“Yes, please,” six voices called out, and they all sat down between the fireplace and the Christmas tree.
They had long ago agreed to only buy small but meaningful gifts for each other, nothing expensive or extravagant, and it took a while for everyone to exchange and open them all.
“You know, Nugget, had I known about your budding domestic ambitions, I would’ve gotten you a cookbook. Something like How to Cook a Rainbow for Hungry Little Mouths,” Revan said later, and raised his eyebrows.
“How very considerate of you, but you won’t find me in the kitchen anytime soon. I’m very lucky because Frank likes to cook and doesn’t mind the cleaning up, either,” she smiled at Frank and snuggled closer to him. “You’re the perfect man for me.”
“We’ll pick up right there later, baby doll,” Frank said, and kissed her.
Stella was surprised to see Revan giving Frank a look resembling the dark clouds from this afternoon. But Frank seemed oblivious to the storm brewing over his head. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but if she didn’t know better, she’d say Revan was jealous. Which didn’t make any sense.
David cleared his throat and said, “There’s one more thing I want to do.”
All three women exchanged looks and said a well-choreographed, “Ooh.”
Revan mumbled, “Are we in a Hallmark movie?” Which earned him a slap over his head from Naomi and a snarky, “Stop being such a Grinch. Where’s your holiday cheer?”
“Sorry, my love, but you’re kind of sitting on it,” David reached behind Stella and pulled something out from behind the sofa cushions.
“Neat hiding spot, man,” Luca said.
“Well, here goes…” David held up two envelopes. “Two envelopes, but you only get one. Which one do you choose? Left hand or right hand?”
“Hmm… what’s in the envelopes?” She eyed them, but both were plain as far as she could see.
“Pick one and find out. Only one, though.”
She glared at Naomi. “Did you have something to do with this?”
“I didn’t do a thing!”
Stella looked at everybody else now. It didn’t seem as if any of the others knew what this was about. “Okay, the envelope in your left hand.”
David handed it to her. She lifted the flap and peeked inside.
“Two tickets for a performance of Don Giovanni? Nice!”
“Yes. But look at the date.”
“March 29, 2019.”
“I was hoping you’d be there when I take my final bow, when the curtain closes in front of me for the very last time.” David swallowed a few times. “Flights are included, of course. Naomi has my credit card details for two plane tickets.”
“You said you had nothing to do with this. Liar!” Stella leaned over and gave her a friendly shove.
“Well,” Naomi held up two crossed fingers. “I didn’t know about the theater tickets. David only came to the office today about the flights. He said he’d explain the rest later.”
David pulled Stella close and said, “And it means we’ll get to spend a few days in Paris again. You were curious about seeing it in the spring.”
Jo asked, “There’s two tickets. Who’s going with you?”
“Choose wisely, missy,” Naomi called out and waved her hand.
“You, of course.”
“Good answer!” Naomi beamed.
Stella pointed to the other envelope. “What would’ve been in the other envelope? Coal dust?”
“Nope, see for yourself,” he handed it to her.
“Two more theater tickets?!”
“I didn’t know which envelope you’d pick, so I had to prepare two. Maybe you’d like to ask two more people.”
She hugged him and said, “Thank you for the wonderful surprise. But way too expensive. You can’t pay for the plane tickets.”
“It’s non-negotiable. Besides, I have connections now.” He gave Naomi a high five.
“You said your final bow and last curtain. Are you really giving up the stage?” Luca asked.
“Well, if my next visit to Baltimore goes well, I think relocating there in the spring is a good possibility. Both organizations I visited have interesting openings, and Andrew mentioned a nice neighborhood where Stella and I could rent a townhouse and be within walking distance to work.”
“What about you?” Luca asked her.
“I’ll go wherever David is.”
“We’re in this together and will discuss it all in due time, baby,” David pulled her into his arms.
She had to work hard to keep the tears from trickling down her face. “Don’t make me cry in front of everybody. But this was the best gift ever.”
Could life get any better than this moment?
CHAPTER 44
Stella—March 2019
S
he was back! At the Paris Opera House, in the gaudy red auditorium.
Stella reached for Naomi’s hand and squeezed it as she entered the exact same private box where she caught a glimpse of David nine months ago. “I can’t believe it…”
Julia and Alexander stood as soon as they saw them. “This is unbelievable. I don’t know what strings David pulled, but there’s champagne! Look.” Julia pointed to a small table with two bottles in an oval stainless-steel bucket, and four empty glasses waiting to be filled.
Stella went to the balustrade and pointed to the stage. “When I stood right there in the auditorium last year, I wondered how it would feel to watch a performance from up here. I couldn’t imagine I’d like it, but now I have to admit it feels pretty special.”
“Yeah, your man is spoiling you. Business class flights, VIP treatment at the theater. What’s next?” Naomi mused.
“Do you want me to open a bottle?” Alexander offered.
“Yes!” the women said at the same time.
“Let’s hope the cork comes out without announcing to the whole theater we’re up here imbibing,” Stella added.
“I don’t think anyone can hear a sound over the orchestra warming up. And I doubt it’s the first time someone has enjoyed a drink here,” he said.
“It’s so strange to know David will never sing on a big stage again. Singing is his life. I kinda feel guilty for being the reason for these changes,” she said after they toasted.
“Don’t even go there,” Julia said. “Life’s about compromises and priorities. After he lost you, he realized what his were.”
“I guess you’re right. I only hope the transition into the non-performing world will not be too harsh for him.”
“That’s when he’ll need your support the most. Be there for him,” Julia said.
“What’s he going to do now? Has he made a decision?” Alexander asked.
“Yes, he had a few interesting offers and negotiated a combined deal. He’ll be working part-time with the Musical Director of the Opera Theater Program at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. It’s part of Johns Hopkins University, and they bring small opera performances to schools across Maryland. Andrew introduced him when we visited. I think he’ll enjoy working with children and encouraging them to follow their dreams.
“In addition, he’ll be teaching Master classes at the Hippodrome Theater. So I guess he’s not completely turning his back on the world of theater and performance. He’s only doing it on a smaller scale.”
“It sounds amazing. And it won’t bother him to be working two different jobs?” Julia asked.
“Not at all. He didn’t want to commit to one organization because he likes both, and this allows him to be part of both teams. Andrew also asked him to do some consulting at the Center for Music and Medicine. If an interesting full-time position opens at either place in the future, he can rethink his preferences. And he’ll still consider taking on guest roles in stage productions or maybe a movie, but only if it doesn’t keep him away from home for too long.”
“He should have plenty of opportunities
between theaters in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington,” Julia said. “Just wait until directors find out he’s settling there.”
“And what are your plans?” Alexander asked.
“I accepted a part-time job at the Enoch Pratt Free Library. I can pretty much choose my own hours, which is ideal. If I want to go to Philly or travel with David, I can work three longer days and take the rest of the week off.”
The orchestra quieted down and the lights in the auditorium were dimmed. For the next three hours, Stella followed the fictional playboy and seducer’s story until the demons caught up with him and dragged him to hell.
When she saw David putting his hand up and blowing a kiss to her before he descended into the demons’ realms, she laughed with tears in her eyes. Leave it to him to send her a personal message in a theater packed with almost two thousand patrons. Of course he knew exactly where she was sitting. He had planned it all to perfection.
After the finale, when the applause died down and the curtains remained closed, the door to their private box opened. A young woman came in and asked in accented English, “Miss Harrison?” She carried a long piece of cloth over her arm.
Stella stood and said, “How can I help you?”
“I’m Nadine. Come with me, please. I’m taking you to Monsieur Danvers.” The woman beckoned for Stella to follow her.
Naomi made a shooing motion with both hands and Julia said, “Go! We’ll take Naomi out for a little bit.”
“Okay, then. I’ll catch up with you all tomorrow.” Looking over her shoulder one last time, she left with Nadine. “Where are we going?”
“Monsieur Danvers instructed me to pick you up and to bring you to his dressing room.”
“Oh, no, into the lion’s lair. How mysterious,” Stella joked, but Nadine remained quiet.
When they reached David’s private dressing room, Nadine knocked on the door, handed her the cloth bundle and walked away. David stepped out of his room, wearing dark jeans and a white dress shirt together with a half-mask and a long cape.
“Are we going to a masquerade ball? You should’ve told me,” Stella wiggled her eyebrows. “I would’ve brought my sleep mask and fluffy slippers.”
He touched a finger to her mouth, reached for the cloth in her hand, and hung it around her shoulders. It was a cape like his. Taking her hand, he signaled her to follow him.
She couldn’t stop the giggles from escaping. “Not even a hello kiss? And oh, by the way, I noticed the kiss you sent me during your curtain call. Unless you ended each of your performances with one, don’t you think the critics will comment on it tomorrow?”
David shrugged and continued to lead her to the end of the hallway, where he opened a metal door and descended with her into the abyss of the theater. They went deeper and deeper, through spaces cluttered with electrical equipment and generators, storage rooms and stage props, and it turned colder and colder.
“Baby, why aren’t you talking to me? Where are we going?” she wasn’t scared, but they were in a very eerie part of the theater, and she shivered in the underworldly atmosphere. Grateful for the cape, she used her free hand and pulled it closer around her.
He glanced at her but kept walking, a little faster now. Her hands where sweating and she wanted to rub them dry. When her fingers almost slipped out of his grip, he stopped walking, kissed her knuckles, then tightened his hold and pulled her down a set of rickety, creaky stairs, into a short tunnel.
They hadn’t seen a living soul for a while. Where were all the stagehands? “David, can we please go back?”
Instead of an answer, David began to hum a melody and they stepped out of the dim tunnel into a large cave with a vaulted ceiling.
An underground lake was in front of them, with hundreds of floating candles illuminating the dark surface. Not a ripple disturbed the calm water. A white wooden rowboat with two oars laid across the bench waited at the water’s edge.
“The… The lake is real,” she whispered.
Again, he didn’t answer with words, but led her to a table covered with a white tablecloth. Three fat ivory pillar candles in different sizes bathed the table in a warm yellow light. A bottle of champagne rested in a cooler and two glasses stood next to it, with a single white rose lying across the two flutes.
David pulled out a chair and signaled for Stella to sit down. He took off his mask and placed it next to the crystal flutes.
As soon as she sat, he bent one knee in front of her and pulled a teal-colored soft pouch out of his pocket.
She gasped and opened her mouth, but David put his finger on it.
He pointed around the cave and to the lake. “You never liked the ending of The Phantom of the Opera. Why don’t we write our own?”
The glow of the candles reflected in his eyes. They were like two dark pools of water, calm on the surface, but deep and mysterious beneath.
David lifted a ring from its velvety cushion.
“My angel, you’ve listened to your heart and believed in us. For the rest of my life, I want to fall asleep with you in my arms, and I want to wake up with you next to me. I want to be there for you. I want to share our joys with you and ease your sorrows.”
He reached for her hands.
“You gave me your heart not once, but twice. Will you entrust me with it for the rest of our lives? Will you marry me and let me love you until I take my last breath?”
She nodded.
She didn’t know how she found her voice, but she said, “I love you so much. Yes, I will marry you.”
With tears spilling over and trickling down his face, he slid a sparkling ring on her finger. “We belong together.” His arms went around her. “I’ll love you forever.”
Before their lips touched, Stella whispered, “Forever.”
THE END
AUTHOR NOTES
L
ike so many others, I had this dream of writing a novel since my adolescence, but the inspiration to sit down and bring something to paper didn’t come until the summer of 2019, when I found myself with nothing to read—which is rare.
Sitting in the backyard, I thought about my favorite musical and one of my favorite cities, Philadelphia. I wondered if a book, or even one paragraph, can have a life-altering impact on us. I believe the answer is yes.
Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera provided me with the perfect theme and framework for this book. I “saw” a woman mulling over what the book meant to her. And because I love the phantom as much as Stella does, I had no choice but to send her on a journey to pay homage to the fictional character.
I saw the musical The Phantom of the Opera for the first time in 1992 in Hamburg, Germany, and many more times since then in different cities—just never on Broadway (yet).
This book could not have been written and published without the unfaltering support of my husband and son. We called in pizza for dinner more times than I like to admit when I was lost in the world of my characters...just one more page... Axel and Mika, you are my rock!
I owe big thanks to:
Susan Blair and Lynn Rhodes for reading an early draft and providing me with encouraging feedback.
Nancy Porter, owner of Fork in The Road Travel, for double-checking everything travel-related, and valuable overall feedback.
My beta readers Joyce Greenfield, Kendra Wallace, Kathleen Weekes, and Kristy Murphy.
My friend Kimberly for taking the time to discuss some of the nitty-gritty with me.
My friends Carrie Frost and Teresa Johnson for general advice.
The amazing community of authors and writers! The warm welcome and amazing support is overwhelming—and much appreciated. Each and every day I’m reminded that we’re not competitors, but in this together. It takes a village…
Thank you for buying this book! Please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads.
I hope you enjoyed reading Stella and David’s story as much as I loved writing it.
REFERENCES AND
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A
s part of my research for this book, I came upon old stories about love and hope. I enjoyed reading them and knew I had to incorporate them.
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
The Death-Wedding of Honfleur is a story originally told in Excursions in Normandy, Ed. from the Journal of a Recent Traveller [Reise- Und Rasttage in Der Normandie, by Jacob Venedey] by Frederic Shoberl (1838).
Laüstic is a Breton lai by the medieval poet Marie de France. Her works have been dated to between ca. 1160 and 1215 and she is considered France’s first female poet whose work influenced the development of the romance/heroic literature genre to this day.
The story behind the La Mère Poulard, the restaurant on Mont Saint-Michel, is the real-life story of Anne “Annette” Boutiaut Poulard and Victor Poulard. I had the pleasure of visiting this mystic island a few years ago, and knew Stella and Naomi needed the experience of stepping back in time there.
Thank you to the following for helping me make this book shine:
Editor: Faith Freewoman, www.demonfordetails.com
Book cover design: Brandi Doane McCann, www.ebook-coverdesigns.com
Interior design layout/Formatting: Nanette Littlestone, www.wordsofpassion.com
Author photograph: Teresa Johnson, www.teresajohnson.com
If you like to listen to the songs mentioned in this book, check out my Spotify playlist.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A
nnette G. Anders grew up in Germany with a love for books, music, and traveling. She always liked the idyllic world created by Astrid Lindgren and the heroines of Jane Austen, doesn’t tire listening to ABBA, but also enjoys classical music. When she can’t travel, Annette explores the world through the eyes of her favorite writers.
Annette has worked for many years as an Executive Assistant in international research and business consulting institutions in Germany and Switzerland. In 1998, she and her husband moved to the United States, where they raised their son. In 2018, she turned her love for books into a freelance editing career—and found the courage to write her first book in 2019.
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