Until then, give it your all. Remember, only about a month and a half before we open." He sat at the piano and launched into the opening song.
At the end of the day, they all went out into the car park, discussing the days work. Christine looked at Max.
"Want a lift?"
"Nah, Rebecca and I are going to pick up some stuff for tomorrow's rehearsal and then head home. Why don't you come over tonight, we can rent a film?"
"I might just do that." Christine said as they went off down the street. As she went to the car, she realised she'd left her bag inside. Muttering, she went back inside and when she came out, bumped into Cara.
"Sorry… oh, hi Cara!" She smiled. Cara returned the smile.
"Hi Christine. Have you seen Max? We're supposed to be meeting here."
Well, this was awkward, Christine thought. She hesitated.
"I think he got sent on an errand. He went to get some stuff for tomorrow."
"Oh…" Cara said, clearly disappointed. Christine hurried to make things better.
"He said he was going home right afterwards though. Why don't I give you a lift?"
"That'd be great, thanks." She smiled.
As they drove towards Jameson Street, Christine said,
"Are things OK with you and Max?"
"I don't know. I thought they were but then he started avoiding me. And he suggested meeting today but then he left without calling to tell me." Cara said, looking out of the window. Christine frowned. She'd have to talk to Max; this really wasn't fair on the poor girl. They drove the rest of the way in silence.
Meg was in when they got home and she smiled brightly.
"Hey guys!"
"Hey, is Max back yet?" Christine said.
"Not yet, but come and wait. Tom's got a meeting with his editor and I'm bored out of my mind!" She rolled her eyes as they went into the kitchen. "Coffee?"
They sat at the kitchen table chatting as they drank their coffee. Meg had tried her hand at baking a cake and they all agreed that it was pretty good.
"How's Erik?" Meg asked.
"He's fine. We went to that party thing on Saturday night, it was a little boring. And then I got all paranoid because he was dancing with this really beautiful woman and it was so embarrassing." Christine winced at the memory.
"Did you tell him?"
"He figured it out. But it was OK. He got all charming and sweet." Christine smiled. Meg sighed.
"He's so romantic. I'd love for Tom to be like that."
"What, Tom's not a charmer?" Cara teased. Meg sighed.
"I adore him, don't get me wrong. But he's got the romantic spontaneity of a spoon."
They all burst into laughter as the front door opened and Max called,
"Anyone home?"
"In the kitchen!" Meg called. Max came in with Rebecca, both of them laden down with bags.
"I'm going to murder James. He said pick up this little thing for me. He didn't mention there were fifty little things." He muttered. And then his eyes fell on Cara.
"Cara? Oh! Oh, crap! I was supposed to-"
"Meet me outside the theatre." Cara finished dryly. "Christine told me you'd been sent out so she gave me a lift here."
"Cheers, Chris. God, Cara, I'm so sorry, it completely slipped my mind." Max said, apologising profusely.
Christine glanced at Rebecca.
"How'd you get roped into helping?" She asked curiously.
"Max promised me cake when we got here." She shrugged with a smile. Meg giggled, holding out a slice of the cake she had made. Rebecca seized it and Christine laughed, standing up.
"I'm going to go home and take a shower. I'll get dinner tonight, what do you want?"
"Indian!"
"Chinese!"
"Thai!"
"Chips!"
Christine sighed.
"I'll get a selection, OK? See you later."
Erik jerked awake suddenly. He'd dozed off on the sofa. Looking around, he tried to figure what had woken him. The telephone rang for a second time. He answered it groggily.
"Hello?"
"Did I wake you?"
"Christine…" He immediately perked up. "Yes, but its fine. I'm supposed to be working. How are you?"
"I'm OK. Just calling to see how you are. How was work?" She asked.
"Exhausting."
"I know that feeling."
He smiled and threw a glance at the work spread over the coffee table.
"I may just leave all this work until tomorrow."
"Get some sleep, Erik."
"I would have over the weekend but somebody was keeping me busy." Christine could practically hear the smirk and she laughed.
"You shouldn't let yourself get distracted so easily."
"You'll have to help me with that problem this weekend." He commented.
"I look forward to it." She murmured. After a few more words, they hung up and Erik pushed the work to one side. It could wait until tomorrow, he decided, heading for bed.
A/N: OMG, one update directly after the other? What is the world coming to? I really don't know. I felt like I'd been neglecting poor little Cara so I brought her in for a brief cameo.
Yes, I did come up with the opera plot. That was a struggle, since I've never actually seen an opera. And it was commented that Erik and Christine did seem to be very couple-y and I agree. I'm just not so comfortable writing anything too… rated. So I hope this will suffice!
Lotsa luv 'n' huggles
Katie