The Haven - 1
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happens to be the granddaughter of one of the worlds most famous divas. When her
grandmother passes away and leaves her vast Berkshire estate to Veronica, she finds
a storage room with dozens of steamer trunks filled with her grandmother's touring
clothes from forty to sixty years ago, all of which fit Veronica beautifully.
Surprisingly, there are also some clothes that will fit Alex, as well. Alex is
dubious about wearing the clothes, but Veronica's enthusiasm gets the better of him.
A very different premise than my last story, but hopefully you will enjoy it.
Author's Note:Please comment to let me know what you think of this story, good or bad, I read them all! ~Clara.
This version of The Haven: 1 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.
Chapter 1
"Just a moment," the woman at the rent-a-car desk said, looking at Alexander's license with suspicion. "I need to speak to my manager for a moment."
Alexander shook his head. 'Great. Just great. Here we go again,' he thought. It was almost two in the morning and after nearly a day and a half on airplanes flying from Hong Kong to Japan to Dallas/Fort Worth to Chicago, then , finally to Bradley International Airport in Hartford. He was exhausted and wanted to get on his way to his fiancé's newly inherited home in The Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts.
The manager, an older man with a half-tied tie and a look of someone who had been awake for about three years, looked in Alexander's direction, then looked at his license, again.
When you travelled by yourself, everything was a hassle, but when your were a twenty-two year old, renting a car was a huge falderal. Most automobile rental companies wouldn't rent to someone under twenty five, but Alexander was registered with this company. The computer had just told the clerk that he was a steady client, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he didn't look twenty-two and he knew it and he hated it.
The manager came over and cleared his throat. "Mr Claremont, I am sorry to keep you waiting, it's just that my assistant, Lorraine, wasn't aware of your..." he cleared his throat again. "Your car will be ready in just a few moments, Mr Claremont. The adaptations you requested only take a few minutes, but... well, it should have been ready and waiting for you, but... I've had a very busy shift, sir and I am sorry. Christmas week and all... I hope you can understand."
"It's fine," Alexander said with a wave of his hand. "If that's the only issue, that's fine."
The manager nodded, but continued to look at Alexander in an odd way. "Umm, Mr Claremont... may I just say..." he seemed to be stuck, as he looked at Alexander very closely. Alex just waited and eventually the man continued. "Sir... I am an armature pianist myself, and I have to say, I just downloaded your recording of Chopin Waltzes and... I found it truly astounding, sir."
Alexander blinked. That recording was released before his tour of smaller concert venues in Asia and the only sales he was really aware of were the CDs that he signed and sold in the theater lobbies. Was this man an actual fan!? Wow! That was a first. "Well, thank you, very much," Alex smiled. "That's very kind of you."
The man smiled, tiredly. "My pleasure, sir, but... if I may say as well... Having meet you... well... your key span..." Again he paused.
Alex prodded. "My... 'key span?' You mean how many notes I can span with my hand?"
The man cleared his throat, yet again, "Yes, sir. It's just that... well... after seeing how... petite... you are... Your key span is quite impressive."
Petite. Seriously? This guy working at a car rental desk in the middle of the night just called him, petite? Alexander just shook his head. He had two choices - 1) Tell this guy that he was being rude and write a complaint to the corporate offices, or 2) Get his car and get the hell out of here. He chose the second. "Thank you," Alex said. "How long will it be until my car is ready?"
Just then, the man's phone buzzed and he glanced at it. Then he looked up and half smiled. "It's ready now, sir. Just out that door. Here is you paperwork, license, passport and credit card. Thank you, sir and safe travels."
Alex grabbed the items and headed to the exit. "Thank you," he said as he left the counter.
When Alex reached the rental car, he tossed his small carry-on into the trunk and checked the driver's seat. The seat was as far forward as possible, the pedal extenders had been installed and there was a sticky note on the steering wheel indicating that the air bag had been disabled due to Alexander's size and weight.
He got in and adjusted the mirrors and took a moment to pair his phone with the car's Bluetooth system. He always got the same model, a Toyota Yaris. Most people complained about the cramped interior of the small car, but it suited Alexander perfectly.
He took a moment to enter his fiancé's new address in Lenox, Massachusetts and saw that his travel time was going to be one hour and ten minutes. Not too bad. He sent Veronica a text, 'LEAVING BRADLEY NOW. BE THERE IN ONE HOUR AND TEN MINUTES. LOVE YOU.'
Ready to go, he pulled out of the parking space and headed for the exit. Just as he hit the Highway, his phone rang. "Hello."
Through the radio's speaker's Veronica's voice spoke. "Hey there, big guy. You're back on terra firma, huh?"
He laughed. "I am. I'll be there before three thirty. Don't wait up. Just let me know what door is unlocked."
Ronnie's laugh filled his car. "I didn't really have the opportunity to fill you in on this place, babe, but... well... not only is it huge, I have a staff. My Head of Household knows that you're on the way. Pull into the driveway, follow it around back and June, that's my Head of Household's name... June... will meet you at the garage. She'll guide you from there to the master bedroom, ok?"
"Wow!" Alex laughed. "Aren't you a big shot!?"
Ronnie tsked. "Oh, stop it. My grandmother's will left The Haven to me, but also left a ton of money in trust to maintain the house and staff. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Just drive safely and I'll see you when you get here. Love you."
"Love you, too," Alex said and the call ended.
'Big guy.' That was Veronica's playful, pet name for him. He knew that it was a miracle that he and Veronica were a couple at all, let alone preparing for marriage. They'd met when Donnie was a twenty one year old junior at Julliard and Alex was a lowly sixteen year old freshman. Younger and smaller than his classmates, Alex should have been the very last person to have responded to Veronica's bulletin board post looking for an accompanist, but Alex knew his abilities well and decided to audition for her, anyway.
Everyone at Julliard knew about Veronica Harrington, of course. Granddaughter of the great opera star, Sophia LoContore, and already a rising opera star in her own right. Veronica was tall, gorgeous and had a demeanor about her that told the whole world that she was going to be a star, one way or another. And now, at twenty seven, she had starred in productions in the US, France, Spain, Russia, Italy and Australia. Alex was still her recital accompanist and worked with her for rehearsals, too. He only toured on his own when Ronnie had a prolonged performance commitment, such as the recent ten week run of 'La Traviotta' in which she received rave reviews as Violeta.
The large estate and household staff were probably inevitable, given Veronica's talent and drive, but to have it handed to her so young was a big surprise to everyone - especially Veronica's mother, Sophia's daughter. She'd expected everything to pass to her, of course, so there was a bit of friction between mother and daughter over this situation.
Veronica and Alexander had a plan to settle things, though. Christmas was just a few days away and both Veronica and Alexander's mothers were coming to The Haven, as the estate had been named when it was commissioned by Florence Adele Vanderbilt at the height of the Vanderbilt family's wealth and power during 'The Gilded Age' in the late nineteenth century, and they would announce their engagement. Veronica hoped that the possibility of a wedding might defuse her mother's jealousy. She also planned to offer her mother a wing of the estate to have as her own home.
As Alex passed through the town of Lenox and followed the directions his phone was presenting on his media screen, a moderately heavy snow started falling. This concerned Alex a bit, but he had less than three miles to go, so he persevered. It did slow him down, though, and he was nearly a half hour late as he pulled onto the long drive that lead from the main road to the estate, proper.
"Holy mother of Pearl," he whispered as he caught his first glimpse of the building. It was enormous! It looked as if a small village had been smooshed together into one mammoth building. It was dark and snowing, of course, but Alex could still make out the outline of the structure and he was shocked by its stature. Were they really going to live in this place? God, they could fit a thousand people in there and still have plenty of room!
As the driveway rounded the east side of the house, Alex saw a large flashlight being waved at him near the north corner, so he headed in that direction. When he reached the person signaling him, he found a formidable looking woman in her fifties who smiled as she knocked on the passenger window and asked him to roll it down. "Alexander?" The woman asked. When he confirmed that he was, indeed, Alexander, she said, "My name is June. I am the Head of Household here at The Haven. Please pull into the open garage bay and I will show you to your room."
Alex thanked her and pulled his little rental in beside some very impressive looking automobiles. He didn't know enough about cars to guess at the manufacturers, but there were cars that looked fairly new and some that looked very, very old. This was certainly going to be an interesting new life.
June opened his door for him and he slipped out of the car. He immediately noticed that June was surprised by his appearance.
"Is there a problem?" Alex asked, slightly annoyed, but probably due more to fatigue than anything else. He certainly was used to the shock on the faces of people who met him.
June shook her head. "I am very sorry, sir. No, of course not. Umm... Welcome to The Haven. Ms Harrington suggested that we we deal with your luggage tomorrow and just get you to bed right now."
Alex reached in and grabbed his his small carry on bag. "No worries," he smiled. "Most of my luggage was shipped and won't be here for a day or two. This is all I have with me."
June nodded, took the carry on by its side handle, rather than the roller handle, saying, "Allow me, sir. Please follow me."
He followed June through what appeared to be a few large pantries, then the kitchen and down a long hallway until they reached a massive foyer with a grand staircase. Just before going up the stairs, June asked, "Are there any articles in you bag that need laundering, sir?"
Alex laughed. "Yes... I suppose it all needs to be laundered at some point."
June placed the bag to the side of the staircase and said, "I shall have it taken care of tomorrow, sir."
As she continued up the stairs, Alex said, "Umm... I do have a few things I may need that are still in the carry on."
"I think you will find that everything you need is waiting for you in your room. Toiletries, toothbrush, even a pair of pajamas that Ms Harrington chose for you are all waiting for you in your room."
Alex shrugged. What difference did it make? If he needed something, he'd just go get it out of the bag. Besides, he really just wanted to crawl into bed next to Veronica and sleep for at least a day or two. He followed June up the stairs and down a long hall.
"This is your room, sir," June opened a door and indicated that he should enter.
He did, but stopped when he saw that the bed was empty. "Where is Veronica?"
June smiled. "Just across the hall, sir. Ms Harrington felt that, with both of your mothers joining you later in the week, it might be appropriate for you to have your own room.
Alex laughed. "I suppose so." He figured that he would just brush his teeth, put on the pajamas that he saw on the end of the bed, then cross the hall and join Ronnie in her bed. Later in the week, when the mother's were there... well... then he would resign himself to sleeping in his own bed.
June entered behind him and showed him where his en-suite lavatory was and offered to help him change.
Alex snickered. "No thank you, June. I can handle that just fine."
She nodded. "I will just wait in the hall until you're all set, sir." Alex was about to argue, but June held up his hand and said, "It is my job, sir. When you are ready, please just say my name and I will come back in to see if you need anything else."
"Ok, fine," Alex shook his head.
He washed his face and brushed his teeth, took off his travel clothes and dropped them into the hamper, then returned to his bed.
The pajamas were a bit odd. Light blue, cotton, big and a bit loose fitting, different than he was used to. Much more expensive looking and just... nicer.
Alex pulled the bottoms on. They were a bit loose, but the elastic waist would hold them up. Oddly, they did not have a button fly, but he could certainly drop them if he needed to pee. The top was the same color and material as the bottoms. He pulled it on and buttoned the small button at the top. It wasn't as comfortable as the bottoms were. The neck line chocked him a bit.
He was about to cross the hall when he remembered that June was still waiting. He sighed and said, "June. I'm ready."
The Head of Household walked into the room with her consistently officious manner and nodded. "Everything fits, then, sir?"
"Yes," Alex said, "I guess. The collar is a chocking me a bit, but..."
June hurried to inspect him. "I see the problem, sir. If I may..." she held one sleeve, then the other, having him retract his arms from the sleeves. Then she spun the shirt one hundred and eighty degrees on his body and helped him to get his arms back into the sleeves. "How's that, sir?"
Alex moved his neck a bit and felt how well the top fit now. "Much better. Thank you."
"My pleasure, sir," she nodded. "Is there anything else you need...?" When Alex didn't respond, she continued, "... then I shall be getting back to bed myself."
She turned to leave, but Alex stopped her. "June... look... I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. I am... a bit sensitive about my height... well, my lack there of, I guess. Anyway..."
"Sir," June held up her hand, "none of this is my business."
"Four foot, ten and one half inches," Alex said, stopping June's words. "And eighty two pounds. I'm small, but mighty - at least when I'm at a piano."
June smiled. "I'm sure you are, sir. For your information, there is a Steinway in the old ballroom and a Chickering in the salon. Both have been well maintained and are tuned once a month. I'm sure you will enjoy them, sir."
Wow! That was impressive! "Thank you, June. Good night."
She smiled. "Good night, sir."
She exited the room, closing the door behind her. Alex listened as the clack of her heels on the hardwood floors disappeared down the hall. When the sound was gone entirely, he opened the door, crossed the hall and opened the door to the master bedroom.
It was dark, but he could sense that the room was large and he could hear Veronica breathing softly in the huge bed to his left. He closed the door and walked over to the bed. He literally had to climb up into the bed, pulling back the covers and pulling them back on top of him.
He felt the body next to him roll towards him and lay an arm across his torso. "Hi," Veronica whispered, sleepily. "You found me."
I kissed her cheek. "I did. You were well hidden, though."
Donnie moved herself closer and gently turned Alex away from her so that she could snuggle more closely and spoon against him. "I missed you. I'm glad you're home."
"Me too," Mitch whispered. "I love you."
She kissed his neck. "You didn't cut your hair, did you?"
He laughed. He'd always had longer hair, but Veronica liked it longer than he had worn it before. "No. It's in a bun."
"Good," she giggled. "Good night, big guy."
"Good night, little lady," Alex smiled, feeling her pull his small body tightly to her larger form. He was truly happy to be back home. Even if the behemoth of a building wasn't exactly 'home,' anywhere that Veronica was was home to him.
Alex slept like a bear in winter. He didn't stir at all when Veronica got out of bed and only finally started regaining consciousness when he heard a conversation taking place in the room. He may have even slept through that if it were not for the fact that the conversation was in Russian, a language in which he only knew about twenty words. The strangeness of the chatter made him open his eyes.
He squinted and saw Veronica sitting across the room in a chair that looked similar to a styling chair in a woman's salon with a much older woman standing behind her. The older woman spoke Russian in a fluent and fluid manner while Veronica replied more slowly, searching for words as she spoke.
Veronica noticed that Alex was stirring and she put her hand up to indicate to the woman that she wanted to speak to the person in the bed. "I'm sorry, babe," Veronica said. "I wasn't supposed to see Natasha until later, but the snow is coming down hard, so she came early and this where Sophia put her mini-salon. I was trying not to wake you. " she sat back in the chair and let the woman continue her work.
Alex sat up. "What time is it?"
"Just after noon," Veronica apologized. "I really wanted to let you sleep longer."
He sat up and adjusted his pillows so he could sit up. He looked around the huge room, which was probably bigger than the house he grew up in. "Nice little place you have here," he joked. "Intimate. Cozy."
Veronica laughed as the hairdresser leaned her back into an actual hairdresser's sink. "I know. It's pretty massive, but we can make it our own, any way we want to. Wait till you see the recital hall and the rehearsal room, though, babe! You're going to flip!"
The hairdresser said something in Russian and Veronica responded with, "Da."
He nodded. "Your aide-de-camp told me that there were a couple of impressive pianos. I'm looking forward to seeing them. I've been working on a few pieces by Liszt and I'm hoping to put together an entire 'Evening with The Hungarian Phenomenon.'" He held up is fingers to indicate that the last part would appear on a marquee.
"Wow!" Veronica said from her reclined position. "That's ambitious! If any one can do it, though..."
The hairdresser spoke to Veronica again, who replied in a manner that indicated that she was confused by what had been said. A few more clarifications and Veronica said, "If you'd like, Veronica could give you a shampoo and trim your split ends."
Alex considered the feeling of a profession shampoo, the massaging nature of it and that sounded like a great idea.
"Ok, sure," he nodded. "That sounds nice. I can shower tonight."
Just then, there was a soft knock on the door, more to get attention then to request entrance, and June came into the room followed by a young lady carrying a tray with tea, toast and jam on it.
"What's this?" Alex asked.
"Your breakfast," June smiled. "I heard you speaking, so I called down and had Melissa bring this up."
The young lady smiled and said, "Here you go, sweetheart. Eat up so you grow up nice and pretty like your auntie."
Alex was about to correct the girl when he realized that she was a bit... simple. Instead, he smiled and just said, "Thank you."
"Thank you Melissa, that will be all." June said, dismissively. When the young woman had left, June looked at Alex. "My niece," she smiled. "She's a good girl. She can learn to do anything if you're patient."
Alex thanked June and said he understood. Then she nodded and left the room.
"Umm, Ronnie...," Alex asked, coyly, "can you really afford to live this way? I mean the house is massive and how many people actually work here?"
Veronica shrugged. I really don't know if I can, yet. My accountant says that the trust to maintain the house is pretty big, but Sophia's estate is pretty complicated. There's only four people on the staff right now - June and Melissa, then there's the woman who cooks and the woman who takes care of the grounds. My accountant is still figuring things out. For now, though, I intend to enjoy it."
"What about Natasha?" Alex asked, prompting the hairdresser to glance in his direction.
"Not an employee," Veronica laughed. "She has a salon in town and she was Sophia's hairdresser for over a decade. I thought I'd give her a try, too. She did my hair last week for a meeting in New York and I loved it. I asked her back to get me ready for meeting 'The Mothers' tomorrow. I'm having her redo my color. It was getting a bit dull."
Alex nodded and nibbled on the toast. "She doesn't speak English at all?"
"Nope," Veronica replied. "There's actually a pretty big Russian community out here, so she's never needed to learn. Sophia was fluent in like a dozen languages. I'm struggling with the Russian, but it's forcing me to learn."
Natasha interrupted, saying something to Veronica and indicating Alex. Again, Veronica had to ask for clarification, but then she laughed. "Natasha says that when you finish your tea, you should brush out your bun. She says it's not healthy for hair to be wound up in an elastic like that.
Suddenly, Natasha reached for something, then brought a very large, very ornate, very old fashioned brush to Alex in the bed. She held it out to him and said something that sounded angry, although all Russian sounded a little angry and dropped the brush on the bed and then said in a harsh voice. "Brrrrush.... Forrr.... Hairrrr..." Her 'R's rolling as she spoke.
"Da," Alex replied and nodded. Natasha smiled and returned the nod. When he was finished with his tea, he set his tray aside, pulled out the elastic that held his bun in place and began brushing. The brush he'd been given though was so ornate and heavy that he eventually gave up and waited his turn in the shampooing seat.
Eventually, Natasha sat Veronica back up, saying something Alex couldn't catch. Natasha nodded and looked at him. "I have to let my color set. She says that you should come over and get into the chair."
Alex stood, but held up one finger. "Just a second. I have to use the little cossack's room." He heard Veronica explaining this to Natasha as he scurried into the lavatory to relieve himself.
When he returned, he heard Veronica finishing saying something in her broken Russian.
"Da. Da. Da." Natasha said, indicating the front of her face.
Veronica stood as Alex approached the chair. All five foot ten of her was perfect to Alex, even with her hair wrapped turban-like in a towel. "I asked her is she could try combing your bangs over to the side for a different look."
Alex blinked as he sat. "I've always parted my hair in the middle, then just pulled it up into a bun."
"Hence my use of the word 'new,'" Veronica laughed. "We've both been in a rut, babe. Let's use this new house and everything as a chance to break out of the rut and start over, brand new. What till I show you all the recital gowns I've found in a storage room. Steamer trunk after steamer trunk full of amazing performance gowns and since Sophia and I were the same size, they all fit! I'll never have to wear the same dress twice! Isn't that cool!"
Alex smiled as Natasha brushed his hair a bit more forcefully than he would have liked. "That's great, Ronnie. Hey, speaking of clothes, where did you find these pjs?"
Veronica gave him a coy smile. "Do you like them?"
He shrugged. "Sure. They're very comfortable. Where did they come from."
"One of the trunks," she giggled. "I figured they'd fit you nicely. Sometimes, when Sophia was going on tour for an extended time, she'd take her kids along. Most of the trunks are Sophia's clothes, but some are smaller. It's so cool, babe! Every trunk is filled with clothes from the tours. They were all laundered and ironed then hung or laid neatly in the trunks in case they had to go back out on the road again."
Alex nodded. "Well, if the gowns look as crisp and new these pjs do, then you'll have a good selection to choose from."
"They are," Veronica said, excitedly. "Wait till you see them. Some of them even have noted pinned to them - 'Ed Sullivan Show' and the date. 'Carol Burnette Show' and the date. It's really cool."
"Very cool," Alex agreed. "So, did these pjs, like, belong to one of your uncles or something?"
"Nope," Veronica picked up a bound opera score that sat on the table and began thumbing through it. "Sophia only had two kids. My mom and my Aunt Kitty. Aunt Kitty died in a car accident when she was like six or seven. It was the same accident that killed Sophia's second husband - my grandfather."
"Sooo..." Alex was getting impatient. "Who's pjs am I wearing?"
"My mom's I assume," Veronica smiled.
Alex shot Natasha an embarrassed look, but it was obvious that she was not understanding the conversation. "Are you telling me that I am wearing a set of women's pajamas?"
"No, don't be silly," Veronica laughed, keeping her face directed at the score, but making sure she could see her fiancé before she dropped her big joke. "According to the date on the trunk, my mother hasn't worn those since she was eleven. You're wearing a set of girls' pajamas and you look adorable in them."
Alex had a thing about masculinity. He found most forms of it toxic and unappealing, but being as small and thin as he was, he hated being mistaken for a girl. He glanced, again, at Natasha and then back at Veronica. "I can't believe you did this," he hissed.
"I can't believe you didn't know," she laughed. "I mean, the bottoms don't have a fly and the top has a keyhole opening that buttons in the back. You must have noticed!" She was laughing, but the laughter was playful, not mean spirited.
Alex thought back to the wee hours of that morning when June had helped him spin his shirt around so it would fit better. Damnit, why hadn't he realized that the button he'd assumed was meant to be at his throat, had spun around the back as well?
"Yeah, ok, very funny," he said as Natasha said something and lowered his head towards the basin. Veronica responded in her halting Russian, then Natasha said something further and held up a curling iron.
"Da," Veronica nodded.
"'Da' what!?" Alex asked, feeling a bit out of the loop.
"Nothing, babe," Veronica said calmly. "She's just going to use the curling iron on you a bit. I think she wants to straighten out the permanent line in your hair that you created with the elastic you use for the bun."
By now, Natasha was wetting his head with warm water.
"No," Alex called to Ronnie. "No burning my hair! Just a shampoo and the split ends."
Veronica sighed. "Come on, babe, just roll with it, please. She's not going to make you look like Shirley Temple or anything. She's just going to do some repair work with it. Ok? Besides, I don't have the energy to try to try to speak Russian much more today. It is exhausting."
"I beg your pardon, mIss," June was suddenly at the door, "but Rebecca, the grounds keeper, would like a word with you about where you'd like her to put the snow when she's plowing. Do you have a moment?"
Veronica touched her turban and said, "I have about forty five minutes." Then she looked at Alex and said, "I'll be right back."
Alex laid in the chair with his head in the sink. "No English at all, huh?" He asked the hairdresser, who didn't respond. "I can say 'piano,' 'welcome,' 'thank you,' and 'you're too kind,' in Russian, but that's about it." Still no response. "Oh, and 'vodka,' of course."
Suddenly the woman stopped her work and looked at Alex, ranting about something in Russian. She pointed at his chest and his belly and then his groin, all the while shaking her head and continuing her nonstop flow of angry sounding words. Finally, she wrapped up with, "Wodka - Nyet! Nyet! Nyet!"
Alex gave his head a small shake. Whatever she thought he had said about vodka had obviously upset her. So much for international relationships. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed the massage-like motions of her shampooing.
In the kitchen, Veronica met the grounds keeper. Rebecca was a big woman in her fifties. She'd worked in landscaping her whole life and enjoyed the work. She was broad, had short cropped hair and her skin was ruddy and wind blown.
Rebecca's concern was with the amount of snow that was falling. "I always keep up with it, Miss, plowing regularly. We never want to risk getting stranded up her, but when we get this much all at once, the question becomes where do you want the snow to be put. I have small pond over in the north west corner of the estate and when it gets this bad, I usually push the snow towards the road, then use the front end loader on the tractor to put it into the dump bed of the plow, then drive it up and dump it in the pond. How does that sound to you, Miss?"
Veronica stood and stared at Rebecca for a moment and tried to process what she'd said. "I'm sorry," she laughed, a bit nervously, "but I honestly cannot think of a response to that question. I mean, I appreciate you wanting to keep the driveways all cleared, but isn't it awfully cold to be operating a tractor? And isn't it possible to just build up snow bankings rather than haul the snow all over creation?"
Rebecca nodded. "Yes, Miss, but Miss Sophia never wanted to see snow piled up in an unnatural way, so I would haul it to the pond."
Veronica folded her arms and thought before asking, "Given your own prerogative, how would you handle the snow?"
Rebecca was surprised by the question. "Well... I guess I'd just build up the snow bankings and let it all melt in the spring."
Veronica nodded. "Ok, then let's do that."
"Oh, ok," The grounds keeper nodded. "Thank you, Miss. That makes things much easier." Then she walked back towards the servants' entrance.
After dealing with a few questions about the menu for Christmas Eve, signing some forms that her lawyer had dropped off while she was with Natasha, and dealing with some other questions about how she would like this piece of minutia or that piece handled, Veronica turned to walk back to the master bedroom with June walking with her. She glanced at her watch and realized that she'd been down stairs nearly forty five minutes. She was hoping that she hadn't messed up her hair color.
As they headed to the stairway, Veronica asked, "Was my grandmother a tyrant of some kind?" She asked it only half jokingly. "Rebecca seemed very concerned that I'd yell at her."
June smiled. "Not at all, Miss, but she did want things to always be just so." They walked up the stairs. "She was of a different generation, of course, and she didn't always consider how difficult her requests may be. She just wanted them done."
Veronica nodded. "I see. There is one thing I'd really like to see happen, though."
"Yes, Miss?"
"Could you, maybe, call me Veronica? Or Ronnie? This 'Miss' stuff is getting on my nerves."
June was surprised by the request. "Well, yes, Miss, if that's what you'd prefer."
Veronica just shook her head and rolled her eyes. It was going to take some doing to get everyone comfortable with a new owner around here.
Just as they reached the top of the stairs, they heard a commotion coming from the master bedroom. People were shouting and there was the sound of feet shuffling on the floor. Veronica picked up her pace until she was moving at a quick jog and June was jogging right behind her.
"Are you out of your tiny Russian mind? What the hell were you thinking." Alex was screaming.
Then there was a burst of shouting in Russian followed by Alex screaming, "What the hell? Let me go! Stop it!"
There was the sound of a hand slapping flesh followed by Alex shouting and that repeated itself several times before Veronica and June arrived in the doorway of the master suite to find Alex sprawled across Natasha's lap, his pajama bottoms lowered enough to expose his rear end and Natasha winding up for yet another spank on his hind-side.
"What is going on in here?" Veronica screamed.
Natasha began spewing angry words in Russian but it was coming at Veronica so quickly that she couldn't understand a word of it. She asked Natasha to slow down, but the woman kept ranting.
"She says that she is not going to put up with that kind of behavior from a child and you shouldn't either," June said.
"You speak Russian?" Veronica asked, surprised.
"Yes, Miss. She says that the girl was very rude and started screaming at her. She says that she will not tolerate being treated that way by a little girl."
Veronica shook her head trying to make sense of this. "Wait. Wait. What little girl?"
June barked back the question in Russian. Natasha responded and June translated. "She seems to think that your fiancé is a little girl."
It was at that point that Veronica realized that Alex was still laying across Natasha's lap, being held down by her left arm, her right arm still cocked and ready to spank again.
"Well, for God's sake, tell her to let him up," Veronica said as she crossed the vast room to help him to get free and stand.
June barked out an order in Russian and Natasha released the little man she was holding.
He turned and faced Veronica who covered her mouth as she half laughed, half screamed, "Oh, shit!"
"You think this is funny!?" Alex yelled. "Look what she did to me!"
Veronica couldn't help but look at what Natasha had done. Alexander's shaggy, long, dirty blonde hair was still its same just-shy-of-mousy brown color, but it had been shaped - to say the least. He had bangs, now. Beautifully curled, evenly trimmed bangs that separated straight strands of hair falling beside both sides of his face, softening and youthening it a great deal. The rest of his hair seemed to have acquired a great deal of body and, even though it still hung to just below his shoulders, the bottom of his hair was flipped under to make it look even more full bodied.
There was something else about him, but she couldn't figure it out at the moment.
"Ask her why she did this?," Veronica said to June.
June said something in Russian, then spoke over Natasha's response. "She says that she thought that he was a girl. She says that she asked you if you wanted bangs and you said yes."
"I said," Veronica insisted, "that I wanted her to comb bangs across his forehead, not give him little girl bangs, for crying out loud."
June related that to Natasha, who stood and looked upset. "She says that she's sorry, but she thought she'd explained what she planned on doing. She also says that she thought that he was a girl. She points out that he is, after all, wearing girl's clothing."
Veronica shook her head and looked at Alexander. "Why on earth didn't you stop her?"
"W..." Alex found the question absurd. "Why didn't I stop her? I haven't slept more than a few hours in three days, Ronnie! I fell asleep when she was massaging my scalp and I woke up when she used those little pieces of cotton to pull my eyebrows out by the roots!"
That was it! That's what was different! His eyebrows! They weren't pencil thin or overly arched, but they were clean and thinner, in much the manner of a middle school girl who was just starting to take on womanly appearances. She'd done a lovely job, but... it was unfortunate that she'd done a lovely job on Alexander's face.
Natasha spoke again. June continued, "She says that she can give him a real boy's haircut if he'd like."
That was out of the question. A four foot eleven pianist in a perfectly tailored tuxedo with his hair flailing as he played was an exciting sight. A four foot eleven pianist with a boys' haircut looked like an awkward thing that was stuck somewhere between boyhood and manhood. His hair was part of his marketing, but now he had bangs - like a child - like a little girl - cut into his trademark locks. It was a disaster!
"No!" Alex shouted. "Under no circumstances is she touching my hair again. Look what she did to me, Ronnie! What little bit of manhood I could project is gone now! She stole that from me!"
Natasha said something else and June explained, "She also says that she needs to take care of your hair, Miss, or your scalp is going to start burning from the dye."
"Oh, yes, of course," Veronica nodded and headed to the salon seat.
"What? That's it?" Alex was irate. "She does this to me AND THEN SHE SPANKS ME and that's it?"
"Honey," Veronica said with a shake of her head and a shrug, "I don't quite know what to do about this. There was a miscommunication. She thought that we were on the same page, but... and then she thought that you were a misbehaving adolescent and, in her culture, she treated you as she would a child. I mean, I am upset, too, love, but I don't know what the solution is beyond letting it all grow out and if I don't get this dye out of my hair, then my hair is going to be falling out. Let me deal with my hair for now and we'll figure out what to do from there. Ok?"
"No!" Alex looked around for support, but no one offered any. What could they have done, anyway? "Oh, fine," he fumed and stormed across the room. "I'll be in my room." Seconds later, the door to his room slammed shut.
Veronica sat and June shut the door to the master bedroom. Throughout the rest of Veronica's hair procedure, Natasha continued to apologize and June translated. Veronica did her best to speak directly to the hairdresser, but it had become apparent to her that her Russian was no where near as good as she'd thought it was.
When she was done, Natasha insisted that she could drive home in her four wheel drive vehicle, so she walked downstairs, leaving June and Veronica alone in the master suite.
"What a mess," Veronica muttered.
"She didn't mean to embarrass him," June said.
"I know," Veronica nodded, "and he is awfully small. I probably shouldn't have put him in the pjs, but I just knew he'd look adorable in them. And he certainly did." She chuckled, but she was still sympathetic.
June smiled and nodded. "Yes, Miss, he did."
"You know what the worst part of all this is?" Veronica asked with a sigh. "I kind of liked the way he looked with his hair done. I'm not sure what that says about me, but I think he looks adorable as he is."
June just smiled and nodded.
About an hour later, Alex heard the door to his room open, but he didn't look up or in any way acknowledge that someone had entered his room. He just laid on his side, facing away from the door, his blankets pulled up to his chin.
Whoever it was, presumably Veronica, sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed his hip for a good few moments before she spoke. "I'm sorry about what happened, babe. I didn't expect her to do that to your hair... or your eyebrows. You know, that, right?"
"You laughed at me," he grunted. "I needed your support and you laughed at me."
"I didn't laugh at you, babe. I laughed at the absurdity of the situation. You know I love you. I don't care how you look, babe, I'm still going to love you. Come on, honey. Forgive me and let's move on. It's just hair. It'll grow back. Six months from now, you can comb those bangs across your forehead and it'll look great."
Alex sighed. "What about our mothers? They'll be here today or tomorrow. What will they think?"
"Not to worry," Veronica moved her rubbing to his shoulder, pulling down the covers just a bit, revealing the soft blue material of the pajamas she'd left out for him the previous night. "According to the news, the roads are impassable and probably will be through Christmas. They won't be coming. In fact, most of the areas around here have no power and people are trapped in their houses. No power, no heat, cell phones towers are down... We have generators here, and a large underground fuel tank. We could live off of the generators until spring if we needed to, but the priorities in the towns are to get the wires repaired and the power back up. There's no way that we'll be seeing our mothers this holiday season, I'm afraid."
That did take a good deal of the pressure off, thank goodness.
Alex rolled to face Veronica, but halfway through the turn, he stopped and gaped at his fiancé. "What are you wearing? And your hair and make up... you look like your on your way to a concert."
Veronica's long, thick, dark red hair had been curled and styled so that it was off her face, moderately high on the crown of her head and then flowing in gorgeous ringlets down her back. She was also wearing an astounding, bright red, velvet gown with rows and rows and rows of pearls hanging from her neck, to her ample and well displayed cleavage. She stood so that Alex could see the entire look. She struck a pose as if she was in a portrait and asked. "What do you think? Nice, huh? It's one of Sophia's from her trunks. It's not even the nicest one, but I really like it, don't you?"
The dress, the gown, really, started as two, somewhat wide straps of elegant red velvet on her shoulder, then dove down into a very daring neckline that covered her ample breasts, but seemed to make them look even more... ample. Below her breasts, the bodice clung tightly to her fit abdomen before flowing across her hips and rear end before bursting into a wide skirt with an amazingly long train that followed along behind her.
"Yeah," Alex mumbled. "Yeah, I like it a lot, but... what's the occasion?"
"The occasion," Veronica smiled, teasingly, as she slowly pulled the blankets off of the tiny man in the bed, "is that I wanted to apologize to my fiancé and the best way for me to do that is to make myself beautiful and let him know just how manly I find him."
Alex smelled a new fragrance on her slender neck. He didn't recognize the scent, but it smelled amazing and expensive.
Veronica gently pushed Alex onto his back, then slowly lowered his pajama bottoms, revealing his manhood, which was already half erect and quickly rising. "Ohh," she smiled. "No underwear."
Alex shook his head.
She bent low and kissed his lips. "Me neither," she whispered.
Taking great care to gather her skirts, she climbed onto the bed and straddled him, lowering herself onto him with a shiver and a sigh. "See? That feels nice, doesn't it?"
Alex was trying to concentrate on the warm, tight grip her vagina had on his penis, just whispered, "Yes."
Veronica relaxed her grip on her skirts, letting them spread across both the bed and its occupant. Then she picked up his little hands and placed them on the soft, plush velvet that enshrined her breasts. "It's soft, isn't it?" She asked, but she knew that he was already lost in the feelings at his core. So, she began her soft, slow, steady process of rocking him towards ecstasy.
She looked down at the beautiful little man below her. A man who, despite all reasoning, she loved deeply and passionately. He'd always been somewhat dainty, but as she looked down at him now, with the nicely trimmed eyebrows, the bangs forming a cute, youthful fringe above his brows and the under-flipped hair spread on his pillow below him... it was different, that was for sure and with the baby blue pajama top peaking out in the space between the base of his neck and billows of her red velvet skirts, he looked... soft. Pretty, even. And little in a way she'd never considered him before. Like a child.
She tightened her vaginal muscles and increased her movement, feeling pride in the way that she was able to reduce this talented man to a puddle of desire.
The weight and movement of the copious number of pearls on her chest felt exciting and unusual. They made her feel almost regal and that glorious French scent that she'd found in Sophia's bureau made her feel even more wonderfully, more powerfully feminine.
She increased her pace. Faster, more aggressive and she could tell by his breathing that she was about to bring him to orgasm. It didn't take long. She felt him stiffen below and within her. She felt his body, trapped beneath her own, more powerful form, attempt to rise and press even more deeply into her and the she felt his spasms and those set off in her a sense of, not excitement and not quite a orgasm, but shivers of sheer joy.
"That's good," she purred to him. "That's a good boy." She slowed her movement but kept him within her until he was, once again, small and soft. She reached for a box of tissues on the night table, lifted it and placed it on the bed, drawing several tissues from it. She lifted her skits and knelt taller, raising herself off of Alex, then wiped herself dry. Alex blinked at her. She smiled down at him and giggled, "No panties does cause some issues."
She stood and adjusted her skirts, then extended her hand to her fiancé. "Come on. Let's go see your pianos."
That sounded good to Alex. He pulled up his pj bottoms and stood up. He felt not only underdressed, but a bit silly, standing next to his elegantly bedecked fiancé. He looked around the room. "Where are my clothes from last night?"
"I don't know," Veronica shrugged. "Hang on." She opened a small door in the wall by the door and pulled out an old fashioned phone. She waited a moment, then said, "Yes, June. Have you seen Alexander's clothes from last night?" Another pause. "I see. Alright. Thank you."
She hung up the phone, closed the door and shrugged. "Sorry, babe. June gathered them off the floor and now all of your clothes were in the washing machine. When the power went out and we switched to generators they were still wet. I guess the dryer is so old and draws so much power that it can blow the breaker on the generator. Your clothes need to air dry. It'll be a day or so before they're wearable."
"Wonderful," Alex shook his head. "What do I wear for now?"
"Ok, my little friend," Veronica shook her head as she walked quickly to the closet and pulled out a robe that matched his pajamas, "things aren't as bad as you pretend. You've got those pjs for now and here. Put this on. There are scuffs next to your bed. Yes, they were my mother's when she was a girl, but they are no different than the scuffs that men wear everyday."
Alex huffed and shook his head. "Except that they're baby blue."
"Lord, almighty, it must be hard to be you," Veronica teased. "You have this incredible home to live in, a fiancé who loves you to death and two beautiful pianos to get to know more intimately. Your life really sucks."
"And," Alex pointed out, "I am dressed in a little girl's pajamas, about to put on a little girl's robe and slippers AND I was given a little girl's hair cut."
"None of which should be keeping you away from a beautiful Chickering and an incredible Steinway just a few hundred feet away from you."
Alex thought for just a second. "Ok." He slipped his feet into the scuffs, then allowed Veronica to slide the robe onto his shoulders. She had not noticed before that the sleeved were slightly puffed at the top, but since he hadn't noticed, she wasn't going to mention it. Instead, she freed his hair from the collar of the robe and straightened his hair so it fell nicely off of his head and shoulders. Lord, he just looked adorable this way.
Veronica led him through the hallway, down the stairs and into a fairly large room with a beautiful, dark brown Chickering grand piano in the middle of it. He sat on the edge of the bench, thinking that he would need to order a custom stool for each of these instruments. He thought for a moment, then touched the ivory covered keys and played the opening strains of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody Number Two. The slow, rhythmic opening echoing the through the room, the deep resonance of the old, well used wood was solid and powerful beneath his fingers. He played only a few bars, then stopped and smiled.
"What do you think?" Veronica asked.
"It's a beautiful instrument," he smiled. "I've always liked Chickerings, but this is one of the best I've ever played."
Veronica smiled. "What till you try the Steinway."
She took his hand and led him to the concert hall, which had been the ballroom back when the Vanderbilt Family had lived there. It could easily seat several hundred people and, according to June, when Sophia was alive and performing, it frequently had been a place where standingroom -only was a real thing.
"Wow!" Alex said, as he took a slow spin in a circle, taking in all the grandeur of the room. "This is amazing. And look!" He pointed to a huge portrait of Veronica's world renown grandmother on the wall. "You look just like her! Even the dress and all the pearls!"
Veronica put her arm around his shoulders and joined him in gazing at the portrait. "I know. I've been told that my whole life, of course, but now it's getting a bit freaky. I mean, these portraits actually look like they could be of me and her clothes fit me perfectly. It's uncanny, isn't it? I haven't found that exact gown, yet, but when I do, I want to get dressed up and do my makeup just like Sophia's and have my picture taken standing in front of that portrait. Won't that be cool?"
Alex agreed.
"Ok, my little prodigy," Veronica laughed as she gave him a noisy, but playful swat on his bottom, "up on the stage and try out your new toy."
Alex needed no further prodding. He hustled across the parquet floor and up onto the stage. The thing was, though, between the scuffs and the long robe, his movements were just a bit limited. Combine that with his height and his new hairdo and to Veronica, he looked like an excited child on Christmas morning.
Again he reminded himself of his need for a custom bench as he perched on the edge of the Steinway seat and prepared. Again, he started playing the Hungarian Rhapsody Number Two and again, the world faded as he immersed himself in the beautiful sounds that the instrument allowed him to play. The rich, heavy wood resonated beautifully and the large, wood and plaster space was perfect for an instrument of this caliber. This time, he played all the way through the piece, his breathing synchronized to the music and his eyes closed in concentration as he found 'the zone' that he always strived to find.
He stopped and thought for a moment. "Who tuned this and set up the action?"
Veronica smiled. "Who's your favorite piano tech?"
"George!? Are you kidding me? How on earth did you get George to come all this way and set up this piano?" Alex was shocked. George could make a cheap Wurlitzer spinet sound like a beautiful instrument, but when he set up a real high quality instrument, then he could work miracles. And when he knew the player as well as he knew Alex, then he could make the instrument an extension of that person's body.
But George lived in Manhattan, a two hour drive away.
Veronica gathered her copious skirts and crossed to the stage, climbing the stairs on the far end of the stage, talking all the way. "It may surprise you, Alex, but George works for a lot of different people - not just you. He is the piano tech for The Boston Symphony's Center at Tanglewood, which is only a few miles away. So, he is in the area fairly frequently. Besides that, The Great Diva Sophia also took advantage of George's talents. I did call and tell him that these were your Christmas presents, though, so he spent a couple of hours on each of them last week. Do you like them?"
Alex smiled. "They're amazing. Thank you, but do you know what would make it even better?" Without waiting for an answer, he began the quiet, gentle introduction to the very first piece he'd ever played as Veronica's accompanist, 'Marietta's Lied' from Erich Wolfgang Korngold's opera 'Die Tote Stadt.' It was Alex's favorite piece to play as her accompanist. It wasn't flashy and filled with the usual operatic leaps and flourishes. It was controlled and introspective and filled with love - just like Veronica.
Ronnie stood slightly taller as her entrance approached. She smiled at the man she loved - the man in the baby blue robe with the slightly puffy sleeves, the curled bangs, the under flipped hair and the sculpted eyebrows and she let out the first controlled, beautiful notes of the piece. Her eyes never leaving his and his heart joining hers to create the sound, the pure, loving sounds that filled the acoustically wonderful room.
This was it. This was how they fell in love. This symbiotic existence they had that allowed them to join, to meld, to create this beauty. Each had played with dozens of other people, but none of them could do what they could do together. They became one and they became greater than they were on their own. The song rose and fell, but never really soared. It wasn't that kind of song. It was a song that allowed Veronica to draw all who heard her to her and she wrapped them in warm affection.
When the song ended, they heard applause. June and the cook and Melissa, the girl who assisted them both all stood in different doorways and all wiped a tear from their eye. Veronica made a big show of taking huge, theatrical bows - the kind that were almost a combination of a bow and a curtsy - giving a royal wave, blowing kisses and saying, "Thank you. Thank you." The she looked to her left and indicated Alex, who stood and took one deep bow as well.
June walked over to the stage and said to Veronica, "Thank you, Miss. We have not had music in this room for almost a decade. That was beautiful."
Ronnie smiled. "Thank you."
June then turned to Alex and held a hand up to him. "And thank you. That was gorgeous."
"Thank you," Alex smiled. "I'm glad you liked it."
As June spoke to Alex, Melissa spoke to Veronica. "That was amazing, Miss," she said with a huge smile. "You sing so pretty. I loved it."
"Thank you," Veronica smiled and took a very playful little bow. She was glad that Melissa was able to appreciate the song.
Melissa then turned to Alex. "And you... oh, I have to give you a hug!" She ran to the stage left stairs and climbed them in a big rush. Alex looked at Ronnie, eyes wide in surprise, but not about to insult the twenty-something girl by saying no.
Melissa hugged him tightly. "You are amazing!" She said. "You know, I played piano when I was a girl, too, but I never got as good as you! Not by a long shot."
Alex smiled. He'd been given this same odd compliment many times before, but coming from Melissa it seemed more sincere than usual. "Thank you," he said.
"My God," Melissa continued, "imagine how good you'll be when you're all grown up! How old are you, now, honey?"
Alex sighed. This had happened before, too. Someone giving him huge compliments, then being embarrassed when they realized that he was not a child. So, he gave the answer that he'd found worked the best in this situation. "Thank you. I'm older than I look, though."
Melissa looked at Veronica and smiled with enthusiasm and admiration. "Isn't she awesome, Miss. She plays piano so beautifully. Just like a grown up."
Not wanting to make a big scene out of an honest mistake, so she just smiled and said, "Thank you."
Melissa gave Alex one more squeeze and hustled away.
Alex looked at Veronica and rolled his eyes.
"Sorry," Veronica said, with a smile.
He shrugged walked around the piano to be beside her. "It's probably just the haircut."
Veronica gave him a hug. She always loved how, when she hugged Alex, his head always pushed deeply into her breasts. Right now, feeling as feminine and strong as she did in this gown, having his cheeks pushed into the red velvet that covered her breast, left her feeling even more strong and in charge than she did when she'd engulfed him in bed.
That evening, they had dinner in a small room near the kitchen. Originally, the room was a coat room for guests coming to balls at the Vanderbilts' 'cottage.' When Veronica moved from Queens to this house, she'd brought very little furniture with her, but one of the few items she brought was a little dinette set from IKEA. When she saw the vastness of the dining room, she knew that she and Alex would be lost in there, so she set up the dinette in the coat room and she enjoyed her meals in there.
She had, of course, changed out of the red velvet gown and now was wearing a peach colored, casual dress from one of Sophia's trunks. It was a simple, sleeveless dress with a square neckline, two three quarter inch wide pieces of white piping running down the bodice and a loose fit around her breasts. The piping ended in a small, white bow at the arrival of a wide, tight fitting, waist area. Below that waist, the dress' skirt burst into a wide circle with lots of pleats near the top, allowing the dress to be shaped like an inverted blossom. The two rows of piping began again below the wide waist, with a similar little bow.
As they ate one of the best chicken stews that either of them had ever eaten, Alex looked at his fiancé and smiled. "So... are we going to be living sixty years in the past, from now on?"
Veronica dabbed her very red lips and spread her napkin back across her lap. When she spoke, it was in a pretentiously posh manner. "Well, whatever do you mean?" She smiled. "I believe this lovely dress is only fifty three years old." Then she giggled and said, "I'm having so much fun with all of Sophia's clothes. It's like I can make up a whole new life for every dress that I put on. I'm sure I'll get tired of it, but right now," her posh accent returned, "I am so enjoying my little lark."
Alex smiled and returned to his stew.
Veronica looked at the little guy opposite her and smiled. "You know... you could have some fun with it, too, if you'd like."
Alex smiled and said, "I'm enjoying it quite a lot, Ronnie. You look amazing in everything you wear. It's much nicer than your usual jeans and tee shirt. You look sexy as hell in those dresses. I love it!"
She smiled. "Well, thank you, babe, but what I meant was... Alex, there are at least five trunks of clothes that will fit you. Why don't we have some fun with them?"
"Because I don't want to look like a little girl," he laughed.
Veronica sighed. "Babe, with your hair cut like that, you all ready look like a little girl. Melissa already thinks that you ARE a little girl. Why don't we have some fun while we can?"
"Because I would rather be a man who," he looked around to be sure they were alone, "has lots of sex with his fiancé."
She smiled a wolffish smile and leaned forward. "Well, now... even that could be a lot more fun if you were willing to be a little girl who has lots of sex with me."
Alex squinted at her. "That's kind of gross, isn't it?"
"It's playful and exciting," Veronica licked her very red lips. "Come on. After dinner, come with me and let's look through the trunks. I bet we can find something fun for you to play in."
"I really don't..." Alex began to protest, but Veronica interrupted.
"I'll do oral"
"What?" Alex blinked at her, not just uncertain of what she said, but not believing what she'd said if she'd actually said it.
"You heard me," Veronica smiled. "I'll even let you be on top tonight."
Alex took his napkin from his lap, dabbed his own lips, placed the napkin on the table, pushed the remainder of the stew to the side, stood and walked towards the door. "Are you coming?"
Veronica stood as well. "My, my, aren't you the anxious little girl."
She led him through several long passages. They walked so far that it didn't seem possible that they were still in the same building. Finally, Veronica turned into a large room and turned on the lights. The room was absolutely filled with steamer trunks of various vintages.
"All of these," Veronica motioned to her right, "are filled with Sophia's concert clothes. All of these," she used two hands to indicate the middle section, "are filled with her day-clothes. An these five," she indicated some smaller trunks to her left, "have my mother's clothes from tours when she was between nine and twelve years old. A lot of those will fit you."
"Have you seen more pajamas in there?" Alex asked.
"No such luck, stud," Veronica laughed. "I did see something that I'd love you to wear to bed tonight, though."
"Such as?" Alex was dubious, but also eager to get back to the room and get down to business.
"Such as... if you want to have fun in bed with me, then you will follow me back to the room and try on what I take with me for you to wear." She smiled and winked.
Each of the items in the trunks were encased in an inexpensive garment bag, but it was obvious that Veronica was familiar with the contents of each. She grabbed six bags and turned to Alex and said, "Ok. Let's go."
"Wait, wait," Alex laughed. "Why so so many bags?"
Veronica kept walking, forcing Alex to begin following to catch up. "Because you'll need something to wear tonight, something to wear in the morning, something for Christmas Eve tomorrow night, something to wear tomorrow night, something for Christmas morning, something for Christmas dinner, something for Christmas evening and something to wear to bed on Christmas night."
"But..." Alex was taken aback by her determination. "...what if my clothes dry?"
"I am going to be dressed up, my dear," she said in that silly posh accent again, "so you will need to dress up, too. I sincerely doubt that the clothes you shipped home will get here before the twenty sixth. They say the snow is going to keep coming down at least until Christmas morning."
"Yeah, but," Alex had a sinking feeling in his stomach, "do at least some of those outfits include trousers?"
"We shall have to wait and see," Veronica giggled.
When they got back to Alex's room, Veronica went directly into the walkin closet and hung up the garment bags. Alex tried to see what she'd brought with her, but she shooed him away and said, "Strip to your skin, my little muffin. Then I'll get you dressed.
Alex laughed and shook his head as he untied the belt of the robe, then tried and failed to pull the baby blue pajama top over his head. Veronica stepped over to him and unbuttoned the little button on the back of the pajama top. Once he had that pulled off, he dropped the bottoms to the floor and stepped out of them.
"What now?" He asked, standing naked and waiting for his fiancé to do something.
For her part, Veronica smiled and looked at her little guy. Small, unmuscled, mostly hairless except for a cute tuft of pubic hair... just adorable. "Ok, cutie. Turn around, raise your arms over your head and close your eyes."
Alex shook his head as he followed her instructions. Moments later, he felt soft fabric being dropped over his head.
"Keep your eyes closed, now. Don't open them until I tell you."
She let him lower his arms as she adjusted the garment. "Oh, I like this, babe. I think we have found your look. Yeah. This is nice."
"Can I open my eyes?" Alex asked.
"Not yet," she giggled as she led him to stand in front of the standing mirror that stood near the room's dresser.
"Ok. Open them, now," Veronica said cheerfully.
Alex smiled as opened his eyes, but that smile turned to a shocked dropped jaw.
To call it just a nightgown would have been a gross understatement. This was... a confection in two layers. The silk underdress of the nightie was a pink, round necked sheath. On top of that, though, was a pale white cloud of lace and frills.
Around the neckline, the lace fringe made a feminine statement and also seemed to make his neck look longer and more slender. Below that was a bib of sheer lace that hung down about eight inches and completely encircled his upper-chest, arms and back. The pretty pink bow at the front and center of the neckline let everyone know that the little creature wearing this creation was 'mommy's little angel."
The three quarter length sleeved gathered at the cuffs, but came nowhere close to a tight fit around his tiny arms, and then blossomed into wide, loose bells of lace that reminded Alex of rich old lady handkerchiefs. The underdress' hem ended right at Alex's knees, but the lace over dress hung down an additional four inches in a band of elaborate, delicate lace.
All of that combined with his hair and eyebrows made it clear to the world that there was nothing manly about the person wearing this nightgown.
"Holy shit," Alex whispered. "I look like..."
"A Princess," Veronica giggled. "A beautiful, little princess and I think that you are the cutest little princess I have ever seen."
"You can't really want to have sex with me, looking like this?" Alex asked, sure that she couldn't possibly find this attractive.
"Are you kidding!?" Veronica laughed. "Right now, little girl, all I want to do is go to town on you, and..." she licked her lips and raised and lowered her eyebrows, "I do believe I owe my little girl a blow job, don't I?"
Alex, amazed that this was actually exciting her, looked from Veronica to his virginal reflection in the mirror, then back at Veronica again and he nodded. "Yes, you do."
Alex was about to cross to the bed, but Veronica stopped him. "No, no. I want you to stay right here and I don't want you to take your eyes off the little girl in that mirror for a second while I nibble on that little wiener of yours."
Things had just gotten even weirder for Alex, but he stopped thinking about it as his fiancé knelt in front of him and lifted the hem of his ludicrously girlish nightdress. She took Alex's left hand and had him hold his skirts for her. He was already a little stiff, but certainly not hard, so Veronica began by massaging his organ and smiling up at him. "Feels good, doesn't it?" She teased as she kissed the tip of his penis.
Alex nodded.
Veronica realized that her fiancé was looking down at her. "Keep your eyes on the mirror, my pet," she cooed. "Here," she took his right hand and guided it to his manhood, "help mommy make you harder."
More role playing. Great. Ronnie seemed much more comfortable with this than he did, but he did as he was told. He stared at the girl in the mirror and began to masturbate himself to a stiffer erection.
Ronnie leaned in closer and kissed all around the area where Alex was tugging on himself. He looked so cute, it was giving her the chills. Yes, when she found her mother's adolescent clothing in the storage room, she had immediately wanted to incorporate them into some kinky playtime, but with the change in the weather, their mother's not being able to come for Christmas, Alex's clothing issues and Natasha's misguided hairstyling... well, it was almost as if the fates had conspired to make this all possible.
And the thing that she found most fascinating was how exciting this was for her. He looked so much smaller this way. So much more innocent. So... submissive. Yes. Submissive. He hadn't really put up any kind of a fight at all. Just one temper tantrum, and that was more to do with being spanked by Natasha. Veronica had always been the bigger, stronger, more aggressive, more successful member of the relationship, but they had just taken a massive step in a new direction and, as she watched her little lover become more and more turgid under his own ministrations, a thought occurred to her. Yes. Her thought was a good idea. She would do it and he would like it. She was sure of it.
She gently caressed the back of his legs for a moment, tickling her way to his tiny, plump rear end. She gently kneaded those fleshy mounds as she licked his shaft, then took all of him into her mouth, pushing his hand out of the way with her lips.
She'd never done this before. Not to anyone. The very idea of 'servicing' someone in this way was antithetical to her desire to always be in control - but this wasn't the same. She wasn't kneeling before some big, hairy man who looked down at her. No, she was gently caring for her tiny lover who needed her care. And his organ didn't choke her or push down her throat. No, it was a small part of her little lover that fit perfectly into her mouth. She was caring for her little love. Her beautiful, submissive love who needed her care.
Alex's breathing changed, became more shallow and rushed. He was about to orgasm and she was ready. She felt the first, anticipatory twitch of his climax and she prepared. As his orgasm began in earnest, Veronica thrust the middle finger of her right hand as deeply as possible into Alex's rear opening, causing him to let out a surprised, high pitched squeal. His little, girly noises continued as she wiggled that finger and prodded even more deeply.
He seemed to twitch within her mouth for much longer than a usual orgasm, and when the spasms finally ceased, Veronica gently pulled her lips from his penis and her finger from his rear, lowered his nightie back around his little legs, then stood tall, looking down at the feminine looking creature before her, turned Alex's face to finally look in her eyes, then leaned down, kissed him on the lips as deeply as she could and returned all of the fluid she'd taken from his penis to its owner.
He didn't even fight her. He accepted it without hesitation. "Didn't that feel good?" she asked. Alex could only nod. "Come on, then, my little Princess, let's go to bed and have some more fun."
It was around eight the next morning, while Alex was showering and Veronica was getting his clothes organized for the day, that the Lenox Police Department car pulled up to the kitchen entrance, surprising June as she oversaw the breakfast prep.
Melissa became a bit agitated at the sight of a police officer knocking at the side door. "Aunt June," she said from the hallway. "Why are the police here? Are we in trouble?"
"I don't know, dear," June said as she approached the entrance, "but the police rarely bring good news."
She pasted on a smile, though and opened the door that separated the warm kitchen from the bitter cold outside. "Good morning, officer. What a terrible morning for you have to drive way out here. How may I help you?"
"Good morning," the officer smiled. "I have something that belongs to you."
Upstairs, Veronica was shaking her head at Alex's reticence to cooperate. "Look, babe, it's Christmas Eve Day, I'm dressing up for the day, and I'd like to you dress up as well. June is going to be discreet, Melissa thinks you're a little girl, and even if she knew you weren't a little girl, she wouldn't say anything, anyway, and you've never met the cook and the grounds keeper... besides, I made it all worth you while, did I?"
"Yes, but..." he started.
"Please, babe, please, please, please. Let's just have some fun, ok? It's Christmas and... to be very honest, seeing you dressed up in these clothes... it's really exciting to me. Like... REALLY exciting. Come on. PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!"
"Alright, alright," Alex shook his head at the silliness of all this.
"Yay!" Veronica cheered, handing him a pair of lacy little panties.
A few minutes later, in panties, a training bra (which he did complain about briefly), and a slip with a subtle petticoat built into it, Alex was seated as his fiancé used a blow dryer and a curling iron to rebuild his cute hairdo. This time, though, she flipped the bottom of his hair outward. It was a bit different, but still adorable and would be more fitting with the style of the dress she'd chosen for him.
When his hair was curled and well sprayed, Veronica topped off his look with a head band that had a large, stiff, white bow that sat at the crown of his head.
Veronica knelt and and ran sheer, ribbed, knee socks up to his knees. She added a pair of low heeled, black pumps, then had him stand as she lowered a navy blue and white sailor dress over his head. It had long sleeves that gathered in a small puff at his wrists and slightly exaggerated puffs at his shoulders. The classic navy collar that included the small 'cape' that hung off the shoulder and a foot or so down the back of the dress, with dual white lines that looked manly on a navel uniform, but young and feminine in this application, led adorably to the floppy, white bow at the center of the neckline. The bodice was not tight fitting and led to a pleated skirt that hung in a lovely manner with the help of the subtle petticoat.
"Look at me," Veronica instructed before letting him stand. She pulled a wand from a tube and spread it across his lips. "Just a touch of pink lip gloss for a girl your age. The boys will love that."
"Ha, ha, ha," Alex scoffed. "Are we ready to go down, now?"
Veronica looked at Alex as if he was crazy. "I need to put on my dress."
"But," Alex looked at how beautiful she looked in her black lace dress, "you look great in that."
"Well, thank you, my pet, but this is a slip. An elaborate and beautiful slip, to be sure, but a slip none the less." She laughed as she stepped into a slender black dress and raised it to her shoulders. "Zip mommy up, honey," she giggled as she turned her back to Alex who drew the zipper up her back.
She turned to face Alex. The dress was simple and elegant and clung sexily to her curvy form. "What do you think?"
"You're beautiful, but I liked the slip better." He said, honestly.
Veronica took his hand, smiling. "Come on. Let's go down stairs."
Veronica noticed Alex was swaying a bit as they walked. "You like the way that feels, don't you?"
He smiled. "It feels very different to not have the material touching my legs, but the sway of the skirt is really noticeable, anyway. It's just interesting."
As they started down the stairs, Veronica said, "Bounce down a few steps. It's a nice feeling."
Alex tried it and she was right. The word 'flounce' occurred to him as he watched the material bounce and relax again. Veronica watched him with rapt fascination. God, he was so cute!
Just as they reached the bottom step, June came hurrying out of a hallway. "Miss," she was a bit flustered, "I'm sorry but breakfast has been delayed."
Alex looked to his right where the ballroom with the Steinway was located. "Hey," he said as he began to hurry towards the ballroom, "since we have a few minutes, I'm going to work on my Cliburn."
Veronica understood what he meant and just nodded.
As Alex turned into the ballroom, he heard June say, "We've had an unexpected occurrence. I tried to call your extension in the master suite, but you didn't answer."
"I was across the hall in Alex's room," Veronica explain, but Alex didn't hear any more.
Alex sat on the edge of the piano stool and took a deep breath. When Alex said he wanted to work on his 'Cliburn,' he actually intended to work Chopin's 'Waltz No. 1 in D-Flat,' also known as 'The Minute Waltz.' It was a piece he'd played a million times and even played in concert with some frequency, but one that always frustrated him because, although he played it very well, he felt that his version was grossly inferior to his favorite recording of the piece by the pianist Van Cliburn. Alex felt that his own version lacked the clarity and depth of phrasing that Van Cliburn brought to the piece. Van Cliburn's dexterity had become Alex's 'White Whale' and as he sat with his fingers in D-Flat position and took several deep breaths, he heard the Van Cliburn version in his head. Then he took a deep, purging breath, released it and began.
Out in the kitchen, Melissa had been pouring coffee for the policeman and the people who'd accompanied him when she heard the sound of piano echoing down the hall, she stopped and said, "Oh! The little girl is playing!" She put the coffee pot down and made excited 'come on' hand gestures to the three adults. "Come with me! Come hear her!"
The four of them hustled down the hall and entered the ballroom from a service door.
"Good God," the policeman muttered. "I don't know who that child is, but she is extraordinary!"
The woman beside him shook her head. "I don't know who she is, either, but I think she's wearing one of my old dresses."
The other woman folded her arms and shook her head. "I know who she is. That little girl is my son."
Just as the short piece reached its end, Veronica burst into the ballroom, ready to call out Alex's name and hustle him back upstairs, but she noticed that a small audience had assembled. She gasped just loud enough for the four people in the audience to hear and they turned to look at her, revealing their faces.
"Oh, shit, shit, shit," Veronica said, a bit louder than intended before regaining some sense of composure. She glanced at the stage where a horrified, petrified Alex stared, unspeaking, and Veronica adopted a sense of her training as an operatic actress. She stood straighter, held her arms wide and said, "Mother! Mrs Claremont! Thank goodness you made it! Welcome to 'The Haven.'
I've included links to the music I've mentioned. I hope you may have a few moments to enjoy some of it.
MUSIC LINKS:
Here is a beautiful rendition of Liszt's 'Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by one of his descendants. - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LdH1hSWGFGU
If you'd like to hear the piece that Veronica and Alex performed together, here is a link to a performance by the wonderful American soprano (I know a lot of my European friends will be horrified by the phrase 'American Soprano') Renee Fleming singing Marinetta's Lied - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVlyymK8vLI
Again, a reference to an American performer. I don't mean to irritate my European readers, but Van Cliburn is one of my favorites. Here is his rendition of The Minute Waltz - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjdXDUFsMYs
To Be Continued...
The Haven - 2
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judgmental mother. He also finds himself befriended by the teenager who lives down
the hill and has to make some decisions about how he is going to proceed from here.
Author's Note:Thank you so very, very much for your helpful and supportive comments. Please keep them coming. I learn so much from your critiques! ~Clara.
This version of The Haven: 2 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.
Chapter 2
Just as the short piece reached its end, Veronica burst into the ballroom, ready to call out Alex's name and hustle him back upstairs, but she noticed that a small audience had assembled. She gasped just loud enough for the four people in the audience to hear and they turned to look at her, revealing their faces.
"Oh, shit, shit, shit," Veronica said, a bit louder than intended before regaining some sense of composure. She glanced at the stage where a horrified, petrified Alex stared, unspeaking, and Veronica remembered her training as an operatic actress. She stood straighter, held her arms wide and said, "Mother! Mrs Claremont! Thank goodness you made it! Welcome to 'The Haven.'
The policeman turned to look at Veronica, then he glanced at the large portrait of Sophia on the wall and back at the elegant red head in the black dress. He extended his hand and said, "Hello. You must be the new owner. I'm Jim Hammond... Sergeant Hammond. I am going to assume that you are related to Sophia."
Veronica smiled and shook his hand. "Her granddaughter, actually. Very nice to meet you. Did you bring my mother all this way?"
He laughed, humbly. "Yes, I did. They managed to get a car to get them to Lenox, but the car wouldn't come up here. I was just ending my shift, so I gave them a lift."
"Thank you," she smiled, "that was very kind of you."
"Not at all," Jim grinned. "I grew up down the hill. My mother and I spent many hours right here in this room listening to Sophia and her guest artists. It was worth the trip just to hear music in this room, again. And that little girl... my God... she's unbelievable! Is she related to Sophia as well?"
Veronica laughed, somewhat nervously, but it came across as a friendly conversation, "Oh, no, no. Alex is..."
"She's mine," Alex's mother said, a bit harshly. "I am... her... mother." She looked at her son with ire in her eyes. Alex knew that he had a lot of explaining to do.
The policeman smiled and shook his head in amazement. "Amazing. Just amazing." He looked at Alex and spoke louder. "Brava, young lady! I have a daughter about your age and I can't even get her to practice! Maybe, if I brought her up here to hear you play, she'd buckle down and start taking it seriously."
Alex just smiled and said, "Thank you."
The Sergeant turned to Veronica and asked, "Would it be ok if I brought her by at some point?"
Veronica tried to think of something to say, but before she could speak, Alex's mother said, "Oh, anytime, Jim, anytime. How about this afternoon? I know that Alex would be thrilled to play for her. Maybe she could even give your daughter some pointers."
"Really?" Jim smiled. He looked to Veronica, "That would be ok?"
Veronica could think of no reason to not say 'yes,' so she glanced at Alex, who offered no help whatsoever, so she smiled and said, "Yes, of course. That would be lovely. It would be so wonderful to get to know our neighbors."
"Yes," Alex's mother said, smiling at her son, "wonderful."
"Well," Jim looked at his watch, "how about around one o'clock, then? That way I can take a bit of a nap and get Maddie ready to come over. Is good?"
"That's great," Alex's mother said. "And how old is your Maddie?"
"Fifteen," Jim smiled.
"Oh," Alex's mother gave him a friendly grin, "she's much older that Alex, then." She looked at Veronica and said, "Won't it be nice for little Alex to have an older girl as a friend?"
"Yes," Veronica gave a fake, pained smile.
"Great!" He smiled. "I should get going. This is wonderful! Maddie actually loves classical music. She'll be thrilled."
June, who had been waiting by the door, closed it behind her and walked into the center of the room, "Melissa, dear," she motioned to her niece, "would you please show the officer to the kitchen door. If you'd rather use the main entrance this afternoon, sir, please feel free."
Melissa nodded and stood straight, happy to be of service.
The policeman shook hands with Veronica and thanked her for her hospitality, then turned to follow the younger woman out the service door, which closed behind them.
Alex's mother was about to speak, but June held up her hand, "Allow me to close the doors and give you some privacy," she said, seriously. "I'm sure you have a lot to talk about."
"Thank you, June," Veronica said, forcing a smile and trying desperately to look confident as she faced her future mother-in-law, a woman she'd never met before. As confident as Veronica attempted to look, Alex's mother allowed the fake smile she'd maintained for the police office to deteriorate into an angry smirk.
As the last door closed, Veronica's mother called to Alex, "Come on down here, dear. Let me see that dress. I haven't seen it in fifty years or more. Come on, now."
Reluctantly, Alex stood, red faced and head bowed, and he walked down the stairs to the floor of the room.
"Oh, look at that," Veronica's mother smiled. "I remember my mother telling me I had to wear it one night to a dinner at a villa on Lake Cuomo in Italy. I can't remember who's house it was, but I remember not wanting to wear it. When I got to the dinner party, though, everyone told me how beautiful the dress was, so I loved it after that. Oh, look, Lucy, isn't that just a beautiful dress?"
"Hmmm," Alex's mother, Lucy, crossed her arms and shook her head. "I'd probably like it better if my son weren't wearing it." She looked at Veronica, a bit disgusted, "Please tell me he's not wearing a petticoat under that."
Before Veronica could say anything, her mother said, "Well, he should be." Catching Alex by surprise, she ran her hands from his ribs to his knees, feeling the clothing. "Yes, he is. If I recall correctly, it's built into the little slip, right?"
Alex glanced at his mother, wishing he could just die at that moment and muttered, "Yes, it is."
"Oh," Veronica's mother smiled, "little girl's dresses... I miss being able to dress Veronica up and taking her out to lunch in the city." Then to Alex, she said, "Oh, honey, you look just precious in that."
"Yes, Eva," Lucy shook her head, "he looks precious, but the problem is that the little girl in the sailor dress is, in fact, my twenty two year old son, who, if I understand things correctly, is planning on marrying your daughter. So, whether he looks precious or not is not really the issue, and, frankly, it's not just the dress that has me wound up, right now. It's the dress and the hair and the eyebrows and the pink lipstick... it's the whole package. When I walked into this room to see the piano player, I expected to find my son... my adult son. Not... a little girl. So, before I have a brain hemorrhage, somebody please explain to me what the Hell is going on!"
Veronica realized that she needed to get a handle on all of this. "Alright, I understand that you're surprised and you may be a little upset..."
"Just a little." Lucy said, sardonically.
"... but I promise, this was just a little... fooling around. It's not a lifestyle or anything and it wasn't even Alex's idea. I found my mother's old clothes in a steamer trunk and I knew that they'd fit Alex, so I just thought it would be... fun. I mean, I was dressing up in Sophia's amazing clothes and Alex didn't have any clothes because of the storm holding up what he'd shipped from Hong King... and, honestly, we thought we'd be alone through the holiday. We'd heard that the roads were all closed and we assumed that you guys wouldn't be able to make it. We were just having some innocent fun."
Veronica's mother, Eva, let out a loud, attention getting guffaw. "Ha! Innocent. I'm sorry, Ronnie, but if I had a pretty little boy like this to play with, innocent would not be the kind of fun that I'd be having with him."
"Oh, my God," Lucy shook her head. "Alexander, come here. Let me look at you."
"Yes, ma'm," he said, crossing to her, on the verge of tears.
Lucy looked him up and down, her lips pursed. "You know, when Alexander was growing up, I often thought that his life would have been easier if he'd been born a girl." Even though she was looking at Alex, Lucy was speaking to everyone else but him. "He was always such a tiny, petite little thing..." she sighed, in what Alex perceived as disgust. "He had to be privately tutored, you know? I mean, can you imagine sending a three foot tall thirteen year old boy into a public high school? He would have been eaten alive in that environment. Maybe I should have just put him in dresses back then and saved myself a ton of money."
"Mom, please..." Alex squirmed in her gaze.
"Don't 'mom, please' me," Lucy said, dismissively. "My God, I remember when you went to that ridiculous college and came home with your hair all grown out, I told you that no one would ever take you seriously as a man with long hair. Now, look at you! Pretty little curled bangs and a cute little flip." She shook her head in disappointment, a look with which Alex was very familiar. Besides the fact that Lucy was one of the only people in the world who referred to one of the most prestigious music schools on the planet as 'that ridiculous college,' his mother had always viewed his lack of height as a personal failure on his part. A failure that he had done intentionally just to embarrass her. Every purchase of clothing, every purchase of shoes, every family gathering, every every-anything resulted in disappointed sighs and head shakes. Over the last year, or so, though, with the success that Alex had enjoyed both as a solo artist, limited as that was, and the success he'd had as Veronica's accompanist, his mother seemed to have taken some of the pressure off of her disgust at his stature. Now, given the opportunity to go on the attack, again, his mother had not hesitated to attack with vigor.
"Wait a minute," Veronica suddenly had a thought. "How is it that you two know each other? I mean, to the best of my knowledge, you have never met before."
"We ended up on the same flight," Eva said, brightly. "I flew from Miami to Atlanta. Then my connecting flight was canceled due to the weather up here. I was having breakfast at a coffee shop in the airport this morning when I ran into Lucy who was sitting at the next table. She was trying to get in touch with her son, but he wasn't answering his cell phone. I'd tried to leave a message for you and had the same problem, but I heard on the news that a lot of this area had no cell service. Anyway, we got talking and realized that we were headed to the same place. Tada! Instant besties."
Lucy rolled her eyes at the frivolous way of expressing herself that Eva had exhibited throughout the day. The woman was obviously a privileged air-head who'd never had to work a day in her life, but... if Lucy was being honest... she probably could not have gotten to The Haven without Eva's help. She seemed to have a way of just making demands on people and they just seemed to do her bidding. Case in point, she walked into a police station and got a policeman to drive them all the way to The Haven.
Alex suddenly felt Eva running her hands along the little bid style cape on his back. "Oh, I do so love this dress."
Lucy's patience with this situation had reached its end. "May I PLEASE speak to my... son... privately?"
"Umm..." Veronica balked at that. "If you don't mind, I'd kind of like to stay. All of this was, after all, my idea..."
"Thank you," Lucy snapped, "but I would like to speak to him in private, please."
"But..." Veronica was about to play the 'this is my house' card, but Alex stopped her.
"It's ok. If you could excuse us, I guess we need to talk." He sulked.
Veronica was not happy about leaving Alex alone with a woman who seemed angrier than the situation warranted, but when she looked at him, he nodded sadly and said, "I'll let you know when we're done."
Veronica shook her head in frustration. "Come on, mom. Let's go."
As Veronica and Eva headed for the door, Veronica stopped for a moment and turned to look at Lucy once more. "Before anyone says anything that can't be taken back, I'd just like to remind everyone that this is Christmas Eve and we are probably going to be stuck in this house together for a few more days, anyway."
"Thank you," Lucy said, the smirk still on her face, without turning to acknowledge Veronica, "I will keep that in mind."
Once the door was closed behind Veronica and Eva, Lucy shook her head and walked in a slow circle around her son. "Well, you certainly are a sight, aren't you? Do you have any idea how foolish you look? You look like a goddamned child, Alexander. A little girl. And the hair and the eyebrows. How on earth do you plan on presenting yourself as man ever again with your pretty little eyebrows and bangs?"
Alex tried to explain the bizarre linguistic problems that had led to his current state, but she wouldn't hear any of it. "Just stop, Alexander, just stop. You expect me to believe that there is a legitimate reason for you looking like this, but the truth is there isn't, is there? You just want to be treated like a little girl, don't you?"
"Oh, for crying out loud," Alex shook his head and plopped himself down in one of the few chairs that were scattered around the edges of the vast room bent his elbows to rest on his knees and buried his head in his hands, frustrated beyond all belief. "I can't believe we're having this conversation."
"Sit up straight!" Lucy nearly yelled.
"What?" Alex looked up, confused.
"Sit up straight! And cross your legs at the knee for crying out loud! You look like a sack potatoes in a pretty dress. Have some decency, for heaven's sake. SIT UP STRAIGHT!"
Shocked, Alex adjusted himself, sitting up straight and crossing his legs at his knees.
Lucy shook her head. "So... what now? Is this a full time thing?"
"No, mom," Alex sighed. "It was just a little... never mind. I'll ask June if the clothes from my carry on are dry, yet. I'll get changed and we can forget about all this, ok?"
"Oh, wouldn't that be nice," Lucy folded her arms, "but I'm afraid I will never forget about this little event. Besides, you can't get changed, now. You have a sweet, little play date with the neighbor girl, remember."
"That's not my fault," Alex insisted. "You set that up, not me. When they come, just tell them I left or that I'm sick or something."
Lucy snickered. "Not on your life, young lady. You are going to meet with that girl and you are going to be the perfect little Princess the whole time that she's here, do you understand me?"
"Why?" Alex asked.
"I don't know, Alexander, perhaps if you are sufficiently embarrassed by your own foolishness you may learn your lesson - AND - perhaps if that perverted girlfriend of yours sees you behaving like the little girl that you look like, she may come to her senses."
"That's enough," Alex stood and looked up into his mother's face. Even though she'd given birth to him, Lucy was moderately tall for a woman at five foot eight. "Look, mother, if you want to insult and degrade me, fine. I'm used to it. It hurts, but I'm used to it. But if you have anything critical, anything snide, anything vicious to say about Ronnie, then you can just keep that to yourself."
"Oh, how cute," Lucy teased, "the little girl is having a temper tantrum."
"I'm serious, mother," he said, he's eyes red rimmed with the stress of holding back frustrated tears, "I know that in our family everyone shows their affection for one and other by using as much venom and derision as
possible, but that is not the way the rest of the world behaves, and it's not how I want Veronica treated. Whenever you speak to or about Veronica, you will do so with respect. Do you understand me?"
Lucy smirked. "You're wearing a petticoat."
Alex blinked at the sudden change of direction in the conversation. "What?"
"You," Lucy bent a bit to look him in the eye, "are wearing a petticoat. A little girl's petticoat. A little girl's petticoat that your precious Veronica dressed you in before doing your hair, putting lipstick on you and dressing you in an adorable, little girl's sailor dress."
"So?" Alex could not see the point.
"So..." Lucy smirked, "do you think that she's treating you with respect?"
Alex took a deep breath and got control over his emotions. "I'm going to go have my breakfast."
As he stormed towards the service entrance, Lucy called after him, "Don't forget your play date with your little friend at one o'clock."
Alex turned and stared at his mother. "I won't forget. In fact, I'm looking forward to it. I hope that I can inspire that girl to become a better piano player. Maybe that will make all of this worthwhile."
Lucy shook her head. "Or maybe she will bring you some dollies to play with. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Argh!" Alex stomped a foot in frustration, probably not the most masculine thing to do, and shook his head. "You are impossible, mother, and I'm not just talking about today and this dress! You are always like this! Do you have any feelings for me at all? Have you ever really loved
me?"
"I'm like this BECAUSE I love you, Alexander."
"No, mother," he shook his head. "This... all of this... the insults, the derision... all of THIS... THIS is not love. When Sergeant Hammond returns, perhaps you could ask him to give you a ride back into town. Maybe you could find a bed and breakfast that has a vacancy so you could spend Christmas by yourself. That way you'll be spending the holiday with the only person you truly love." He turned, the skirt of his dress flaring and falling, as he stormed out the door and slammed it behind him.
Lucy took a deep breath and looked at the closed door, wondering if she should follow after Alexander to continue the argument, but instead, she took a series of deep, steadying breaths. Despite her unwillingness to admit it to anyone, especially herself, Alexander's last attack had really hit home and it really, really hurt.
Alex found Veronica in their little kitchenette area, pouring some cereal into a bowl. "Hey," he said to her.
"Oh, babe," Veronica put down her bowl and pulled Alex into a hug, "I am so sorry. I had no idea that they were here. I never meant to embarrass you. You know that, right?"
Alex concentrated on the feel of Veronica's hug. The feeling of the silk of her dress on his cheek. The feeling of her firm, but pliable breast beneath that silk and the horrible events of the last half hour faded away. "I know," he said, quietly.
"Do you hate me?" She asked, pulling him even tighter onto her grasp.
"Of course not." He looked up at the woman he adored and formed his lips into a kiss to invite Ronnie to bend her neck to kiss him. She did.
"I guess she was pretty upset by the dress, huh?"
Alex nestled back into her breasts. "She's always upset about something. I should have warned you, I guess. If I had been wearing an Armani suit and my hair had been cut like George Clooney, I still wouldn't... measure up, if you catch my drift."
"I'm sure that's not true, babe," Veronica kissed the top of his head. "She's your mom. I'm sure she loves you."
"I'm sure she thinks she does," Alex sighed. "I just don't think she knows what love is."
"Maybe we can show her," Veronica laid her cheek on his head. "You and me, baby. We'll teach her how to love."
He sighed again, "As much as I want to just stay here an be hugged, I'd really like some toast and tea."
Veronica smiled, "I'll have Melissa make you some."
"After that," Alex gave her one last snuggle before breaking off the hug, "can I ask a favor?"
"Anything," she said, honestly.
"After breakfast, will you sing with me? I really need that, right now."
Veronica ran her finger along his soft cheek. "My God, I love you so fucking much."
It was nearly eleven before they made it back to the ballroom. "What are we singing this morning?" Veronica asked.
He pulled the piano bench close and said, "Let's start with something in German, then something Italian, then something in English."
Veronica laughed. "Well, ok, then. It has to be in that order?" She looked at her little lover with the bow in his quaffed hair and the pretty little dress and was very happy to sing whatever he wanted her to sing.
He nodded and looked a little sad. "I need to hear you sing in German. Italian is beautiful, but German is so much richer." He didn't wait for a response, he just started playing Franz Schubert's 'Lied der Mignon.'
Once again, the room filled with the perfect mix of the emotionally restrained piano, followed by the luscious richness of Veronica's quiet, but beckoning voice. Alex closed his eyes and bathed in the sound, feeling their love for each other as it flowed through the room. When they reached the frenetic middle section, he followed her lead and took the same liberties with the meter that Veronica did and then, when it became quiet, again, he set the tempo once more and gave her a solid scaffold of sound to support her amazing voice.
When he opened his eyes at the end of the piece, Veronica was just opening her's too. They didn't speak, though, he just began to play the short introduction he'd created for Veronica's recital performances of Puccini's 'Un Bel Di Vedremo' from Madama Butterfly. This time her voice was full and dramatic and easily captured every swoop and leap and acrobatic display as the perfectly crafted aria wound its way through the heart wrenching melody and left those who heard it emotionally drained. Through it all, Alex just let his fingers do what they already knew how to do and he felt the warmth of Veronica's voice surrounding him and passing through him like a warm wave of love and devotion.
When that song ended, though, he never opened his eyes. He just began to play the simple, iconic melodic statement followed by the repeating quarter note chords that were the introduction to Gilbert and Sullivan's beautiful aria from 'The Mikado,' 'The Sun Whose Rays Are All A Blaze." The simple, pure melody was a problem for many sopranos who looked for clues to their performance in the text, but Veronica knew enough to just find the beauty of the song in its simplicity and, once again, she overwhelmed Alex with her subtle power that was rooted in the way that her voice was directly connected to her heart.
Alex was nearly breathless when he played the last chord. He opened his eyes and looked across the piano to where Veronica gazed back at him. Both felt the connection, the love that had just flowed between them and both knew that they wanted to touch each other, to hold each other and to continue to be one with each other, but their concentration was broken by a spattering of applause echoing through the big room. They both looked towards the main door to see Sergeant Hammond in his civilian attire, with a young woman to his left and June to his right.
Both Alex and Veronica shook themselves back to earth as they smiled at the people on the ballroom floor level.
June stepped forward with a big smile on her face. "That was lovely, Miss. Thank you. I hope you don't mind that we listened?"
"Not at all," Veronica smiled as she stepped down the stairs and walked towards the guests. "I'm sorry, Sergeant. I had no idea that it was so late."
"Well, actually," the policeman smiled a guilty smile, "we are quite early. I was called into work again and only have a few hours and I really wanted Maddie to hear the young lady play. I'm sorry, but I couldn't call because the cell towers are all down. So, we showed up on the off chance that we may be able to hear her - and now we've done that, so perhaps we should get going and let you have the afternoon to yourself."
"Oh, no, no," Veronica insisted. "What time is it, now?"
June checked her watch, "Nearly noon, Miss."
"And what time do you need to leave for work, Sergeant?"
"Well, not until two, Miss Harrington, but... we don't want to impose any more than we already have."
"Don't be silly," Veronica laughed. "We have nothing on our agendas here. Alex! Alex, come here and meet this young lady."
As Alex walked, a bit nervously across the large ballroom, Veronica looked at the tall young woman. She was quite attractive. A bit athletic looking, nearly as tall as Veronica, with reddish-brown hair that didn't
quite reach her shoulders, wearing black rubber stable boots, tight fitting jeans and a loose, grey sweater that hung nicely from her strong shoulders and modest breasts. "You must be Maddie," Veronica smiled at her.
"Yes," the girl smiled back. "You sing so beautifully, Miss," she said politely.
"Please, call me Ronnie," Veronica said, then she put her arm out to wrap it around Alex as he approached. "And this is my... friend... Alex. I believe that you have something in common."
Alex and Maddie said hi to each other, then Maddie looked at Veronica. "Do we?"
Ronnie smiled. "Yes. You both play piano, right?"
Maddie laughed. "Oh, I don't play like she does. I'm... ok, for my age, but that's all."
'Ok for her age.' Alex almost mentioned that when he was her age, he was already making a name for himself as a soloist and auditioning for some of the most prestigious colleges in the world, but he held his tongue and smiled.
Veronica laughed warmly at Maddie's admission. "Well, Alex plays 'ok for her age,' too. Why don't the two of you play some piano, together, and I'll just have a quick word with the cook to have her make something for lunch," she looked at the policeman, "so that you can have something to eat before you go back to work."
"Oh..." Jim held up a hand, "That's not really..."
"Don't be silly," Ronnie waved him off. "June, let's go talk to the cook. Alex, you and Maddie can work either in here on you can use the Chickering in the rehearsal room. Sergeant, why don't you relax and listen to the girls play piano?"
Alex looked at the girl, who seemed nearly as uncomfortable as he did. "Hi. I'm Alex."
The girl nodded. "Maddie."
"Umm," he looked around the ballroom. "Would you rather play piano in here, or in a smaller room?"
She looked around. "Smaller, I guess."
"Ok," he smiled. "This way."
"So..." Maddie looked around as she and Alex walked side by side with her father following, "do you live here? In this... huge... place?"
Alex smiled. "I just moved in yesterday. You're right, it is big, though. I don't know how Veronica is planning on using all of these rooms, but she inherited it, so... she'll figure it out."
As they turned into the rehearsal room, Maddie asked, "Hey... can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," he said as he grabbed a chair and put it by the piano bench.
"What's with the goody-two-shoes, little girl look?"
"Hey, hey," her father groaned. "That's not very friendly."
"No," Alex said, "that's ok." He told her about the trunks and how he and Veronica were just having fun with the clothes. He didn't mention that he was actually Ronnie's fiancé.
"Oh, good," Maddie laughed. "I was a little worried. Don't get me wrong, though, that dress would be awesome for cosplay. It has a cool anime feel to it."
Alex looked down at himself and laughed. "Yeah. I does, doesn't it?" He offered the piano stool to Maddie.
"What?" She looked confused. "You want me to play? I came to hear you."
"I'll play for you, but you go first," he smiled as he tucked his dress beneath him and sat. Then, as an afterthought, he crossed his legs as his mother had told him.
Maddie raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "Alright, but you have to promise not to laugh."
"I promise," Alex smiled.
The girl sat and just stared at the keys, obviously nervous and uncomfortable, feeling like she'd been put on the spot.
"Don't worry, Maddie," her father offered, helpfully. "Play anything."
She forced a grin, but went back to nervously looking at the keyboard.
Looking to de-stress the situation, Alex asked, "Is Maddie short for Madelyn?"
The girl laughed. "I wish! It's short for Matilda, which I hate - thanks for that, by the way, dad."
Jim just laughed.
"I like that name," Alex said. "It's kind of relaxed. My name is so formal."
"Alexandra?" Maddie asked. "Yeah, but it goes with this house and this look that your cultivating."
That made Alex laugh.
Finally relaxed, Maddie said. "Ok. This is kind of embarrassing, considering what I heard you play, but... here goes." She took a deep breath and started playing one note, D above middle C. She played it gently and played it again, in a steady four beat pattern, until she played a quiet B minor chord beneath it and some structure began to appear. Then she started singing - she was quiet and nervous, but her pitch was good, and like her playing, it was emotional and interesting. "Say something, I'm giving up on you..." she crooned. "I'll be the one if you want me to..."
When she was done, she smiled at Alex and shrugged. "That's it."
"Wow!" Alex said, impressed that she's done so well. "That was great. Did you write that?"
"Did I...?" Maddie was surprised. "No. You've never heard that song before? How is that possible? Everyone I know knows that song. It's kind of old, actually."
Alex shrugged. "I don't really listen to much popular music."
"Well, I'm glad someone finally played some normal music in this mausoleum," Veronica's mother, Eva, said loudly as she entered the room, clapping. "That was refreshing, dear. Thank you. You must be Jim's daughter. I am the mother of the great Veronica Harrington." She took a little bow. Alex could see that his sixty-something-mother-in-law-to-be was a bit tipsy.
"Oh," Maddy smiled. "Nice to meet you." She looked from Eva to Alex and back again. "So, are you Alex's mother, too?"
"No, no," Alex said. "I'm just Veronica's... accompanist." He smiled, more nervous than he should be. "Umm, could you teach me that song?"
"Seriously?" Maddie blinked. "You want ME to teach YOU a song? That's nuts!"
Alex smiled. "Yeah, seriously. I want to learn it. If you teach me that, I'll teach you Chopin's 'Funeral March.'"
The girl blinked at him. "I teach you this simple pop song and you'll teach me some Chopin? I can't play Chopin."
"Why not?" Alex shrugged. "It's easy."
Maddie looked at her father. "Did you hear her? She wants to teach me an EASY Chopin piece."
Jim held his hands wide. "She knows her business, honey."
Forty five minutes later, Veronica, Eva, Lucy, Jim and June were all seated in the rehearsal room as Maddie performed the simple Chopin piece. When she was done, all assembled stood and applauded. A standing ovation may have been a bit much, but she'd learned the piece and played it well.
"Stand and take a bow," Alex whispered.
"Ok," Maddie giggled and took a few bows. When Alex stood, not to bow, but just because it seemed like they were done for now, but Maddie threw her arms around him and hugged him. "Thank you, so much! I want to learn
so much more!"
Alex smiled. He'd never done that with someone before. He'd like to continue teaching her pieces, but this was going to be a complicated thing to do, under the circumstances.
"That was wonderful, Maddie," Veronica gushed. Jim offered some very loud whistles of appreciation as he continued to applaud. When, at last, the people assembled stopped clapping, Veronica said, "I believe that lunch is ready, if everyone is hungry."
"Yes," June confirmed, "we've set up a casual buffet in the dinning room. If you'd like to follow me, I'll show you the way."
"I am famished," Maddie joked as her father threw an arm around her shoulder.
"I am so proud of you, honey," he smiled as he kissed her cheek with a big smack of a kiss.
Alex was watching this exchange, thinking how nice it would be if, just once, his mother had said something like that to him, but before he could wallow in self pity, Eva stepped beside Maddie and said, "Don't let them drag you completely into their hoity-toity, classical music world, dear. Playing music for a bunch of tight-assed rich people is no way to spend your life."
Alex stopped walking and watched as Eva, Maddie and Jim turned out the door, into the hallway, followed by Lucy. Veronica, who had been walking behind him, put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey. You ok?"
Alex turned and put his arms around Veronica and hugged her tightly. "Ronnie, I'm sorry."
Surprised, she asked, "Sorry about what?"
He shrugged. "I guess I was kind of over focused on how unfeeling my own mother was, but now I realize your mother is just as bad. I'm sorry I didn't see that."
She hugged him back and chuckled. "I know, babe. She's pretty self involved, isn't she? Imagine... my mother... a woman who never worked a day in her life... who has lived off of the generosity of her mother and the alimony from three ex-husbands... talking about 'hoity-toity, tight assed rich people.' All I can do is shake my head."
As they headed towards the dinning room, Alex asked, "Did your mother have anything to say about me being in a dress?"
"Not really," Veronica shook her head. "She was kind of caught up in the fact that the dress was 'hers.' Almost as if she could wear it herself if she wanted to. Besides, she's a lot kinkier than I am. Believe me, whatever we may be doing is tame compared to what my mother has gotten up to through the years."
As they entered the dining room, June stepped over to them and said, quietly, "Your box from Hong Kong has arrived. I put it in your room, sir."
Alex nodded and smiled. "Thank you, June."
As June stepped away, Veronica whispered to Alex, "I guess your torment is nearly over."
Alex nodded.
Lunch discussion was upbeat and focused mostly on Maddie's achievement. Several mentions were made by the mothers indicating that it would be nice if Maddie could come back to learn more from Alex and spend more time introducing 'her' to more popular music so she wasn't such a 'music snob.'"
"So, Jim," Eva asked, in a voice that was entirely too flirty for a woman in her mid sixties talking to a man in his mid forties, "how long will you be working, tonight?"
The Sergeant looked up from his salad and said, "Three to eleven."
"Oh," Eva looked at Maddie, "so it'll just be you and your mom on Christmas Eve?"
Jim cleared his throat, "Umm, no... Maddie's mom passed away quite a while ago. Usually, on Christmas Eve, we'd be hosting my sister-in-law and her family, but under the circumstances, we really can't do that this year. Hopefully, tomorrow we can make it to my parents' house to have dinner, but we will have to see if that's possible after the sun comes up. With most of the town in the dark and a lot of trees down and blocking the roads... we'll see."
"Wait a minute," Veronica said, "are you saying that Maddie is going to be all alone in a dark, cold house on Christmas Eve?"
"Well," Jim chuckled, "we have a big fireplace in our den, so she'll be sleeping in there, on the couch."
The mothers let out expressions of shock as Veronica squeezed Alex's hand to let him know that she had no choice but to say what she was about to say. "Look, Maddie, we have plenty of room and food here. Wouldn't you rather stay here until your dad gets home? Or all night, if you'd prefer. Jim, you could come back after your shift and not have to deal with the fireplace and all."
"Oh..." Maddie looked at her father hopefully.
Veronica continued, "Later, we're going to decorate the tree and then have a nice dinner with just us and the staff. We could even find something in the trunks for you to wear if you'd like to have some fun. What do you say?"
Alex knew that this was the right thing to do, but he wished that it wasn't necessary. How could he possibly tell a fifteen year old child to go stay, all by herself, to a house with no heat or electricity?
Maddie looked at her father. "Would that be ok, Daddy?"
Jim looked at everyone assembled. "Well... we don't want to be any bother, but... that would certainly make me feel better if she were here, where it's safe snd warm."
"No bother at all," Veronica squeezed Alex's hand once again. He knew it was an apology and he understood, entirely. "Maddie, you are always welcome here and we hope you will enjoy tonight's activities." Veronica turned to her head of household. "June, can you arrange for rooms for both of our new guests?"
"Yes, of course, Miss," June smiled.
"Oh..." Jim sputtered, "that's very kind of you, but I will not impose for myself. Just for Maddie."
Veronica laughed. "Sergeant, we have more bedrooms at The Haven than the entire town of Lenox. Honestly, it isn't an imposition. Hopefully, by morning, the power will be restored and you can go home after a nice breakfast. How does that sound?"
"Very hospitable of you," Jim smiled. "Thank you."
Just as Jim left to go to work, Rebecca appeared to announce that the tree was set up and the decorations were all waiting in the sitting room. So, they all filed into the sitting room and began decorating the tree.
The twelve foot tall fir tree was set up in the corner of the beautiful room. Typically, people would expect for a room with a Christmas tree standing in it, to also have other decorations scattered about, but the nineteenth century décor of the room already had such a feeling of a Christmas movie that only the tree was needed.
There were two step ladders nearby the tree. It turned out that Maddie was very comfortable going up and down ladders due to working in her aunt's barn, so she was responsible for a lot of the high decorating. Rebecca came in after washing up and she was working from the other ladder.
When they were almost done, Rebecca pulled out the star that belonged on top of the tree. She looked at Alex and smiled. "As the youngest, putting the star on top of the tree is your honor." She held out the star for him to take.
Alex really didn't want to do it, though. He was wearing a very wide skirt and little heels, so he tried to beg off. "That's ok. You can do it."
Rebecca chuckled. "No, no. I'm one of the oldest here. This is your job."
All of a sudden, Maddie was standing next to Alex. She took the star from Rebecca and then took his hand. "Come on. I'll help you. I won't let you fall."
Alex began to climb the ladder with Maddie climbing right behind him. Her arms holding the ladder rails high around Alex to ensure his safety. He felt even more childish than he had before, being protected by a fifteen year old girl.
When he reached the top of the tree, Maddie said in a voice that she obviously reserved for the children she babysat, "Ok. Relax. Lean back on me if you need to. Just reach out and place the star on the tree. That's it. Almost there. That's it. Now, push it down hard. Good work! You did it!"
The rest of the room applauded. Alex hoped that it was applause for Maddie's encouragement, and not a condescending acknowledgement of his lack of height.
It was after four thirty by the time the tree was fully lit and decorated. June assured Veronica that she did not need to pick up the mess left behind by the decorating process. "Well, then," Veronica said to Maddie, "would you like to take a look at some gowns you could wear for our formal dinner? I think that we should be able to find something beautiful and fun to wear."
The girl lit up brighter than the Christmas tree. "Sure! That would be great!"
Veronica stood and invited Maddie to follow her, then looked at Alex. "Would you like to come, too, Alex?"
Alex shook his head. "No, thank you. I need to change."
Once Veronica and Maddie had left, Alex looked to his mother and asked, "Mom, could you give me a hand getting changed?"
Lucy looked at her son, blankly. "Help you change? You're a grown man, Alexander."
"Mom," Alex stood, "I need your help and we need to talk."
Lucy looked at Eva and shook her head. "Of all the foolishness I have ever heard..."
"Mom!" Alex said, more forcefully. "Please. I need to talk to you."
Lucy shook her head as she stood. "Alright, alright. I'll help you. It seems foolish to me, but... if that's what you want..."
They climbed the stairs in silence. When they started down the corridor, Lucy said, "I don't know why the two of you would even consider living in this barn of a house. It's far too big for just two people."
Alex didn't rise to her bait and just led her into his room. As June had promised, his box from Hong Kong was sitting by the foot of his bed. He opened it and dumped all of his male clothing onto the bed. "Could you help me take off this dress, please?" He asked his mother.
"There's a question a mother never wants to hear from her son," Lucy muttered as she helped to pull the dress free of Alex's torso and arms, revealing, as she should have expected, a lace covered slip with a moderate petticoat on it. She let out a sound of disgust as she looked him over. "That is ridiculous."
Alex just nodded and said, "Would you take a seat, mom? I'd like to talk."
There were a couple of nice wing-backed chairs to the side of the room, so Lucy took a seat. When Alex took a seat as well, without changing, Lucy was surprised. He sat with his back straight and his legs crossed at the knee, just as she'd demanded earlier. Lucy looked impatient. "Aren't you going to put on some men's clothing before we have this discussion?"
Alex shook his head. "No, mom. I will not be putting on men's clothing tonight."
Lucy shook her head in frustration, "Oh, this is ridiculous. Parading around like a little girl..."
Alex interrupted. "Where did I go to college, mom?"
"What?" She was caught off guard.
"Where did I go to college?"
"Well, that's a foolish question. You went to that ridiculous school in New York City."
"What's the name of the school, mom?" Alex remained calm.
"Why are we having this conversation, Alexander?"
"Because I am tired of the answer you just gave me. I want to start over with you, mom and I don't want to end every conversation I have with you
feeling guilty and ashamed of myself."
Lucy stopped and looked at her son more closely. "I make you feel guilt and ashamed?"
Alex nodded.
"You mean..." Lucy thought for a moment... "you mean I made you feel ashamed about wearing a dress?"
Alex shook his head. "No. You make me feel ashamed to be alive, mom. Your disappointment in me comes through in every sentence you speak and every look you give me."
"Alexander..." she was genuinely confused. "I have always supported you, you know that."
"I don't know that, mom. In fact, I'd like to hear some of the ways you feel that you have supported me throughout my life." Alex remained cool and maintained his posture in the chair.
"Well, I..." she sputtered. "I... I raised you. I put food on the table every night, clothed you, kept you healthy."
Alex nodded. "And how many times did you complain that I wasn't eating enough because I was too small? How many times did you complain that we had to buy my clothes in the boys' department or have them tailored? How many times did we leave the doctor's office with you angry that I was too small?"
Lucy blinked at him. "Well... it was difficult for me, Alexander, to have a boy who was so... small."
"Was it?" Alex nodded. "Was it difficult for you to have a small boy who graduated from high school two and a half years ahead of schedule? A small boy who won National piano competitions at eleven and twelve years old? How about having a small boy who went to Julliard when he was fifteen and graduated with a Masters in Performance at twenty? Was all of that difficult, too?"
Lucy didn't say anything.
"Because, let me tell you, mom, it was difficult to be that 'little boy' who was killing himself to achieve and never once having his mother show
him a bit of support. To win a competition and have his mother complain that the seats were too hard. To get accepted with a full scholarship to the most important music college in the country and have his mother say,
'they'll eat a little thing like you alive there.' To call his mother to tell her that he's in love with a wonderful woman and have his mother replay, 'What does she see in a little thing like you?' It wasn't easy, mom, and you seemed to thrive on making it all worse at every opportunity."
Lucy took a deep, irritated breath. "And do you think you made it any easier, Alexander? Huh? Staying in your room playing that piano twenty four hours a day, driving me up the walls with scales and arpeggios and the same pieces being played over and over and over?"
Alex looked at her and cocked his head to the side a bit. "So... was it my height or my achievements that annoyed you the most?"
"That's not fair, Alexander," his mother leaned a bit forward in her seat. "Yes, I admit it, I may have been a little less than sympathetic about your height issues, but goddamnit... look at you! You're twenty two and you're the size of a child! You're wearing clothing that your future mother-in-law wore when she was ten or eleven or twelve years old! How could I not be embarrassed by that!"
"By the dress or the height?" Alex persisted.
"By all of it, Alexander! By all of it! God almighty, my sisters' children are all normal! Why the hell did you end up being so goddamned little!?"
There it was. She'd said it. And the moment she said it, she wished she hadn't.
"Alexander..." she stared at him, not knowing what to say. "...I didn't... I didn't mean that. Honestly."
Alex got out of his chair and knelt next to his mother's chair, taking her hand in his. "Mom, I know you didn't mean to SAY IT, but that's not really the issue. The issue is that you have felt that way my whole life and... to be honest... that's not love. That's bitterness and that's not
what I want between us. I want us to love each other. To be nice to each other. To not judge each other. Is that possible?"
Lucy sniffled a bit. This was touching more emotions than she was comfortable touching. "Alexander... you know that I never REALLY resented the fact that you're small. I mean..."
"Mom," Alex took her other hand in his, "you did, but we need to move past that. What I am proposing is that we start fresh and new, right now, today. No more judgements. No more snipes. Let's just pretend that this is all brand new – that I'm your child and you're my mother – that we love each other and we are capable of expressing that love without demeaning each other. Can we do that?"
Lucy looked away and took a deep breath before returning her gaze to her son. "Alexander... I know that the name of your college is Julliard and I brag to people about it and you and your success all the time. I really do. I don't know what comes over me sometimes when we're together, though. I just seem to find fault in everything. You have always been a good son and I try, I really do try to be a good mother, but... I guess that's just another failure."
"We can change that, mom," Alex squeezed her hands gently and looked into her eyes. "If we both decide to change, then we can change."
"Alright," Lucy shrugged. "Alexander, I will change. I want to have a good relationship with you, so... I will change. I promise."
"Good," Alex said. Then he stood and gave his mother's hands a pull to help her stand. "Can we start with a hug?"
Lucy smiled and gave him a hug – not a huge hug, mind you, but it was an embrace and that was the first embrace from his mother that Alex could remember getting since the day she dropped him off in New York City, three days before his first class at Julliard.
"Now, may I ask you a question?" Lucy asked as she released Alex. He nodded, so she continued. "No judgement, mind you, but... if you have perfectly good boy' clothing to wear, why aren't you planning on wearing it tonight?"
Alex looked down and considered that question for a moment before looking back up, into his mother's eyes. "No judgement. Ok. I know this may sound... odd... but... I've always felt... wrong in boy's clothes, mom. Like I was... not right. The clothes either made me uncomfortable or I just looked silly in an overly tailored suit. Now, I've never put on women's clothing before the night before last – and those were just fairly gender neutral pajamas – and I never put on a dress before this morning, but... I don't know... I just kind of... like it. Like... I feel good in these clothes. Nice, I mean. Like... I like how I look and how I feel in them, you know what I mean?"
Lucy didn't know what he meant, but she nodded to both encourage him to continue and to live up to the 'no judgement' pledge she'd just made.
"You know how you came into the rehearsal room and I was teaching Maddie how to play that Chopin piece? I don't think I could have done that in my normal clothes. If I'd been dressed as a guy, then Maddie's first impression of me would have been as a freak of some kind. A tiny guy who plays piano, that's what I get everyday – BUT – in a dress, she just accepted me and I felt comfortable enough to sit next to her, chat, learn a song, teach a song... whatever. It was very nice freeing.
"So, are you dressing like a girl forever?" Lucy asked.
Alex smiled, "I don't know, but I am for now, anyway."
Lucy looked at her tiny offspring in his silky, lacy, petticoated slip and had to admit – he looked right in these clothes. "Ok," she nodded. "If this makes you comfortable, I will support it."
Alex hugged her much more suddenly and much more tightly than she expected. She let out a surprised, "Oh!"
"So," Alex smiled as he stepped back from her, "can we have a bit of mother-son bonding time, then?"
Lucy's first thought was 'Wasn't what we just did mother-son bonding time?' but she refrained from saying that and said, "That would be nice. What would you like to do?"
Alex ran to the closet and pulled down the zippers on the garment bags looking for the dress that most looked as if Veronica had chosen it for him to wear on Christmas Eve. When he saw one made from green velvet, he pulled that dress, garment bag and all, off the rod and neatly laid it on his bed. Then he he smiled at his mother and said, "I need you to help me get ready for dinner. I'll wear this dress, but... could you, maybe, help me with my hair and, maybe, a little makeup?"
Lucy looked a little surprised that this was what Alex was considering 'bonding time,' but smiled and said, "Ok."
While Alex removed the slip and hung it and the sailor dress up in the closet, Lucy took the green velvet dress out of its garment bag and looked at it. It was not overly fancy, but it was classically beautiful. A long sleeved dress made of a soft velvet. A fitted bodice and straight, loose sleeves with a wide circle skirt. What made the dress pop, though, was the white Peter Pan collar and large, white, faux French cuffs, as well as the pearl sized buttons that ran up the back of the dress.
"Oh," Lucy said, in spite of herself, "that is absolutely precious."
Alex chuckled. "You like it?"
"I do," Lucy nodded. "For the record, I liked the sailor dress, too. It was just a big surprise to see it on you. Maybe I over reacted."
She removed the dress from the hanger, finding another, simpler slip under it. Alex took the slip and checked the pocket in the garment bag, finding a pair of shoes as well as a new set of panties and a matching bra. It didn't look as much like the old fashioned training bra he was wearing. Instead, this one looked like a women's small bra with a little bit of padding in it. Not much. Just enough to give the impression of a 'AA' cup.
Alex turned his back to his mother and asked, "Can you undo me?"
Lucy bit her tongue to refrain from saying something negative, but as she undid the clasps on the bra we was wearing, she looked at Alex's smooth, hairless skin and small shoulders. If this weren't her son, there would be no reason to not assume that this was a very young woman.
She undid the hooks and eyes and Alex slid the training bra down his arms, immediately replacing it with the 'AA' cup bra. Without thinking, Lucy just linked the hooks into the eyes, closing the garment around her tiny son.
Alex kept his back on his mother and he dropped the panties he'd worn all day and slipped on the fresh pair, taking a moment to tuck himself as best he could before turning to face his mother. She was unbuttoning each of the tiny, pearl buttons. "These buttons are beautiful, but they were never designed to be worked by the girl wearing it. Just a warning, once you put this on, you're not getting it off by yourself."
Finally done unbuttoning, she held the dress low for her son to step into it. He put his arms onto the sleeves, pulling the front of the dress up to his shoulders and he heard his mother sigh. "What's the matter?" Alex asked. "Doesn't it fit?"
"I think it fits fine," Lucy said. "I'm just trying to work up the energy to button it back up again."
As she buttoned and buttoned and buttoned the dress, Lucy began talking. "Your father was a musician, too, you know?"
Alex hadn't asked about his father in a decade or more. It was taboo subject growing up. "What did he play?"
"He was a piano player, too. He played with a rock band. They put out a few albums and had a couple of minor hits, but they never made it big."
Alex looked in the mirror, watching his mother buttoning him up. She was involved in her chore and, for the first time in his whole life, she was
talking to him. REALLY talking to him. "I didn't know that."
"He was..." Lucy sighed. "...he was not a happy man. He... he drank, Alexander. He drank a lot and when he was drunk... he was mean. Very mean."
"He didn't hit you, did he?" Alex asked.
Lucy stayed focused on the buttons, but kept sharing. "He tried. We were only together a couple of months, really, even though we were actually married for almost two years. He'd get drunk and come banging on my door in the middle of the night. It wasn't easy."
Alex almost felt like crying. He had no idea his mother had gone through all of this.
"I know it's a horrible thing to say, but... well... I'm glad you never knew him." She was approaching the buttons on the top of his back.
Alex asked, "Is he still alive?"
"No," Lucy said, matter of factly. "You were only about three years old when the police came to the door early one morning. Apparently, he was driving drunk, drove off the road and... that was that. His license still had our address on it, so they assumed we were still married. After they told me, I don't think I even reacted. I just nodded and closed the door." She tapped his shoulder. "All done."
Alex turned and looked at his mother. Then, without warning, threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, mom. I didn't know any of that."
Lucy shrugged and looked at her son's hair. "Let's go to my room. I have some things to help with your hair."
Alex slipped his feet into a pair of dyed-to-match-the-dress silk shoes that his mother referred to as 'flats,' but there was a very small heel on them, and they walked to Lucy's room where she spent twenty minutes or more using a curling iron to create dozens of vertical curls in his hair, including vertical curls in his bangs. When his whole head was covered in tube shaped curls, she began brushing them out, until, at last, she had created a controlled, full bodied, mass of wavy hair. "What do you think?" She asked as she pointed to the mirror, halfway across the room.
"I love it!" Alex exclaimed. "Makes my hair look so thick."
Lucy grabbed a can of hairspray and said, "Close your eyes," and she spayed a liberal amount onto his hair to make the hairdo stay put.
Lucy looked closely at Alex's face and thought out loud. "You still look like a little girl, so we don't want to go crazy on makeup. Maybe just a
little color on your eyes and some lipstick. I think we can go a little darker than that baby pink you wore all day."
"Ok," Alex said, happy to be sharing this – sharing anything – with his mother.
He felt the brush passing over his closed eyes, then the waxy feeling of lipstick being applied to his lips.
"One last thing," his mother said, as she opened up her travel jewelry case and pulled out a short string of pearls. "They're not real," she said, almost apologetically, "but they're pretty and nobody's ever noticed they were fake when I wore them."
She stood behind her little son and ran the string of faux pearls so that they traveled around his neck, under the Peter Pan collar of the dress, then appeared from the collar in front and seemed to complete the circle that the open fronted collar implied. It was a very pretty effect. The short string would probably have been a choker on his mother, but it hung loose and pretty on Alex.
Lucy looked at her handiwork and smiled. "I think we're done. Go look in the mirror."
Alex got up and walked towards the mirror. The circle skirt of his dress just covered his knees and above it, the field of green velvet traveled up his body uninterrupted until it reached his white cuffs, white collar
and white string of pearls. His hair was thick and wavy and his lips were a rich coral color and they had a soft shine to them. It was a darker pink than what he'd worn that day, but not garish or too close to a harsh red.
What really surprise him was his eyes, though. The color was an almost imperceptibly subtle green with flecks of silver glitter sparking on them. "My eyes," Alex gazed in amazement. "They look amazing."
"I'm glad you like them," Lucy smiled. "I bought the glitter for a New Year's Eve party in Florida. It seemed like a nice way to make you look like a pretty Christmas tree ornament."
She walked over and stood behind Alex and he swayed from one side to the other, trying to see how the dress fit him. "You look beautiful, Alexan... Alex." She said. "Truly. I am sorry that I didn't see it before."
"Thanks, mom," Alex smiled.
"Now," Lucy smiled and crossed her arms, "I hate to shoo you out of here, but I need to change and I'm afraid I'm just not ready to get changed in front of my son. Even if he is wearing a dress."
Alex laughed. "Ok." He started to go, but stopped and turned to his mother and said, "Mom... thank you. Not just for the help, but... well... thank you."
Lucy nodded and smiled. "Alex... Ali... I like that. Ali. Ali... I'm sorry and... thank you, too. This was nice."
Alex went back down the hall to the master bedroom and knocked on the door, but there was no answer, so he headed towards the staircase. As he walked, he felt the warm, soft material of his dress playing around his knees and he noticed how much extra material had gone into making the loose fitting circle skirt. It seemed almost wasteful to have so much extra material, but it sure made the skirt bounce playfully around him in a way that he found wonderful. He bounced and watched the skirt blossom and relax again and it made him giggle. Then, he looked around and saw no one anywhere nearby, so he spun on the ball of his left foot and watched the skirt fan out around him, then fall in a twist around his legs and relax again to sit prettily around his knees. The feeling was so wonderful that he did it again, and again, and a third time before he reached the stairs and grew self conscious that someone may appear down stairs and see him.
He was about to descend the stairs, but he heard some voices coming out of the first bedroom beyond the foyer. He walked across the landing and listened for a moment, hearing Veronica and Maddie talking behind the door. He knocked, for no other reason than to let Ronnie know that he'd be downstairs.
The door opened a few inches and Veronica smiled when she saw him. "Holy Moses, look at you!" She smiled. "Did you do all of that by yourself?"
Alex smiled at the compliment. "No. My mom did it – I know, shocking, right? Long story, but it went well. Did you find something for Maddie to wear for dinner?"
Veronica pulled her head back in and looked behind the door. "Did we find something for you to wear?"
Alex heard Maddie's voice from inside the room. "We sure did! Wait till you see it! If my father saw me he'd have a heart attack!!! Let her in!"
Veronica, knowing the age of the girl she was dressing and the age and sex of the pretty creature in the green dress in the hall, said, "No. We want it to be a surprise." She looked back through the door at Alex and smiled. "She'll be another ten or fifteen minutes. Then I have to get myself ready."
"Yeah, that's fine," Alex nodded. "I'll be playing the Chickering, ok?"
"Okee doke," Veronica winked. "I'll send your little friend down to keep you company when she's ready. Ok?"
He laughed and turned to walk away, but Veronica called after him. "You're making that dress work, little girl!"
He didn't turn, but said, loud enough for Ronnie to hear, "Yeah, I am!"
Down in the rehearsal room, Alex played a few of his usual warmups. Scale studies, arpeggio exercises, chromatic runs, but he really wanted to play a piece. He'd had this song playing in his head for hours and he was desperate to play it. Although, not originally written for piano, Alex had acquired a piano transcription of Prokofiev's brilliantly melodic piece 'Troica,' and that's what he started to play. There was a lot of flashy playing in this arrangement in order to emulate the sound of the full orchestra. One critic who'd review Alex playing this in concert, paraphrased Shakespeare in his review by stating that 'Mr Claremont's version of the orchestral piece was filled with sound and fury and signifying nothing – except a great deal of joy.' Alex had to admit, the critic had nailed it and, feeling as he did – happy and pretty – he really wanted to transmit some joy into the world through this great instrument.
He played with complete abandon, enjoying every note, every flourish, every chord, and when he played the finally chord, he was actually flushed with joy.
"Holy shit, Alex," a voice came from behind him, making him jump, "that was unbelievable! You should be on TV!"
"Oh, thanks," Alex said, as he turned. "Holy cow, Maddie! You look beautiful! Like a grown up!"
The fifteen year old girl was wearing a strapless, dark blue, vintage cocktail dress, with a plunging, cupid neckline that made her moderate breasts look much more impressive than he'd expected. The tight fitting bottom section of the bodice looked like a series of wrapped bands of the same material, and, even though it was reminiscent of a man's tuxedo's cummerbund, it had an elegant femininity to it. Below that, a high waisted skirt of row after row after row of dark blue lace cascaded down to her knees. It was an old fashioned look to be sure, but absolutely beautiful in its execution and Maddie looked amazing in the dress.
Beyond the dress, her hair had been coiffed into beautiful, constant waves that Alex recognized as Veronica's handiwork because he'd seen her hair done the same way many times. Her makeup was perfect with subtly smoky eyes and bright, shining red lips. The three inch heeled, pointy toed pumps made her taller, leaner and more statuesque. If Alex didn't know that the girl was fifteen, he'd have guessed she was twenty nine or thirty.
Maddie smiled at his compliment. "Thanks. When Ronnie asked me if I wanted to get dressed up it sounded like fun, but she really takes it seriously, doesn't she?"
"She's a diva," Alex laughed. "Diva's take dressing up VERY SERIOUSLY!"
"You look adorable, too, though," the girl complimented Alex. "Come here. Let's take a selfie together."
"Oh," Alex saw danger signs, "I'm not really supposed to be on social media."
"Just for us, then," she smiled.
Alex stood beside her, a bit shocked at how tall her shoes made her, while he was still in the flats. Maddie took seven or eight pictures and then showed them to Alex, promising to send him copies when the cell towers were working again.
Alex kind of loved the pictures and kind of hated them, too. He loved that both he and Maddie were smiling and happy in the shots and that they both looked so nice in their dresses, but he kind of hated that this fifteen year old looked so much more beautiful and elegant than he did. That second part made him wonder if he was actually jealous of how pretty she was.
When the mothers, both in festively bright dresses, but neither as grand as Maddie or Alex, came down stairs, they found 'the kids' in the rehearsal room while Alex taught Maddie to play a few simple pieces. She was a good student, enthusiastic and smart, and a very nice person. Alex
enjoyed teaching her and, strangely enough, he enjoyed the way she always spoke to him so sweetly, as if he was her little sister, or something. It made him feel... nice.
"Ladies," June announced from the doorway, "dinner is served in the dining room."
"What about Veronica?" Maddie asked.
"Miss Veronica will meet you in the dinning room." June was also dressed up in a very nice pants suit. It was navy blue, but she had on a bright gold blouse beneath it. It was a very handsome look.
When they reached the dinning room, it had been decorated as well. Tasteful wreaths with bright gold balls hung on the walls. It looked, and smelled, wonderful. On the table was a dazzling assortment of food. Ham, Turkey and pork roast, along with several soups, every vegetable imaginable and a selection of pies on the side table. It was like Christmas out of a movie!
The table was set for ten people. Veronica, Maddie, Eva, Lucy and Alex made five. The staff was joining them that evening, and they all dressed nicely, too. So, June, Rebecca, Melissa and the small Asian woman that everyone call 'Cook,' brought the party to nine.
June directed everyone to their seats, but asked them not to sit just yet. The head of the table was reserved for Veronica. To her left sat Eva, Lucy, Melissa and Cook. To her right, Alex, Maddie, an empty chair, then June and Rebecca.
June pulled out her cell phone and smiled at us all. "Ladies and... well... ladies... I give you our hostess for the evening. Miss Veronica Harrington." Then she touched her phone and Jean-Joseph Mouret's famous 'Rondeau' played loudly through Bluetooth speaker so that Ronnie could make her silly, pretentious entrance. She was waving like a queen as she floated in, looking like a goddess in the most beautiful dress Alex had ever seen. It was Christmas red with a top that barely touched her shoulders, but fell in loose pieces to imply sleeves that ended at her elbows. The tight bodice must have had a built in corset of some sort, because she appeared to be braless, but her breasts were held high and beautifully surrounded by the red lace of the plunging neckline. Lace also covered the rest of the tight top before the dress exploded into a skirt wider than any wedding dress that Alex had ever seen. Layer after layer of deep red silk fell in waves from her hips to the floor as she moved like a princess from a Disney movie towards her chair.
Her hair and makeup were perfect, of course, as well.
Part of Alex, a very unfeminine part, stiffened within his panties as he gazed lustfully at this amazing woman, but another part of him wished that someday he too might be beautiful enough to wear something that gorgeous.
Just as they were putting food on their plates, they heard a voice call from the hallway. "Hello!? Where is everybody hiding?"
June jumped up and hustled out into the hallway, returning a few moments later with Sergeant Hammond following.
"Daddy!?" Maddie said, surprised and bit concerned at what his reaction to her outfit would be.
He stopped and made a show of blinking at his daughter. "Is that my barn-rat of a daughter dressed up like a supermodel?"
Maddie blushed, both flattered and embarrassed.
"Your little girl is all grown up and beautiful," Veronica smiled, proud of her handiwork.
"Like hell she is," Jim laughed as he kissed his daughter's cheek. "You look gorgeous, baby, but you're making me feel awfully old." He glanced at Alex and put his hands on his shoulders. "This is how I picture my little girl – looking like a respectable little thing – not like a grown up, beauty Queen!"
Everyone laughed at his teasing, but it left Alex wanting to look more like Veronica and Maddie. It also left him confused as heck!
Maddie leaned over to Alex and said, "He'll always think of me as a middle schooler."
Alex nodded, refraining from mentioning his Bachelor's and Master's degrees. Instead he whispered, "I think he likes how you look. He's just making dad jokes."
Throughout dinner, June mentioned how wonderful it was to have music back in the house and Jim thanked both Alex and Veronica for how kind they'd been to Maddie. Then he looked at Lucy and said, "You must be incredibly proud of your little girl. Does she get her talent from you or her father?"
Lucy smiled just a little and wiped her lips with a napkin. "She certainly doesn't get it from me," she chuckled. "Ali's father was a keyboard player in a rock band, but.. Ali's talent is Ali's talent. She's worked harder than anyone I've ever known to get as good as she is and, yes, I am extremely proud of her."
Alex was almost light headed with the feeling he got from receiving a compliment like that from his mother. He couldn't believe he'd actually heard her correctly. He smiled and said, "Thank you, mom."
Lucy smiled back.
Veronica reached over and squeezed his hand. "We're all very proud of our little Ali."
Following dinner, once Jim had returned to work, Alex and Veronica performed a few pieces for everyone. It was a very merry evening and one unlike Alex had ever experienced before. The feeling of warmth and acceptance made him feel better than he'd ever felt.
Afterward, they all sat around the Christmas tree sipping mulled cider, some of them adding a little rum to their mugs, and admired the tree. It was a quiet, relaxed, oddly feminine experience. As Alex grew tired, he found his head leaning on Veronica's shoulder. She put her arm around him and gave him a squeeze. "I think I'd better help my little accompanist up to her bed."
"She'll need help getting out of that dress," Lucy said. "There's about a thousand buttons up the back."
"But it looks adorable, doesn't it?" Eva giggled, her speech a little slurred.
"I'll help her," Veronica smiled and stood. "Come on, little girl."
"Is it ok if I stay up for a while longer?" Maddie asked, uncertain of the protocol.
"As long as you'd like," Veronica nodded. Then she looked at everyone else and said, "Merry Christmas, ladies!"
Once they were upstairs, Veronica unbuttoned each of the tiny buttons, then helped him undress to his skin. Without asking, she slipped the elaborately pretty nightie he'd worn the night before over his head, then took him by the hand to lead him to the master bedroom.
"Shouldn't I wash my face?" He asked.
Veronica grinned hungrily. "Are you kidding? All evening I've been looking at you and thinking how wonderful it would be to have sex with someone wearing glitter eye shadow."
Alex smiled and unconsciously licked his lipsticked lips. "Yeah?"
"Oh, yeah." She beamed and led him across the hall.
She closed her door securely and told Alex to get on the bed. Then, she lifted all of the skirts she was wearing and took off her panties. "Did you have a good evening, Ali?"
Alex smiled up at her as she lifted his nightie to expose his penis. "I did."
"You looked so pretty, Ali. So, so pretty, in that perfect little dress. Like a good, little lady." She lifted all of her skirts and climbed onto
the bed, straddling her little lover and lowered herself onto him, devouring his organ into her as she spread her skirts and petticoats over him, devouring him in the folds of her elegant gown.
"You liked it didn't you? Being my little girl?" He didn't need to answer, she already knew. "An entire day of softness. Of silk and lace and velvet, and now... you're covered in the prettiest dress I've ever worn. It's wonderful, isn't it?"
Alex closed his eyes and felt every sensation around him, especially the warmth that surrounded his manhood. Veronica saw the look of approaching
ecstasy on his face and she focused on tightening around him and increasing her movement just enough so he could lose himself in his overloaded senses.
"My sweet girl. My sweet little girl with the glitter eye shadow and the beautiful nightie. I love you so much."
At that moment, Alex exploded deep within her and set off her own orgasm warming her from her core. He closed her eyes and she milked him until he'd gone limp, again. She smiled down at him and he smiled up at her.
"Best Christmas Eve, ever," he grinned.
"You think Christmas Eve was great," Veronica smiled, "just wait till Christmas Day. Santa is bringing some very nice presents.
MUSIC LINKS:
Veronica's song in German (another American Soprano' Dawn Upshaw – Richard Strauss' Lied der Mignon. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxByXlGarlc
Veronica's song in Italian by Russian/Austrian Soprano Anna Netrebko – Giacomo Puccini's Un Bel Di Vedremo. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd0j007Y9fY&pp=ygUU29wcmFuby...
Veronica's song in English by English Soprano Norma Burrowes – Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sun Whose Rays Are All A Blaze. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKEXMrfMzDc&pp=ygVcRW5nbGlza...
Pop song played by Maddie. 'Say Something' by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera. - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-2U0Ivkn2Ds
The song that Alex taught Maddie. Frederick Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 Mvt III. Lento (Funeral March) performed by Arturo B Michelangeli. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL_HFnnywEU
Song that felt like Christmas to Alex – 'Troica' by Sergei Prokofiev - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naz7PJ5YYvI
Jean-Joseph Mouret's Rondeau. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7oJ2ImdHxg
To Be Continued...
The Haven - 3
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in his silks and satins and dresses. Thank you all, as always for your support. I'm thrilled
that people are enjoying the story and the music links.
Author's Note:Please keep your comments, pro and con, coming. I learn so much from your observations. ~Clara.
This version of The Haven: 3 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.
Chapter 3
Alex closed his eyes and felt every sensation around him, especially the warmth that surrounded his manhood. Veronica saw the look of approaching ecstasy on his face and she focused on tightening around him and increasing her movement just enough so he could lose himself in his overloaded senses.
"My sweet girl. My sweet little girl with the glitter eye shadow and the beautiful nightie. I love you so much."
At that moment, Alex exploded deep within her and set off her own orgasm warming her from her core. He closed her eyes and she milked him until he'd gone limp, again. She smiled down at him and he smiled up at her.
"Best Christmas Eve, ever," he grinned.
"You think Christmas Eve was great," Veronica smiled, "just wait till Christmas Day. Santa is bringing some very nice presents.
Alex smiled as Veronica climbed off of him, pulling her skirts and petticoats off with her. "I think I'm going to need you to help me get out of this," she smiled at Alex.
Alex smiled and rolled to his side with his back to her. "Sorry. Too tired. Good night."
"Oh no you don't." Ronnie laughed and grabbed his ankles, pulling them towards her. "Come on, you little snot. I need some help."
He laughed at her pulling on him. "How did you get into it?"
"June helped me. She says I need an actual maid, but... it just seems kind of... weird, you know? It's strange enough to have a 'staff' in my house at all, but the idea of having A MAID... it just seems... odd."
"Like a maid in a uniforms and all that?" Alex looked skeptical.
"No." Ronnie laughed. "Even Sophia didn't make her staff wear uniforms. They'd wear regular clothes like June and Melissa."
"Well," Alex shrugged as he lowered the zipper on the back of her dress, "you grew up with money. Did your mom have servants?"
"Geez, baby, it's not the nineteenth century. We had 'staff,' not 'servants,'" she giggled. "We had a cleaning service come in a couple of times a week, and we had a woman who was essentially mom's... assistant, I guess. She was a cook-slash-secretary-slash-woman-who-did-a-little light -housework. We never called her a 'maid,' though. He just called her 'Midge.'"
"'Midge!?'" Alex helped Veronica out of the wide skirts and petticoats. "What kind of a name is 'Midge!?'"
"She told me is was a nickname for 'Margaret,' but I never heard anyone call her anything but 'Midge.' She was a sweet lady, though."
"So, she did what June does for your mom?"
"Oh, God, no," Veronica laughed. "June is like an actual administrator. This place is massive and she runs it like a CEO. I can't imagine being able to manage a property like this with only four people, but she does it without breaking a sweat. It's just that, since I am planing on living here, more or less full time, and I'll still being touring, June thinks having a maid would be beneficial to both me and the smooth operation of The Haven. What do you think?"
Alex was definitely more focused on the perfectly shaped breasts of his fiancé than the question, but he answered her with the most logical comment he could muster. "Can you afford it?"
Veronica gathered the yards and yards of material that comprised the gown she'd just stepped out of and clutched it to her belly. "Well, see that's the thing, babe. Sophia left me a nice amount - not a fortune, but a nice amount, but she left an absolute fortune for the upkeep and running of The Haven. And when I say a fortune, I mean a fortune. So, since the maid would technically be an employee of The Haven Trust, the money would come from the trust."
Before they could continue the conversation, they heard something in the hall. It was a quiet knocking on a door other than their own and someone calling out in a hushed voice, "Ali! Ali, are you in there? Ali?"
Alex hustled to the door, the loose, silky layers of his nightgown flowing behind him. He opened the door and looked into the semi-darkness of the hall and said, "Mom?" She was standing by the door to his bedroom wearing a Terry cloth robe that hung open, displaying the pretty nightgown beneath.
Lucy turned, surprised. "Oh, I thought this was your room... oh, it is... of course, I should have assumed... never mind that. Umm... a little embarrassing, but... do you think that Veronica might have a nice robe that I could borrow?"
"Oh," Alex opened the door further and motioned his mother into the room. "Come on in and ask her."
"Thank you," Lucy smiled and entered the room, but she came to a surprised stop when she saw Veronica standing topless, with her gown covering her lower parts. "Oh, my!" She laughed and turned her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt anything."
Veronica looked down at her naked body and laughed as she spoke. "No, no, you're not interrupting anything. I was just changing. Just a second." She set her dress aside and walked casually to the lavatory and grabbed the robe that hung on the back of the door, wrapping it around her and tying off the belt. "There. I'm decent, now."
Lucy looked cautiously at Veronica, then at Alex, as if noticing his nightie for the first time. "Oh, this is lovely! The lace and, is that silk? It's beautiful." Then she looked him in the eye. "It suits you."
Alex felt his face blush just a little bit. "Thank you, mom."
Lucy shook her head to get herself back to the matter at hand. "Well, you're probably wondering why I'm here at one in the morning, aren't you? Well, Veronica, I was wondering if I might be able to borrow a robe."
"Umm.... Sure," Veronica smiled, "but... you do realize that you are wearing a robe now, right?"
Lucy took a deep breath and suddenly looked a bit guilty about something. "Ahh... yes... this... well... see... Jim... Sergeant Hammond, that is, well, he came back here a couple of hours ago and he... well... we sat and looked at the tree for a while and... we had a little wine and..."
Alex's eyes opened wide. "Oh, my God, Mom! You didn't...?"
Lucy looked shocked at the accusation. "Oh, good heavens, Alex! Who do you think you're talking to? You've known me your whole life. Do you seriously think that I'd just jump into bed with someone I just met!?"
"Then..." Alex's look of shock changed to a smile. "...why do you need a robe?"
Lucy straightened her posture and closed her Terry cloth robe around her. "Well... if you must know... I want to look nice when we go down for breakfast in the morning."
Alex smiled. "Aww, mom. That's so nice, but aren't you..." he just decided to stop right there.
"What?" She asked.
Alex shrugged. "Nothing... I just meant... well, I'm a good deal older than Maddie, so..."
Lucy's eyes opened wide and she smiled, then put her hands on her hips in mock anger. "You think I'm too old for him, don't you? Well, little lady, I will have you I know that Jim is, in fact, two days older than me, so you don't need to worry about your mom being a cougar."
Veronica interrupted and said, "I think I have about a dozen robes in the closet, Lucy. Come take a look."
A few minutes later, Lucy was leaving with not just a beautiful silk robe, but the beautiful night gown that went with it, and she was thanking Veronica, profusely. Alex noticed that a broad smile was painted on her face, though, and that made him happy.
She stopped at the door and turned to look at Veronica and Alex who stood side by side, her arm around his shoulder. Lucy looked the young couple and smiled. "I don't know why, but it just occurred to me that... I never said 'congratulations.' I know you really haven't had the opportunity to make your formal announcement, what with Maddie and Jim being here, but... now that I'm past the stupidity I displayed when I arrived, and I sincerely apologize for that, I can see that you are both very happy with each other. I think that must be the first step to being in love for a lifetime. That's wonderful. I'm very happy for you."
"Thank you, mom," Alex said, leaning on Veronica.
Lucy took an awkward step to the young couple and she touched Alex's soft cheek. Then, with even more awkwardness, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, surprising Alex, but making him feel warm and shocked, simultaneously.
Then, surprising Alex even more, Lucy tuned to Veronica and kissed her cheek, too. "Thank you, Ronnie," she said, then turned and walked out the door, closing it behind her.
"Wow," Alex chuckled. "That was different."
Veronica hugged him tightly. "She's trying hard, babe. Give her points for trying. Maybe I should let you loose on my mother, too." She kissed his forehead. "Let's go to bed."
Veronica grabbed her night gown and walked to her side of the bed as Alex climbed under the covers.
"My mother has a thing for Maddie's dad," Alex said with surprise in his voice. "I never saw that coming." He watched as Veronica took off her robe and dropped the night gown onto her perfect body.
"That might be an issue," Veronica nodded and climbed into the massive bed. "Jim and Maddie know you as a little girl, so..."
Alex nodded. "Yeah, well, we were going to have to tell them about that at some point. Having the neighbors walk in on us and then becoming friends, was never our plan and now, this... we could never have seen that coming."
Veronica pulled him into a spoon position, tight up against her. "Even if 'this' hadn't happened, I think Maddie is enjoying her time here, playing piano with you. She is eager to learn more. I can tell."
"And she enjoys playing dress up with you," he teased.
"Yeah." Veronica nuzzled his neck. "Let's enjoy Christmas, though. We'll figure it out on the twenty-sixth."
If anything, the snow on Christmas morning was even worse than it had been for the previous three days. There was already thirty two inches of snow on the ground and there seemed to be more on its way. The only news they were able to get was from a big, old radio in the kitchen and what they could hear was not a consistent signal, so all they really knew was the snow would continue for another few hours at least.
There were only a few presents under the tree. Lucy and Eva had flown up from the south and Alex had only recently arrived from Hong Kong, so any gifts they intended to share needed to be small. In fact, Alex had planned on giving Veronica an engagement ring that morning, but that would not be possible, under the circumstances, so all he had for her to open that morning was a pair of noise cancelling, Bluetooth ear buds.
Alex and Veronica were the first downstairs by the tree, followed by Eva and Lucy. Eva was already dressed for the day, while Lucy looked incredible in the lingerie she'd borrowed from Veronica. Veronica and 'the mothers' were all sipping coffee, a beverage that Alex never liked. June and Melissa brought in a rolling cart with a small urn of hot chocolate on it. They placed the urn on the sideboard and June conferred with Veronica about the breakfast arrangements, then left.
When Alex rose to get a mug of hot chocolate, Eva had him stop by the easy chair and admired his nightie and the matching silk peignoir that he wore.
"My mother," Eva said, wistfully, "always demanded that I be dressed 'just so' whenever we were traveling. She was the star and I was her prop. The little doll that she'd show off at dinner parties. I never liked it, but I did love the clothes. Of course, you look much cuter in it than I ever did, Alex."
"Enough, mother," Veronica said, a bit irritated. "Be polite. There are guests in the house."
As if on cue, Maddie entered, also dressed to the nines in a night gown and robe that Veronica had supplied. "Merry Christmas!" she smiled, in a way that only a teenaged girl on Christmas morning could, and that smile lit up the room.
They all called back their 'Merry Christmas' greetings and Lucy asked, as casually as she could, "So, where's your dad this morning?"
"He should be back in a few minutes," Maddie said as she joined Alex at the hot chocolate urn. "Dad and that lady... umm... Rebecca, I think - I'm sorry, I'm awful with names - anyway... they went down to our house to get the presents from under the tree and see if the electricity is on."
"Oh, how nice," Lucy said, maintaining her faux-casual attitude.
Alex handed Maddie the first mug of hot chocolate and poured another for himself.
"Thanks," Maddie smiled. "Merry Christmas. That's a pretty nightie. You look like you're a princess or something."
Alex smiled back, "Merry Christmas and thank you. You look as amazing as you did last night. You think your dad will like it?"
Maddie looked around to be sure she could speak quietly to Alex and not be over heard. "I don't think he'll even notice. Did you know that my dad and your mom were down here drinking wine together for hours last night?" She giggled at the absurdity of people in their forties flirting with each other.
Alex giggled, too. "Yeah. My mom told me. Did you see how nice she looks this morning? I think that's for your dad."
Maddie bounced her arm against Alex in a playful nudge. "I think is adorable. Old people having crushes on each other. Who knows. If things work out, we may end up being sisters."
As endearing as that sounded, Alex did feel a warm rush of fear pass through him. Sure, he'd love for Maddie to be his sister, but this had gone pretty far already. At some point, he'd need to talk to both Jim and Maddie - probably Jim first. Before Christmas was over, he needed to tell them the truth.
"Merry Christmas," Jim called as he entered the sitting room carrying two garbage bags full of presents. "Ho, Ho, Ho and God Bless Us, Everyone!"
He dropped the bags by the tree and pulled off his gloves, hat and heavy jacket. Alex noticed immediately that he was dressed better than expected in a smart, well ironed, button down shirt and a bright red tie.
He looked around the room pretending to look for someone. "Now, where is my little girl?" He crossed the room to where Maddie and Alex stood with their mugs. He looked at Alex and then at Maddie. "Hmmm, let me see. One of you must be my little girl," pointed at Maddie, "but it can't be you. You're all grown up." Then he looked at Alex. "Maybe it's you. Actually, you might want to be my little girl this morning. There a whole bunch of presents in those bags for whoever that may be."
Alex was surprised when Jim leaned forward and kissed his cheek, but he just smiled and said, "Merry Christmas, Sergeant Hammond."
"And merry Christmas to you, too, young lady." He had a very endearing smile on his face. "You look absolutely lovely this morning, Alexandra. If I had to guess, I'd say that your attire was designed for the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, daughter of Tsar Nicholas the Second of Russia." He took Alex's hand and kissed it in a courtly manor.
Alex felt a bit of a shiver to be treated so formally. He smiled and Jim said, "There is a large Russian community here. Knowing who Anastasia is might be very important someday."
Alex couldn't help himself. "I know a little something about Anastasia - and not just because of the movie."
"Really?" Jim asked. "Such as?"
"Such as," Alex smiled, "she had three sisters, Olga, Tatiana and Maria, and a younger brother named Alexei who was a hemophiliac. They and their parents were all killed by the bolsheviks, who'd taken them prisoner, in 1918. Anastasia was only seventeen."
The room was quiet for a moment until Jim let out a surprised laugh. "Wow. I'm... impressed."
Alex shrugged. "I read a lot."
"I guess," Jim nodded as he turned to Maddie and kissed her, too. "Merry Christmas, kiddo."
Maddie kissed him back. "Merry Christmas, Daddy. Is the power back on yet?"
Jim raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "Not out here, but the radio station says that it's coming on in town."
"Well. You're welcome to stay here as long as you'd like," someone called from across the room, but it wasn't Ronnie. Alex looked past Jim and saw his mother. She'd spoken without even thinking about it, but didn't seem at all embarrassed by it.
"Absolutely," Veronica said in support.
"Thank you," Jim said as he turned to walk back to the 'adults.' "I will never be able to thank you enough for keeping Maddie safe and warm and making both of us feel welcome."
"Our pleasure," Veronica smiled and held up her coffee mug in a toast. "You and Maddie are always welcome here."
Jim made a show of looking for a place to sit, then chose to sit on the love seat next to Lucy. A moment or two later, Alex and Maddie joined them, Maddie carrying a mug of black coffee as well as her hot chocolate. She handed Jim the coffee then encouraged Alex to help her organize the newly arrived gifts under the huge tree.
Once everything was organized, Veronica said, "Well, why don't we open the presents and then we can have some breakfast."
That pleased Maddie quite a bit and she grabbed Alex's hand and encouraged him to help her pass out the presents.
For the most part, Veronica, Alex, Lucy and Eva exchanged small pieces of jewelry, small pieces of technology and gift cards. Veronica seemed to like her Bluetooth ear buds and she gave Alex a new suitcase and carryon as well as a hand knitted, colorful scarf with matching mittens and matching hat with a big white Pom-Pom at the top of it. They looked very well crafted and very warm, but very little-girlish as well. They made Alex wonder if she'd doubted for a minute that he would enjoy his new wardrobe.
Maddie had gotten Jim several nice shirts, some of his favorite candy from a local sweets shop, a new wallet and heavy wool, baseball-style wool cap with warm fleece ear flaps, which he immediately put on and dropped the ear flaps making him goofy in a very sweet way.
The rest of the presents were all for Maddie. Jewelry, skirts, jeans, barn boots, cowgirl boots, a new phone, a gaming system, a new winter jacket, hair accessories, and on and on and on. She was thrilled, of course, but almost embarrassed by the cornucopia of riches her father had presented to her, while poor little Alex had hardly gotten any presents at all.
Maddie stood and whispered something to her father. "Oh!" He said, surprised he'd forgotten, "It's in my coat pocket,"
The girl bounced over to where her father had left his coat and fished a small, white box out of it, then she brought the box to Alex and held it out to him. "Ali," she smiled, "I make these and I wanted you to have one."
Surprised, Alex took the box. "Oh, gee, Maddie, thank you, but... I don’t have anything for you."
"Are you kidding me?" She asked, astounded. "You’ve already shown me how to play piano so much better than I ever did before! I owe you a lot more than this. Open it!"
Alex opened the box to find a small necklace; a fine silver chain with an oblong, two inch long, black rock hanging from it.
"See," Maddie beamed, "I pick up these minerals at craft shows, then I polish them and use sterling silver wire to make a setting, then attach them to the chains. I sell them at Christmas Gift fairs and stuff. I hope you like it."
"I love it!" Alex said, truthfully and enthusiastically. "Can you put it on me?"
Maddie took the chain and opened the clasp, moving behind Alex. "Hold your hair up for me." Alex did as he was told and in a moment, the clasp was closed and hanging on Alex’s neck, it’s dark onyx stone standing out in contrast to Alex’s pale, tender skin.
"Do you like it?" Maddie asked.
"It’s beautiful." He looked around. "Is there a mirror around here?"
"In the hall by the front door," Veronica smiled.
"Come on," Alex said. "I want to see what it looks like when I’m wearing it!"
Veronica was actually surprised that Alex was so excited, but he seemed absolutely thrilled to be remembered by Maddie on Christmas morning."
They found the mirror. Alex looked at the necklace and touched it as he gazed into the mirror. "Maddie, thank you, so much. It’s so pretty."
Maddie smiled and fluffed Alex’s hair a bit as she looked at their reflection over his shoulder. I’m glad you like it. I really hoped you would." She smiled at Alex and he smiled back. "I really hope our parents hit it off, Ali. I’d really like a little sister."
Alex felt bad about that remark. He really wanted to tell her the truth, but... Instead he smiled and hugged her. "I’d love for you to be my sister," he said and it made Maddie smile more broadly.
Their late breakfast/brunch was what June called Sophia’s traditional ‘Strata’ – essentially a two layer bread pudding with ham and cheese in the middle and on the top. Only Eva and Veronica had eaten it before, but everyone enjoyed it that morning.
After the meal, Jim asked, "I know it might be rude to ask the hostess to go to work on Christmas, but is there ANY possibility that we might be able to convince you to sing for us today?"
Veronica smiled, looking regal in her armed chair at the head of the table. "Well, I suppose it might be possible. I do love to sing for you and Maddie. Especially when I have the best accompanist in the world to play for me."
"Wonderful," Jim said. "We’ll look forward to it."
"Oh, how nice," Eva said with a sarcastic tinge to her voice, "just like when my mother was alive. Every holiday would start out as gathering of family and friends and end with mother showing off for everyone assembled."
"Oh," Jim was taken a bit aback by her tone. "I didn’t mean to upset anything."
"Oh, don’t be silly," Lucy said. "Eva’s just teasing. We’re both very proud of our children and we would like nothing more than to hear Veronica and Ali play some music for us. Isn’t that right, Eva?"
Eva forced a smile and picked up her mimosa and offered Lucy a silent toast in the same way that Veronica had toasted Jim, earlier.
"Thank you, Lucy," Veronica smiled and hoped that her mother might pick up on Lucy’s lead. She turned to her mother and said, "By the way, mom, did you see the red envelop under the tree with your name on it?"
Eva scowled a bit and thought about her few presents. "I didn’t see a red envelope." Then she looked at Alex. "Child, take a look under the tree and see if you see a red envelope addressed to me."
Alex looked at Veronica and rolled his eyes, before hustling back into the sitting room and kneeling in front of the tree, finding the envelope that had been accidentally pushed partly under the tree skirt. He came back into the dinning room and handed it to Eva, who read the note inside, then looked at her daughter. "I don’t get it? Are you giving The Haven to me?"
Veronica blinked in surprise that her mother could possibly have deduced that from the note. "No, mother, I am inviting you to come live here... with me. We could do some remodeling in the east wing and set up an nice, spacious apartment for you."
Eva returned her gaze to the note and reread it several times. "Well, why on earth would I want to do that?"
Veronica took a deep breath and stood, pushing her chair back under the table. "No reason mother. No reason whatsoever. Forget that I ever made the offer." She walked out of the room.
Alex looked around, "Umm... excuse me, please. Umm... I think we need a little time to change our clothes and prepare for our little concert, so... umm... excuse me." He stood and gathered up the loose material of his peignoir and nightie and jogged out of the room to catch up with Veronica.
"Well, what was that all about?" Eva said in a superior voice. "The drama of living with a diva, I guess. I had the same issues with my mother. Everything was always so dramatic! It was ridiculous. Veronica might as well be Sophia’s clone."
Jim looked from Eva to Lucy with an uncomfortable nod. Then he looked at Maddie and said, "Come on, honey. Let’s go get your things together. Perhaps it’s time we headed home."
Maddie, who’d looked hopelessly confused by the goings-on of the adults, suddenly looked shocked and panicked. "Daddy, no, please. I really want to hear them. Please."
Lucy touched Jim’s hand with hers and said, "Jim, don’t be silly. It’s still snowing, you still have no power and your daughter is still only fifteen and needs to be safe and warm. Why don’t you take Maddie upstairs so she came get ready and let Eva and me deal with... just... give us a bit, ok?" She winked at him.
He heaved a heavy sigh and stood. "Ok. Come on, Tillie. Let’s go upstairs."
"Dad!" Maddie grunted through clenched teeth.
"I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Maddie." He glanced at both women. "Sometimes, dads can’t seem to do anything right – even picking a name for his daughter."
"Ha," Eva laughed sardonically. "Get used to it. It doesn’t get any better. You think it will..."
"Eva, please," Lucy held up her hand to hush the older woman before rising and calling Maddie to her. They were about the same height, Maddie just a tiny bit taller. "Maddie, have you ever read Shakespeare?"
Maddie shook her head. "We read ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in class, but I didn’t really get the language."
"Then you read the line, ‘What is in a name? A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.’ Right?"
"I guess," Maddie shrugged, confused.
Lucy laughed. "You know, Lucille is actually my middle name. My first name is ‘Geraldine.’ Isn’t that terrible?"
Maddie agreed that it was and even laughed a little.
"Honey," Lucy continued, "Matilda is a lovely name and so is Tillie, but I know... they’re kind of old-lady-ish, right? So what? You are a beautiful and amazing young lady who is as sweet as a rose. So, don’t get upset by the little things – and believe me, I am speaking from experience here. Getting upset over something as little as a name is just going to give you an ulcer." She leaned in close and whispered, "If my parents had loved me just a quarter as much as your father loves you, my life would have been much happier."
Maddie glanced at her uncomfortable looking father and whispered back, "He’s pretty great, isn’t he?"
Lucy glanced at Jim, too, then whispered back to Maddie, "I think so, too, but don’t tell him that, just yet."
Maddie let out another laugh and hugged Lucy. "Thank you. All set, dad?"
A very confused Jim said, "Yeah. Yeah. I’m all set," and he and his daughter left the room. Lucy took that opportunity to close the doors behind them. Before sitting again, she closed the other set of doors, too. Then returned to her seat and smiled at Eva.
Eva, clueless to the upset she’d caused, looked around the room and shook her head. "This was MY mother’s you know? MY mother’s." She shook her head and waved her arms around. "All this. All of it. It all should have gone to me, but NO! No. My mother, in her infinite wisdom and her infinite desire to hurt me, left it all to Ronnie. Can you believe that. All of this to Ronnie. She’s not even thirty and she has all this." She shook her slightly drunken head at the unfairness of it all. "I can hear Sophia telling her lawyer, ‘Fuck Eva. Leave it all to Ronnie.’ Some mother, huh?"
Lucy shook her head. "Eva... did you grow up here? In this house?"
Eva considered that. "Well... we spent summers here, mostly. Tanglewood is just down the road, so it was convenient for Sophia. She had a home on St Thomas, one in Vail and the one in Miami where I live, now."
"So... you did inherit a house, then?"
"Oh, no, no. My house was a wedding present for my first marriage." Eva said, as if everybody received a home from their parents as a wedding present.
"So..." Lucy made a show of thinking, "... did Sophia still own the other houses when she died?"
"No," Eva waved her hand in disgust, "once she was in her mid eighties and couldn’t travel anymore, she moved in here full time and sold the others. Now, to give you an idea of how nice THOSE houses were, Sandra Bullock bought the house in Vail and Justin Timberlake bought the one in St Thomas. Pretty nice, huh? I would have loved to have gotten a hold of one of those." She looked around again. "Or this one."
Lucy nodded sympathetically. "Is your place in Miami small, or in a bad part of town?"
"No! Of course not!" Eva was shocked at the very idea! "It’s lovely! You should come down, sometime. Of course when Sophia had it built, Miami was more of a party town than it is now, but over the years it’s become quite fancy. Cher lives a few houses away from me on one side and, on the other side, Matt Damon just rebuilt a beautiful old place. Of course, everyone keeps pretty much to themselves, but you do see them around the beach or when we’re out on our boats. They’re all very sweet."
"My goodness," Lucy shook her head in mock sympathy, "it must be very difficult to have lived your life. You grew up in four homes in a beautiful locations and were given one of those homes where you live amongst movie stars. You certainly deserved more than that, didn’t you?"
"I’m sorry," Eva was trying to suss out the situation, "are you being sarcastic or something?"
Lucy sighed. "I apologize, Eva. I am being sarcastic and I shouldn’t be. I should come to the point. See... your daughter and my son are in love, which means that you and I are going to be family. See, I had an eye opening conversation with my son, yesterday, and I realized that I had been behaving in a way that was pushing him away from me, and that wasn’t what I’d intended. What I’d wanted was for him to just be like everyone else instead of being who he is. When I realized that, I felt awful and I decided to change."
Eva sighed a bored sigh. "Ok. Your point?"
"My point," Lucy stood, a bit tired of the discussion, "is that your daughter – your only child – just invited you to live here. In this beautiful home. To share that with her. And you blew her off without so much as a thought for her feelings. I don’t think you even noticed it, Eva, but you broke her heart and all she was trying to do was get closer to you."
Lucy walked to the door and opened it. Before she walked out, she turned Eva and said one last thing. "Do what you want, Eva, but pushing your daughter away because she was left something that you wanted seems like a pretty terrible way to spend you life."
As Lucy turned to go, Eva said, "Geraldine?" Lucy turned, irritated, and waited. "Thank you for your advice." She held up her glass in yet another sarcastic toast. "I’ll take it under advisement."
Upstairs, Veronica stormed into her room, mad as hornet, with Alex hustling to catch up, about twenty feet behind her. "I mean, why did I even try to make her happy?"
"Ronnie, I’m sorry." He tried to console her as he closed the door behind him. "Forget about her for today and let’s just get lost in some music, together. Ok?"
She flopped down on the bed and held her head in her hands, letting out a grunt. "Argh! She knows just how to push my buttons and you know what ticks me off the most? I let her. I friggin’ let her get to me. I was ready for her to say something at some point and I was bound and determined to not let her get to me. Then – first time it happens... here I am in my room beating myself up, just like I did when I was Maddie’s age. Damnit!"
"Ronnie," Alex sat beside her and held her hand in his. "Look at me. I love you, you love me... I was going to do this this morning, but... hang on." Her ran out of the room and across the hall and came back a moment later with a small box. He knelt in front of Veronica, opened the box and presented it to her. "Veronica Harrington... will you marry me."
The ring wasn’t huge. It was moderately priced and tastefully set. It probably had actually Alex substantially more than three months income, but the truth was, Alex didn’t make all that much money.
None of that mattered to Veronica, though.
What mattered to Veronica was that Alex had just presented it to her as token of a vow. A vow to spend his life with her. To love her. To become one with her in every way. That’s what mattered to Veronica.
"Oh, baby..." she looked at the ring and her eyes filled with tears of joy. "Oh, baby, baby, baby..." she tore her eyes from the ring and looked at Alex. "Yes... of course I’ll marry you, but..." she leaned forward and softly kissed his lips. "...you already knew that."
Alex smiled and kissed her cheek. "I did, but... now it’s official."
"It’s beautiful, babe. Thank you." She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug and a big kiss. "I have something for you, too."
Veronica rose, went to her bureau and pulled a similar, little box from a drawer, handing it to Alex with a coy smile. "I didn’t know if you’d ever get around to asking, so... here."
Alex opened the box to find another engagement ring. This one smaller than the one he’d presented to Ronnie a few minutes earlier. "I don’t understand," he said.
Veronica smiled and took the box from him, removed the ring, took his left hand and slid the ring onto his finger. It was a simple setting – really just a beautifully cut, square, Princess cut stone in a thin platinum band.
"Will you marry ME?" Veronica smiled.
"Wow," Alex looked at the beautiful, but decidedly feminine ring on his hand and all the ramifications of what it meant flashed through his head. Yes, he’d known gay friends who wore engagement rings, but those were rather manly looking things – this was not. Was she asking him to be her husband or her wife? It took a moment, but then he saw it. She was asking him to be her partner. He husband and her wife, and that’s what he wanted, too. "It’s beautiful," he said, then hugged her tightly. "Yes. I’ll marry you, too."
"It’s not too... girly?" Veronica asked with genuine concern.
Alex laughed out loud. "Hahaha... have you seen what I’m wearing right now?"
"No, I know," she looked at his hand, "but I want you to be comfortable wearing it every day."
"I’ll never take it off," he smiled and admired it. "It means everything to me. Thank you."
Veronica kissed his forehead. "Good. Now!" She clapped her hands and stood. "I have something for you to wear for today’s concert." She hurried to her closet and pulled it out.
As expected, it was amazing, but strangely perfect in its simplicity. It was just red. That’s all. No extra ornamentation except a large bow of the same red material in the center of the high waisted belt line. It had a modest scoop neck, dainty, cap sleeves and a fitted bodice that, below the bow, poofed out into a wide, full circle that laid in pretty, wide, casual vertical folds that looked full and elegant.
"What do you think?" Veronica asked with a smile.
Alex touched the soft material. "It’s beautiful. Very... classic, I guess. Kind of like a cocktail dress from an Audrey Hepburn movie."
"Exactly what I thought," Veronica agreed. "I think it was probably meant for my mother to wear to cocktail parties with Sophia. It has silk shoes dyed to match, but they have a higher heel than you’ve tried so far. They’re only like two inches. I think you can handle them. But the best part..." Veronica took a moment to pull a few things out of the bag. "Look. Bra, panty and petticoat slip are all the same color red! Isn’t that the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen?"
In fact, it was. After only wearing girl’s clothing for just a couple of days, Alex was fast becoming a connoisseur of female fashion and this was a delicious ensemble of clothing. He wanted to wear it and the fact that the style was a bit more mature appealed to him, too.
"It’s gorgeous," he whispered. "I should brush out my hair before I try it on, though." He walked to the vanity and began brushing, which made Veronica smile.
While he brushed, Veronica listened as he, very quietly, counted his strokes. God, that was so sweet. She laid out the silk, lace covered panties, the little, padded bra that reminded her of being in sixth or seventh grade herself, and the soft petticoat next to the dress. The shoes were put on the floor for him to step into after dressing.
"Ninety eight, ninety nine, one hundred," Alex said, under his breath.
"All set?" Veronica called over.
"Yep!" He nearly skipped over to the bed, taking off his robe on the way.
"Here, let me help you get that off," Veronica lifted the nightie over his head, leaving him naked for a moment, until she handed him the red panties.
When he’d tucked himself, Veronica ran her fingers along the silk material covering his bottom. "Ooh, sexy."
He smiled and shook his butt from side to side, giggling.
She helped him on with the bra and slip and was about to help with the dress when there was a knock on the bedroom door.
Looking a little surprised, Veronica walked over and peeked out. "Hi." She said in a friendly manner.
"Hi," the person in the hall said. "Do you have a pair of heeled sandals I could borrow to wear with this dress?"
"Sure," Veronica replied, cheerfully, and let the person in.
"Oh, hi!" Maddie smiled as she caught sight of Alex, standing barefoot in his petticoat slip. Maddie was wearing a pretty, red and black checked, sheath-style dress that hugged her developing curves nicely.
"Hi," Alex replied, a bit sheepishly, acutely aware that this fifteen year old child looked so much more mature than he did.
"Oh," Veronica stopped, realizing she’d not completed dressing Alex. "Umm... Maddie, could you help Alex get that dress on? Unfortunately, it buttons up the back, so she can’t get it on by herself."
"Oh," the teenaged girl smiled broadly, happy to be of service to the younger girl, "absolutely!" She picked up the dress, unbuttoned the small, cloth covered buttons in the back, and spoke as she prepared the garment. "Look at you, all in red." She looked at the slip and reached down to touch the petticoats. "Huh. This is soft, isn’t it? One of the reasons I hated petticoats as a girl was because they were all stiff and uncomfortable, made of nylon and tulle. These are soft."
"They’re satin," Ronnie called from the closet. "Real satin – you know, made from silk, not nylon."
Maddie shook her head. "Nice. Are they comfortable?" She held the dress up to lower it over Alex’ head.
"I guess," Alex shrugged, not really having a frame of reference from which to make a comparison.
When Alex had his arms in the sleeves of the dress, Maddie began buttoning the twelve buttons up his back. "I wonder why the dresses from the trucks that fit you all button up and the ones that fit Veronica and me all have zippers."
"I can answer that," Veronica emerged from the closet with a pair of black, heeled sandals. "Because it was cuter for girls to wear clothes they could not possibly put on without help. It also created a sense of infantilism that was the style of the time for girls. I think it taught them to be dependent on others from an early age. Regardless, though," she smiled at Alex, "it is cuter."
"All done," Maddie patted Alex’s back and spent a moment or two adjusting his skirts so that they hung correctly over his petticoats. She inspected him for a moment, then said, "Your ears aren’t pierced. How come? Did your mom say no, or are you scared to have it done?"
Alex hemmed and hawed for a moment before Veronica came to his aid. "Her mom. She says that Alex can get them done when she’s thirteen. Oh, but, Ali, I have some clip-ons in Sophia’s jewelry box. Come here and take a look."
All three of them looked into a tall, shallow cabinet that was built into the wall. Veronica opened it to reveal a lot of jewelry – A LOT OF JEWELRY! "Now, we don’t want anything too heavy for your first time. Clip-ons will pinch a little, anyway, and we don’t want them to bother you." She pulled a small pair of diamond studs, also in a square, Princess cut style. "These are perfect!" She gently clipped them to his ears. "Do they feel tight enough?" Ronnie asked him. "Shake your head to be sure. We don’t want to lose a Diamond earring, now do we?"
"Oh, they look amazing!" Maddie gushed. "You’re adorable, Ali!"
Alex smiled.
"Do you want a diamond pendant, too," Veronica asked.
Alex touched the gift that Maddie had just given him, which hung from his neck. "No. I want to wear the one Maddie made for me."
"Aww," Maddie smiled. "You’re so sweet."
"I suppose I should get dressed, too," Veronica said.
"We’ll help you," Maddie said, but Alex bowed out, not wanting to get hot and bothered over Veronica’s body with a fifteen year old in the room."
"Umm..." he hurried over to slip his feet into the shoes, "I think I’m going to go show my mom my dress. Ok?"
"Oh, ok," Veronica smiled. "Ask her if you can borrow some of that red lipstick she was wearing this morning. It’ll be perfect for that dress."
"Alright!" Alex said, on his way out the door. "I’ll see you down stairs."
Maddie laughed. "She’s excited!"
"Yeah," Veronica smiled as well, looking at the closed door and imagining him walking down the hall on those slightly-higher-than-he’sused -to heels.
Maddie sat in a chair and proceeded to put on the shoes she’d borrowed. "How did you two end up working together? You’re both so different and she’s so young."
Veronica stood behind a five foot tall screen decorated with flowered material and removed her night gown. "It’s... kind of a long story, actually, but... from the first time Alex played for me, I knew that I’d found the best accompanist I’d ever find."
"Wow," Maddie tightened the straps on her shoes, "and she’s so young. At first I thought you were her sister because you dote on her so much, but I guess it’s just because you’re teaching her about show business, huh?"
Veronica stepped from behind the screen in a black bra and long half slip, with a thoughtful look on her face. "Maddie... you like Alex, right? I mean playing piano together and all, right?"
"Sure, I think she’s great. I’d love to get to know her better, too, but... she seems a little uptight when I try to be friendly with her." Maddie stood and looked at the shoes. "These fit perfectly. I don’t know if I’m imposing on her, you know? I mean... I’m not trying to, like, invite myself over or anything, but I really have enjoyed being here and you and Alex are like the greatest musicians I’ve ever met, so... maybe... I’d kinda like to come over frequently and get better at piano and... oh, man, I’m going to sound like such a mooch, but... I’d really like to learn how to sing, too."
Veronica was surprised. "Really? Why, Maddie, I’d absolutely love to work with you, if you’d like."
"Cool," the girl smiled, "but I bet you charge a lot for lessons, right."
"Maddie, you and your dad are our neighbors. I want you to always feel welcome here and I wouldn’t think of charging you a penny and neither would Alex." Veronica looked at her dress, hanging on the closet door. It was a very grand black gown with gold thread work and intricate gold bead work all about the bodice. This was not one of Sophia’s. She’d bought this one in France to wear at her opening night at Teatro alla Scala in Milan. She’d loved this dress so much that she was willing to pay nine-thousand-six-hundred dollars for it. It was worth it, though. She wanted to wear it today for a myriad or reasons - To celebrate Christmas, look and feel beautiful and, if she was honest, to show her mother how beautiful she looked in it. She sighed and looked back at Maddie. "Maddie... if you’re going to be here, with Ali and me, then I need to tell you something. Something very personal and very private and you have to promise that you will never tell anyone about it. Not your dad, not your friends – nobody. Ever. Ok?"
Maddie blinked. She was intrigued. An adult taking her into her confidence was a new thing and the warning had piqued her interest. "Yeah. Sure. Of course."
After he’d exited Veronica’s bedroom, Alex made a quick stop in his own room to look at his ensemble in the mirror. The petticoats he wore today were much fluffier than the ones he’d worn with the sailor dress. He looked at how the dress stopped just at his knees with the red petticoats just visible. There was no doubt that people would see them when he sat to play. So what, though! That’s obviously how the dress was designed.
He looked at his heeled shoes, which made him feel taller than he’d ever felt, the flounciness of dress’s skirt, the big bow on his waist, and then at his new ring, his new pendant and his earrings. Such feminine touches. They made him feel butterflies in his stomach, but more than that... he looked nice. Really nice. He liked this feeling. He’d never felt at home in a tuxedo before – even one tailored for a boy. He felt right in these clothes, though. He needed to get his head around these feelings.
Right now, though, he wanted to share how he looked and how he felt with his mother.
He returned to the hall and walked three doors down, to his mother’s door and he knocked quietly.
"Yes!?" Lucy called.
Excited, Alex turned the knob and entered the room. "Hi, mom, I just wanted to..." he stopped and turned to leave. "...oh, God, I’m sorry!!" He headed for the door.
"Alex, Alex Alex!" Lucy was pulling a robe around her and Jim was pulling up his pants. "Alex, honey, wait. Just wait, honey. I didn’t expect you to just walk in."
"I’m sorry, mom," Alex stopped in the doorway, the door half opened. "I had no idea you were... I mean... I’ll just go."
"No, honey," Lucy reached him, gently moved him back into the room and shut the door. "It’s fine. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Jim and I were... well..." she sighed. "Did you want something, dear?" She forced a smile onto her face.
Alex was more embarrassed than he could have imagined. He’d walked in to find his mother and Jim both jumping off the bed and straightening their clothing. Jim’s pants were partially lowered and his mother was straightening out the night gown she’d borrowed from Veronica the previous night.
"I..." Alex shrugged. "I just wanted to, umm... show you my dress and umm... my ring... oh...and to borrow some red lipstick... but... umm... I’m sorry that I interrupted."
Jim, seeming to have recovered his demeanor and fastened his belt buckle, joined Alex and Lucy. "Well, look how beautiful you look, dear," He smiled at Alex, touching his shoulders and giving him an inspection. "Very grown up."
Alex look down at his dress and then back at Jim. "Thank you."
Jim took a deep breath, glanced at Lucy and smiled paternally at Alex. "Alex, honey, I know that this... well... what you saw might be... confusing, but..."
"No," Alex stopped him. "I’m not confused, see... Sergeant Hammond... I’m not as... naïve as you think."
Jim chuckled. "A woman of the world, huh. Well, let me just explain. See, your mom and I have strong feelings for each other, and even though we just met..."
"Jim," Lucy stopped him. "I think that Ali has something to tell you."
"Oh?" He asked. "What is it, darling?"
"Maybe we should sit," Alex said.
Once they were seated, Alex looked at Jim and bit his lip as he thought. "Umm... Sergeant... I am not as young as I appear. See, I’ve always been small... very small... and people have always assumed I was a lot younger than I am."
Jim nodded. "Ok. So... how old are you? Fourteen? Fifteen?"
Alex looked at his mother who nodded. "I’m twenty two."
Jim’s eyes opened wide. "Twenty... Wow. Ok. I get that you’re small, but... the clothes are pretty young and... at the risk of sounding politically incorrect... you’re not very well developed for a twenty two year old woman."
Alex nodded. "Yeah. And that’s the other thing I needed to tell you. See... I’m not a girl at all."
That took Jim a moment to process. "No. You can’t be... you’re a guy?"
Alex nodded. He went on to explain how he’d been in the position of being caught in girl’s clothing when Jim and the two mothers had shown up unexpectedly.
Jim blinked as he considered everything that he’d just been told. "Well... why didn’t you just tell us then?"
"That was my doing," Lucy explained. She told him how angry she was and how she and Alex had reconciled recently.
"So..." Jim was thoughtful, "...is this just a temporary thing then? Are you going back to wearing your male clothes, now?"
"I don’t think so," Alex said. "See, even though I didn’t plan to ever put on a dress, now that I have... I feel like I belong like this. I’m more relaxed and comfortable this way. I just feel more... right... like this."
Jim nodded. "Ok, but... and I’m not making any accusations, mind you... I’m just asking... what about Maddie?"
Now it was Alex’s turn to be confused. "Maddie? I mean... I really enjoy spending time with Maddie. She’s very talented, she just needs some guidance with her focus and technique and I’d like to help with that if I can."
"Yeah, but Alex," Jim rubbed the back of his neck, "Maddie thinks of you as a younger friend. Are you going to tell her the truth or should I?"
"No, I’ll do that," Alex insisted. "I planned to tell you both, today, but things just kind of got ahead of me when I walked in on you."
Jim nodded.
Lucy waited a moment before asking, "So, Jim... are you ok with this?"
Jim smiled. "Am I ok? What do you mean? You mean with Alex dressing this way? What difference does it make to me, Lucy? I want to have a relationship with you, not Alex. Alex, are you happy this way?"
"Yes," he said.
"Is anyone forcing you to dress this way?"
"No."
Jim looked at Lucy. "Are you ok with Alex living this way?"
Lucy smiled. "I’m just happy to have Alex back in my life."
"Then I’m good with everything. I just want to be sure that Maddie is told about this today."
Alex nodded. "I promise."
"Ok, then." Jim stood and smiled. "I believe that you wanted to borrow some lipstick from your mother."
"Oh, yes!" Lucy jumped up and got the lipstick from her purse.
As she was applying the lipstick to his lips, Jim’s cell phone rang. "Huh!" He said as he pulled the phone from his pocket. "Some of the towers must be powered up again." He pushed the ‘accept’ button. "Hammond. — No heat? — How many are there? — Oh, Geez. I don’t know. Where’s the chief? — Ok. I’ll be in touch. Give me an hour or so. I don’t know what to tell you, right now. Bye."
"What’s the matter?" Lucy asked.
Jim shrugged. "I’m sorry, Lucy, but I’m going to have to leave. The high school has been a shelter for people without heat or power and now the generators there have failed and it’s getting colder. I’m going to have to go in to the station and figure out what to do with the hundred and thirty people who are sheltering there. Heck of a way for them to spend Christmas, huh?"
"Oh, Jim, I’m so sorry." Lucy looked deflated.
"Part of the job," he said, moving close to hug her. "I’m really sorry. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I need to talk to Maddie before I go. Alex, do you know where she is?"
"Yes," Alex nodded. "She’s in Ronnie’s room. I’ll show you."
All three of them walked back down the hall the way that Alex had come. When they reached Veronica’s door, Alex knocked.
"Just a second," Veronica called back, making Alex consider how differently the last half hour would have been if his mother had replied the same way.
"Maddie," Alex called in, "your dad has to go to work and he wants to talk to you."
"Daddy, no!" Came from the other side of the door before it swung wide. "Oh, come on, Dad, it’s Christmas. Do you really have to go in?"
"‘Fraid so, honey," Jim said as gently as possible. "The Chef is in the hospital with chest pains from shoveling and I’m on call. We’ve been using the high school gym as a shelter and the generator there died about an hour ago. There’s over a hundred people there and it’s getting cold. We have to find someplace they can go till the power is restored. I’ll be back as soon as I can."
"Oh, daddy," the girl sighed. "This has been the nicest Christmas in years. No one else can take care of all that stuff? You’re going to miss Ali and Ronnie’s concert."
Jim hugged his daughter. "I’m sorry, honey, but duty calls. You look lovely, by the way." He kissed her cheek. "I swear... you have grown up so much in the last two days. Your mother would be so proud of you."
‘Your mother would be so proud of you’ was a phrase that Jim used frequently, never wanting Maddie to forget her mother, but it seemed more heartfelt and sincere this time. Maddie’s disappointment melted a bit. "Oh, daddy," she whispered. "I understand."
"Where do you plan to house these people?" Veronica’s voice came from behind the door.
"I don’t know," Jim said, honestly. "I’ll have to see if there are some church halls that can accommodate a few each. First thing to do is figure out what parts of town have power and what parts don’t." He looked at his daughter. "Look, my cell just worked for the first time in days, so I’ll call when I know how long I’ll be. Ok?"
"Ok," Maddie replied, sadly.
"Hang on, Jim," Veronica’s voice said, again. Let me check on something.
They heard a little movement then Veronica’s voice. "June, I know this is an odd question, but, all those rooms in the west wing that were used when Sophia had those huge summer weekend events... how many people can they hold?" There was silence. "If some of us helped you and Melissa, how long would it take to get them ready?" Silence. "Ok, next question – if some of us were to help Cook, could we feed an additional hundred and thirty to a hundred and fifty people for a day or two?" More silence. "Stew and pasta would be fine, of course. Now, last question – can you ask Rebecca if our driveway is clear to the main road?" Silence. "Ok, then, June – I think we should prepare for a hundred and thirty people, maybe more, arriving in the next few hours or so and I’m sorry that this is interfering with your Christmas. We’ll help as much as we can." Silence. "Thank you, June. You’re an angel – a Christmas angel!"
A moment later, Veronica, wearing her nine thousand dollar, designer gown, appeared in the doorway.
"Holy cow," both Alex and Jim whispered simultaneously at the sight of her extraordinary beauty dressed the way she was.
"Bring them here," Veronica said in a nearly regal manner.
Jim sighed. "Veronica... I appreciate your kindness, but I can’t ask you to open up your home – especially a home with this many valuables – to people who I do not know and can’t vouch for."
Veronica folded her hands in front of her, making her already statuesque appearance even more commanding. "Jim... This section of the estate is a private residence unto itself. The east wing, the wing I offered my mother, is a combination of several large apartments and employee housing. The west wing is entirely guest accommodations. There are sixty rooms with two double beds and a lavatory in each. That entire section is separated from this building and is only connected to the kitchen, which can be locked up to keep people out of the main building at night. If we double up, that’s a hundred and twenty people. I assume that there are some families with children, so they could have four or more in their rooms – June tells me that we have a sizable collection of inflatable mattresses if needed. You have a problem – I have the solution."
Jim nodded. It did make sense.
"The plan was," Veronica continued, "to have the concert, then a late lunch. Why don’t we get everything ready, then we can set up a buffet in the ballroom and we’ll invite everyone who’s arriving to the concert. I think that sounds much nicer for everyone concerned than the few of us isolated here with no new friends and for all of those people to be hungry and cold."
"Ok," Jim nodded, "BUT I want you to keep track of every penny you spend on food or anything else and give me a tally when this is all over. The town will reimburse you."
"Of course," Veronica nodded. "Rebecca assures me that our driveways and the road that connects to the state highway are passable and she will head out there and keep them clear as everyone arrives. She said that the state road didn’t look bad, but of you can order the town plows to clear the way from the high school to here. She says it’s only about a mile and a half away."
"Might I suggest," Jim snickered, pulling out his cell phone, "that, if this whole ‘opera thing’ peters out, you might consider becoming a town manager."
"I’ll keep that in mind," Veronica smiled. "Now, ladies," she said, including Lucy, Maddie and Alex, "I suggest that we put robes on over our dresses and go pull off the sheets that are covering the bed clothes in the west wing and get things ready for our guests."
"I’ll help, too," Jim, said, but then he turned his attention to his phone. "Lee, this is Jim. First, call the town barn and have them send plows to clear the way from the high school to The Haven Estate. Then call Joe over at the school department – his cell number is in the town directory – and have him send three or four school buses to the high school to move those people. Make sure the buses have tire chains. We’re going to move everyone up here, but suggest, and suggest VERY strongly, that they leave their cars at the high school. We don’t want anyone getting hurt moving them up here. — Yes, The Haven. The big estate up the hill from my place. — No. The owner invited everyone. For crying out loud, Lee, just get those people up here where they can get warm and have some food. — Yes. That’s a great idea, Lee. Thanks."
Jim looked at the others, all of whom were wrapping robes around themselves, "I think we should see them here in forty five minutes or so. The officer on duty at the station had a great idea. The emergency crew at the high school will come up, too and they’ll bring the milk and some of the other food that is available to them. Breakfast cereals, loaves of bread, hot dogs and buns. That should help out."
"That’s, great, Jim, but I don’t think that it’ll be a good idea to suggest to Cook that she makes hot dogs. Not if you value your life, anyway."
"Good to know," Jim laughed. "I’m ready to help. Where do we start."
They passed through the kitchen to get to the west wing. Veronica stopped to apologize to Cook, June and Melissa for adding to their load, but they all seemed excited at the prospect of having guests in the house again."
It took less than a half hour to remove the dust covering sheets from the beds in the west wing, not that June had allowed the rooms to become dusty. They all looked as if they had been cleaned that morning.
When they reached the ball room to set up the buffet tables and the round banquet tables that had been used in there many times before, June, Melissa and, shockingly, Eva, were just finishing up. Cook had a huge pot of chicken stew she’d made weeks earlier, then froze to be eaten a little at a time, heating on the stove and was baking rolls to go with the stew.
"Give me your robes," Lucy instructed. "I’ll bring them upstairs and leave them on Veronica’s bed. I’ll get dressed and be down in a few minutes."
"What can we do to help?" Veronica asked June.
"I think we’re ready, Miss," June smiled. "If working for Miss Sophia taught us anything, it taught us how to change plans in a heartbeat and work quickly. I might suggest that you prepare yourself for your guests and that young Miss Alex plays some music as we finish up in here."
Veronica smiled at June. She was shockingly good at her job and she was proud to show off her skills.
"Thank you, June. You’ve done an amazing job."
"My pleasure, Miss."
"Alex," Veronica smiled, "I guess the piano needs you." She exited to look out the front door, awaiting the arrival of the school buses.
"Come on!" Maddie grinned broadly and took Alex’s hand, half dragging him to the Steinway. "Play me something amazing before everyone gets here."
Alex sat and immediately broken into the ethereal bliss that is Liszt’s ‘Transcendental Etude #5.’ The smooth arpeggios and left hand melody were always exciting for Alex to play. The piece lasted just over three minutes when it was done, Maddie was sitting on the bench beside him, her jaw hanging open.
"Every time I hear you playing, I can’t believe what I’m seeing and hearing. You are unbelievable."
"Thank you," Alex replied, quietly, "but I kind of need to talk to you about something."
As uncomfortable as his conversation with Jim had been, earlier, he dreaded this one much more. He really liked Maddie and wanted to be her friend. She was always nice to him and he didn’t want to disappoint her in any way.
This needed doing, though.
"Ok." Maddie nodded. "What is it?"
He decided to take the same tact he’d taken with Jim. "Look, Maddie.... I’m not as young as you probably think I am."
"What!?" Maddie said, far too excitedly. "How old are you, then!?!?"
"Well..." Alex looked at her and something wasn’t right. "I’m a... I’m..." Maddie had a strange half smile on her face that Alex found puzzling. "I’m really a bit older than you..." he shook his head. "Did Ronnie tell you something about me?"
"Something about you?" Maddie made a pretense of thinking. "I don’t think so."
Alex squinted. "You’re a rotten actress, you know."
Maddie looked more innocent than she should.
Alex nodded. "She told you. I can tell. She told you and you were going to make me suffer through having to confess everything to you, weren’t you?"
"Oh, don’t be mad," Maddie smiled and hugged him. "I think you’re even more awesome, now that I know. Come on. Let’s be friends."
Alex shook his head and let out a nervous giggle. "You guys suck, you know that? You both suck. Putting me through all this and then calling yourself my friend."
Maddie gave his cheek a big, smacking kiss and laughed. "Come on, now, don’t be a little brat. You and I are going to be sisters – whether our parents get married or not." She used the arm that was around his shoulders to give him a good, hard shake." "Come on, Ali. Be a good sport."
Alex squelched the smile he’d been working hard to keep hidden and just broke into the opening phrase of Rachmaninoff’s ‘Moment Musicaux No 4,’ which delighted Maddie to no end.
The magic of Alex’s playing was broken with Jim’s voice calling, "Maddie! Come on, hon, we need your help getting everyone in." Both Alex and Maddie were surprised to see that guests were arriving. Most just had their heavy coats, but some had small duffel bags of clothing and some who had small children had games and toys and diaper bags, etc. "Ali," Jim instructed, "just keep playing for everyone. Maybe some holiday music, if you know some."
Alex nodded and switched from the classical music he’d been playing to just noodling through familiar Christmas melodies, elegantly improvising around the melodies and re-harmonizing as he played.
The plan was to get everyone seated and warmed up in the ball room, feed them, then give them the option of staying for the mostly unplanned concert in which Alex would accompany Veronica through who knew what pieces.
Alex had always played for very formal audiences. Well behaved people who paid good money to get dressed up to go out and listen to music and enjoy it’s complexity and nuance, but as people filed into the room and Lucy and Eva guided them to round tables, Alex noticed something unusual. It first happened as he played a simple version of ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.’ First, it was a mother with a very small child on her lap, bouncing the child and happily singing along. Then an older man who was rubbing his cold hands together joined in. Soon, at least half the room was singing along – not too loudly, certainly respectfully, but actually just singing and, for the first time that day, enjoying Christmas. It gave Alex shivers. These people were enjoying his playing in a whole new way than he’d ever experienced before.
When the song ended, he received a big round of applause. Not and ovation, mind you, but a sincere showing of appreciation. He smiled and gave them a nod and a wave of thanks.
"Darling, come here for a moment," an older woman said from the edge of the stage. Alex got up and walked to her. "Oh, honey, that dress is so beautiful. You’re just a living doll, my dear. Tell me, how did a pretty little thing like you learn to play piano so good?"
Alex smiled, both at the compliment and at the woman’s misuse of the word ‘good.’ Alex strived to use correct grammar at all times. He felt it made him seem more mature. "I practiced a lot," he answered honestly.
Without warning, the woman reached across and started fluffing out his skirts and petticoats. "I bet you did, sweetheart. Tell me, where did your mom buy this dress? I’d love to get one for my granddaughter. She’s about your age and a few petticoats would help her remember that she’s a girl – instead of running around in jeans and playing basketball like a boy, all the time."
Alex shrugged. "I don’t know where it came from. I’m sorry. It was a gift from a friend."
"Oh, how nice," she smiled up at him. "Well, it looks adorable, sweetie. Do you think you could play ‘Silent Night?’ It’s my husband, Kenny’s, favorite Christmas carol."
"Sure," Alex nodded. "I can play that." He sat and began to play the simple, beautiful melody and was shocked to hear almost everyone in the room join in, singing along to the song.
When he finished the song, Veronica stood on the edge of the stage and asked for everyone’s attention. "Merry Christmas, everyone. I know that this isn’t how you planned to spend your holiday, but we hope that you will enjoy your time at The Haven. Many of you may have known, or known of my grandmother Sophia who lived here for sixty years or so. My name is Veronica and I have just inherited this estate and I welcome you to The Haven. In a few moments, we will have a lunch ready for you. If you need something other than what we’re serving, you can talk to either me or June," she indicated June to her right, "and we’ll do our best to accommodate everyone’s needs."
"Now, should you need to stay with us through the night, we have plenty of room for everyone. Even if you’d just like to take a nap, we will show you to a guest room and you can make yourself comfortable."
There was a round of appreciative applause from everyone. They were happy to be in a comfortable, warm space where Christmas was actually being celebrated.
June gave Veronica a wave and Ronnie said, "Well, I guess things are ready, but I just have one more thing to tell you. After dinner, Alex," she indicated him, "and I were planning on giving a concert of some light classical music and show tunes. We’d like to invite you to join us if you’d like. I think you will enjoy the presentation, if you chose to stay with us. Ok, well, the food is ready, so... please... eat up and enjoy."
More applause as people lined up to make the most of the buffet. Even Veronica was surprised to see that there were more options than just the chicken stew. Cook had made a huge bowl of angel-hair pasta and a very rich looking sauce as well. Combining that with the breakfast cereal and the sandwich meat and bread that had been brought from the high school, and it was clear that no one was going to go hungry.
When dinner was done, except for a few people looking for lavatories, everyone stayed in the ball room for the concert.
Veronica took the stage, still looking like a goddess in the black gown with gold thread highlights. She looked at Alex, allowing him to choose the first selection. She was pleasantly surprised when he began playing Pietro Yon’s ‘Gesu Bambino,’ a piece that was typically done as a duet, but Veronica knew that Alex would cover the second vocal part on the piano.
It turned out that Alex had made an excellent choice for their first selection, though. The gentle lilt of the 12/8 introduction caught the attention of the people assembled and by the time Veronica entered the song, they were already enchanted.
They followed that up with a soulful version of ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,’ with Veronica leaving her operatic tone behind so that she could sing in a tone more appropriate for the Judy Garland classic.
They went on that way for over an hour and a half. A operatic piece followed by a more popular piece, typically from a Broadway style production.
Twice, Alex played short pieces on his own to give Veronica’s voice a break. He played Chopin’s ‘Military (Heroic) Polonaise’ and Rimsky Korsakoff ’s ‘Flight of the Bumble Bee.’ Both were huge crowd pleasers. The audience was mesmerized my the, apparently, little girl who played so brilliantly and occasionally flailed her legs so violently as to cause her abundant petticoats to blossom and fall again.
Finally, they finished the concert with a somewhat ironic sing-a-long of Irving Berlin’s ‘White Christmas,’ but the best part was that this whole big group of people who’d arrived a couple hours ago, tired, cold and hungry, were now warm, well fed and enjoying Christmas Day. Alex had never contributed to people’s lives in that way before and he found it very rewarding.
As the people were applauding, a man came up to the stage and asked Veronica if he could say a few words. The crowd seemed to know him, so Veronica invited him onto the stage.
He held up his hands for the crowd to quiet down. "Wow," he smiled and it was immediately obvious that he was a politician of some kind, "what an amazing concert, huh? Let’s hear it for these two amazing girls, huh!?"
The crowd applauded some more. "For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Ralph Wilson and I am the Town Manager for Lenox. When this storm hit, I knew that it was going to be a doozy and I was very concerned about the situation. Obviously, we could never have anticipated the severity of a storm like this, but I hoped that we’d weather it together... and obviously we have, but not due to the constant planning and preparing that we have done in town offices, but due to the generous spirit of our new neighbor, the great Veronica Harrington."
More applause.
"Now," he smiled some more, "the name of Veronica Harrington is very well known to anyone with even a passing interest in modern opera, but I have to say, I sat here today completely overwhelmed by this amazing woman’s talent and generosity."
More applause.
"And I’ve been sitting out there with you all day just being amazed by this amazing young lady on the piano! What is your name, dear?"
Alex told him and Ralph called for a round of applause for Alex, too.
"I can’t thank Ms Harrington enough for the kind and generous way she has treated all of us today, but..." he grinned, broadly, "... I may have thought of a way to at least offer... just a little bit of thanks. While we were being entertained today, I took a few short videos and sent them to a friend of mine who is a classical music corespondent for The New York Times and also for CBS television. She was overwhelmed both by the generosity and talent of our hostesses and she will be contacting both Veronica and young Miss Alex for an in-depth interview and feature stories in both the Times and on the CBS Sunday Morning television show!"
The audience applauded wildly.
Alex shot Veronica a shocked look. Veronica replied with a little shrug. Things had just gotten much more complicated.
MUSIC LINKS:
Khatia Buniatishuili – Liszt’s Transcendental Etude #5. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMAFS-Lvzw
Rachmaninoff Moment Musicaux No 4. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhLDse5R8dQ
Gesu Bambino – Kathleen Battle and Fredrica Von Staade. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nChsp_KuCZQ
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Judy Garland. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygjdymMdsBU
Chopin – Military Polonaise – Van Cliburn. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw1gaY5krNo
Rimsky-Korsakoff – Flight of the Bumblebee – Evgeny Kissin. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVmvULWX_4Q
To Be Continued...
The Haven - 4 Final
Author:
Audience Rating:
Publication:
Genre:
Character Age:
TG Themes:
Other Keywords:
Permission:
to surprise everyone at The Haven. I wanted so badly to have this done by Christmas,
but real life kept getting in the way. Nothing bad - just a lot of things happening
at once. Thank you to everyone who has been following the story!
Now for the Final Act of this story...
Author's Note:Please leave comments and critiques, I learn so much from them! ~Clara.
This version of The Haven: 4 Final has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.
Chapter 4 Final
"Now," he smiled some more, "the name of Veronica Harrington is very well known to anyone with even a passing interest in modern opera, but I have to say, I sat here today completely overwhelmed by this amazing woman's talent and generosity."
More applause.
"And I've been sitting out there with you all day just being amazed by this amazing young lady on the piano! What is your name, dear?"
Alex told him and Ralph called for a round of applause for Alex, too.
"I can't thank Ms Harrington enough for the kind and generous way she has treated all of us today, but..." he grinned, broadly, "... I may have thought of a way to at least offer... just a little bit of thanks. While we were being entertained today, I took a few short videos and sent them to a friend of mine who is a classical music corespondent for The New York Times and also for CBS television. She was overwhelmed both by the generosity and talent of our hostesses and she will be contacting both Veronica and young Miss Alex for an in-depth interview and feature stories in both the Times and on the CBS Sunday Morning television show!"
The audience applauded wildly.
Alex shot Veronica a shocked look. Veronica replied with a little shrug. Things had just gotten much more complicated.
Ralph turned and took Veronica's right hand in his, then covered the back of her hand with his left hand in the typically insincere gesture of all lifelong political creatures. He held her hand like that while a member of the town's emergency team took their picture. Presumably, that photo and a story about how the Town Manager, Ralph Wilson worked with the world renown opera diva, Veronica Harrington, to keep the people of Lenox safe and warm through the terrible storm.
"Ali! Ali!" Alex heard someone calling him from behind. He turned and saw Maddie waving him over. There were two other teenaged girls near her. "Come here, Ali! I want you to meet my friends."
Alex hurried down the few steps to where Maddie waited. "Come on," Maddie smiled and took Alex's hand and pulled him towards and exit, the two friends hurrying behind them. She was moving so fast that Alex needed to prance on his toes to keep up.
Maddie turned down the hall and turned into the rehearsal room, the girls following.
When they were all in the room, Maddie shut the door and turned to her two friends. "What did I tell you!? Is she amazing, or what!?"
Suddenly, the girls moved in close to him and his ears were awash with excited conversation. "You're amazing! How did you do that? I love your dress. You play like a grownup. Do you you live here, now? Will you being going to our school after break? Where did you get that dress?" It went on in a blistering assault of words and excitement.
"Oh, come on, girls," Maddie interrupted, "give her a break. Let her catch her breath and she can answer your questions."
One of the girls stopped the other and said, "I'm Anna, this is my sister, Mae. You know June, the lady who runs this place? She's our aunt. The girl who works here, Melissa, she's our cousin, too."
Alex smiled at the odd introduction. "Hi. I'm Alex."
"No kidding," the girl named Anna laughed. "We've been watching you play all afternoon. How come you're so good?"
Alex shrugged. "Hard work, I guess. I practice, like, all the time."
"Wow," the one named Mae smiled. "That's pretty cool."
"Hey, come over to the piano," Maddie smiled. "I'll play that Chopin thing that Ali taught me."
Maddie sat and they all gathered around, including Alex, as Maddie played the Chopin Funeral March for her friends. When she was done, they all applauded.
"Hey, do you know any songs that we'd know?" Mae asked.
"I showed her how to play 'Say Something,' but that's the only pop song she knows." Maddie explained.
"Really?" Anna was shocked. "So... not 'Clocks,' or 'Hallelujah,' or 'Someone Like You?"
"Nope," Alex smiled and shook his head.
"Damn," Mae laughed. "Every kid I know can play those songs. Come on, Maddie. Play 'Hallelujah' and we'll sing it."
"Ok," Maddie smiled and began to play some very simple, but pretty arpeggios. Bb major to G minor and back again a few times. Then the girls began singing.
'I heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?"
It went on from there. The rolling 12/8 feel becoming hypnotic as the melody became more interesting and the biblical references in the lyrics became more and more interesting. Alex was shocked that such an interesting piece could actually be a popular piece of music. When they reached the refrain, the sisters sang in a lovely harmony. Alex was truly impressed, not just by their natural musicianship, but by the joy that shone through in their voices. Once again - not a masterpiece of music, or a virtuosic performance, but it was beautiful in its simplicity.
When it was done, Mae asked, "So will you be going to our school?"
"No," Alex smiled. "I already finished school. I had tutors. I travel for work, now."
"Geez," Anna laughed. "You're already working!? I really don't want to get a job. I guess there is a plus side to being a talentless idiot."
"Hey, don't say that!" Alex was truly surprised that she'd call herself such an awful thing. "I think you guys have lots of talent!"
Mae laughed, "Imagine how Mr Mullins would flip if he got a student who played like her to accompany the choir."
Anna and Maddie both chuckled at that. "He’d have a conniption if he heard her play. He always talks about being the best piano player in the school system. Alex would blow his mind!"
All three laughed, while Alex leaned on the piano feeling awkward.
Suddenly, just as the woman in the Ballroom had done, Anna began playing with his skirts. "This is really pretty, Alex. Do you usually wear things like this when you play concerts?"
He looked down at the red dress, as Anna shook it and the petticoats below, just a little, and he shook his head. "Not really. For concerts I usually wore... something black. To be honest, I never wore anything like this before a few days ago. Veronica picked this out for me."
"It’s pretty, but looks kind of fussy," Mae said. "Is it comfortable?"
"I guess," Alex shrugged.
"Touch those petticoats," Maddie said, happily. "They’re soft. Not like the ones we wore when we were little."
Anna pulled the dress’s skirt up a bit and felt the silky garment below. "Wow. Not what I expected." She smiled at Alex. "Pretty elegant, huh? Must be nice to be rich."
He laughed out loud. "I’m not rich. Ronnie’s the rich one. This is her house, not mine."
"Oh, that’s not exactly true," Alex heard Veronica’s voice as she strode up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him a playful hug from behind. "This is OUR house, Ali, but the facts are, girls, I’m nowhere near rich enough to live in this house. My grandmother was, though, and she made it possible for me to live here. And it’s true that I’ve been more successful in my career than Ali, so far, but you heard us out there, right? I just sing one note at a time while Ali makes one piano sound like a full orchestra."
The girls all smiled, but Anna said, "Yeah, but... when you sing... it’s pretty amazing, Ms Harrington."
"Ms Harrington!?" Veronica looked shocked. "Oh, no, no, no. I’m Veronica. Ok? And as we told Maddie, you girls are always welcome in our house."
The girls smiled and said thank yous.
"It looks like you guys are staying the night, I’m afraid," Veronica informed the girls. "The snow is slowing down, but your part of town won’t have power for hours, yet. We have a room for you and your mother in the west wing."
The girls nodded, a little excited to have some adventure.
Veronica unwrapped her arms from Alex’s shoulders and took his hand in hers. "Come on, Ali. You can play music with your friends later, but right now, we need to talk about these interviews." She led him towards the door, calling over her shoulder, "make yourselves at home, girls. We’ll see you later. Cook is making something light for a late dinner."
As the door closed, Maddie looked at Anna and Mae. "Pretty awesome, aren’t they?" The girls agreed.
When Veronica opened the door to the dining room, Lucy was already sitting at the near-end of the table and Alex could see that she was fretting.
When Veronica closed the door, she and Alex took seats and Ronnie sighed, "Well... how do we handle this?"
Alex sat, quietly thinking, as his mother spoke. "Ali... I think that you need to make a decision pretty quickly. Do you A) Go back to dressing like a man and we just pretend that the girl who played piano on that video is long gone and no one knows how to reach her? Or B) Stay in dresses and pretend to be the little girl they thought you were? I am concerned, though, how long that can possibly last."
Alex just continued to think.
"There is the issue, of course," Veronica pointed out, "that there are people in the world who know you as a pianist, know you as an accompanist, know you as a recitalist... my guess is that someone will put two and two together and figure out who the little girl accompanying me is, at some point."
Alex’s mouth screwed up and drew to the side as he considered these options.
"Well?" Lucy asked. "What do you plan on doing? Do you want to go back to wearing boy’s clothing?"
He shook his head. "No... I don’t think so. I just sort of feel... more like myself this way. Like... I know full well that I’m a guy and I am not gay, at all. I mean, I ONLY want to be with Veronica. I’ve never been attracted to a guy on any level and, as much as I adore women, the only one I ever wanted to be with is Ronnie... but... When I see myself dressed like this... I don’t see a guy pretending to be a girl... or an adult pretending to be a child... I just see... me. The real me. The me that I truly am... Does any of this make sense to either of you?"
"Of course it does, babe," Veronica smiled and squeezed his hand.
"I get it," Lucy nodded, "but that does that mean that you’re going to go onto national television, onto one of the most popular news magazines on TV and give an interview to The New York Times, the most powerful newspaper in The United States, and pretend to be a child prodigy and just hope no one finds out?"
Alex pondered some more.
"It’s pretty risky, babe," Veronica warned.
Alex mulled all of this over while looking at the coffered ceilings, the art work on the walls, the wood grain of the table top... anything to avoid making eye contact with the woman he was with. Whatever he did, it needed to be his decision and only his.
Finally, he asked, "What time are we serving that ‘light supper’ you mentioned to the girls?"
Surprised that he’d changed topics, Veronica stuttered for a moment. "It’s... umm... it’s at six, I think... why?"
Alex nodded. "I’d like to wear something else to that. Something pretty, but maybe not as formal."
Veronica and Lucy looked at each other, confused. Veronica spoke first. "Umm... ok... I can help you pick something out, but... don’t you think we should decide what to do before we get you changed?"
"Oh, I’ve decided," Alex said, with uncharacteristic confidence.
"Then..." Lucy sighed, "... you’re going to pretend to be a child? You know, Ali, that may not be the best choice, but we... Veronica and I, I mean... we will support you...."
"No, mom," he interrupted. "I’m not going to pretend to be anything. I’m going to tell them the truth."
"Which is?" Veronica was almost scared to hear his answer.
"I’m going to tell them that I have discovered that I am a normal human being who just so happens to be gender-fluid. They can either accept that, or laugh. Frankly, I don’t care which they do, but I’m not going to lie about who or what I am. I mean, look at me! I look nice, right? I have nothing to be ashamed of."
Veronica brought his hand to her lips and kissed it. "Spoken like a true lady." She smiled.
"Well, yes," Lucy was still concerned, "but what about your career? I mean, you just did your first tour of Asia and you’ve done pretty well on the college ‘visiting artist’ circuit... won’t this derail all of that?"
"I don’t know, mom," he admitted, honestly. "There are other gender fluid people in entertainment – of course, fewer in classical music circles, but who knows? Maybe it won’t be that big a deal?"
Lucy shook her head. "I think you may be giving people more credit for being accepting than they deserve, honey."
"Maybe," Veronica smiled, "but maybe not. People love Freddie Mercury and David Bowie and they certainly pushed gender norms, right. Miley Cyrus has always been very open about her sexuality. Eddie Izzard makes no bones about his own gender-fluid choices... who knows?"
"And Elliot Page," Alex pointed out.
"Who is Elliot Page?" Lucy asked.
"He was Ellen Page, mom," he pointed out. "That Canadian actress that you liked in that movie ‘Juno’ and in ‘The Umbrella Academy.’ He announced that he was transgender and now goes by Elliot."
"Oh," Lucy nodded. "I didn’t know that. And did Elliot’s story impact your decision to become Ali?"
"No," Alex shook his head, "in fact I barely took notice of the story when it came out, but I did admire his courage. Now, I guess I admire it even more. I’m going to be honest with everyone starting with the people at dinner tonight."
"Well..." Veronica looked at Lucy, "I guess that’s that."
"I guess so," Lucy nodded.
It was a little after five o’clock that afternoon that Eva wandered down the stairs. No one seemed to be around. She could hear the staff setting things up in the ball room, but opted to not go in there just at the moment. Instead, she wandered into the living room and looked at the lite Christmas tree at the other end. It was lovely and festive. She’d always had mixed feelings about Christmas. Sophia had used it, and every other holiday, as an opportunity to be the center of attention, which, by definition, pushed Eva to the side, making her less important. She hated that when she was growing up and she removed herself from her mother’s presence at a certain point in her life, securing her importance in every social situation in which she participated.
Now, as her looks were fading and she was entering a frustrating phase of her life, her daughter... her own daughter was doing exactly the same thing to her that her mother had done – pushing her aside and diminishing her status with her constant need to perform for everyone.
It was disgusting.
Suddenly, she got the feeling that she wasn’t alone. She turned snd looked over her shoulder where she found that girl, Maddie, the one that Veronica had taken under her wing, sitting, cuddled under an Afghan blanket, reading.
"I didn’t know that you were in here," Eva said. "I thought I had the room to myself."
The girl said nothing. She’d probably been poisoned against Eva by Veronica. Typical.
"I suppose you think I’m a horrible person, too, right?" She asked as she threw herself onto the loveseat, next to Maddie, causing the girl to let out a scream – which in turn caused Eva to shout as well.
"Geez! You scared me!" Maddie laughed as she pulled her ear buds from her ears and continued laughing as she said, "I’m sorry. I was listening to Patrick Stewart reading ‘A Christmas Carol’ and reading the book at the same time. I guess I didn’t hear you."
Eva breathed heavily. "Oh, Lord, Matilda, you scared me half to death. Please, don’t ever do that again."
Maddie was still laughing, not just at the fright, but the melodramatic way that Eva was fanning herself. It kept the laughter coming. "I’m sorry. Were you talking to me? I was kind of engrossed in the story."
"I was," Eva said with that superior inflection of hers. "Where did your school friends go? Have they gone home?"
"No," Maddie took a deep breath and got control of her giggles. "I guess they didn’t get much rest last night, so they took a nap before dinner. We’re performing at dinner, you know – the girls and I. Veronica’s going to do like an open mic thing and invite anyone in the room to sing, or play, or whatever. My father’s gone to get his guitar from our house so people can play that, too. It should be fun."
"Sounds wonderful," Eva said without any attempt to sound at all interested in what sounded like an evening of singing that was sure to be worse that an evening or karaoke.
"Will you be singing?" Maddie asked, obviously psyched to perform.
"Me!?" Eva was appalled. "Oh, don’t be silly. I don’t ‘perform,’"the word sounded like a swear. "That was always Sophia’s thing. Now, of course, it’s Veronica’s."
Maddie smiled. "It sure is. Honestly, I grew up hearing about how great a singer your mother was, but I never really paid much attention to her. She was just that old lady who lived up the hill. Now that I’ve heard Veronica sing, though... oh, my God... you must be so proud of her!"
Eva scoffed and shook her head. "May I be honest with you, Matilda?"
"Of course," Maddie smiled, enjoying being a confident to yet another adult.
Eva took a deep breath and shook her head, again. "Look, Maddie... I’m not denying that Sophia sang beautifully and so does Veronica, but, to tell you the truth, all of that operatic caterwauling just doesn’t do it for me. I just find it all so... pretentious."
Maddie blinked and looked at the older woman. She was only fifteen, but Maddie wasn’t stupid. She could see that Eva was a bitter woman, but there was a sadness in her that made Maddie feel bad for her, too. "I get that. I mean, opera isn’t everyone’s thing, but still, you must be proud of your own daughter, right?"
Eva shrugged and changed the subject. "The tree is beautiful, isn’t it? This is something I miss, actually. The big tree, all lit up with snow falling outside. That’s Christmas. We certainly don’t get that in Miami. I’ve missed that."
Maddie had never known a Christmas that didn’t involve at least some snow and it was usually something that called her father into work, delaying their Christmas celebrations. Then something occurred to her. "My dad said that Miss Sophia was still healthy and had all of her mental capacities until she passed away suddenly in August."
"That’s what I understand, yes," Eva nodded.
"So..." Maddie was genuinely confused. "Why didn’t you come spend Christmas here with her last year?"
Eva laughed out loud. "Oh, sweetheart, Sophia and I haven’t spoken in... oh... I’d guess... twenty years or more. I haven’t been in this house since... well, I’m not sure, but Ronnie wasn’t old enough to be in school."
"Oh, my God," Maddie said, sympathetically. "How awful. So, Veronica didn’t even know her grandmother."
Eva smirked. "Well, I certainly didn’t want her to know her, but when she got a little independence, she connected with the old bat. Ronnie was at Julliard in New York when she met someone who knew ‘The Great Sophia’ and she went behind my back and came up here to see her. Apparently they hit it off. Since then, Ronnie visited her several times a year and got real close to my dear old mom." She looked directly at the girl. "It paid off, too, as you can see. I got completely bypassed in Sophia’s will and Ronnie got The Haven."
The harshness of this statement was beyond Maddie’s experience and ability to process. "Well... I mean... A grandmother and
granddaughter... they’re both opera singers... I mean... why wouldn’t they become close? I’m sure that Veronica went behind your back out of love for her grandmother, not to spite you."
Eva shook her head. "Spite. You know why I named my daughter Veronica? To spite my mother." She looked at Maddie, but only saw confusion on her face. "I named her after Ronnie Spector." The girl was still flummoxed. "Ronnie Spector. Of The Ronettes? ‘Be My Baby?’ ‘Remember – Walking In The Sand?’ You don’t know who The Ronette’s were!?"
Maddie shook her head.
"Oh, my dear, they were the best of the best of all of the girl groups of the 1960s and Sophia HATED them with a passion!"
This conversation had taken a direction that Maddie simply could not comprehend. "I don’t understand? Your mother hated this person and you named your daughter after this person JUST to spite your mother?"
"Well, yes..." Eva admitted, "but I did love The Ronettes, too."
Maddie blinked in confusion. "So... Sophia didn’t like the way that this Ronnie Spector sang?"
"That was part of it, yes, but Sophia was a bigger star than most opera stars. She was on every television program that would have her and she knew EVERYBODY! The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Phil Collins – you name them, Sophia knew them and they were all so sweet to her because she was ‘The Great Sophia!’ Well, only one person ever put her in her place, and that was Ronnie Spector. Ronnie and Sophia were on The Ed Sullivan Show on the same evening this one time and Sophia was given the biggest dressing room, of course, but The Ronettes had recorded one of the biggest hits of the decade and were not happy to have been shoved into a small dressing room, all together. Long story short, an argument arose between Ronnie Spector and the show’s management and The Great Sophia tried to intervene and, for the first time ever, I saw someone put my mother in her place. That woman went up one side of Sophia and back down the other and Sophia was horrified. I’d never seen anything like it and, of course, Ronnie Spector became my hero!" She laughed at the memory. "I don’t know if Sophia ever realized why I named my daughter what I did, but it sure made me feel good."
Maddie was shocked by the pettiness AND by the show of pride at that pettiness being displayed by an adult. She asked the only question she could muster. "Then... you didn’t... love... your mother?"
"Who knows?" Eva waved her off. "I mean... what is love, really? No one REALLY knows."
"I know what love is," she replied.
"No offense, sweetheart, but you’re only fifteen and still..."
The girl interrupted, very abruptly, surprising the older woman. "I know that I am only fifteen, but I certainly know what love is. I LOVE my father and he LOVES me and, even though my mother has been gone since I was eight years old, I still LOVE her as much today as I did on the day she died. I’m sorry, ma'am, but I know exactly what love is and I’m shocked that you don’t."
Eva looked at the young woman, shocked by her outburst. "How dare you speak to me like that!" She sat straighter and was about to continue to put the girl in her place, but the girl continued too quickly.
"I know that I’ve only known you for a couple of days," Maddie went on, "but in that time, I’ve seen your daughter reach out to you on several occasions and I’ve seen you dismiss her each time. I’ve heard you be rude to pretty much everyone and now I just sat through you telling me how evil your mother was because she made a great living for you as an artist and that made her the center of attention. None of that makes any sense at all."
Eva let out some amazed, guttural noises, but could not form a word.
"Look, ma'am, I know I’m just a stupid fifteen year old, but I’m smart enough to know that nothing, nothing, NOTHING, is as important as family and friends and I am scared, really scared, that someday you’re going to be sitting alone in your big house in Miami and you’ll realize that the only thing you’ve ever accomplished in your life is that you pushed your daughter away from you in exactly the same way that you pushed away your mother. And I hope that when that day comes, there’s still time for you to call your daughter and beg her forgiveness."
Maddie stood to leave, shocked at her own words, but she stopped when Eva spoke, almost irrationally agitated.
"Of course you side with her!" She shouted. "Of course you side with the woman who... dazzles you with her talent! Of course you sided with ‘The Great Sophia’ and her legend! But what about me, Matilda!? What about me!? I’m not the talented one! I’m not the beautiful one, any more! What about me, huh!? I’m tired, Matilda! I’m tired of living in everyone else’s shadow! Of being ‘Sophia’s daughter,’ or ‘Veronica’s mother!’ I want someone, someday to just look at me and see Eva! Just see me for who I am!"
Maddie nodded, then spoke quietly. "I do see you for who you are... and that’s why I feel bad for you."
Maddie, once again, turned to leave, but stopped when she heard Eva speaking much more quietly. "Maddie... please... please don’t leave me."
The girl felt terrible. She’d never done anything like what she’d just done before. "Don’t you think you should be talking to Veronica right now instead of me?"
Eva blinked in a failed attempt to stop her tears. "Yes... I should, but... can I... can we... talk first? I need to... I need to think through all of this and... I can’t do that while I’m talking to Veronica. Will you... please... sit and talk some more?"
"If you can’t talk honestly to your own daughter, why do you think you can talk honestly with me?" Maddie folded her arms.
Eva thought for a moment. "Because... you see through my bull shit. I can see that. You have no reason to humor me. I need an honest ear to hear me out."
Maddie was even more confused now than before, but she felt as if this older woman needed her now more than before. So, as much as she wanted to go storm up the stairs to her room and scream into her pillow, she instead took a deep, calming breath and said, "Ok..."
When dinner was served, it consisted of clam chowder, cold, sliced meat and sliced bread for sandwiches, freshly baked lasagna and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Cook had outdone herself with almost no time to prepare. When Veronica went into the kitchen to thank her, she expected to find Cook worn out from the exertion of creating yet another meal for the ‘guests,’ but instead, she found a jovial woman who said, ‘It’s nice to have life in the house again, ma'am."
As the guests filed in, Alex returned to the piano, wearing a more casual outfit. He wore a white silk blouse that had a stiff, rounded, Peter Pan style collar that buttoned in front with loose, three quarter length sleeves that had similarly stiff cuffs that fit loosely as well. It was buttoned up to his neck with a tiny, black bow tie that barely covered the opening between the collar’s ends and matched the medium sized, ball shaped, black buttons that ran down the front of the soft blouse. On top of that, he wore a red, jumper style dress that completely covered his back, then ran in wide straps that fell to where the dress crossed his belly and buttoned up the front with large black buttons, a narrow black belt crossed at a girl’s natural waist and the dress fell in a loose but narrow skirt to his knees.
He first played a theme and variation on the melody of ‘It Came Upon A Midnight Clear’ in which he improvised around the familiar melody for nearly twenty minutes, never letting the performance become uninteresting. Then he worked his way through some Bach inventions before settling into Nat Kong Cole’s ‘The Christmas Song’ which, once again, prompted the gathered people to sing along with the familiar tune.
Somehow, June had found a small PA system and gotten it, along with four wireless microphones, set up in the ballroom. As ‘The Christmas Song’ wound down, Veronica picked up one of the mics and said, "I don’t know if everyone heard or not, but we thought that it might be nice to have an open mic this evening. So, if any of you would like to sing, or tell a few jokes, or recite a poem – whatever – the floor is now, officially, yours. We have a newly re-strung guitar here, the piano, of course, and a pretty darned good piano player," she smiled at Alex, "if you’d like to incorporate any of those instruments in your performance. Would anyone like to go first?"
There were a few subdued murmurs before a woman in her thirties stood and said, "I’ll go." She hurried up to the stage and looked at Alex asking, "Do you know ‘Till There Was You,’ form The Music Man?"
Alex replied, "Sure. What key?"
The woman shrugged. "The original, I guess."
Alex played as the woman sang, giving a lovely rendition of the song.
Next, Maddie and her two friends volunteered. The girl named Anna played piano while Maddie and Mae sang harmony on a song that Alex had never heard that was titled ‘The Climb." It was simple and had inspiring lyrics and they performed extremely well.
Alex, who had spent the majority of his life listening only to professionally trained, classical musicians, was again astounded by the joy that people with little or no training brought to these songs. It was very inspiring.
Next, a man in his forties took the guitar in hand and accompanied himself on a rendition of ‘Edelweiss’ from ‘The Sound of Music.’ He had an amazing, and obviously well trained, tone. Some of the people seemed to know him and encouraged him to sing another. Alex was shocked when the man asked him if he knew ‘Nessun Dorma’ from Pucinni’s opera Turandot. He was even more surprised when the man performed the virtuosic piece with aplomb. Not Pavarotti, mind you, but as well performed as many professional performances that Alex had accompanied through the years. It turned out that the man was a failed opera singer who’d given up singing as a career to teach literature at the local college. Apparently, he’d kept his singing ‘chops’ honed by singing in local community theater productions.
When he’d finished and received a well deserved round of applause, he came over to Alex and shook his hand. Then turned to the audience and said, "Isn’t this little girl unbelievable?"
More applause erupted and Alex decided that things had gone as far as they could go. He walked up to the microphone and spoke to everyone in the room. By the tone of his voice, they could tell that, whatever this little lady had to say, it was important.
"Hi, everyone," he began. "My name is Alex Claremont and..." he began to feel the butterflies moving in his stomach, "... well... I... umm... I have really enjoyed playing for you this weekend, but... as it seems that I will be staying here with Veronica, and since you are our neighbors... well... I think that I need to be very honest with you. You see, I keep hearing everyone talking about how I play so well for someone so young, but the truth is... see... I’m older than I appear. I know that I’m very small and that is a little confusing for a lot of people, but... see... I’m really twenty two years old."
There was a murmur of surprise running through the room.
"You’re still amazing!" The man who’d just left the stage called back, which received a lot of support from the people assembled.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Alex saw Veronica, Lucy, Maddie and Jim all moving discreetly towards the stage to offer assistance if needed, but things seemed to be going well up too this point.
"Well... thank you," Alex said in response to the crowd’s show of support, "but there is more I need to tell you."
The people in the ball room quieted and waited to hear more.
"See..." Alex’s began to flush a bit. "...until a few days ago... well... I looked very different. What I mean is... I didn’t dress like this. All of these clothes... well... they were here and they fit me and since I needed clothes..." He couldn’t see a way to get from where he was to his point, so he just changed tactics.
"I... I am not at all what I appear to be. I am a piano player, of course, yes, but... I know that I look like an eleven or twelve year old girl, but I’m not. I’m a short, twenty two year old man who is coming out to all of you as complete, fully realized, gender fluid human being."
There was a stunned silence in the room for a few moments, but then Anna and Mae stood and started applauding, calling out, "Yeah! Unbelievable, Alex! Yeah!"
Strangely, the rest of the room joined in and, with only a few exceptions, and those people just seemed confused by what had been said, everyone stood and joined in the girls’ enthusiastic support.
Veronica mounted the stage and stood beside him, speaking loudly into the microphone, over the noise of the applause, "And we have an announcement to make."
The crowd died down and Veronica continued. "This morning, Alex proposed to me at the same time that I proposed to him and," she grabbed Alex’s left hand and lifted it, displaying it as well as her own left hand and the tasteful rings on each of them to all assembled. "We both said yes!"
The crowd, once again, applauded. Veronica went on, "We’re going to be married here, at The Haven, this summer and we hope that all of you will be our guests again for that." That got an even bigger round of applause.
Suddenly, Lucy was beside Alex, turning him to hug him and then look at his ring. Much more surprising, though, was that Eva was suddenly beside Veronica to hug her as well. Veronica exchanged a somewhat awkward hug with her mother and then everyone who knew Eva was surprised when she took the mic and said she wanted to say something. Veronica started to step aside, but Eva took her hand in hers and began speaking.
"I... umm.... I think a few of you may remember me growing during the summers I spent here at The Haven. My mother, Sophia, was an institution here in Lenox... well, she was an institution pretty much everywhere in the world..." she chuckled at that and so did a lot of the people assembled who know of Sophia’s reputation. "Anyway... being the daughter of an icon is... challenging, to say the least. And now," she looked at Veronica, "being the mother of an icon can prove equally challenging for someone like me. Someone who... well... likes to be the center of attention."
The people seemed a bit confused by this presentation, but Eva was determined to say something, so they listened.
Eva looked to her right and said, "Maddie... could you come up here, too?"
Maddie was a bit surprised by the invitation, but the look of shock on Veronica’s face revealed her lack of understanding as to what was happening, so, reluctantly, Maddie climbed the stairs and stood awkwardly by Veronica and her mother. Eva took Maddie’s hand in her free one and continued speaking.
"I just want to share something to all of you. See... I had a long conversation with this young lady," she indicated Maddie, "before dinner and she made me realize that, well, as Joni Mitchell used to say, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone,’ and I... I missed my chance to have a good relationship with Sophia... with my mother. Now that she’s gone..." she paused and thought for a moment, "well... I don’t want to make the same mistake with my daughter that I made with my mother."
She turned and looked at her stunned daughter. "Ronnie... I know that I’ve been... difficult, but I want... I mean... I know you want us to be closer, to be a family and... I want that too, Ronnie. I really do. So... if you’ll still have me, I’d love to move up here and and be with you – not full time, mind you. I still want to be in Miami for the winters, but..." she laughed at her own self consciousness, then struggled with the last of her thoughts. "I... I love you, Ronnie. I really do and... if it’s not too late... please... please let me be your mother."
The tears were streaming down Veronica’s face as she threw her arms around her mother’s shoulders.
The people in the ball room were taken aback by the unexpected display of family matters and emotion, but felt like some sort of acknowledgment was required, so they applauded in support.
Eventually, Veronica turned to the microphone and said, "Oh, my goodness, I must look a mess from all this crying." She dabbed at her face, then hugged Maddie, whispering a thank you. She asked the girl something and was answered with a nod. "Ok," she gasped through happy tears, "let’s get back to our open mic format. Maddie here is going to play a Chopin piece that Alex taught her yesterday. You’ll be blown away by how quickly she’d learned the piece, I promise. Meanwhile, I’ll pull myself together. Maddie – the piano is yours."
Maddie crossed the stage to take a seat at the piano, but before she could, Alex hugged her tightly and whispered his own thank you.
As Maddie played, Lucy wrapped her arms around her son and congratulated him on how well everything had gone. "Let me see the ring, again!" She said, excitedly, but quietly. "Oh, honey, it’s lovely! Congratulations!"
"Thanks, mom," he smiled, admiring the ring again.
"And I love his outfit," she smiled. "It’s so neat and prim and classic. It’s probably older than me, but I think this look really suits you, honey. You look just lovely."
"Oh, mom, thanks."
Just then, Mae came hurrying up to Alex and grabbed his arm. "Ali, Veronica wants to talk to you while Maddie is playing."
"Oh, ok," he said. Then he looked at his mother and said, "Excuse me, mom. I’ll be right back."
He followed the girl into the hall where Anna was listening something through a phone with headphones while Veronica spoke to her.
"If you guys can figure out the harmony, that would be great," Veronica instructed, "but we won’t have time to rehearse, so whatever you can do will be great. Just keep running it with Maddie and your sister until we’re ready to go, ok?"
"Sure," Anna grinned. "This is so cool!"
"Great!" Veronica smiled. When she saw Alex approaching, she took the phone from the girl, for a moment, and had Alex listen to it. "Do you know this song?"
Surprised that he actually did know this old pop song, he nodded. "Sure. Why?"
"It’s my mom’s favorite song and, under the circumstances, I thought it would be a nice way to end the evening." Veronica was almost giddy with the turn of events.
Alex nodded. "Sound great, Ronnie. Do you want it in the original key? Nilsson’s? Mariah Carey’s...?"
"Mariah Carey’s would be best, if that’s ok." She replied.
"Sure." Alex nodded. "She did it in F, I’m pretty sure."
Veronica smiled at her fiancé in his pretty little ensemble. "How is it that you know nothing about pop music, but you know so much about this song?"
"It’s one of those classic piano songs. When I was a kid, I heard the Mariah Carey version and liked it, so I got the sheet music, but the sheet music said, ‘From the album Nilsson Schmilsson,’ so I looked into that. Then I heard the Badfinger version, then the Air Supply’s, etc. So, I guess I just... know it."
She hugged him and kissed his forehead. Then Veronica handed the phone back to Anna, and she and Alex went back into the ball room to resume their hostess duties.
"Well, I guess that about wraps things up here," Veronica smiled at the exhausted group of guests, about an hour after the meeting she’d had with Alex and the girls in the hallway. It was past nine and anyone who had wanted to perform seemed to have done so. "I’ve been told that the roads are nearly all clear and that everyone will have their power reconnected by morning. We’d love for you to have breakfast with us in the morning, if you’d like, though. Cook tells me that she’ll have a breakfast buffet set up by six thirty and we’ll keep that going until ten or so. We hope that you enjoyed your time at The Haven – not exactly a vacation, I know, but I hope you did feel welcome and speaking for my family, it was absolutely wonderful to get to meet so many of you."
That received a round of applause.
"Now," Veronica continued, "I know you’ve heard some... rather personal... family things being discussed here this evening and I hope that you didn’t find any of it... uncomfortable. Having said that, I’d like to do one more embarrassing, personal piece of family business. I’d like to sing a song that I’ve never sung before but is my mother’s favorite. Sing along if you’d like."
She looked at Alex who began the soft introduction of Gm/F to F. Typically, that is played just twice, but Veronica let it go by four times so she could get a handle on her emotions. Finally, she started and the pop quality that she used, the quality that was appropriate for the song, shocked Alex. It wasn’t the voice he knew, but it was a passionate, strong voice that overwhelmed everyone in the room.
"Well, I can’t forget this evening
Or your face as you were leaving
But I guess that’s just the way the story goes.
You always smile, but in your eyes your sorrow shows
Yes, it shows."
Some of the people knew the words, while others knew just the melody. Soon the room was singing of humming along quietly.
"No, I can’t forget tomorrow
When I think of all my sorrow
When I had you there,
but then I let you go
And now it’s only fair that I should let you know
What you should know"
Now, nearly everyone joined in.
"I can’t live
If living is without you
I can’t live
I can’t give any more"
Then it raised up an octave
"I can’t live
If living is without you
I can’t give
I can’t give any more"
As the song returned to a recapitulation of the first verse, Maddie, Anna and Mae took the stage behind Veronica so that they could add their voices to refrain in the way that Mariah Carey’s version of the song used a gospel chorus behind her.
By the time they reached the last refrain, even those who didn’t know the song before were clapping on beats two and four and singing along with the simple lyrics of the refrain.
When they finished, everyone stood and applauded as Eva climbed the stairs to the stage and hugged her daughter tightly. Lucy climbed the stairs on the other side of the stage and hugged Alex as well.
"Goodnight, everyone," Veronica said into the microphone. "We’ll see you in the morning. Even if you choose not to have breakfast with us, please stop by and say goodbye so we can have a little conversation time together."
As people started disbursing, many stopped to talk to Veronica and Alex to thank them for their kindness and hospitality. Many offered to pay for their stay, but Veronica waved off their offers, suggesting that they make any donations to the emergency food bank.
Alex hugged Maddie and her friends, thanking them for doing such an amazing job with no real rehearsal time. They were all thrilled to have been a part of the evening’s amazing finale.
"It felt like a professional performance!" Anna smiled.
Alex shook his head. "No it didn’t. Most of my performances end with an ovation, but they are polite gestures. This... this was incredible."
"Wow!" Maddie kissed his cheek. "We’re not even sisters yet and look what we did together! Imagine how much we can do once we know each other."
Mae put her arms onto both Maddie and Alex’s shoulder. "Girl power! Am I right?"
Anna did the same on the other side of Alex and Maddie and they all said it together. "Girl power!"
It was just about this time that Veronica noticed that there were a few new people in the room. One looked familiar, the second was operating a camera and the third was holding a very long pole with a ‘boom’ microphone hanging from the end of it. They seemed to be interviewing some of the guests as they were leaving.
"Excuse me, Ms Harrington?" Someone called up to Veronica from the ballroom floor. Veronica looked and saw Ralph Wilson, the town manager with a woman in tow. "Ms Harrington, this is my friend Simone Bristol from CBS Television and The New York Times."
"Oh!" Veronica said, surprised that they’d shown up so quickly. She turned and called Alex over to the edge of the stage. "Ms Bristol, this is my fiancé, Alex Claremont. Alex is also my accompanist."
The reporter shook both of their hands. "I hate to impose on you both at this late hour, especially after the long day that you’ve had, but I wonder if we might have a few words with you before we go looking for a hotel for the evening?"
"Absolutely not," Veronica said, surprising the reporter. "We have plenty of room for you and your crew here at The Haven. I think I speak for Alex, as well as for me, when I say that we are absolutely exhausted, though, and we’d really rather do this over breakfast tomorrow morning, if that’s ok."
The reporter remained shocked. "That would be... wonderful. Would you mind if we spoke to some of your guests at that time, too?"
"Maybe," Alex jumped into the conversation, "it would be better if you set up your camera in the parlor, then we could invite anyone who’d like to speak to you to go there. That way we don’t bother them during breakfast."
Veronica nodded in agreement. "Is that ok with you, Ms Bristol?"
"Perfect!" The woman smiled.
"June," Veronica called to her majordomo. "Could you show Ms Bristol and her crew to rooms in the west wing?"
"Certainly," June smiled.
Veronica thought of something. "Oh, wait. Did you and your crew have dinner on the way up?"
Simone smiled. "Well, no, but we packed sandwiches. We didn’t even know if we’d be able to get here before midnight, but the roads were actually all cleared and there wasn’t much traffic. We’ll be fine."
"Oh, don’t be silly," Veronica scowled. "June. Please stop in the kitchen and see if Cook can do something for these people before they go to bed."
June smiled. She had worked with Sophia for many years, acting not only as the estate manager, but as a kind of publicity agent, booking agent and calendar manager. She was very happy to see that Veronica had an excellent sense of how to present herself to these people who may hold her reputation in their hands. "Of course, Ms Harrington. I’m sure that Cook will make sure that they are all well satisfied before retiring to the west wing."
"Thank you, June," Veronica smiled.
"Oh, Ms Harrington," the reporter asked. "Will you be singing during breakfast?"
Veronica put her arm around Alex’s shoulders. "Possibly, Ms Bristol, but my Alex will certainly be playing. Why?"
"Well," the woman smiled, "I must say I was very impressed by your performance this evening, but I would love to have footage of you singing something operatic, as well."
Veronica smiled. "We shall see, Ms Bristol. I do love singing for my new neighbors, but I wouldn’t want to impose on their last meal at The Haven. If the opportunity arises, I will certainly be singing."
June smiled even more broadly. This young woman either knew exactly how to play the publicity game, or she was genuinely generous and pleasant. She suspected that the latter was actually the truth.
When the news crew and town manager had left the ballroom, Veronica thanked the teenaged girls for their help, praising them for their talent. Then she kissed her mother’s cheek, thanking her for giving her the best Christmas present she’d ever received. Then, as Eva, Jim, Lucy and the girls left the ballroom, she hugged Alex and sat next to him on the piano bench.
"Quite a Christmas, huh?" She giggled.
Alex chuckled, too. "Yeah. Maybe the best I’ve ever experienced." He leaned his head on her shoulder as her fingered the piano keys casually, noodling through simple melodic fragments.
Veronica put her arm around his shoulders and rested her head on his. "I really love you, babe. You know that right."
Alex giggled. "Of course I know that, Ronnie, and I love you, too."
She nuzzled her nose into his hair and breathed in his scent. "I have one more gift for you upstairs. Would you like to go up and see it?"
He nodded as she took his hand and led him to her room. She handed him a shirt-box sized present which he opened, excitedly. When the paper had peeled away and the box had been opened, Alex found a soft, pink garment which he pulled from the box and held out in front of him.
It was a nightgown - and it was new. Soft pink silk. The modest neckline of gathered material had a delicate ruffle with a six inch bow at the center. Loose, capped sleeves puffed out in little blooms that ended high on the arm in elaborate lace. The gown itself was just pink silk material that fell loosely from the gathered neckline to end in a lovely four inch fringe with a delicate lace hem that mimicked the lace trim of the sleeves. As he held it in front of him, it was clear to Alex that the gown would fall to just below his knees.
It was a beautiful garment and he wanted, desperately, to put it on, but he paused and thought for a moment.
"Don’t you like it?" Veronica asked.
"I... I love it," he said, honestly, "but... it’s brand new."
"Yes."
"But... I’ve only been wearing... How did you... When did you buy this?"
Veronica sighed. "Ok. True confession time. I’ve been fantasizing about having sex with you in... well... with you dressed in something... pretty... for a long, long... LONG time, but I never acted on it. Then, when I saw all my mother’s old clothes in the trunks... I kind of got inspired. Don’t get me wrong, babe, I never meant to force anything on you, but... I was only planning on a little role playing, but... as things worked out... I guess it’s a more appropriate gift than I expected it to be." She smiled at him. "You do like it, though, right?"
Alex smiled broadly. "I love it. Thank you."
That made Veronica very happy. "Good. Why don’t you go wash up and get ready for bed. I’ll get ready out here."
Alex scurried away, into the lavatory and prepared for bed, while Veronica went to her vanity and did the same.
When he was finished, he nearly skipped out of the bathroom; face cleaned of makeup, hair brushed free of hairspray and delighted by the way that his new nightie looked and felt against his smooth skin. Veronica was still at her vanity, so he bounced onto the bed, pulling down the covers and laying on top of the sheets, awaiting the arrival of his lover.
It only took a moment or two, but when Veronica arrived at the bed, her appearance surprised Alex. Her hair was pulled into a neat, tight bun behind her head and she was wearing what appeared to be classic, men’s broad cloth pajamas. They were that medium blue color that nearly all men’s clothes utilized, and did nothing to show off Veronica’s amazing femininity.
"Men’s pajamas?" Alex asked, a little confused.
Veronica smiled. "Just for tonight, I’ll be the man. Besides, someone needs to wear the pants in this house and, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, you are way too cute in dresses to do that, anymore."
For just a moment, Alex thought that he should take offense at that remark, but that thought was only fleeting. Instead, he smiled, licked his lips in anticipation, bent his knees so that they were upright and spread his thighs wide.
Veronica took his body language as an invitation and climbed onto the bed, positioning herself between his legs.
"Alexander David Claremont, you are the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen." Veronica spoke quietly and with deep sincerity.
Alex laid back, his hair forming a loose, wild halo around his head. "And you, Veronica Sophia Harrington, are my Prince Charming. Come and take me."
Veronica smiled and lowered the bottoms of the pajamas. She raised herself just high enough to guide Alex’s penis into herself. Then she began to thrust slowly into the space between his thighs. It wasn’t just the feeling of his penis and her vagina being at odd angles that excited them both, and it wasn’t just the playfulness of their role reversal game that made them both shiver. It was the ‘rightness’ of their positions. That rightness made every sensation exquisite.
"Ahh," Alex moaned in a quiet, feminine voice. "I wish you’d been born a man and I was your woman."
Veronica increased the power of her thrusts as she tightened herself around his shaft. "No. I’d never want to be a man. I love being a woman." She thrust harder and deeper. "A strong, powerful, successful woman. And I wouldn’t want you to be anything other than what you are. A beautiful, talented, loving, feminine man – and I love him even more when he looks like my sweet little girl."
Once again, that fleeting moment of doubt passed through Alex’s consciousness, but it was quickly replaced with adoration and ecstasy. He knew that he adored this strong, powerful, successful woman and that she loved him deeply, so he let those feelings enfold him as he headed towards his bliss.
"Oh," Veronica let out a quiet moan as her first orgasm crested. She closed her eyes and concentrated on that spot, that perfect spot that his penis had caressed within her and she quivered and shuddered and thrust harder to maintain the feeling for as long as possible. As it subsided, she increased her speed. She opened her eyes to find that Alex was also lost in his feelings of euphoria. His face was damp with sweat and his neck looked long and slender as it extended from the feminine ruffles of the nightie. Veronica leaned forward and whispered as she continued to thrust, "That’s it, baby. That’s a good, good girl. Come on, now, be a good girl and make Ronnie feel good. Come on, baby. That’s it. You’re so, so, so beautiful. Be a good girl and make Ronnie feel good."
Just at that moment, Alex’s eyes squinched up and his mouth formed a shape of either agony or ecstasy and he thrust himself forward as deeply as he could into Veronica’s strong body. He froze there for just a moment, and then his eyes opened wide and he began to spasm into the woman he worshiped. He shook and he shook and he shook as the spasms continued, over and over and over for longer than he could have imagined possible, until at last, exhausted and spent, he fell back down into the luxurious bedding - panting and shivering and sweating. When, at last he could muster his voice, it was soft and hoarse. "I love you, Ronnie. I love you."
Veronica rose slowly, gently and removed his limp penis from her. As she raised the pajama bottoms back up, she spoke in a low, quiet voice. "I know, baby. I love you, too." She raised his left hand to her lips and kissed his weak, limp fingers, taking note of the elegant, delicate little diamond ring on his finger and smiled. "I do so love you, my little girl."
By six thirty the next morning, Veronica was dressed in a less formal, but still dazzling dress of Sophia’s as she helped June to set the buffet tables for the guests’ breakfasts. Alex took his place at the piano wearing a gold colored shirt-dress that had an open collar, loose sleeves that reached just to his elbows, a two inch wide, matching belt and a wide, pleated skirt that hung wide from his hips, giving the impression of a petticoat where one did not exist.
While no one was in the ballroom, Alex began with some quick finger exercises to loosen up, then played a section of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto Number Three – a piece that he loved, but had never had the opportunity to play with an orchestra. Someday, though, the opportunity would arise and he would be ready!
When he finished the piece, he was surprised to feel a tight hug coming from behind, followed by a kiss on his cheek. "Good morning, little sister," Maddie giggled.
He smiled and said, "Good morning, Maddie. You’re in a good mood."
There was a self satisfied twinkle in her eye as she flashed a Cheshire grin at him and said, "I am! And so should you be. You’ll never guess what my dad told me this morning."
Alex cocked his head to the side. "What?"
"If everything goes well," the girl placed a finger on Alex’s chest, next to where the necklace that Maddie had made him hung from its chain, "you," she moved the finger to her own chest, "and I are going to be sisters for real, very soon."
Alex’s eyes opened wide. "You’re kidding!"
Maddie shook her head, her smile still glowing. "He’s asking her this morning. He ran home last night and got this beautiful opal ring that my grandmother left to him to use as an engagement ring. After that, it’s up to your mom to say ‘yes,’ or ‘no.’"
"Wow," Alex muttered just as Jim appeared on the stage as well.
Jim looked at his daughter and shook his head. "I thought I asked you not to tell anyone."
"Come on, dad," Maddie rolled her eyes, "sisters don’t keep secrets. I had to tell her."
Jim tried to look angry, but he couldn’t stop smiling. He looked at Alex and touched his cheek. "This is ok with you, isn’t it, honey? I mean, I would never try to replace your real father or..."
Alex took Jim’s hand in his. "Jim... it would be nice to have anyone I could call my father."
Jim bent and kissed Alex’s cheek. "Thanks, Ali. Now, let’s just hope that your mother is amicable. I know she’s planning to go back down south in a couple of days, so I need to ask her soon." He took a steadying breath. "Which me luck!"
Both Maddie and Alex did so as he walked away.
Almost on cue, the ballroom began to fill up just at seven o’clock. The guests were all anxious to get home, but also looking forward to one more meal with entertaining music. There was an awful lot of joyful chatter as people thanked Veronica for her hospitality, June and her small staff for their hard word and Alex for his entertaining piano playing.
Meanwhile, Simone Bristol and her small crew invited people to join her for a few words with her about their experiences at The Haven. The guests seemed delighted to share their stories of the kindness that had been extended to them by this relative stranger.
As the morning meal wore on, there were requests for Veronica to join Alex on the stage for a song. Of course, she was more than willing to do so. As she reached the stage, she took the microphone in hand and spoke to the guests. "Good morning, everyone. On behave of Alex, my mom, his mom, my staff and of course, me, I just wanted to say that, even though you all had difficult things to deal with this Christmas, it has truly been a blessing for us to have had you here with us."
A woman called from the floor, "Thank you for having us!" That brought a big round of applause.
Veronica smiled, humbly, and as the applause subsided, she continued. "I would, very much, like to end our time together with a song. Now, I’ve thought about this all night and, even though Ms Bristol and her team from CBS would prefer that I finish up with a song written by a man who was a guest at The Haven on many occasions. He was a friend and mentor of my grandmother’s and Sophia once told me that, without his support, she would never have had the career that she had. This song is called ‘Dream With Me’ and comes from the great Leonard Bernstein’s 1950 musical, ‘Peter Pan.’ I hope you enjoy it."
Alex began to play the haunting accompaniment and Veronica entered with the odd, beautiful, angular melody, enchanting the room.
"Dream with me tonight.
Tonight and ev'ry night,
wherever you may chance to be.
we'er together, if we dream the same sweet dream.
And though we'er far apart,
Keep me in your heart
And dream with me.
The kiss we never dared
We'll dare in dreaming
The love we never shared
Can still have meaning.
If you only dream a magic dream
With me tonight"
When she’d ended the last note, there was a moment of silence, followed by a huge burst of applause.
"Thank you," Veronica said into the mic. "Please come back this summer for some of our concerts that Alex and I are planning and, of course, for our wedding. We want to see you all again and you are always welcome at The Haven."
It took another hour or so for everyone to depart. The buses made several trips to accommodate everyone. Finally, Simone Bristol had Veronica and Alex to herself. She asked Veronica and Alex to sit side by side, with the Steinway behind them, as her crew moved the camera set up into the empty Ballroom and began her interview by talking to Veronica about the events of the last few days.
She gave a brief recap of the whole situation and Veronica was very self effacing, saying that her grandmother, Sophia, would have done the same.
They chatted some more before Simone turned to Alex. "And Alex... I have heard you play a couple of times before and always been impressed, but I never saw you dressed like this before. What’s going on?"
Alex looked at his gold dress and shrugged. "Going on? Nothing’s going on."
Simone laughed a bit at that. "Well, Alex, that’s not exactly a tux you’re wearing. Are you making some drastic changes in your life?"
He shook his head. "Not drastic, no. Fairly subtle, in fact. I have recently discovered that I am more gender fluid than I’d formally understood. That’s all. From now on, don’t be surprised to see me performing in a variety of clothing."
Simone smirked at his response. "So... is this just a publicity stunt of some kind?"
Alex was shocked by the question. "Umm... have you ever been in the audience at a classical music performance? Those audiences are pretty conservative. Honestly, if anything, I think this may hurt my career more than help it."
"Then..." Simone adjusted the way she sat in her chair. "Why appear on national television dressed this way?"
Alex took a deep breath in through his nose and thought for a moment. "First – I didn’t expect to be ‘outed’ the way that I was, but... No – I don’t mean that. ‘Outed’ means that I did something I should be ashamed of, but I didn’t. I... found myself. This... these clothes, this hair... this is who I am... and I like who I am. Being who I like being makes me happy, Simone. Now, my career was doing just fine before, but... if being who I really am destroys that, then... that’s ok. See... I really want to be successful, but I realized recently that being successful doesn’t mean being rich and famous. It means being happy and... given the choice... I’d rather be happy."
"You’ll be in Italy for the first ten days of May, then Germany for three performances, London for three nights, Paris for one and then back here for a break. July fourth, of course, you"ll be in Washington DC for the concert and fireworks, then back here again for the rest of July and August, with the two Tanglewood performances in August, of course." June was running through Veronica’s travel/performance schedule as Ronnie’s new ‘maid,’ more like aide-de-camp, prepared her clothes for the tour.
"And Alex’s schedule? What’s his schedule like?" Veronica asked.
June looked at the book, again. "He’s in New York City for the first three days in May, back on the fourth, then nothing until September. From September to November, he’s got a pretty full calendar – as do you, by the way."
Veronica stopped and looked at June. "Wait. Wasn’t he offered a two week run in Dublin in May?"
"Yes, but he turned it down," June explained.
"Why?" Veronica was puzzled as to why he’d turn down a pretty nicely paying gig in a beautiful city.
From the doorway, Alex’s voice answered the question. "Because I have two weddings to help plan, crazy lady," He giggled as he jumped onto the bed. He was wearing a more modern looking dress that day – a black, form fitting, short sleeved top with a keyhole neck opening, a high waist and a wide swing-skirt that was mostly white but had black silhouettes of flowers printed on it. "You will just be wearing a tailored suit to our wedding. I need to get my gown fitted. Same thing for my mom’s wedding. I’ve never been a maid of honor before and I want to do everything right for her."
Veronica looked at him and smiled, noticing his dress. "That’s pretty. Did you buy that?"
He shook his head. "No. This is one of Maddie’s old dresses. She had a few that she’s outgrown, so she gave them to me."
Veronica nodded. "You look very dressed up. What’s the occasion?"
"I’m going over to the high school this evening to play through the orchestral rehearsal for their musical."
"Ahh," Veronica smiled and nodded. "I forgot about that. And that is in May. So, you’re turning down a two week run in Dublin with a nice paycheck attached so that you can play piano for a high school production of ‘Mama Mia!’ right?"
Alex shrugged. "Not just ANY high school production of ‘Mama Mia!’ The high school production that features my future sister as Donna. I couldn’t possibly miss that, and since she asked me to play piano in the orchestra, well... that’s where I need to be. Right?" He smiled coyly, making Veronica smile at how cute he could be when he wanted to be.
"And how much are they paying you for this amazing performance opportunity?"
"Not a Penny," he grinned. "I’m donating my services. I figure that they can’t possibly pay me what I’m worth, so I might just as well just not take a check and just have fun with Maddie and the girls."
Veronica shook her head and looked at June. "What on earth am I going to do with this one?"
June just smiled and notated the dates of the musical in her calendar.
"I have an idea," Alex stood and threw his arms around Veronica, his head nestling into her shoulder. "Why don’t you hug me and tell me how much you love me."
Veronica chuckled as she wrapped her arms around the sweet, little, beautiful man and hugged him tightly. "I can’t do that, I’m afraid, because I love you more than anything on earth, so there is no way I can explain how much that is."
Alex squeezed harder. "That’s a good start." He let go, kissed Veronica’s cheek and took a step back. "Do these shoes look good with this dress? Maddie gave me a nice pair of white pumps, but they’re too big for me. These came from the trunks."
"Very nice," Veronica smiled approvingly at the classic, black pumps. "You’d better be careful, though. You look awfully cute in that dress. You might break a few young boys’ hearts looking that cute."
Alex took the hem of his skirt in his hands and curtsied, deeply. "Why thank you, but I don’t think they’d be too happy to find out what’s under my pretty, flowered skirt."
Veronica raised her eyebrows. "You’d be surprised. It’s a more open minded world than it used to be, and those boys are in a theater program, so... be careful."
Alex chuckled at that. "There is only one person who will ever see what’s under my skirts, Ronnie and that’s you."
That made Veronica laugh out loud. "See that it stays that way." Then she turned to June and the maid and asked, "Could you please excuse my fiancé and me for a few minutes?"
"Of course," June nodded, then exited, taking the maid with her.
Knowing where this was headed, Alex hopped back onto the bed and smiled at Ronnie as she approached. "You," she said in a playful voice, "are what we used to call ‘a tease,’ little girl."
Alex’s grin extended from one side of his face to the other as he raised his knees and prepared for Ronnie to take him. "I’m not a tease. I’m ready to follow through. As long as I follow through with you, I am not teasing."
Veronica dropped her jeans and panties to the floor and she climbed up, positioning herself on top of the man she loved. She raised his skirts and smiled at the lace covered, silk panties that contained Alex’s little penis. She lowered his panties just far enough to release his penis, but she used the soft, smooth material to manipulate his phallus and excite him enough so they could have intercourse.
"You know what I like about men?" She whispered in a husky voice.
"What?"
"How small and feminine and beautiful they are – and how beautiful they look in silk panties."
"All men?" Alex teased as the blood flowed to the core of his being.
"All REAL men," Veronica smiled. "Of course, I only know ONE real man and he’s the most beautiful little girl I’ve ever met."
Alex smiled as Veronica’s vagina consumed his penis. He shivered as Veronica took control of every nerve in his body. Neither could be happier.
The End
MUSIC LINKS:
POP MUSIC
Hallelujah, sung by Rufus Wainwright. - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kB67HO8tkQs
Till There Was You, from The Music Man, sung by Shirley Jones. - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JLDsLeVxOaU
The Climb, sung by Miley Cyrus. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG2zyeVRcbs&list=PLEAC7240CA...
Edelweiss, sung by Christopher Plummer. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bL2BCiFkTk
Without You, Badfinger. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyBS_1vGwpU
Without You, Harry Nilsson. - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8dnUv3DUP4E
Without You, Mariah Carey. - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s7PvYLtKynM
NON-POP MUSIC
Nessun Dorma, sung by Pavarotti. - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cWc7vYjgnTs
Dream With Me, Bernstein, sung by Linda Eder. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMeCa2d885U
Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto #3, played and conducted by Van Cliburn. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTPtRf7tsYU