CHARLES

"Why won't she talk to me? She acts as if I am the most repulsive person she's ever met..." Gabe lamented about Millie four days before Christmas, as I tried to finish some designs.
"Well you are pretty repulsive..." I laughed, measuring the width of an arch. He threw a pillow at me.
"Thanks..." He retorted and I shrugged, looking at him. I pushed my work away and stood.
"Well, well, well...somebody has their knickers in a twist." I teased him, punching him in the arm. "She thinks you're a womanizer..." I said and his mouth dropped.
"She said that?" He asked and I nodded.
"That's what Maddie told me." He ran a hand through his light blonde hair.
"Funny..." He muttered, sitting in one of my chairs. "I always thought if she could see I was confident she would like...nevermind." He said.

"She agreed to go Gabe, isn't that enough?" I asked him, looking toward the door when I heard Maddie's voice down the hall.
"Yes...I suppose that's all I'll ever get from her." He sighed, and I had to chuckle. I'd never seen him torn up over a woman, especially Millie. They had been best friends two years ago and now it seemed as if she couldn't stand the sight of him. I'd heard people whispering about her now and then, but they always stopped when they noticed him. Some said she had fallen in love with her teacher, some said they had simply slept together, but I didn't believe it for a moment. I knew Camille too well.
"What do you want from her, Gabe? Do you have feelings for her?" I asked him, serious now. He shrugged.

"I don't know Charles...she was always just this kid hanging around. Kind of a pest, but now...she's a woman and...well, have you seen her?" I half smiled, but jokingly cringed.
"Yes I've seen her and normally, I don't find women I am related to attractive..." I said and he looked at me exasperated.
"You know what I meant. She's grown up...she's...lovely." He said and I had to admit, I'd never seen Gabe like this over a woman...I knew he was no stranger to women, but he'd never become attached to any of them. A year back, when she had taken some time off of school, she'd come to Paris for a bit, but Gabe had hardly noticed in his efforts to court every available woman in Paris. When they had both been at my birthday, I could see the admiration in his eyes.

"Just be yourself Gabe...I mean, don't pull a comedy routine because it doesn't work with Millie. Be the man she used to be able to confide in. I didn't know you had...feelings for her." I said, feeling a bit of regret for neglecting my friend lately. He smiled.
"Well, you've been a bit busy with your own feelings lately, Charles." He laughed at me as my head snapped up when I heard Maddie laughing, but he turned serious when he caught his reflection in the mirror.
"Do you think my face has something to do with it?" He asked, touching the scars on his cheek. I looked at him in disbelief.
"Gabe...since when has Millie been shallow? It's not even half bad..." I told him. It wasn't. It simply looked like a small fraction of his cheek under his eye had been burned a bit severely. His eye wasn't affected by it, nor was the rest of his face. "There are people far more disfigured than you..."

Gabe sighed.
"I know...sometimes it just bothers me, you know? It doesn't hurt, I don't feel any different than anyone else, but I know they look. Some people even avoid me like a pestilence, they pull their children closer as I walk by. Maybe I should go back to wearing the stupid mask." I winced thinking of that horrid thing. It covered almost half of his face, making it hard for him to eat, blink and even smile.
"God no...that thing is awful...trust me...it's not even that bad. Something happened to Millie Gabe...I think that's what has been troubling her." He nodded.
"I've heard the stories...disgusting, and I don't believe a word of it. Camille wouldn't seduce an engaged man..." He stood from where he was sitting, "She deserves so much more...maybe I am a bit old for her?" He said and I chuckled.

"It's twelve years Gabe, not thirty. Age shouldn't matter...my father was five years older than Mother." He sighed again, and I went back to my desk to finish the lining of the arch I had been working on.
"I'd like to know exactly what happened with that teacher..." Was his response and he was answered by a lovely calm voice at the door.
"Maybe you should ask her yourself..." I turned to see Madeleine standing there, every inch the angel in a beige dress, her hair pulled softly back in a way my mother often wore her hair. I must have been standing there with my mouth hanging open because Gabe and Maddie were both looking at me as if I were sick.
"Y-you look...you look..." I stuttered and she rolled her eyes waving me off with a nervous laugh.
"Thanks...Therese got a hold of me." She said dryly, leaning against the door frame. Even Gabe was smiling as he looked at her. She turned back to Gabe.

"Do you know what happened to her?" He asked, Maddie and she nodded.
"She told me yesterday...but I don't think it's my story to tell..." She added and his face fell. "I can tell you it was a big misunderstanding." He sighed at her words.
"Thank you..." He said, touching Maddie's shoulder.
"It's nothing...you really do care for her..." She said, as if the concept of romance were foreign to her.
"I do...but she doesn't feel the same..." He said, and she turned his face to look at her, as maybe a mother would do for her hurting child.
"Have you asked her? Have you even discussed it?" She asked and he shook his head.
"I'm scared...I don't know how." He admitted and I ran a hand through my hair.

"Just speak from your heart Gabriel...my mother used to say that..." She said, touching her neck as if to feel her locket sadly. He grinned.
"My mother says that too." He hugged Maddie quickly before coming to me to give me a quick pat on the back.
"Thanks you two..." He said and grinned mischievously, "You two make quite the pair..." He said, laughing and left the room. Maddie's face had gone red as she stuttered,
"I-I...I have to...I'm just..."
"Hungry?" I finished for her and she nodded, touching her pink cheek embarrassed.

After we'd eaten, I had to head over to Granny Giry's flat to help her clean out some old clothes before Christmas. Some were Mother and Aunt Meg's old clothes, some were male clothes, presumably her late husband's. I never pried, it wasn't my place.
"Would you like to come?" I asked Madeleine who smiled.
"Actually I would, I miss Madame Giry, she hasn't been around the opera lately." I gave her a light blue winter cloak with a hood that my mother had only worn once or twice and a pair of her gloves.
"You don't need to become ill..." I explained, "I thought it might be nice to take the open carriage in the snow and all that." Her face lit up as I led her out and helped her into the ready carriage, pulling a fur blanket over our laps.

I told our driver, Martin, where we were headed and he gave me a nod and Maddie a small smile. He was Therese's husband, and a good man at that. They had two grown children who lived outside of Paris...a lovely warm family. I dared to put my arm around Maddie, to provide extra warmth for her in the snow, and to my surprise, she didn't pull away. I think it surprised her too, because she looked up at me with a bit of fear in her eyes, but I smiled at her.
"Relax...it's cold." I said and she seemed to sigh in relief. We sat the rest of the ride in silence, but at one point, she seemed to lay her head on my shoulder and I took in the scent of her hair which smelled sort of like apples. When we arrived at the small flat, I got out first and helped her down, lifting her by her waist.
"Thank you..." She said and I told Martin we should be ready in about three hours. He smiled at me and nodded at Maddie before leaving.

"Charles! Madeleine?" Granny Giry said, surprised to see us and pulling us out of the snow. "You're here together?" She asked, hiding a smirk and I nodded. She led us up into an old bedroom and gestured toward the piles of clothes that were everywhere.
"Raising two girls, and having a husband leaves you with this..." She laughed, covering her mouth as she coughed a bit. I frowned at the sound of her cough, but let it go as she said,
"Throw away the clothes that are past repair...but keep some...I want to donate them." She left us then as we began to rifle through the clothes. Most of them were much past their peak, but some were still wearable. I came across a ballet costume that closely resembled those that the ballerinas had worn during Hannibal. Dust flew as we picked up the old clothes, making us sneeze every so often. A few clothes were so old fashioned, we had to laugh.

Finally, we had the clothes around the room situated into separated piles, one to throw away and one for donating. All that was left was the tiny closet. I pulled the old doors open, revealing many fine tailored suits.
"Oh my..." Maddie said, admiring the fabric. "These must have cost a fortune..." She said, and I nodded, confused.
"With the salary of ballet dancers...especially when Granny Giry was the prima ballerina, there's no way that she and Philippe could have afforded these..." I said, picking up the sleeve of one.
"They're lovely though, it would be a shame to see them thrown away and in such good condition." She sighed and I nodded. They were impressive. Some were fine velvet, with gold threading...some were silk. I filed through them until I saw something piled on the floor.
"What is that?" I said, pointing to it and Maddie shrugged.
"It must have fallen off of the hanger." It was hard to see what color it was, purple maybe, in the dark room. I crouched to pick it up and gasped at what fell out into my lap. A mask. Obviously modeled after a skull...