Like Father, Like Son | Phantom of the Opera

vii. So I Met Someone...

FEBRUARY 1915

GUSTAVE

I missed her! Although I wasn't quite sure why; we had spent the afternoon together the day before with William and the rest of our friends. We were supposed to be doing homework, but the two of us just ended up chatting and laughing away like the others weren't there. I wanted to see her again but Papa didn't know yet and Monday seemed so far away and-

"Gustave? Hello?" I blinked hard as my father waved a hand in front of my face. "Are you still here? If you have no interest in paying attention to the lesson, we can stop," he said. "I have work I could be doing. One of my clients is already getting impatient with the wait for their home design."

"No, no! I'm listening!" I insisted as I adjusted my posture before he would have to tell me to. "Where were we? Practising one of Chopin's compositions, right? I'm ready to play it for you."

"Gustave," Papa sighed and ran a hand over his hair. "We were practising one of Mozart's pieces; we have been for just under an hour now. Or at least I have been. What have you been up to?"

"Daydreaming, I suppose. My mind is on someone...something else." I cursed myself silently for tripping over my words as I watched my father's brow crease into a frown. "Just thinking about something. Not anything in particular."

"You said 'someone'. Who is the someone in question?"

I sighed, but couldn't help but smile as I got to my feet and started to pace a little. "So I met someone..." I started. "I met a girl."

"A girl? Another one?" Papa repeated, already the slightest bit wary of the scenario at hand. "Do you really want to put us through that again?"

"Us?" I laughed. "I was the one who dealt with the heartbreak!"

"And I was the one who had to deal with you as you dealt with said heartbreak. I never realized just how related we are until I saw how much you cried over that young lady," he replied.

"But Papa, this one is different!" I cried, practically whining to defend the girl who had captured my heart.

He chuckled. "Of course she is. They're all different at the start, mio soldatino."

"How would you know? You only ever truly loved one woman," I said with a frown.

"One that you know of."

That was the comment that threw me for a loop. "What?!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, nothing. So, this new girl. Tell me her name," Papa prompted, sitting back in his chair and crossing his legs at the knee, all the while never wiping a small smile from his face.

"Lara." My father's past lover quickly forgotten, my heart fluttered just saying her name - she truly did have me head over heels for her. "Lara Thomas. We met at the beginning of the school year in the music practice room at lunch. I ducked in there because William had gone off for a sports tryout with our friends and my anxiety was kicking in, so I escaped to the music room. Little did I know, but I had a guest at my private performance."

~

Dear God, Will, why did you have to leave me before the busiest transition of the day? I thought. My heart started racing; there were far too many people here for me to be comfortable with. My mind flashed back to the crowds on Coney Island; even though it was such a long time ago, it still came back to me like it was yesterday. My only thought was that I needed to get out and fast.

Once I had myself grounded enough in reality to know where I was, I made a mad dash for the music room. Nobody was ever there, so I figured I would be able to calm down in there. When I arrived, I made sure to close the door behind me so that the people passing by couldn't see me. I proceeded to curl into a ball with my back keeping the door closed. I couldn't see straight, but one thing was certain; the last thing I needed was everyone seeing me in that state. I would be made fun of for who knew how long. My heart rate still hadn't slowed down, but it was then that my eyes darted to something that I knew would help. I slowly peeled myself off the ground and made my way to the piano in the corner by the window. I started to play a song that I knew by heart, and no matter where I was, she could always bring me back down to Earth.