CHARLES CLAIRE KALISTAChapter 35
- 4 years ago
- 29
- 0
“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 something I can ask my mom, what would have happened, if I had pressed one of your E-zones?”
“Well, that would have depended on which Zone you hit. There are some that cause deep instantaneous sexual feelings, and there are some that just make you horny – you understand horny, Charles?” She smirked at me.
“Yeah, Sarah ... as a matter of fact, when we dance, especially if you are wearing a dress that is cut mischievously low, that gets me ... a little horny.”
“It does?” She sounded surprised.
“Don’t be so amazed, dear – you are really hot, but don’t tell anyone I said that, or I’ll be back working on my Merit Badges, instead of preparing to go on Tour with Michael Bublé. Go back in your room. Wear something really tight and sexy tonight, OK?”
“OK, Loverboy – I will,” she turned and wiggled her butt as she left.
Oh, boy!
About forty minutes later, we were all showered and dressed, and ready for dinner and dancing. Kalista had on her Little Black Dress, Claire had the Dark Blue dress on again, Annie had on her dress from the baseball game and Sarah had on her dress ... from the Palace Restaurant. She can’t be wearing a bra, Hmmmm!
We found our way to McFadden’s and parked. The moment we walked in, we were surrounded by people of all ages, both men and women shaking our hands, patting us on the shoulder, and there were many who wanted our autographs, including a number of adults. Kalista, Claire, and I did our best to satisfy every request.
All of my ladies were getting catcalls and wolf whistles, as we were being seated right by the dance floor. I asked Mom to order something for Claire and I, and we walked up to the DJ.
He said, “Wow, Charles & Claire – I have got a bunch of the music you like. I got it after you took down YouTube the first time.”
“You got any Michael Bublé?” I asked.
“Sure, name it Charles, all of Pittsburgh is rooting for you guys tomorrow.”
“Thank you very much, How about ‘Sway?’ Feel like doing a Mambo, Claire?”
“Absotively – Posilutely, Loverboy.”
I nodded to the DJ and he started it. Claire and I went into each other’s arms and did the ‘Kallie’ hold -- her arms straight out, on my shoulders and my hands were on her hips. As usual, my eyes went straight to hers, causing us to be oblivious to those watching.
Her hips were mesmerizing, and the crowd loved it. We were dancing all around the floor, occasionally going to closed, to show off, but we kept going back to the ‘Kallie’ hold, and the song was ending. I raised my hand, and she started six consecutive Samba spins, ending up in my lap.
The place went from relative quiet ... to a major kerfuffle, in an instant. All the patrons, the employees, everybody, got up and cheered for us. We turned to all sides of the dance floor and waved back to them all.
Claire looked over at me, and I grabbed her and kissed her, causing the uproar to last a little bit longer. I shook hands with the DJ, then we separated and went back to our table.
“Oh my gosh, Claire,” said Kalista, “That was fantastic, boy you two can Mambo like nobody’s business.”
Mom had ordered us something called a Car Bomb Rib-Eye Steak, which Claire and I shared, feeding each other, which was kind of fun. I saw K itching to dance. I asked Mom if she brought any music with her.
She went into her purse and pulled out CDs labeled, Rhumba, Samba, Mambo, Cha-Cha, Quickstep, Bolero, Jive, Slow Waltz, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Paso Doble, and Tango.
I looked over at K and said, “Six-Pack, K?”
“Oh, yeah!” she said. I took it up to the DJ and he gladly took it, and he said through his microphone, “What song does Pittsburgh like most?”
They all yelled back, “SIIIIIIIIIX-PAAAAACK!”
I looked over at Sarah, who was smiling like the Cheshire Cat, and she nodded her head.
The song started, and K was absolutely brilliant. Her legs move like a prima ballerina, so effortlessly, and we went from rhythm to rhythm as the number went on, our spins were perfect, and we ended exactly with the CD. She gave me a nice little lip-kiss after, and we went back to the table.
“Sarah,” I asked. “Did you call them and tell them we were coming?”
The look on her face told me what I needed to know, so I grabbed her and the Slow Waltz CD, and went back up to the DJ, who took a long luxurious look at Sarah. He gave me a high-five as I handed him the CD, telling him to play the first song.
‘Sunrise Sunset’ started and I waltzed with the most outstandingly beautiful woman in the place, with apologies to my Annie.
With her eyes twinkling, she leaned into me as we danced close together. She’s — quite the woman, and quite the dancer, staying in tempo as we danced around the floor. The song was over, and I gave her a chaste kiss on the lips, knowing there were other families with children here.
We went back to our table. There was an older redheaded man there. He said, “Hello, I am Grant McFadden, the owner of dis establishment, and I wish to tank Charles & Claire, along wit’ Kallie, and dese mighty lovely lasses, for eatin’ and dancin’ with us t’night. Your dinner is on ‘de house, tankyouverymuch. And to quote me Daddy’s favorite expression, ‘Dance as if no one were watchin, Sing as if no one were listenin’ — And live every day, as if it were your last, ‘All of us here are rooting for ya tomorra, boyos.”
Annie tapped her watch so, we got up, said our goodbyes, and left. After we all got in the car, I said, “One thing I agree with, we have lovely lasses indeed in this car, and I love every one of you, regardless of what happens tomorrow.”
“You sound unsure of yourself, Charles?” Sarah said turning to face me after touching up her lipstick.
“Not unsure, Sarah – I know if we dance our best, we’ll win; we just came from an Irish pub; The McArthurs are from Scotland originally, and the Newman’s, at least our branch, are likely from Ireland, so we have been a wee bit blessed tonight, and I don’t expect anything tomorrow, except fantastic dancing.”
“Could I get an upper back rub tonight, Sarah? I’d like one less thing to worry about tomorrow.”
“Sure, if it’s OK with everyone that I do it?” Sarah commented, looking at Annie, then Claire.
“Could I ask for one, too?” Claire quietly asked.
“I don’t see why not?” Annie said. “We’re almost back to the hotel. Oh, I got a text earlier tonight: The Junior II class is getting the biggest auditorium tomorrow, it holds twenty thousand people. We bumped the nineteen-year-olds out of it.”
“Charles, weren’t you going to say something tomorrow, before your dance?” Sarah wondered aloud.
“They wouldn’t let me say it, so I have put something together for the announcer to say, for me,” I said.
“We’re here, come on guys, let’s get ready for bed, Claire and Charles, come into our bedroom for your backrubs, change into t-shirts, both of you, please,” Sarah said.
“I don’t have any t-shirts?” Claire said.
“I’ll loan you a couple, sweetie,” I said.
My white shirt had the words, “Dancing is Fun,” while the blue shirt I handed my girl said, “I love my Dance Partner.”
Kallie came in to watch, as my girl and I laid face down. I caught a very quick glimpse of her covered yet unfettered bosom, hopeful she didn’t see my face.
I got a great rubdown from Sarah, while Annie gave Claire a nice comforting massage of her own.
Avoiding my personal ‘Erogenous Zone,’ I was able to get up afterwards, walking my dance partner to the bed she was sleeping in.
We had a few moments to make out, before K walked in wearing a T I had previously given her that was bright green with no words on it.
Without asking, I gave her a nice goodnight kiss, which had evoked a ‘Hmmm’ from her.
We all left early the next morning, for the David Lawrence Convention Center, which was only a couple miles away. Claire and I had on our all-white outfits, Kalista was in red and Annie and Sarah wore matching Hot Pink dresses, with some bling. The NDCA doesn’t allow bling on the girls during competition. Another reason for going professional.
We found our way to the Auditorium we were performing at, and it was indeed the largest we’d ever performed at. There were NBC Camera’s all over. We walked up to the registrar who was a young lady we hadn’t met before.
“I know who you are, Charles & Claire. I am Cindy. Lori from the Doubletree and I are BFFs,” she said with a big smile.
“It’s so nice to see that pretty girls can be best friends, without fighting over boyfriends.” I said with a quick look to Claire and Kalista.
“Are we the last to check-in?” I asked.
“No, there are two more couples who haven’t checked in yet,” Cindy offered.
“Well, what position is available to us today, Cindy?”
“First or last, your pick,” Cindy responded. Claire and I looked at each other and said together, “First.”
“That’s so cute, and what are you performing to today?” she asked.
Mom handed me the CD, that only had ‘Saying Goodbye’ written on it, and I handed it to Cindy, who didn’t recognize the song title?
“It was the final song on the final episode of The Muppet Show, Cindy, it’s a Slow Waltz, performed by the Muppets.”
“Oh my, that’s sounds like a wonderful number to me. And your possible Encore Piece, if you win?”
Again Mom handed me a CD that was labeled ‘Lady in Red,’ by the Countdown Singers. I passed it on saying, “This number will be performed by myself and Miss Kalista McArthur, and it’s a Slow Samba. I have something for the Announcer to read, I have had this approved by the NDCA.”
I handed her a sealed envelope that she took from me and she gave it to a runner she had standing by. “Thank you Mr. Newman, we’ll miss you.” Cindy started to tear up.
I placed my hand on hers and said, “Thank you.”
About ten minutes later, we were told to get to the pre-dance waiting area. The announcer came on and listed all the dancers who’d be performing, mentioning us last.
Then he added, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I have been asked to read something to you, from Charles & Claire.”
The place got nervously quiet,
“Claire and I wish to thank all of those people, who have enjoyed our dancing over the last fifteen months. However, times change, and opportunities happen. Today will be our Final NDCA competition as Amateurs!”
There was a loud murmur starting throughout the crowd.
“On this upcoming Labor Day, we start a two-year tour, traveling with Michael Bublé, around the United States, and then around the World.”
The murmur turned into a hubbub, with a bit of applause.
“We hope to be back as Professionals, next March in Utah. Today, we’re saying goodbye to our fellow dancers, and all the wonderful people we have met while on this journey.
Thank you,
Charles Newman and Claire McArthur.”
The people in the stands were apparently a little shell-shocked.
The Announcer said, “I don’t know about anyone else here, but I’ll miss them. Will the dancers clear the floor, please, except our first dancers of the day?”
Everyone left; the crowd seemed ready for us. I turned to Claire and we yelled together, “Let’s Dance,” which brought the audience back to us.
‘Saying Goodbye’ started — and we began to Waltz, to the strains of the Muppets singing these wonderful words.
We spun and chassed, and we were leaking a little, but we were dancing, and I had Claire dead in my sights, as we did the steps we’d practiced, without hesitation.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the whole place, up and swaying to the lovely melody of this song. We were about through, and as Fozzie Bear sang the final refrain, we were preparing for our final move, a triple spin, that ended with Claire in my arms.
It was over! I so wished Jimmy could have been here.
I have never been to a rock concert, but I have heard they were loud ... but not as loud as this audience was, amidst the cheers and applause, I heard people yelling, “We’ll miss you” and “We love you,” along with “Good Luck” and of, course “See you at Nationals.”
The announcer came back on, saying, “That indeed was beautiful, Will the next couple come out please?”
Nothing, nobody came out?
“Will the next couple please come out?” the announcer repeated.
I saw the next couple and they were crying. They, and the rest of the dancers, didn’t want to spoil our Finale.
The announcer came back on:
“I understand that the rest of the dancers, in honor of Charles & Claire, will not be performing today. Apparently nobody wants to be remembered, for coming in Second.”
A number of people chuckled at that ad-lib, including Claire and I.
“Princess, you ready? The whole dance in face hold, can you do that for me, every eight measures we’ll change?”
“Damn right, I am ready,” said Kalista, to the shock of everyone around us.
“Unbeaten as Amateur Dancers, now performing their encore piece, aptly titled ‘Lady in Red,’ with Miss Kalista McArthur, is Charles Newman. Ladies and Gentlemen, Charles and Kallie.”
Cameras came out, as Kalista and I went to the middle of the dance floor, popping flashes like it was the Olympics or something. Our music started, as we wiggled our hips together, in perfect unison, as we went, from my holding her face, to her holding mine.
Much like with Claire, the crowd seemed to vanish, and it was only me and this ‘Young Lady in Red’ here tonight, and she was so confident in her dance moves, it made me feel quite good about myself and my ability to teach dance to another person.
As we were near the end, I set us up for the triple reverse turns, during each of the fading ‘Lady in Reds,’ that conclude the song. What a dance. What a dancer. The hell with it, I thought, and grabbed her and kissed her ... hard.
The place was so loud; it might have registered on the Richter scale. The announcer came back on, saying, “What a way to go, Charles and Kallie. Take that, YouTube,” which caused a secondary layer of laughter to pass through the overwhelming wall of noise.
I waved at Claire, Annie and Sarah to come on out and join us, which brought some catcalls from the crowd. We formed a circle, each facing a different direction as we just kept waving and the crowd was cheering, and crying, and applauding. I don’t think they wanted us to leave.
As we walked off the floor, a young lady that we recognized came up to us, with a microphone that had the NBC logo on it, along with a cameraman, who had a hand-held, asking “So, Charles — This was your last NDCA competition as Amateurs, is that correct?”
“Yes, it is Carrie – We’re taking three weeks off from dancing, to unwind. Then two weeks of getting ready to go on Tour with Michael Bublé.”
“One more question please, you guys – Where’s the first city on this tour?”
“You’ll have to ask my PR gal, Sarah?” I replied.
Sarah walked over and leaned into Carrie’s microphone and said, “Our entire schedule will be sent to all networks, as soon as it is finalized. Mr. Bublé is still negotiating with all the venues that want Charles & Claire. Believe me ... everybody wants these three world class Dancers, Charles, Claire and the Sparkling Kalista!”
“Thank you,” Carrie said. “Good luck to you.”
All the dancers suddenly surrounded us, and they all said to us ‘good luck’ and ‘have fun on the tour’ and one pair even was honest enough to say, ‘Thank you for leaving, so someone else can win,’ but they smiled, so, it was probably, only a half-truth.
People were coming up to us, in very large groups, asking for our autographs. By the time we were through with them all, the Adult Dancers had start coming in, to warm up for their competition. A couple of them said, “We plan to retire as soon as you start dancing in our category.”
We had them worried!
Our ‘Party of Five’ stayed as we got our Fourteenth and Final Amateur Trophy. Even the NDCA people were telling us how much they were going to miss us.
We climbed into the Land Rover and headed back to the hotel, where everybody there was shouting ‘Congratulations’ at us, actually throwing ribbons at us, like we’d gotten married or something.
I saw Lori waving at us, who must have engineered this whole thing. Getting a nod from Claire and Annie, I went up to Lori, and gave her a great big kiss, which made her blush, but I doubt she’d forget today for a while.
As I walked back to Claire, Sarah quietly said, “You dog.”
I put out my hands to quiet everyone for a moment and said, “It’s been people like you, regular people, doing everyday jobs, who’re supporting us in what we’re doing. Thank you, and Goodnight!”
They gave us a round of applause as we got in the elevator. We waved until the door was shut.
“God, I am so tired, I could fall asleep standing up. My arm hurts, and my fingers hurt; but my back felt so good today; thank you Sarah. Mom, I love you, thank you for taking me to get new pants, last June. Kalista, thank you for being the first person I saw, the day Brian and I first met the McArthurs, and Claire; thank you for being the beautiful red-headed enchantress, at my first Cotillion. Now ... I think I need to go to sleep.”
I had to be helped to the bed. I was trying to get my shirt off over my head, but I got stuck, so somebody helped me; it was Claire.
“I love you, but I really have to sleep for a few weeks, before I can dance again, Claire-Bear. Goodnight sweetheart.”
And ... I was out.
I woke up, watching Kalista and Claire asleep.
I carefully took my bag and went into the bathroom and changed into proper sleeping clothes. I came out and got back under the blanket and over the sheet. I fell back asleep.
We were all awoken by a loud shriek, which came from Sarah and Annie’s bedroom suite. I rushed in, followed by Claire and Kalista, seeing Sarah, with the laptop open and her eyes, filled with tears.
“What happened?” I asked.
“An Email from ... John. I decided to check my email, and there it was – An Email from that ... slimy ... two-faced ... bastard that ruined my life. Go ahead, read it, please – I can’t. I am too mad at him right now.” Sarah was quite furious, and close to hysterical.
I took the laptop off her lap, gave her a kiss on the head. Mom scooted over and they held each other close. Claire and Kalista got on the other bed, holding hands, and they all waited for me to read this to them.
“Sarah, are you sure, you want everyone to hear about this?” I asked after glancing down at the page.
“Charles, we don’t have any secrets between us, at least not any that really matter — please; go ahead and read it, it’s OK,” she said.
“OK, here we go.”
“My Dearest Sarah,
“Since our loud ‘discussion’ in the kitchen after the barbeque, I have been thinking about you and your whole group of new friends. I know you have every reason to be mad, enraged and worried. So here’s the story of John and Daniel McArthur.”
“Since the day we all met; June, you, Daniel and I seemed to have a kinship, the four musketeers. Daniel and I often talked of the great luck we had, finding a pair of sisters, that were both beautiful on the outside, and so very lovely and smart as well.”
“We indeed, enjoyed playing pranks on you two, by going out with each other’s girl, but never crossing the line by doing anything overt, other than kiss.”
“During those times, I started to develop real feelings for both you and June. Daniel, who told me how much he loved ‘his little Sarah,’ had found out he had an inoperable form of brain cancer, that was going to kill him in five years, or less.”
“Time passed, and Daniel and you were married, and a few years later, June and I tied the knot. A year after your marriage, Daniel went in to find out how his cancer was progressing, and was told he had only about two years to live. At this point, your son, Kenneth was born, and you were pregnant with Esther; both with Daniel.”
“I — I didn’t know Daniel was hurting, and had cancer?” Sarah said starting to cry all over again. Mom was holding her close.
“It’s obvious, he was keeping it from you, because he loved you Sarah,” I said hoping that didn’t sound like justification.
“Go on, I am — I am sorry for interrupting, Charles. You are doing a marvelous job, honey,” Sarah said trying to smile.
“Where did I leave off, oh yeah...”
“Both with Daniel. We were playing our usual game of trying to fool you and June, by dressing in the same clothes, and walking into the kitchen while you were fixing dinner and coming up behind you and giving you a kiss on your neck. You always liked that, and I always liked giving you that kiss, making it terribly difficult for me to become jealous of my brother, Daniel.”
I saw Sarah softly place her hand on her neck. She saw I noticed, smiled and brought her hand back down.
“Daniel and I were playing this ‘game’ the evening he died. June called us over, and before the police arrived, I swapped my wallet for his.”
“Since he knew he was dying, he also knew that you’d be left husbandless with a three-year-old boy and an about to be born girl, so he and I’d made a ‘deal,’ that if he died before me, or while we were ‘playing,’ I would assume his identity, and raise his children as my own. June and I’d put off having children of our own.”
There was a gasp from the quartet of ladies, listening to me telling this story.
“He didn’t know I’d fallen in love with you, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to take on his identity/persona. Esther was born, and then came ‘our’ children, John Matthew, Russell Patrick, Robert Francis, Josiah Peter, and the lovely Claire Tiffany. Every one of them I have loved, and still do.”
“One day, as Daniel, I was over at June’s and she was bemoaning that she wanted to have another little girl, even though she’d given her new husband Randall Johnson, a boy and a girl, ten years earlier.”
“She said he wasn’t interested in having regular sex any more with her. She was over forty, and apparently Randall thought she was ‘over the hill.’”
“What’s that mean?” asked Kalista.
“Ssshh, K – We’ll tell you later,” said Claire, as she held her cousin so very tightly, both of them listening raptly to this amazing story.
I thought, since she was the woman I married, that she needed some TLC, so I held her in my arms, and one thing led to another, and we made love. I wanted to tell her who I really was, but I didn’t want to unravel everything, so I led her to believe that her brother-in-law made love to her, and of course, you all know that she died giving birth to Kalista.”
I heard Kalista start crying, and I went over to her, soothing her, rubbing her back, and she asked, “So, my biological father isn’t Randall Johnson, it’s Claire’s ... Father? What does that make me to Claire?”
“That makes you two, half-sisters, the same father, different mothers,” I answered. “And John was your father, technically, but he’d assumed Daniels’ identity,” I explained, as I made my way back to Sarah’s side, giving her a big hug, which she returned.
Claire and Kalista started hugging each other even more, causing us all to start crying over the love they have for each other.
“Get back to the email, Charles?” Annie asked. “This is starting to make some sense. Go on.”
“ ... died giving birth to Kalista.”
“Ohh. That’s why Kalista became a McArthur, wasn’t it?”
“Yes Charles, go on,” Sarah said this time, anticipation clearly showing on her face now.
“OK, Sweet Lips – just for you.”
“ ... died giving birth to Kalista. Randall and June still made love from time to time, so he thought he was the father, a perception I wasn’t going to argue with, but his kids with June; Russell and Jennifer; were almost thirteen and eleven.”
“He didn’t want any more kids to raise, and since June died, Randall, you and I struck a deal, and brought Kalista home with us, and raised her as our own, with her and you, believing Randall was her father.”
“I know I have hurt you deeply, and you have every right to be pissed as hell. I got a scathing email from Ken and a phone call from Esther, that made me realize that the only thing for me to do, is to just ... tell you everything, admit my love for you, and each of ‘our’ children.”
“I won’t contest a divorce, if that’s what you want. I don’t expect you to take me back, now or anytime in the future. All the Insurance papers and trust accounts made over the years have been signed by both of us, making them still legally in force.”
“I intend, to send you a check each month for $3500, to continue to raise Claire and Kalista. If that’s not enough, just email me, and I’ll increase it; The insurance industry has been good to me ... us, and I’ll do all I can to help you and the girls.”
“I understand, if you want to press charges, but doing that would put in motion many things, including an IRS freeze on all assets, including all bank accounts, including all the kids trusts. You could be in court for years, and I don’t want that for you.“
“Attached to this email, is a signed Quit-Claim release form, taking my name off of all documentation regarding, Insurance, Bank accounts, the House, and such; just download it, sign it, and send it off to the people I wrote on it. Add to it, as you will.”
“Lastly, a truly remarkable young man has come into your life...”
“Oh, Mom, can you finish this please?” I asked starting to weep.
“Sure honey,” Annie said. I moved to Sarah’s side as my mom took over reading.
“ ... young man has come into your life. Charles Newman is a one in a million young man, with a steel trap of a brain, smart – doesn’t seem too full of himself, and he loves both Claire and Kalista, as do I. He seems to brighten your mood as well.”
“Regarding your business matters, specifically the Tour, I would recommend, creating a LLC, which is a form of incorporation, which takes only about two weeks to be filed. The kids, being under eighteen, cannot be members, but you and Annie, as their legal guardians, can be the officers of the corporation. You have to create a document called the Articles of Organization, but even that can be done online. Do it quickly, before you send the Quit-Claim, to keep the IRS at bay.”
“I miss you all, so very much, I went by the house to get my clothes and saw it all locked up. All the rented stuff had been picked up, and the McArthur Cousins took down, and brought inside the dance floor.”
“I know it’s a bigger house than Annie’s, so if you all want to live there, feel free, or do whatever it is you want. I want all of you to know how deeply sorry I am for the deception that I played upon you all.”
“I am starting to wonder, if my mistake about our honeymoon was intentional, meaning I might have wanted you to finally know the truth, but I was frightened. You wield a deadly frying pan – that’s for sure.”
“Ha,” said Sarah, as an un-intentional kind of oops.
“That’s about all I have to say, wherever you are and whatever you do, remember, Daniel loved you ... and so do I.”
“Yours, John Marshall McArthur”
Annie looked up from the laptop, to see us all crying, especially Sarah, who was now in my arms, after Mom had taken over the reading. Sarah was sobbing, and I held her close to me with my hands clasped just below her bustline.
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...
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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...
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...
“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...