From his music room above the theatre, Erik tinkered out notes on the grand piano before stopping. He pulled the quill out of the ink well and then marked their spaces on the ledger paper in front of him. While his head was up, he looked out the window. Phantasma's boardwalks seemed fuller than usual. Curious. Dipping the quill back in the inkwell, he headed downstairs and while going through the corridors he saw one of his stage managers on break reading a paper.
"George, have you been out in the park yet?"
"I have sir. Why?"
"It looks busier than usual."
"This might be why," The man flipped back a few pages and then handed it to Erik.
It was Page Six and right at the top read the headline Phantastic Phreaks! Underneath were a few photos: one of Erik holding that reporter in a noose, a blurry one of Christine slapping the photographer and finally a blurry one of Gustave knocking the notepad out of yet another reporter. He moved on to read the article: Turns out Phantasma isn't just a place to have some fun, catch a good show or gawk at the freaks. Anonymous sources say Mr. Y, whose real name is Erik, wears that mask not just for dramatics. Behind it hides grotesque deformities making him a bigger freak than all the ones in his own shows. As for his family, wife renowned opera singer Christine Daae, has been hiding their infant daughter because as our anonymous sources saw she is deformed like her father. Their son seems to be prone to violent outrages just like his father, just like any other freak that belongs in a cage.
Erik crushed the paper in his hands and handed it back to his stage manager.
"They are probably hoping to get a glance of you, sir. And to be honest there are several employees who haven't seen you let alone without your mask."
"Does the park run smoothly without everyone seeing me?"
"Yes, but after everything that happened last year, it would be considerate if everyone knew who you were and that everything is okay now."
"Well if they read the paper, they can find me on page 6! And after the next show tell the girls to stick around; they were off pitch earlier and I'm going to come down and rehearse them again." Mr. Y turned around and stormed back upstairs.
It took a good portion of the morning but Christine finally found herself climbing the stairs of the Jones' brownstone. She turned the doorbell and in a minute a butler answered the door.
"I am here to call on Mrs. Jones," Christine's kid glove covered hand gave the butler her calling card.
He opened the door and let Christine into the foyer. Once all of her dress' train was in he closed the door, "Just a minute Madame. I will see if Mrs. Jones wants to entertain visitors."
Christine removed her gloves and put them in her drawstring purse. She then walked over to the mirror on the wall and tucked in the stray hairs back into her up do.
"Christine!" Mrs. Jones walked up to The Diva smiling and took her hands. "I didn't think I would see you again after that dinner. Come you must be parched. I just ordered high tea, I'll get them to make it for two."
"That would be lovely, thank you," Christine followed the woman into her personal sitting room. She was glad of the warm welcome just as much as she was perplexed at it.
As The Diva sat, Daisy pulled the rope for the servant's bell and a maid came in and was given new instructions for the tea. Mrs. Jones then sat down beside her guest, "Do not say a word, I know exactly why you are here. I saw the dreaded thing myself. The Hunters and Morgans asked if we wanted to go to papers to expose Mr. Y for what he was." She took Christine's hands again, "We told them we couldn't. We were more than donors; we were friends with Mrs. Y, and Mr. Y had his good days. I was surprised they waited that long to question you about it. And we were terrible friends. We behaved at appallingly your dinner party. We did not think twice about insulting your daughter or your husband. Can you ever forgive us?"
Christine smiled warmly, "I know I can forgive you. Mr. Y might not be so accommodating. The world has been so cruel to him. It took him some time to even show me his masked face. However, a nice donation to the theatre would go far as a start."
Daisy laughed, "Oh but of course. We were still planning on it. I will ask Howard to double it."
The door to the sitting room opened and Mrs. Jones' oldest daughter, a girl around the age of 14 entered the room, "Mother, Sara has hid my favorite hat pin and will not tell me where! She is also not telling Miss O'Leary. How am I to go to the ice cream parlor without it?"
"Jonathan is going to be there isn't he, Rose?" Daisy folded her hands in her lap and looked sternly at her daughter.
"Mother you know Jonathan always meets us when we go to the ice cream parlor. How can I face him if my outfit is not complete?"
Christine watched love struck girl's banana curls bounce for a second before speaking up, "He clearly likes you for something beside your hat pin doesn't he?"
The girl paused for a second, "Yes but his aunt also likes the pin and she's his chaperon."
"So this is what this is about." Mrs. Jones pushed some stray blonde hair out of her eyes, "Tell Sara if she does not give it back, she will not get to go along with you and Miss O'Leary."
The girl smiled and gave her mother a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you, mother!" She was out of the door faster than she was in.
"Oh Christine, you just saved us all so much time," Daisy sighed with relief. This hat pin hiding has become a dreadful exercise of Sara's. I believe she does not like her sister being sweet on Jonathan."
"They are still young, hopefully it is just a little summer sweetheart and soon Sara will have her sister back."
A servant brought in a tea cart and started putting together plates for the women before leaving them to themselves again.
"Oh how can you say such a thing, Christine?" Daisy poured a cup of tea for both of them. "Clearly your heart cannot be so filled with love for your husband that you do not have some fond memories for your childhood sweetheart?"
Christine lifted her cup to her mouth and took a sip, looking away from her friend.
"Christine?"
The Soprano sat her cup down, "Daisy, Raoul was my childhood sweetheart! He came back into my life just as I was falling in love with Erik. Erik gave me back my voice after my father had died. His training was making me a star at the Opera Populaire. Then Raoul heard me sing at my debut."
"Oh, well all the more reason we need to donate to your husband's theatre and to work against that vile Page Six gossip." She watched as her friend ate a sandwich. "What if I was to get together another group of people to invest? Bring them to one of your performances. Have them meet you after the show. Then set a separate time my husband and I could come over and give Mr. Y the check and still get a listen to one of those new songs he's been working on?"
Christine smile sheepishly into her tea cup, "I will see if I can soften him."
The sun was starting to set when Christine opened the front door, a frantic Mr. Y grabbed her arms.
"Where have you been? Mary said you pumped into a bottle for her to feed Charlotte from for the day and then went into the city without saying why!"
"Erik, I'm fine!" She wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed his exposed cheek. "You know how long it takes to get to and from Manhattan from here."
"I was so worried did you see Page Six? I thought someone might have stalked and accosted you over it!"
She ran her fingers up through his wig, "You worried someone might be better at stalking and accosting me than you?" She laughed.
"Christine, please," He ran his hand down the side of her face stopping on her throat, caressing it softly. "These people are out here to ruin us!"
"Well then you will be excited to hear my news!"
"Is that mother?" Gustave came out of the parlor with a crying Charlotte in his arms. "She finished all the milk you left. I think she has to be hungry; Papa already changed her diaper."
Christine took her daughter from her son and headed into the parlor. She sat down on the couch within a few seconds Charlotte was silent, sucking intensely at Christine's left breast. Erik walked in and sat down beside his wife.
"What is this exciting news you had for me, love?"
"After I saw the Page Six, I had to call on Daisy. I had to know if she was part of it or not. She wasn't. She said the Hunters and Morgans asked if they wanted to be sources as well but they couldn't bring themselves to be cruel to us. She even apologized for her behavior at the dinner party and to make up for it they are wanting to double their original promised donation!" She smiled at her husband. "Isn't that wonderful?"
Erik looked down at Gustave packing up the wooden blocks. He then looked over at Charlotte content as she filled her belly, her chubby little hand grabbing at her mother's teat. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His jaw clinched, his hand formed fists. He sat that way for a good minute or two. He finally released his breath and muscles as he stood, "I will believe the donation when I see it. Gustave, when you finish that, get your books and go read in the library." He then headed out of the parlor and down the hall.
"Is Papa okay?" Gustave looked up at his mother.
Christine smiled, "Yes, Gustave, Papa is more than okay."