I know, I know, it took me a long tome to write this chapter, but I needed to get a lot of information in, and in a way it is only a transitory chapter, which meant lack of inspiration, aka writer's block.

But the good news is that I now know exactly what will happen in the future and I am excited about it.

Thank you all once again for your continued support despite the long wait for a new chapter and keep in mind that these characters do not belong to me.

Chapter 18 – Farewell and new beginnings

The next morning Christine had no rehearsals on her schedule, so she met with her aunt to help her pack. Aunt Ingrid would leave the day after and thus the two women were planning to spend as much time together as possible before her departure.

Aunt Ingrid once again congratulated Christine on her fantastic performance. „I knew you could sing wonderfully," she said, „but I had no idea you were such a gifted actress as well! You portrayed this Norma-woman to perfection, that song to the moon goddess at the beginning was so … so ethereal and otherworldly, and the rest, her scenes with Adalgisa and the final scene with Pollione, one could really feel with her."

She side-glanced at Christine. Had the latter understood that she was referring to Norma's clearly palpable jealousy of Adalgisa and her obvious willingness to forgive Pollione? That she was implying that those feelings, this jealousy and this forgiveness had been genuine, that that had not really been acting?

"Erik helped me with the part," Christine explained, "we went through all these scenes together during our lessons..."

Aunt Ingrid nodded. "He certainly seems to be very knowledgeable about music," she agreed, "and very talented as well. And you say he also designed the sets and costumes? He really is a genius!"

Christine smiled. "You can tell him so yourself tonight," she informed her aunt. "Erik would like you to join us again this evening at the rehearsal room. He wants to see you again before you leave, I think it has something to do with the fact that your idea practically saved our opening night, and he has also been working on a letter for Madame Giry."

Aunt Ingrid promised to be there. She wanted very much to see Erik again.

Xxxx

In the afternoon Christine and Anna Lena worked with Giulio on the blocking of act I. To their relief he had his part memorized really well and they liked his voice a lot.

"I will rehearse the final scene with you as well, once you have studied the singing," Christine promised.

"And Ingrid's understudy Marietta is also looking forward to doing that scene with you. Just keep working, we all have faith in you," Anna Lena chimed in. "You will see, once you take over, the audience will love you!"

"Really?" Giulio did not seem convinced. "I saw the opening night, signor Planchet was terrific, I am nowhere near as good!"

"You are different," Christine tried to encourage him. "You will bring other qualities to the role than he did, a more youthful approach for instance."

Giulio stared at her. Had she just implied that she thought the boss was kind of old? When he had watched her with Planchet during the opening night performance he would have sworn these two were pretty taken with each other.

"By the way, what are you going to sing at the concert next Sunday?" Anna Lena interrupted his train of thinking. "Pollione's aria?"

Giulio grinned. "I will also sing 'Ecco ridente in cielo', count Almaviva's entrance number from Rossini's Barbiere di Siviglia," he told them. "I sang it at the audition. I would love to perform that whole play one day!"

Christine and Anna Lena assured him that they were looking forward to hearing him sing this particular song and told him once again that they had absolute faith in him, that they were convinced he would do great.

Xxx

In the evening, Christine and her aunt met with Erik at the rehearsal room. Christine brought her letter to Meg, plus an envelope she had addressed to Madame Giry for Erik's letter to his old friend. She had also written a short note to the ballet mistress, explaining to her that Meg only knew that she was performing somewhere in Italy, but had no idea where exactly she was – and who she was working for.

Once the ladies arrived at the rehearsal room, Christine showed Erik what she had written to Madame, then asked him to put his own letter in a blank envelope and then together with her own note into the envelope she had prepared for Madame Giry. That way, Madame would be warned not to open Erik's letter in Meg's presence, since the latter would certainly recognize his very characteristic handwriting and it was probably for the best to keep certain facts from the bubbly young ballerina.

Aunt Ingrid smiled as she watched the two of them dealing with the letters and envelopes. They were so comfortable around each other, so relaxed.

Once Christine and Erik had sealed the envelopes, aunt Ingrid put the letters into her big purse and promised to mail them to the Girys as soon as she would be home in Sweden.

Then they talked about the opening night. Erik thanked aunt Ingrid once again for the ingenious idea that had allowed him to perform and thus had saved the premiere.

"You are always welcome to visit again," he promised her. "There will always be free tickets for you, no matter how long you will stay."

Erik also regretted that mamma Ingrid could not stay for the concert on the weekend, but she had planned her stay long before the concert had been arranged, and thus it would have been too complicated to change room reservations as well as train tickets and to inform the neighbor at home who was taking care of her animals during her absence of her new arrival date.

"But maybe we can give mamma an idea of what the concert will be like," Christine suggested. "We should probably go through my new aria again anyway!"

Erik nodded. "Although I am sure you are already perfect at it, we can certainly perform it for your aunt now," he agreed and sat down at the piano.

"This was written by Donizetti, a contemporary of Bellini, the composer who wrote Norma," Erik explained to aunt Ingrid. "It is from an opera called Lucia di Lammermoor, the so-called madness scene. Lucia has been made to believe that her fiancé is unfaithful so that she would agree to a strategic marriage that would benefit her brother. Unfortunately, the fiancé appears the moment she has signed the marriage contract and accuses her of infidelity. This, combined with the fact that she is now bound to another causes her to lose her mind. She kills her new husband and reappears at the wedding party, completely insane. She will later die of a broken heart and her beloved will kill himself at these news."

"Oh my God," aunt Ingrid exclaimed. "Are all these operas so extremely dramatic?"

"Some of them are," Erik informed her, "but there are also some really good comedies among them. I had originally planned Lucia di Lammermoor to be our next production, which is why I recently asked Christine to learn that particular scene, but I would really need Carlo for this one."

"Speaking of Carlo," Christine chimed in, "have you heard from him?"

Erik smiled. "Carlo is moving in tomorrow," he announced. "He is very sorry about the problems his accident caused us, and is eager to study his part in the Romeo and Juliet opera. He will have a day or two to settle in before the sheet music arrives and we can start rehearsals. I asked Ricordi to send it by express mail."

"Oh, you must have been really busy today," Christine exclaimed. "Is that why you did not attend our rehearsal with Giulio?"

Erik nodded. "If we want to get started on the next production as soon as possible, I really could not spare the time to sit in on the rehearsal. I also had to work on the playbill for the concert and a few other things. But I knew I can rely on your judgment. So, what do you think? Will Giulio be ready soon?"

Christine nodded. "All he needs to learn now is the final scene. He has studied the first act really well and the blocking was no problem for him. Acting comes to him naturally. Anna Lena and I were very pleased with his performance."

Aunt Ingrid smiled at this conversation between Christine and Erik. These two really seemed a match made in heaven, they managed to make even such a discussion of today's work sound intimate.

Finally Erik started to play and Christine performed the "mad scene" for her aunt, who was very impressed and once again regretted that she could not stay for the concert.

Then it was time to say good-bye, since it was getting really late.

"Will you walk me to the bead-and-breakfast, Erik?" aunt Ingrid asked. "I would feel more comfortable at such a late hour with a male escort."

And as Erik nodded, she turned to Christine. "You will see me off at the train station tomorrow morning, will you not, min flicka?" (=my girl)

Christine confirmed that she would meet her aunt in the morning and accompany her to the train station for a final farewell.

"Make sure she arrives safely at the bead-and-breakfast," Christine whispered to Erik, then went off to her own room.

Erik quickly put on his lifelike mask, then offered aunt Ingrid his arm.

They walked quietly for a few minutes, then aunt Ingrid began to speak. "I wanted a chance to talk to you in private again min son," she said.

Erik nodded, he had suspected as much. And truth be told, he had hoped for such an opportunity as well.

"I live in a little village in the midst of nowhere," aunt Ingrid began. "I was not really aware of how risky it is for an unchaperoned young woman like Christine to travel around Europe. If I had known that I would not have let her go to Italy and look for a job on her own. Fortunately, she made it here safely, and I am glad she found you here, for I can count on you that you will keep her safe, right?"

"Christine means more to me than my life," Erik assured her. "I will protect her and be there for her in any way I can, be it by keeping her true identity a secret or by making sure she is not subject to unwanted attention by slimy patrons," he promised.

Aunt Ingrid smiled. "I know, my boy," she said, "I just wanted to tell you that I have utter faith in you, that I know I can trust you with my girl's safety and well-being."

She paused. "There is something else I wanted to tell you. Christine does care for you more than she seems to admit to herself. Therefore be patient with her. Even though she has forgiven you for what happened way back when in Paris, I am not sure she has quite figured out yet what kind of feelings she has for you. Don't rush things, go slow in your courtship, give her time. She will realize her true feelings for you eventually."

Erik sighed. "Are you sure she … I mean.. I know we are friends again, but...?" He stopped, unsure of how to phrase his doubts.

Aunt Ingrid nodded. "I am a hundred percent certain," she reassured him. "I already suspected as much when she was home in Sweden with me, the way she talked – or did not talk - about "her teacher" gave her away. But now that I have seen the two of you together, I have absolutely no doubts whatsoever. My girl is deeply in love with you, whether she admits it to herself or not."

"I wish I were as certain about it as you are," Erik whispered.

"You will find out in time that I am right," aunt Ingrid continued, "and then, when she is ready to admit her love for you, tell her everything you have told me. It may be a shock for her at first, you must be prepared for that. But you know, I am a hopelessly romantic person, I do believe that love will remain victorious. It may take her a little while to accept your past, don't be discouraged if she seems to reject you at first after your confession. She will come around, for she needs you as much as you need her."

They had reached their destination by now. Aunt Ingrid hugged Erik and whispered in his ear, "you know that I will be awaiting letters from you as well, my boy!" Then she quickly entered the bead-and-breakfast, so that their farewell would not turn into a teary-eyed scene in public.

Erik stared after her. She had hugged him and she wanted him to write to her! She truly seemed to have adopted him into her family.

"I hope you are right about Christine," he whispered, then slowly turned and walked home.

Xxxx

The next morning, Christine met with her aunt at the bread-and-breakfast so that the two of them could get to the train station together.

"I need to talk to you," aunt Ingrid said, while putting her nightgown and toiletries into her already packed suitcase and shutting it. "About Erik," she added.

Christine was not particularly surprised. She had guessed the night before that her aunt had wanted to talk to Erik. Surely her mamma would now tell her about this conversation she had had with Erik?

"I am glad the two of you have made peace with each other," aunt Ingrid began. "And I think you have forgiven him for whatever happened in Paris over two years ago. I also think that the two of you have a good working relationship and that you are very close … friends."

Christine felt her cheeks turn hot at the implication of closeness between her and Erik. Once again she was overwhelmed by the memory of their two kisses... and she once again tried to imagine what it would feel like if Erik kissed her now – if he initiated a kiss...

Aunt Ingrid was satisfied with Christine's reaction to her carefully chosen words. The girl was obviously already more than halfway there to admitting to herself that she loved Erik.

"Erik has told me a lot about his past," aunt Ingrid continued. "Most of it terrible. He has promised me that he will tell you all of it as well in the foreseeable future. You need to know it, so that your … friendship can grow, since any relationship must be built upon trust. Once he tells you, keep in mind that it is the highest proof of his trust to share with you everything from his troubled past, everything that has made him into the man he is today."

Christine raised an eyebrow. "What are you trying to tell me, mamma?" she asked.

"To keep in mind that the past is the past," aunt Ingrid explained. "And that the future can and will be different and much brighter."

"I do not think I understand," Christine murmured.

"You will, once the time is right," her aunt reassured her. "And I have promised Erik that you will eventually understand."

The two women hugged, then Christine picked up her aunt's suitcase and they made their way to the train station.

Xxxxx

When Christine met Erik for their lesson that same night, to her surprise he held a rather large basket in his hands.

"I thought...," Erik began nervously, "I mean we have not had time yet... to celebrate." He glanced at her. "I … the opening night... our success... and …"

He summoned all his courage and continued, "you did forgive me?"

Christine hugged him. "Of course I have forgiven you for everything that happened in Paris," she reassured him. "I don't know exactly when it happened, but I suddenly realized that these events do not matter to me anymore, that we are friends again like we were when I still thought of you as my Angel of Music. I was not quite sure you had guessed as much and thought that the opening night would be the perfect situation to let you know."

Erik beamed. She had just hugged him! And not on the scene, where it could be interpreted as acting!

"Then we have to celebrate our renewed friendship as well," he explained, pointing to the basket. "I thought we could skip our lesson tonight and have a moonlight picnic instead."

Christine's face lit up! Had Erik just suggested a very romantic, intimate outing? Was he trying to court her properly, the way she had always wanted to be courted? And maybe, just maybe...

Why was she suddenly thinking of those long ago kisses yet again?

Xxxx

About two weeks later, Meg excitedly held out the mail to her mother.

"Finally a letter from Christine," she exclaimed, "and there is one for you as well!"

Madame Giry frowned. Christine was suddenly writing to her as well? So far, ever since Christine had left the Vicomte and returned home to Sweden, she had only ever corresponded with Meg. True, Meg always told her what Christine had written and Christine always told Meg to give her regards to "Madame" as well, but deep down Madame Giry had hoped that one day the girl she loved like a second daughter would contact her as well. But over two years had passed and now, suddenly there was a letter from Christine – for her?

She quickly grasped the letter and left for her own room, for she guessed that something important must have happened for Christine to finally write to her. She had a feeling that this letter might contain some information that Christine might not necessarily want to share with Meg.

Once she had opened the letter, Madame Giry got even more curious, for in addition to a short note in Christine's handwriting there also was a sealed, blank envelop which apparently contained some more information.

She quickly glanced at Christine's note while simultaneously tearing open the enclosed envelope.

She gasped when her eyes fell on the words "my Angel" in Christine's note, while at the same time Erik's characteristic handwriting appeared once she had ripped open the envelope.

"Oh my God!" she stammered, overwhelmed by this discovery. What did this mean? Obviously Christine and Erik had somehow met again, and... did she dare hope that they had reconciled? For they must be on good terms if Christine forwarded his letter to her? Surely the girl would not act as Erik's intermediary if she still feared him?

She quickly read through both, Christine's note and Erik's letter, then she beamed. She had not heard from Erik since the night of "Don Juan Triumphant", though she had received a note informing her that "their common friend" was safe. She had understood that it was not safe for him to get in touch with her, but had always hoped that she would one day be able to learn what had become of him after that fatal night.

Now she read that he was running a theater in Italy, he was living a respectable life as a valued citizen, and Christine was his prima donna! Of course Meg had told her that Christine was performing somewhere, though Meg did not seem to know exactly where that was, and Meg certainly did not know that Erik was the manager there. Madame Giry could not help feeling extremely proud of her two protégés at these news.

Then she read Erik's letter once more.

"Christine's aunt is an angel. She knows all about my past, and she still encourages me to court Christine, this time more properly. She is convinced that Christine has feelings for me, and she approves!"

Could it be true? Could these two find a way to each other despite all that had happened over two years ago? Was there happiness in store for these two that she both in a way considered to be part of her family?

She quickly sat down to answer both, Erik's letter and Christine's note.