𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝘼𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚 | 𝙋𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖

vi. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

"Good morning, Erik," Charlotte smiled, setting a plate down in front of Gustave. "How did you sleep?"

"Better once I truly got to sleep. Thank you," Erik replied as he walked into the kitchen.

"You're very welcome. It was my pleasure," Charlotte said kindly. "I made crépes for breakfast."

"Thank you. Just so you know, you don't have to make big meals every day, alright?" Erik asked as he walked to the table and kissed the top of Gustave's head.

"I know," Charlotte chuckled. "But I wanted to."

"Well, as long as you want to and don't feel forced to. I won't object to crepes if you offer them."

"Take a plate, then," Charlotte nodded. "There's also orange juice in the fridge and I'm making coffee."

"Papa, can I have juice?" Gustave asked. "I can get your crépes for you, if you'd like."

"No, no, you both can sit down. I'll get it," Charlotte nodded, handing Erik a plate of crépes. "I don't mind."

Erik shook his head and laughed as he sat down. "I don't know what we're going to do about you constantly serving us," he said. "I feel a little bit bad about it."

"Don't," Charlotte shrugged. "Cooking is fun when you aren't being pressured to get it just right."

"If you say so," Erik replied as he took a bite of the crepes. "To be fair, your food is delicious, though."

"Thank you. I'm glad," Charlotte smiled, setting a glass of orange juice down in front of Gustave. 

"Would you like some coffee, Erik?"

"Yes, please."

"Perfect. What would you like in it?"

"Just black is fine," he said. "Thank you, Charlotte."

"You're welcome," Charlotte smiled as she poured a cup for him and one for herself. "I take my coffee black too."

"You and I are incredibly alike," Erik replied. "It's getting a bit scary."

"I'll say," Charlotte giggled, sitting beside him with a plate of crépes for herself.

"Papa, did you and Charlotte get to talk about books like I said you should?" Gustave asked.

"We talked mostly about our lives, although, I do recall Les Misérables coming up," Erik nodded.

"I tried to read that one, but I only got about halfway through it," Gustave said.

"It took me about a year to finish," Charlotte giggled. "It's Nadir's favorite Hugo, actually."

"Of course it is," Erik said with a chuckle.

"Yes, he loves to read," Charlotte smiled.

"Which is why he picked one of the longest books in existence."

"Exactly," Charlotte chuckled. "I had trouble getting through that one. It's like, 'I don't care what the table looked like that he set his candle on. Just get on with the plot, please.'"

Erik couldn't help but laugh. "I know exactly which portion you're talking about," he said.

"Quite honestly, I think it would be better suited as an opera or something. A little music may liven it up a bit."

"Maybe I'll try my hand at it," Erik replied.

"That could be interesting," Charlotte smiled.