New signs were posted outside the Phantasma theatre: Mr. Y's Miss Daae" NOW LIMITED PERFORMACES! COMING SOON NEW MUSIC DEBUT! ARIAS WRITTEN BY MR. Y!
Christine despised the idea that she gave into Erik's demands but she did find herself less fatigued. Charlotte was less fussy with more consistent feedings. With the promise of new music, Erik would return home in the afternoons while Charlotte was napping and Gustave was busy with the gymnasts to practice with his wife.
A fundraiser was around the corner for select theatre patrons and Erik and Christine were determined to impress: a multicourse dinner followed by a private premiere of Christine singing one of Mr. Y's new songs.
After a couple run throughs, Erik lifted his hands from the piano keys, "Your breathing is off today, Angel."
"The music is still new. Plus I am a bit sore, Charlotte bit me at every feeding today."
"Ahh, so she is teething. I thought she just developed a new habit of chewing on her blanket."
Christine chuckled as she sat down next to her husband on the piano bench. She rested her head on his shoulder, "I don't know if I can have this song ready in time, Angel. I'm not the young ingénue you shaped all those years ago. You write masterpieces, I retired for years, my voice no longer has the strength."
"That is nonsense and you know it! You are Christine Daae, the great Diva, who came out of retirement and entranced the thousands! They flock here to see you! These new songs will bring new life and can be entered as regulars for next season. Next season when Charlotte will no longer be dependent on you for feeding. I will feel better about her being in a nanny's care then."
The Great Diva looked at her husband's hand and smiled as she rubbed his wedding band, "Would you care deeply if we ended rehearsal early? It would be lovely to have some quite and alone time as husband and wife." Christine lifted her skirts and slid onto The Phantom's lap, "We can stay right here; think of it as part of the lesson."
Mr. Y closed the lid over the piano's key before unbuttoning Christine's tan top. He also pulled the chemise away from her breasts. "I know you're tender, I'm not going to touch. I just don't want you leaking all over dress." He cupped her cheek before running his hand down her throat and resting it there. "You always leak when wanton and we can't have that exposing a mid-day tryst. He chuckled, "Look what you've done to me, Christine." He removed his hand wrapping both of them around her waist pulling her closer. He brushed kisses on her jawline, down her throat. "You have me pushing aside the joys of music for the joys of the flesh; giving myself to you in the middle of the daylight."
The Soprano rocked her hips back and forth against his loins. "I believe our relationship has always been about the joys of music and the flesh." Lips met passionately as hands fumbled to open and push away just the right amounts of fabric to allow his erection entrance into her. Christine gasped as she moved to and fro, her voice getting just a bit louder as The Old Opera Ghost's pushed his middle finger into the sensitive bud right above her womanhood. Within a few minutes, Erik stopped moving and groaned her name into her ear; Christine felt his warm liquid inside her. It had been some time since he'd climaxed that quickly. But Erik was ever the gentleman, he pushed circles into her pleasure mound until she whimpered and quaked.
Sighing, she wrapped her arms around his neck as she raised up just enough to release his flaccid member. She felt some of his seed trickle out as well; a pair of his slacks she would personally have to wash lest he would die of embarrassment. "Daylight isn't so bad is it?" She nuzzled into his neck.
He kissed her forehead, "Shall we begin or end every rehearsal like this?"
She laughed as she adjusted his wig, "We would never get anything done."
"Okay…every few rehearsals." He tilted his head down and gently licked the milk that leaked from her breasts.
Christine looked in the mirror as she adjusted the dress shields over her breasts yet again.
"Angel, if you keep doing that we will be late for our guests," Erik walked up behind her, maskless and wigless and kissed her cheek.
"The dress is already satin and I have a feeling it is going to be tight. I haven't worn in since before I was pregnant. And I am supposed to sing in it."
"You will be beautiful. I will let Anne here finish dressing you," Erik put his wig and mask on, smoothing it out before leaving the room.
Mr. Y stepped out into the hallway, closed his eyes and let the music run through his mind. Several minutes passed before he felt a pair of arms around his thighs, "Papa, I don't want to stay upstairs! Why can't I attend the dinner party?"
"Because it is for adults and will be as boring as hell," Erik ran his fingers through his son's hair.
"But mother is going to sing one of your new songs! I want to hear it!"
"You will hear it plenty soon. I might even teach you how to play it, you've gotten that good."
The dinner party started out perfectly. However, in one simple event the party turned. The dining room door opened and one of the servers walked in and directly to Christine.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Y, but Mary requires your attention. Charlotte needs a feeding."
Christine sighed as she removed her napkin from her lap and stood up, "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, my daughter needs me."
"Nonsense," Mr. Y waved his hands. "Tell Mary she can bring Charlotte here. It is our dining room after all."
The server nodded at Erik and left the room.
"Erik, please, she will disturb everything."
"She's fine as soon as she's nursing."
Mrs. Hunter turned to Christine, "What do you mean you are nursing? Do you not have a wet nurse for that? Your performance schedule makes you too important to be doing such a thing."
"I considered it, but we decided it was important for Charlotte to be with her mother," Christine took a sip of her tea.
"So Mr. Y is a hands on father?" Mr. Hunter chuckled as he looked at Erik. "That's not very mysterious."
The tension building in the room was broken when Mary entered with the crying baby. The Diva pushed her satin bodice down as best she could, as this dress was not designed for nursing, she removed one of her dress guards and Charlotte latched right away.
"She's going to take after her mother and be a singer with those vocal cords," Erik raised his wine glass and took a sip. "But see how correct I was with her being quite as soon as she's nursing. But back to the plans on how to expand the Phantasma stage."
"I would love to see full operas," Mrs. Jones stated. "Your wife clearly has the talent. I read she was once a promising diva back in Paris."
Christine smiled as she adjusted Charlotte, "Daisy you are sweetest, but there is also plenty of promising talent here in New York City."
When she adjusted Charlotte, the blanket she was wrapped in shifted exposing the infants head to the dinner party. Mrs. Hunter, brown eyes wide, gasped, "Good heavens what is wrong with that child!?"
Christine looked down to see all of her daughter's Aplasia Cutis Congenita displayed. She had been doing as Erik desired and had stopped putting Charlotte in the bonnet. Erik kissed her deformities every chance he got, Charlotte smiled more out of the bonnet and Christine came to see them as normal as she saw her husband's face.
All the guests' eyes were now on Charlotte's little head. Christine's cheeks burned as she pulled her daughter closer, "It's a little birth defect, that is all. She is still a perfectly healthy and happy child."
"How can you call that healthy?" Mrs. Jones asked. "The insides of her head are exposed!"
"If she wasn't healthy she would have died at birth!" Christine snapped.
"So is this why you nurse? You couldn't get a wet nurse to look at the thing? Not even a negro?" Mrs. Morgan spoke for the first time in a while.
"Erik, you should have put her up for adoption. Such a talented and lovely family doesn't deserve such tragedy," Mr. Morgan added.
Christine saw the furrowed brow on the good side of her husband's face and knew they were only seconds away from catastrophe. She covered Charlotte back up as best she could if only to muffle his booming voice.
"How dare you mock such a defenseless creature!" he was up from his chair and sent it flying behind him. "You want someone to ridicule, how about the real freak of Phantasma! Behold the truth of the Mysterious Mr. Y!" Erik pulled his mask and wig off. "Yes little Charlotte gets it from her daddy!"
The wives at the table screamed, Mrs. Hunter fainting. "Good God we've been dining with a monster!" Mr. Jones exclaimed.
"How quickly your opinion changes with just the removal of a mask! Do you think your reaction is anything new to me? I however promised my children they would know their parents love unlike me!"
Mr. Hunter was helping his wife to her feet when he looked at Christine, "You left a Viscount for this?"
"I left a Viscount who was a gambling drunk to return to the man I originally loved!" Christine stood up. "And if you are going to keep insulting my husband and our children, you can excuse yourself from our house!"
All the guests shuffled towards the door and out.
"That's right leave! Phantasma doesn't need the support of fair weathers!" Erik turned and yelled as they left.
The dinning room was now silent except for Charlotte's cooing. After a few seconds, Erik grabbed his chair and sunk into it. Face in his hands he spoke, "I am sorry, Christine. I am so sorry. I've ruined us!"
The Soprano said nothing as she adjusted her dress before walking over to her husband. "You haven't ruined us. Your anger for once was justified and you didn't get violent; I'm proud of you for that. And someone else is proud of you for all of it." Christine placed Charlotte into her husband's arms.
The baby smiled and cooed at her father. Erik smiled and laughed before lifting her up to his puffy lips and covering her face in kisses. Christine kissed her husband's head, "Do you still want me to sing for you?"
"No, I want you to sing for our family," Erik stood up. "Go get Gustave. Charlotte and I will meet you in the music room."