Dear Reader, I've continued the story, but some parts might seem a bit strange because I've rewritten everything leading up to this point. So if something doesn't make sense, blame me.

Zoe laughed. “Uh-huh. Just go back and fix your Haiku so it reflects the 5-7-5 sequence. One of yours is off. I really like the way you’re going to map it all out. Get it all down on your word processor, so I can read it and get involved.”

Teri was nodding as they talked. “I love collaborating with you, Zoe. And it’s going to give me something else to do while I’m trying to heal besides this Christmas album they’ve just tossed in my lap. But it’s all good cause I’ve created an entire scenario for the opera to make it more believable. Do you want to read that too?”

Zoe chuckled. “Of course, I do. It’s fun seeing your creative gears turning.”

“I guess you’re filled in about the changes with the stars and SNL, right?”

“I am. It’s much better for us. No Thanksgiving performance means a longer break for me. I’m thinking Boomer will be a Thanksgiving baby. But you’re the one who’s going to have to be working harder. You have to arrange and produce a brand-new album for the two biggest stars in music. Won’t that exhaust you?”

“I hope not. I’ve already received twice as many songs as we needed. I’m having trouble understanding how they have so many great songs just hanging out and never recorded. They both were planning on releasing a Christmas album, and they both sent everything to me. I’m going through them today. And both women have given me permission to FaceTime their producers for ideas. Beyoncé works with some top people. Taylor’s group is smaller. The first thing I need to do is find which songs have room for both voices. Kinda what I did for the fundraiser. I’m going for twenty songs. I think some should be standards and others original.”

“Wow. Won’t that exhaust you?”

“Hope not. But I’m not doing this all by myself. I’m going to have a production team and a direct channel to both of them through an agent or producer. They’ve each sent me sheet music for a number of songs for their own Christmas album. Our job will be to create a shared album. We’ll pick solo numbers and some shared ones, too. I won't bother either of them until we are locked in. After that, I’m going to call on each of their big production teams to get this done.”

“Beyoncé uses a lot of producers to create an album. I’m hoping to invite everyone to be in on this. Since the common thread will be Christmas, it won’t be a big creative stretch. And Taylor does more herself; it’s just a question of getting everyone talking. Both of them enjoyed their shared experience on Labor Day, so we’re just looking for another time like that.”

“I’m shooting for mid-October for a song list, then we’ll head into production. If it all goes well, it will be a wrap by November 30th.”

Zoe had concerns. “You’re nuts, you know. Just watch your energy levels.”

Teri tried to sound confident and optimistic. “Well, the best thing is that the Wildcats will have time to create new material for a Spring tour and SNL.”

Zoe shook her head. “I hope you’re right. I’m thinking about the night we stayed up drinking rum and Coke, creating our island song. I don’t know how many drunken writing sessions we’re going to have with me nursing and Tiff not drinking anymore.”

“Yeah. The Cats are still alive and ready to rock. We’ll find those sparks!”

When Teri went back to work, she looked at the outline she’d created earlier for her rock opera. She started writing it all out for Zoe. Stealing the plot from Romeo and Juliet, her Vampire clans periodically gathered to discuss the laws they’d follow to keep them from discovery. However, the clans didn’t share the same philosophy regarding nutrition.

Jenn looked over Teri’s shoulder and read what she had written. “This character sketch is pretty thoughtful. You’re creating a whole world for these Vamps. Forget the music and write the play for Broadway.”

Teri laughed. “Hey, maybe you’re right. My Broadway debut is definitely going to be this rock opera. According to Zoe, it’s going to be so amazing, it’s going to replace Phantom.”

Jenn laughed. “In the meantime, how’s the UTI coming along?”

Teri grimaced. “Thank God for antibiotics! Those pills finally worked. It was making me scream whenever I went to the bathroom.”

Jenn kissed her and whispered, “I’ll be back in two hours to play sexy nursey with you. I can help you dilate.”

Teri grinned and kissed her. “Uh, your dilating me always ends up in bed and under the covers. Is that what the doctor intended?”

Jenn kissed her solidly. “Uh, why don’t you ask your mom if that’s the way it’s supposed to go?”

“Jenn! I can’t talk to my mom about sex!”

Jenn blew her a smooch as she disappeared into their second bedroom to read. Teri watched her leave and worked on writing her opera summary. She was filling in the details to make it seem real.

She decided that Katherine’s sect survived by drinking human blood. They’d kept human slaves available to feed from periodically. Those Vampires insisted that theirs was a symbiotic relationship, one party helping the other. Their humans were addicted to the mind-controlling fluids the Vampires released as they fed. Their addiction made them pliable and content to be servants.

In contrast, the other sect fed from animals. Long ago, their hunting parties would carefully feed on large cats or bears, leaving them behind with less blood but still well enough to recover and move on.

Now, Jonathan’s father kept a family farm in the upper Midwest. They raised Black Angus cattle, which were butchered and sold. Those same animals were periodically leached to feed his family. The daylight care of their farm was handled by a Mennonite family that had been with them for over a century. It was said that both families had traveled together from Eastern Europe, where each group had been persecuted.

Jonathan loved his life. He enjoyed being part of his family and the farm.

When they traveled to the Canadian Rockies for their gathering, the deep forest provided enough shade for them to be outside during the day. And that’s when Jonathan spotted Katherine watching the trout in the deep pools of the stream.

Katherine’s family lived in Chicago and operated a manufacturing business that produced machinery for industry. Their plant was managed by their human workers, who followed designs created by their Vampire superiors.

Katherine felt trapped. In a way, she was a slave, too. Her need for blood kept her at home with her family. She despised her family's practice of bloodletting their factory workers. She hated herself almost as much as she hated her family.

At that point, Teri stopped and sent her background summary to Zoe, awaiting her response.

Jenn saw her standing there looking out their windows. “Whatcha doing, Rock Star?”

Teri moved across the room and kissed Jenn, pulling her into her body. “Taking a break from squatting on that inflatable inner tube. I’ve been writing out the story behind my rock opera. Wanna see?”

Jenn looked over Teri’s summary on her iPad. “This is cool. What’s your theme?”

“Acceptance and love supersede differences.”

“Sure! Love it. Kinda sappy. But romance sells.”

Teri was nodding. “Thanks. Do you think that the Hallmark Channel is ready for this?”

Jenn kissed her back. “Nah. However, the entire Twilight series sold books and movies to a large number of romance lovers. Of course, they’ll immediately notice how you’ve copped Twilight’s stuff for your own.”

Teri smiled. “It’s a homage to Twilight

“Okay, but it’s still stealing. You might get a note from her lawyers.”

“Maybe I should write to her directly and see how she feels.”

“Sure. Before you do, talk to Gina’s dad and see what he says.”

“Yeah, good idea. Or I could give her credit.”

Jenn hugged her girlfriend. “Now I’ve got a thought for you.”

“Sure. Let’s hear it.”

“Well, I’m studying American history, and your story could take place after the American depression and during the ten years before World War II. A whole industrial and agricultural celebration was taking place in America. Lots of respect for hard work.”

Teri stopped and thought. “Yeah, why not?”

Jenn tapped on her computer. “So, check out these murals painted at that time. Most of them were sponsored by the government to help the country get back on its feet after the depression.”

Jessica Jade called Lisa excitedly. “Found him! And it wasn’t that hard. Your guy has a Facebook page promoting a band he plays with, and he’s a producer at Electric Lady Studios in New York. It appears that he’s pretty successful. His biography is impressive. I’d say you both got his genes!”

Lisa was already online looking at his photo and reading a blurb from the recording studio. “He’s gotta be talented to work there. You know, Jimi Hendrix started that studio so he and his friends could record there back in the early seventies. And this guy has his own group, too. I’ll bet we can buy tickets to hear his band play sometime soon. I’m going to call Richard when I hang up.”

“Don’t leave Teri behind. If you went to see your guy play without her, she’d never forgive you.”

“Right. She’d freak if we forgot her. Thanks, Jessica.”

But when Lisa called Richard, she was shocked to hear him say, “Whoa! No, Lisa. You’re rushing into this too fast. How about if we let your lawyer investigate first? And let’s get Jessica to do a deep dive into his background. A serious background check, family history, and a full chronology of his whole life. The man’s in his forties, and we need to know everything before we dive in. I’m worried about past addictions. You know, if he has problems like drugs, alcohol, gambling, or women, we need to know. And the guy could have a serious police record, too. We don’t know, and we should. All of this needs to be brought to light before we move forward. We don’t want to rush this. It might backfire on the Wildcats if the connection comes to light and the guy has problems. Let’s think about the band, too.”

Lisa wanted to argue, but hesitated. “Sure, okay. But can you take charge and direct this? I’m just too close to what’s happening here. I’m probably not using my thinking brain.”

“Sure, Lisa. I can’t blame you for wanting to know more. But I think you’re being smart moving slowly.”

“Well, I hope Teri feels the same way. But I still think she has the same needs as I do. All those years of wondering about this guy. When my mom told me that there’d never been a husband and we didn’t have a dad, it blew my mind. Teri and I both thought that someday this guy would appear and want to make up for lost time, and we’d have a family. It was a pretty crushing blow to know about the sperm bank. However, I now believe that the whole DNA concept and the prospect of future babies make this quest even more important. And bingo, suddenly he’s right within reach.”

Richard listened and slowly shook his head. “Yep. I hear everything you’ve been saying. And I’m trying to walk in your shoes. But I’m a big believer in being cautious.”

“Well, my sister will listen. I know that she’ll do whatever we want. She plays the ten-year-old, but there’s a sharp brain inside her mischievous smile.”

Teri picked up her phone. She was expecting to hear from Zoe and was surprised when her sister called. She watched Jenn slip from under the covers and head to the bathroom. ”Hey, Lisa! What’s up?”

“Jessica scored and found this guy. His name is Jack Dempsey and it appears that he’s the source of all our music genes.”

“Huh? Seriously?”

“Yep. He’s a musician and a producer.”

“Whoa! How awesome is that! So we inherited his talents, huh?”

Lisa shook her head. “Well, kinda. But Richard is taking over this whole screening process before we go face-to-face. He even plays a regular gig in Manhattan in a club. I think he’s into blues.”

Teri was already on her computer and Googling him. “Oh, wow! How cool is all that? But neither of us look like him. But the big question is when can we go hear him play?”

Lisa frowned. “Richard says we need to hold back until they do some serious digging.”

Teri grinned mischievously, nodding at what Lisa had said. “Yeah, I hear you. Okay, but how about if just you and I disguise ourselves and go Ninja style up there?”

Lisa laughed. “Great! But let's keep it a secret. Richard would freak if he found out.”

Teri was nodding as he looked at his laptop. “Okay. According to Jack Dempsey’s Facebook page, he’s playing on Friday and Saturday nights. We can sneak out of town and take the train up, stay the night, and sneak back. You bring Smith, and the four of us can go.”

Lisa wanted to see this guy. “Yeah, but no telling anyone where we’re going. We have to tell them another story like we’re going to the Poconos for one of those romantic getaway weekends.”

Teri laughed. “I’m not lying on those sticky sheets!”

When Jack got home from the studio, Emma greeted him at the door. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled his neck. She loved feeling his strong, solid muscles as her hands roamed his arms and chest. Just touching him got her excited. She knew that working in front of the camera turned her on, and he was happy to please her. “Hey, Baby. I picked up Chinese, and I’m keeping it warm while we get a shower.”

Jack happily kissed her and smiled into her face. “Sounds good.” But then he frowned. “I could really use that hot water on my shoulders. It’s all tight in there.” He flexed his neck and shoulders.

Emma led him into the bedroom as she unbuttoned his shirt. “Poor baby, you’re all knotted up with tension in those nerve bundles. Let me make it feel good for you.”

Jack often forgot that his girlfriend had a master's degree and was well-versed in human physiology. Besides being sexy and beautiful, she also had a brain inside that gorgeous head of hers. But he knew what to do. He picked her up and spun her around. He laughed as he heard her squeal.

He was dragging Emma with him into the shower and undressing both of them. “You work today?”

Emma nodded and smiled. “I did ninety minutes with some fans. I didn’t want to work tonight; I wanted to be with you.”

Jack kissed her again. It always made him smile to think that this woman was in love with him. He’d never had much luck in the love stuff. Most women didn’t understand that music was his first love and his lifeblood. He fondly recalled the first time Emma approached him between sets. He looked around to see who hired this woman to come on to him. She was way too young and way too beautiful. Her look was flawless, like you’d see in magazine models and, well, hookers. She was just too polished to have walked into the club where they were playing. He just assumed she was a pro. No way anyone this gorgeous could be talking to him. Everything about her said high-class call girl.

As they talked between sets, Jack realized that she was for real. And when he asked her if she wanted to go get coffee after the band finished their show, he was shocked that she smiled and said yes. He was surprised that she agreed so readily. After sitting down in a Starbucks, she shared her past.

“Yeah, I know what you were thinking. I have that high-class whore look about me with too much hair and makeup, and thin clothes with a push-up bra. But truthfully, I had just finished working and was itchy just to get out and breathe cool air. Working under lights and in front of a camera gets me all heated up. I wanted to let off steam before I soaked myself in a hot bath with my vibrator. I’d seen the poster where you were playing tonight, and it was only a short walk from where I live. So I used the walk to cool down. I sat at the bar and listened to your first set. I’ve got to tell you that you and those guys were great. Consummate musicians, and your guitar work and voice are amazing. I felt like I was sitting in a recording studio listening while you cut your tenth album. I immediately forgot my troubles and wanted to lose myself in the music.”

Jack was grinning. First of all, the woman he was talking with couldn’t have been thirty, probably closer to twenty-five. And she was a natural redhead, beautiful from head to toe. She was dressed way too classy to be out with him. He recognized her outfit and bag as being designer products. His last girlfriend, Melody, craved those kinds of materialistic stuff. Jack figured that Melody would leave him when she found a guy who’d cover her spending habit. He was surprised when it turned out to be an older woman. But she seemed happy with her new love and got all the material goods she wanted. After that, he knew that on his salary, he needed to warn whoever he dated that he was not a catch.

Jack had stared for a while and realized that she had blue eyes, not green. He wondered just how rare that was. In the meantime, he was trying to concentrate on what she was saying.

She laughed in his face. “You know, Jack. I wish I could read your mind. Your eyes have undressed me at least twice, and I wonder what you’re thinking.” She sighed. “Maybe we should just fuck and get it out of the way. Then I could get you to listen.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. She’d nailed him and had him right in her crosshairs. “Okay, Emma. I confess that I’m guilty on all counts. You are mesmerizing me with your beauty. I admit I have a weakness for gorgeous redheads. But give me a chance to try again.”

“Okay, Jack. I’m going to give you a break because these are not my everyday clothes. I get dressed up to work and just didn’t feel like changing tonight. I knew if I undressed, washed my face, and pulled my hair back in a pony, I’d just climb in bed. So what you see is what you get.”

“Oh, please don’t get me wrong, Emma. I love what I see. It’s just that there’s at least a ten-year difference in our ages, and my low self-esteem asks me why you’re sitting here with me.”

“Jack, I know that you’re thirty-eight from your online bio. So there’s a twelve-year difference in our ages. And as far as your self-esteem goes, I think that you’re handsome. Hearing you sing and play sealed the deal for me. If you were to lead me to your place, I would fuck your brains out until the sun came up. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I need to tell you my story. Not every guy sticks around after they hear me out.”

Jack nodded, got up, and asked the barista for refills. When he returned, he settled himself in, promising himself to keep his eyes on her face while she talked. But, oh my God, she was an eyeful. Everyone who walked into Starbucks was tripping over their feet to stare at her.

“I was a psychology major at Southern Cal, but after graduating, I became disillusioned when I realized I’d need eight more years of school before I could become a psychologist. I decided to change my career and capitalize on my appearance. I spoke with various people and began working at Hooters. I was making good money in tips, but I got tired of guys thinking my body was theirs to use as they pleased. I wanted to punch the next guy who pinched me.”

“Another girl suggested that I create a MyFans page. She offered to show me the ropes. I was twenty-one when I started. I had a bachelor’s degree and no desire to pursue more schooling. So each day, I’d turn on the camera and the lights. I’d broadcast to anyone who wanted to subscribe to my channel. I never did anything exciting or titillating. My big thing was changing my lingerie. That was my big expense. While I put on and took off my underwear, I chatted with the guys who paid money to watch me.

It turned out that they really wanted someone to talk to and I was a good listener. I never talked dirty or suggestively. I wasn’t a tease but just honestly listened and expressed my opinion. I was doing my counseling thing. I loved it. And I had lots of views. It was strange.

After three months, I quit my waitressing job and lived off the income I earned online. I was making a couple thousand dollars a week and had a lot of free time. I did whatever I enjoyed and found myself reading about the stock market. My favorite thing turned out to be grain futures. I played around with investing and discovered I could keep up. I even made a little money.”

Jack tried to listen, but his brain was spinning out. He wanted to come right out and ask her if she did adult films and the whole porno bit, but wanted to hear her entire story first. He nodded for her to continue.

“So my thing was that I dressed and undressed in lingerie and talked with people while I did it. My audience was young and middle-aged men who suffered from social and sexual dysfunction. Sure, they got to see my body while I was changing from a lacy black outfit with seamed stockings and a bustier, to a white lacy push-up bra and a tiny thong. I figured that was part of my attraction. The other part was that I was willing to listen and talk to these guys. They sensed that I was treating them with love and honesty.”

“I know it sounds crazy, but I never used dildos or pussy play. Honestly, it was more show and tell than titillation. I pictured myself as the girl next door that you’d be peeking in on through her curtains to watch her get undressed. I never figured that there was a market for what I was offering, but I started making money. Someone in the business told me what I was doing was soft sex counseling. One of my biggest donors said I was a lot cheaper than therapy.” She grinned. “And that’s when I decided to go back to school, taking classes to become a sex therapist.”

Jack was listening. “I’m sure you got lots of offers. How come you were never tempted to do hardcore stuff?”

“Sure, I got plenty of offers to do hardcore. I was even offered a deal from a sugar daddy where I’d retire and move in with him. But I have an independent streak and love being my own boss. Even on my site, I’d get offers for private shows and turn them down. And yes, some adult film studios bugged me just to try it out. But after my investments started to take off, it was easy to keep my virtue and smile. By that time, I graduated with a master’s degree in counseling.”

Jack looked at her. “Using my calculations, you’ve been doing this for four years. Don’t you get tired or frustrated?”

Emma smiled. “It’s very strange. All of these control and sex discussions get my motor going. I’ve had to take lots of warm bubble baths over the years. I’ve had a couple of boyfriends, but when they start thinking they own me, it’s over. I appreciate my life and the freedom it offers. I like to be in charge.”

Jack looked at her and smiled. “C’mon with me back to my apartment. We can talk some more.”

Emma smiled and stood up. “Honey, I hope we can do more than talk.”