Thank you guys so much for reading and supporting my story. But most of all thank you for putting up with my crap. I am so sorry that I haven't been updating lately. But on the bright side I have a lot on my mind about what will be coming up soon so expect a lot. I'm dedicating this chapter to all of my awesome readers out there. I hope you like it. Read & Review.
"Pregnant? You don't really think?" Erik turned towards me his face was a mix of horror and confusion and anxiety and fear.
"No, of course not. I mean we have only had sex…" I mentally calculated. "No. That doesn't matter. It's just not possible." And even as I said the words my hands fell to my stomach.
"Christine…" Erik's voice was filled with just amount of fear as his face.
"Erik, it's not possible. Just forget about it, okay?" I grabbed my luggage and pulled it into the closet. I finished unpacking when I heard the bell for supper. I walked back out into the room and found Erik sitting down in an armchair with his head buried in his hands. His mask sat in his lap. "Erik's?" He quickly wiped away his tears and placed the mask back on his face. "Are you okay?" He stood from his spot and walked towards me. "I'm not pregnant. I am not!" When he reached me he placed his hands gently on my stomach.
"But what if you are?"
"I am not, Erik!" I stormed out of the room and down the hallway. I walked out the front door and started down the street.
I was becoming unbelievably ridiculous. Why was I so upset about being pregnant? I loved Gustave and I loved Erik. I loved my life and would be blessed to bring another child into our lives. So why was I treating Erik like the black plague now.
Everyone was probably eating supper at the dinner table now and where was I? I was walking down the road to the small home of the medicine woman who had given me the news of Gustave's conception. I had to know. After a few blocks I reached the doors. I ran up the stairs and paused as my hand touched the door's cold metal handle.
"Christine?" I turned to see Erik's troubled face. I fell to my knees on the staircase.
"What's wrong with me, Erik?" He ran to my side and pulled me into his lap.
"Nothing, darling. Nothing, at all. I am sorry that I have put this burden on you." I looked up at him and brushed away the tears.
"Erik you are so blind to your own beauty! I would be blessed to carry another child of yours. I am just- I don't know. I'm scared. I don't know what I am doing. Things change so quickly in my life, I find myself getting lost. What if I can't care for this child? What if I-"
"Stop, Christine. Stop talking. You have given Gustave the best life possible. But even so remember you are not alone." He pulled my face even closer to his. "I am here for you. I will always be by your side. You should know by now, I am not going anywhere." I brushed away my tears and stood up.
"Do you want to go with me? I know you didn't get to the first time."
"Do you want me there?"
"There is nothing I would want more." He stood up and wiped my tears away. He placed his lips against mine and whispered, "There is nothing that will ever stop me from loving you Christine…" And then he kissed me with the most beautiful passion in the world. His lips grazed the skin of my ear and sent goosebumps all over my body. "…Even when you get crazy." He chuckled. I placed my hands on his chest tried to shove him away but he caught my wrists and pulled me back to him so he could kiss me again.
"You two are so sweet. Your young love warms my old heart." I turned to see the old woman I had visited ten years ago. "Oh my goodness. Bless your heart, I remember you. You were that young sweet girl. You looked so lost that day. Well thank the Lord. Look at your rosy cheeks. You look so happy. This must be your young man." She hobbled over to Erik and through her arms around him. Her affection confused him but he quickly returned the hug.
"Yes, madame, he sure is." She looked down at my stomach and her smile widened.
"I see you two are expecting again?" I looked down at my own stomach and then back up the old woman.
"How did you-"
"Oh sweet heart I may be old but I do not lack knowledge. Come inside let me give you a proper checkup." She took each of hands and pulled us down the long hallway. The sun outside was beginning to set. Each room of her house seemed to be much dustier than I remembered. There were jars of herbs on every flat surface. She had not made the switch to electric lighting yet and so the rooms were lights by hundreds of small candles. "I just lost my Henry this fall so I am sorry for the mess. I haven't gotten around to cleaning yet." Old funeral bouquets cluttered the tables.
"Oh. I am so sorry for your loss."
"I'm not. He's in a better place. It will only be a short time until we are together again."
"That is such a pleasant way to think of it. But I cannot say I would take Christine's death as gracefully." He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me close as we made our way to the small medicine room. She helped me up onto the table. Erik held my hand tightly as the woman shift through my many layers of skirting. After a very uncomfortable half hour or so she popped her head back out with a rather large grin.
"You are about two to three months along." I turned and smiled up at Erik. I fixed my skirt and then slid off of the table. The woman washed her hands and then turned toward Erik. "Congratulations." He held me so close and placed his hand gently over my stomach.
"Thank you so much, Madame." Erik grinned back at her and then down at me.
"Thank you." I slipped out of Erik's arms to give the woman a hug. "You gave me the courage I needed the first time I was here. Thank you for everything." The woman was so tiny and warm. I imagined that this was what it was like to have a grandmother. She pulled at a hanky and handed it me.
"Here you go, honey. Please come back to see me, soon. And bring your little boy too."
"How did you know-"
"I've had my share babies. It's become a sixth sense. I could tell you what this one will be, if you'd like." I looked at Erik and we both seemed to answer at the same time.
"No thank you." She smiled at us and walked us to the door. I handed her hanky back but she shook her head.
"Keep it. Perhaps it will remind you to come back and see me."
"I will not need a hanky to remember you. But thank you." She nodded her head. Erik grabbed my hand and we began our walk back to the house.
"Well this has been a long day."
"It sure has, Erik." He pulled me into his coat and held me against his chest. His warmth sent away my shivering and warmed my soul. My hand fell down to my stomach. I felt the smile pull at my lips. Gustave was going to be thrilled.
Meg and Raoul were both sitting in the parlor when we got back.
"An hour and a half. Where have you guys been?! You missed dinner! We were so worried!"
"Well Meg was worried. I knew Erik, would never let anything happen to you." Guilt flooded Meg's face but she quickly covered it with mock happiness.
"Christine, why don't we let the boys bond? I left you a plate of food in the kitchen." I gave Erik a look telling him how sorry I was for leaving him alone with Raoul and then followed Meg out of the room. "So?"
"So what?"
"Don't mess with me Christine. I know you, where were you?"
"Well if you must know, I went to a medicine woman."
"Oh please tell me you didn't take me seriously. I've just had babies on my mind lately. If I tell you something do you swear not to tell anyone?" I looked at her curiously.
"I swear." She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the kitchen's pantry as we passed it.
"Oh my gosh! Well I don't know how to say it! But I should just say it! I am a woman I have nothing to be ashamed of! Well I guess I do…"
"God, Meg! What?!"
"I HAD SEX!" Her voice was so loud that after she said I could hear the kitchen help snickering. She cupped her face in her hand. She sank down to the ground and covered her face.
"You did what?!" She uncovered her face and looked up at me in shame.
"I gave into temptation. Mother was away one night working late at the opera house; she got her job back by the way. It is very nice. She has her own office now."
"Meg focus. Tell me what happened."
"Well mother and I have been living here in the other guest rooms." It was strange that after living here for ten years, I hadn't explored more and found these other rooms I was hearing about. "Oh well they were not guest rooms when you lived here. They were his and his brother's old rooms. Well anyway. I don't know. He was working in his study and it just kind of happened. Mother doesn't know and I have seen a doctor. She said I wasn't pregnant but I'm so scared!"
"That was your first and only time wasn't it?"
"Well it was my first…"
"Meg!"
"I know! I am such a terrible person. She buried her head in her hands. What would mother think of me!?"
"Meg, it is okay. At least he is your fiancé. He is going to be your husband in tomorrow. You mustn't worry. It will be okay."
"Christine, have you ever, yah know?"
"Meg, I was married and I have a child. What do you think?"
"Oh yeah. So Raoul was your first too?"
"Actually no."
"What?!"
"Raoul knows now. My goodness, I have been wanting to tell someone about this for ten years. I actually went looking for you a few days later to tell you. But you were gone."
"Erik, wanted us to leave before your wedding. But, he wouldn't say why. Oh. My. Gosh! CHRISTINE! You didn't!" Meg's voice rose in both volume and octave.
"Shhh. Meg, quiet!"
"I'm sorry. I am just shocked! You of all people, Christine. I just can't imagine."
"Yes Erik and I made love the night before my wedding to Raoul. That was the night we conceived Gustave."
"How was it?" She was so quiet. Her embarrassment level was up pretty high.
"Honestly? It was the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced. God created Erik and me for each other. Everything about that night just felt right." Meg bowed her head. Her voice was muffled by the skirt she buried her head into.
"My first time wasn't like that, Christine. It was embarrassing and awkward. What if marrying Raoul is a mistake? What if we aren't written in the stars like you and Erik?"
"I have seen the way your faces light up when you look at each other. You are not making a mistake, Meg. Trust me." I heard Meg release the breath she was holding in. My stomach let out the loudest grumble possible. The tension in the room broke and we were both laughing. "So where is that plate of food I was promised?" Meg stood and pulled on a string hanging from the ceiling. The small pantry was doused with light. She brushed of her skirt and helped me up. Now didn't seem like the moment to tell her about my little baby, so I without a word I followed her out in to the kitchen. The workers quickly went back their work hoping we didn't realize they were listening to our entire conversation.
"What happens in this kitchen stays in this kitchen. Do you all hear me?" Meg sounded so grown up that it took me off guard. She pulled me to the counter and handed me a plate of food which I happily shoved into my mouth. "Well I expected you to let me heat the food first, but okay." I looked at Meg and we both laughed again. I missed her so much, it was hard to believe. I pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry Christine." I could hear her sobbing into my shoulder.
"Meg I don't care about the past. All we have is the future and I want you in mine. You are like a sister to me. I don't want to lose you."
"You see I told you they would be emotional right when we walked in." I turned to see Raoul and Erik standing in the kitchen's archway. I smiled at Erik and let my hands fall to my stomach. Meg wiped away her tears.
"Very funny, Raoul." She ran to his side and placed a kiss on his cheek. Meg had to stand on his tiptoes to reach his cheek. He smiled and looked down at her.
"I love you, Meg." She nestled her head into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. It was so heartwarming to see Raoul like that again. And to see the bliss on Meg's face let my heart swell.
"Well I suppose it is pretty late. We must all be off to bed." Raoul looked down at Meg and she blushed knowing very well what he was hinting at.
"Perhaps it is. I'll see you at the end of aisle tomorrow, Raoul." She skipped off to her room. He stared off at her confused.
"I suppose I am quite tired. It has been an awfully long and very eventful day."
"No Erik, eat dinner first. We don't need you passing out during the ceremony, that would throw off my poor little Meg's entrance."
"I suppose you are right." Erik took the plate of food that Raoul offered him.
"What do you mean?"
"Well I figure you are the Maid of Honor, Gustave is the ring bearer, we have a musical genius, why not ask him to play for the wedding?"
"Oh that is fantastic, Raoul!"
"Yes, well Meg was quite fond of the idea as well. I am off to bed."
"Raoul, give her a break for tonight. She has a big day ahead of her tomorrow." Raoul blushed.
"You are a bold woman, Christine. Goodnight you two." He nodded and walked away.
"Did you really just bring up such a topic with a Vicomte, Christine?" I grinned up at him.
"I did indeed." Erik placed his hands on my stomach.
"I really hope you grow up to be just like your mother." I pulled his face up to mine and kissed him hard. Erik slipped his half empty plate into the sink and wrapped his arms tighter around my waist. "I think that it is time for bed." He picked me up in his arms and I giggled as he carried me like a bride.
I pulled my lips away from his long enough to whisper my final words, "I've decided where I want to have our wedding."
"Mhmmm?" His murmur was lost in the nape of my neck.
"The Opera Populaire."