Chapter 19-The Truth Shall Come Out
Emilie sat on her bed panting from her mad dash up the stairs. She tried to fan herself to keep from sweating while trying to catch her breath for when her father came in she wanted to look natural. At the sound of his footsteps in the hall, she quickly reached over to her nightstand and grabbed a book opening it up and pretending to read.
There was a soft knock at the door and it opened to reveal her father who had discarded his suit jacket and stood casually in his vest and white shirt.
"Hello Emilie." He said walking into the room.
"Hello Father." She answered not looking up and pretending to be absorbed in her book.
"I was wondering if you would like to take a walk with me." He said stepping into the room and walking over to the window looking out at the ocean. She closed her book and replied,
"Of course." He touched his mask adjusting it a little and smoothed his hands down his wig. It was something that Emilie was used to growing up, her father wore a mask, but Emilie or her brother were never allowed to question it or what was underneath. She thought back to the first time Jean-Claude found out who her father was, and she remembered that the thought of a man wearing a mask as her father made him feel quite uncomfortable.
Slipping into her shoes, she put her hat back on and walked out of the room with her father following behind her. Walking down the back stairs and into the kitchen, she saw her mother come out of the study and give her a wink as she followed her father out the back door. Whenever her father wanted to talk about anything important to any one of the family members, he always went on a walk down the beach.
The two walked side by side silent for a few moments until Erik finally broke the silence.
"I know you're in love with that boy Jean…" Erik trailed off forgetting the rest of his name.
"Claude." Emilie finished for him.
"Yes, him. How do you know that you are in love with him and that he is in love with you?" Erik asked her. Emilie always wondered the answer to that question. Her parents had respect for each other; she never once heard them argue unless it was behind closed doors. But they never really truly showed affection, at least not in front of her and her brother.
"How did you know that you loved Mother and she loved you?" Emilie turned the question back on him. Erik was surprised by her question and thinking back to the past, he could answer how he knew that he loved Christine, but he couldn't answer how he knew that she loved him because he practically tormented her into loving him. Looking out into the ocean he started to say,
"Your mother and I, we had a long history." He stopped with that and sat down on the sand taking in a deep breath and continued to stare out into the ocean as the sun began to dip into the western sky.
Emilie stood still for a moment, taking in the uncomfortable silence. But soon, curiosity took over and she wanted her father to tell her everything. Because when it came to her parents, she knew nothing about their past relationship. And most of all, she wanted to know after all these years what was behind the mask. Sitting down next to him, she took his hand and said,
"Father, I have been dying to know for years about you and Mother. Can you please tell me?" He looked down into the sand and began making lines in it with his finger.
"I don't know Emilie. It's not the most pleasant story, it's not a story you read in one of your fairytale books and your mother and I agreed a long time ago that we would never discuss it in front of you or your brother." Emilie didn't understand and wrinkled her forehead in confusion. What could possibly be so horrible about a love story?
"I guess I don't understand." She said quietly, looking away disappointed. Her disappointment struck an agitated nerve in Erik. Feeling his blood pressure rising, he tried really hard to remain calm for he never truly showed his full blown temper to his children. Taking another deep breath, he replied,
"Emilie it's just not that simple."
"Please Father, you and I never have major talks and I want to be closer to you and I want to know about you and Mother. I want to know what it is that has made your love last this long and make it last even longer."
"I don't know how to answer to that. Nobody knows how long anything could last."
"But Father, you do. Please just tell me the story." Looking into her pleading eyes he opened his mouth as if to start to say something and looked back away,
"I'm sorry, but I just can't." Standing up and making his way back to the house, he looked back and said,
"If being with that boy makes you happy, then so be it. But I want him to come over so I can get to know him better than just the boy who sells me hardware when I need it." Emilie nodded and he continued walking back to the house. Pulling her knees up to her chin, she continued to stare into the ocean wondering what could possibly be so terrible that she couldn't know the love story of her own parents.
Erik slammed the screen door from the back porch and walked heavily into the kitchen. Seeing it empty with water boiling on the stove, he made his way into the front room where Christine was sitting by the window knitting a blanket. Knitting was her favorite pastime, it was something she learned when she was pregnant with their son. Seeing the disgruntled look on Erik's face she placed her project down and asked,
"What's the matter? I thought your talk was going to be pleasant."
"So did I." He said sinking into an armchair next to her.
"What happened?"
"She wants to know our story." Christine felt a little pang in her chest as her heart began to beat rapidly.
"What did you tell her?" She asked quietly.
"I didn't tell her anything." Erik replied and continued,
"I couldn't tell her. We agreed we wouldn't tell them the truth, but she kept asking me questions and pushing for answers and I'm sure she knows by my reaction that it is not a good story."
Emilie walked up to the screen door and could hear her father's voice talking to her mother. She quietly opened the door and stepped inside as quietly as she could. She walked over to the archway to listen to what they were saying.
"Erik, we knew that one day they would begin to ask questions. We can't hide the truth from them forever."
"What am I supposed to tell her Christine?! The only man in her life, her own tormented her mother into marrying her father? That I was a jealous, monstrous beast who would stop at nothing to get what I didn't deserve?!" Her father was shouting now, and Emilie never really heard him shout, unless it was behind a closed door and her mother was shouting back. But this was different; she tried to understand the words he used, tormented, and jealous, monstrous beast? What did all of this mean? She listened more trying to make even more sense out of this whole thing.
Christine remained quiet for a moment while he stood up taking in short, shallow breaths.
"Erik, relax. Listen, things have changed. You and I both know that things are not what they once were between us. I wish I wasn't so naïve and stupid all those years ago and knew what I know now, that you gave me the world, two wonderful children, a beautiful house and a loving husband. I couldn't see all of that back then, I was blinded by what I thought was love for Raoul and all I could see was the face behind the mask. I was too blind to see the meaning of true love which has nothing to do with how someone looks. If you want to know, at this point in my life, I think you are the most handsomest of all men and I don't care what anyone else thinks, but because of who you have become, I couldn't live another day without you. We were meant to be together, forever. And if she wants to know, she is mature enough now to be able to handle the truth, because the truth is what brought us into the relationship we have now, the strongest bond a man and wife could ever have, the love we have now." Erik stood silent, not knowing how to respond. His wife had never said anything like that before. He continued to stare at her and suddenly fell to his knees. Putting his hands on her knees he said,
"You have never said that to me before. I have waited my entire life to hear those words." She put her hands on top of his head and replied,
"That is exactly how I feel and whomever our daughter marries, I want her to feel the same exact way about her husband. But she has to know that nobody is perfect, and people change with time. She has to know the truth Erik."
"I don't want her to know the truth about me." He said burying his face in her lap.
"Oh dear, our daughter loves her father and she needs her father now more than ever. We can talk to her together. I did things I'm not proud of either, so we both have to be honest, no more living an unspoken lie."
Emilie peeked around the corner to see her mother's head on top of her father's as they both cried quietly with one another. She didn't understand the story, but she knew it had to be unpleasant, and it had something to do with the white mask her father always wore. She had to prepare herself for what would be the biggest news of her life.