You’ve begged.

You’ve pleaded.

You’ve demanded.

You’ve even used your dogs to guilt trip me.

So here you go.   Twice the amount of Twirl, for one super long post.

For my new Invisible Friends, Twirl is the story of a star-crossed ballerina named Vivi and her handsome cowboy named Wade, who have stumbled into a international ballet scandal and a old Texas legend that might possibly lead to riches! To catch up in the archives, go to the Never Ending Stories Tab at the top of this site.  For the previous edition, go here.

Shameless plug:  Check out my book on Amazon.com!

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Vivi sucked in her breath, praying her father didn’t see the panic in her eyes. “What boy?”

Her father scoffed.  “That boy in your class.  The untalented one.  Damien, I believe?”

“What about him?”  Vivi’s shoulders slumped in relief.  He didn’t know about Wade.  She was safe.

“The dance you are doing with him, it is not good enough,” her father informed her.  “Mrs. Angelson has started you on new steps, correct?”

“Yes.”  Vivi watched his hooded eyes carefully.  “What about it?”

A sinister sneer spread over her father’s pinched face.  “In Houston, they are having the dance symposium in a month.  It is for only the best of the best. I told you about this, yes?”

“Ok,” Vivi said, raising an eyebrow.  “So why do you want me to change the dance with Damien?  I thought you and Mrs. Angelson wanted us to do the Lover’s Dance.”  Her cell phone buzzed again, urgent.  Her fingers brushed over her pocket and she bit her lip.

“We came up with something better,” her father replied airily.  He dropped her wrist, his eyes gazing down the hallway.  “If we win this, they will know,” he whispered, his eyes fixed on a invisible opponent.  “They will know what we can do.  They will know how wrong they were, how wrong they all were.  They will pay.  Oh yes.  They will pay handsomely.”

Even as Vivi opened her mouth, she knew it was a mistake.  “Who are you talking about?”

Her father’s black blazing eyes fixed on her.  “The dance world, of course.  I’ve told you how they shunned my career when I was in the prime. ”

Vivi rolled her eyes.  “You’ve totally got a complex.  Get over it.”

She should have kept her mouth shut.

“Get over it?” her father hissed, drawing closer.  Vivi shrank back, wishing she could melt into the door.  “Get over it?  Do you know what it’s like to be shunned by those who celebrated you?  To pay your bills dancing in seedy clubs just to eat?” His black eyes bored into her.  “You don’t know, because we have protected you,” he snarled.  “We have wrapped you in gossamer, coddled you.”

“You mean you’ve lied to me!” Vivi snapped. She raised her porcelain chin and leveled her fiery green eyes at her father.  “I know, Dad.  I know everything.  I know about you and Mom.”  The cell phone buzzed for a third time, shaking against her skin.  She ignored it, keeping her father in her gaze.

The color drained from her father’s face.  He staggered back, his sallow chest rising and falling.  “Who told you?”

“What does it matter?” Vivi retorted, tossing her reddish-blond curls.  “I know Mom was a famous actress and model.  So what did you do, huh?   What did you do to make her disappear?  How did you ruin her career–like you ruined yours?”

Her father’s face flared crimson.  “You little brat”– he snarled, rushing towards her.  His arm raised and Vivi cowered, pressing her body into the door.

“No!” Her mother flew from the shadows, grabbing his arm and pulling her back.  “Don’t touch her!  You will never touch her again!  Not like that!”

Cursing in Russian, her father threw her mother to the side of the room.  “One more mistake,” he warned, glaring at Vivi.  “One more mistake, one more missed dance, one more call from Mrs. Angelson–and we go to Houston immediately.  We will win that competition.  I’ll have nothing else get in the way.  Nothing.”  Storming out of the room, he slammed the door to his office.

Drawing in a shaky breath, Vivi peeled herself off the door.  She helped her mother up, studying her face in the dim light.  It was true.  Even after years of neglect, her mother’s face was that of the woman she had seen in the magazine earlier.

“Mom, why didn’t you tell me?” she asked softly.  “Why didn’t you tell me you were Tracy Taylor?”

A ghost of a smile stretched across her mother’s tired cheeks.  “Tracy Taylor died long ago,” she answered in a dull voice.  “Unfortunately.”  Her pale blue eyes flickered, the most life Vivi had seen in them for years.  “You don’t know how much I miss her,” her mother murmured.  “I still dream…”  Shaking her head, she straightened up.  “I’m sorry about your father, dear,” she repeated.  “But you know how he gets when he’s in one of his moods.  You shouldn’t push him like you do.  It’s not good”–

“Mom, I don’t want to talk about Dad,” Vivi interrupted.  “I want to talk about you.  Why did you give up your career?  Why did you walk away from everything?”

The former Tracy Taylor’s eyes filled with tears.  “I didn’t have a choice,” she whispered, her voice catching with a repressed sob.  “After what I had done, I didn’t have a choice…”

“What did you do?” Vivi asked, touching her mother’s arm.  “What happened?  Tell me.”

Her phone buzzed again, its angry humming shattering the mood.  Shaking her head, Vivi’s mother drew back.  “Some other time, dear,” she stuttered.  “You better answer that–I’ll see you in the morning.  Good night.”

Scurrying into the shadows, her mother disappeared as quickly as she had been seen.  Gritting her teeth in frustration, Vivi bounded up the steps to her room and slammed the door.  She pulled out her cell phone and glanced at the display.  Four missed calls from Wade.  Cracking open the phone, she dialed his number.

“Wade?” she said when he picked up.  “I’m sorry.  My parents were–”

“Vivi.”  Her name on his lips was a sob of despair.  A cold sweat enveloped her and her hands began to tremble as his words struck her ears.  “Vivi–it’s my grandfather.  Someone broke into my grandmother’s room and stole everything.”

Vivi sucked her her breath.  “Margaret,” she whispered.

“Yes,” Wade agreed.  “One of the ranch hands saw her break in and confronted her.   She threw an old cast iron wall hanging at him and about broke his skull in half.  My grandfather rushed in with a gun just as she was sliding through the window.”

Vivi exhaled, her shoulders shuddering.  “So he’s not hurt?”

“Not physically,” Wade replied.  “She took all of the research my grandfather had, and several of the history books my grandmother had collected.  She even grabbed some baby pictures of my dad.  I think that’s what he’s most pissed about.”

Vivi rubbed her temples with one hand.  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, closing her eyes.  “This is getting out of hand.”

“I don’t know about you,” Wade replied, his voice hard over the phone, “But I’m more determined than ever to find this danged tresure.  I want to see Margaret’s face when we find it instead of her.”  Vivi smiled at the thought.  “Where are your papers at?”

“Susanne’s house,” Vivi assured him.  “And her dad’s a cop.  Plus, she’s got like nine siblings.  No one could get in there undetected.  And her mom’s a karate instructor on top of everything, so she wouldn’t last long.”

Wade chuckled.  “Where were you, earlier?” he asked suddenly.  “When I called, I mean.  Is everything ok?  You usually answer your phone the first couple of rings.”

Vivi leaned against the wall and swallowed hard.  Biting her lip, she answered, “I was talking to my parents.”

“Is everything ok?” he asked, worried.  “He wasn’t–he wasn’t mean to you again, was he?”

Vivi took a deep breath.  “He would have been,” she answered truthfully.  “But my mom stopped him.”

“Hey, did you tell your mom about the article you found?” Wade asked.  “What’d she say?”

“She admitted it was her, but she wouldn’t say why she got out of the business.”  Vivi raked her fingers through her tangled hair in frustration.  “And my dad was saying some weird stuff tonight about proving people wrong.  We’ve only got a few more weeks until that competition in Houston.  He’s obsessed with it.”

“We better start working faster, then,” Wade mused.  “It won’t take Margaret to go through those papers.  And once she doesn’t find what she wants, she’ll come after  you next.”

Vivi scowled.  “I’m not scared of that old bat.”

“I’m not either,” Wade replied.  “But while she’s not dangerous now, she could be soon.  If she gets desperate, there’s no telling what she may resort to.  Did you figure out where the next dancehall is?”

Vivi shook her head, then remembered he couldn’t see her.  “I need to look at my letters.  I’ll go over to Susanne’s before dance tomorrow and read them.  I’ve got a vague idea, so it shouldn’t take long.”

“Great,” Wade answered, some cheer returning to his voice.  “I’ll see you at the dancehall after your class, then?”

A smile crept across her worn face.  “Always.”

“All right then.”  There was a short silence.  “I–I adore you, Vivi.  I really do.”

Her cheeks burned.  “Wade, you mean everything to me.  I can’t believe it’s only been a little bit, but”–

“–It feels like forever,” he finished.  “I know, darling.  I feel it too.”  The phone was warm in Vivi’s hand, the plastic slick on her damp palm.  “Sweet dreams,” he murmured.

“Good night,” Vivi whispered.  She pressed the off button on the phone and fell onto her bed, beaming from ear to ear.  Stretching her hands behind her head, she nestled into her pillow.

She dreamed of twirling with Wade.

***

“So Vivi, when do I get to hunt for clues with you?” Damien’s face protruded in her vision, his thick tongue sliding across his lips like a vile reptile.

“Never,” Vivi snapped, lifting her leg onto the bar and stretching.  Undettered, Damien thrust his face under her arm and peered up at her.

“I know you were at Susanne’s before this,” he whined, pouting.  “If she gets to help you, how come I don’t?”

“Who said we were working on clues?” Vivi asked, turning to stretch her other side.  She shoved Damien’s face from under her arm.  He ducked around the barre and peered over her shoulder.

“What else would you be doing, homework?” he scoffed.  “Plus, I know you took a bunch of papers over there.”

Vivi froze.  Her shoulders tightened, the muscles in her back turning to stone.  “What?”

“Ha!” Damien smirked.  His face turned pink with pleasure as he shoved a bony finger in her face.  “See, I’m a great detective.  That’s why you should let me help you.”

Vivi slid her leg off the barre and put her hands on her hips.  Susanne, who had been standing a few feet away, looked up sharply.  “I didn’t tell him a thing, Vivi,” she assured her, glaring at Damien.  “I wouldn’t tell that snake anything.”

Damien made a face at her.  Vivi stepped closer, using every inch of her height to tower over him.

“How did you know that?” she snarled, her green eyes blazing.

“It’s not hard,” he snorted.  “You don’t move very secretly.  Plus, I’m not the only one watching you.  That old lady–the one who wears all black.  She saw too.”

Vivi gulped.  She twisted around to look at Susanne, who’s olive skin had gone pale.  Biting her lip, she turned back to Damien.  “What else did you see?”

Damien hesitated, then a sly look crept across his face.  “What else do you think I saw?”

“Class!”  Mrs. Angelson stepped into the center of the room with a loud clap.  “Positions!  It’s time to warm up!”

With a final sneer, Damien hurried to his place.  Vivi whispered to Susanne as they hurried to the center of the room, “We’ll find another place for those papers.  I don’t want your family at risk, especially after what Wade said last night.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Susanne replied, her eyes narrowing.  “This is my fight now, too.  I’m going to talk to my dad.  He’ll slap a restrainer on her faster than”–

“Miss Jenkins, is there a problem?” Mrs. Angleson called, eyeing the girls.  “Do you wish to share with the class?”

“No ma’am.”   Susanne stepped away and slid into first position, looking straight ahead.  Vivi followed suit.  She moved blindly through the movements, her eyes locked on the clock.  Every minute was torture.  Staring at the dancehall across the street, she danced until the sun had set and the neon lights were blinking.

“You’re dismissed!” Mrs. Angelson called.  “Vivi, may I talk with you for a moment?”

Cursing inwardly, Vivi hurried up to Mrs. Angelson.  She had to meet Wade in fifteen minutes.  “Yes ma’am?”

“You know that new routine I mentioned?”

Vivi nodded.  “Yes, ma’am?”

“I’d like to get started tonight,” Mrs. Angelson informed her.  “Get some water, and we’ll get started.”

Vivi’s heart began to hum nervously.  “Mrs. Angelson, I can’t do it tonight.”

“Oh?”  Her teacher raised a eyebrow.  “And why not?”

“I have an appointment,” Vivi replied.  Her breath froze in her chest as Mrs. Angelson looked over her shoulder towards the dancehall, then back at Vivi.

“Are you sure you can’t break this…appointment?” she asked.  “It’s very important we get started as soon as possible. And your father assured me that you were committed to your dancing.”

“I am,” Vivi assured her.  “Truly, I really am.  But I already promised I would do this.  Just give me tonight to get it wrapped up, please?”  Her teacher tapped her dance shoe against the floor, her eyebrow nearly touching the ceiling.  Vivi gulped.  “You’re not calling in your favor, are you?” she whispered, her throat raw with emotion.

Mrs. Angelson’s lips twitched.  “Not today, dear.  Go on to your appointment.  I’ll see you tommorow.”

A sigh of relief exploded from Vivi’s lips.  “Thank you,” she murmured, grabbing her dance bag and rushing out of the room.  “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Mrs. Angelson said nothing.  Standing in the center of the empty dance studio, she watched through the window as Vivi’s lithe form rushed across the living room to the dancehall.

With a tiny smile, she reached for the phone.

***

Wade swung her around, spinning her so her toes brushed the ground and the neon lights swirled over her head.  Pulling back, he smiled at her.  “So how are you?  Care for a dance?”  He started to lead her onto the dance floor, but Vivi grinned and yanked him back towards her.  Sliding her arms around his waist, she smiled up at him.

“I know where the next clue is.”

Wade’s eyes widened.  “Really?  Are you sure?”

“99 percent positive,” she boasted.

Wade whooped, causing dozens of eyes to glance their way.  “Let’s go, darling!” he cried, grabbing Vivi’s hand and turning towards the door.  “We got a mystery to solve, girl!”  He whirled around to see Hilda standing in his path, holding a stack of Styrofoam boxes and two soda cans.

“Would you quit whooping like a deranged primate?” she scolded, her long brains swinging.  “Here, make sure she eats this.  She’s getting skinner every time she comes in here.”  Hilda eyed her.  “We don’t go for any of that anorexic nonsense, young lady.  God gave us food and we should eat it.  It’s the Christian thing to do.”

“Yes ma’am,” Vivi promised as Wade shoved the boxes in her arms and pulled her out the door.  “I’ll be sure to do that.”

“And eat your pie!” Hilda shouted as the front door closed behind them.  “Pie is important!”

After helping Vivi into the passenger side of the truck, Wade slid the food boxes onto the center console.  A large hand tapped on his shoulder.  He turned to see the sheriff standing behind him, his eyebrows knit in concern.

“Wade, I need to talk to you a second.”

To be continued…

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends!  Tomorrow we have a new Critter Confessions from Mrs. Frizzle!  After that, we have a week full of whimsical fun!  Stay tuned!