A/N: Editor-woman LysPotter loves this chapter and hopes that you do too!

Forgot to put in a disclaimer. Don't own the plotline of Cinderella the original fairytale. In case you were wondering.

Chapter Three: Disaster

Dad and Hedwig were supposed to get married on the 26th of January, but they left on the tenth for Las Vegas, where they planned to be married in Dad's catering van at a drive through chapel. Hedwig made Heike and Elfie promise to take good care of me, but I already knew they'd end up being the worst babysitters/older sisters ever. I was pretty sure I was better qualified to babysit them.

"We'll be back at the end of the month," Dad said as they left for the airport. He squeezed me tight. "I really do wish you could be there, Cyn."

"Then take me," I begged.

He let go of me and held me at arm's length. "Now, you know why I can't do that." He gestured slightly with his head at my stepmother, who was having difficulty cramming herself into the door of the cab, and for a moment I thought I had my old dad back. Then he cleared his throat, shook his head, and was gone just as fast as he'd come.

"You'll make this easy on me, won't you? You'll obey your sisters and help them out around the house for me? I know they could use your help."

The thought of The Sisters ever being my sisters was revolting. I blinked my eyes quickly to clear the thought of having relations to the Fuchses. "I'll miss you," I whispered. I wasn't sure he knew just how true that was.

"Thank you for being so nice about these new arrangements. I appreciate it."

"Sure."

"Bob!" Hedwig, who had finally accomplished the task of fitting into the back seat with all her luggage, had rolled down the window and was shouting to him.

"Just a minute, babe!" He winked at me and patted my head.

I gave him one last hug before he hurried off to catch the cab.

It was the last time I ever saw him.

BREAK

The day the news came, the day Dad was due home with his new bride, I got home late from school. Though I knew it also meant that Hedwig would officially be my stepmother and that we'd have to move down town, I'd been excited about his homecoming since I'd woken up in the morning. These past few weeks had been so brutal that I found I hardly cared.

Ever since their mom left, they'd been lazy, annoying, crabby, obnoxious, and basically out of control. They listened to their German rock band CDs full blast day and night, watched crazy Spanish soap operas while screaming at the TV, ate chicken noodle soup, popcorn, and ice cream nine meals out of ten, and slept in until eleven every morning. They walked around the house in their pajamas, took thirty-five minute showers that used up all the hot water, and were always shaking bottles of soda to watch them explode all over the kitchen floor. It was like living with two big babies, and by the last week in January I was at my wit's end. The worst part was that they'd recently stopped paying the rent on their apartment. I would never truly be rid of them again.

"Thanks again for driving me home, Mrs. Hoffman," I said as I got out of the car.

"Oh, you know it's no problem, Cyndi. I live right across the street."

Dad usually took me to school in the mornings, but neither Heike nor Elfie was willing to get up to take me. I knew that in five months I would have my own driver's license, but that day just wasn't coming soon enough. For the past two weeks, I'd relied on Mrs. Hoffman. Her and her son Will, who was my age, lived across the street. I used to play with him when we were little, but then he got really weird and I'm pretty sure he started doing drugs, and we hadn't been friends since sixth grade. His mom still insisted we should get married, though, and I think the only reason she agreed to drive me to and from school was because she was still holding onto her dreams that I would one day be her daughter-in-law.

I slung my back pack, bursting with psychology homework, over my back and hurried up the steps. I took a minute to pull down my shirt, dust off my jeans, and tuck a few strands of fly away hairs behind my ears before going inside. I had to look presentable if Dad was already home. Then I realized that was stupid. He wouldn't care if I'd suddenly turned into a turtle.

"What the hell do you mean the plane went down in Georgia? How is Georgia on the way to New York? Do you purposely go out of you way to make sure your passengers die in random places?" The kitchen was at the back of the house, but I could hear Heike's shouted telephone conversation as soon as I walked in the door. "I don't care how sorry you are!" she continued. "It's still you're fault! Sie sind Leute Verlierer! Gott! Sie Dumme Idioten!"

I set my back pack down and rushed into the kitchen. Heike slammed the phone down into the receiver and turned to face Elfie and me, who were waiting anxiously to know if what we were anticipating was the truth. "They're dead," she croaked.

I'd known before she'd even said it, but I had to hear it in words before I'd really believe it. "Who?" I asked. I found that my throat had constricted with the onslaught of tears. I'd spoken just above a whisper.

Heike glared at me. "Our parents," she said slowly, quietly. "They're dead. They died in plane crash in frickin' in Georgia, where they didn't even need to go to get here!" Her face was flaring with anger.

Elfie, who was standing beside me, let out a long, loud wail. Then Heike and Elfie ran to each other, wailing, wining, screaming, and cursing for all they were worth. They didn't welcome me into their embrace. I didn't want to be. There was no wail loud enough, no German swear word angry enough, to express my shock and sorrow. I couldn't comprehend any of it. The thought that my father wouldn't be coming home today, wouldn't ever be coming home again, simply didn't register. He'd never hug me, never wink at me, never smile at me, never joke with me, and never laugh with me. Dad had always been there to comfort me. He'd always been the one to make me feel better. Whenever I needed him, he was there. Just this morning, I'd still been able to count on him. Just a few hours ago, I'd been filled with joy at the thought of seeing him again. And just like that he was gone. All of those things had changed in a matter of minutes, and they would never be the same again. I didn't want to take a step towards a life without my dad. I didn't think I could ever be ready to do that. So I crumpled on the floor right where I was and sobbed for my life that was lost.

BREAK

Heike kicked me. "You're going to have to get up sooner or later. It's kind of hard to do stuff in the kitchen with you lying in the middle of the floor like this."

I didn't move. For two days, I'd remained right where I was, between the table and the kitchen counter, and I had no intention of ever moving again. The tile floor wasn't very comfortable. I was aching all over. I was hungry, tired, and I really had to go to the bathroom, but I wouldn't ever get up. They couldn't make me.

"You are so dramatic. My dad and my mom died too and you don't see me lying on the kitchen floor like an Idioten do you?"

I crossed my arms over my chest, crossed my legs Indian style, straightened my back, and jutted out my chin, trying to look determined and stubborn. Obviously, she didn't get the hint.

"Me and Elfie are your legal gilligans now, the court and our parents said so, and so now you have to do what we say. I say get up and go to the store because we're all out of food. Now skedaddle."

"Huh? Dad left me in the care of you? Isn't there anybody else? A long lost cousin or an old spinster aunt or someone?"

"Humph. It's not like we want you around either, but we don't have a say in this. Mom wanted it and Bob wanted it."

"He did?"

"Ya. So get up and go to the store. And when you get back, do the dishes. They've been piling up."

"You can't tell me what to do, Heike. I don't have to listen to you."

She kicked me again. "We're in charge now. You're a miner. I'm not sure what that's got to do with anything, but that's what the courts say. We're older than you, so we're your legal gilligans and you have to do what we say. How many times do I have to go over this?"

I shook my head. "I'll never move from this spot for as long as I live."

She clenched her fists. "If you're not up off the kitchen floor in three seconds, I'll make that a sure thing. Eine… zwei… drei." She raised her hand as if to slap me, and I sprang up and dashed to the doorway. Heike chuckled. "That's what I thought. You're gonna go to the store now, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"And do the dishes."

"Fine."

She smiled. "I make a good legal gilligan, don't I?"

I rolled my eyes. "You two watch way too many TV re-runs. It's guardian. G-U-A-R-D-I-A-N. And I'm not a miner, I'm a minor. I can't believe I have to follow rules set by somebody who's so stupid!"

She stuck her tongue out at me. "You want to clean the bathrooms, vacuum the den, sweep the laundry room, and wash the windows too?"

"No."

"Then I suggest you skedaddle."

"Fine. Just let me pee first."

BREAK

By the time a month had gone by, I'd nearly gotten used to the hole in my life. Every now and then, I would still have a thought I just couldn't wait to share with my dad. But then I would be forced to remember that I couldn't share anything with him anymore. And I still raced to his den first thing when I got home from school just like I'd always done. But all that awaited me there would be an empty chair. I could still sense his presence in the house sometimes. I suppose when a person is in a home long enough, his person never really leaves. But as soon as I blinked, he was gone. So that's how I learned that the only way to be rid of a hole is to fill it with something. I found my something one afternoon in mid-February.

"You'll never believe this," Elfie said during a commercial break, the only time they talked during their soap operas.

"What?" Heike and I asked in unison.

"Turns out me and you need to get jobs, Heike."

"Why?" she whined.

"Well, first because we don't have any money. Mom always gave us some and she isn't doing that anymore. And second, because the courts say so. We can't be that one's legal gilligans if we can't support her."

Heike slumped in the couch. "A job? Us? We've never worked a day in our lives."

"I know. That's why it sucks. There aren't any jobs in suburbia. There never are."

Heike's eyes lighted up. "Then I guess we'll have to go into the City then, won't we?"

"What?" I asked. "Have you ever been to the City? the City? You guys wouldn't last a day in New York City. There's no way. That place is crazy!"

Heike narrowed her eyes at me and turned to her sister. "You hear something, Elfie?"

"What?" She silenced us and cupped her hands over her ears.

Heike slapped her over the head. She pointed at me with her thumb. "Far as I'm concerned, nobody said anything. Seems we'll be the ones supporting her while she sits at home doing nothing all day and that"

"What? I don't sit at home doing nothing! I go to school. I get all A's. You know how tough that is?"

"Well, if we're getting jobs, then so are you. School isn't very useful to us. Seems to me you ought to be flipping burgers or something. And this house is a mess. Seems to me you ought to be cleaning this place up instead of sitting on your bum complaining."

"Are you people serious?"

They nodded.

I sighed. "Fine. I'll make you guys a deal. This is the house I grew up in. I've lived here my whole entire life. You might not like suburbia, but I do. New York City sucks. I'll get you both a job working for Beth and Jimmy at my dad's old catering business. Even if you have no experience in the food business, they'll take you because they're such good cooks they could teach anybody how to become a five star chef. And while you're working for them, I promise I'll make this place spick and span. The floors will shine."

"If we stay here?" Heike asked, making no effort to mask her disgust.

"Yes. Is it a deal?"

Heike and Elfie mumbled to each other for a few minutes then turned back to me.

"Alright. We'll stay in this dumb town."

I found myself smiling despite myself. "Oh, thank you! You guys won't regret it, I promise."

Elfie grunted. "We'll see."

I knew I'd just killed two birds with one stone. Not only would I be able to stay in this house where all my memories were of a life before the Fuchses, but I would be able to have something to do to keep my mind from wandering in that direction. I still missed my father terribly every day and I hoped that maybe keeping my hands and my mind busy would lessen the pain I felt. Just maybe it would fill my hole.

BREAK

The next morning I took the bus, since The Sisters wouldn't drive me, over to Bob's Best Caterers. Dad didn't work there anymore, but the sign, which was still in need of a new paint job, was still up in front. I hadn't been there since the wedding that had been Dad's last gig. I'd been staying away on purpose, even though Beth had said she'd let me start training with them whenever I wanted. For some reason, it didn't feel right to do any catering or cooking or celebrating with strangers since Dad had died. I was hopeful that she'd let me transfer that promise over to Heike and Elfie and let them learn to cook from Beth and Jimmy instead.

Cammy, the receptionist, knew me. She let me into the kitchen, where Beth and Jimmy were cooking up a storm for Josh Aronowitz's bar mitzvah that night. I snuck behind Beth, who was taking raw beef out of the freezer. "What're you making?"

She jumped in surprised and almost lost the beef. "Why it's Cynthia Ann Moretti! What are you doing sneaking up on me like that?"

Jimmy stepped into the room then. "Hey, Cyndi! You coming to help us tonight?"

Beth and Jimmy had been cooking with Dad since culinary school in the 1980's. They knew more about every type of food there was than anyone I'd ever met and the three of them put together had practically dominated the entire food business. Now, even with a member of their team gone, they continued to be the amazing cooks they'd always been. With the smell of this familiar kitchen surrounding me again, I remembered my dream to be a caterer, and I had to force the words out of my mouth. "Could Heike and Elfie work here? Would you train them instead of me? They need the job more than I do."

Beth and Jimmy gasped. "Why, honey? Don't you want to learn to be a cook anymore?" she asked.

I couldn't lie. "Just as much as always," I sighed. "But I don't have the time. The Sisters need jobs really bad, but they can't find one here. I told them I didn't want to move to the City."

"Those two wouldn't last a day in New York. Did you tell them that?"

I nodded.

"You were going to be our little protégé, Cyndi. We were looking forward to it," Jimmy protested.

"I know. But you'll teach them won't you? So we don't have to leave the suburbs?"

Beth finally relented. "Alright. But it'll take a while. They don't have the brains God gave a goose, you know. Cooking is in your blood, girl, but it's not in theirs."

Jimmy still looked hesitant.

"You guys can teach anybody. Dad always said you were the two best chefs on this side of the Rockies."

"Fine. We'll do it for Bob," he said. "The Fuchs sisters will be master chefs in three days, mark my words."

I smiled. "Thanks, you guys. It means a lot to me."

"We love you, Cyndi. We'll always help you out." Beth pulled the three of us into an embrace.

"Anybody got a car? A ride home would mean a lot to me too."

BREAK

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--roxmysox55