Chapter 37
Elsewhere in the auditorium, closer to the stage, Rod and Tabby had arrived and taken their seats in preparation for their daughters performance. Tabby had decided to wear a red sweater, blue jeans and black winter boots, very much like the ones Lee typically preferred to wear. Rod elected to wear blue jeans as well, a pair of black shoes on his feet, and a black long-sleeved shirt. He had also decided to wear a thick blue zip-up outer jacket. On the jackets left chest area was a small version of the patch of his fire house. On the back of the jacket was a larger version of the patch; the logo depicted a cartoon drawing of a heavily muscled Irishman holding a fire hose in his hand. On the man's arm was an exaggerated tattoo that read "PFD". Above the cartoon the words "Engine 6 - Ladder 16" were written in red font; below the cartoon, the stations slogan, "The House of the Rising Sun" was written (a clever use of the Animals song title, as well as the fact that the street the station was located on in the city was called Rising Sun Avenue).
A few seconds after taking her seat, Tabby opened up her copy of the talent show program, glancing over it for a few moments, before turning towards Rod.
"Well, this is long overdue," said Tabby, "Going to see our daughter perform at a school function. Most parents have already had this experience multiple times by the time their kids were Annalee's age."
Tabby giggled.
"Yeah, I'll admit, it feels a little alien," said Rod, "But I'm definitely glad to see Annalee branching out and trying new things. I mean, just a few months ago, we were worried about her potentially winding up in prison, now we're rooting for her to win a talent show. I'd call that a win."
"Most definitely," said Tabby, "She's overcome so much, it's great to see her flourish. I just wish I could have enjoyed these moments a little sooner. Imagine if I could have gotten her ballet lessons? We would have been doing this every week, and she probably would have already found herself on a running production given the natural talent she's blessed with."
"Tab, remember don't fret on the past," said Rod, "Things were obviously meant to happen this way, and as we see now patience eventually paid off. Let's just focus on the here and now."
Tabby appeared heartbroken for a brief moment, after which she looked to the sky and let her feelings out.
"I just wish Dad was here to see her like this," said Tabby, "He'd be so happy."
"Don't worry Tab," said Rod as he touched his shoulder to hers, "He's watching and smiling from Heaven."
Tabby glanced toward Rod with a smile, after which she turned her attention to the stage.
At that point, Tabby caught a glimpse of an individual in her peripheral vision. Her instincts caused her to turn and glance up towards the figure; at that instant, the smile that had previously adorned her face disappeared, and was replaced by a neutral expression.
Standing around ten feet away, in the auditorium aisle was a petite woman, around 5'5" tall with a slender frame. She wore a pair of black designer winter boots (the "hot highly expensive Christmas fashion item), and a pair of skin tight blue jeans. Covering her torso was a grey winter coat. From its sleeves the woman's black glove-covered hands emerged, somewhat contrasting with the color of the trim. The woman's brunette hair was styled in a "pixie cut", and combed slightly to the right side. She maintained a sarcastic grin on her face as she began making her way through the aisle, intent on passing Tabby to take an empty seat further down the row.
Tabby's eyes remained locked on the woman with an angry glare as she passed her position. As the woman approached she decided to initiate a conversation.
"Tabitha Kanker," said the woman, "Didn't think you were important enough for me to remember your name did you?"
"Edyta Babik," said Tabby, "It's true I didn't think you would remember my name, but I would have went with the fact that it was probably out of stupidity than your importance. By the way for your information, it's Tabitha Lonergan now."
Tabby raised her left hand in the hair to show off her wedding band with a sarcastic smile.
"Oh please Hun," said Edyta, "You call that a wedding ring? You obviously haven't met Ms. Statorowski yet."
Edyta removed the black glove covering her left hand. On her left ring finger was a large diamond mounted on an ornate wedding band. She snickered as she held out the jewelry for Tabby to see.
"You twisted bitch," said Tabby, "You managed to pull it off. To be fair, you've always been one to take advantage of the weak, but I'd at least thought you'd be honest with yourself by now."
"What can I say?" said Edyta with a sarcastic smile, "It's survival of the fittest. A ladies gotta know how to get herself further in this world, and if looks, a little manipulation, and some lying are gonna get me everything I need in the world then so be it. I still beat you to the alter by ten years."
Edyta laughed, much to Tabby's annoyance. She paused for a brief second, at which point she decided to continue with her antagonistic rhetoric.
"I take it you're out here to see your little clone dance that silly little ballet routine," said Edyta, "Not that it matters, cause Lindsay's got this in the bag. Everyone loves her, just like everyone loved me."
"Right," said Tabby, "If you call being feared love."
"Fear works just as well," said Edyta, "You'd be surprised how much power one can derive from guilt. It can really keep things under the thumb."
Edyta snickered sarcastically at her previous statement, at which point Tabby rose up out of seat to meet her at eye level.
"You sick bastard," said Tabby as she agressively pointed towards her face, "You better not be doing anything to that poor girl, especially making her think that it was her fault!"
Edyta remained still, a sarcastic smile adonrning her face as Tabby continued to gaze upon her with an angry stare. A few moments passed, at whoch point Tabby decided to continue,
"Look, you got what you wanted," said Tabby, "They hate each other, wasn't that your goal?"
"My goal was to ensure that anyone associated with me does not associate with the filth that you created for yourself." said Edyta, "You should have known better than to even allow them to start playing together. I'm surprised you're that stupid, even after all the wonderful times we spent together in high school."
Edyta laughed sarcastically at her previous statement, as Tabby clenched her fists out of anger.
"The foolish things that plague one generation don't need to spill into another." said Tabby, "I know you take pride in this miserable existence you created, but you had no right to drag that sweet innocent girl down with you."
Edyta snickered.
"Whatever works," said Edyta as she leaned towards Tabbys ear, "I've gotten away with it this long, so why stop?"
Edyta snickered as she began walking away from Tabby, pausing after taking a few steps.
"Oh by the way Raggedy Anne," said Edyta, "Glad to see that your hair came back nice and thick!"
Edyta laughed maniacally as she continued on her way down the aisle, eventually taking her seat on the other side of the auditorium. Tabby retook her seat, angry, yet calm and collected as Rod grabbed her hand in a laced finger hold.
Within five minutes, the auditorium was almost completely filled. The lights were set to go out in two minutes, at which point the student body president would take the podium to formally kick off the annual high school tradition.
Backstage, only Double Dee, Eddy and Marie remained. With a quick check of the time, Double Dee decided that he and Marie should head down to grab a seat, and watch the show until it was time to mount the piano for Lee and Eddy's performance.
Double Dee approached his short best friend, who was currently staring out at the audience through the curtain.
"Excuse me Eddy." said Double Dee, attempting get his attention.
Eddy, startled as if he had seen a ghost, let go of the curtain and quickly turned to face his friend.
"Yeah Sockhead, what's up?" asked Eddy, barely able to get the words out of his mouth and sweating bullets.
"Marie and I are going to go down to the auditorium to watch the production, as only active participants are allowed back stage once the show starts," said Double Dee, "I just wanted to remind you that you may want to, at some time, head out to the classrooms to check on Lee. Being as passionate as she is about her performance, she may loose track of time and inadvertently miss her performance."
At that point, a familiar tough-talking female voice rang out from behind.
"What do you think, I'm some kind of idiot? I know how to read a watch."
The voice was quite familiar to all three individuals, and recognizable as Lee Kanker. However, upon turning around to face the source of the voice, all three teenagers were taken aback as the appearance of the individual did not match the voice in the slightest
Standing before them was the tall, thin figure of Lee, her right hand rested on her left as her left arm hung towards the ground. She was wearing a light pink ballet tutu, with an attached white bodice. The thin white straps of the bodice passed over her shoulders to her back and fit her figure quite nicely. Her legs were covered with white tights, and on her feet were pink pointe shoes.
Lee had removed her glasses, tied her red curls up in a high, tight bun, and placed a silver tiara sat atop her head to complete the costume. She and her sisters had spent an hour perfecting her makeup, and their efforts were most definitely worth it. Lee's face, while still adorned with sarcasm, radiated under the stage lights; the makeup surrounding her eyes also seemed to make her blue eyes sparkle much more than usual.
Due to the surprise of seeing Lee not only in traditionally "extremely feminine clothing", but also dolled up beyond belief, all three individuals stood in silence having no idea how to react. Eddy, especially, appeared as if his jaw were about to drop to the floor.
A few seconds passed, after which Lee finally decided to reply.
"What the hell's the matter, ain't any of ya's seen the Sugarplum Fairy before?"