49) This will be the morning

When Mme.Giry came to wake up her daughter the girl had already been awake for at least an hour. She sat on the windowsill, looking out into the almost empty street. "Did you have problems with sleeping again?", the woman asked softly, careful not to startle her. She knew that Meg had rarely had more than half a night´s sleep in the last days.

Yet as the girl turned around she didn´t look tired at all. On the contrary: She gave her mother a friendly smile. "No, maman.", she replied. "For the first time in weeks I´ve slept very well." "May I ask why this has been so?" Usually first nights made Meg nervous, and even though she merely was a member of the chorus in this opera, it wasn´t like her to be that calm.

"I´ve made a decision.", her daughter said almost solemnly. "Regarding Erik and you?", Mme.Giry wanted to know, coming a little closer. Now she could make out a certain sparkle in Meg´s eyes as she nodded. Judging by the happy expression on her face it surely was a positive decision, and the woman was glad about it. It had been about time that the two got together again. "Today when I´ll see him I´ll put an end to all this.", the girl declared.

Her mother looked at her in surprise. "I hope you´re not planning to take… drastic actions.", she told her uneasily. But Meg only laughed, the first laugh that could be heard from her in weeks. "Not in that sense!", she assured her. "Still it´ll influence my life… and his as well." "So one could say that it´ll influence your life together?", Mme.Giry inquired. The girl gave her a mysterious little smile and shrugged. "Since when are you this curious?", she wanted to know. "I can´t tell you more anyway, no matter how often you ask me. I have no idea how things will develop. I´ve just decided to make the first move."

Mme.Giry sensed that she had no chance of getting more information. She had seen her daughter like this countless times before. It was a trait of character typical for the woman of the Giry family. So she only suggested: "Shall we go down to breakfast now?". "Of course!", Meg agreed readily, as if the last days, when she hadn´t eaten more than necessary, had never existed. She left her place on the windowsill, and together they exited the room.

As they passed the grandfather clock in the corridor Meg stopped momentarily. "It´s barely eight!", she exclaimed. "The performance will begin in more than twelve hours. Why did you want to wake me up this early? We don´t even have a rehearsal today." Mme.Giry smiled a bit sheepishly. "Well, I thought you could do with a little more time that usual this morning. You know, to make yourself pretty – even prettier than normally, that is. This is a special day."

"You talk as if you knew something I didn´t.", the girl muttered. "Let´s just agree on the fact that today both of us have our little secrets.", her mother said, suddenly looking very much like her daughter. "And now we´ll go down to the kitchen. I´ve baked a cake with lots of raisins, just the way you like it." "A cake? You?" Meg had to laugh. "Then it has to be a special day."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………...

Raoul gazed out of the window of the coach, watching the landscape pass. Actually there wasn´t much to see. The dark green of forests turned into the lighter shade of a meadow or the blue of a river every now and then. Sometimes they drove past a village. Yet even there nothing interesting was happening this morning. The most fascinating scene Raoul had witnessed so far had been some geese running away from an angry boy who should probably have had an eye on them.

He knew he wouldn´t miss anything if he took a nap. They still had to travel for several hours till they´d reach Paris. A part of his mind was yearning for sleep. He had had little of it during the last time since he had worked tirelessly on making his new home perfect. Smiling faintly he thought back to the house he had left behind. It only had a vague resemblance to the old cottage he had purchased. Now it looked nice and comfortable, ready for someone to move in.

Returning there with Christine in his arms was his biggest wish. Fortunately he did not have those dreadful nightmares lately, probably because the hard physical work made him sleep like a log for the few hours he spent in bed. But the closer they were to Paris, the more of his old fears came back. Raoul had no idea how he´d deal with a rejection. All his dreams would be destroyed. He was slightly frightened by how much power Christine had over him.

Yet it was pointless to ponder over a possible decision now, so he forbade himself to do so. He wouldn´t be able to visit the girl before the performance anyway; it would only distract her, maybe even make her angry. Besides, there were a few things that had to be done as soon as he´d arrive. Buying a large bouquet of flowers was doubtlessly the most important one. Thinking about whether roses or lilies would fit the occasion he hardly noticed his eyes close and his head sink against the window. Moments later he was fast asleep.