*DISCLAIMER* I DO NOT own The Phantom of the Opera, its storyline, or its characters. Please R&R.
I woke up feeling absolutely refreshed, it was as though I became a new person overnight. I turned over to see if Erik was awake but he must have woken up before me considering that he was no longer by my side. I smiled to myself, and got up. I saw some of his lounge clothes folded nicely on his bed, and proceeded to slip them on. He must have left these out for me, how sweet! After dressing myself, I then walked around Erik's suite but saw no sign of him anywhere. I went back into his bedroom and noticed a note on his nightstand. I picked it up and read it.
Christine,
Please forgive me, I had some urgent business to attend to outside of the country. I will be traveling to Saudi Arabia for a couple of weeks. Take your time leaving the hotel, Nadir and Meg informed me that they will meet you at the airport.
Love,
Erik
I made the bed and set everything back into place before leaving Erik's room. I then made my way to my own room and gathered all of my things. I changed into my own clothing and placed Erik's clothing into my suitcase neatly folded. I decided to wear a large flannel, black leggings and a pair of all white Keds. Once I was fully dressed and completely sure that I had everything I needed, I headed out of my room and down to the lobby. I turned mine and Erik's room keys in with the receptionist at the front desk. The car and driver were waiting for me at the front entrance already, he helped me put my things in the trunk and then we were off to the airport.
I arrived at the airport and went through each checkpoint. I made my way over to our terminal, where I found Meg and Nadir seated next to each other looking rather cozy. Meg looked up at me as I made my way over. "Chrissy! How are you doing? How was your night with the boss?," she asked while winking at me. I giggled, "Oh, god Meg. You are literally unsufferable! I had a wonderful night AND if you must know, nothing out of the ordinary happened between Mr. Destler and I didn't do a thing," I said. I'm only lying to protect Erik and I's privacy, I don't want to talk about something happening between us… especially if we haven't talked about it ourselves.
We boarded the plane after a couple of minutes, Meg and Nadir were seated next to each other while I was seated next to a older middle aged woman. Meg and Nadir were talking back and forth and I didn't want to interrupt, so I decided to play a movie on my individual TV screen. I decided to watch my favorite romantic movie ever, 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding.' The entire movie reminds me a lot of my family, being that my mother was Mexican, her family was always at our house for everything and anything. They were also loud, rambunctious, but most of all extremely loving. There wasn't a holiday or weekend where they did not come over. Now, ever since Amá's passing, Amá's family has barely come around. I know they must feel weird coming over now that Amá is gone, they may not want to burden my dad, but I know that he loved her family as if they were his very own.
I must have fallen asleep towards the end of my movie, I woke up and the screen was off. I felt a little parched so I took several drinks from my water and proceeded to look out the window and think… about life, about my family, and about Erik. What happens now? I was lifted from my deep thoughts by a woman's voice. "You are lost deep in your thoughts, honey," said the woman sitting next to me. I smiled at her. "Yes, a lot has happened in the past couple of days and the outcomes have made me very anxious for the future," I replied to her. "Oh, I know my dear. Try not to think about things too much, you do not want to stress yourself out." I nodded in understanding. "May I give you some advice?," she asked. I nodded politely. "It does not do to dwell on what could happen in the future. Think of only what is happening right now, in this very moment. Things will happen when they must and when we, and the people around us let them. My dear, I know that you are thinking about what sort of happiness lies before you. I fear I must let you know that before that happens, you will suffer immensely but only love will be able to help heal you and flourish in the future. Don't you worry yourself, Christine. I promise that everything will be okay in the end."
I looked at the woman in awe, this woman seemed to read me from head to toe. She knew so much about me from just sitting around and observing me. "Um, thank you," I said. I was quickly interrupted from saying anything else before the captain came over the loudspeaker. "Thank you for flying with Lufthansa Airlines, we will be arriving to London momentarily," she said. I started to grab and look for my belongings. Before I knew it, we had landed, at people started to disperse off of the plane. I was about to turn and ask the woman how she knew my name, but when I turned to speak to her, I noticed that she had completely disappeared.
I got off of the plane and met up with Meg and Nadir. "Is something wrong? You look like you're looking for something," said Meg. I stopped looking around the room. "No, well um, yes. This lady, but forget it… its nothing," I said. Meg laughed and put her head on Nadir's shoulder, "So where is Erik? I never saw him board the plane," she added. I shook my head, "He left for Saudi Arabia for some urgent business he needed to attend to." Nadir looked, away… almost avoiding making eye contact with me. I decided not to push for any more answers, and with that we headed home.