Chapter 44

“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 we’d finished, so we packed it in for the night and went to bed. Sleeping with a beautiful girl who is pushing her free-floating bosom against my back, is rather settling and I slept quite comfortably.

We all got to Carnegie Hall the next morning and in just under 3 and 1/2 hours, we went through the entire set without a hitch. Michael and Sarah did a wonderful job singing ‘I have Had the Time of My Life’ and we left at three pm ... scheduled to come back at six-thirty to get ready for an eight pm curtain.

I needed a light back rub and a nap to catch up on some sleep. Claire, along with Kalista, gave me the rub I’d asked for—Kalista was getting pretty good at it, she just needed to learn how to throw her shoulders into it, but she was getting skilled. Maybe after Claire and I are married, I could have K come over for a massage from time to time. She’d like that! No doubt, I would too!

After setting an alarm, Claire and I got in bed. Since she and I had become so close and touchy-feely, I turned towards her this time, spooning behind her, but not right up behind like she’d been doing to me. That could lead to heaven ... I mean trouble, in so many wonderful ... No, problematic situations, it would mean crossing not only a boundary, but a whole continent as well. The alarm went off and we woke up, with Claire surprised I was spooning her. She tried to back up and I ended up just getting out of bed to avoid her.

A cold shower and a change into performance clothes later, I was back. She had a benign look on her face, with a suggestion of being upset. Avoiding it, for the moment, I asked, “Which dress are you planning on wearing tonight, Claire-Bear?”

“Why should you care, it’s not your dress, it’s mine—OK?”

“All right—SIT DOWN CLAIRE,” I raised my voice.

Having been a while since I raised my voice to anyone like that, she quickly sat down.

“Just because I wasn’t willing to spoon up against you is no reason to be mad at me. I’m sorry—why don’t we just strip completely naked and fuck on top of the bed, regardless of everybody else in this hotel room with us. Your expectations regarding our relationship are clearly not the same as mine. When we’re done in three days, let’s Cancel the Tour and Cancel the Wedding ... because ... I want you so badly—I am willing to give up everything—that’s how much I care for you, respect you and love you.”

I was sitting on the edge of the bed, crying my eyes out, hoping I could make her understand, but I had to be willing to let her go, if all she wanted was physical gratification.

I felt her get up on the bed. She wrapped her arms around me crying as well.

“Charles, I am not really sure what I want, but I don’t want to stop dancing with you, I don’t want to cancel the tour or the wedding. I am just so damn hormonal right now, I started my period late last night, I think that has something to do with it. I am sorry, I hope you can accept my apology—We have to dance at Carnegie Hall tonight!”

My eyes were getting drier and I looked up to see Kalista, Annie and Sarah all open-mouthed over the things I’d said. Annie came over and did that Mom thing of combing your hair with her fingers. I always liked that and it brought a smile to my face.

“Charles, which of my dresses would you like me to wear tonight?” Claire asked.

“Your Cobalt colored Multi-Way, in the Cross-back Style, with your beautiful red hair down, but off your equally beautiful face. Kalista, that’s how I’d like your hair as well. I’d like you to wear your Black Multi-Way in the Twist Front Halter design.”

“Girls, bring both your heels and your ballet slippers. Everybody needs to see your stunning legs as much as they can. Earrings are OK, but nothing dangly—and don’t forget to put on your show pants.”

We got to Carnegie Hall right at 6:30 as per Michaels request.

He was in a really nice suit, which reminded me that I needed some more suits of my own.

“Charles, is everything good?” Michael asked.

“Everything is ... excellent, Michael,” I confirmed with both thumbs up.

It’s one thing to dance in and around your peers as we did at Cotillion; performing in front of others in a Competition is more of a stressor; dancing for scores and a trophy against people who were older than you take it up a notch. However, dancing in a place as culturally significant and historic as Carnegie Hall, is the ultimate place to perform.

I walked over to my dancing companions, who were touching up their make-up, gave each of them great big hugs. I casually mentioned to not kiss me just before the routines, but I didn’t want them to stress, so I went back to them and told them to never mind what I’d just said. They both laughed at me. I asked if we could all hold hands for a moment.

I started, “This evening should be the most wonderful night of our lives, but there are more important things than dancing: The Love of one another, looking at challenges and planning how to get past them and telling the persons you are most fond of, exactly how you feel.”

“Kalista, I love you so much—you have made me so proud of my little sister this past year. You have grown as a person, you have grown as a dancer and most importantly, you have grown into the most stunning young lady.”

“Claire, I knew the moment I first laid eyes on you, that we would be together forever, as dancers and as much more. Since we have been engaged to each other, my love has grown by leaps and bounds for you. You clearly are my ‘significant other’ in so many ways.”

Each of the girls expressed their feelings for each other and me, as we had a group hug at the end our ‘confab.’

As expected, the evening was an unfettered success, with my girls getting applause and cheers after every single routine. Both Claire and Kalista gave me the ‘starting kiss’ all night and the audience ate it up.

A sold-out house holds 2,804 people, but it felt and sounded like much more. At the end of the evening we came out into the lobby and there were many people waiting around with posters in their hands.

Sarah slipped us pens and we walked up to the folks and started to give out autographs. We talked with the people as we signed our names. Mr. Taylor from the Hall of Fame walked up to us holding hands with a very young man and young lady.

“Charles, these are my grandkids, Martin and Sophie. When they heard that Charles & Claire were coming here, they went ballistic. Would you mind giving each of them an autograph, please?”

“Certainly, Mr. Taylor.”

“Please call me Terry?”

“All right—Terry, what did you think of the program?” I asked.

“It was excellent, Charles—as I have heard, the three of you are so very talented, it was worth every penny—I would have paid double to see you all dance. I only wish our hall seated more people, everyone—I mean everyone ... should see the two of you dance and enjoy Kalista’s beautiful presence as well. I need to get these kids home to their parents, so see you all tomorrow night?” he said as he left.

I saw Michael come in and I had to say something, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the finest crooner to ever cover Frank Sinatra; Winning 22 Awards, including 2 Grammys, Michael Bublé!”

We shook hands as the crowd of people all around us, applauded for Michael. He went from person to person shaking hands and signing an occasional autograph.

I just stood back and felt satisfied, both for the evening’s events and now, as Michael got his due. I felt a hand on my shoulder; I turned around to face Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick.

“Hello,” Matthew said. “You are Charles, aren’t you—of Charles & Claire?”

“Yes, I am Charles Newman,” I said and grabbing Claire away from her mother. “And this beautiful young lady is Claire McArthur, we’re engaged to be married next October and we’re planning to honeymoon in Hawaii,” Claire beamed at them and giggled as well.

“But you know all about having a beautiful woman on your arm, don’t you Mr. Broderick—I have always thought you got the prettiest actress in Hollywood to marry you. The first time I saw ‘Flight of the Navigator’ on television, I instantly had a crush on her.”

“Well, aren’t you the smooth talker?” Jessica said. “That was over 20 years ago.”

“Well, I thought you were cute back then, but now, like I said, I’d consider you the ‘gold standard’ for beauty in Hollywood.”

“Well, you are very kind Charles Newman, let me see that ring, Claire? Wow—that’s a beauty, exactly when are you two getting married, Charles?” Jessica asked.

“On my birthday next year,” Kalista added to the conversation.

“If you’d like to be there, just order a complete set of our posters from our website ... after Labor Day this year, and with each set you order, you will get a Golden ticket with all of the information on it,” Kalista proudly added.

Matthew and Sarah turned towards each other and he said, “Absolutely, we will be there—for sure.”

“Thank you so very much, it’s been such an honor to meet the two of you,” I said.

They said goodbye as they left together.

“Charles—that was Sarah Jessica Parker,” Claire said, her first words since I grabbed her to meet them only minutes before.

“Yeah, she sure is pretty and she’s older than either of our mom’s. But, she wears too much eye make-up—so many actresses over-do their eye make-up, in my opinion, especially when they have a very pretty face, like you or Kalista.”

Our other two Carnegie Hall crowds were just as exciting. There were again celebrities to greet us afterwards. We met Demi and Ashton, along with Angela Lansbury, a five-time Tony Award winner herself.

At the end of our final night, Michael handed me an envelope that he told me to not open until we were back home in Columbus, Ohio.

The next morning, we got up and dressed to travel home to Columbus. I threw the envelope in my suitcase as we finished our packing. We traveled in a stretch hummer to La Guardia Airport, where we got on Michael’s plane and headed home.

We disembarked Michael’s plane for the last time on the USA Something Special Tour. I started to salivate over the spa about halfway home. We all said goodbye to Michael for two weeks. We got on a shuttle to the long-term parking lot and picked up our Suburban and drove her home. The whole time in the car I was wondering what, if anything, might change between Claire and I know that we’re back. I took the initiative and brought up both her and my suitcases and took them to my room. Claire caught herself hesitating to go into my room for some reason.

I walked up to her and gave her a Welcome Home kiss and as we finished it up, Claire said, “What next Charles—are we going to live together now—in your room? Or maybe in my room, which is bigger and has more room in the closet for you to move into?” Her voice picked up energy between the two questions.

“You are exactly right, your room is more practical. I will move all of my stuff in over the next couple of days, how’s that sound to you, Claire-Bear?” I said giving her a kiss on the nose.

“Should we even move our stuff out of our suitcases, Charles?” Claire wondered aloud.

“You might be right, for now—let’s only get out the dirty stuff and start a load down in the laundry room,” I said.

We opened up our suitcases, hers very neat and organized and mine was catch-as-catch-can.

She helped me and together we filled a bag with undergarments and other washables and together went down to the laundry room, which I have never been in before to actually run either of the machines—It’s time to learn!

Claire explained separating lights and darks and reading cleaning labels, so we started our light load first, measuring carefully how much soap we should use—I poured it in the measuring cup, she told me when to stop and we poured it into the washer together.

She then explained the dials and where to start this load. She got a kick over the fact that she knew something I didn’t—the giggling was rampant. Annie walked in.

“What’s going on in here—I heard, giggling?” she said, beginning to form a big smile on her face.

With a huge grin on her face, Claire responded before I could, “Charles and I, started our first washer load together as a couple. We’re washing our whites first. We will be back after going in the spa, to put this load in the dryer and then start the dark load. Come on Lover—let’s change into our suits.” She grabbed my hand and we started to leave.

I heard my mother make a sound, which turned us around.

“My little boy—Finally—has a reason to do his own laundry -thank you Claire,” she said with a tremendous amount of dramatic flair, along with a great big snort as she left the laundry room.

After changing into our suits and snuggling in the spa for a while, I heard a buzzer, which Claire told me was the washer telling us it was done—cool. We got out and went back to the laundry room; Claire had me move the clean wet underwear to the drier.

She explained drier sheets to me, plus how to clean the drier lint collector before every load is started. She also described how you don’t start the drier and the washer at the same time, it can cause a spike in the usage of the electricity that the house uses – I have so much to learn.

I certainly do love this collection of curves I am marrying.

After starting the dark load, still in our suits but dry now, we went back upstairs and we decided to completely unpack. While she moved back into the dresser in her room, I determined that I should move my dresser in—there’s plenty of room for it. After moving it in, I unpacked my stuff, including putting my outer wear back on hangars, which Claire helped me with and we loaded my stuff into the closet. There was a ding downstairs, just as we’d finished, and we walked down and Claire showed me how to fold laundry.

Annie had been doing this for me my whole life, so it was something of a revelation to find out how to do it all. We unloaded the drier and moved the dark load in and Claire explained how to fold everything. I felt like I was being watched, so I looked over to the doorway and saw Sarah, Annie, and Kalista watching us.

Mom spoke first, using a silly Australian accent, “Kalista, you are watching the domestication of a young man; his mother couldn’t get him to have anything to do with the laundry, but now he has a fiancée and everything has changed.”

They all giggled and were all watching as Claire showed me how to fold her panties differently than how I folded my boxers; it was indeed fascinating. I even learned how to fold one of her brassieres, although I felt myself both blush and tingle a little, handling one of them. After the entire load was all folded, I took my stuff and Claire took her stuff upstairs, with the three of them following us close behind, like a posse.

Now, Sarah spoke, trying her hand at the accent, “Kalista, now watch how carefully Charles will put his underwear into the drawers.” She dropped the accent to say, “Charles—where are you going? That’s Claire’s room?”

Claire said very matter-of-factly, “Mother, we have moved in together, Charles and I ... are sharing.”

“Sharing what exactly?” Sarah asked. I heard a snort—plus a giggle.

“As you can see, he’s moved his dresser in, we have got his hanging clothes in the closet and we have a bathroom that we can share. It will be practice for when we have a place of our own, don’t you see? Charles, move your bathroom stuff in next,” Claire said with a slight edge in her voice.

I saw Annie and Sarah looking at us, then at my dresser. They walked in and saw my hanging clothes as well. Mom started to chuckle, with Sarah joining in. Kalista didn’t quite understand, but was caught up in the laughter.

After they stopped, Mom started up again, “Kalista—the domestication is complete, once the male has sniffed the female, they are forever bonded together.” Giggles abounded all around as the three of them were enjoying themselves.

Claire and I sat down on her ... no ... OUR bed and joined in the laughter of the ladies.

There was a ding: “I will get it honey, you stay here and talk to the ladies OK.” I came back up with the unfolded laundry and Claire smiled up at me and said, “Thanks, Lover.” We started to fold clothes together as the Moms and Kalista stepped away to let us do it. We finished and went downstairs to see what they were doing.

We found the three of them in the spa, so we touched base with them, telling them we were going to take a nap. I watched Annie’s reaction, while Claire turned to see her mother’s as well. We turned and left, without being stopped or questioned.

That’s almost disconcerting, but trust is earned ... and I feel we have earned a lot of it. My first instinct was to leave the door open, but Claire said, “Close it, Lover.”

I grabbed a sock and put it on the outside doorknob and reclosed the door and we took a nap, our first in a closed room together—no pressure!

We got up. I decided I needed to call Ken.

“Hello, Charles—this is Ken. What’s up?”

“Hey Ken, we’re back in Columbus for two weeks, then we go off to New Brunswick, Canada to start our International Tour.”

“Sounds like a blast. Do you want to update any of the poster pictures?”

“Maybe, but that’s not why I called. We have approved the final design of the Tickets for our Wedding Event. Our print house should be receiving the finalized tickets in the next day or so, let me know, please?” I said.

“Great—so how are you wanting to send them out, randomly or letting someone decide where they want to be?” Ken asked.

“I think randomly, otherwise nobody will choose the nosebleed seats.” Made sense to me.

“That’s right—good idea,” Ken agreed.

“Ken, can we cap it so only 600 Golden tickets a day will go out with the posters. The idea behind that is to spread out the sales and to cause a sense of limitedness or scarcity.”

“Boy, Charles—talking to you is like talking to a MIT grad -- talking about scarcity,” Ken replied.

“Ken, how about adding to the site a dynamic countdown, that starts at 600 and counts down showing how many are left, like those auction websites do. We also need a one-click way for people to order our complete set.”

“That’s no problem at all—Charles, with the amount of sales you guys are generating, 600 might take only 60 minutes to sell, maybe less. I suggest you up it to 1,100 a day, that could maybe last 3 hours, depending on traffic to the site.”

“If all 1,100 don’t sell in a day, how would that work, rollover?” I asked.

“Sure. Now, if a family of four wants tickets next to each other, how do you propose doing that?” Ken asked.

“Hmmmm, Ken – hadn’t thought of that? How about we add to the website a quantity field, with a note that explains that if they want contiguous seats, they check a box on the screen and then put a number in the quantity box? I assume that your printing place will have to hand insert the tickets into each order tube or box, is that right?”

“Yes, it is,” Ken answered.

“Then, they have to be on top of things enough to send contiguous tickets to people who want them. I really don’t want anybody showing up on my wedding day who’s pissed because of a problem like this,” I said.

“Hey Charles—here’s an idea. We have somebody there the day of the Wedding, whose sole job is to help those who show up not having contiguous tickets, but would like them. I will talk to Sarah Jane, maybe we can do it ourselves, together?”

“Sounds like fun, maybe—last thing, can we control and do we want to control how many posters/tickets any one person can order—to prevent scalping?”

“We can limit orders to whatever you’d like, Charles—that’s up to you,” Ken said.

“Nobody had an opinion on this when I asked the ladies, Ken. Am I overthinking this?”

Ken replied, “Maybe, Charles—we can have a disclaimer that says, ‘Limit 20 sets of posters per order per day,’ and see how it goes. I was thinking of going to the printer for the first week of ordering, in case there are any kinks needing to be worked out. They are willing to help us in any way.”

“That’s a great idea, Ken—keep all your receipts, Charles & Claire will reimburse you for all of your travel expenses incurred. Maybe take that pretty wife of yours with you—get a sitter.”

“That’s a great sounding idea, Charles. If there are any issues, I will give you a call and we will work it out, OK?”

“Wonderful—You are a good man Ken McArthur, I don’t care what your mother says about you.”

“What?”

“Gotcha Ken!”

“Goodbye Charles, say hi to my little sis for me.”

“I will Ken, bye.”

“C-Cask/Wedding meeting people,” I yelled to all corners of the house.

Everyone showed up quickly and I asked them to please sit.

“I have just gotten off the phone with Ken, we have worked out distribution—we have upped the number of poster sets/tickets per day to 1,100 so there will be hopefully a 3-hour opportunity per day for people to order complete sets, which will include a Golden Ticket. We have capped the number of sets any one person can buy per day at 20 and we have worked out a system so a family will be able to sit together, with a backup in place for ‘W-Day.’ If we sell all 1,100 per day, we will sell out in 100 days, giving everybody plenty of time to make plans for the pilgrimage, in the case of somebody coming in from outside the United States.”

“All right, we have got 20 artists we have selected to perform so far and a 3-hour window for the performers to entertain the crowd, prior to the ceremony itself. For the last time, I will list 4 artists and you give me a thumbs up ... or down. If 4 of us give them a thumb up, they pass. Once again, you don’t have to explain yourselves at all to either Claire or me, OK?”

“Just a moment,” Sarah said. “Are you sure that Michael doesn’t mind sharing the day with all these other performers?”

“How do you mean, Hot Lips?” I said, getting a slap on my back from Claire.

“It’s a big deal, and he is probably looking forward to it more than any of them, I mean emotionally.”

“My dear sweet Sarah, I have had a talk with him about this exact thing. He didn’t mind a bit, he told me that it was my day, not his. He did smile when I mentioned none of them were getting paid. He is just fine. Maybe he will bring his girlfriend with him?”

Annie gave out a big snort!

“OK, Jennifer Warnes, Shirley Bassey, Bill Medley, Randy Newman?
Vote >>> please?
OK, we will contact Jennifer, Shirley and Bill.”

“Toni Tenille, The Golden Staters and LeAnn Rimes?
Vote >>> please?
All right, we will contact all of them.”

“So, that means we have a total of 26 Acts and we will give them 2 numbers each, around 7 minutes total each, for 182 minutes of entertainment, perfect. Sarah, at your first convenience, please verify this as our final list:”

“Jack Jones, Heart, Leanne Rimes, Blake Shelton, The O’Jays, Freshmen Fifteen, Josh Groban, Hayley Williams, Sheryl Crow, and Kristin Chenoweth.”

“Idina Menzel, Al Green, Alicia Keys, Usher, Faith Hill, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Sarah Bareilles, Maroon 5, and R. Kelly.”

“Golden Staters, Shirley Bassey, Bill Medley, Toni Tenille, Jennifer Warnes and Celine Dion.”

“Sarah, when you send them confirmation, get their set lists, 2 songs, 7 minutes total each performer and let them know an orchestra is available, if they want ... or they can bring along minus tracks?”

“Yes Sir, Mr. Newman,” she replied, with a wink.

“Claire honey, would you like to do a couple routines for our stadium of fans that day?” I asked.

“Sure, but can we do them early, so, I have time to get myself beautiful for you, sweetheart?” she responded.

“Absotively—Posilutely, Claire-Bear. How about you Super-K? Would you be up for a routine or two?”

“Yeah, Loverboy—I’d love to dance with my half-sisters fiancé before they get married. It would give me one last chance to steal you from Claire.”

There was a palpable silence in the room.

Kalista and Claire both broke out in loud laughter, as I may have just seriously blushed for the first time in a great while.

“Are you through making fun of me, ladies?” I asked.

They started laughing again, this time Annie and Sarah joined them.

“That was pretty good, Super-K,” Sarah said. “You had him thinking about it. I could tell.”

“Anyway,” I said, “With the performers we have coming, we could do the following routines:”

“My Heart Will Go On; Celine
For Good; Kristin and Idina
We Never Really Say Goodbye; Toni Tennille
I have Had The Time of My Life; Bill and Jennifer.”

“Sarah, we need to get a film crew there that day to film the entertainment as well as the complete ceremony—Can you take care of that, please. And go ahead and confirm the artist list letting them now, that we will send them a performance order list and an Entertainers Ticket upon confirmation, ASAP, get a mailing address from everyone who confirms. Oh and they will need to be there by four pm sharp, particularly those in the routines just mentioned, or they will not perform.”

“Yessir, Mr. Newman,” Sarah said, unable to hold back a laugh.

“Next on the list in my head, the Wedding Dress—Annie and Sarah, do we get that now, while we’re home, or will there be time after the International Tour is over?”

“Charles...”

“Just a minute Claire?”

“Charles, we should probably wait until after, in case your fiancée has any more ‘growth spurts,’” Sarah said.

“Charles...”

“One second honey.”

“Mom, do you have an opinion on this?”

“My opinion is that you should find out what your fiancée wants, before you just throw it open for group discussion,” mom quickly replied.

“Oh, I am sorry baby, I cut you off—what did you want to say?” I asked in an apologetically charged tone.

“Mom, what about your wedding dress, is it available for me to use? I would love to wear the same dress that you wore,” Claire requested.

We all looked over at Sarah, whose eyes were quickly moistening. She got up and came over to Claire and sat down beside her.

“Claire honey, that would be wonderful, but I was only a C-Cup and it fit me snugly, there’s no way you would fit in it; besides don’t you want your own wedding dress, to hand down to your daughter some day? Or to lend to Kalista?”

“You are right mom. Super-K, you can help me find something online, OK?” Claire said.

Kalista came over to me, getting up in my lap. “Charles, (kiss) I really like the new (kiss) nickname so much, (kiss) Thanks a bunch, Loverboy.” (Kiss)

“Sarah, would you hand me the box underneath the chair you are sitting in please?” I asked.

She reached under and handed it to me, with a wink.

“Kalista, stay on my lap for a minute, OK?”

“OK, Loverboy.” She was grinning so big.

“Thank you, Sarah—Super-K, we would have been in South America when your birthday rolled around in this year if things hadn’t changed, so with both Sarah’s and Claire’s help, I want to wish you a Happy Birthday, from us to you.”

She looked over to Claire, who smiled back at her, then to Sarah, who wasn’t giving anything away either. She took the wrapped present and tore it apart, opening up a box with two pieces of technology inside; the most recent iPhone and the newest, fastest MacBook Air laptop computer. She opened the laptop up and there was a sticky-note on it that said, “This has got ALL the words.”

“What?” K said, not getting it.

“You don’t need to bring the big dictionary with you on tour any more, this replaces it,” I said.

She grabbed me and hugged me like never before and then she pushed her lips on mine, really digging in with her tongue. I glanced over at Claire who was trying to suppress a giggle, but wasn’t motioning me to stop the kiss. A few more moments passed and Sarah said, “K” – “K” – “KALISTA—get off Charles!”

I barely managed to blurt, “It’s OK with me, Sarah,” out of the side of my mouth.

About a minute later Kalista was finally done saying, “Charles, you know how much I love you and I am so proud of you as a dancer and Claire’s fiancé. When the time comes and you both turn 18, I would like you and Claire to become my stepparents.”

“Don’t say Yes—don’t say No -- just think about it, please? Annie and Sarah have each other now and you and Claire will have each other. I don’t want anything special, just your love.”

That opened everybody’s eye-faucets, with me clearly the most affected by the words of this very grown-up nine-year-old.