Like Father, Like Son | Phantom of the Opera

vi. I Haven't Been Completely Honest

DECEMBER 1909

ERIK

The weeks that followed seemed to have blurred together. Not only had the boys become even more inseparable, but Madeleine and I had become good friends. It was bound to happen given the amount of time we were spending together while our sons played.

The day I was confronted by that same friend had seemed like just a normal day for us all; the boys were playing out in the snow and I was standing on the porch waiting for Madeleine to come and pick William up. When she arrived, we stood together, giving the boys the usual five extra minutes they always asked for, though nothing could have mentally prepared me for what she was going to say.

"You have some explaining to do," she said, her arms crossed. I knew what she was referring to, but I thought that maybe if I played dumb, she would drop the matter.

"What do I have to explain?" I asked as I tried to be as level as possible with my tone, but no surprise, I was having a panic attack on the inside. I thought I had managed to escape that conversation.

I was mistaken.

"Your stammering and the look of dread when my husband introduced himself," she said, looking at me expectantly.

"Oh that. Look, Maddie, before I explain, I need you to understand that I am so sorry that I dashed out the door like that. It was rude and I hope that Charles will accept my apology," I said.

"I'm sure he will. Now stop stalling and tell me what happened."

"Of course. I started panicking because of the irony of both you and your husband's names oddly enough." A nervous laugh escaped me as I attempted to make it sound like a lighter subject than it actually was for me. "You see, I told you that you have the same name as my mother. Now, the thing that really got to me the other day is that Charles is also the name of my father."

"My goodness. That is quite a one in a million chance, isn't it?" Madeleine said, and I could tell she was beginning to understand my immediate reaction. "Were you close to your parents?"

"My father passed away before I was born. As for my mother, we had, for lack of a better term, an indifferent relationship. I think she saw me as a reminder of my father, who she loved so much, and my facial...condition kept her from wanting to show great affection," I explained.

"That must have been awful, Erik. You know, Charles actually found it quite funny. He's actually trying to come up with a different name for you," Madeleine said with a chuckle.

"Good to know he has a sense of humor." I stifled a laugh and thought of the awkwardness of the next time we would eventually interact. Not a conversation I was looking forward to.

After a moment, Maddie spoke up again on a new topic: "You know, Erik, I still have yet to meet your wife. I was thinking perhaps we could all have dinner together. Even a double date."

My mouth went as dry as a desert. I had yet to come up with a suitable excuse as to why Gustave's mother was never around. I had thought about saying she was at work, but trying to think of an appropriate profession left me at a loss of ideas. That was it; I had to come clean. I knew I couldn't keep up the charade for much longer.

"I'm afraid I haven't been completely honest with you," I began, fumbling over my words. "Please come inside. I'll make some tea and explain myself."

Madeleine frowned a bit, but nodded and got out of her chair to follow me inside. "The boys won't object to extra time to play, I'm sure. We have time to chat," she said.