Like Father, Like Son | Phantom of the Opera

xiii. When We Say Goodbye

JUNE 1915

ERIK

The next week went by quickly; much too quickly for my liking. Everyone managed to keep themselves busy, though. Gustave and I were rehearsing for his performance every single day, allowing the music to draw our attention away from the impending approach of his deployment date. Nadir checked in regularly; he said he was coming to listen in on our rehearsals, but I knew he was really checking in on me. Although he was only a couple of years my senior, he had always taken on a fatherly role with me. I hadn't exactly caught on to it during my time in Persia, but being older and recognized that aspect of his friendship, I appreciated it more than I cared to admit.

Lara came to visit in the days that followed, though they all seemed to end with her leaving close to tears and with Gustave staring at the door as if it were the last time he would ever see her. One visit was particularly bad; on a normal day, they would just sit on his bed in his room talking together and savouring those moments. But Lara had accidentally come on the day that Gustave decided to stop putting off the inevitable and pack his things.

~~~~~

I opened the door to see the familiar sight of Lara on the other side. The look of her strained smile had become second nature to me, as I'm sure mine has become to her. The act that everyone was trying to put up was for the ultimate benefit of the boys, but we were all dreading the days to come.

"Good afternoon Lara. Gustave is just upstairs in his room," I said quietly.

"Good afternoon to you too, Erik. Thank you," she replied. She had forced out the greeting we were so used to saying, almost like it was a broken record. Nevertheless, she walked confidently past me and right upstairs to his room.

I went back to the living room, only to hear my son curse very loudly as I heard Lara's footsteps stop. I never meant to eavesdrop, but they were talking so loud that it was unavoidable. I heard him virtually yell, "Lara, what are you doing here?!"

Without missing a beat, Lara countered, "I guessed what you were doing based on that idiotic lie you tried on me at school. I thought we were past that point, Gustave. I know that you know that seeing you pack upsets me, but it upsets me even more that you found it so easy to lie to me."

"If it upsets you to see me pack, then why are you here?"

"Because I thought regardless of what happens, we were in this together."

"Lara, please, we are in this together. We will make it through this together," Gustave sighed. He was trying to calm her down, but knowing Lara, she would not be tamed so easily.

"Well then, you really are off to a great start, now aren't you?" There was a pause and I wasn't sure what to make of it; I hadn't anticipated it going quiet during an argument between those two, but then I heard Lara speak up again: "You know what? I've made the decision."

"What deci- Lara, darling, please don't start with this again." I could hear the exasperation in my son's voice, but I knew that he was masking his sadness with irritation.

"You don't need to keep packing because you are not going!" I could guess what was happening at that point based on that piece of the conversation alone; I could practically see her pulling the suitcase away from Gustave.

"Lara, you don't get to decide that for me," Gustave pointed out.

"Yes, of course, that is completely justifiable. I don't get to decide whether or not you go, but you get to make the decision to leave me here, wondering if you'll come home." The anger in her voice was clear as day; I'd never actually heard anything like that come from her before. She was normally so level-headed, even if she was ready to debate at any moment.