CHARLES CLAIRE KALISTAChapter 35
- 4 years ago
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Annie responded, “Sure thing. Charles — you can let Sarah go now.” This caused a great deal of laughter at our table. Sarah, still in my arms, said somewhat wistfully, “Thank you Charles ... for everything.”
We walked to our vehicle and we quietly all got back in. Claire and K leaned their heads on me for the short trip back to the hotel. I walked the girls to their room and told them to be ready by ten am. I apologized to them for the cursing I did, at the Tavern.
I got a nice kiss from each of them, as I walked back to my room, and I saw Sarah outside, apparently waiting for me.
“Charles, that was awfully brazen of you, but you did save me, so I have this for you.”
She planted her hands on either side of my face, and lightly pulled my face to hers, and kissed me, which was truly magnificent. She opened her mouth, I opened mine, and it seemed to go on forever and ever. Mom could poke her head out any moment, so I took her hands with mine and ended the kiss, saying, “Oohhh, Sarah – how long since you have had a kiss like that with anybody?”
“I know that your mother, and the girls wouldn’t approve of that, but I had to get that out of my system, Charles. It’s been building up for a while, ever since that morning you woke up — with me in your bed.”
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to do any more than kiss you, but Claire knocked, and you saved my virtue that morning. It’s been over a year since I got a kiss anything like that, so can we keep this to ourselves, please?”
“Sure, Sweet-Lips ... I may need one of those from time to time, if you wouldn’t mind?”
I thought ‘Maybe every day!’
“Let’s clean you up mister,” Sarah said.
The door opened and Annie said, “How long have you two been out here?”
“I just got back ... from dropping off the girls,” I fumbled a bit. “Sarah wanted to bring me up to date on the plans for in the morning.”
“Right, come on inside, it’s getting brisk out,” Annie said with a big smirk on her face.
“OK, Mom – oh, Sarah ... I told the girls to be ready by ten in the morning, figuring they’d take until eleven, is that OK?”
“Perfect Loverboy, you have learned their inner clock very well,” Sarah said.
As I walked in, I saw the rollaway, and took a deep breath; glad that I wasn’t going to have to sleep in the chair.
Sarah heard my sigh and asked, “What was that for Charles? Oooh, the rollaway; you wouldn’t have had to have slept in the chair, I am certain your mother or I could have found room for you ... between us.” Her eyes sparkled a bit.
“That would put me in therapy for years, my dear Sarah,” I said.
“What would have put you in therapy, Charles?” mom asked as she came out of the bathroom dressed for bed.
“Oh, nothing Mom, just a private joke between Sarah and me. Sarah, go ahead and use the bathroom.”
She walked in, and Mom came up to me and said, “I hope you realize, how strong Sarah’s feelings are for you? From the looks of your lips, I’d say you understood it a bit, but she is as fragile as Claire and Kalista, so be careful and ‘don’t do nothing stupid.’” She slapped at my chest.
“I understand Mom, she said she needed to get it out of her system, so I was more than willing to help?” I said with a cute little grin on my face.
“You are in over your head with her, Loverboy – be very, very careful,” Annie said.
Sarah came out, in a sports bra and sweat pants, showing off her midriff, which was amazingly tight for a woman her age. I quietly went into the bathroom and changed into sweat pants, and no shirt. I came out rubbing my stomach, and there were catcalls coming from the bed, from both Sarah and my own mother.
“Oh, shut-up, you two?” I said, “Has somebody set an alarm?”
Rubbing her hands sensually over her upper body, Sarah replied, “The beating of my heart will wake me up, Loverboy. Are you sure you don’t want to share this big ole bed, with your Mommy and me? There’s ... plenty of room in between us?” She added, patting the place between them to indicate where I could fit in.
Yeah!
“Oh, will you shut-up Sarah, the boy’s friable as it is. You might just break him, unless you can learn to behave yourself.”
“Great word choice Mom, friable – I assume that, by your usage, it means weak and brittle?”
“Yes, honey – I knew you’d appreciate the word,” she said looking just as seductive as Sarah.
“I need to sleep, ladies. Oh, I wanted to apologize to you as well as Claire and Kallie, about my language tonight. I kind of overstepped a bit, to PO the drunk. I am sorry — goodnight Honey-Bug and Sweet-Lips.”
Together they said, “Goodnight Loverboy.” I saw Sarah blow me a kiss, while Mom mouthed ‘I love you, honey’ to me.
I have created a two-headed monster.
When I woke up the next morning, I felt pretty good.
I went into the bathroom and took care of my usual morning routine and came out and saw the ladies waking up.
I walked over to them, sat on the bed and they were smiling, and I leaned in and gave each of them a kiss, starting with Annie.
“Not that I am complaining, but what was that for?” mom said with a big ‘wake up’ gesture.
“I love you guys, and kissing is the way to express it, isn’t it?” I said with a great big grin on my face.
Sarah mentioned, “There are ... more ways than just kissing to express love, Charles. Do you know of any other ways, besides kissing?”
Annie gave her quite a look but said nothing.
“Quite honestly, ladies – although I am aware of the street terms for many sexual activities, I not learned enough to do anything more than kiss? There have been times that my hands seemed to want to be ... somewhere they shouldn’t, but other than that, maybe I need some hands-on tutoring in this matter? Sarah or maybe you Mom; are you prepared to cross any of those line-in-the-sand taboo events that a mother and son should stay behind?” I winked at them.
Annie replied saying, “OK, Charles – you got us, that was quite good, using the taboo angle; that’s when I knew you were putting us on, though.”
“He was? Darn, I was getting all worked up about having a Mrs. Robinson moment with Charles,” Sarah winked at me, licking her lips.
I saw my mother look at her, like she cursed the worst possible words. Then she slapped at her shoulder and they got into something of a pillow fight, so I climbed up between them and tried to stop it, but they were lying in wait, and started tickling me.
I tried to tickle back, but, just at that moment, Claire and Kalista walked through the door. I looked over at the clock and it was exactly ten o’clock, sharp.
“Mother, what did I say about being in the same bed with my boyfriend?” Claire said with a slight giggle to her voice.
“Actually, honey – he climbed into our bed, he’s the scoundrel this time, not me,” Sarah replied wickedly.
“Charles, you told us ten, why are you all still in bed?” Claire said.
I got up and quickly, but silently took my bag and closed the bathroom door. I took a quick shower and changed into my outfit for the day. Walking out slowly with eyes closed, I asked if everybody was decent, and I heard four ‘yup’s’.
As I came out, Sarah ran in with her bag, and quickly closed the door. By then, Claire was on the warpath, “You told us ten, expecting us not to be ready until eleven? I thought you were smarter than that, Charles?”
“Mom, help me out, please?” I implored.
“Sorry Charles – you can dig yourself out of this, you always do!” Annie said with a snort.
“I am sorry girls, I thought ... with being out late last night, you’d have a problem getting up, so I told you ten, when I thought that you’d have to fight over the bathroom and such.”
“What I forgot was that you two wake up already so very beautiful, that it doesn’t take you two nearly as long as it does for Annie and Sarah, to be ready in the morning?”
Sarah came out of the bathroom, wearing a sports bra and a towel, saying, “Did I hear Charles just call us old, Annie?”
“I believe he did, Sarah,” mom said as she scooted into the bathroom.
“Mother,” Claire said. “Cover yourself up, please?”
“It’s the same thing I wore to bed dear, just a different color?”
Claire and Kalista were watching me as Sarah went on, “You didn’t think I was ‘old’ last night, Charles, when we... ‘talked’ outside the room for a while?” She did that quotes thing in the air ... which didn’t help.
She was baiting me, but I was ready, “Sarah, or should I call you Mrs. Robinson, I am going to step outside for a moment. So, you can finish changing.”
As I left the room to go outside, I heard Claire asking what the Mrs. Robinson reference meant. K had come out behind me, grabbed my arm and said, “Charles, I am so excited. I have never been to a baseball game before!”
“I haven’t been to one since I used to go to my brother’s games at his high school; I was only like eight years old, and he was a seventeen-year-old, two-year starter on the Varsity Squad. He played First Base and sometimes Center Field. We played catch a lot, but I was never very good at it. I was never very good at much of anything, until when I met Claire and then you. I never thought I was going to get to go to a Professional Baseball game.”
Everyone came out, ready to go. I glanced at my watch and it was exactly eleven am. So, all packed up, we headed out to the stadium, following Sarah’s instructions.
Despite being only two miles from the stadium, it took us close to thirty minutes, because we had to pass through a series of checkpoints to get to the choice parking reserved for ‘Special Guests’.
We got out, and a nice young man in a stretch golf cart met us, who said, “You must be the Charles & Claire Group, please step up, and I’ll take you to your box.”
I helped the girls get on, as Annie and Sarah got aboard, and we left for our box. The ride was quite comfortable, as the young man took us to our final destination.
We all got up and walked into what I believe is called a ‘Luxury skybox’. It was larger than our living room at home. There were some reporters and photographers there, and a hand-held version of the NBC camera I’d remembered from the Palace Restaurant.
The cameras started snapping pictures, the moment we walked into the room. Claire and Kalista were smiling really big as the photographers asked them to turn towards the cameras.
A reporter came up to me. “Hello, my name is Carrie Newton, I am with the MLB Network – would it be all right if I asked you a few questions, Mr. Newman?”
“Sure, Carrie – but please call me Charles, this is Claire McArthur, my main dance partner, this cutie is Kalista McArthur, her cousin and my protégé, back here we have my mother, manager, chaperone — Annie Newman, and last, but certainly not least, is Sarah Rollins, our publicist, co-chaperone, and Home School Teacher.” Sarah gave me a wink and mouthed ‘thank you.’
“I must say, it’s wonderful to see such a pretty young woman breaking into the field of sports reporting, Carrie,” I added.
“Well, aren’t you the charming one, Charles?” she responded.
Claire said, “You have no idea.”
Everybody chuckled at that, breaking the tension a bit.
“So, Charles how long have you been dancing, exactly?”
“A little less than fifteen months, Carrie.”
“And that’s when you met Claire — at a Cotillion — wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it was at the Bradshaw Family Cotillion, in Columbus, Ohio; I still remember the moment I met Claire, as though it was yesterday.”
“So, what did you say to her?”
“After Jimmy Bradshaw — he’s the gentleman who runs the operations and teaches — after Jimmy said, ‘Boys, find a young lady, and go to the center of the room,’ I looked around and saw the most beautiful red-head, after my mom, and said to her, ‘Hi’. That’s all I said, but fortunately she said, ‘Hi, what’s your name?’”
“I followed that up with, ‘My name is Charles Newman, but you can call me ‘X.’”
“And what does the X stand for, Charles?” Carrie asked.
“Xavier, my complete name is Charles Xavier Newman. So, the rest of the story is history, we have won every competition we have entered. We have our Final Amateur competition in just two days, in Pittsburgh.”
“Really, your final one? What happens after that?” Carrie asked.
“We’re going to take a month or so off, to take a little break. Then starting on Labor Day, we all go on Tour with Michael Bublé; all over the United States.”
“All of you — so you are quitting school, to all become professional dancers? That’s got to be both exciting and a little nerve-wracking, I’d think, Charles?”
“Actually Carrie – we had a taste of being on the road last night and this morning, and it shouldn’t be too bad. We went to Front Street Tavern & Eatery last night, and they all were so very nice to us. We ate and danced to some of our favorite dances. Regarding your use of the words ‘Quitting School’ all we have done is transferred from our usual schools to a system of performing and on-the-road schooling administered by Sarah McArthur!”
Carrie asked, “Speaking of dances, would you mind dancing for us, just a little?”
“Absolutely, my dear. Is there a CD player in here?”
“Yes, right here,” the man behind the bar, said.
“Annie, ‘Marry You,’ please?”
She had it ready, so she must have known this might happen.
The cameraman stepped all the way into the corner to make his shot wide enough.
I got into position on my knee, with my back to the camera. Claire leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss. I nodded to the bartender and he started the music. We started the dance and about halfway through Carrie got in front of the camera saying, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Charles & Claire will be in Pittsburgh in two days for their Final competition as Amateur Dancers.”
“It looks like that’ll be that last time you can watch them dancing, without paying for it. I am Carrie Newton, for the MLB Network.”
She moved away to let the rest of our dance be shown. That was nice of her, allowing us to finish. I decided to pick up Claire and walked straight into the camera saying, “Charles & Claire, at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, in two days.” Claire and I then started a big kiss, as the cameraman said, “We’re out.”
“Thank you all so much?” Carrie said. “You are quite the showman, aren’t you Charles?”
“I get it all from my mother, all I ever got from my father was big feet.” That remark made everyone in the room laugh out loud, including Annie, who cut loose a couple snorts, before bringing herself back under control.
Carrie added, “You can stay and watch the game, if you’d like. We have alcohol for the ladies, soft drinks and anything on our menu for everybody.”
She pulled an envelope out of her coat pocket and handed it to me, saying, “You guys are the real deal, aren’t you? I’ll be in Pittsburg, could I get an interview after, whether you win or not?”
“You can get an interview, anytime you want. We’ll win, no doubt about it,” I said smiling at her.
She smiled back at me as she, along with her cameraman, and the other reporters all left, leaving just the bartender and us. Sarah walked up to him and asked him for a drink called ‘Sex on the Beach,’ causing me to chuckle.
The bartender responded, “What does everybody want to eat, it’ll be delivered straight to here, compliments of the Cleveland Indians.”
“Do you ... have a menu, please?” Sarah quasi-seductively asked.
“Sarah,” I said. “Behave, you are old enough to be his ... favorite aunt. Ten hot dogs with the fixings on the side, two orders of nachos dripping with cheese, two orders of french fries, three pasta salads and a pepperoni pizza along with whatever diet soda you got on tap to drink.”
“Got it, Thanks Charles – I’ll call it in.”
I walked over to the rest of the gang, who were apparently amazed at my forcefulness. I sat down as I said, “I looked up the menu on my phone last night, and I have been paying attention to what each of you like to eat. The pasta salads are for Annie, Claire and Sarah. The nachos are for K and I, the hot dogs & fries are for me and whoever else, and the pizza is for the bartender to share. I saw a picture of his kid in front of a Chuck E Cheese.”
“Wow,” Sarah said. “I am impressed!”
The food arrived just as the game was starting, we took our time being careful not to get food on our outfits. We watched about three innings — I forgot how boring a game can be!
We’d finished the food off, miraculously, without incident or stain. I left the pizza, minus one slice, as our tip to our bartender, who said ‘thanks’ as we left.
On the trip back, I asked, “Are we picking up and leaving right away, or are we waiting until morning, ladies?”
Sarah remarked, “I have got us booked here for tonight, but we could do a late checkout and be on the road in an hour?”
I followed up by saying, “I am all for leaving tonight, if not right away! But you two are the only drivers in our midst, so you tell me, do we stay or go? I’d like to request my own room this time, or maybe a suite with multiple beds, if possible?”
“I am checking as we speak, Loverboy,” Sarah responded.
“Mom, could we find a computer store? I have an idea,” I said.
After driving around for a bit, we found a Best Buy. I grabbed the credit card from Mom, and Claire and I went into the store. I walked towards the computers, avoiding the employees who wanted to ‘help me find something.’
I walked to the Apple Laptops and picked one up and walked to the checkout. Since the newest ones don’t have CD drives any more, I picked up a couple of external drives so we can make CD’s on the fly. Claire stopped and got us a converter to get power using the car cigarette lighter, plus a round case of 50 blank CDs, and we paid for it and left. All in less than five minutes.
“What have you got there?” Annie said.
“A new laptop, so Sarah doesn’t have to ruin her eyes, using a smart phone to find us places to eat and stay. I see it as an investment. My beautiful Claire got us the cable to charge it in the car. Claire also showed me how to use the ‘WiFi HotSpot’ on my phone to give the laptop the Internet,” I explained.
I gave Claire a kiss, which everybody saw and heard. We headed back to the hotel and I quickly packed myself for traveling and opened up the box to get the laptop charging.
That’s why I got an Apple — out of the box, and actually using it, in less than five minutes. Take that PC lovers!
Annie and Sarah were packing up as well, not bothering to change clothes.
I picked up my phone, and using the speakerphone called the Hilton Doubletree in Pittsburgh.
“Hello, Doubletree by Hilton Hotel and Suites ... this is Lori, how can I help you today?” It was a younger sounding person.
“Hello, this is Charles Newman, of the dance team known as Charles & Claire?”
“Oh, yes – Mr. Newman, how can I help you today?” Sarah smiled at me, mouthing ‘Behave.’
“Do you have a large suite, we have five in our party, and we’d need at least three beds.”
“Just a minute, Mr. Newman ... as a matter of fact, we have just the thing you need. We at the Doubletree, welcome celebrities like yourself. When are you arriving, later today or tomorrow sometime?”
“Just a moment, Lori?” I put her on mute. “We’re three hours away, right?”
“Yeah,” said Sarah.
I took Lori off mute; “We’ll be arriving in about three to four hours from now, coming in from Cleveland. We’ll need it for two nights. How much will that be, Lori?”
“Since it came available due to a non-refundable cancellation, I can put you in there for only one hundred dollars per night. Can I put you down for that, Charles, er ... I am sorry Mr. Newman, We have all seen you dance on YouTube so much, we feel we know you.”
“Yes, Lori – book it, please. We’ll see you in about four hours OK, and you can call me Charles. I can’t wait to meet the person with such a lovely speaking voice, see you then.”
Claire and Kalista came in sometime during this conversation. Claire was putting her finger in her mouth, pretending to be gagging.
That caused K to giggle, Annie to snort and Sarah to slap me on the back of the head, her version of a love tap.
“Nice job, Loverboy,” Sarah said, “You hardly need me, if you are that good at booking.”
We all went to the car. I got out with Sarah as we walked in to pay for our day there. In the lobby were some young persons who recognized me, coming up to me for autographs.
Sarah went up and got out the card to pay, and the young man behind the counter appeared to blush as this strikingly beautiful woman, in a tight scoop front black dress, approached him. He asked whom the young man was, being mobbed by the girls.
Sarah casually said, “Oh, that’s Charles Newman of Charles & Claire, we all stayed here last night.”
The young man left for a moment, and brought back an older gentleman, who asked, “Charles & Claire stayed here last night? Your room has been taken care of by the management, thank you very much for staying with Best Western.”
Sarah said bending over just a little extra, “Thank you all very much, Charles & Claire loved your place.” Both gentlemen looked to be sweating bullets.
Sarah turned around and walked back to where I was standing. I glanced up and the two gentlemen seemed mesmerized by this knockout of a redhead in their lobby.
I had a few more autographs, while Sarah was standing there just watching me. I finished up and the girls waved goodbye, as Sarah walked alongside me, and she said, “You may become, what used to be called a Teen Heartthrob, like Bobby Sherman, David Cassidy, or this Justin Bieber — Charles – Be prepared for stardom, and don’t forget the little people who have helped you on your climb to the top.”
Looking straight into her eyes without blinking, I said, “Sarah, my dear – I’ll never forget you, regardless of what else happens in my life, and you can take that ... to the bank.”
We grabbed each other’s hand as we left the lobby and climbed back into the car.
“What took so long, X?” Kalista asked.
“There were some fans, while Sarah was flirting with the young man behind the counter,” I said.
Annie looked at Sarah, who looked back at her saying, “The room got comped, and the kid behind the counter, along with his supervisor, got a free show.” She gave a little shoulder shrug to help explain what she meant.
We all laughed as we settled back. I just remembered, to check the best way to get to where we were going, then handed the laptop to Sarah, saying, “Follow the violet line, we could stop in Youngstown for a break.”
“Doing my job again, Loverboy?” she said.
“I could never do what you do, Sweet-Lips,” I said as I kissed her on the base of the back of her neck.
I looked back — K and CC were already sleeping. I went back up to her neck and kissed it again. I heard a little bit of a whimper from her, as Annie turned and said, “What’re you two doing over there?”
“Nothing Mom, just ... thanking Sarah for being so nice to us all,” I said as I leaned back and fell into a dreamless sleep.
I woke, as we were pulling up to a gas station. The girls each had one of my arms, so I blew on their lips, which got them awake. Kalista asked, “Are we in Pittsburgh already?”
“No,” said Annie, “We’re in Youngstown, about halfway there, stopping for gas and potty break.” At those words, both girls got up and said, “I have to go.”
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...
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“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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
“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...
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...