"Mlle. Daaé? May I speak with you for a moment?"
Christine followed the sound of her employer's voice to his office apprehensively.
"Do sit down," he offered, nodding to a chair that faced his desk. She perched uneasily on the edge of the seat, twisting her hands together as she thought of all the bad things that he could possibly tell her.
"I know you've noticed that the flow of customers has decreased remarkably recently. We've never turned a large profit, but for the past few monts whe've been steadily losing money."
He sighed and rubbed his forehead with the pads of his fingers, and Christine noticed that his hair had gotten increasingly grayer. Wrinkles lined his eyes and crossed his forehead. She could tell that these tough times had been very hard on him.
"I hate to have to do this, I really do. But I'm afraid I have to close the shop. I can't afford to rent out the place anymore, and at the close of this month it will be for sale again. Finish the orders you currently have, but we won't be taking anymore. I apologize for the short notice Mlle. Daaé. I wish I could have notified you sooner, but I hadn't realized the severity of our circumstances until late.
Christine forced a smile back on her face. "No need to apologize, sir. I know this must be very hard on you. Please let me know if there is anything else you need me to help you with."
"I will. Thank you for your understanding."
She nodded and left the room with a polite curtsey. It was not until she returned to the privacy of her sewing room that she was able to crumple in her chair in defeat. Once again, she was out of a job. She had known for a while now that they were not turning as much of a profit as they used to, what with the two new tailors shops that opened oonly a few blocks down, but she hadn't imagined it would come to this. She begrudgingly threaded her needle and commenced taking the pair of slacks that lay before her.
Glancing at the pile of clothes next to her, she estimated that it would take a few more hours to get through it all. That gave her a bit of time to summon the courage to tell Erik. She knew that once she told him he would be quite adamant about moving and returning to the stage. There really wasn't much to hold her back here anymore, she did love the city but she was also yearning for a change. As beautiful and lively as Paris was, it held so many painful memories. Maybe leaving was not such a bad idea, after all. She did still have fears of Erik leaving her, but at the same time she wanted to trust him. The thought of how much time they would be able to spend together made her heart race excitedly, and she felt herself blushing as she thought about him.
He was already at her flat when she returned from work, weary and dreading telling him the news. His back was to her as he boiled at pot of water and pulled the tin of tea leaves from the cabinet above him.
"How was your day?" he asked her as she kicked off her shoes.
"Eventful," she replied truthfully. "You?"
His eyes bored into her as he turned around, searching for a fuller answer. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, ignoring her inquiry.
"Mr. Murray delivered some news," she said carefully. He raise an eyebrow. "He's closing the shop."
He opened his mouth, but closed it again. She could tell he was contemplating what the best thing to say would be. "Ah," he responded shortly.
"I finished my work today, and I'll go back in tomorrow to tie up the loose ends. But as of now, I am unemployed."
She could tell he wanted to bring up moving as he handed her a cup of tea silently, but he didn't say anything, so she brought forward the elephant in the room.
"I think—I think I'd like to move and get started on the stage again.
He was unable to hide the happiness in his eyes or the way the visible side of his lip tilted upwards. "Do you?"
"Yes," she returned firmly, feeling more sure of herself as the words left her mouth. "I think I'm ready."
That was all it took, and Erik was already discussing the multiple countries they could move to, telling her the pros and cons of each, and describing the most famous operas of each. After a lengthy discussion they decided on Spain. It was be a short journey and they would not need to go by boat—which pleased Erik; they could travel more privately by train.
She saw a glimmer of excitement in his golden eyes. His enthusiasm was present in his voice as well; the vivacity with which he spoke was not typical of him, and she felt it rubbing off on her as she listened to him speak. She started to smile as he spoke of the exotic Spanish culture, their beautiful language, unique culture, and exquisite food, and most importantly, of the opera house there. She hadn't remembered seeing him so impassioned about something in such a long time; and his exctitement was like that of a child gazing longingly at the presents beneath the fir tree on Christmas morning. It was quite endearing to see this side of Erik which she had never quite gotten a glimpse of.
AN: I doubt that any of my original readers are still here, but if you are, I apologize for the months that I left you hanging! Some personal things came up and I lost my desire to write and I was unsatisfied with everything that I did manage to write. Expect regular updates from now on-although we're almost through with this story. Sorry that this chapter is a little short, but I decided to merge the last half of this chapter with another since it flows better. Thanks for reading, and again, I'm so sorry for the wait!