CHARLES CLAIRE KALISTAChapter 35
- 4 years ago
- 29
- 0
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 taking up their positions. Apparently, Michael took me seriously and his usual less than 35-piece orchestra looks to have ballooned in size to around 90 or more pieces.
Sarah ran ahead to help get sheet music handed out to each of them, and the new guys all whistled at her, she yelled, “Hello Boys,” which made their day, I am quite sure. There was a bank of speakers behind the orchestra as Michael and a gentleman I didn’t know came up to me.
“Charles, this is the Wembley Concert Technician, Sam Weatherly, do you have your revised set list on CD?” Michael asked.
“Mom,” I said extending my arm to her, “You owe me twenty, first thing he said was about the music?” She handed me 2 CDs labeled ‘SS1a’ and ‘SS2a, and I handed them directly to Sam.
“Michael, they’re both labeled, but we added to the front of Set 1, after ‘Nice and Easy,’ “I am Not That Girl’ and ‘Footloose,’ and at the end ‘Refuse to Dance.’
“In Set 2, we’re adding to the very beginning, Benny Goodman’s, ‘Sing, Sing, Sing.’”
“Charles, all these guys know that song, Let them have it, OK?” Michael practically pleaded.
“All eight minutes?” I countered. “This may become our signature song on our Honeymoon Tour.”
Michael turned to the guys and asked them, even the violinists wanted in, so he said, “You got it, Willie our first clarinet, has been waiting for some more Benny Goodman.”
“Fantastic,” I said, “At the end of the Second set, we have added ‘Real Emotion’ by Celine, and ‘You Light Up My Life.’”
“That’s two hours and twenty-one minutes of music. About three hours plus in actual time, is that good? The girls and I plan to stay here all day, if necessary, Michael,” I said firmly.
“OK, Sam – we can start whenever you and your sound crew are ready?” Michael said as he went to the orchestra.
“OK - New people, we got the most famous 16-year-old dancers in the world expecting you to be as good as they are - which is a tall order, Let’s get going?”
Seven hours and forty-six minutes later, we had it all pounded out.
#RING#
“Hello Ken, how are you?” I asked.
“Are you guys playing at Wembley Stadium?” he asked.
“Yeah, Why?”
“It’s all over the news in Ohio, that Columbus’s own, ‘Charles & Claire’ are playing Wembley. That’s a big deal Charles, it can hold almost 100,000 - just like Ohio Stadium.”
“I guess, how’s the t-shirts and sweatshirts doing, are they ramped up yet, ready for my announcement, here at Wembley?”
“And ... what exactly are you going to announce?” Ken said.
“I don’t know ... but it should generate some T-shirt business, I am sure of that. We’ll be home in nine days, see you then!”
“Bye, Charles,” Ken said.
“CHARLES, GO HOME,” Michael’s voice rang out, “You three must be exhausted, so get a rest for tomorrow night – We’re starting at eight pm, so be here by seven, please?”
“Sure thing, Boss,” I yelled back.
Sam had a car take us back to the Waldorf.
I needed a complete rubdown, so I asked Claire if it was OK for Sarah to use her ‘Magic Hands?
Sarah had a light go on in her eyes, as Claire said it was OK.
I was literally too sore to ‘love her,’ but we did cuddle naked together, which was still a treat in my book.
There was a knock on the door.
“It’s Magic Hands?” came from the other side of the door.
Claire got up, put on a robe, and let her mother in. Sarah had menthol rub with her, and was dressed in shorts and a running bra.
“I’ll take a long luxurious bath this morning Lover, while my mother is giving you a rubdown, OK?” Claire said getting some underwear from her suitcase.
I suddenly realized I was naked in the bed, but Claire didn’t specifically mention for me to put on some boxers – Sarah would have to rub my butt anyhow, so I called her over to start.
Sarah threw off the covers ... and made a sound.
“What, you never seen a bare butt before, Sweet-Lips?” I said.
“Not one that looks as good ... like that, Charles? Oooh - Very Nice,” she said sounding more than a little ... flustered.
She started on my foot and ankle as usual, popping behind my knee, and moved up to my exposed butt cheeks, taking them both in her hands rubbing hard.
“Is there a problem, Sarah?” I asked with her hands deeply rubbing my gluteals.
“N-N-No Charles?”
She started on my other foot and ankle, this time I heard a higher-pitched sound, as she popped that as well. She went over to my suitcase and got me a pair of boxers to put on before she continued. I got out of bed turning my butt to her and putting the boxers on and getting back onto the bed.
“Was that for my or your benefit Sarah?”
“Both, Charles – some ‘haven’t seen a bare butt in a very long time’ feelings came over me and I didn’t want anything stupid to happen,” she responded. “On your back, Lover. I mean, get back in bed so I can do your back Charles.”
I chuckled, as I heard a little girl giggle from her lips.
She moved to where she was above my head and leaned over and started to deeply rub my entire back, which felt very nice. Her over-sized chest was hanging against the back of my head as she found and relaxed that spot in my back that’s caused so much trouble over the months.
She went back over my upper legs and lower back with the Menthol oil, and when finished, I flipped over and grabbed her for a kiss. She fell on top of me, feeling my hard erection, and quickly rolled off saying, “Charles, are you trying to get me in trouble?”
“No, I was just making a payment for services rendered, don’t you like me anymore, Sweet-lips?” I said.
“I promised Claire nothing would happen between us, and nothing WILL happen between us Charles, OK?” she responded.
“Whenever you need a guy to kiss you, text me Sweetie – I’ll always make time for my M.I.L.”
“M.I.L?”
“Mother in Law - Goodbye, Sarah.”
“Bye, Lover – let your mother or I know what’s going on later.”
After Sarah left, I knocked on the bathroom door and went inside, seeing Claire still in her robe, listening to music. She saw me and said, “Did Mom try anything while she was here?”
“Nah, I did show her my butt, and got her to try and kiss me while I was sporting a good-sized erection, but she seems genuine in her ‘Staying Away’ from me, now the only trouble is, I feel energized from her rubdown and I have got this little problem, I need help with,” I snickered and dropped my boxers.
That’s not a ‘little problem’ Lover,” Claire said starting the tub. “I know what to do with it,” she said taking her robe off...
After lunch with the gang, Claire and I decided to go to the workout center for a while, first telling the rest of them. It felt really good to work out again, especially the leg press. Afterwards I picked up Claire for a dozen reps, bringing her down for a kiss each time.
“Now, there’s a workout I never saw Jack LaLane do?” The voice of Sarah said causing chuckles all throughout the center. She had on a cover, but her ‘girls’ never looked so perky. Mom and K were right behind her as they walked directly to the Hot Spa. Kalista stuck her toe in the Cold Spa, but decided quickly to join the Moms.
I did one more rep of raising her above my head, and dropped her, putting my hands out and catching her. I threw her over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry, and I walked to the hot spa. I set her down; we had a red-hot kiss and got in, first removing our cover.
“Man oh Man - is my girl hot! Yowzer,” I said helping her in.
“‘Yowzer, is that a real word Charles?” Princess asked.
“If it was, there’d be a picture of either Annie, Sarah or my girl Claire, right next to it,” I replied.
“Can you believe that we’re playing in Wembley Stadium, tonight?” I said to my Cask. “The Original Wembley had the 1948 Olympics and World Cup Finals in it, while the new and improved Wembley, is the second largest stadium in Europe, only Barcelona Spain has a larger capacity. I am really jazzed about this,” I said.
“You also have the girl of your dreams in your arms, Charles,” mom said.
“That is so true, Mom – whatever did I do to deserve any of you?” I said ready to break into tears.
“Caring, Charles. You have always been caring when your Dad called to tell me he was leaving me you were right there,” Annie said.
“The same is true the afternoon I found out about John – you were so quick to have your arms around me and offer to take me in,” Sarah said breaking down a bit, but holding it together.
“Charles, I know I have said and did some dumb things, but Annie and Sarah are exactly right, you care about everybody. I heard what happened at the BBQ with your dad, and that day I felt even closer to you,” Kalista said bubbling a little.
“He cares so much about all of us, I sometimes feel bad about how jealous I get, when all he does is smile and speak his heart to everyone he meets, especially hot brunettes like Jo,” Claire said.
“Will you ever let that go, Claire?” I said.
She turned around, from sitting on my lap and said, “Probably not for a while, Lover – I want you and Sarah to make up. I heard you arguing when I was in the tub and it sounded like Mom left upset. You go over there to her and give her a great big kiss, OK?”
“Any ... limitations Sweetie?” I asked.
“No, not at all, Charles,” she said just as we’d rehearsed before we’d left the room today.
Sarah’s eyes started to sparkle as I strode to her. Mom took Kalista, and the three of them left, wrapping themselves in their towels.
I was very close to Sarah as I mouthed, “Ready?” and she bit her lip in anticipation of what was coming. I touched her lips with mine, as I touched the top of her breast with my right hand. She put her hand over mine as the kiss grew in scope quickly.
We were now exchanging tongues, feverishly, and my hand went from her breast to inside her bikini bottom first squeezing her butt really hard, then I moved my hand to inside the front of her bikini and I was very excited over this.
Before she’d left, Claire had told me to do whatever; but, I felt compelled to stop. I eased out of our massive kiss, removing my single finger and pulling back to being nose to nose with her. I kissed her nose, saying, “I love you, Sarah Rollins.” She quietly responded breathlessly, “I know.”
We both got out of the Spa, with me quickly putting a towel around my waist, as we walked together arm in arm, her leaning into me and sighing.
On our long flight back to the United States, I said, “Can you believe we had people paying to stand for over three hours of singing and dancing?”
Sarah responded, “Charles, with Michael singing, and the three of you dancing, the only thing missing were TV cameras to beam it all over the world.”
We all laughed as Sarah gave Michael a wink, causing him to smile back at her.
“But, still, there were very close to 100,000 people that first night?” I said.
“Yeah Charles – We each made about a half million, just the first night,” Michael said. “The other two nights each had just over 50,000 people, so all who wanted to see it, must have seen it.”
“SARAH,” I yelled.
“Yes, Charles – you want me to get hold of Kevin again?” Sarah said.
“How in the ... What?”
“You have a tell, Charles – on your face?”
“Really? Do I Claire?”
“Uh-huh, you do, honey,” she admitted.
“Anyway, I want to set up a BBC TV live world-wide feed to our wedding, including of course all of our talented guests. Could you get Kevin on the phone, please? We’ll cover his entire cost plus 15%, upfront, if necessary.”
“Sure thing, boss,” she said with a smile.
“Got him,” she said handing me the phone. “He’s on speaker, honey.”
“Kevin, Charles Newman – how’d you like to show a 15% profit on covering live, for about six hours, a concert and wedding ceremony?” I said.
“Is this ‘your’ wedding Charles?” Kevin inquired.
“Yes Sir, but we have got guests coming over to perform, beforehand?” I mused.
“Like who - for instance?” Kevin asked sounding only mildly interested.
“Oh, Alicia Keys, Usher, Kelly Clarkson, Sarah Bareilles, Maroon 5, Leanne Rimes, Blake Shelton, and Celine Dion! Have I listed enough, there are 26 acts in all - there will be a bit of dancing, maybe forty-five minutes to an hour, how’s that sound?” I said purposely underselling it.
“Holy Shit! Sorry, Charles – Sure we’ll be there, how many cameras would you like us to bring?” Kevin asked.
I did some quick calculating in my head, “All of them?”
“Wow, you don’t do anything half-assed do you, Charles?” he said.
“Nope, the whole ass, nothing less,” I quipped. My gang all laughed very loudly at that.
“That’ll cost around... $900,000, Charles?” he said sounding a little worried that he may have priced himself right out of a gig.
“Well, I don’t know Kevin, I’ll ... NO, I can’t mess with you, it’s a deal. Your costs plus a guaranteed 15% profit on top of that. My people will call your people, it’s on October 15th at the Ohio Stadium in Columbus Ohio – Sarah will give you the details, thanks for coming on board, bye?”
I handed the phone off to Sarah who’d started giggling as she and Kevin started working out the details.
Claire climbed back up into my lap as we kissed a little and then fell asleep for the rest of the flight.
As we got off the plane, I walked up to Sarah and asked, “Hey Baby, we got the Shoreham Hotel again?”
“Yeah, but three separate Suites this time, Lover?” she said.
“It sure gets me hot and hard when you call me Lover, Sweet-Lips,” I whispered back.
Claire caught up and said, “What are you two whispering about, anyway?”
As a joke, I said, “I was telling your mother that we needed a fourth bedroom, so she and I could go somewhere and ‘hook up,’ and not bother anyone.” Sarah hit me on the shoulder hard, blushing and saying, “I didn’t say any such thing, Claire?”
“Charles is so horny these days, Mom, maybe you two should ‘hook up.’” Claire said so casually it sounded real, but I turned to see a great big smile on her face.
Sarah was on the phone. I said, “She was joking, Sarah?”
“I am checking to see if we have a package from Columbus, Charles?” she answered, running her available hand through my hair – oooh that felt nice.
As we got in the waiting car, Sarah said, “Ken sent our ‘Secret Package’ and it’s waiting behind the counter at the Shoreham for us.”
“Wonderful,” I said.
“What’s the “Secret Package?” Michael asked.
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret, Michael,” Sarah said. “You’ll find out before we leave New York, OK?”
“Charles, certainly you’ll tell me?” Michael turned and asked.
“Sorry – my lips are sealed,” I said.
“And such yummy lips they are, Honey,” Claire added, causing everyone in the vehicle to laugh pretty hard, Mom couldn’t hold back a couple of her snorts in agreement.
Michael reminded us of being at Carnegie Hall for a rehearsal at nine am in the morning, as we left the car, then he drove off to places unknown.
As we checked in at the Shoreham, we were handed two boxes that had Ken McArthur as the return addressee. After getting all of our stuff in our rooms, we all went into Claire and my suite to open the boxes as excited as we all were.
We sat in a circle on the king bed, with Claire sitting behind one box and Kalista standing and holding the other one. With my signal, they both broke open the boxes in front of them, Claire holding up a T-Shirt and K holding up a sweatshirt. They were both such a beautiful sky blue.
“Wow, the picture turned out wonderful, Sarah – You have got a real gift?” I said.
“Thank you, kind sir?” she said leaning over, giving me both a peck on the cheek and a great look at her barely covered ‘girls.’ She lingered and got a slap on the leg from Annie. She sat back down, giving me a wink.
I checked the back of the shirt, looking closely and finding no errors and declared, “Bitching.”
There was a dozen of each, so I picked up my phone and called Ken.
“Hey Charles, I suppose you have seen the product - best looking shirt with a full color picture on it I have ever seen, don’t you think?” he immediately asked.
“Absolutely, as pretty as any of the ladies in front of me, Ken. Any problems in the processing?” I asked.
“No, our source of the shirts guarantees washability, per instructions on the label. I sent you more than you asked for, figuring you’d find somebody to give them to. With the website ready to go, I can make this whole thing ‘hot’ in a matter of minutes,” Ken replied very confidently.
“I took one and wore it for a day – you wouldn’t believe how many people, kids and adults, both boys and girls, stopped me. They all wanted to know where to get them. I told them about the website, adding that they would get them the same way they could get your posters,” Ken added. “Should we add the website address to somewhere on the shirts?”
“Great Idea, Ken – the posters too,” I added. “Get one for your whole family, our treat and flip the switch Ken. See you in a week; bye!”
“We could sell a bunch of these ladies, nobody else has this quality. I guess I am starting on my second billion, starting today,” I said as humbly as I could make that sound.
They all laughed and applauded with Claire and K coming up on either side of me, like in the poster, and giving me a kiss. After they were done, Mom and Sarah did the same thing, eliciting giggles from my girls.
“Let’s go get something to eat, wearing our new t-shirts?” Kalista said as we all found a shirt our size and went to our rooms to change.
We all went to the street, hailing a cab, I asked to go to the cabbies favorite burger joint - he took us to a place half a mile away called Five Guys – Burgers and Fries.
As we left the cab, he waived off getting paid, and just smiled at me and said, “I am getting a shirt for everyone in my family, and I am telling the rest of cabbies about this as well, have a great time, the fries here are orgasmic, Charles.”
My ladies all heard him, giggled and we walked into the best smelling food place, ever. Everyone in the place greeted us, including the employees. We ordered and sat down and our food was brought to us. Some folks came up to us for autographs, some for pictures but everybody said they wanted a shirt.
We may have hit on an untapped market – families. The place was full of families and they all wanted to know how to get them. so Sarah, in her much too-tight t-shirt over a running bra said in a very breathy voice, “We have posters and these shirts, or sweatshirts to choose from - don’t you just love my t-shirt?”
I looked out and saw every man in the place feverishly shaking their heads.
“Our website is the place to buy them, for the entire family, only $9.99 per t-shirt or $10.99 for a sweatshirt,” Sarah added.
Talk about a walking billboard, Sarah sat down and took a bite of her bacon cheeseburger, going, “Mmmmmmm” and saying, “Charles this is so good – I have seen one of these Five Guys places in Columbus somewhere?”
We all enjoyed our lunch, saying goodbye to other folks as they were leaving. We waved to everyone as we left got a cab and went back to our hotel.
After a nap, I scooted over and started kissing my girl, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her up on top of me. This woke her up, of course, as we both got extremely excited, in this position. Her breasts were so beautiful, as I went for them with my hands. She took her hand, took my hardness, slipped herself over it and it felt so good.
We’re still finding out about each other, sexually, so it didn’t take long for us to consummate when we did something like this. After a couple of minutes, Claire got up and returned with a wet cloth, to clean me off – which she did often. This time when she was done, she leaned over and kissed me where she’d just cleaned, which caused me to get hard all over again.
I got up and started a shower, with her following me in...
#RING#
“Hello, this is Charles?”
“Open the door, Charles?” it sounded like Sarah.
I stood up, and went to the door, opened it and saw Sarah, in a robe. I told her to come in, I didn’t know where Claire was, but as I turned back to Sarah, she removed the robe and she was naked.
She locked the door, and led me to the bed, taking off my shirt for me and very quickly had me completely naked as well as completely erect.
She went down on her knees in front of me and I heard her say, “Is this all for me, Baby?”
“Yes, Sarah – it is...
“SARAH! You called me Sarah, just now Charles.” Claire said getting up off her knees, naked with her arms crossed.
“It – It was - was a dream, that’s all Claire.”
“So, you dreamed it was Sarah about to suck you off, and not me? From the reaction I see between your legs, I think I am right?” Claire said now tapping her foot causing everything to jiggle.
“Claire, it was the first dream I have had in a very long time. I don’t know what to say to you; maybe my subconscious wants Sarah that way, but my body is reacting to you, because you are my lover, only you,” I said.
“I am out of the mood, Charles, I have got to think about what you have just said to me, OK?” she said.
I went over and started getting dressed, and I said, “I am sorry I dreamed about your mother, it’s absolutely the first time ever that that has happened. I hope you can still love me as much as I love you, Claire-Bear.”
“Oh, you know I love you, Honey-buns?” I saw Claire walking towards me. We clinched, I firmed up, and she went to get dressed. I remember walking around on that long ago ‘Announcement BBQ’ when I was hard most of the day, especially after dancing with Sarah and Mom, and all I knew to do was to ‘wait it out.’
Boy - The things you learn in life!
Our cab trip to Carnegie Hall the next day was indeed a strong case of déjà vu. Pulling up to it gave me the chills just like the last time. We entered without an escort this time. Everyone we walked by said, “Good morning.” Most of the folks we encountered I’d recognized. I called them all by name, impressing them on our way to the stage where we danced before.
There was Michael and his musical melody makers; they were still unpacking their instruments and warming up. Shaking his hand, I casually and quietly asked what the people were paying to see us, this time.
“Charles, I took your comments to heart, regarding scarcity, with a total of 8,412 seats to fill for the three performances, I raised prices to $1,500 per ticket, originally announcing a single performance. It sold out in a week. I announced a second performance, raising the price to $2,500, and it sold out in 23 days - lastly, I decided to see what the traffic will bear, adding the third performance, setting the price at $5,000 a seat. It sold out in just over twelve weeks, so we got...”
“Just over $25 million in gross revenues, that deserves a ‘HOT DAMN’ doesn’t it, Michael?” I said raising my hand up to give him a high-five.
He was quick to respond, “Absotively, Posilutely – Charles.”
“Are we getting a bonus this year, Michael?”
Suddenly looking very serious, he said, “No, you are not getting a bonus this year, Charles – I am giving you, for my wedding present to you and your lovely fiancée, $5,000,000 to do with as you will. Bank it, spend it, give it away – whatever you and the soon to be Mrs. Newman want.”
I took a step and gave this talented multiple Grammy winning singer the biggest hug I could, pulling away and saying, “How about we completely change up the sets?” There was a moan from Michael as well as most of the musicians.
“I am kidding – We’ll use the Wembley Sets?” I laughed out loud.
“Sounds good Charles, anything special on the final night?” Michael asked.
“Yeah, one additional routine, ‘Saying Goodbye.’ We did it as an Encore Piece a while back – Can it be last?” I asked.
“It sure can, kiddo,” Michael said. “That’s a Waltz ... with Claire, correct?”
“Yup,” I said.
We looked over and saw the orchestra ready to go, and the ladies were all crying apparently having overheard most if not all of our conversation. They each went to Michael and gave him a wonderful hug with Annie and Sarah additionally giving him a kiss on the lips.
We started a complete run through - beginning with ‘Nice and Easy.’ It sounded so good, as the girls changed to their ballet slippers, as did I, for at least the first number. I got a kiss from each of my Cask as we readied for ‘I’m Not That Girl.’
My young ladies were in position, ready to go.
For a rehearsal, we have had better, but it did move along well. Claire may have had the events of last night on her mind. I hoped to allay her concerns when we get back to the hotel for our break before we come back for our first of our final three performances with Michael.
Back in our room, I sat Claire next to me ... and I held her for the longest time. She was quiet but she didn’t refuse my kisses. I lay her back and rolled on her, both squeezing her breasts and kissing her deeply at the same time. I heard her moaning and she was trembling to my touch.
I pulled my shirt over my head and quickly stripped myself completely naked, pressing my very firm erection against her, causing her to start to mumble, “Fuck Me, Charles – please fuck me?”
I reached under her dress, stripping off her pantyhose and her panties - and I entered her! This time I made only a little noise as she let loose a joyous shriek...
“Holy Shit, that was fucking incredible, Charles,” Claire said when we woke up later. “I felt tingles going through every part of my body, parts I didn’t even know I had. My hands, my arms, my legs all felt like I was being zapped with electricity. You are a truly fantastic lover – Lover.”
“My goodness, what a potty mouth. Such a pretty girl, with such a magnificent body that I want to just kiss all over, I never heard so many obscene words in a row, when we were making love last night, although I must admit that hearing them from you kept me big and hard all night – That’s why I started over again, and woke you up from being asleep,” I replied rolling over on top of her to find out if she wanted to do it one more time or not.
“Charles, we need to get up, go to the gym and get back to shower together - afterwards,” Claire said.
I jumped out of bed and put on a swimsuit and a Tour T-Shirt and grabbed a towel, all before my fiancée got completely out of bed.
“Those pills better be doing their job, because you certainly filled me up, - Ohh, well – bad news and good news, Charles.”
“What’s the bad news, Baby-Doll?” I said.
“My period started, like sometime in the last hour or so, I need to take a shower, and ‘pad up’ like you like to call it. The good news is that I am not pregnant, at least not this month.”
“Your periods are every 26 days, aren’t they?” I said.
“What, you keep track of my periods, Charles?” she said with a nervous giggle.
“Yeah, I have since you started them. I noticed with regularity that you got sassy, so I started avoiding anything remotely resembling a confrontation with you and usually, three days later, you were all smiles again. Now, being sexually active with each other, means we either refrain from sex for three days, or we plow through it, if you’ll excuse the metaphor?” I explained, causing us both to chuckle.
“Refrain from sex with my almost husband - for three whole days, Charles? I get antsy after six hours of being apart from you. You know everything, how do we do it during my period?”
“Take care of your immediate problem, dear – I’ll check it out online,” I said.
She grabbed a pair of panties and a pad and headed to the bathroom, while I got out my laptop.
She came out in her panties, went over to put a bra on and sat down next to me, pushing her magnificent mammaries up against me.
“So, Charles – what did you find out, is it safe?” she asked smiling sweetly at me with her hand on my leg, and a little giggle.
“Claire, the consensus is that there is nothing wrong or unsafe about having sex during your period. It’s a personal decision. That makes sense. It could be a little messy, for both you and me, but all we’d need to do is put a number of towels down to avoid leaving a stain on the sheets of the bed or the sofa, wherever it is we make love.”
“Are you asking me to make love on the sofa?” she said blushing very pink.
The Announcer came on: “Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls; school’s out and guess who’s back joining us? Charles & Claire!” A wonderful round of applause came up from the crowd, the returning kids smiled at us, the new kids glared at us. “But they are last today, so let’s get started.” He went on to announce the first competitors and it began. Things were moving along, I felt a bit more nervous than usual. Claire came up to me and said, “Charles, remember we’re waltzing today, this...
About three hours later, we’d gone through our new routines, polishing them all up a bit—also going over every routine we’d won a trophy using. Some of those were quite fun, since we hadn’t performed them in such a long while. “LUNCH!” The three of us all came in to see a layout of food that was amazing; we had lasagna or meatloaf to choose from. Also, there were Pan-fried home-made French fries, which is a specialty of the ladies, and the usual Salad Bar, but it had more things to choose...
“Wow, Charles—that’s quite ambitious and crazy, like you said. The minute we touch down, I will do all I can to make that happen. You certainly have been the showman this past year, introducing me, special guests that I sprung on you at the last minute like Idina and adding those fantastic musical routines that include all of your ... harem,” Michael said. “That’s what you pay me the big bucks for Michael,” I said, feeling a pull on my shirtsleeve. It was Claire, who wanted a kiss. Never...
By the time I looked it up, Claire had gone back into our room, Kalista was looking for a suit and the ladies went back to their room to change. “Charles, I may need you to put some sunscreen on me, later?” Kalista said swishing her hips as she went into her bathroom. She knows how to turn me on! I got up and saw my fiancée walking out of our bathroom, with a delicious red bikini on. “Come on X Man, we want to get there before they leave for the day,” Claire said. As quickly as I could, I...
Excusing myself from the ladies for a moment, I went back upstairs to take a shower and shake the ‘Claire-webs’ from my mind. I quickly got dressed and went to BallroomDancer.com, (real!) to see which steps I wanted to add to our various routines and there was a knock on my bedroom door. Rather than my usual ‘come in,’ I asked, “Who is it?” “It’s Claire, Charles ... Annie and my mom said I should come up and talk to you. We need to talk.” “Just a minute — All right?” I was feverishly...
“E-rog-en-ous Zones – look it up. They are places on a woman’s body that, when touched ... or kissed, can produce the female equivalent of your ‘problem,’ at least it makes us feel really good all ‘inside.’” “A young girl like Claire or Kalista doesn’t know they have places on their backs that control specific parts of their anatomy, and can create a lot of sexual feelings, and in your and their cases, sexual frustration. Be Careful, dude,” Sarah finished. “Since this doesn’t sound like...
At that point, Sarah and I had scheduled seven days off to recharge and refresh in Dallas, only three hours away at the Cooper Hotel & Conference Center. The place was awesome. I even scheduled a Swedish Massage for everybody in our group - each in their own rooms, which costs extra, but we’re all worth it. While in Dallas, we went off to Six Flags Over Texas, only thirty minutes away from our hotel. We even got Annie and Sarah to go on some of the rides. The place was pretty cool. While...
Leaning into Kal, I said, “I think you can do this better than Claire could, but you know I can’t tell Claire that and you can’t either, ever! You promise me? Pinkie Swear?” She put out her Pinkie, attaching hers to mine. I heard her say, “Pinkie Swear, Charles.” I looked over and saw a delicious smile on Claire’s face as K started to try the cut time tempo. She was hesitating. “Look at me, Princess? This song is called, ‘Hold On’ so you can hold on to me and I know you can do this. Try it...
2nd City Grand Rapids, MI Radisson Hotel Here, we performed at the DeVos Place Convention Center in the DeVos Performance Hall, which seats 2,400 people. Mr. Bublé told me we got in here because Harry Connick Jr cancelled, and we got the date. The irony of that is that the two of them have reasonably similar singing styles as well as they sing a lot of the same old crooners’ tunes. From there, we schlepped to, 3rd City Detroit, MI Holiday Inn Woodhaven 4th City Akron, OH Sheraton Suites...
We all got out of the Spa, changed and had something to eat. Both refrigerators, as well as the chest freezers in the garage were quite full, so we have enough food to last until we leave on tour, maybe even longer. I suppose we could pack some food to go with us? Annie spoke, “Today is July 25th guys, midway between Charles & Claire’s birthdays. In celebration of this, kneel, Claire McArthur and Charles Newman.” Kneel? Claire and I looked at each other, not knowing what was about to...
Having brushed up on all of our routines the past couple of days; we were ready to begin rehearsals for the US Something Special Tour. We made our way to the Battelle North Room at The Performing Arts Center in Columbus and found Mr. Bublé there, along with his twenty-nine-piece orchestra and the Arts Center Staff working together to get ready to rehearse. Michael waved at us, as we came into the room. “So, Charles – did you really create a routine to ALL of my recorded music?” Michael...
Sarah went to her daughter and hugged her, tightly. “Yes, I do,” she said just loud enough for us all to hear. My mother started back up, “Claire, calm down. I believe you, but I need you both to be thinking clearly these next few days ... about only dancing! You may become stars whether you win this competition or not, if David Letterman has his way. He may even ask you to go on his show. I believe it broadcasts from Manhattan. I had better go and talk to Jimmy about this.” “Go ahead and...
I blushed deeply as we started to dance using our classic routine we’d made so long ago, to this—her favorite song. She glowed as we danced close enough together to push the ‘girls’ up and against my chest. I glanced quickly down at them, but I just as quickly, returned to the beautiful face of my future mother-in-law as we danced alone on the dance floor. The music ended as I rolled her out and in, ending with my arms completely surrounding her from behind. The audience had been as...
Even Pam and her cameraman Eloy, from WSYX-TV, were there, along with Dave the DJ and his following. I saw my girls changing into their slippers as I mulled over in my head which dances to perform. I quickly decided on ‘The Only Exception’ a Waltz with Kalista, and our new ‘Encore piece’ ‘Xanadu.’ Out of breath, Pam came up to me and said, “National in two minutes, Charles, please?” “Thank you - two,” I responded. Pam laughed. An energy always pulses through me every time I know we’re...
“I am glad you like it so much, Loverboy. If we move into your grandpa’s home, we better have a spa in the backyard, if not inside somewhere too.” “Yeah, inside—that’s the term your mother was using on me too.” We went out to dinner and got back early enough to work on our new routines some more. First, I got Kalista and we worked all of our numbers, then I got Claire to do the same. Lastly, we did out group numbers and the Claire/Kallie numbers as well. It was after eleven pm by the time...
I came back down dressed for the spa, Sarah was already in, so I checked and asked, “You do have a suit on, right Sarah?” She stood up and had on a beautiful one-piece swimsuit, that had the American Flag on it, but there was a mesh portion over the bosom area that flashed a bit more ‘skin’ than I had been expecting. I got in and turned my back to her saying, “Be gentle, Mrs. Robinson,” which caused her to laugh a bit. Just as she was starting to rub my shoulders, everybody came through the...
We all looked at one another and did not understand what she was saying to us. She tried again, “That man who just left here ... is ‘John McArthur,’ not Daniel. It was Daniel who died in June’s arms, all those years ago. John swapped ... all their credentials and took over the life of Daniel, including, being the f-f-father of all of my children.” She was sobbing very hard again. I remarked, “It seems like John and Daniel played the same kinds of tricks on everyone, being twins? Including...
Last year, being thirteen-year-olds meant we danced on Tuesday, but this year (2013) since we both will be tuning 14 in late July, we’re probably moving to Thursday nights. However, we got a letter from Jimmy with the upcoming Cotillion schedule. Things have changed considerably; Monday is now 17/18-year-olds, Tuesday 13/14-year-olds, Wednesday 11/12-year-olds, Thursday 15/16-year-olds, Friday is the 9/10-year-olds, and Saturday at ten am, will be the 7/8-year-olds. This was explained by an...
“MOTHER!” She was on a roll, so Sarah kept going, “Sorry Claire, but the truth is the truth. Most girls your age are getting ready to go to high school and plan to sleep with every boy they meet, until they find the one to bring home to Mom and Dad. You, however—hit the mother lode; he’s cute, he’s smart, he treats you like he’s known you for a dozen years, but it’s been barely over a year and a half, from when you first met.” “I know I didn’t originally understand what was going on with...
“You had me worried there for a minute, Tiger,” she said giving me a new nickname. “I thought I felt your hands moving towards my butt.” “They did ... a little, but I was in control of my hands the whole time, OK Love.” “OK Love,” she repeated quietly. Jimmy told us that during the next week we would likely still be working on the Tango and Cha-Cha. Claire and I only needed to refine our steps and learn a few more. We must keep Jimmy satisfied. ==== It was Saturday night, and Annie and...
“I am in a spa with four very healthy and attractive women; my mother, my girlfriend, my soul mate and my potential mother–in-law. The last thing on my mind is having fun. Wait a second ... that didn’t come out quite right.” “Charles,” Claire said swimming over to me, “Do I make you nervous right now?” “Not n-nervous, Claire. More uh — uhm, well ... uncomfortable,” I lied. Claire started to walk towards me with water dripping off ... everything. “Claire,” said her mother, “Don’t tease...
The next couple of days were something of a haze, with the practices, the new routines and such. Mom repeated that the musical guidelines for time are, to avoid a penalty, between 150 and 210 seconds. “Annie’s Song” was 180 seconds, but a song that goes 223 seconds, like “Footloose” does, might be stretching it just too much. Claire told me that Josiah could trim music from the front or the end of the song to make it fit the 210 maximum. So, I asked her to have him cut the opening eight...
Breaking the mood, Sarah said, “He’s not the greatest dancer ever, but he’s darn close. Thank you for stopping by,” she added, rubbing my back saying, “She’s not too far from the truth, Charles?” I leaned into Sarah and cried for a bit. Fed, showered, and dressed - we showed up early for our second Carnegie Hall Performance, these folks paid $2,500 each to see us, so we really needed to be jazzed and ready. Walking up to Michael, I saw he’d actually put on the T-shirt we got him. “Hey...
“Back to the Countdown, all right?” I hopefully asked. That settled them all down, at least a little. Claire said, “You were at 14, Charles.” “Thanks honey,” I said with a kiss. “Number 14;” 955,000 Sarah “Marilyn Monroe” pose “What’s that mean?” Kalista asked. I said, “There was an actress in the 40s, 50s and early 60s named Marilyn Monroe, Kalista. She exuded sexuality and one of her many famous pictures was with her bent over in a low-cut all-white dress, with her ‘girls’ pushed...
“Let’s get back to the hotel everybody,” Annie said. “Michael, when do we leave for Russia?” “In three days, we fly from here to Novosibirsk, Russia, about 2,950 miles, then on to Moscow, an additional 1,730-mile leg, after that to St. Petersburg, our final Russian stop,” Michael said. “Good, I might just sleep for the next two days Michael,” I said. Claire leaned in close and said, “Not without me, you won’t?” The realization of the previous evening, hit me when I woke up. I had my arms...
When they saw us walk up to their ticket windows, there was a scream from within, and they called their supervisor who gave us all free passes for the day. Ever-present Sarah showed me she had autographing pens with her. First thing we did was to take the Behind the Scenes Tour that showed off their zoological support area, and Jonathan, our guide, made a prideful point of mentioning all of the endangered species they had at their park. After the Tour was over, our guide, Jonathan stayed...
What was that? Did they say we had moved on, or were they telling us to leave the floor? The crowd was stunned and started to applaud very loudly. I guess that meant ... We made it! We waved back to the crowd, and Claire took me by my collar and kissed me in front of everybody there. I knew this was likely to come back on me, but I responded and kissed her back causing the other dancers around us to start applauding as well. We broke up both equally embarrassed, but happy as can be — we...
FIFTEEN YEARS LATER (2032) “Charles?” K said, now 28. “Yes, Princess?” I responded, now 33. “Everybody’s gone, leaving us alone.” “Where did they all go to?” I asked. “Claire, Annie and Sarah with Rose and Michael, along with Ken and his brood, went to check on the newest Charles & Claire Dance Studio in Pittsburgh. On their way back they were going to Columbus for the day, to check on the studio that Brian and Susan, and their family, are in charge of.” “That leaves us all alone,...
Well, again, Tuesday night couldn’t come soon enough for me. This week, Brian’s mother took us to Cotillion getting us there early so Claire and I could confer with Jimmy. We told him about the BBQ and about all the steps we learned. Mr. Bradshaw looked at us flabbergasted and said, “You have learned The Natural Turn Progression? I usually don’t even try to teach that to anyone under fifteen; they ... just can’t grasp it. You two really are something special, you know. Next week, I will be...
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...