Chapter 8

Thanksgiving Week, 2038

TUESDAY EVENING, 11/23


Jaime and Rina got to the auditorium where the dance recital was being held about half an hour before they planned. Helene had given them tickets for good seats, for which they were grateful.

"It's almost time for the doors to open," Rina said; "so why am I nervous?"

"I know how you feel, Reen," Jaime said; "I think we're both nervous for Helene. She'll do well. All those late rehearsals, then she still pulls her ass out of bed each morning and does a full day of classes and has a job! I'm almost jealous of her dedication."

"She lives the life, just like I live the life of a computer expert and you live the life of a biologist," Rina said; "Know what I mean?"

"She talks the talk and walks the walk, in other words," Jaime said; "Another American colloquialism for you to learn," she added with a grin.

Rina grinned back, saying, "I've actually heard that one before in boarding school."

"You guys will get to meet my animals," Jaime said; "especially my horses."

"I love horses!" Rina said; "How many do you have?"

"Four," Jaime said; "two females and two males. We also have a bull named Sarge, some cows, goats, chickens, and our dog, Tripod."

"Tripod?"

"Because he has three legs," explained Jaime. "He lost one of his front legs when he was  a pup when he was attacked by a pack of coyotes."

"Must be some dog, this Tripod," Rina said.

"Oh, he is, Rina," Jaime said; "He definitely is."

The girls noticed that the doors were opening, and Rina said, "We should get to our seats."

On the way inside, each girl grabbed a program. Jaime looked at it and said, "Helene's group is last!"

"They must be the best group then, like the headlining act at a rock concert," Rina said.

"I never thought of it that way, but you could be right," Jaime said; "But it could also be that way by pure chance, too."

They found their seats and sat down before Rina responded, "That could be true."

They only had to wait a short time before the performances were to begin, and Jaime hoped that all the groups were as good as Helene's group was.

She and Rina wouldn't be disappointed.

===


Helene's going to be so surprised, Alexei thought gleefully as he drove toward Evanston; I can't wait to see her dance again. I'm glad that rehearsal was short today.

He easily found the off campus theater where the recital was taking place. He knew he was late for the 7pm start, and he hoped that Helene's group hadn't already performed.

He got to the doors where an usher said that it was standing room only, and if he didn't mind standing, Alexei could stay. He was given a program and found that he hadn't missed Helene's performance after all. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Once in the theater, Alexei saw why it was standing room only: every seat was taken and there was a large number of people standing. He took his place along the back wall, where, once the lights went up briefly, he could see a redhead and a brunette sitting together talking quietly while waiting for the next group to take the stage, and deduced that they were Helene's suitemates Jaime and Rina.

The three groups left to perform before Helene's group were good, Alexei decided, but he knew that Helene was better. He'd performed with her and knew her dedication to her craft. He knew that Helene was one of those rare dancers who put their soul and their heart and their being into their craft. Was it any wonder, he thought, that Chicago City Ballet wanted her to join them?

Soon, it was time for "Group Seven" to take the stage. Helene's group.

===

"There she is, Jaime!" Rina whispered excitedly to Jaime as Helene's group started their recital. Theirs was an original composition, choreographed by Helene and another girl named Sandra Ramirez-Ochoa.

It seemed that the audience was spellbound, and unlike the other groups that preceeded them, the level of talent of those five dancers was far above those who had already danced.

Everyone's eyes were on Helene, as she was the lead dancer in the group. She danced flawlessly, and the other four dancers took their cues from her. That was the way it was choreographed by Sandra; to make Helene shine on stage. Helene had choreographed the other dancers. No one could have guessed that this performance was the first time that Helene had done any choreography.

It was over much too soon, and as they took their final bows, the group got a standing ovation. Rina even called out, "Bravo! Bella! Magnifico!" Helene had heard her, and waved from the stage.

Rina and Jaime hugged each other happily, happy that Helene had done so well, as they knew she would.

"Wow!" Jaime said as she and Rina made their way to the backstage area to congratulate Helene and give her the flowers they had brought. Jaime had ordered them a week in advance from her job at the florist, and swore the store manager to secrecy, since Helene also worked there.

"I had only heard how good Helene was from her sister," Jaime said; "But I had no idea just how incredibly talented she was!"

"It was a beautiful performance," Rina said; "She could dance with any ballet company in Europe and hold her own. But she's our little secret weapon, is she not?"

"I wish Alexei could have been here to see her," Jaime said; "as it is, we won't meet him til Thursday now."

"He knows what she can do," Rina said; "He's danced with her before."

They reached backstage just as the dancers were emerging, and they saw Helene right away. Jaime waved to get her attention, but too many people were around her, talking to her and congratulating her. Finally she broke free of the crowd to see her friends.

"For you, bella," Rina said as she and Jaime handed her their flowers. "I'm completely floored by how good you are, Helene!"

"Thank you so much for the flowers!" Helene said; "Even if I know where they came from. They'd been sitting in the back room at work for three days. I had no clue they were for me from you guys!"

"We should go out for a late dinner," Jaime said; "I'm starved!"

"Me, too!" Helene said, laughing.

"What's open this late?" Rina asked, looking at her watch.

"Denny's?" Jaime said. "But I know you're not too fond of the place, but anything else and we'd have to drive into Chicago."

"Isn't that coffee shop open all night?" asked Helene.

"I think it is," Rina said; "I'd rather go there than Denny's. They serve typical American food. Everyone will probably go to Denny's anyway. Let's be different."

"Yes," Jaime agreed; "Let's be trendsetters and not part of the herd."

"Let's go,"  Helene said; "I'm so hungry, I could eat a cow."

"I thought it was 'I could eat a horse'?" asked Rina.

"It is," Jaime said; "but I think Helene's is more accurate. I could use a steak right about now."

===

Alexei decided against trying to see Helene, seeing that she was surrounded by several people, including her suitemates. He thought he recognized the talent director from Chicago City Ballet.

He made his way to the parking lot and found his car. He got it, but sat in traffic for twenty minutes before he could even get to the highway back to the city.

He had a big smile on his face as he drove. Helene had done well, but he knew she would. That she was surrounded by well wishers didn't surprise him. It seemed odd to him that her family wasn't in attendance, but they were in New York, after all. Such a long trip for Helene's little brother, he thought. He doesn't take to change well. He might have thought that Helene was coming home with them. Helene had told him that when she, Rina and Jaime had gone there for fall break, Eric didn't take their leaving well at all. And Rina was taking his new toy, her adaptive keyboard that talked, with her.

In other ways, Alexei thought the little boy was incredibly intelligent. He had studied in one of his college classes in Syracuse about autism, and thought Eric DeWitt might have some form of it, though a high functioning form, like Aspberger's.

I hope not, he thought as he entered the street where his apartment was located, but if it turns out that way, I know his family will deal with it. Eric adored his sisters, and they would do anything for him if he needed it.

Alexei would have one more short day of rehearsals before Thanksgiving, then he would drive back out to Evanston to meet up with Helene and her suitemates for the drive to Belvidere. He was looking forward to it, especially spending time with Helene.


===

The diner was nearly empty as the girls arrived. It was indeed open all hours, but save for a few truckers and older graduate students, Helene, Rina and Jaime were the only ones there from the recital.

"See, we're blazing our own trail," Jaime said; "but some of those guys over there make me a little nervous."

"We can handle them," Rina said; "I'll speak only Italian to them and they'll leave us alone."

"Let's just ignore them," suggested Helene. "If that doesn't work, then we'll unleash a little redhead power," she finished, winking at Jaime.

"You really do underplay your skills, don't you, Jaime?" asked Rina.

"It's bad enough that my mom's the so-called 'SpineSplitter'," Jaime said in a low voice, "but to have to stab someone with this knife might be too much!" She laughed, holding up the table knife in front of her.

They looked at the menus and quickly decided on what they were going to order; steak and scrambled eggs for Jaime; a double cheeseburger for Helene; and steak omelet for Rina. They then gave their order to the waitress, who was probably, Helene guessed, about her father's age.

As they ate, Jaime and Rina went on and on about Helene's performance. Helene blushed a deep pink, pleased that her suitemates were proud of her. Then Helene told them that the show was filmed, and that she'd have several copies of it to give to friends and family who could not be there in person.

"So your family will get to see it! How cool!" Jaime said.

"My parents called me about an hour before the show and wished me good luck, and they wished they could be here," Helene said; "The flu has taken hold at the DeWitt house, and Dad was the only one well enough to talk to me. Mom had fallen asleep on the couch with Eric, so I didn't get to talk to her. Dad always knows what to say. He told me to expect flowers tomorrow!"

"How nice for your parents to do that for you, Helene," Rina said; "I'm so geloso right now!"

"Is that 'jealous', by chance?" asked Jaime.

"Exactly," Rina said. "You two will be speaking Italian in no time!!"

"I should already," Jaime said; "My mom's family is Italian, after all."

"I'm part American, and I didn't learn English until I went to school," Rina said. "My father spoke to us in Italian. Every once in a while, he'd sneak in an English word, and my mother would get angry if she heard us saying anything in English. 'No Inglese! Solo in italiano!' she'd yell at my father."

"The more I hear about your mother," Jaime said, "the more I want to punt her into the next century. Was she always a bitch?"

Rina nodded. "Yes," was her one word reply.

"Maybe she feels threatened by yours and your brother's growing independence," Helene said; "But then again, she did hire someone else to take care of you."

"Yes, and as soon as I am able to, I'm going to bring Giuliana-Maria to the States. She's lived such a hard life," Rina said; "She told me before I went to boarding school that she only stayed for me and Vito. She liked my father, because he was nice to her. She mourned for him more at his death than my mother did."

"That's so sad, Rina," Helene said; "I cannot even imagine a mother who didn't want to raise her own children."

"My children," Rina said, "if I am blessed to have any, will have my full undivided attention. My work I can do at home. If you bring bambini into the world, it's your job to care for them! Like your mothers did for you and your siblings. Mia madre è una puttana!"

Jaime's eyes went wide. She knew that "puttana" was "whore".

"I'm sorry, James, but it's true. My mother is a whore," Rina said sadly. "She proved it every day."

===

Sitting in a remote corner of the diner, a man was writing in what appeared to be a journal. He left before the girls did and went to an internet hot spot. He sat at a computer after paying the hourly fee, and wrote an email from an untraceable account to his employer.

Observed subject and friends in diner near NW campus. The blond girl, Helene, is a dancer. The dark haired girl, whose name I did not catch, though it sounded like Tina or Gina, spoke in accented English. Spanish perhaps. She asked subject why she downplayed her skills, and subject mentioned SpineSplitter. The three of them seemed to be keeping their voices low. Dark haired girl sat with back to patrons. Helene and subject could be easily seen. No pictures at this time. Shall I continue to follow?


He sent "Send", closed out the email program, shut down the computer, and left. The three young ladies he was observing were just getting ready to leave.

He'd check for a reply to his email when he got back to his motel.

===


The recipent of the man's email read it on his tablet. He was pleased that he got more information about the dark haired girl, though he still didn't have a name. "Tina" or "Gina"? Made no sense to him.

He sent a one sentence reply: Continue to follow until you hear otherwise. Take pix. And don't get caught.--rp


===

Chapter 7

Thanksgiving Week, 2038


MONDAY, 11/22:


As promised, Helene got the information about the visitor's parking pass for Alexei, and he provided her with what was needed to fill out the form.

"The girl at the front desk said if I get the form to her by 5pm, your pass will be waiting at the desk when you get here," Helene said.

"That's excellent, Leenie!" Alexei said. "I can't wait for Thursday!"

"I can't either," Helene agreed; "Jaime says that Thanksgiving with her family is lively, boisterous and fun. And Jaime's family is huge, with uncles and aunts and cousins. And she says her grandparents might even be there. You've no doubt heard of David Draiman, right?"

"'The Voice of the Resistance' he's called," Alexei said; "Mikhail would be so envious! He practically worshipped the man when he was young. Draiman's appeal was worldwide. Even my parents knew of him."

"He's Jaime's mom's stepfather," Helene said; "Julia Summers' biological father was Jacob Ross. He died a few years ago."

"Morbus the Sickness, I believe he was called after his torture," said Alexei; "He was married to the Interim President after the puppet President died and the Occupation fell apart. History has been kind to that tumultuous time in U.S. History."

"As it should be," Helene said; she decided not to mention that her family's shame was that the Occupational President was her great-grandmother, Sarah Kathryn Hope.

After her conversation with Alexei, Helene went to dress rehearsal for her recital, which was the following evening. She couldn't wait for Jaime and Rina to see her dance!

===


"How was the flight from the middle of nowhere Oklahoma, Miri?" Julia asked her oldest daughter when she met Miri and her husband to be, John Crossley, at Chicago-O'Hare Airport.

"Uneventful, fortunately," Miri said; "I so hate to fly, but John has to be back on post Saturday, then on December 16, he gets leave for the wedding and a short honeymoon."

"I wanted to take her around the world on our honeymoon," John said, "but the Army was not too keen on me being gone that long." He laughed, and Miri smiled at him.

"Well, I'll have you know that we'll have three extra folks here this year," Julia said; "Jaime is bringing her roommates from school, and the boyfriend of one of them."

"Let me guess," Miri said, "Kelly's sister Helene and her ballet dancer pal... what's his name, Alex?"

"Alexei," Julia said; "He's from Moscow, speaks excellent English with a slight accent, and he is 20 or 21 years old."

"He should get along famously with Aunt Tash, then," said Miri. "Are she and Uncle Darren coming?"

"Yes, they are. They're bringing the twins and their little girl, Theresa," said Julia; "The twins have gotten really tall, and they've just turned 17. Vixen is at Georgetown, and Nikky is at Harvard."

"Shit, Harvard? At seventeen!" John exclaimed. "That kid must be pretty smart! You have to fight to get in there from what I understand."

"It probably helps that not only is Nikky smart, but his stepfather is the freakin' CIA Director!" Miri said. "Harvard was probably falling all over themselves trying to get him to enroll there!"

"And Kendree was there, too, don't forget," Julia said; "She's doing Med School at Harvard; not that they'll run into each other much."

"How's Med School treating you, Mom?" asked Miri.

"It's kicking my ass, but it's nothing I can't handle. You'll have to call me 'Dr. Mom' soon!"

"How soon?" This from John.

"May too soon for you?" answered Julia; "Then I start rotations at Loyola Hospital in August. I was going to specialize in cardiology, and I still could, but I thought emergency medicine was a good place to start. I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie, so ER medicine seemed like a good fit. I spent years sending people either to the ER or the morgue, it was time to treat some of those same people. Call it karma if you want."

Miri gave her mother a hug. "You know we're all proud of you, Mom. Dad would be proud, too. He always thought you should finish your medical studies."

Julia sighed silently. It was karma. It had to be.

"C'mon you two, let's get home so Rachel can have her moment of excitement at the fact you're home," Julia finally said; "Jaime and her friends will be here Thursday afternoon around one. Most everyone else is arriving tomorrow, including Granpa David and Nonna Jordan."

John took Miri's hand, and she just smiled from ear to ear.

===

"Bring an extra change of clothes, Rina, in case we have to stay overnight," Jaime said as Rina stood in front of her closet, trying to figure out what she was going to wear to Helene's recital the next evening, and what to wear to meet Jaime's family Thanksgiving day.

"Is it really supposed to snow, Jaime?" Rina asked absent-mindedly.

"Yeah, it looks like it," Jaime said. "So pack for a couple of extra days. I know Mom won't let me drive back in a snowstorm."

"It doesn't snow much in Rafaello," Rina said; "I think once or twice in my whole life. Buying all this cold weather stuff is a new experience for me."

"That's what life is like here in the Midwestern U.S.," Jaime said; "It's all I know. It's worse in places like Wyoming, though."

"Is it really worse there?" asked Rina.

"The one winter we were living there, there were record coldsnaps, and it never seemed to stop snowing," Jaime said. "It seems weird that was only four years ago."

Rina said nothing. Four years ago, her father died.

Supposedly.

"Okay, I will pack for a couple of days. Will I need the 'wafflewear'?" asked Rina, referring to the long underwear Jaime insisted she buy.

"Definitely. Better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it," Jaime said, echoing something she'd heard both her mother and grandmother say thousands of times. "God, I sound like my mother!"

After Rina had chose what she was taking to Belvidere with her, she asked Jaime, "What should I wear for Helene's recital? I know it's formal, but I don't want to be too formal."

Jaime pulled out a dress that Rina had let her borrow a couple of weeks before to attend a dinner off campus with her Science Club friends; "How about this, Reen?"

Rina looked at the green knee length dress that Jaime pulled out. I could do that, she thought. "Okay," she said aloud, "but if I have to be honest, it looks better on you. It compliments your hair nicely."

"You have the coloring to pull it off," Jaime said; "I'd kill if I were able to tan and get as dark as you do."

"Okay, Jaime, I'll wear it!" Rina said, laughing. "Problem solved?"

"Yep."

===


TUESDAY, 11/23

Maybe I'll go and surprise Helene, Alexei thought as he got ready to rehearse that afternoon. He knew that Wednesday would be the last rehearsal until the following Monday. Since The Nutcracker would open on December 18th, the directors knew they could give the troupe a few days off.

"Going to 'cow country' for Thanksgiving, Alexei Aleksandrevich?" asked Igor, one of the dancers in the production, and Alexei's understudy for the part of The Prince.

"I might see cows, yes," Alexei said; "My hosts live on a ranch, after all, Igor Mikhailevich."

"Ahh, I see," Igor said; "And you're going with your girl after all. No hanky-panky now."

"Helene is not a fling, Igor," Alexei said; "I am quite serious about her, and will wait until she is ready."

"How did you get so lucky to meet someone like her?" Igor asked; "All the girls I meet want to..."

"We met at Ballet Syracuse," Alexei said; "Helene had been dancing with them since she was six years old. Her first role was as a flower in 'The Rites of Spring'. Her parents show me pictures. She made a cute daffoldil."

"You met her parents?"

"When we started realizing we were more than friends, Helene insisted upon it. Her parents are very nice people. She has two younger sisters and a little brother who's about three," said Alexei; "And Helene's roommates at University are nice girls, too. They are not pushovers. Your charms will not work with them. They know a line when they hear it."

"Educated girls are like that," Igor said; "I think I just get the, what's the word in English? 'Groupies'?"

"Yes, you get the groupies, Igor," Alexei said; "They look at your muscles and get stupid. Just be careful that you don't fall for them. They are trouble."  

"The girls in this company don't like me, I think," Igor said.

"Perhaps if you weren't the puffed up cock o' the walk, they'd see you're a nice guy," Alexei suggested. "They're not too fond of me, either. I think that's Mikhail's fault. Him and his little head. Bah! They think I am like him."

"He is bad news, Alexei," Igor said; "But he is a good teacher. He was good to you."

"Yes, he was," Alexei said; "And I am most appreciative of his guidence. But I have to make my own way, and earn my own reputation.  It's why I work so hard. I don't want anything I didn't earn."

"That is admirable," said Igor as he started towards the rehearsal studio. "But come now, Alexei. It is time to work."


===


"That was the worst flight I've ever been on! I almost got sick!"

Jordan Draiman turned to look at her husband and quipped, "Oh the golden voiced one got an uptet tummy?"

"Jordan..." David replied; "Didn't you feel all that turbulence?"

"I did but you don't hear me acting like a big ole baby about it, do you?"

"Save the baby talk for the grandkids, okay? We're in the middle of the fuckin' airport!"

Julia walked up to them at that moment, saying, "Okay, you two. Back to your corners!"

"I think your daughter said we're a couple of old farts, Jord," David said, grinning.

"Hello, Jules," Jordan said, hugging her daughter; "Why did you agree to host Thanksgiving this year?"

"It was my turn, and because I knew Jaime would appreciate not having to fly to Washington, DC, or Boston, or Maine, or Oklahoma just to have dinner with the family," Julia said; "Besides, she's bringing friends from school; and Miri is getting married here next month."

"True, true," David said. "So how is Jaime doing in school?"

"She's frustrated that she already knows a lot of the stuff that's being taught in class," Julia said; "therefore she's getting excellent grades. But she needs and wants to be challeneged."

"A lot of smart kids drop out of college because they're not challenged," David said; "And that is the failure of the college administration more than of the student."

"Jaime will probably test out of several of her core classes, because it's all stuff she and her siblings and cousins were all taught before the age of 15," Julia said; "Now, shall we get you settled somewhere?"

"There's a nice B-n-B about five miles from your place," Jordan said; "But we'll need a car. We have one reserved already. All we have to do is pick it up."

"I'm headed over there now, Jord," David said; "I'll meet you out front."

Jordan blew David a kiss and he was off. Julia thought that was cute. I wonder when I'll find love like that again? she thought.

Then she shook her head to clear the thought out of her mind. If there was a third chance at love for Julia Summers, she wasn't looking too hard for it. Other things had to come first.

Like her large extended family. Nik and Kate, and Jeremiah and Jasmine were coming over later with their families to get some of the dinner preparations under way. The Dixon-Vincent clan; and Joe, Tracy and their two adopted sons would be coming Wednesday. Joe and Tracy's daughters would be arriving Wednesday evening; Danica would be coming with her husband Bryan and their infant daughter; Kendree and her fiance would be flying out from Boston and were due in Chicago about an hour after her sister's plane landed.

Kimber and Jamey were bringing their kids, as well as Sam and his family. John was still in Israel with his family; and Niki and Drake had just adopted a baby and wouldn't be able to make it. The adoption was barely finalized when Niki learned she was pregnant.

All these changes, thought Julia, and these two are the patriarch and matriarch of the whole clan, thinking of her mother and stepfather. God help us! She smiled to herself, but her thoughts seemed to be picked up by her mother.

David and I better be good, Jordan thought. Julia has our number.


===


Periodically, he checked on her, just to see what she was doing.

She worked at a florist shop; she went out with classmates; she hung out with her suitemates from the dorm. There were two girls Jameson lived with: a tall blonde and a shorter dark haired girl.

He knew the tall blonde was his half sister, the oldest child of his father's second family. The darkhaired girl always seemed to be in the shadows. He had yet to see a picture of her full in the face.

He would have recognized her immediately if he had.

He often wished he had his daughter's ability to hack into computers. Instead, he'd given her one of the most powerful tablet computers made. She could probably find out all kinds of things about Jameson and her friends.

That was one of the things he regretted after he faked his own death nearly five years before- that he didn't take her with him. But, with his "problem" it was too great a temptation. He could never do to his own daughter what he had done to countless other young women. What his own mother had done to him.

So he sacrificed himself to save his precious Audrina from behaviors he seemingly couldn't control.

His new life was exciting. He was a United States Senator, representing Connecticut; he was single and had his pick of ladies. He had aspirations of higher office, returning the country the way it was during the first twenty years of the century- where Undesirables had limited rights.

He would do whatever it took to reach that goal.

Even assassinating a sitting President.

A mixed-race President.

He couldn't know that his dreams for higher office would end at the business end of a high powered sniper rifle, wielded by a five foot tall, 90 pound bundle of muscle called Rachel Nichols.

She didn't know it yet either.


===

Miri walked into the living room to find her brother, Zach, on the phone, and her youngest sister nowhere to be found.

"Zach, where's Rachel?"

Zach covered the receiver with his hand and said, "Upstairs probably, talking to her boyfriend Cole on Skype or something."

"Who are you talking to?" Miri asked.

"Nunya, sis."

"Okay, whatever," Miri said; she headed upstairs, where she could hear Rachel's voice talking to someone out loud. Then a male voice that was just starting to deepen replying.

"Rachel?" Miri said, knocking on her sister's bedroom door; "It's me."

Rache answered the knock and said, "Hi Miri, I'm talking to Cole. What's up?"

"You've been hiding up here since about twenty seconds after you gave me an enthusiastic hello yesterday," Miri said; "I thought we might hang out for a bit before Jaime and her friends arrive tomorrow."

"Okay," said Rachel; "Let me finish up here first, okay?"

"I'll be downstairs, Rach. Don't keep me waiting."

"Okay," came Rachel's half hearted reply.

Miri headed down the stairs where she ran into her mother. "What's the big deal about Cole, Mom? I know they met at camp and all, but it sounds serious up there."

Julia looked at her oldest daughter and sighed. "It's as serious as two 12 year olds can get, Miri. Cole and his mother were here to visit in July around Rachel's birthday. Nico Nichols is the former Public Information Officer for Chicago PD. She retired earlier this year for health reasons. She's very nice and is as concerned about this thing between Rachel and Cole as I am. Those two," Julia paused for a moment to collect herself, "snuck off to the barn and were, um, how would you put it? Playing Doctor."

"Wow! Who caught them?"

"Zach did and he won't let her live it down. This was right after Jaime went to Northwestern."

"With you and his mother up here at the house? That takes a lot of balls," said Miri.

"Apparently, they'd done it a camp, too. They didn't get caught there. Rachel told me after she got home," Julia said; "There was no sexual intercourse, just exploring. Rachel said she chickened out about going further, and Cole was okay with that."

"At least they had some sense."

"True, but Nico and I decided that their only contact was through email and Skype," Julia said. "That poor boy probably got the talking to of his life on the way home."

"Yeah, I'd have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that beatdown!" Miri said.

Just then, Rachel came down stairs calling, "Miri, I'm ready to go!"

"Where are you going?" Julia asked Miri.

"Just out into town for a couple hours," Miri said; "You want me to talk to her?"

"Only if she brings it up," Julia said.

"Okay."


===


"I don't mind telling you ladies that I'm nervous about tonight," Helene said; "Then again, if I weren't, I'd quit dancing all together. Being nervous is part of the ritual."

Helene, Jaime and Rina were in their suite's kitchen, eating the take out they had brought home from town. Rina was particularly fond of the tofu and vegetable rolls.

"I'm glad you like those, Rina," Jaime said; "I'm not particularly fond of bean curds and crud like that."

"Oh, so I won't tell you that those 'burgers' I made that you raved about were made with tofu, then," Rina said as she dipped one of the rolls into the sesame sauce.

"They tasted like real burgers though!"

"I know, that's why I thought you might eat them," Rina said; "I've got a great family recipe for lasagne that I make with textured vegetable protein. It's usually made with ground sausage, but since you don't eat pork, I substituted TVP for the sausage. You'll like it, I promise."

"It does sound good," Helene said; "My mom makes this great 'meat' loaf with the same stuff. She actually has to make two just so we have leftovers!"

"You'll have to make it some time," Jaime said; "Maybe it's just the rolls I don't like."

Nothing more was said about their meal and they talked about other things. Jaime and Helene loved Rina's stories about growing up in the small village in Italy where she was from. They liked that her brother seemed pretty cool, too. Vito Alexander finally called his sister when she was actually home and informed her that he was living in Boston and attending Harvard.

At 4pm, Helene left to get ready for the performance. Jaime and Rina would be there at 6:30pm to await the doors opening.

"You know, Rina, I'm kind of nervous for Helene," Jaime said. "Not that she won't dance well, but because she's our friend."

"I can certainly understand that, Jaime," Rina said.


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