"This isn't like you, Erik," Christine was bundled in the blankets of their bed, one side of her georgette nightgown pulled away exposing her breast. Erik was wrapped in her arms gorging himself on her cream. "Where is the man who would be furious his daughter is still with the wet nurse while a grown man sucks at her mother's teat?"
He pulled away, milk dripping down his chin, "If that grown man is me, then it doesn't much matter. Can the celebration not spill into the morning?"
Christine giggled, "Someone goes one night without wearing his mask and suddenly celebrating doesn't stop."
The Phantom frowned, "You were the one who started it but you do not get to decide when I get to stop enjoying the ego boost I got from my bravery." He crawled on top of her, "I could ravish you right in front of them all and they would still only see my face."
"Let's not test that shall we? But if the man who went back to his own party and didn't mind the stares wants to ravish me this morning like he did when we got home last night…" The Diva took her husbands face into her hands and kissed him passionately. Hands and mouths were barely exploring when there was a knock on the door.
"Dada! Dada! Dada!"
Erik pulled away from Christine and put his finger over her lips. The Diva smiled and met his open mouth kiss and he leaned into her.
"Dada! Dada! Dada!"
Parents ignored their daughter for a few more minutes until Erik coaxed a gasp from Christine's mouth when he hit a sensitive spot with his finger.
"Mama! Mama, tell Dada it's important!" Charlotte cried from the other side as soon as she her mother's voice.
"Charlotte, what is the matter?" Gustave's voice was now also heard on the other side of the door.
"Dada's not letting me in! It's important!"
"Come, Charlotte, Mama and Papa will be down later. They are doing important parent things."
"But I'm important parent things!"
"Yes, you are but there are other important parent things too like making us new brothers or sisters!" Gustave yelled towards the door.
Charlotte pounded both fits on the door "Mama, I don't wanna new sister! Dada make her stop!"
Erik could not help but laugh, his erection already deflating. Christine crawled out from under her husband, adjusting her georgette nightgown before running to the door and opening it.
"Goodness, child!" Christine picked Charlotte up and held her tight. "There is no new sister…"
"What about a brother?"
"There are no new siblings. Sometimes Papa and Mama are just sleeping," She carried the girl back into the room and sat on the edge of the bed situating her on her lap, "Gustave just has an active imagination. Isn't that correct?" Christine looked up at her son who lingered in the doorway.
"I'm going back to bed, now that she has your attention," Gustave turned around and went back to his room.
"Now, Charlotte, what is so important?" The Soprano untangled her daughter's fine hair.
"Zebra! Dada promised me a zebra and I still don't have it."
Christine sighed, "Charlotte really? This is what you woke us up for?"
"Yes, Mama! Dada got you dress; I get zebra!"
"Oh darling," Erik turned on his side laughing, "A zebra takes time. I can get you a toy one in the meantime."
The girl's face lit up as she crawled off her mother's lap and cuddled herself right into her father's arms, "I love you, Dada." Her little fingers twirled around sparse locks of hair.
"Erik, you did not…" Christine turned and upon seeing the deformed faces snuggled up against each other cut herself off. Her face melted into a smile. Removing herself from the bed, she covered herself in her dressing robe and slipped on her slippers.
"I'm going to go relieve Mary and let her have the day off,"
Christine headed down the hall and found the wet nurse picking up piles of blocks off the floor.
"Mary, that is not your job," Christine almost scolded the woman.
"You are talking to me, Madame and not the doll right?" The young woman laughed.
The Soprano joined her laugh, "Two maids named Mary and Charlotte's doll. Perhaps I shall number everyone." She lifted the baby from the crib. "Charlotte needs to learn to pick up her own blocks."
"And who is going to teach her that? Your husband? She kept going on about how he is getting her a real zebra she will be able to ride like the one on the merry-go-round and now that you have your dress she needed to remind him. I really tried to keep her here."
Christine adjusted Matilda in her arms as her brows furrowed, "Is that so? Queer how I am only learning about this zebra for the first time this morning." The baby cooed and grabbed at her mother's hair, "Oh what do you have there? Mama's hair?" Matilda giggled as she stuck the hair in her mouth and sucked on it.
"I fed Matilda about an hour ago."
"We greatly appreciate your extra service last night and your next paycheck will reflect it. I however want you to take today off."
"Thank you, Mrs. Y. But before I go, may speak to you?" The woman cupped her hands together in front of her apron.
"Of course," Christine smiled at Mary as she removed Matilda's teething ring from the crib and stuck it in the baby's mouth in place of her hair.
"I am with child and while you and Mr. Y have been the kindest couple I have nursed for, my husband wants me home when this child is born," Mary voice choked.
"Oh, Mary!" Christine embraced the nurse as best she could holding Matilda. "While we will miss you, I am so joyed at your news of a new baby. May you finally be blessed…"
"Yes, yes we hope so," Mary cut her off. "Thank you, Mrs. Y."
"Now go, enjoy your day," Christine carried her daughter back to the master bedroom and closed the door. Drool covered the front of Matilda's night gown and now made a spot on her mother's dressing robe as the baby bit on the teething ring.
The Diva sat down on the bed and looked at her other daughter and husband still cuddled under the covers. Charlotte dozed but Erik smiled as he hummed softly to his daughter.
"So when were you going to tell me about this zebra?" Christine wiped Matilda's face with her robe's sleeve.
"She's asleep," Erik whispered. "We can talk later."
"No we can talk now. You can't just keep doing this; especially without consulting me. She's already becoming difficult; giving into her whims…"
The Phantom sighed, "You cannot keep saying she's like her father and then call her difficult."
"Erik, you know you've been difficult almost your whole life because you always gave into your whims," The Diva snapped at her husband. "I don't want Charlotte behaving the same way just because you feel the need to indulge her because you understand her pain."
Matilda babbled through her teething ring, her free hand still grabbing at her mother's hair.
Erik slowly and gently removed his arms from around Charlotte and sat up, completely meeting his wife's gaze, "Have I not given Gustave everything since the moment I found out he was my son? Do you doubt what I have planned for Matilda? You know I want them to have what I was denied!"
"I know, Angel. But I also know your bond with Charlotte is stronger because of what you share."
He looked down at the sleeping girl, eyes glassy with tears, and ghosted his fingers over her cheek, "I thought it was because she was a girl. Gustave was fine but then Matilda came and all she has is the birthmark." He lifted his hand up and rubbed under the baby's chin, where the port wine birthmark was.
Matilda giggled and instantly dropped her teething ring; preferring to wrap both her little hands around her father's finger.
"I have no control over what my seed does in your womb and now to witness how much I can curse my child...I am so thankful for your womb veil."
One arm wrapped around Matilda to keep her in place on her lap, Christine lifted the other to caress her husband's deformed cheek, "Oh Angel, do not think in such a way. We are blessed. I am sure you noticed upon arriving to America, Gustave was the only child with us. I knew my womb wasn't the issue; even more so now. But at the time, it was a point of frustration since Raoul came from a large family. But as other trouble grew the fact that he at least had a male heir was enough."
Matilda pulled forward and sucked on her father's finger, a string of drool running down from his finger to her nightgown. Erik laughed as he lifted his other hand as he ruffled her hair. "Oh I know we are fortunate in our family, but I am still working on getting through the guilt."
"And you can start by realizing we don't need a zebra."
"But I have plans to get her trained to ride it and do tricks. I want her to have her own show someday here at Phantasma."
"So you want her to gawked at like you were?"
"How can you assume such a thing? I want her to at least choose something that makes her happy; something in which she can control how people look at her." Erik turned his head and looked back at the sleeping child, "We both know the world isn't going to be kind to her, Christine. It is already happening. Phantasma should be her sanctuary; they should be lining up to see her ride and perform…"
"And what if she just wants a pet zebra? What if she has no interest in performing tricks? What if she wants to be an opera singer like her mother?" Christine smiled sheepishly at her husband.
"Or an architect like her father. Have you seen her latest block creations?"
"I have and she needs to learn to pick up after herself," Christine pulled her husband's finger out of Matilda's mouth and wiped the baby's face off with her dressing robe sleeve before returning the teething ring. "She's cannot even clean up blocks; she couldn't even feed a cat, let alone help care for a zebra."
Charlotte stirred, stretching her hands over her head as she yawned. The girl rolled so she was laying on her back looking up at both her parents, "What was this about my zebra?"
That very instant Matilda tossed her teething ring at Charlotte, the silver handle hitting the girl on the cheek. Charlotte threw both her hands over it, rolling into a ball on her side and started crying. The baby giggled and clapped her hands.
"That's not funny, Matilda!" Charlotte cried. "Dada make her stop!"
"Charlotte, you know she didn't mean it," Christine sighed. She handed Matilda to Erik as she stood. "Come on, let's get ready for the day. I will let you take a bath with my rose soap."
Erik arched his good eyebrow at his wife with a smirk. The Diva bit her lip and looked away knowing she was indulging Charlotte just like him.
The girl pushed the covers off and jumped out of the bed, "Your rose soap? The pink one?"
"Yes, the one you love. Go head to your washroom and I will meet you there."
Charlotte was swiftly to the door, opening it and running down the hall, "Rose soap and zebra!"
"I don't want to hear a word from you!" Christine smiled pointing at her husband before heading into their washroom and grabbing a bar of her rose soap and leaving the room.
"Alright Matilda what shall we do for the time…" The Phantom stopped; his nose curling as a foul odor filled the air. Matilda had gone silent and still but now pulled at the hem of her nightgown as her father quickly felt extra warmth and now a squish where she sat on his lap. He lifted her into his arms as gently as he could while exiting the bed, "I guess you decided how we shall pass the time. I cannot believe your mother gave the nurse the whole day off. It's been a while since I've changed a diaper, I hope I do not make this worse."