CHARLES CLAIRE KALISTAChapter 35
- 4 years ago
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“Ooooohhhhh — That was a joke, Charles? That was my soon to be fourteen-year-old sons’ idea of a joke. Ha-Ha. Hmmm ... you knew I was behind the door, didn’t you? Well, you got me pretty good there, Chuckles. I must admit.”
She started laughing with us; so, I guess she was OK, but I am going to start being more careful, generally speaking.
RING
“Hello, this is Charles Newman, who may I ask is calling?”
“This is Kalista McArthur, Mr. Newman. Calling to see how you are doing?”
“Kalista. So good to hear your voice ... don’t worry about me, how are you?”
Sounding better, stronger she said, “I am fine Charles, thanks for asking. I am back at home, well if I was ‘home,’ I would be there with you and Claire right now, but I am rested and ready for whatever it is that you want me to do for you — because I love you.”
She was listening last night? Oh, crap ... now what do I say to her? I can’t take it back — I do love her, but not the same way I love Claire, or even my mom. Oh, well ... time to jump into the pit.
“You know that, uhm, when I said that last night, how I meant that, Kalista?”
“Yeah, Charles ... you love me, because you care about me and I care about you too, but right now I am telling you, that I love you — I am in love with you. Now, are you OK with me telling you that?”
“Oh my, Kalista — That is wonderful that you think you love me enough to tell me this, but I am in love with Claire and it wouldn’t be fair for me to tell you anything other than, I love you like a little sister.”
I went on, “The same way that Claire and I need to be careful about kissing in front of others, you and I must be very careful about letting people know that we love one another. Very few people could understand the deep connection that the two of us have. Is it OK with you if we keep it on the down low a little bit?”
“Sure, but I do love you — and not like a sister loves her brother.”
“That’s sweet K, but saying, ‘I love you’ in front of Annie or Claire, shouldn’t be much of a problem, but Sarah, or Brian, Susan ... that next closest group of people, Jimmy, that’s the bunch who would react like crazy, if they heard us talking to each other like that, OK, Kalista?”
Claire just then walked into my room and heard me.
“Kalista, why didn’t you tell me that Kalista was on the phone, Charles ... Give me the phone!”
“Kalista, honey ... Charles and I were so worried about you, are you all right? Good, that’s great to hear.”
“All right, we will see you in a day or two, Saturday for sure, Bye.”
“So, what did you and Kalista talk about, Charles? Anything interesting?” Claire asked, sitting down next to me.
The interrogation begins!
“Well, Claire ... since this seems to be ‘honesty day,’ I will tell you, but don’t freak out, OK?”
“Charles, give me some credit ... you know how I feel about Kalista and I know how you feel about Kalista.”
“Yeah, but do you know how Kalista feels about me?”
“What exactly do you mean by that?” she remarked with her eyebrows furrowed.
“Well, Claire ... she told me that she loves me.”
“Isn’t that sweet, Charles,” she said grinning real big.
“No, Claire, you didn’t hear me correctly, Kalista just told me that she — is — in — love — with — me,” I carefully separated each word for the needed clarity and emphasis.
There was a cool silence.
“She did ... what?”
“You said you wouldn’t freak out, Claire?”
“Did you tell her about your dream, about being married to her?”
“No ... of course not. Does she know that she’s my soul mate, Claire?”
“N-no, I never told her anything about that. I – I — I guessed that she figured it out for herself, when she was old enough.”
“Well, I think she has ... not in so many words, but telling me that she’s in love with me, tells me she has un-resolvable issues with me, you, or the both of us.”
“So, what do we do about this, Charles?”
“What do you mean, what do we do about it?”
“Do we encourage her — discourage her — ignore her, what?”
“Claire, you and I are less than two months from our fourteenth birthdays, we’re National Dance Champions, we have actually discussed marriage ... to one another. Now, there’s a young and very impressionable eight-year-old girl, who turns nine in October, and who thinks she’s in love with me. I don’t know what to do about this. Just a minute Claire — MOM, come in here please?” I yelled.
She wasn’t right behind the door, much to my surprise, but she got up to my room quickly nonetheless.
“You bellowed, Charles,” Annie said with a smile.
I took a real deep breath and said while starting to cry again, but this time I was sobbing rather hard, “Mom,” I was really worked up about this, “Claire and I ... Claire and I ... have a problem, that we need your help with.”
My crying got Mom crying, even Claire started to cry, and Annie said, “Oh, my god ... Charles. This sounds serious ... what is it, you know you can ask me or tell me anything honey, just tell me what you need me to do? Are you OK Claire, are you ... you know ... with — with child?”
Claire put out a nervous laugh, saying, “What ... with child? ... Oh god no Annie, NO, no, No — it’s nothing like that at all! Oh, my goodness, no — how embarrassing ... no Annie, I am not pregnant!” She was crying heavily.
Aghast, but still crying, I said, “Pregnant, Mom — really? You thought that I had gotten Claire pregnant? My gosh ... I really don’t know what to say to that. That even for a second, that thought — popped into your mind, makes, makes, makes you think that Claire and I ... Claire and I ... I can’t even say it out loud?”
“Did the deed ... shook the sheets, made whoopee, Charles?” Claire said with a terribly big smirk on her face, as she rubbed the tears from her eyes.
Stifling the beginning of a grin, I said to Claire, “That’s not helping at all, young lady,” and I started laughing, with Claire and then Annie joining in.
After we all calmed down, Annie asked, “So, if not that, what is your problem?”
“Kalista just told Charles that she is in love with him, Annie. THAT is our problem,” my precious redhead remarked.
I went through my entire conversation that I had had with Kalista earlier. Mom listened patiently and when I was through, she got up and walked behind me and put her hands on my shoulders saying, “Kalista doesn’t really understand what love is, Charles.”
“She thinks of it in terms of physical feelings ... not deep emotions, like the kind you two are experiencing. She’s got the rush of endorphins or something similar, going through her body and it’s telling her she has feelings for you.”
She continued, “You are the first boy who ever gave her the time of day, and actually smiled at her and cared for her. Give her as much distance, physically and emotionally, as you dare, but remember, she has got the mother of all crushes on you, so I wouldn’t be quite so blatant with your and Claire’s public displays of affection, in front of her.”
“Also ... give her a little more time, when you are preparing for a competition. As much as she likes to see you two dancing with each other, she longs for you to dance with her as much as you can, Charles.”
Turning to Claire she said, “I know that this is going to be tough for you, but you can’t be catty with her or even around her. All right you two, why don’t you work on that crazy new dance of yours that you want to show off to Kalista. I will get her over here by Thursday. Have it ready by then. Seeing that should lift her spirits.”
“Mom?”
“Yes, Charles.”
“I am really sorry about the ‘seeing you naked’ remark ... that was way out of line. I apologize for saying that to you and in front of my girl.”
“Annie — Charles and I saw your shadow under the door, so when he said what he said I couldn’t keep myself from laughing out loud. You really should have seen your face, it was priceless.”
“Thank you, Claire,” Annie said with more than a smattering of sarcasm in her voice.
Claire and I worked on the ‘five-dance’ routine as the ‘Bad Romance’ number had been nicknamed. Transitioning is always the most difficult part of a routine ... when you are switching between the different rhythms, it makes it even more difficult, but we managed to make it work, sometimes creating a whole new move, part waltz and part tango, so it wouldn’t look too, herky-jerky. Hmmm, a Wango!
Mom would come up every now and again to see our progress and check up on us. When she did catch us kissing, she would simply smile and wave at us to ‘move on.’
We spent about two full hours at it — the routine — not kissing.
I decided to shock Annie and Claire a little. The next time Mom came up to the room and knocked on my door, I said, “Come on Claire. Let me put my hand on your butt?”
Annie tore open the door; about to say, “AHA,” while at the same time, Claire slapped me hard in the face and said, “I am not that kind of girl, Charles!”
Talk about a plan that backfired, I didn’t know what to say, so I just stood there, like the proverbial bump on a log, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
And waiting!
“Charles Xavier Newman, I clearly heard you say ... what I just heard you say. Why in the world would you be so stupid?” Her hands were back, on her hips. Claire’s were as well!
“Annie ... Mom, it was a very stupid, impulsive thing to do. I only said it to get a response from the two of you, but I guess I didn’t think it through, as well as I thought.”
“As smart as you are at dances, steps, music, and tempos, sometimes I wonder if you have a clue about propriety and common sense. It’s never appropriate to say ... that to a girl, even the girl you may end up marrying someday. She has feelings and you ignored them for your own sake.”
“Apologize to Ms. McArthur, NOW!”
I looked over at Claire and then back to my mom and then back to Claire. I opened my mouth to speak, but my mind was blank. How do I say this? I had an idea.
I put my hands on either side of Claire’s face and I gave her a wonderful, impassioned kiss. It didn’t matter to me that Mom was in the room right now. I took my arms and put them around Claire and kept kissing her, knowing my limit was coming. I heard mom’s foot tapping and her eyes were boring through the back of my head.
Moments were passing; Claire fell into my arms, returning this, clearly, our most intense kiss. Our mouths were open, and I felt compelled to pull away from her.
With her eyes closed, she was licking her lips and I said barely loud enough for her to hear “I am so sorry; I just love you so much.”
Claire said equally quietly, “I know, I love you, too. Apology accepted.”
Mom was still standing there, aghast over the length and breadth of our kiss. She had heard us speak to each other and was rubbing her eyes. I turned to her and said, “I love you too, Antoinette. I am very sorry for my inappropriate outburst. I am hoping you can find a place in that wonderfully big heart of yours to forgive your hormone-ravaged son.”
Ultimately, Annie spoke, “Charles, that certainly was the most stirring kiss, I have ever watched a young man give his girl. As far as your apology to me goes, I accept it and wonder where you got all these relationship skills from, because your father certainly was lacking in them.”
I shrugged and mouthed, ‘I don’t know?’
“Dinner break and then you can practice your ‘five-dance’ routine — downstairs! I have gotten so used to Kalista helping me with things around here, it might take me a bit.”
I put the earpieces back in our ears and we went back to work on the number wanting it to be perfect for Kalista.
Thursday morning there was a honk outside and Sarah pulled up and a smiling eight-and-a-half-year-old redhead got out with her go bag. Claire and I ran out to her, both of us hugging her.
“Sarah, why don’t you come in for a while? Claire and I have a new dance that Kalista inspired,” I insisted.
She came in — Annie and her quickly started talking heatedly about something?
I asked everyone to sit.
“I picked out a piece of music a few days ago but wasn’t inspired to immediately create a routine out of it, but when we got home from the hospital, being so worried about Kalista, I wasn’t wanting to dance or eat or do much of anything. But, when Kalista and I spoke to each over the phone, I realized that dancing was nice, but dancing with Claire and Kalista, was what I was born to do.”
“Born to dance, that’s my Charles,” Kalista said sporting a huge grin.
“So, Claire and I have spent the last two days, working out a routine to this piece of music. It can never be in a competition, unless we win the competition and get to perform this as an Encore piece. Claire and I call this our ‘Five-dance routine’ because there are elements from five different dancing styles. This ... is for Kalista.”
Claire gave me a kiss, I nodded to Mom to start the music and the dance started with the Waltz and it just took off from there. We went seamlessly from Waltz to Tango to Foxtrot. When we started to Quickstep, Kalista stood upright on the sofa, realizing what we were doing ... for her. She was clapping with the music, Sarah and Annie also joining in.
Our spins, during the violin’s sixty-fourth notes, had K shrieking. She was looking closely at what we were doing, looking at Annie and then back to us. She was having the time of her life, watching us go from Waltz, to Quickstep, Foxtrot, Tango and back again.
We were having as much fun dancing it, as they were watching it. It was ending, and everybody knew it, so Claire and I got ready for the Rhumba spin that finished this off, ending perfectly in time with the Vitamin String Quartet.
All the ladies were up, whistling their approval.
Kalista stepped off the sofa and said, “Charles, you had six styles actually; you had a cha-cha step coming out of the spins, every time, so it should really be called a ‘Six-Pack’ routine.”
I picked her up and gave her face-covering kisses that she usually gave me. She was giggling all through it, not wanting it to stop.
“Wow,” said Sarah. “I have been watching you two dancing, from the beginning, which got me watching dancing on TV and I can say, without a doubt, that that was the finest piece of technical dancing I have ever seen in my entire life. And the two of you were having the times of your life doing it. I know it’s destined to be an encore piece, but I just had a chill during that. Abso-fricking-tastic, you two.”
“Charles & Claire — get to work, you have a competition on Sunday,” Annie said.
“Foxtrot, Dimples?”
“Michael Bublé, Xavier?”
This year’s competitions are going to be ‘da bomb.’
Sarah stayed over and was talking to Annie but was keeping a very close eye on Kalista the whole time. I went over to her and Annie.
“Excuse me, Sarah ... may I speak to you privately?” I asked.
Mom looked over at me and probably figured it out.
“Yes, Charles ... you sound so serious. You are not asking for Claire’s hand in marriage yet, are you?” she said with a curious smile.
I glanced over at Annie, who was also smiling.
I lowered my volume so only Sarah could hear me, “No, Sarah ... this isn’t even about Claire? I was hoping to spend a little more time, teaching Kalista some more dances this summer. What I am asking of you ... is to tell me when she may be ready, for me to implement this plan and please, don’t tell her about this, I want to surprise her each time, OK?”
“That’s so very sweet of you, Charles. Your mother and I have been arguing about whether to tell you something about Kalista. Annie, come over here for a minute?” she said barely raising her voice.
“Yes, Sarah?” mom responded walking over to us.
“Annie, is it all right with you if I tell Charles about Kalista’s condition?” Sarah replied.
I pestered, “Condition? What’s wrong with her? You said she was just real tired, what’s going on, please tell me?”
“Calm down, Charles, I am trying to tell you,” said Sarah.
“I have started my periods, Charles,” Kalista said walking into the discussion and perhaps a little bit too loud, causing all the other ladies to either blush, snicker, or both.
Turning towards Sarah and Annie I asked, “I thought girls as young as K don’t get them until ... they are older?”
Sarah responded, “It’s rare, but not unheard of ... it’s called ‘Precocious Puberty,’ aptly named for Kalista’s sake.”
“So that explains the phone call I got from Kalista last night?”
“Yes, Charles ... I overheard her say those things to you. After you got off the phone, I explained how she needed to be very careful and not to blurt out, ‘I love you, Charles’ at a totally inappropriate time,” Sarah said rather matter-of-factly.
Claire decided to join the conversation by moving in between Kalista and I, offering, “Is there ever an appropriate time for an eight-year-old girl to say, ‘I love you’ to a boy, her cousin is dating?”
“I am really sorry, Claire,” Kalista said. “I will do my very best to keep my hands and lips off your fella.”
That blew the lid right off the uncomfortable nature of the dialogue that had been going on and everybody laughed and tittered, with Annie snorting a bit, trying to hold it in, but that ... just made it worse.
I said, “Kalista, have a seat. Claire and I would like you to see a dance that you have seen, but I am certain you were too tired to enjoy. Mom would you start the Leann Rimes number?”
Claire gave me the kiss and we danced it again, just for Kalista. I even threw in an extra spin that Claire handled perfectly in tempo. I am so glad that this little girl is in my life, whether she’s my soul mate, my dance partner, my wife, or the little sister that I had wanted my whole life ... Kalista is a beautiful spirit to be reckoned with.
The Announcer came on: “Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls; school’s out and guess who’s back joining us? Charles & Claire!” A wonderful round of applause came up from the crowd, the returning kids smiled at us, the new kids glared at us. “But they are last today, so let’s get started.” He went on to announce the first competitors and it began. Things were moving along, I felt a bit more nervous than usual. Claire came up to me and said, “Charles, remember we’re waltzing today, this...
About three hours later, we’d gone through our new routines, polishing them all up a bit—also going over every routine we’d won a trophy using. Some of those were quite fun, since we hadn’t performed them in such a long while. “LUNCH!” The three of us all came in to see a layout of food that was amazing; we had lasagna or meatloaf to choose from. Also, there were Pan-fried home-made French fries, which is a specialty of the ladies, and the usual Salad Bar, but it had more things to choose...
“Wow, Charles—that’s quite ambitious and crazy, like you said. The minute we touch down, I will do all I can to make that happen. You certainly have been the showman this past year, introducing me, special guests that I sprung on you at the last minute like Idina and adding those fantastic musical routines that include all of your ... harem,” Michael said. “That’s what you pay me the big bucks for Michael,” I said, feeling a pull on my shirtsleeve. It was Claire, who wanted a kiss. Never...
By the time I looked it up, Claire had gone back into our room, Kalista was looking for a suit and the ladies went back to their room to change. “Charles, I may need you to put some sunscreen on me, later?” Kalista said swishing her hips as she went into her bathroom. She knows how to turn me on! I got up and saw my fiancée walking out of our bathroom, with a delicious red bikini on. “Come on X Man, we want to get there before they leave for the day,” Claire said. As quickly as I could, I...
Excusing myself from the ladies for a moment, I went back upstairs to take a shower and shake the ‘Claire-webs’ from my mind. I quickly got dressed and went to BallroomDancer.com, (real!) to see which steps I wanted to add to our various routines and there was a knock on my bedroom door. Rather than my usual ‘come in,’ I asked, “Who is it?” “It’s Claire, Charles ... Annie and my mom said I should come up and talk to you. We need to talk.” “Just a minute — All right?” I was feverishly...
“E-rog-en-ous Zones – look it up. They are places on a woman’s body that, when touched ... or kissed, can produce the female equivalent of your ‘problem,’ at least it makes us feel really good all ‘inside.’” “A young girl like Claire or Kalista doesn’t know they have places on their backs that control specific parts of their anatomy, and can create a lot of sexual feelings, and in your and their cases, sexual frustration. Be Careful, dude,” Sarah finished. “Since this doesn’t sound like...
At that point, Sarah and I had scheduled seven days off to recharge and refresh in Dallas, only three hours away at the Cooper Hotel & Conference Center. The place was awesome. I even scheduled a Swedish Massage for everybody in our group - each in their own rooms, which costs extra, but we’re all worth it. While in Dallas, we went off to Six Flags Over Texas, only thirty minutes away from our hotel. We even got Annie and Sarah to go on some of the rides. The place was pretty cool. While...
Leaning into Kal, I said, “I think you can do this better than Claire could, but you know I can’t tell Claire that and you can’t either, ever! You promise me? Pinkie Swear?” She put out her Pinkie, attaching hers to mine. I heard her say, “Pinkie Swear, Charles.” I looked over and saw a delicious smile on Claire’s face as K started to try the cut time tempo. She was hesitating. “Look at me, Princess? This song is called, ‘Hold On’ so you can hold on to me and I know you can do this. Try it...
2nd City Grand Rapids, MI Radisson Hotel Here, we performed at the DeVos Place Convention Center in the DeVos Performance Hall, which seats 2,400 people. Mr. Bublé told me we got in here because Harry Connick Jr cancelled, and we got the date. The irony of that is that the two of them have reasonably similar singing styles as well as they sing a lot of the same old crooners’ tunes. From there, we schlepped to, 3rd City Detroit, MI Holiday Inn Woodhaven 4th City Akron, OH Sheraton Suites...
We all got out of the Spa, changed and had something to eat. Both refrigerators, as well as the chest freezers in the garage were quite full, so we have enough food to last until we leave on tour, maybe even longer. I suppose we could pack some food to go with us? Annie spoke, “Today is July 25th guys, midway between Charles & Claire’s birthdays. In celebration of this, kneel, Claire McArthur and Charles Newman.” Kneel? Claire and I looked at each other, not knowing what was about to...
Having brushed up on all of our routines the past couple of days; we were ready to begin rehearsals for the US Something Special Tour. We made our way to the Battelle North Room at The Performing Arts Center in Columbus and found Mr. Bublé there, along with his twenty-nine-piece orchestra and the Arts Center Staff working together to get ready to rehearse. Michael waved at us, as we came into the room. “So, Charles – did you really create a routine to ALL of my recorded music?” Michael...
Sarah went to her daughter and hugged her, tightly. “Yes, I do,” she said just loud enough for us all to hear. My mother started back up, “Claire, calm down. I believe you, but I need you both to be thinking clearly these next few days ... about only dancing! You may become stars whether you win this competition or not, if David Letterman has his way. He may even ask you to go on his show. I believe it broadcasts from Manhattan. I had better go and talk to Jimmy about this.” “Go ahead and...
I blushed deeply as we started to dance using our classic routine we’d made so long ago, to this—her favorite song. She glowed as we danced close enough together to push the ‘girls’ up and against my chest. I glanced quickly down at them, but I just as quickly, returned to the beautiful face of my future mother-in-law as we danced alone on the dance floor. The music ended as I rolled her out and in, ending with my arms completely surrounding her from behind. The audience had been as...
Even Pam and her cameraman Eloy, from WSYX-TV, were there, along with Dave the DJ and his following. I saw my girls changing into their slippers as I mulled over in my head which dances to perform. I quickly decided on ‘The Only Exception’ a Waltz with Kalista, and our new ‘Encore piece’ ‘Xanadu.’ Out of breath, Pam came up to me and said, “National in two minutes, Charles, please?” “Thank you - two,” I responded. Pam laughed. An energy always pulses through me every time I know we’re...
“I am glad you like it so much, Loverboy. If we move into your grandpa’s home, we better have a spa in the backyard, if not inside somewhere too.” “Yeah, inside—that’s the term your mother was using on me too.” We went out to dinner and got back early enough to work on our new routines some more. First, I got Kalista and we worked all of our numbers, then I got Claire to do the same. Lastly, we did out group numbers and the Claire/Kallie numbers as well. It was after eleven pm by the time...
I came back down dressed for the spa, Sarah was already in, so I checked and asked, “You do have a suit on, right Sarah?” She stood up and had on a beautiful one-piece swimsuit, that had the American Flag on it, but there was a mesh portion over the bosom area that flashed a bit more ‘skin’ than I had been expecting. I got in and turned my back to her saying, “Be gentle, Mrs. Robinson,” which caused her to laugh a bit. Just as she was starting to rub my shoulders, everybody came through the...
We all looked at one another and did not understand what she was saying to us. She tried again, “That man who just left here ... is ‘John McArthur,’ not Daniel. It was Daniel who died in June’s arms, all those years ago. John swapped ... all their credentials and took over the life of Daniel, including, being the f-f-father of all of my children.” She was sobbing very hard again. I remarked, “It seems like John and Daniel played the same kinds of tricks on everyone, being twins? Including...
Last year, being thirteen-year-olds meant we danced on Tuesday, but this year (2013) since we both will be tuning 14 in late July, we’re probably moving to Thursday nights. However, we got a letter from Jimmy with the upcoming Cotillion schedule. Things have changed considerably; Monday is now 17/18-year-olds, Tuesday 13/14-year-olds, Wednesday 11/12-year-olds, Thursday 15/16-year-olds, Friday is the 9/10-year-olds, and Saturday at ten am, will be the 7/8-year-olds. This was explained by an...
“MOTHER!” She was on a roll, so Sarah kept going, “Sorry Claire, but the truth is the truth. Most girls your age are getting ready to go to high school and plan to sleep with every boy they meet, until they find the one to bring home to Mom and Dad. You, however—hit the mother lode; he’s cute, he’s smart, he treats you like he’s known you for a dozen years, but it’s been barely over a year and a half, from when you first met.” “I know I didn’t originally understand what was going on with...
“You had me worried there for a minute, Tiger,” she said giving me a new nickname. “I thought I felt your hands moving towards my butt.” “They did ... a little, but I was in control of my hands the whole time, OK Love.” “OK Love,” she repeated quietly. Jimmy told us that during the next week we would likely still be working on the Tango and Cha-Cha. Claire and I only needed to refine our steps and learn a few more. We must keep Jimmy satisfied. ==== It was Saturday night, and Annie and...
“I am in a spa with four very healthy and attractive women; my mother, my girlfriend, my soul mate and my potential mother–in-law. The last thing on my mind is having fun. Wait a second ... that didn’t come out quite right.” “Charles,” Claire said swimming over to me, “Do I make you nervous right now?” “Not n-nervous, Claire. More uh — uhm, well ... uncomfortable,” I lied. Claire started to walk towards me with water dripping off ... everything. “Claire,” said her mother, “Don’t tease...
The next couple of days were something of a haze, with the practices, the new routines and such. Mom repeated that the musical guidelines for time are, to avoid a penalty, between 150 and 210 seconds. “Annie’s Song” was 180 seconds, but a song that goes 223 seconds, like “Footloose” does, might be stretching it just too much. Claire told me that Josiah could trim music from the front or the end of the song to make it fit the 210 maximum. So, I asked her to have him cut the opening eight...
Breaking the mood, Sarah said, “He’s not the greatest dancer ever, but he’s darn close. Thank you for stopping by,” she added, rubbing my back saying, “She’s not too far from the truth, Charles?” I leaned into Sarah and cried for a bit. Fed, showered, and dressed - we showed up early for our second Carnegie Hall Performance, these folks paid $2,500 each to see us, so we really needed to be jazzed and ready. Walking up to Michael, I saw he’d actually put on the T-shirt we got him. “Hey...
“Back to the Countdown, all right?” I hopefully asked. That settled them all down, at least a little. Claire said, “You were at 14, Charles.” “Thanks honey,” I said with a kiss. “Number 14;” 955,000 Sarah “Marilyn Monroe” pose “What’s that mean?” Kalista asked. I said, “There was an actress in the 40s, 50s and early 60s named Marilyn Monroe, Kalista. She exuded sexuality and one of her many famous pictures was with her bent over in a low-cut all-white dress, with her ‘girls’ pushed...
“Let’s get back to the hotel everybody,” Annie said. “Michael, when do we leave for Russia?” “In three days, we fly from here to Novosibirsk, Russia, about 2,950 miles, then on to Moscow, an additional 1,730-mile leg, after that to St. Petersburg, our final Russian stop,” Michael said. “Good, I might just sleep for the next two days Michael,” I said. Claire leaned in close and said, “Not without me, you won’t?” The realization of the previous evening, hit me when I woke up. I had my arms...
When they saw us walk up to their ticket windows, there was a scream from within, and they called their supervisor who gave us all free passes for the day. Ever-present Sarah showed me she had autographing pens with her. First thing we did was to take the Behind the Scenes Tour that showed off their zoological support area, and Jonathan, our guide, made a prideful point of mentioning all of the endangered species they had at their park. After the Tour was over, our guide, Jonathan stayed...
What was that? Did they say we had moved on, or were they telling us to leave the floor? The crowd was stunned and started to applaud very loudly. I guess that meant ... We made it! We waved back to the crowd, and Claire took me by my collar and kissed me in front of everybody there. I knew this was likely to come back on me, but I responded and kissed her back causing the other dancers around us to start applauding as well. We broke up both equally embarrassed, but happy as can be — we...
FIFTEEN YEARS LATER (2032) “Charles?” K said, now 28. “Yes, Princess?” I responded, now 33. “Everybody’s gone, leaving us alone.” “Where did they all go to?” I asked. “Claire, Annie and Sarah with Rose and Michael, along with Ken and his brood, went to check on the newest Charles & Claire Dance Studio in Pittsburgh. On their way back they were going to Columbus for the day, to check on the studio that Brian and Susan, and their family, are in charge of.” “That leaves us all alone,...
Well, again, Tuesday night couldn’t come soon enough for me. This week, Brian’s mother took us to Cotillion getting us there early so Claire and I could confer with Jimmy. We told him about the BBQ and about all the steps we learned. Mr. Bradshaw looked at us flabbergasted and said, “You have learned The Natural Turn Progression? I usually don’t even try to teach that to anyone under fifteen; they ... just can’t grasp it. You two really are something special, you know. Next week, I will be...
We got up, showered and met up with the group for a small and quick breakfast. Sarah got us a room in the hotel to practice in, we went through all of our newly restored routines two additional times letting the girls flash them up a little. We took a cab ride out to Wembley Stadium to check it out. We saw a very large dance floor being setup, it was maybe 80ft across by 100ft deep, easily the biggest we’d seen so far. As fast as they were setting it up, Michael and his merry men were...
That caused Jimmy to smile big as he said, “Now ... Charles & Claire will show us all, the Tango,” starting “Hernando’s Hideaway,” a different version than we had danced to before, but quite lyrical. Claire turned to me and said, “Charles remember, No rise and fall!” What a wonderful dimpled smile was on her face. We proceeded to Tango ourselves into a lather using steps that we know Jimmy wouldn’t be teaching tonight, but when you love to dance ... you do what you do, and what you...
“OK, last subject – turning professional and going on this tour. I am beginning to believe, that we are going to like dancing for people on this tour more than anything else, so I suggest we all turn professional right away, informing the NDCA at the proper time. We go on this US Tour, and maybe even Michaels’ World Tour as well.” “Then we maybe find out about going on the World Dance Council International Tour, or starting our own Tour, something along the lines of ‘The Claire and Special K...
Not having been there for over five years brought back memories. It was an all-new orchestra, with a new conductor, Herbie must have retired or passed on. After getting everyone settled, I walked up and introduced myself and met the new conductor, Harold Watson, better known as Hal. He was aware of who we were and had a large number of our music ready for us. There was no live singer this evening, just a nice meal and dance music. I sat between my wife and my daughter. “Daddy,” Rose said...
The next morning, after working out and coming back to take a shower, I looked at our list of cities we’d gone to so far and determined that we have been to 30% of the total cities, and we’re about eight months into our 24-month long Tour so far, which ... matches up. We’re less than two months from Kalista’s 12th birthday. Our second Anaheim performance was as electric as the first, then we had a day off, then Fullerton for a single, the next day was our ‘Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon...
I chuckled, put the phone down and ran to Mom in the kitchen asking her if Claire could come over in the morning to practice. Of course, she said, “Are you ready to be a proper gentleman this time, young man?” I bowed my head and said, “Yes, ma’am. I have got Claire holding on the phone. Could we get her this time, instead of one of her family having to drop her off, please?” That probably sounded a bit needy. “That was the perfect amount of groveling. Go tell her we will be coming to get...
The performances the next four days in Sydney, were quite outstanding. Kalista was extraordinary, and Claire was at the top of her game as well. I’d begun to go to the gym now and work out every morning. I did look up the latest news on Happy Birthday, finding that only three weeks earlier (On September 22nd) a judge in Los Angeles ruled that none of the companies that have collected royalties over the years, held a valid copyright claim. An attorney for the plaintiffs, Randall Newman (No...
Claire said, “I guess we’ll find out who wins the battle of the chesticles, won’t we, Mom?” Sarah did a shake and said, “In sheer size, dear – there’s no comparison.” They all laughed and snorted. “All right let’s go ... Dammit! The stat site is down, I need to call Ken about this!” “Oh,” Sarah said. “We got a request from Disney to make our posters available in the non-USA Parks. Without running it by anyone, I said to go ahead, but only in Japan. I figured we could find out how...
“Both of our mothers, along with our future stepdaughter, would kill us both if we did something as stupid as that,” she responded. “You’re right Claire, and when you are right – you are right,” I said, first looking over the delicious body of my soon to be wife, then starting another kiss. “I am so horny, and you are so gorgeous – a deadly combination, my dear.” “I am up for a little ‘afternoon delight,’ Charles?” she said grinning at me, reminding me again of that wonderful June evening...
After we got home, I changed into a swimsuit and practically jumped into the spa. Being that everyone else was of a like mind, within a half hour, I was joined by my entire C.A.S.K of ladies. Kalista came up to me and asked, in an alarmingly sexual tone, “Whatcha doin, Loverboy,” and she sat down on my lap, spreading herself out in a leisurely manner. “Well, Special K, you sexy lump of clay, you, I was looking at the final leg of our US SST tour.” I had my laptop on a stool...
“Can we wait and not have sex, until we’re married? Too many kids rush into their first time and end up regretting their decision.” “Absolutely Charles, that’ll make it that much more exciting, when we finally do make love to one another, for the very first time.” Of course, that was exactly when Sarah walked in, knocking and saying, “I want the two of you to know something about love. There’s lust, and it is a very powerful and strong emotion, that can break up friends forever. It can ruin...
“I am so excited,” Annie said. “How do you calm down when you get this excited.” Michael knew, so he walked over to her and gave her a nice kiss, possibly the best kiss they had yet shared. She touched her lips and seemed calmer. “He certainly takes after his father,” Kallie said. “Charles did that to Sarah once, and she was never the same again.” “Five minutes please,” our tech girl announced through my headset. I passed that along to the gang. Turning to my wife, I said, “Ready for...
We all laughed for the next hundred miles or so as we headed towards our, 31st City Salt Lake City One Night SLC Marriott City Center We arrived in Salt Lake City about three am. Sarah had gotten us a large suite with two queens and a rollaway. We’re performing at the Salt Palace the day after tomorrow. We were emotionally drained from the last six hours of things happening, so Kalista got in the rollaway, provided I give her a goodnight kiss, which I did, and I crawled into bed with my...
Eventually, we all changed into rehearsal clothes again. We had less than four full months before we leave on ‘The Next-Generation Tour’, and these routines needed to be automatic. I introduced the third set into our regimen, two weeks later we added set number four. Six weeks later all seven sets were worked into the rotation. Sammi was right — the kids were catching on, smiling as they were barely out of breath after a day’s rehearsal. My daily workout did its job; I was back in the best...
The rest of the day was a blast, the farthest thing from dancing we could do. Occasionally, Sarah grabbed my hand as we walked to the things we wanted to see and accomplish. We’d gotten tired, and let our guide give us a mini-tour, while we stayed in the cart. We weren’t being bothered for autographs that much, but if someone asked, we’d stop and gladly do it. We were all dried out now. I’d seen a place on the Park Map I wanted to go to, so I asked to go to Topper’s Hat Shop. I got a light...
I opened the door to a wonderful scent, thank you Ken, and Claire and I quickly started a load of laundry, then stripped and got naked into our spa. I got a text from K, “Can I spa with U?” I asked Claire and she said ‘Sure’ and I texted K back. She was over in a flash. I was planning on putting on some boxers, but my legs felt so good, I stepped into the spa, naked. K came in already in a suit. “Princess, right now - naked only.” She got in, put Claire between us and stripped herself...
“Kallie?” I said pulling her to where we could talk and not be heard. “Yes dear,” she replied giving me again that smile that radiates love. “I found an ALS Research Center in San Francisco. They are expecting records from your doctor regarding your preliminary diagnosis. I have emailed you their information and would love it if you took care of doing that in the next 24 to 48 hours,” I asked. “It isn’t that important, Charles,” she said. “It is to me, please, Special K, do it for me,...
Things were breaking up and our group quickly surrounded us, as we exchanged hugs and kisses. I looked around and didn’t see Kalista anywhere, at least not until she was in the air, on her way to me and I caught her. I won’t be able to hold her much longer, she has gotten taller and thus, heavier; I certainly wouldn’t say that to her face. She went for the deep kiss, but Annie and Sarah were there in time, to stop it from happening. After signing autographs for over half an hour, Annie...
We laughed all the way down to the kitchen. I pulled the chair out for Claire and we went about our business. I made her a salad and brought it to her, then made us each a cheeseburger and grabbed some chips and took it to the table. Lastly I poured us a couple glasses of water and realized I was the only person moving at all. The ladies seemed perplexed over Claire’s ‘ensemble,’ but nobody actually said anything. Claire looked up and said, “Are Charles and I the only ones having lunch...
Our Three Sports Stadium Performances were not technical sellouts, but they were the loudest frikking amounts of people we ever had, with Dan the Man in his elements. Well, back to the Tour: 40 cities left in California; starting in Oxnard, then Ventura and Santa Barbara for 3, Santa Maria for 2, Bakersfield for 3 (In a new multi-use stadium capable of holding 125,000), followed by Visalia, Clovis, and Fresno for 2, Modesto, Stockton and Sacramento for 3. We were planning an extra two days...
“Yes, a Terrible Tango routine,” I said. “Must find just the right music,” as I started rummaging through our music collection. “What about ‘Hernando’s Hideaway,’ Charles? We have practiced to it a couple of times?” Claire suggested. “No, Claire ... it’s a great song to Tango to, but I want something that works for only you and me ... so nobody else will dare dance to it, after we do.” “Aren’t we getting a little full of ourselves, Charles?” mom asked. “No Mom, the music is important;...
Finally, we went back to dancing. I thought we could now practice the Cha-Cha and the Tango. Those were the dances we were expected to know for Cotillion later. We went back over the four Basic patterns, the New York step, along with both the Spot and Walkaround turns again. I added to that, the Crossover steps, and a really cool derivative step called The Chase. After going through this without music, I looked at their selection. They had the Eliane Elias version of “Oye Como Va;” a perfect...
Disney’s Hollywood Studios was impressive. With twenty attractions to choose from, including Rock ‘n’ Roll Coaster, Star Tours in 3D, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, that Annie and Sarah wanted nothing to do with, Toy Story Mania, the newly refurbished Fantasmic, and a 25-minute long Live truncation of ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ with five of the wonderful songs from the movie, including the Oscar winning ‘Be Our Guest’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ We also watched the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt...
She pounced on my slightly diminished erection, enjoying it like a kitty cat that just got a fresh plate of milk. She got me clean and pushed me on my back. She dropped her butt down on my erection, causing her to practically scream bloody murder. I threw her a pillow, as she performed at first a ‘Cowgirl’ then without stopping turned it into a ‘reverse.’ I pulled out and got her on her hands and knees and I plowed right into that beautiful butt of hers, again doing most of the work. Only...
My girls all came up to me wondering exactly what I was going to say. As usual, I said that I didn’t know yet, I’d planned to wing it. The cameraman was getting instructions through his earpiece and I got Claire and Kalista on either side me. He backed up a bit and gave me a 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1. The reporter handed me her mike, and I said, straight into the TV camera in front of me, “Ladies and Gentlemen, and kids of all ages, from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Welcome to the Columbus Mall, in...
We got back to Caesars about twenty-five minutes before things started. The same gentleman we’d spoken to before helped us to our seats. The lights dimmed. As part of her show, she does many of her most popular musical selections, including practically all of her music that we had. After her first couple of songs, she took her microphone and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, last fall I was lucky enough to be part of a very special wedding event. It was at a football stadium in Columbus, Ohio....
“I plan to ask her to marry me at graduation, not to marry me at graduation. I know many teenagers as well as older folks seem to think two or three months is plenty of time to be engaged. I hope to be engaged for two full years so when we turn twenty, that year’s McArthur Family BBQ could become our Wedding Day.” “I know you usually hold it in June, Sarah, but that year it could be the Sunday between my and Claire’s birthday’s in July. Could that be planned? Maybe you can get that dunk tank...
We landed in Fairbanks, Alaska, for the first of four performances in the 49th state. Fans in Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Juneau all loved our Next Generation Tour. Our hop from there to Hawaii was wonderful. Our Tour of Pearl Harbor was amazing. Michael explained it to his ‘girls’, causing all three of them to cry a little. Sammi did the same with Lily. My Great-great grandfather, Richard Noble Newman, was shipped to Pearl Harbor during the late summer of 1941. By the grace of God, he...
The next night’s performance was something of a letdown. Michael Bublé performed flawlessly, but every one of us fumbled something. After saying goodnight to him and getting our money, I called a meeting for when we got back to the hotel to pick up Sammi and her crew. After we all assembled outside our vehicles, I said, “What happened tonight was totally unacceptable! Even I messed up!” That garnered a laugh. “In the entire history of Charles & Claire, that has never happened. I don’t...