Thank you to BabyNake, PhantomWriter098, peanutpup, and sharp52092 for the reviews on the last chapter!
The day following their picnic, Christine left Adelaide and Gustave behind at the hotel, making the short drive over to Central City so she could meet the accompanist for her solo gala concert and begin finalizing plans for the setlist. Andrew Reyer had seemed very pleasant from the emails they had already exchanged, and meeting him in person confirmed that impression for Christine.
He insisted on showing her around the theater before they began their preparations, and Christine was happy to learn that the Opera House was even more charming on the inside than it was on the exterior. When they stopped at the piano that was sitting on the stage, she gazed out at the house for a moment, imagining the crowd that would fill the seats and taking in the murals on the ceiling as well as the chandelier, modest in size but perfectly proportioned to the intimate interior of the theater. Performing here was certainly going to be no hardship.
She and Andrew spent most of their time together discussing songs and their ideas for the concert, but they did perform a few sections from some of the songs they were considering so that they could get a feel for how they would work together. While Christine was a professional and could work with nearly any situation she found herself in, she was happy to realize that the two of them seemed to fit together very well.
As she finished a shortened version of "Sempre Libera", Christine found her attention diverted by what seemed to be a flash of movement in the darkened balcony of the theater. Sensing her distraction, Andrew asked politely, "Is everything all right?"
Slightly embarrassed, Christine responded, "Oh, yes, I'm sorry, I got distracted. I thought I saw someone in the balcony, but I guess that sounds silly - I saw you lock the door behind us when we came in."
Scanning the balcony, he answered, "Well, I don't see anyone up there, but maybe you did see something. I've never seen any myself, but ghost sightings are pretty common in this town, you know."
In spite of the eerie feeling that had come over her when she saw - or imagined - that movement in the shadows, Christine found herself intrigued by this revelation. "Oh, really?"
"The old hotel next door probably has the most sightings, but some people also think the Opera is haunted. Does that bother you, Christine?"
She thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No. At least, I don't think it does." After all, Christine reflected as they wrapped up their session and agreed on a time to meet the next day, she had spent the last five years feeling haunted to varying degrees by a different type of ghost. Maybe finding out that actual spirits were causing the strange feelings she had had ever since arriving in Colorado would be a relief.
xxxxx
However, over their next several practices, Christine didn't notice any more strange occurrences, and she was starting to think that she had imagined that flash of movement that had seemed so real in the moment. In fact, during the past few days since that first rehearsal, Christine hadn't felt the sensation of being watched that she had for the first few days after their arrival, and, sadly, she didn't know how she felt about that fact.
Because, in the back of her mind, what she hadn't wanted to admit was that the strange feelings had given her a hope that she knew was foolish, a hope that maybe Erik wasn't gone from her life for good after all. Although why she found some part of herself longing to see him again after everything he had done to her, she couldn't explain. Maybe it was the unfinished business between them, her desire for an answer to a question she could make no sense of.
However, even though Christine would never understand what had led Erik to leave her after they had finally seemed to have a path to a future together, she logically could think of only one reason why he had been able to stay away from her for so long, and that same reason was why she knew he wasn't really here, no matter what strange thoughts and feelings she had had.
Despite the way their relationship, such as it was, had ended, Christine knew in her soul that Erik had truly loved her, at least in the way that he was capable of caring for someone, and she thought it extremely unlikely that he would have been able to stay away from her for these last five years.
Which meant, as much as it pained her to think about, that Erik was most likely dead. Christine had accepted this possibility as the most probable scenario long ago, but being here in this place where she had been inexplicably reminded of him at first had apparently dredged up old longings.
Longings that she needed to let stay in the past so that she could continue to build a future for her son, and for herself.
xxxxx
As Christine and Andrew finished their rehearsal for the day, both of their phones buzzed. He picked his up first, glancing at her as he opened it. "It's an email to both of us, about your concert," he said as he appeared to scan the message. Rather than open her own email, Christine waited for him to tell her what this was about.
"Well, this is unusual. Apparently the Opera's biggest donor has commissioned an aria, and would like for you to perform it at the concert. This says that we should both have a copy delivered to us by courier later tonight."
"Oh," she replied. "That does seem strange, but I admit I'm curious to see this song. Will you have time to look over it this weekend?" They had already agreed to take the next two days off from practicing together since their preparations had been going so well, giving Andrew time to drive to Denver to spend time with his husband in their apartment in the city.
"I'll make time," he replied. "What about you?"
"I should be fine. I don't really have anything planned, other than spending time with my son."
"Alright then, we'll both look this new song over, and I'll see you back here on Monday. Have a nice weekend, Christine."
She smiled in return. "I'll do my best. You have a good weekend, also."
xxxxx
Gustave came running to greet her at the door when Christine got back to their suite, arms open wide for a hug. "Hi, Mom," he greeted her as she hugged him tightly, heart melting at his sweet greeting.
"Hi, Baby. How was your day today?" she asked, straightening to take the hand he was holding out to her so he could lead her over to the kitchen area.
"It was good. I met a boy whose dad works here, but I forgot his name. And Mamma's making spaghetti."
Christine hid a smile at the careful way he pronounced their dinner selection so precisely. Her little boy really was growing up.
"Mamma, what was that boy's name?" he asked as they walked up to Adelaide as she stirred a pot of pasta.
"Reza. We met him and his mother today," she added for Christine's benefit. "They were very friendly. She said her husband works here, so we might see them again."
"Oh, that's nice," Christine responded. She sometimes worried that Gustave didn't interact with other children enough, so it was good to hear he might have found a potential friend to play with over the summer.
"It was," Mamma responded. "And, by the way, you had a package delivered just a little bit ago. I put it on the piano. I thought it looked like a score of some kind."
As Christine explained about the strange song request for her concert, part of her wanted to go investigate the mysterious song immediately, but she resisted, wanting to keep her attention on her family for now. There would be plenty of time to look it over once Gustave was in bed for the night.
After a simple but delicious dinner, Christine helped Gustave get ready for bed while Adelaide tidied up the kitchen. Since he had already had a bath that afternoon, they only had to brush his teeth and put his pajamas on before he went back out to tell Mamma goodnight. Once that was done, Christine took him to his room to read a few books before singing him to sleep.
Her heart full, she returned to the living area where Adelaide was watching television. They sat together for a little while, visiting about their respective days, before the older woman rose from the sofa.
"Well, I think I'll read for a bit in my room, and maybe go to bed early. Good night, my dear."
"Good night, Mamma," Christine replied, getting up and crossing the room to the kitchen area as Adelaide retired to her room. After refilling her wine glass from dinner, she moved to the piano to investigate this mysterious song she was apparently expected to sing.
Opening up the envelope, she looked the piece over before softly picking out the melody on the piano, thankful as usual that Gustave had by necessity grown up with the sounds of her practicing in the evenings, and was able to sleep through them, although Christine of course made an effort to keep the volume as low as possible.
Such mundane thoughts slipped from her mind as she played the first section of the song, however. Trying to stay rational, she tapped it out again, telling herself she was imagining things yet again, but when she played it a third time, Christine could no longer deny the reaction that the song was causing.
Reaching out for her wine glass, ignoring the slight tremor in her hand as she picked it up, Christine walked deliberately to the balcony, carefully sliding the door shut behind her before sitting down in a chair and setting her wine on the table next to it.
Feeling as though the control she was exerting over herself was the only thing that was keeping her from flying into a million pieces, Christine buried her head in her hands. What was wrong with her? Why was she persisting in having fantasies that Erik was near? And why was she even dreaming of that, after the way that he had hurt her by leaving her so callously?
Giving in to the confused thoughts and yearnings that coalesced in her mind, Christine helplessly let the racking sob that was building in her chest emerge, crying her frustration and fear out into the night, where no one could hear her.
xxxxx
Wrapping his long fingers around the balcony railing in front of him, Erik tipped his head up to the evening sky. Letting his eyes fall closed, he allowed the high he was still feeling from finally being able to compose something worthwhile again at long last to flow through him. After five years of being unable to write anything worthy of his time, all it had taken was one afternoon of listening to Christine sing to drive him into a frenzy to complete the perfect aria for her. After several days where he had done very little else but work on the song, it was finished, and soon he would not only hear her sing, but hear her sing something he had created just for her.
Hearing a sound to his right, Erik pivoted, lured by the only thing that could have possibly drawn him out of his euphoric state: the door to Christine's suite had slid open, followed by her soft footsteps as she walked out onto her own balcony. Helpless, he moved to stand next to the wall that separated them, yearning to go to her, although that wasn't a possibility.
No sooner than he had reminded himself of that, though, the sound of an anguished sob carried from Christine's side of the wall. Hearing her in distress demolished whatever hold he still had on his self-control, and before Erik even realized what he was doing he found himself sliding open the hidden door and entering her balcony, not regaining his senses until he was standing next to her chair.
As Christine turned her head and her eyes met his, Erik felt as though time had slowed to a crawl as he absorbed her every reaction. Frozen, he watched as the initial panic at finding a strange man standing next to her was replaced with a look of stunned recognition. Tensing, he gathered himself to bolt, even though it was far too late to salvage the situation, but when Christine's eyes blinked closed and she slowly rose from her chair, he was helplessly rooted to the spot.
Staring at her brown curls as she kept her face downcast, Erik was hit with the realization that he had forgotten exactly how it felt to stand close to Christine, how large the difference in their heights was, even though he would have sworn he remembered every single moment spent with her with perfect clarity. Being so close to her again was practically intoxicating, he realized as he stared at her greedily, hungry to absorb every sensation being near her again evoked within him.
As though she was waking from a dream-filled sleep, she lifted her head and blinked her shining eyes open, meeting his gaze once more, stunning Erik with her expression. Even he, as bad as he was at social interaction, could only read the look on Christine's beautiful face as one of pure joy. Mesmerized, he took an unsteady step closer to her, reaching his trembling arms out to her, desperate to hold her in his arms again.
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