Chapter 8
September is here so it's time to look at the list of the cast for the Nutcracker ballet. Already the adult looked for their parts and now it's the kids' turn. All the little ones dance their hearts out to please the company so they can get their desired part without any cheats or sabotage. Already some of the adults are doing that and it never turns out great in the end. Look at Black Swan. Luckily, at least it's implied, in the movie, Nina survives and is no longer a child but a grown woman. I mean have you seen how crazy her mother is? Thank goodness she survived the accidental stabbing of herself though somehow no one noticed the blood while she was on stage. The show must go on I guess. Anyway, most of the little girls and boys walked up to the list to look for their names. Some here happy, others were sad, but luckily unlike their parents, they were at least content with what they got. Mary and Abby were in the back, arms locked with each other, and scared about the results. Mary said, "No matter what happens, we're each other's understudy and we'll dance our hearts out." Abby nodded.
Both did the sign of the cross on themselves and walked up to the list. Abby said, "You look for my name, I'll look for your name." Mary nodded.
Soon enough they were hovering on the list nearly really close to their face, like an otaku looking for the latest manga, a nerd looking for the next fantasy book from George R. R. Martin that may or may not ever come, or an adult looking for the next spicy story for their collection. The 2 started from the bottom and made their way to the top. Once at the top of the page, they yelled, "We got our parts!"
Abby said, "Mary, you got Clara. You got the starring role!"
Mary said, "And Abby you got three parts for you to shine. One of the extras for the kids, Mother Ginger's little bees or clowns, and the Mouse King himself!" The 2 jumped up and down as they hugged each other. "I'm so happy for us!"
Abby said, "I know I am. Always wanted to do the floss as the Mouse King." Abby did the floss dance and the 2 laughed.
Once out of the building Mary and Abby saw Abby's mom. Abby ran to her. "Mom! We got the parts we wanted!"
Ziva hugged her daughter. "Oh, I'm so happy to hear that." She turned to Mary. "I bet you're happy about that aren't you Mary?"
Mary nodded. "I am Miss Ziva." Then she looked around. "Is mom here yet?"
Ziva shook her head. "I've been waiting here most of the day and I haven't seen her."
Abby asked her mom. "Can we wait until she comes, mom?"
Ziva nodded her head. "Sure. We'll wait an hour and if not then, we'll call her to see if she's on her way."
So the three sat at the ballet theater steps waiting for Mary's mom to pick her up. With their chins resting in their hands, and their arms resting on their knees on their legs, they waited, and they waited, and they waited. Finally and the hour passed and Ziva got her phone out. Mary said, "I don't think she's coming."
Ziva rubbed her back as she was disappointed in her daughter's friend's mother. Lately, her parents have been a bit neglectful since Mary got into the ballerina company. The only few that paid any attention to her were her grandparents, her sister, and her brother for the most part. Ziva got her phone out. "I'm gonna call your house."
Abby tugged at her mother's coat. "Mom, can we have a sleepover at my house?" She looked back at Mary who was sad and disappointed. "I don't want her to be sad on the same day we got our roles."
Ziva smiled and patted her back. "Sure thing, but I still need to call them."
After the phone rang a bit, someone answered it. "Engel residence, Alexander speaking."
Ziva said, "Hello Mr. Alexander, I'm Ziva. My daughter, Abby, is a friend of Mary."
Grandpa recognized that voice. "Miss Ziva hello. Nice to hear from you. How are you?"
Ziva answered, "Fine thank you. The reason why I'm calling is that, do you know when Mary's mom or dad is coming?"
Grandpa was a bit confused. "You mean she's not there? She left about an hour ago and," Then he heard the door open and saw Sarah coming with bags of food and with her other kids. "Hold on one moment." He put the phone off of speaker. "Sarah, why didn't you pick up Mary today?"
Sarah said, "Didn't have the time, Tom said he's gonna pick her up."
Grandpa said, "He's upstairs asleep and he told me you were gonna pick her up."
Sarah shrugged. "Well, I'm sure she can take the bus home from school. She's done it before."
Grandpa put his hands on his hips. "This is Saturday, she has ballet at the company."
Sarah started to put the food away. "Then she can walk home. The Japanese do theirs at the age of 2." She looked at her father-in-law and he was up to the point of growling. "Did I do something wrong?"
He replied, "You bet your boots." He picked the phone back up and put the phone back on speaker. "Turns out that Sarah forgot Mary today. I can come to pick her up but it'll take some time."
Sarah realized what happened and turned pale. Ziva sighed. "No, no, don't worry about that. Abby asked me if Mary can stay over at my house for a sleepover. Is that alright? It'll help take her mind off of this and maybe get back to her happy mood since she got the ballet part she wanted. Same with my kid."
Grandpa was surprised. "Mary got the lead and is playing Clara?!" Sarah heard it and fainted. Grandpa made no effort to check on her. "That's wonderful! You know what, a sleepover is a great idea. I'll pack her clothes, her book, and her Baby-Bop doll. Mind if I come over to celebrate with her for a while?"
Ziva smiled. "That sounds wonderful. I'll text you my address. What's your phone number?"
He replied, "(216) ***-****. I'll be there in a little while. Thanks."
Ziva replied, "No problem." She hung up and turned to Mary. "Hey Mary, how about a sleepover at my house?"
Mary smiled. "That sounds great."
Ziva nodded. "Good. Your grandfather will come by with your stuff for the night and he's gonna stay a bit to celebrate."
Abby smiled. "Cool! Our first sleepover together!" The 2 hugged and soon all three got into Ziva's car.
Meanwhile back at the house, Sarah woke up from her fainting spell from some water from the retractable fossette. She wiped her face as she looked up at her father-in-law. "Tomorrow we're celebrating her milestone, and if this happens again, we're going to Disneyland AND Disneyworld every summer until she…does…all…three. Which means that can go up until she's into her mid to late 30s." Sarah didn't like that. "If you weren't anti-Disney now, you will be after that." His daughter-in-law glared at him. "Would you rather have a Caillou marathon for the next 10 years?" That made her pale. "I thought so." He left the kitchen and went to his granddaughter's room. There he got a backpack and got her some clothes, some pajamas, the book he made her since she can't stop reading it, and her Baby-Bob doll she got for her birthday. The last time they forgot to pick Mary up, as an 'I'm sorry' they gave Mary her own room, but there would still be nights where one of the twins would sleep in one of the rooms and vice-versa. As he packed the stuff, he stopped and paused. He looked up to the heavens and said a prayer. "Please Lord, I love this girl and I don't know how long I'm alive in this world, but something tells me that the love is slowly disappearing in this family. I don't want my grandkids to suffer. If there's a way to spare them, any of them, then please do it. I can't protect this family forever and you know who will come if there's a slip again. Please find a way to spare them, especially my Mary. Amen."
Back with the girls, the three made it to Ziva's house and parked the car. They went inside and went to the living room to relax and Ziva went to Abby's room and pulled out the spare bed from under her daughters. "I'm seriously worried about that girl." She said to herself. She got a few blankets, got a pillow or 2, and made sure the bed was fresh and ready for use. Luckily unlike other pullout beds that have those super thin mattresses, this one has a good mattress including a purple on top of that for extra comfort. Once she was done, she checked on the girls and they were watching TV flipping between Looney Toons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the 2012 version. Ziva walked in and asked the 2, "No ballet movies?"
Abby said, "We like these 2. Besides, the 3 Stooges won't be on until tonight."
Mary said, "And we like having a good laugh."
Soon enough the doorbell rang. Ziva walked to the door, looked through the peep-hole and saw Mary's grandfather, and opened the door. "Hello, Mr. Engle."
Grandpa smiled and walked in. "Hello, Ziva." He held up the backpack. "Got her stuff. Where's my ballerina?"
Ziva gladly took the backpack. "She's in the living room watching Looney Toons and TMNT."
Grandpa was impressed. "The good stuff huh?" He walked inside and went to the living room. "Where're my ballerinas?" Abby and Mary turned their heads and saw Alexander. They quickly got up and hugged him. "I'm so happy you 2 got the parts you wanted."
Mary asked, "Will you be able to go Grandpa? I don't know if mom, dad, Max, or Beth will go."
Grandpa said, "I'll be there poppet. There's no way I'm missing my granddaughter's first ballet performance." Then he looked at Abby. "And there's no way I'm missing this little jumping bean bounce all over the stage as the Rat King." He rubbed Abby's hair as she laughed. He stood up straight. "Now I don't know if you all had dinner but how about the 4 of us go out to dinner?"
Ziva said, "I don't want us to be in the way. What about your wife?"
Grandpa replied, "Nonsense. Besides, she is punishing Mary's family as we speak at the moment and I don't want to go into the unmentionables if that's alright. Her punishments are almost as scary as mine. Though to be honest I don't know how long her dark side will last. People change when something happens."
