GEN II: Chapter 25

The following morning, James and Cedric had breakfast together. The breakfast of champions, left over cake, which they never seem to run out of. Charlie was also on his way to eating, but for some reason moving very slowly this morning. All he could think about was asking Sybil out on a date. He just couldn't wait to see her again. First he had to get through his first day of work and his mothers birthday party, then he was free to go.

Soon, Charlie and James were walking out the door to carpool to their new jobs.

Cedric yelled from behind them, "Why did you guys get a job? This confuses me when our family has more than enough money for you to be unemployed!"

Charlie did not really hear him because his mind was elsewhere, but James did.

Over his shoulder, James replied, "You are going to have to learn some responsibility sooner or later Cedric. We are just ahead of you in maturity I guess." He closed the car door behind his last word so Cedric couldn't answer back. He and Charlie pulled out of the drive.

"Whatever!" Cedric called after the car. He then made his way upstairs to dance the day away. 'I don't need responsibility, I need fun!' He thought to himself.

Downstairs, Isabel had eaten her breakfast and was cleaning up after herself. In a very unusual way. She loved the icing on the cake so much she just had to lick the plate clean. Hey it was her birthday today, Isabel could do anything she wanted right? At least that was her way of thinking.










Cedric and his mother spent most of the day together, just talking.

"So it's your birthday today, how do you feel, Ma?" Cedric asked.

"Actually, I feel rather free. It should bother me a little that I'm getting older, but it really doesn't." Isabel replied, "I mean, what news paper wants to follow the workings of an old lady? Maybe we'll have less press around here all the time."

Cedric laughed at his mother. "You have a point, but on the other hand, James, Charlie and I are just as famous as you are. So I doubt the paparazzi will back off."

Isabel thought about that for a moment and realized it was true. She sighed with defeat, "Yeah I guess your right. Hey, don't you forget that I'm the one who made you famous buddy. You didn't just earn it on your own!" She and Cedric laughed.

James and Charlie walked in at that moment with a birthday cake. They each had the same work hours so could ride to and from work together. The grocery store was only half a block away from their workplaces so they stopped and got Isabel her cake.

Isabel lit up at the sight of them. She smiled and hugged all of her boys, then ran upstairs to freshen up.

Charlie and Cedric set up the decorations for the impromptu party. Everyone then met in the dining room to watch the woman of the house blow out her candles.

She only wished for one thing, no more new articles about her. Isabel had grown tired of her publicity. Half the time it was good, or just a dull update on her life. Sometimes though, the press made things up just to have a story. The previous week, the family read in the paper that Isabel had been arrested and was sentenced to two days in prison. The knew it was not true, but the work they had to go through to get others to believe it was tough, and emotionally taxing.



As Isabel started to jump and twirl in the air to allow her body to reflect her age, she realized she couldn't jump anymore. Not very high anyway, she ended up just kind of stuttering her steps in a circle. Her joints just couldn't handle the bounciness they used to have.

Isabel glanced over her elder body to seek the changes that had taken place. There were a few more wrinkles here and there, and where her hair had been black, was now all grey. Other than that, she still felt young, and happy to be aging.










The family sat down to a slice of cake each then went about their own business. Hayden felt a little guilty about the sweet treat he had just consumed and decided to go work it off. He still did not want to gain a single pound.

Isabel found that with aging came the unique ability to just sit all day and do nothing. She rather enjoyed that. All she did was go upstairs to watch the television.

Cedric and James went to play a game of chess and have some quiet thinking time. Charlie followed his mother upstairs, but not to join her on the couch. He was making a call to Sybil, hoping she could come out with him.

He dialed her number and listened to it ring. About the fifth ring, just as he was about to hang up, her voice came on the other line. "Hey Sybil it's, uh, it's Charlie." He was hoping he would have thought of something to say while he waited for her to answer, but he hadn't thought of a thing. Charlie heard her talking to him on the other side of the phone, but couldn't stop thinking about how to phrase the reason he called enough to pay full attention. He got most of what she said and had the proper instinct to say 'uh-huh' and 'yeah!' at the right times.

Finally when there was a break in her speech he just blurted it out. "Sybil, there is a new dance bar in town and I was wondering if you would like to go with me? It's called The Grind, and it's actually right around the corner from my house. We could meet there, if you want."

On the other end of the phone Sybil was just as giddy as could be. "Yes, yes. I'd love to go! I'm out at the grocery store right now, so it would be better to meet. I'll be there in one hour! See you inside." She could hardly contain her excitement as they hung up the phone. Sybil had waited all day for Charlie to call her. Finally she had put it out of her mind and went about her daily chores. She was not really expecting it to be him when her phone rang. Happily she visited the grocery stores restroom and freshened up.



Charlie got there first. Since it was just a block away from his home, he was really early. Anticipating the wait he would have, he brought along a book to read. Charlie entered the dance club and immediately his senses were bombarded with a mixture of many smells like, hot wings, smoke and for some reason gas. Glancing around he noted a small corner with bench seating and made his way there to read and wait.

After only a few minutes he gave up on trying to concentrate on the book. For one thing, it was too loud in here to read and for another he was to anxious to see Sybil again. Charlie got up and decided to mingle.




As he looked around for anyone he might know, he noticed women dancing on the bar, and also noted that, aside from the bartender, he was the only man there. Judging by the women's' expressions they noticed that too. Why hadn't he seen that when he came in? Now it felt as though he was put on the spot and at anytime he would be bombarded with requests to dance.

As he stood thinking of this, a woman with blond hair came up and introduced herself. Though Charlie did not hear her name over the loud music, he politely declined her offer to dance and told her he was waiting on someone. Within a small second of dismissing this woman he heard a giggle from behind him. He turned to see Starr and smiled at her.

"I've never seen someone so out of place, and anxious!" Starr joked.

Charlie laughed and agreed that he must look a little silly standing in the middle of the dance floor, as he was, not doing anything. He told her that he was waiting on a date but offered her a dance anyway. Starr was a good friend, more like a sister to the three boys. There wouldn't be any romantic involvement between them and they both knew it. They were comfortable together.

Out of nowhere came another woman. She requested to cut into Charlie and Starr's dancing. Insisted was more like it.

"Hi I'm Daphne, pleased to meet you Charlie." She said to him as she took his hand and shook it. Starr left looking slightly disturbed.

"Uh... You too, Daphne. To what do I owe the interruption?" Charlie was trying to be nice, but was a tiny bit put-off by the intrusion. ".. And how do you know my name?" Charlies curiosity was peaked now. He didn't think of the fact that he was famous, and most of Twinbrook knew his name.

Daphne laughed and leaned in close to Charlie so he could hear but others could not. Then she said, "Sybil sent me, she told me to tell you she was really sorry but she can't come. Something important came up. I am her sister."

Charlie also had to lean close to Daphne so she could hear him, since the music was so loud. When he got close enough to her, he couldn't help but smell her perfume. Vanilla, she smelled good. He put that thought out of his mind, "Is everything okay with her? Nothing bad happened right?" He asked. Charlie wondered why she didn't just call, instead of sending someone.

Daphne told him that everything was okay as far as she knew but Sybil had a lot of secrets, so she could never be sure. She also said that she would stay, so he would have a little fun tonight and not be completely stood up. Her and Charlie began to talk about whatever came to mind. Charlie learned that Daphne and Sybil had the same mother, different fathers and that Daphne was single. After asking, he was unsure why he wanted to know if she was seeing anyone.

The more the two of them chatted, and the more they got to know of each other, the more Charlie actually looked at her. He noticed her eyes mostly. They were the most vibrant shade of violet he had ever seen in a pair of eyes. Her eyes weren't as revealing as Sybil's were, they held more mystery. She wore make-up, but not that much. He liked that about her, Charlie didn't think she would need it anyway.

As Charlie studied her, his heartbeat quickened. Again, because of this music, she was so close they were almost touching every time either moved. Anytime she did brush him with her hand in some way, Charlie's skin remembered exactly where she had touched, and where she hadn't. Charlie looked up for a moment and noticed a clock on the wall. He was shocked to see how late it was, had they really been talking for hours?



Daphne stepped a little closer to Charlie, filling the gap between them, and that brought Charlie's attention back to her. "Would you like to dance with me Charlie?" She asked, seemingly innocent, but there was something else there. Was she flirting?

Charlie felt heat rise to his throat and head. Was it her or the party fire next to him? Charlie noticed his breathing become shallow and quick, matching the rhythm of his heart. "Uh.. maybe in a minute, would you like a drink?" He offered, mostly to distract himself from her, and what she made him feel. Charlie was actually confused at the moment. He had come here to meet Sybil, the beauty he had met yesterday, yet here he was confronted with another stunning woman. Though he did not want to admit it, he found Daphne very enchanting.

Daphnes eyes showed her slight dissapointment because the dance was denied, but it was only a fleeting glimpse. Soon her eyes went back to their mesmerizing look and she accepted his offer of drinks.











Charlie went up to the bar and ordered a round for every one there. After he and Daphne had finished theirs, Charlie felt renewed. It must have been the drink he had chosen but he felt excited, and for a moment he forgot about Sybil. Much to her delight, Charlie grabbed Daphne and pulled her to the dance floor. There amidst the bubbles, fog and flashing lights Charlie lost himself with her, and they danced well into the night. He watched her move and couldn't help but think of getting just a little closer. He wanted to feel her move, not just see. Though he didn't think she would object, Charlie did not push it too far. He kept his distance, and when the time came for her to leave, he gave her a brief hug and said farewell.

In that three second hug, more happened than he thought would. Again he felt that heat rise inside of him and had a strong urge to squeeze Daphne to him tightly and passionately kiss her goodbye. Why would he feel this way, how could his body betray him like it was? He thought he was interested in Sybil, and then Daphne comes into the picture, now his emotions are running rampant and his thoughts are cloudy.

That night, Charlie crawled into bed thinking about Daphne and the mysteries she held. What a fasination she was. He wanted to get to know her a lot more.