The end of peak tourism season was fast approaching. Talia typically wrapped it up with a big showcase. Each siren was in charge of one routine, either one of their “greatest hits” or a preview of what they had planned for the following year. The one caveat was that they all had to fall under the same theme.
For the first time, Talia handed the responsibility of coordinating this special night to someone else-- that person being Amber. She received the honor with an understandable amount of skepticism, but it didn’t take much to convince her. Talia’s biggest selling point: after extensive research, she concluded that Amber’s theme night was the most successful in Calypso’s history in terms of both money earned and customer satisfaction. She also conceded that the old formula had grown tired and stagnant so fostering fresh new ideas was essential to its future.
Two days of brainstorming with Talia and Emilia later, Amber knew exactly what she wanted. For starters, everyone who wanted a solo would get one. All three of them hoped Scarlet would finally have the courage to do one herself. Emilia considered her opening number from Amber's show but decided instead on the idea that came out during their first rehearsal together. She shared the song choice with Talia and she agreed that it was perfect for her. (“I admit. I was too protective of you. That is to blame for everything that went wrong between us.”) Amber would reprise her solo from her theme night. She also planned to bring back her old quartet routine that featured the twins, Vanessa and herself. Then in the end, everything would culminate in one massive energetic group number.
While Talia and Emilia met with Vanessa to go over the details, Amber called Scarlet to discuss the same with her. The lukewarm reception she received once she finished her pitch caught her off guard.
“Is everything ok?” Amber finally asked after a long pause.
“Yeah, I’m ok. Listen, can we meet somewhere? I have to tell you something and I want to do it in person.”
* * *
“You don’t have to be so serious. I promise it’s nothing bad… although it's kind of a big deal.” Amber exhaled, taking her time as she sat herself beside her. Beaming while looking down, Scarlet blushed. “I haven’t told any of the others about this so right now this is a little secret just between us. Even before I found out who you really were, I wanted you to be the first one to know…”
“Know what?”
A few happy tears fell as she said, “I’m pregnant.”
“Oh wow… um, congratulations, I guess? I mean, if you’re happy about it. I know how difficult it was for you the last time....”
“Yeah, I know. I've been talking to Dr. Rodriguez and he said I should be okay this time. It's been a lot to process but I think... yeah, I am happy."
“Ok, good, then I’m happy for you…” Amber stuttered. She noticed how she’d rested her hand in the space between them on the stage and suddenly felt awkward. As “Amber”, she kept her warmest feelings locked inside and was never comfortable enough to express them openly. But on an occasion like this, “Carmen” wouldn’t have hesitated. “Um, I’m still not used to…”
“What? Showing any sort of affection now that you’re not hiding behind some new identity?” Amber opened her mouth to object when Scarlet playfully rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you’re a big softie under that tough exterior.”
Amber cracked a smile, “shut up,” before pulling Scarlet in for a warm embrace. She made a mental note to be careful of her midsection as she increased her grip strength. She wanted badly to articulate how much she’d missed having the close friendship they once had but never found the words. Scarlet offering equal strength in return was thankfully all the confirmation she needed that she understood.
After they separated, Amber asked, “So… when you were having stomach issues during rehearsal, it was this?”
“Apparently, yeah,” she shrugged, “I had really bad morning sickness for the first couple of weeks. The night of your show wasn’t even the worst of it, but I think finally things have settled down.”
“That’s good… So, does Javi…”
“Not yet. I invited him to come by here later so I’ll tell him then.” Her smile dissipated as she added, “I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while but with all that’s happened, I didn’t know the right time.”
“I’m sorry but how did you keep something like this secret for so long? You’re usually bursting to talk about stuff like this.”
“Hmm… that’s part of the reason I wanted you to know first. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of this until I was ready. Emilia and my sister would be fawning over me. Talia would be asking me a lot of questions I don’t have answers for yet. But with you, it’s the same reason I slept on your couch while I was figuring things out with me and Javi. I knew you would give me the space I needed until I was ready.” Scarlet paused as she read the clock in the back of the room, which read a quarter after 12. “And pretty soon, you’re going to be working with everyone on the showcase. I want to be part of it but I’m not sure how much I can be involved. The last thing I want is to overdo it.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. Whatever you feel comfortable doing is fine by me. Any ideas?”
“I know how much everyone wants me to do a solo so I guess I’ll do that.”
“Again, only if you want to.”
“No, really. I do. The routine I meant to do the other night is really important to show people. It’s the closest thing I have to capturing what I went through. Do you have any spare ideas for twin routines? I talked to Ruby about it on my way over here but neither of us could come up with anything.”
“Well…” Amber folded her hands on her lap, knitting her fingers tightly together. “I don’t know how much you’ve heard about this from the others, but…” She spent the next several minutes taking Scarlet through the series of events that unfolded between her and Rodrigo. The assault, Ruby reporting it to Alejandro (an overstep she’s now extremely grateful to her for) and going to The Underground with Talia to deal with him one last time. Through the course of this monologue, Scarlet placed her hand over Amber’s and squeezed whenever she cringed or her voice broke. In response, Amber flashed her a grateful smile and used the strength it gave her to press onward. “After that, I got an idea for a routine to sort of bring it to life… but it might be a little too cutthroat to show to the public.”
“Then, we’ll just dance it for ourselves. What did you have in mind?” “There’s one country song I like that would sum it up perfectly. Basically, two women find out the same man had been sleeping with both of them. Then they come together to exact their revenge.” She grinned in spite of herself. “Even for me, it’d be overdramatic. Alejandro would sit in for the object of your fury. Each of you would take turns stabbing him in shadow. Then in the end, he and the chair he’s tied to will slowly sink into the pits of hell.”
Scarlet stared at a random wall as she pieced it all together in her head. She nodded thoughtfully and smiled. “Some good flamenco choreography and it could be a real showstopper. But you’re right. It might be too much. Wouldn’t want anyone outside our circle getting the wrong idea.”
Her attention strayed to her stomach. She rubbed it a couple times for good measure before securely wrapping an arm around it.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have those some fantasies about our father. Putting him in his place for what he did to me. To both of us.” Sighing mid-exhale, she explained, “I learned something else recently. My first night back with my sister, the nightmare came back. After Ruby finished calming me down, she told me something she’d been holding back for years.”
“What was it?”
“She said she kept it from me for my own protection. But after what happened with Emilia, she decided it was time to tell me the truth about what happened when she left home. Our father found out about Calypso from the co-owner of the strip club they ran together. He knew where I was and he was ready to come here in order to bring me back. Ruby tried to stop him so he attacked her. Somehow, she had just enough room to reach around and pull the gun he’d been keeping in his back pocket. And she shot him…”
“Wow…” Amber gasped, shaking her head. She looked up toward Alejandro to gauge his reaction. He was at the bar doing paperwork as usual, but the rigidity of his upper body indicated he’d heard every word. “Alejandro was saying the other day how taking a life can change a person. I just thought Ruby was less approachable than you because she spent more time trapped in that house. Now it all makes sense…”
“Yeah, it does.” Scarlet sighed, cracking a smile. “You know what we need after all this? A karaoke night. Eclipse is having their annual end-of-season contest in a couple of days. There’s still plenty of time if you want to sign up and join us.”
“I don’t know…” Amber stopped short when she saw Scarlet’s sad puppy dog eyes. “Ok! I’ll think about it! Although I’m not sure what the point is. It’s not like I’d stand a chance against the reigning karaoke champions.”
“So what?” Scarlet gave her a playful shove. “Besides, we do it for fun just like every other time we go.”
“Yeah right,” she scoffed, but could only smile. “Knowing you, you probably signed up as soon as the flyers went up.” Suddenly, Scarlet gasped and Amber braced her shoulder as if to protect her, “What, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing…” She shook her head, dumbfounded, “I can’t believe I forgot about that. This baby has made me so scatterbrained.”
“What is it?”
“The guy who runs the contest told me something interesting. How Talia signed up with a partner for the first time.”
“A partner? Do you think it was Juan Paulo?”
“The signup sheet was first posted over a month ago. It wouldn’t surprise me.”
“I hate to pay Talia a compliment but the two of them really did look good together. I asked her the other day if she wants to get back together but the jury’s still out unfortunately.”
“Hi Scarlet…” A smooth male voice called out to her from across the room. At first, it felt centuries away. When Scarlet adjusted her focus and saw Javier standing clear as day in the middle of the dance floor, a mix of emotions surged through her body. It was so overwhelming, each feeling impossible to distinguish from the next, she was visibly shaking.
“Hey Javi.” Carefully getting to her feet and walking down the staircase off the stage, she slipped off her shoes before bulldozing her way into his arms.
“Whoa,” he gasped as he fought to keep his balance, “you’re a lot stronger than I remember.”
After holding onto him for several minutes and passionately kissing him for a few more, she whispered everything she’d been holding back into his ear. Amber covered her mouth to hold back any outbursts threatening to come out. She and Alejandro looked each other; with all that Scarlet had been through in her life, they couldn’t have been happier for her. The moment her big news hit him, Javier was beside himself with joy and it was his turn to hold and kiss her all over.
“Ok, that’s enough.” Amber groaned through her smile. To her shock and everyone else’s, Alejandro chimed in, “I know, get a room.”
Scarlet broke away, giggling, “oh yeah? What about you two? Everything’s out in the open so there’s no reason you can’t…”
In another unexpected move, Alejandro saved Amber the trouble of answering, “I’ll tell you what, Scarlet. When we’re all done for the season, I’ll ask Amber on a date and we’ll go from there.”
“Really?” Her jaw dropped open. Everything happened so fast, it was a lot to expect him to immediately return her feelings. But this prospect was a step in a direction she’d dreamed of for a long time, which was more than she could’ve asked for.
“Like I said the other day, we have a lot to talk about. And I wouldn’t mind seeing if this leads somewhere…”
On their way out, Scarlet told Javier about the karaoke contest. He doubted Juan Paulo would attend in any capacity but he vowed to do everything he could to make it happen.
By contrast, the other meeting wasn’t nearly as excitable. Emilia carried the conversation for the most part with the occasional abbreviated response from Talia and Vanessa. They smiled in her direction with equal enthusiasm but whenever they caught each other’s eye, they turned away or suddenly decided a different part of the room was more deserving of their attention. After what felt like the most awkward five minutes of her life, which was saying a lot considering how tumultuous the summer had been, Emilia had enough.
“All right!” She jumped to her feet, catching the others by surprise. “I’m not going to be another go-between for you two. You need to clear the air and you better be done by the time I get back with our lunch order.” While she didn’t slam the apartment door behind her, Emilia used enough force to stamp a period at the end of her sentence.
Vanessa smirked in spite of herself. “Seems like everyone has had a turn being the tactful one in our group.”
“You were right, Vanessa… you were right about everything.” Like Amber before her, Vanessa had every intention of hurling a string of sarcasm at Talia in response to her comment, only to decide against it after observing her more closely. She held her body so tight that her larger-than-life presence had diminished. As had become habit for her, she rubbed the crook of her elbow in an effort to comfort herself. Then she looked her straight in the eye, admitting, “I have not been myself. I couldn’t tell anyone when I wasn’t ready to admit it to myself.”
Talia showed Vanessa her scars and explained to her everything she had previously discussed with Amber. Vanessa gave the occasional one-word responses in between but otherwise gave Talia her full attention. When she was done, she sighed, “I know forgiving me is a lot to ask. I have done so many horrible things…”
“You don’t have to explain anymore, Talia.” Vanessa shrugged out of exhaustion more than anything else. Then she offered a smile. “It’s like one of our songs… it’s hard admitting to others we’re only human. And I think we can all say from experience that no one’s words hurt as much as the ones we tell ourselves.” She reached over to massage her back and Talia offered a grateful smile in return.
The rest of their time without Emilia’s company was mostly filled with silence. They took turns talking about the others and theorizing what they’d bring to the big show. Amber’s ingenuity and leadership came up more than once. It was hard to be sure whether Vanessa was more surprised of Talia’s complementary attitude or Talia relinquishing control so easily. Whatever the case was, the future of the sirens never looked brighter.
However, somewhere in the midst of their silence, Vanessa couldn’t help but feel Talia was holding something else back. After calling her out on it, Vanessa assured her, “whatever it is, we can figure it out together. So, what are you thinking about? Is it about JP or…”
“That might just be a lost cause. Even if he heard everything… you didn’t see the way he looked at me when he came here with Emilia. Like I drove a wrecking ball through his heart…” She sighed, leaning forward with her hands clasped on her lap. “I never thought I’d let another man be my biggest regret. And not even a man that deserved what they got.”
“Well… he will be returning home soon so a clean break might have been the best thing…”
“That is true. He was only a tourist so there was no point to…” She caught onto Vanessa’s defeated tone, asking, “you don’t really believe that, do you?”
“What do you think?” She challenged her but Talia averted her gaze.
“I didn’t think so… I would tell you to go after him but that didn’t work so well the last time.”
“Yeah. The fact remains that I’m not you. I deserve someone that only has eyes for me.”
“And whoever that is will be lucky to have you.”
“Thanks.” Vanessa waited for the blush to drain from her face before offering, “seriously, do you want me to try talking to him? I will if that’s what you want.”
“Hmm,” Talia bit her lip, “even if I said there was no point, I can’t stop anyone from trying. If I learned anything, I can’t control everything and it was foolish to think I could try.”
Emilia returned to a more amiable and relaxed room and business resumed once lunchtime had come and gone. But during the in-between moments when Vanessa and Emilia gave each other their full attention, Talia’s mind wandered elsewhere. The situation with Juan Paulo had been weighing heavily on her conscience for weeks and it felt good to bring all of that out into the open.
However, Talia had been giving something else a lot of thought over the past month. When her doctor gave her the okay to resume sexual activity after he prescribed a ‘hiatus’ for her, she had a long discussion with the brothers about her personal plans for the future. Even now, it was something she was on the fence about. If she decided to do what she was considering, how would she break it to the others? At the end of the day, she took away one thing that assuaged the mountain of concerns she had. If she decided to leave the sirens and start a new life somewhere else where she could get the help she knew she needed, Calypso would be in far more capable hands than hers had been for a long time.
***
This scene underwent a LOT of changes, some were super recent (as all last week).
I’d originally intended it as the twins doing a routine set to “2 black Cadillacs” and Ruby doing a solo to “Blown Away” (where this chapter got its title) while explaining to Scarlet what happened to their father.
Both are Carrie underwood songs and I see a really vivid story when I listen to both of them. I read one headline about “Cadillacs” inspiring a lifetime movie or series... I Googled but literally found nothing about whether or not it was actually made. The articles all date back 10 years ago.
That one is so vivid in my head, I literally see it on the “Dancing with the Stars” stage and it’d be a wicked tango/flamenco/paso doble.
Ultimately I decided all that was better off explained in conversation rather than devoting a lot of extra time to it. I also think I just wanted one last scene with Scarlet and Amber. I’d originally written Amber hugging Scarlet as her way of congratulating her but it didn’t feel true to her character. She’d spent all this time putting walls up and not showing affection openly. I hope I was able to make it more convincing in this version.
I’d like to think in another time or place, they could’ve been a couple and I’d love that for them. Although when I envision it, it'd probably be another mistaken identity thing with Ruby and she'd be the only twin that would return Amber's feelings... and it'd be a huge mess because Amber definitely wouldn't feel anything more than friendship for her.
“I know how much everyone wants me to do a solo so I guess I’ll do that.”
“Again, only if you want to.”
“No, really. I do. The routine I meant to do the other night is really important to show people. It’s the closest thing I have to capturing what I went through. Do you have any spare ideas for twin routines? I talked to Ruby about it on my way over here but neither of us could come up with anything.”
“Well…” Amber folded her hands on her lap, knitting her fingers tightly together. “I don’t know how much you’ve heard about this from the others, but…” She spent the next several minutes taking Scarlet through the series of events that unfolded between her and Rodrigo. The assault, Ruby reporting it to Alejandro (an overstep she’s now extremely grateful to her for) and going to The Underground with Talia to deal with him one last time. Through the course of this monologue, Scarlet placed her hand over Amber’s and squeezed whenever she cringed or her voice broke. In response, Amber flashed her a grateful smile and used the strength it gave her to press onward. “After that, I got an idea for a routine to sort of bring it to life… but it might be a little too cutthroat to show to the public.”
“Then, we’ll just dance it for ourselves. What did you have in mind?” “There’s one country song I like that would sum it up perfectly. Basically, two women find out the same man had been sleeping with both of them. Then they come together to exact their revenge.” She grinned in spite of herself. “Even for me, it’d be overdramatic. Alejandro would sit in for the object of your fury. Each of you would take turns stabbing him in shadow. Then in the end, he and the chair he’s tied to will slowly sink into the pits of hell.”
Scarlet stared at a random wall as she pieced it all together in her head. She nodded thoughtfully and smiled. “Some good flamenco choreography and it could be a real showstopper. But you’re right. It might be too much. Wouldn’t want anyone outside our circle getting the wrong idea.”
Her attention strayed to her stomach. She rubbed it a couple times for good measure before securely wrapping an arm around it.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have those some fantasies about our father. Putting him in his place for what he did to me. To both of us.” Sighing mid-exhale, she explained, “I learned something else recently. My first night back with my sister, the nightmare came back. After Ruby finished calming me down, she told me something she’d been holding back for years.”
“What was it?”
“She said she kept it from me for my own protection. But after what happened with Emilia, she decided it was time to tell me the truth about what happened when she left home. Our father found out about Calypso from the co-owner of the strip club they ran together. He knew where I was and he was ready to come here in order to bring me back. Ruby tried to stop him so he attacked her. Somehow, she had just enough room to reach around and pull the gun he’d been keeping in his back pocket. And she shot him…”
“Wow…” Amber gasped, shaking her head. She looked up toward Alejandro to gauge his reaction. He was at the bar doing paperwork as usual, but the rigidity of his upper body indicated he’d heard every word. “Alejandro was saying the other day how taking a life can change a person. I just thought Ruby was less approachable than you because she spent more time trapped in that house. Now it all makes sense…”
“Yeah, it does.” Scarlet sighed, cracking a smile. “You know what we need after all this? A karaoke night. Eclipse is having their annual end-of-season contest in a couple of days. There’s still plenty of time if you want to sign up and join us.”
“I don’t know…” Amber stopped short when she saw Scarlet’s sad puppy dog eyes. “Ok! I’ll think about it! Although I’m not sure what the point is. It’s not like I’d stand a chance against the reigning karaoke champions.”
“So what?” Scarlet gave her a playful shove. “Besides, we do it for fun just like every other time we go.”
“Yeah right,” she scoffed, but could only smile. “Knowing you, you probably signed up as soon as the flyers went up.” Suddenly, Scarlet gasped and Amber braced her shoulder as if to protect her, “What, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing…” She shook her head, dumbfounded, “I can’t believe I forgot about that. This baby has made me so scatterbrained.”
“What is it?”
“The guy who runs the contest told me something interesting. How Talia signed up with a partner for the first time.”
“A partner? Do you think it was Juan Paulo?”
“The signup sheet was first posted over a month ago. It wouldn’t surprise me.”
“I hate to pay Talia a compliment but the two of them really did look good together. I asked her the other day if she wants to get back together but the jury’s still out unfortunately.”
“Hi Scarlet…” A smooth male voice called out to her from across the room. At first, it felt centuries away. When Scarlet adjusted her focus and saw Javier standing clear as day in the middle of the dance floor, a mix of emotions surged through her body. It was so overwhelming, each feeling impossible to distinguish from the next, she was visibly shaking.
“Hey Javi.” Carefully getting to her feet and walking down the staircase off the stage, she slipped off her shoes before bulldozing her way into his arms.
“Whoa,” he gasped as he fought to keep his balance, “you’re a lot stronger than I remember.”
After holding onto him for several minutes and passionately kissing him for a few more, she whispered everything she’d been holding back into his ear. Amber covered her mouth to hold back any outbursts threatening to come out. She and Alejandro looked each other; with all that Scarlet had been through in her life, they couldn’t have been happier for her. The moment her big news hit him, Javier was beside himself with joy and it was his turn to hold and kiss her all over.
“Ok, that’s enough.” Amber groaned through her smile. To her shock and everyone else’s, Alejandro chimed in, “I know, get a room.”
Scarlet broke away, giggling, “oh yeah? What about you two? Everything’s out in the open so there’s no reason you can’t…”
In another unexpected move, Alejandro saved Amber the trouble of answering, “I’ll tell you what, Scarlet. When we’re all done for the season, I’ll ask Amber on a date and we’ll go from there.”
“Really?” Her jaw dropped open. Everything happened so fast, it was a lot to expect him to immediately return her feelings. But this prospect was a step in a direction she’d dreamed of for a long time, which was more than she could’ve asked for.
“Like I said the other day, we have a lot to talk about. And I wouldn’t mind seeing if this leads somewhere…”
On their way out, Scarlet told Javier about the karaoke contest. He doubted Juan Paulo would attend in any capacity but he vowed to do everything he could to make it happen.
* * *
By contrast, the other meeting wasn’t nearly as excitable. Emilia carried the conversation for the most part with the occasional abbreviated response from Talia and Vanessa. They smiled in her direction with equal enthusiasm but whenever they caught each other’s eye, they turned away or suddenly decided a different part of the room was more deserving of their attention. After what felt like the most awkward five minutes of her life, which was saying a lot considering how tumultuous the summer had been, Emilia had enough.
“All right!” She jumped to her feet, catching the others by surprise. “I’m not going to be another go-between for you two. You need to clear the air and you better be done by the time I get back with our lunch order.” While she didn’t slam the apartment door behind her, Emilia used enough force to stamp a period at the end of her sentence.
Vanessa smirked in spite of herself. “Seems like everyone has had a turn being the tactful one in our group.”
“You were right, Vanessa… you were right about everything.” Like Amber before her, Vanessa had every intention of hurling a string of sarcasm at Talia in response to her comment, only to decide against it after observing her more closely. She held her body so tight that her larger-than-life presence had diminished. As had become habit for her, she rubbed the crook of her elbow in an effort to comfort herself. Then she looked her straight in the eye, admitting, “I have not been myself. I couldn’t tell anyone when I wasn’t ready to admit it to myself.”
Talia showed Vanessa her scars and explained to her everything she had previously discussed with Amber. Vanessa gave the occasional one-word responses in between but otherwise gave Talia her full attention. When she was done, she sighed, “I know forgiving me is a lot to ask. I have done so many horrible things…”
“You don’t have to explain anymore, Talia.” Vanessa shrugged out of exhaustion more than anything else. Then she offered a smile. “It’s like one of our songs… it’s hard admitting to others we’re only human. And I think we can all say from experience that no one’s words hurt as much as the ones we tell ourselves.” She reached over to massage her back and Talia offered a grateful smile in return.
The rest of their time without Emilia’s company was mostly filled with silence. They took turns talking about the others and theorizing what they’d bring to the big show. Amber’s ingenuity and leadership came up more than once. It was hard to be sure whether Vanessa was more surprised of Talia’s complementary attitude or Talia relinquishing control so easily. Whatever the case was, the future of the sirens never looked brighter.
However, somewhere in the midst of their silence, Vanessa couldn’t help but feel Talia was holding something else back. After calling her out on it, Vanessa assured her, “whatever it is, we can figure it out together. So, what are you thinking about? Is it about JP or…”
“That might just be a lost cause. Even if he heard everything… you didn’t see the way he looked at me when he came here with Emilia. Like I drove a wrecking ball through his heart…” She sighed, leaning forward with her hands clasped on her lap. “I never thought I’d let another man be my biggest regret. And not even a man that deserved what they got.”
“Well… he will be returning home soon so a clean break might have been the best thing…”
“That is true. He was only a tourist so there was no point to…” She caught onto Vanessa’s defeated tone, asking, “you don’t really believe that, do you?”
“What do you think?” She challenged her but Talia averted her gaze.
“I didn’t think so… I would tell you to go after him but that didn’t work so well the last time.”
“Yeah. The fact remains that I’m not you. I deserve someone that only has eyes for me.”
“And whoever that is will be lucky to have you.”
“Thanks.” Vanessa waited for the blush to drain from her face before offering, “seriously, do you want me to try talking to him? I will if that’s what you want.”
“Hmm,” Talia bit her lip, “even if I said there was no point, I can’t stop anyone from trying. If I learned anything, I can’t control everything and it was foolish to think I could try.”
Emilia returned to a more amiable and relaxed room and business resumed once lunchtime had come and gone. But during the in-between moments when Vanessa and Emilia gave each other their full attention, Talia’s mind wandered elsewhere. The situation with Juan Paulo had been weighing heavily on her conscience for weeks and it felt good to bring all of that out into the open.
However, Talia had been giving something else a lot of thought over the past month. When her doctor gave her the okay to resume sexual activity after he prescribed a ‘hiatus’ for her, she had a long discussion with the brothers about her personal plans for the future. Even now, it was something she was on the fence about. If she decided to do what she was considering, how would she break it to the others? At the end of the day, she took away one thing that assuaged the mountain of concerns she had. If she decided to leave the sirens and start a new life somewhere else where she could get the help she knew she needed, Calypso would be in far more capable hands than hers had been for a long time.
***
This scene underwent a LOT of changes, some were super recent (as all last week).
I’d originally intended it as the twins doing a routine set to “2 black Cadillacs” and Ruby doing a solo to “Blown Away” (where this chapter got its title) while explaining to Scarlet what happened to their father.
Both are Carrie underwood songs and I see a really vivid story when I listen to both of them. I read one headline about “Cadillacs” inspiring a lifetime movie or series... I Googled but literally found nothing about whether or not it was actually made. The articles all date back 10 years ago.
That one is so vivid in my head, I literally see it on the “Dancing with the Stars” stage and it’d be a wicked tango/flamenco/paso doble.
Ultimately I decided all that was better off explained in conversation rather than devoting a lot of extra time to it. I also think I just wanted one last scene with Scarlet and Amber. I’d originally written Amber hugging Scarlet as her way of congratulating her but it didn’t feel true to her character. She’d spent all this time putting walls up and not showing affection openly. I hope I was able to make it more convincing in this version.
I’d like to think in another time or place, they could’ve been a couple and I’d love that for them. Although when I envision it, it'd probably be another mistaken identity thing with Ruby and she'd be the only twin that would return Amber's feelings... and it'd be a huge mess because Amber definitely wouldn't feel anything more than friendship for her.
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