Chapter 43

“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 one to turn down an opportunity, I landed one on her. Princess asked for one as well, so Claire and she switched places, with K getting in my lap giving me a kiss that felt really nice. She got up and I went over to Annie and Sarah, giving them each a rather chaste kiss, considering Michael was seeing all of this. My harem—my Cask. I almost wish we had a young man traveling with us to take the pressure off me to ‘entertain’ Special K!

“Next, we head up to Russia, performing in Novosibirsk and Saint Petersburg and Moscow for 3.”

“Then, we head to Finland, to Espoo and Helsinki; on to Sweden, both Stockholm and Gothenburg; West to Norway, in the cities of Oslo and Bergen—then off to Reykjavik, Iceland for 2.”

“Back down, off to Copenhagen, Denmark for 2; Amsterdam and Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Antwerp and Ghent, Belgium; Luxembourg in the country of Luxembourg; say that three times fast?”

“From there we head to the Iberian Peninsula and have shows in Lisbon, Portugal and also in Valencia, Barcelona and 3 in Madrid, Spain. On to France...”

“Home of French Fries and the French Kiss,” Kalista said, making us all laugh a bit, including Michael who glanced over at Sarah and saw her and Annie holding each other, arm in arm. He smiled, seemingly resigned to his fate at simply lusting for Sarah from afar.

“Charles—Charles honey, where’d you go?” Claire said.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about something, where was I, somebody?”

Sarah helped by saying, “We were entering France, Mon Capitan.”

“OK, 2 in Marseille, France, then on to Monte Carlo...”

“What about Paris?” Annie asked, raising her head up from against the plane’s window.

“Marseille is on the Southern coast, while Strasberg and Paris are further north. We catch them later, don’t worry,” I replied. “Monte Carlo, Monaco, 2 each in Palermo, Rome, and Venice, Italy.”

“OK, to finish up the ISS Tour schedule, after Italy, is Geneva and Zurich, Switzerland; then Vienna, Austria for 3 performances. On to Germany—specifically Munich, Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg! All, 2 each. Between Berlin and Hamburg, we head over to Prague, Czech Republic. After Hamburg we go to Strasburg and Paris, France; 2 each. From there we take the Chunnel from Paris to London...”

“I am sorry for interrupting again Charles, but what’s the Chunnel?” Kalista asked.

Sarah said, “I will take this one, Loverboy.”

“MOTHER!”

Michael gave out a big laugh.

“Sarah!”

“Anyway, the Chunnel is an underground and underwater train tunnel. The body of water between northern France and the Southern end of the United Kingdom is called the English Channel. Back in 1988 they decided they had the technology to go under it from Pas-de-Calais, France to Kent, England. It opened in 1994 and because it was a Tunnel under the Channel, it became known as the Chunnel. The whole thing is only just over 30 miles long, like from Columbus to Marysville in Ohio,” Sarah said, ending with a flourish.

“Thanks, beautiful,” I said as I took back over, “We arrive at London and fly up to Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland—on to Dublin, Ireland for 4 and we finish our International portion of this tour in London, England for 3. We finish off the Tour and our final performance with Michael, until our wedding, with 3 performances in New York, New York.”

“How many cities and how many total performances is that Charles?” Claire asked.

“Sixty-two different locations for a total of ninety-seven performances, not counting Athens, which may or may not happen,” I replied. “And whatever we replace our South American leg with.”

“Charles has got a really good idea for Greece everybody, I am going to push for that, as hard as I can,” Michael added.

Sarah got up and went over and sat on Michael’s lap saying, “I know you will sweetie, you will work really hard for me, won’t you?”

“You know I will, Sarah. Very hard indeed.” I heard him try to whisper, as Michael gave out a big sigh. He whispered something into Sarah’s ear that I couldn’t hear and she came back over to Annie and gave her a big ole kiss right on the lips.

Michael knows.

We touched down at La Guardia Airport, not knowing where we were performing—Michael had held that back from us. We all piled into a stretch hummer, our bags coming in a separate vehicle behind us.

After only driving for fifteen minutes we pulled up to a very old looking building, but something inside me told me where we were!

43rd City
New York, NY
Three Nights
Parker Hotel

I looked over at Michael, who saw the realization on my face and he broke out into the most marvelous of grins.

Michael said, “There’s an old joke, where the punch line is ‘Practice, Practice and more Practice. Charles, do you know the setup to that joke?”

“Michael—How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” I broke out in tears grabbing Claire in my arms and openly sobbing.

“What’s so special about Car-niggy Hall, Charles?” Kalista asked.

I replied, “Oh Kalista, Honey—It was designed and built in 1891 and is considered one of the most prestigious performance venues in the world. It was home to the New York Philharmonic Orchestra for years. There are three different Halls inside ... Michael, are we playing on the Perelman Stage?”

“Yep, Charles—only the best, for the best,” he said, enjoying my glee over this.

“Kalista; Benny Goodman and his Orchestra, Bill Haley and his Comets, The Beatles and Pink Floyd and many, many more performers of all eras, ilk’s, and styles have played on the stage, The Main Hall, otherwise known as the Perelman Stage, over the last 119 years. Wow!”

“And now we can add Charles & Claire and the Sparkling Kalista to that ominous roster of performers,” Annie remarked.

“When can we go in, Michael?” I asked, anxious as all get out.

“Charles—we have it for four days total, starting the day after tomorrow. Today we settle in, so where are you guys staying?” Michael asked, looking over at Sarah.

“At the Parker Hotel, Michael—only a quarter mile south of here. We have got a king and two twins—There’s a five-person hot tub in it,” Sarah replied looking over at me, smiling.

“That sounds mighty exclusive, when did you book that to get it?” Michael asked.

“Eight months ago, when I saw New York as the final town on this Tour, I decided we needed to move up in class a few times,” Sarah said.

“Sarah,” I said. “I am with the classiest four broads every time we go out somewhere together.”

“Suck up,” Michael said with a smile on his face.

“Michael, Charles follows through on everything he says and everything he promises. That’s not a suck-up—that’s my Son-in-Law, to be.”

Michael got on the intercom and directed the driver to The Parker. Things got quiet for a while. We pulled up and got out. Michael went over to Sarah and they talked for a moment before we all went in.

While waiting for our luggage from the vehicle that was following us, I went over to Sarah.

“What was that all about Sweet-Lips, between you and Michael?” I said.

“Oh, he wanted to apologize for what he said. I can’t stay mad at him, he’s kind of cute, you know?” Sarah said.

Smarmily, I responded, “Not as cute as me, I hope, I’m still your favorite, aren’t I?”

“Oh, yeah Loverboy—When you get back from your honeymoon, you will find out just how much I love you,” she said, shocking me to the point of blushing.

“Hey, you two—Mother, why is Charles blushing?” Claire came over and asked with her hands on her hips, but oh, what nice hips.

I had half a mind to just tell Claire that her mother had propositioned me, but that would lead to an argument that I wasn’t willing to have in a luxury hotel lobby.

“She just told me how much she loved me again and I reacted that’s all,” I lied.

Claire and I chuckled remembering our last trip in an elevator. I was anxious enough to try that again while we’re staying here.

Our room, no ... our Penthouse, as the room was called, was massive. There were two separate rooms, with a king and two twin beds and a sofa. Kalista had her luggage placed against the wall by it, walked over and grabbed my hand as we walked through the rest of the place.

The floors were heated, the bathroom massive, with a spacious looking five person Jacuzzi in the middle of it, alongside an extra-large shower obviously made for more than one person in mind. Our view of New York was beyond compare. We had enough room to practice any of our dances, even our Quickstep.

“Sarah,” I said. “Why don’t you and Annie take the enclosed king bedroom? I see Kalista has staked out her sleeping area—that leaves a twin for my fiancée and I to sleep in. I am both hungry and tired, maybe more tired than hungry—how about you guys?”

“I am tired too, Loverboy,” Claire said to me, giving me a wink.

The rest of them said they were hungry, so I got up off the bed and started to put my shoes back on.

“Charles, you and Claire do look beat. We will go out to eat and bring you two something back with us, all right? Oh, and put a sock on the doorknob, if you need,” Sarah said, as Annie slapped at her, causing them both to start giggling. Kalista had a look on her face that developed into a blush and a giggle.

As the door closed, Claire leaned against it and announced, “Charles, you did it—they’re all gone for over an hour. So what are we doing, a shower together, the spa—a little something-something?”

“I wasn’t kidding, Claire-Bear. That was a long flight from San Diego and we lost three additional hours because of the time difference. I need to sleep, but cuddling’s not out of the question.”

She grabbed some things and went to the bathroom. I stripped down to my boxers, trying to keep everything nice and neat. Claire came out in an oversized t-shirt that had the words, “This Orgy Sure is Off to a SLOW Start.” She looked sexy, innocent and ... enticing.

“Claire, do you have anything on under that?” I asked holding my breath.

“Only panties—I can take them off, if...

“NO, keep them on please.” Oye!

We both crawled into bed, her coming up behind me, with her free range bosom pressing hard against my back, with only her t-shirt separating us. Yeah, I’m supposed to fall asleep. I felt her arm on my waist as we both fell asleep.

I must have been more tired then I realized, the coast to coast flying seems to really sap my strength. Kallie and the Moms came back from dinner with a container of food for each of us.

“Yoo-hoo kids, we’re back—we have a chicken sandwich and some onion rings for you,” I heard Annie say, causing me to wake up rubbing my eyes and giving my girl a quick slap on her butt and a kiss on her mouth.

Without thinking we got up and walked into the living room without changing, me still in my boxers and Claire in her oversized t-shirt. The second they all saw us, Sarah said, “Is that what you two napped in?”

“Mom, get a grip—I have panties on under this, Charles was worried about that too. Does everybody think we’re ‘playing doctor’ whenever you leave the place? Charles and I have gotten very ... comfortable around each other and it shouldn’t offend or worry any of you. We love each other and are getting married in just over a year, so calm down, please?” Claire pleaded.

Noticing her shirt, Kalista asked, “What’s an orgy, Sarah?”

Claire and I took the distraction of this outstanding question of Kalista’s, to grab our food and crawl back in bed to eat it.

A little bit later Sarah and Annie came in, without Kalista. They both sat down on our bed. Claire and I continued eating, while everyone was looking at everyone else. To break the fully formed iceberg in the room, I offered the Moms an onion ring. They politely refused, both of them squirming nervously.

“Charles, Honey,” Annie said. “I know that you and Claire are fifteen and engaged to be married and you have every right to do ... most of the things that you are doing with each other. However, Kalista is still very young and impressionable. She asked a question that Sarah and I shouldn’t have had to answer. You two are obviously in love and I am not stupid enough to forbid you from sleeping in the same bed, but when you get out of that bed, you must remember that Kalista is still in love with Charles and flaunting your ‘sexuality’ like you just did, could hurt her emotionally.”

Sarah jumped in, “Kids, you are wonderful dancers, obviously deeply in love with each other, but please be considerate of not only Kalista, but also Annie and me. Like Annie just said, what you do when you are alone is up to you and the standards that you have been shown during your lifetimes.”

“I can only imagine what your sexual instincts are wanting of you, and Annie and I both hope that you will continue to be true to your promise of not having sex with each other until after you are married.

“To impress upon you the importance of that,” Annie jumped back in saying, “Sarah and I will also be more careful about expressing ourselves. You must understand the only difference between your situation and ours is that, you are underage and we’re both women.”

“But, really hot women,” Sarah added. Mom slapped at her.

I responded to their concerns, “We’re sorry ladies, we slept very soundly and got up without thinking, inciting the ‘situation’ that caused Kalista to ask that wonderfully inappropriate question. We will try our hardest to set the proper tone in front of Kalista, but I have just got to say, when you three all saw Claire’s t-shirt, you should have seen your faces—it was priceless.”

“Where did you get that shirt, Claire? I may want one of those myself,” Sarah said looking over at Annie, who stuck out her tongue at her.

“Careful Annie—I know where that tongue has been?” Sarah said.

OK, she just answered my question regarding what all they were doing as a part of their newly formed sexual relationship. I know about lips and tongues.

“Finish your food, then change into something more presentable, please?” Annie said.

“Why, what’s planned? I was hoping to get back in bed with my hot fiancée and make a baby or two.”

“Come on, ladies—can’t you hear sarcasm anymore? Aren’t you guys tired at all from that long flight and now having just eaten?” I asked.

Looking over at Annie and licking her lips a little, Sarah said, “That’s an excellent idea, both laying down and making out—go back to sleep and Claire keep those panties on for another year, please. When we get back to Columbus, I am taking you in for birth-control pills, all righty?”

“OK Mom, come here Loverboy,” Claire said, ignoring the Moms and curling my toes with the kiss she was starting. Sarah and Mom left as Claire rolled over on top of me.

“Charles, no cold showers allowed, just tell me that you love me, please?” Claire said as she pushed her hand up against the front of my boxers. “Sarah wants me to keep my panties on, but I could take off my t-shirt if you’d like me to?” I felt the flap of my boxers being opened by her...

“I am OK—Oh my god Claire—I love you this much,” as I rolled back over on top of her.

“Oh, Charles,” she said as our lips and tongue interfaced. Hmmmm, she tastes good!

After an additional three hours of ... napping and waking up with the most beautiful 15-year-old redhead in the world next to me, I noticed it was getting dark outside. We could go out and find a place to dance and eatin New York City. I looked over at Claire—she’s even pretty sleeping. I woke up with what I believe is called ‘wood,’ so I grabbed some clothes, gave my sweetheart a kiss and went in to take a cold shower.

While I was showering I was thinking about what Mom and Sarah had said to us. Claire and I do have a responsibility to not only Kalista and our mothers. We have a responsibility to what all people think about us.

I came out from my shower and saw the goddess wake up and stretch. We smiled at each other and blew each other a kiss.

“Only 433 days until we get married, Claire-Bear,” I said to her.

“So 434 days and 1 hour later—that’s when the ‘fun’ begins?” Claire responded.

“What! You are not having fun yet, Claire?” I teased.

“Well, you are right—I am having a blast dancing with you and having all of this time together, but you and I both know what happens in 434 days—Our Honeymoon, in Hawaii.”

“With no Kalista, Annie, or Sarah to interrupt us ever again. I can’t wait?” I said.

Claire grabbed a change and wiggled her butt as she walked into the bathroom. She raised her t-shirt up to show her bare hip, which was enough to tell me that she’d taken off her panties between our two naps.

Oh boy!

We were all entering the Iguana New York, a restaurant and dance lounge a quarter mile west of our hotel; Claire ‘taped herself in’ her black mini-dress; Kalista in her red multi-way dress, this time wearing it as a strapless; Annie and Sarah in their matching black dresses, all of them looking like a million bucks.

Kalista’s look defied her being not yet ten years old. Claire gave her a fair amount of makeup, causing them to look like sisters, maybe even sixteen years old. They held hands as we were taken to a table right next to the dance floor.

As usual, our server fawned over the ladies, recognizing us. Annie and Sarah each got a Margarita; Annie’s being a Mango while Sarah got hers with Pineapple flavoring. I asked if we could get a ‘virgin’ version of a Margarita, so the three of us ordered a Frozen Strawberry Margarita, with them replacing the usual Tequila with orange juice. Kalista loved having something so adult looking in her hand.

There’d been music playing ever since we’d walked into the place. After having a sip of our drinks and ordering dinner, a rather cha-cha-esque version of ‘Start of Something New,’ from HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL came on and I grabbed Claire and went to the completely empty dance floor, whispering to her we’d use our ‘Way You Look Tonight’ routine.

There was a rush of excitement from the crowd as we stepped up and started to dance, and begin the routine. There was electricity in the air, I always enjoyed this popular song, as we’re dancing all around the edge of the dance floor, with people clapping with the beat as we moved to the center of the floor. Claire was ‘taking it up a notch’ splaying those gams of hers doing multiple Rondés and just making me practically salivate as I was dancing with this hot young lady; our legs, hips and arms in perfect synchronicity with each other.

The end was coming, so I felt compelled to raise my arm, which drove the crowd crazy knowing what it meant. I said,’8’ to Claire and she just smiled, as we finished the dance with eight consecutive rhythm adjusted Samba spins. I added a kiss as the audience/patrons all stood up and applauded, with a few whistles due to my fiancées outfit. We bowed to all and went to our table, seeing our ladies standing as well.

“Had you ever danced to that music before, kids?” Sarah asked.

“That was their ‘Way You Look Tonight’ routine Sarah,” Kalista said. “Only way better.”

I leaned over and gave K a nice kiss.

Our server came with our food, asking if anyone wanted his or her drink topped off—Kalista asked for a fresh ‘Virgin Margarita,’ giggling as she said it.

“Wow—will you look at all that food?” Sarah said.

“Mother, we eat, so we can dance, so we can love,” Claire said with a certain amount of dramatic flair.

“That’s a truly remarkable thing to hear your own daughter say, when not that long ago, I remember when you told me, ‘Mother, do I have to go to Cotillion? All of the boys there will be nerdy and their hands will be all clammy,” Sarah said with a vengeful smile on her face. We all laughed at that.

Looking over at me and blushing a little, Claire said, “That was before I met Charles, who looked at me that day, like he still looks at me—all of the way into my soul, every time.”

“I remember when boys looked at me like that, but now I have Sarah to make me happy,” Annie said grabbing Sarah’s hand on top of the table.

We started in on our food, as I recognized another song, Jill Scott’s ‘Hate on Me.’ Kalista grabbed my hand and pulled me up on the floor, giving me a kiss and we started our Samba routine. Boy, Kalista had a focus on her face and in her dance steps, clearly enjoying her hips, as was I.

We got in close to do some spins and Volta’s. She put her hands on my hips startling me for a split second, so I placed mine on hers as we did a portion of this routine in really close.

Our hips were in very close alignment as she turned around and backed into me, turning this into something of a salsa style dance. She was running her hands through her own hair as I pulled her really tight up against me, startling her, but we kept dancing together turning in circles to show everyone what we were doing. The dance was ending and she turned back around as we finished with her layback stretch move from the original routine as the music ended, fading away. This girl is five years younger than me?

The crowd, being predominantly Latina, really enjoyed the last bit of that dance and applauded and cheered for us. K and I bowed as we headed back to our table. I could tell Claire wanted to say something, but she just broke out into a big smile and said, “K, that was so hot—you didn’t break my fiancé, did you?”

“No, I remembered seeing that in the Dirty Dancing movie we all watched and it looked like fun. Charles, I am sorry I didn’t tell you first, I thought I would spring it on you,” Kalista said.

“That’s OK, I enjoyed it as much as you did. We can change up that routine sometime with some specific Salsa moves.”

The DJ from the place came up to our table.

“Hello, my name is Raoul—I know you guys usually carry your music around with you, if you want I will play anything you want, if you will dance one more dance for our crowd. They love you guys.”

“Sure, Raoul—give us just a minute please?”

“OK, what do you girls want to dance? Something fast? Something slow? Something sultry?” I asked.

“Charles that dance wore me out—you and Claire—go ahead and show off with something,” Kalista said.

I think she was fibbing, because she looked ready to dance.

I looked over to Claire and she and I together said, “Quickstep.” I followed that up with one word, “Ritz” to which she replied “Yeah ... Loverboy.”

Annie got it out and Claire and I went over to Raoul, handing it to him. We went over to the middle of the floor.

I heard a microphone turned on, “Atención señoras y señores, Charles y Claire, ahora, la danza el Quickstep. Nadie en el mundo puede hacerlo como Charles y Claire puedes hacerlo, para darles un gran aplauso por favor.”

(Attention Ladies and Gentlemen, Charles & Claire will now dance the Quickstep. Nobody in the world can do it like Charles & Claire can, so give them a great big round of applause please.)

There was a terrific round of applause, as he had started the music. We started our first Quickstep in a while, but we quickly got into a groove as the crowd clapped with the Masters Of Harmony, who were singing. At the key change, we kicked it up, again doing our kicks and flicks all around the outside the edge of the dance floor, as the song ended. So did we.

We heard people whistling at us, cheering for us, applauding us. It almost felt like a competition routine, for the first time since we’d been on this tour. Again, we bowed and went off to our table.

We finished our dinner and were getting ready to go. Raoul came over and said, “Thank you very much, Senor Charles and Bonita Chica Claire.”

In my best accent I could muster, “Es muy fácil bailar cuando se tiene esa maravillosa y bella mujer a bailar con lo que yo hago.” (It’s very easy to dance when you have such a wonderful and beautiful woman to dance with, as I do.)

“Buena’s Noches,” Raoul offered.

“Buena’s Noches,” Claire and I said together.

We paid and headed back to our hotel.

With another full day to ourselves, we decided to see if there was a Broadway Show we could get into. Sarah called the George Gershwin Theatre and after mentioning Charles & Claire, got us in to see WICKED.

While Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel were clearly fantastic, the ladies performing Glinda and Elphaba these days should still be marvelous.

We all decided to get into the spa for a while, to relax and enjoy each other’s company.

“What time does the show start tonight?” I asked Sarah.

“Eight o’clock—but they recommended we get there at seven, if not earlier,” she responded.

“How dressed up are we going to get?” Kalista asked.

“Well, Kalista—we’re Charles, Claire and the Sparkling Kalista, so I think we should dress in our finest,” I said, putting on airs.

“We are recognized everywhere we go,” Claire added.

“Why don’t we all dress in black tonight?” Annie came into the conversation.

“That’s a great idea Annie,” Sarah said. “Why don’t we all wear our black multi-ways, using the strapless design? Charles won’t know where to look.”

“That suits me OK ladies—I love you all regardless of what you wear,” I said, laughing at Sarah’s highly accurate remark.

We were all dressing for going out and Claire came out of the bathroom in her black dress, looking like a million bucks. She hadn’t put on any make-up yet. However, she looked beautiful, with her big natural eyelashes and her freshly scrubbed face.

I walked up to her and whistled, letting her know how much I loved her. We gave each other a lengthy kiss, only being broken up by Kalista walking by on her way to the shower. She giggled her hips and smiled at us both and walked by.

Claire went over to the mirror and started putting on her make-up, just a little eyeliner and powder, along with a little color of lipstick. It was a lovely shade of red, not too bold, but quite attractive as well. As she finished, I came up behind her and grabbed her around her waist and kissed her on the neck, eliciting a high-pitched squeal from her. I whispered in her ear, “You are so very beautiful.”

Our drive to the Gershwin Theatre was uneventful. When we arrived, there were people in line for what’s called the ‘Lottery.’ They sell 26 tickets at a reduced price, prior to most performances, however, a quick glance told me there were 200 people waiting to find out if their name is selected. A number of them saw us and yelled, “It’s Charles & Claire.”

We were there early enough, so we signed autographs for all who asked, which was most of them. We waved goodbye as we went inside to pay for and pickup our tickets. The young lady selling the tickets got a case of the giggles as she saw us walk up.

After buying the tickets, we spent a little time in the Theater Hall of Fame, which was located inside the Gershwin Theatre, having been originally named the Uris Theatre, after its original developer.

We spent some time, looking at the plaques that filled the walls for the many notables, a combination of actors and actresses, directors, producers, costume designers and many more. Through a handout you were given as you walked through the entrance of the Hall of Fame, I found out that to be eligible for induction, the theater professional must have given at least 25 years of service to the American Theater and have five major production credits to his or her name.

Claire and I looked around together pointing out many names we recognized, including Julie Andrews, Danny Kaye, Bert Lahr—the comedian who’s remembered by most people as the Lion in the WIZARD OF OZ. Claire pointed out the names of Angela Lansbury, Robert Preston and Mary Martin.

Kalista was looking around by herself and came over to us and pulled us back to where she just was and asked, “This name I have seen before—I know he was a dancer, can you help me out by pronouncing his name and telling me about him, please Charles?”

“I’d be happy to Super-K, His name is pronounced ‘faw-see,’ Bob Fosse. He was considered one of the all-time great dancers and choreographers, being nominated for 21 Tony Awards and winning 8 and also winning a Tony Award, Academy Award and Emmy Award all in the same year, either 1972 or 1973.”

“It was ‘73, Mr. Newman. Excuse me, but you know your Fosse. I am Terry Hodge Taylor, Executive Director of the Hall of Fame, since 1990.”

He and I shook hands. He kissed the hands of both Claire and Kalista, neither able to hold back a giggle.

Sarah and Annie joined us at that point, with Annie saying, “Charles is my son, Mr. Hodge Taylor—nice to meet you, this is my ... best friend Sarah, who is Claire’s mother.”