The others were mentioned as honored guests. Frederick and Elise stood in front of their seats as the audience applauded and bowed or curtsied their direction.
As soon as they took their seats, the lights went down and a drum beat started.
For the next 100 minutes or so, they laughed, cheered, cried, and Frederick even found himself singing along a little bit - under his breath of course.
Elise noticed and sent a smirk his direction.
Certain the general public wouldn’t be able to see it, he reached over and took her hand in his, linking their fingers together.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he whispered, barely moving his lips.
“Seeing you enjoy this? Absolutely.” She squeezed his hand.
As he recovered, she’d patiently explained so much to him - about television, movies, theater - and how much of it worked.
Seeing all of it through her eyes made the difference.
Falling in love with theater happened only because he fell in love with someone who loved it.
As the “come from aways” began to return to Gander ten years later, the thought took him by surprise.
Fell in love with someone who loved it.
Frederick knew he’d been headed toward loving Elise, but when had it crossed fromfalling in lovetofell in love?
It would take more time for introspection than he had at the moment.
Everyone in the royal booth joined the standing ovation as the cast and musicians took their bows.
After a few minutes, Frederick and Elise led the way out of the box and to their vehicles. The others in the box with them would go to hotels or homes owned by their families for the night. They would be at the reception the next day.
The drive to the palace was quiet and Frederick suspected Elise wondered if something was wrong. He wasn’t ready to talk about his realization so he simply took her hand again, hoping it would reassure her.
As soon as the doors to the SUV opened and they made it through the doors, Elise’s assistant met them.
The two of them walked off together, with Elise promising to see him in their suite in a few minutes.
George waited for Frederick, but he gave a slight shake of his head and walked on past. It had been a long day, and though he’d enjoyed the musical, he was more than ready to be done being around people.
Except Elise.
It didn’t take long to reach their suite. By the time he’d arrived, he’d removed his jacket, tie, and vest as well as undone the top couple of buttons on his shirt.
He went onto the balcony and rested his forearms against the balustrade, staring out over the ocean in the distance.
A few minutes later, he heard the door open and Elise entered their suite.
By the time she joined him on the balcony, she’d wrapped his suit jacket around her shoulders.
Elise’s forearms came to rest next to his and her head rested on his shoulder. “Did you enjoy the show?”
“I did,” he confirmed, a knot forming in his stomach, though he couldn’t quite define why. He wasn’t concerned about her response. Not really.
Standing straight, Frederick turned and rested his hands on her waist, the satiny fabric of her emerald green dress cool under his palms.
“I realized something while we were there.”
Elise looked up at him, patiently waiting for him to go on.
