My choice

Chapter twenty one - New friends

June 25th 1882

Erik
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I was woken up at six in the morning by the blasted alarm clock which sat on the night stand. Why I ever got one I will never fully understand.

"Good morning my dear." I said kissing Christine's bare shoulder

She turned her head and smiled

"Good morning my angel."

I laid with her contently for a few minutes, "I should get ready, Madame Giry is expecting me to pick Ava up at seven. I plan to take her to the theater with me. If that's okay with you." I said standing from the comfort of my angel

"Yeah that's fine. What time do you get off for lunch today, I might join you." She said rolling herself out of the bed

She put her dressing robe tying it loosely in the front. The thin fabric hugged her in the perfect way.

"Noon and I would be delighted if you would join us."

"I just might." She placed a hand on my face before moving to the bathroom

I finished dressing for the day and ate breakfast with Christine before I set off.

It didn't take long to call a carriage and arrive at Madame Girys apartment.

I knocked on the door amd within a few moments Madame Giry answered.

"Hello Erik, please come in. Ava will be ready in a moment."

I thanked her and entered the apartment.

"Papa!" She said excitedly hugging my waist

"Hello dear. Did you enjoy your stay?" I asked

"Very much." She replied collecting her things, "Thank you for having me." She said to Madame Giry and Meg who stood in the kitchen

"It was a joy to have you over. I will see you Erik." Madame Giry spoke as we left towards the door

I helped my daughter into the carraige and explained what we were doing today, "You know the rules, don't get into trouble and don't wander off too far. There are also some children close to your age who have family working at the theater, you might want to make friends with them."

"I can try. No promises though." She said adjusting herself to look out the window

The rest if the short ride was silent. We were dropped off at the gates of the park.

"If you need something and I'm not in my office, go see Madame Giry or Monsiure Kahn. The other children I mentioned tend to stay around the front few rows of seats."

"Okay." She skipped along beside me as we walked towards the theater

I let Ava go her own way when we entered the building, telling her to check in at noon for lunch.

I went back to my office meeting with Nadir to go over some last minute paperwork for repairs and new attractions around the park.

The two of us sat in silence reading and signing papers, which soon got tiring. Might as well as a conversation.

"I heard you have a date with Meg on Saturday."

"You heard correct." He said with a smile he was trying to hide, "if you don't mind me asking, do you have any advice on how to pull this off?"

"Do you really want my advice on relationships?" I chuckled, "Show her you care, it's the best thing you can do. Other then that it's up to you."

"Thanks." He sighed and continued to read over the papers.

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Ava
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Papa allowed me to go to work with him today, as long as I don't get into any trouble. He also said that there were a few kids around my age that had family working in the theater staff and that I might want to make friends with them.

When we got to the theater papa went to his office leaving me to explore on my own. I choose to sit in the seats for a while, I might as well see if these kids show up today. I did promise I would try and make friends.

"Excuse me," I lifted my head to see two kids, a boy who seemed to be tge same age as myself and a girl who looked a lot older. The girl had bright red hair, grey eyes, and freckles along her nose and cheeks. The boy had dusty blonde hair and blue eyes, "haven't seen you around here much. May we sit?" She asked

"Oh, yes of corse."

The two sat down and we started a conversation, "I'm Lacy and this is Justin." The girl introduced

"I'm Ava."

"You're the owners kid right?" The boy, Justin, asked

"Yes, he allowed me to come to work with him today. Does your family work here too?"

"My brother is part of the orchestra." Justin said pointing towards the row of violinist

"My sister is a dancer." Lacy spoke as she looked towards the stage where the dancers were streaching, "So Ava, how old are you and what are some things you like to do?"

"Oh, I'm nine I'm turning ten next month and I sometimes play piano, sing, or dance and I do enjoy reading. What about you?" I asked after I responded to her question

"I'm thirteen but my birthday isn't until December and I dance, but usually only for fun I've never really been committed enough to actually do something with it like my sister." Lacy said

"I Just turned eleven in April. I spend a lot of time at the beach or in the stables my family owns. I spend a lot of time drawing as well. I sometimes help my mother around the house, my, uh father passed away a few months ago and it's been tough. But thankfully my brother was talented enough to get this job. Not that we really needed it though."

"Oh I'm sorry." I said feeling sympathy towards the boy

"It's alright, no need to apologize." He nodded

"Your an only child?" Lacy asked changing the subject

"I am, I've never really thought about wanting a sibling and I've never heard my parents talk about it."

The both kida nodded and directed the conversation in a different direction.

"So where are you from? Your accent shows your not from around here." Justin asked

"Yes, I lived most of my life in France."

"Really!" He got excited, "I've always wanted to go there. It's one of the few places my father did business, he wrote for a news paper company, he would always come home with stories for us. Like one time before I was born he went over there and the famous Paris Opera house was burned to the ground and a singer was kidnapped and everyone believed it was because of a ghost."

"I knew the Opera House burned down but that's about it." I responded, "Actually my mother she used to be a dancer there, I can ask but I actually doubt it was a ghost."

"That's true, but what's the fun in knowing if it was just a kitchen fire or something." We laughed

"I like you Ava, I think we are going to be great friends." Lacy smiled