The next morning, Christine and Mamma Valerius were cleaning the Chamberlain Apt., preparing it for the next tenant. The Jeffries had vacated it yesterday. They worked in silence for a while, moving quickly and efficiently, stopping at noon for lunch. Christine got out the bread and leftover meatloaf from yesterday's dinner and made them each a sandwich. Sitting down at the table she took a bite of hers. Mamma came to the table with a glass of iced tea for each of them, Lucy at her heels.
The older woman looked at Christine thoughtfully. "I haven't seen too much of Mr. Reauchard lately, have you?"
"Nope. Not since the night of the break-in and that's been two days ago. Why do you ask?"
Christine wondered about that herself, but she assumed he was busy. Hoping he hadn't been avoiding her. Maybe he'd found someone more interesting than her to hang out with. She snorted. That wouldn't be too difficult.
Elizabeth shrugged and took a sip of her tea. "No real reason, but you two seemed to be getting along so well. He's very fond of you, I think."
She hesitated to say more, but knew she needed to make sure Christine was careful with this man. "Look... I realize you've come to like Mr. Reauchard, and I know how grateful you are- him coming to your aid the other night the way he did. I am too, but we really don't know very much about him..."
"This is more about the fact that he wears a mask, isn't it?"
She knew she was being unreasonable, because Mamma was right. She didn't know all that much about Erik. Maybe it was time to rectify that.
"I hope I'm a better person than that, my girl! I most certainly do not hold his disfigurement against him." She paused, choosing her next words carefully. "He's not the friendliest man I've ever met, but he likes you. And you seem to return his regard, if I'm not mistaken."
Christine crumbled pieces of her sandwich, her tea untouched in front of her. "I...I like him. He's different from anyone I've ever met, but it's more than that. He's so smart. We can talk for hours about all sorts of things." And I like his mouth on mine. Oh...and he has very nice hands.
"I understand that, but he's practically a stranger. Just watch yourself, all right?"
Christine smiled in amusement. "If I'm not mistaken, you and Theo only knew each other a month before you decided he was the one," she put a hand up hastily, "but I promise I'll be careful, okay?"
Mamma gave her a searching look and nodded. "That's all I'm asking. I may be wrong, but I think he's a gentleman, at least where you're concerned. Only you might want to explain how it is to Raoul. That young man still considers you his property."
Christine stood up and started clearing the table. "I'm not his property! How can you say that? Raoul and I have been friends forever. He knows I love him, but not in that way. I'm not sure of my feelings for Erik either, to tell the truth, but I know one thing for sure..." she shrugged, and looked at Mamma. "I enjoy being with him- that's all there is to it. It's not up to Raoul de Chagny to worry about who I'm with."
They were attracted to each other. She had no doubts on that score. Where it was leading them was the interesting question. She was falling for a man she barely knew. One who was the extreme opposite of most men she'd ever met.
Elizabeth watched the emotional by-play across Christine's face. She was satisfied she would be careful around Mr. Reauchard and that's all she was really concerned about.
Her complaisance would come back to haunt her.
She put the last of the finishing touches on the Chamberlain apartment and locked the door. She jumped when someone touched her shoulder. Turning quickly around, she looked up at Erik.
She put a hand to her chest and let out a sigh of relief. "Erik, you startled me!"
He had pulled his hand back quickly, berating himself for approaching her so quietly, but a lifetime of stealth was his second nature and he did it without conscious thought. He was very pleased to see her. They hadn't spoken for two days and he had found himself missing her.
"I'm sorry for frightening you, Christine. If I may have a moment of your time?"
She smiled at him and put down her cleaning supplies, stretching tiredly. "I'm done for the day now. Just let me get rid of this stuff and we can talk."
He bent down and picked up the bucket and followed her, finding it hard to pull his gaze away from her shapely behind in deliciously snug jeans. She led him to the kitchen and put her things away in the broom closet, then motioned him to a chair at the table.
He looked at her with satisfaction, content to be with her again. "I would like you to join me in the parlor tonight for some music, yes?"
"Of course. I'd like that."
She looked down at the table, choosing her next words carefully, remembering her conversation with Elizabeth that very afternoon. "Um, we can get to know each other better too. In a lot of ways, you're still a stranger to me."
"What is it that you wish to know about me?" He felt the tension begin across his shoulders.
"Well, your home. You know- stuff about your family. Mom and dad. Um, sisters- brothers." She chuckled, still not completely aware of his mounting discomfort. "We can trade silly stories about growing up. I'll even tell you about the time I ran away from home when I was eight. I got upset with my dad one day. I don't even remember why, but I grabbed my backpack and some Ritz crackers and took off up the street."
She shook her head and winked at him. "I was gone for maybe ten minutes and headed home when all the crackers were gone. My father was watching me the whole time." She laughed fondly in remembrance. "He took me to Mickey D's for supper to celebrate my homecoming."
He said nothing to this, but regarded her with narrowed eyes. Undaunted, she pressed on. "Uh...d-did you ever run away, Erik?"
"Yes."
She smiled playfully. "When did you finally give up and go home?"
"I didn't." He crossed his arms over his chest, observing her suspiciously. "Any more questions?"
"Uh, no. I guess not. I ...I just wanted to get to know you a little better. That's all." She was taken aback at his abrupt tone. She looked into his chilly eyes and finally felt the tension in the room. Pouring off of him. Not sure of the reason for it, she only wished to stand up and slink out of there. Way to go, Christine. You're getting to know him pretty good now. Only, not the way you intended.
"Your curiosity isn't about this, is it?" and he indicated his face with the flick of a hand. "In a roundabout way, of course, but the mask and what's behind it is what you're really interested in. Everyone is, you know. Why would I believe you to be any different?" he sneered. "Go ahead. Ask."
"N-No! Erik, no! I had no intention of bringing that up. Seriously- I didn't."
She was surprised by his sudden animosity and puzzled as to why things had gone so wrong. It was all very innocent. She wasn't going to ask him about the mask- just his childhood. The things people talked about all the time. So simple, but she felt awful now. "It's okay. I don't need to..."
Rudely he interrupted her. "I insist, Christine. You did want to get to know me, didn't you? My appearance would be considered important, wouldn't it? Nothing wrong with wanting to know what a man looks like. That's where all this interest in my childhood was leading. Well then, ask away." His eyes never strayed from her face. And never blinked.
"A-All right then." She took a deep breath. "C-Couldn't you have surgery to...to correct your...your disfigurement?" She swallowed nervously, noticing how still he'd become. Her attempt to learn something about him was back-firing on her. She felt her interest to be harmless enough, no doubt goaded on by Mamma, but it was his reaction to it that had her confused.
"What makes you think I did not?" It was said gently, but something in his tone warned her she was on dangerous ground. Then why did he keep baiting her?
Too late, she remembered that day in the car, when she had mentioned his mask. Christine was afraid to look at him, but mentally squared her shoulders and raised her eyes to his.
"Erik, I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry. I can be pretty dense sometimes. Don't be mad. Please?"
What she saw only made her feel worse for starting this whole thing. He was observing her with calculating eyes, his mouth curled as if he'd tasted something bitter.
"My body is an anomaly, Christine. It rejected the surgical attempts to give me a normal face; instead making me even more monstrous, if that was possible," he said harshly.
"What happened to you?" she whispered.
He got to his feet and looked down at her with false patience. "I was born this way. To my mother's everlasting sorrow." His beautiful voice was cold- dead. "She hated me as much as I hated her. That's why I ran away. I had no childhood. And trust me, you would not want to know any of my stories when I was eight. They're not fit for your pretty ears. Now if you will excuse me."
"Erik, I'm so sorry."
He began walking to the door then stopped, his thin back and shoulders rigid with anger. "I'm sorry too. But your little tale has only served to point out the vast differences between us. You should be happy for that."
And then he was gone.
She got home from work the next day with Meg in tow. Lillian had let both of them leave at five, and Christine stopped at the jewelry store on the way back to the house to pick up her necklace. It was a warm day, and instead of cooking a meal in the kitchen, they made some hamburger patties and grilled them outside on the patio. Meg put a salad together, and when everything was ready, the three of them sat down at the picnic table.
Christine noted that Erik's car hadn't been in the lot when they arrived home. She was still smarting from his outburst yesterday and wished to make amends. Didn't he realize she meant no harm? She wanted to get to know him for a reason. If she wasn't interested in him, she probably wouldn't care one way or the other.
Meg got up and turned on the portable radio and tuned it to a local rock station. She turned around and scooped up Lucy and started dancing across the patio with the little pug, the dog never taking her eyes off the plate of burgers.
"Lucy, Lucy. Get a life, girl! You don't always need to be scoping your next meal!" Meg laughed. Lucy struggled to get down, and huffing, Meg released her.
She went and sat down next to Christine, who was pushing salad around on her plate, elbow on the table and chin resting on one hand. "Why so glum, Chris?"
Christine looked at her friend. "I'm not," she protested.
"So um, where's your French sweetie?"
Christine gave her a dirty look and stood up, gathering the plates together, her movements abrupt. "Mr. Reauchard is not my, as you so indelicately put it, French sweetie."
"Whoa, sorry. I just thought that maybe he was the reason for your long face. You pretty much looked that way all day. So...okay. What if he left and joined the French Foreign Legion. Would you go after him?" she snickered.
That earned her another dirty look from Christine. The two girls continued trading good-natured barbs as they carried the supper things back inside.
Erik moved away from his window once Christine and Meg left the patio. French sweetie indeed, he thought. He wondered if he really was Christine's reason for being moody. He had felt that way himself since walking out on her yesterday. It was his damnable temper. Of course she was going to ask questions about him. Perfectly understandable. She was curious about his face too. She had downplayed it all along, but he had seen her studying him when she thought he wasn't looking. Only once she did see it, she would more than likely run screaming from the room. He raked his hand through his dark hair and sighed wearily.
He needed to talk with her.
Supper dishes done, they went back out on the patio. It was still muggy and they noticed some heat lightning in the distance.
"Going to be a storm later tonight. Always is when it's this humid," Mama said.
Christine could barely see the Blue Ridge mountains through the thick canopy of trees. It was hazy along with the humidity, the cloud cover making it dark and gloomy. "I'll just be glad when it cools down a bit."
She sat there in the dusk, seeing a light in Erik's window, wondering when he'd come in. They talked a while longer, then Christine drove Meg home. She took Lucy for a walk, then sat in a chair outside listening to the radio. The wind was picking up a bit, but it felt good. She lifted her face to the breeze and stilled when she saw a ghostly shadow detach itself from the corner of the house.
Erik walked toward her minus his suit coat, white shirt sleeves rolled to the elbows. She noted his thin arms, knowing how deceptively strong they were. Christine let out her breath, not even realizing she was holding it.
She was very glad to see him.
He timidly moved toward her, suddenly nervous as to what she would do. She watched him approach, then did something on the spur of the moment. She stood up and went to him.
"Hey, dance with me?" she asked lightly.
He had expected anger, even tears perhaps, but not that. "I do not dance, Christine. I never have."
She went over and switched the radio station to the oldies channel. She walked up to him, and taking his arm, she placed it around her waist. She put her left hand on his shoulder, and her right hand grasped his left, threading their fingers together. She then showed him how to lead, and with his natural grace and excellent sense of rhythm, they were soon moving slowly around the patio to a sultry and sweet blues song.
Neither one spoke. She laid her head on his chest, listening to the quickening of his heartbeat. He pulled her closer to his body, resting his masked cheek on the crown of her head, and with a soft sigh, moved quietly around the patio, reveling in her nearness. He wished the rest of the world would simply fall away and she could be his to hold like this forever. She was becoming so very precious to him.
He hummed along with the song. Her cheek resting against him, she could feel the vibrations resonating in his chest. They swayed to the music, simply glad to be together, not noticing the rapid change in the weather until the first heavy drops of rain started to fall.
Christine laughed, and not letting go of Erik's hand, they ran for the small covered porch just outside the kitchen door. She shook her head, wet from their mad dash, and grinned up at him. He framed her face with his long fingers, searching her eyes for any hesitation, then lowered his mouth to hers. They kissed hungrily her arms circled his waist and tugged him closer. Leaning into him, her fingers kneaded his back, feeling the knobs of his backbone.
She kissed his chest, right over his heart. "I'm so sorry about yesterday."
"Forgive me. You meant no harm. My behavior was inexcusable. I am..."
"Shh." Christine put a finger to his lips, then standing on her toes, she placed a kiss at the corner of his mouth.
"I was being too nosy for my own good. When you're ready to tell me more about yourself, it will be soon enough."
Erik's eyes flashed gold in the wet darkness, and leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss to her forehead, very grateful for every sign of affection from her. It meant everything in the world to him. He cradled her small hands in both of his, wishing now more than ever that he was a normal man.
He sighed wearily."I do not know when that will be."