Our Love is Evergreen

Chapter 40: Blossoming Romances

   Gustave took Lucas out on the town the next morning to get his mind off of his sister. Gustave knew that Lucas had been thinking about Celeste a lot lately and he wanted him to purge his thoughts of her for once.

   "So, how are things going with you and Bella?" Lucas asked.

   "Things are great. She's so kind and beautiful. She just loves Catherine and Catherine actually likes Bella so it's great," Gustave replied.

   "I actually have some news of my own," Lucas commented.

   "Do tell."

   "Monique and I are dating," Lucas declared triumphantly.

   "Luke, that's wonderful," Gustave exclaimed.

   The two continued their conversation about their girlfriends and then stopped to get coffee.
   After, they returned to the opera house, for Lucas made plans with Monique.
   Catherine came up to the opera house to greet the two boys and Catherine was introduced to Monique.
   As for Gustave, he spent the rest of the day with Bella. They had a great time.
   Catherine spent her day in solitude. This was why she didn't like her brother having a girlfriend. When Gustave was in a relationship, he put all the time and love he could into it, leaving hardly any for Catherine. Yes, Gustave loved his sister very much, but she didn't always feel that love.
   Catherine wanted her brother to be happy, but she couldn't help being mad at him. All she wanted was to spend time with Gustave. Was that too much to ask? Was it too much to ask that he spend more than ten minutes a day with her?
   She tried not to focus on the bad things and decided to focus on good things like how Gustave was always happy. He was often humming, something he rarely ever did before. Catherine wanted to appreciate the fact that her brother was happy, but all she could think about was how much she missed him. She sat in her room and watched as the minutes turned into hours. She watched and waited until her mother came into her room.

   "Catherine, please come join your father and me. You've been sitting here, doing nothing all day," Christine begged.

   "Fine," Catherine replied in a melancholy tone.

   "Dearest, what's wrong?" Christine asked with concern.

   "Gustave has been spending every waking moment with either Lucas or Bella. I want him to be happy, but he never spends time with me anymore. Is it too much to ask that him spend more than ten minutes with me a day?" Catherine complained.

   "I know you miss your brother. I miss him too. I say that we sit down as a family and we talk this out. We all just throw it out on the table and we discuss it like mature adults."

   "I'm okay with that."

   As for Gustave, he was having a great time with Bella. The couple had gone out to lunch and then to the shops. As they were walking back to the opera house, Bella asked, "Why does your father wear a mask?"

   "He was born with a distortion, much like my sister's, only it covers the entire right side of his face," Gustave explained.

   "Do you think he'll ever take it off in front of me?"

   "I think eventually, he will. He just needs to get to know you a bit better."

   "I hope he knows that I wouldn't judge him, no matter how bad the distortion looks. That's not what defines him," Bella replied with a look of great care in her eyes.

   "You should tell him. He needs to hear that," Gustave suggested.

   "I will."

   "Hey, Bella?"

   "Yes, Gustave?"

   "I love you."

   "I love you too."